Living in the Power of the Holy Spirit - Feb. 19, 2006

I. The Characteristics of The Gift of Mercy: 

• Ability to feel an atmosphere of joy or distress in an individual or group.
• Attracted to and understand people who are having mental and emotional distress.
• Desire to remove hurts and bring healing to others rather than to look for the benefits of the hurts.
• A greater concern for mental distress than physical distress of others.
• A sensitivity to words and action which will hurt others.
• A tendency to react harshly when intimate friends are rejected.
• An ability to sense genuine love and a greater vulnerability to deeper and more frequent hurts from the lack of love.
• A need for deep friendships in which there is mutual commitment.
• A need to measure acceptance by physical closeness and quality time together.
• An enjoyment and unity with those who are sensitive to the needs and feelings of others.
• A tendency to avoid firmness unless he sees how it will bring benefit and eliminate greater hurt.
• A closing of the spirit to those who are insincere or insensitive.

II. Misunderstandings of the Gift of Mercy:

• The avoidance of firmness may appear to be weakness and indecisiveness.
• The sensitivity to the spirit and feelings of others may cause some to feel they are guided by emotion rather than logic.
• The attraction and understanding of those in distress may be misinterpreted by those of the opposite sex.
• The sensitivity to words and actions which cause hurts may appear to be taking up another's offense.
• The ability to detect insincere motives may cause some to feel they are hard to get to know.

III. The Gift of Mercy: Spirit vs. Flesh

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Click here for the Feb 12 outline.

The Gift of Mercy

Do you have a real heart for people? Do you feel tenderness toward others? Are you concerned with finding ways of showing kindness? You may have the gift of mercy. Read more.

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Related Resources

What's Your Spiritual Gift?

If you're not sure, now's the time to find out. In Charles Stanley's series, "Living in the Power of the Holy Spirit," he discusses seven key spiritual gifts outlined in Romans 12. As you follow along, discover your gifts by taking this brief "Motivational Gifts Survey ."

Note: The "Perceiver" gift in the Motivational Gifts Survey is synonymous with "Prophecy" in Charles Stanley's series; and "Ruler" is synonymous with "Leader/Organizer."