Lesson #08

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September 21, 2015

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Syllabus

February 12, 2010

RETURN TO MOTIVATIONAL GIFT SYLLABUS

Bible Perspectives: Gifts of Motivation
Lesson #08
“The Gift of Mercy”

• Homework Discussion
  • Test Evaluation for the Gift of Ruling (Facilitating)
    • Record both of the test scores for each student for the Gift of Ruling (Facilitating).
  • Questions and discussion.

• Class Lesson: #7 The Gift of Mercy
• The Definition of the Gift of Mercy:

• The gift of mercy is the motivation to identify with, to comfort, and to relieve those who are in need and distress. The gift is one of compassion.

 

• Characteristics of the Gift of Mercy:

 

• Love:
• This person has a great capacity to show love. He is most happy when he is showing that love to others.
• He is thoughtful.
• He is usually not critical of others because his focus is on the good.
• He does not like to hear about negative things about others or the world in general.
• Feelings and Empathy:
• This person is very sensitive to the feelings of others. He feels the hurts of others.
• This person cries easily.
• He knows if people are encouraged or discouraged emotionally.
• This person is attracted to those that have hurts, whether they are people or animals.
• He avoids hurting others.
• His feelings guide his decisions.
• He is not an intellectual. He will say, “Don’t confuse me with the facts, my feelings have decided.”
• Help:
• Because this person is concerned about emotional hurts, he will help by giving comfort.
• This person is a peace-maker for those people that have broken relationships.
• Friendships:
• The person with this gift is attracted to people that need help and to others with the same gift.
• This person is very trusting and sometimes naïve.
• This person will allow others to take advantage of him.
• It is easy for this person to rejoice with those that are blessed and to weep with those that weep.
• Deliberate and Positive:
• The actions of the person with this gift tend to be slow.
• This person takes his time making decisions.
• This person is usually cheerful and positive.
• Crusader:
• The person with this gift is a crusader for good causes, but more by his actions than by his speech.
• This person will stand up for others but not for himself.
• This person has a calling from God to pray for others.
• The prayers of this person are deep and heartfelt.

 

• The Benefits of the Gift of Mercy:

 

• This person’s presence in the body of Christ helps to make people feel loved and accepted.
• This person’s presence helps to make people feel they are not alone.
• This motivational gift meets the emotional needs in the body of Christ.

 

• The Manifestations of the Gift of Mercy:

 

• The person with this gift has a keen sense of where people are emotionally. He can tell when a person is hurting.
• This person is able to detect insincerity in other people.
• This person is the heart in the body of Christ that reaches out in support and compassion for others.

 

• The Childhood Expressions of the Gift of Mercy:

 

• This is the lovable, cuddly child. He smiles easily as a baby.
• This child often has a soft, quiet disposition.
• This child has a tendency toward shyness with a clinging tendency toward his parents.
• Loud noises or harsh words easily bring tears.
• Gentleness makes this child a follower.
• The person with this gift has difficulty standing up for his rights and will often withdraw in a fight.
• This child prefers to lose than to see some else hurt.
• This child will crusade for the rights of others.
• This child is drawn to the rejects in society, the poor, and the weak.
• This child loves pets, especially wounded ones.
• This child loves sick people and old people.
• He has much patience for those that are hurt.
• This child loves people but he has few best friends.
• If this child is a boy, he can have communication problems and repressed feelings that eventually will bring bitterness and hostility.
• This child is especially sensitive to strain and may falsely assume responsibility or guilt for family conflicts.
• This child likes fairy tale books and avoids books of tragedy.

 

• People in the Bible with the Gift of Mercy:

 

• The Good Samaritan (Luk 10:30-35)
• Observable Characteristics:
  • Has a great capacity for love (33)
  • Attracted to those who are hurting (33)
  • Has empathy. (33)
  • Takes action to remove or relieve the hurt. (34)
  • Removed the physical distress by coming along side. (34)
  • Is controlled by emotions. (34)
  • Takes action to remove emotional distress. (35)
  • Trusts others (the innkeeper) (35)
• Other people in the Bible with the gift of mercy:

• John, the disciple (the books of 1,2,3 John)
• Ruth (the book of Ruth)
• Joseph, the legal father of Jesus Christ. (Mat 1;16-24 Mat 2:13 Luk 2:4-51 Joh 1:45)
• Jeremiah (the book of Jeremiah)
• Rachel (Gen 29-31, 35, 46)
• Rebecca (Gen 22:23 Gen 24:29 Gen 35:8 Gen 49:31)

 

• Problem Areas and Cautions that lead to improving this gift – a challenge:

 

• Men:
• A man with this gift has a great challenge as this gift is often misunderstood in men.
• A man with this gift will often repress his feelings and cause himself frustration and bitterness.
• Often a man with this gift will develop a gruff exterior and make it hard for people to know him.
• Boys with this gift need to be encouraged that it is all right to cry and display feelings.
• The challenge is not to permit the inner feelings to accumulate until you grieve inwardly or until you explode in anger.
• Indecisive:
• The person with this gift has problems making decisions.
• He will ponder the possible consequences of decisions, delay as long as he can, and transfer the responsibility to others if possible.
• This person is often accused of being weak.
• Therefore, this person should develop Biblical principles and strong convictions to off-set this perception of weakness.
• Offenses and Hurts:
• Because this person is compassionate, he tends to become offended when a third person is hurt. He needs to learn that these problems are not his business, and that he should not take up an offense or take sides in a dispute that does not involve him. (Psa 15:3b) Instead, God only requires that this person pray for those involved in the problem.

• The person with this gift is often easily hurt and easily offended.
• He reads meaning into other people’s words and actions that are not existent.
• Too much empathy and affection:
• This person can be weighed down emotionally by the problems of others.
• This person is susceptible to depression, and therefore he becomes ineffective in ministering to others. The reason is because he isn’t praying sufficiently.
• This person’s excess affection can be misleading to those of the opposite sex who assume a romantic love.

• Homework:
• Read each statement under “Characteristics”:
• Ask yourself, “How true is this of me?”
  • If the characteristic is never true about you, place an X in the box under “Never”. Then place a 0 in the point column.
  • If the characteristic is true about you only on rare occasions, place an X in the box under “Seldom”. Then place a 1 in the point column.
  • If the characteristic is true about you sometimes and sometimes not (up to 49% of the time), place an X in the box under “Sometimes”. Then place a 2 in the point column.
  • If the characteristic is true about you 50 – 75% of the time, place and X in the box under “Usually”. Then place a 3 in the point column.
  • If the characteristic is true about you most of the time, place an X in the box under “Mostly”. Then place a 4 in the point column.
  • If the characteristic is true about you all the time, place an X in the box under “Always”. Then place a 5 in the point column.
• After completing the columns concerning “Characteristics”, add all the points and place the total in the box at the bottom of the point column, next to the word “Total”.
• Read each statement under “Typical Problem Areas”:
  • Fill in the columns and points in the same way as before.
  • Add all the points of this section and place the total in the box at the bottom of the point column next to the word “Total”.
• Bring your completed test to the next class.
• If you think this is your gift, read the scriptures in this lesson and observe how this gift functions.
• If you are sure this is not your gift, consider your spouse, your children, grandchildren, or friends.

NAME _____________________

#7 THE GIFT OF MERCY CHARACTERISTICS	N E V E R	S E L D O M	S O M E T I M E S	U S U A L L Y	M O S T L Y	A L W A Y S	P O I N T S
	0	1	2	3	4	5
1. Has a great ability to express love.
2. Always looks for the good in people.
3. Feels the spiritual and emotional condition of others.
4. Attracted to the people that are hurting or in distress.
5. Takes action to stop the hurts and to alleviate the problems of others.
6. Interested more in the mental and emotional hurts than by physical hurts.
7. Motivated to help others to have good relationships.
8. Likes to give others the better place or opportunity.
9. Is cautious with his words and actions to avoid hurting others.
10. Can easily detect false sincerity or wrong motives.
11. Is attracted to those that also have the gift of compassion (mercy).
12. Is charmed to do loving things for others.
13. Is trustworthy and dependable.
14. Avoids conflicts and confrontations with others.
15. Des not like to be hurried in a job or activity.
16. Is always happy and joyful.
17. Is governed by the heart and not by the head.
18. Rejoices to see others blessed and suffers to see others suffer.
19. Is a champion of good causes.
20. Prays a lot for the hurting and the problems of others.
TOTAL

 

TYPICAL PROBLEM AREAS

1. Has difficulty making decisions (is indecisive).
2. Can easily take on the offense of another.
3. Feelings are easily hurt by others.
4. Worry over the suffering of others can cause depression.
5. Permits others to take advantage of him.
6. Has difficulty expressing inner feelings.
7. Prefers to transfer responsibility to others.
8. Fail to pray sufficiently.
TOTAL