And so if you would, turn with
me to Matthew 9. Matthew 9. One verse. Matthew
9. No, I'm sorry. I'm going to read
from starting from verse 9 and read through verse 13. Very familiar
to you. Matthew 9. Verse 9. And as Jesus passed forth from
thence, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the receipt of custom.
And he saith unto him, follow me. And he arose and followed
him. And it came to pass as Jesus
sat at meeting in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners
came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees
saw it, they said unto his disciples, why eateth your master with publicans
and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he
said unto them, They that behold need not a physician, but they
that are sick. But go ye and learn what meaneth
I will have mercy and not sacrifice. For I am not come to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance. I don't know about you, but I'm
interested in mercy. God has long ago showed me mercy,
and he has continued to show me mercy, despite me not being
worthy of mercy. As a lot have said before of
God's love concerning Jacob and Esau, I don't have a problem
with God hating Esau, but I'm amazed that he could love and
show mercy to a sinner like me. This text in particular in verse
13, we first read where it says, go ye and learn what meaneth.
I will have mercy and not sacrifice. Let's look at this a little more
because we are hearing of mercy here. It says mercy and not sacrifice. Mercy is kindness or compassion
and in man's case it is undeserved. But we are concerned or interested
in one little letter there. It says, I. This I, of course,
is talking about God. The same God Joe was just talking
about. This is not talking about man being merciful to God. God
needs no mercy. This is saying, I will have mercy,
but then it says not sacrifice. And we have Hosea 6.6. says this,
for I desired mercy and not sacrifice and the knowledge of God more
than burnt offerings. God's not looking for our works
of righteousness. They are filthy rags in his sight. You remember in Hebrews, we are
told that they offered those sacrifices year after year after
year. Not one of those sacrifices made
anything perfect, nor showed any mercy. The only place we
see mercy in those sacrifices is where they pointed to. And
my point is this, our perfection comes only or is seen only in
mercy. But then we have the following,
for I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. If you are righteous, God did
not come to call you. If a man is righteous, what need
of mercy do they have? Now we know that if a man thinks
himself to be righteous, it is a righteousness in his own eyes,
or a righteousness of man and not the righteousness of God.
God tells us there is none righteous. No, not one. But men and women
think they are righteous. We all in this flesh, we have
some righteousness. God did not come to call the
righteous. Sinners is who He came to call.
Sinners are in need of mercy. If you are a sinner, then this
says God has come to call, that is to bid you to come. He has come to call them to a
change of mind. Change their mind about their
works and who they are and to change their mind about God.
At one time, we all had our own righteousness. In fact, we thought
we could work our own righteousness to gain favor from God. But when
we come to know ourselves as sinners and in need of mercy,
He calls us to take sides with God against ourselves. Mercy does this for them. And
only the mercy that comes from God. If mercy is given, it's
because mercy is needed. Those who need mercy are sick
from the top of their head to the bottom of their foot. Those who are not sick do not
need a physician. That's what he says. And that
is the great physician. But if they are not sick, they
have no need for repentance. You can listen to them and they
will tell you they are not sick. They'll say things like this,
I gave my heart to Jesus. The heart is one thing for sure
that God does not want. Scripture says it's desperately
wicked. And we can't even know the depths
of how wicked it is. That's what you're going to give
to God? God does not want our evil, wicked
heart. He, in fact, says He will give
a new heart. We do not give Him our heart.
He gives us a new heart and one that repents if you are one of
His. Those that are His, He has promised
to give them a new heart, a living heart, and He will take away
that old, dead, evil, wicked heart that we have. This new
heart loves and trusts Him. Now others may say something
like this, I used to be that or I used to be this. And now
I'm not that or I no longer do that. But God does not come to
save people who can heal themselves. What we read here in this text
is there are some people that cannot heal themselves. So they
need mercy from one who can heal them. I'm trying to stress this
morning that mercy is needed and there's only one that can
give it. That is God and He delights in
mercy. This mercy given works that repentance,
that change of mind. But only to those who have been
shown this mercy and the only ones who are, are those who are
sick. These are sinners. And that word
means those devoted to sin, those who are not free from sin, but
drink up iniquity like water. But His mercy is far greater
than our sin. His mercy endureth forever. And turn with me over to Psalm
136. This is what got me to thinking
about mercy. Psalm 136. I don't know that
I ever remember reading this before. Psalm 136. It's quite long, but I'm going
to read all of it. Psalm 136. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord,
for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. O give thanks
unto the God of gods, for his mercy endureth forever. O give
thanks to the Lord of lords, for his mercy endureth forever. To him who alone doeth great
wonders, for his mercy endureth forever. To him that by wisdom
made the heavens, for his mercy endureth forever. To him that
stretched out the earth above the waters, for his mercy endureth
forever. To him that made great lights,
for his mercy endureth forever. The sun to rule by day, for his
mercy endureth forever. The moon and stars to rule by
night, for his mercy endureth forever. To him that smote Egypt
in their firstborn, for his mercy endureth forever. And brought
out Israel from among them, for his mercy endureth forever. With
a strong hand and with a stretched out arm, for his mercy endureth
forever. To him which divided the Red
Sea into parts, for his mercy endureth forever. And made Israel
to pass through the midst of it, for his mercy endureth forever. But overthrew Pharaoh and his
host in the Red Sea, for his mercy endureth forever. To him
which led his people through the wilderness, for his mercy
endureth forever. which smote great kings for his
mercy endureth forever, and slew famous kings for his mercy endureth
forever. Sihon king of the Amorites for
his mercy endureth forever, and Og the king of Bashan for his
mercy endureth forever, and gave their land for an heritage for
his mercy endureth forever, even an heritage unto Israel his servant
for his mercy endureth forever, who remembered us in our lowest
state for his mercy endureth forever. And hath redeemed us
from our enemies, for his mercy endureth forever. Who giveth
food to all flesh, for his mercy endureth forever. O give thanks
unto the God of heaven, for his mercy endureth forever. This psalm If we ever had a doubt
about God's mercy, it puts that doubt to rest, don't it? Yes,
sir. You look at this psalm and we can see His mercy is as old
as He is. His mercy is seen throughout
all of time in the things He does for His people, even the
destruction of those who totally oppose Him. His mercy will last
throughout all eternity. His mercy endures forever. So
I want to talk about God's desire, what does mercy bring out, the
objects of mercy, and it's all of grace. So God's desire. In our text verse we see what
God's desire is. It tells us this, I will have
mercy. And just think about it, from
eternity God desired to show mercy. God desired from all eternity
to be compassionate to some. We know God does not change.
So if he was merciful, then he was always merciful. The problem
with us by nature, though, is we don't want mercy. We don't
think we need mercy. We don't even know we need mercy.
Like has been said before, religion today, and really it's been this
way from old, But this world's religion talks as if, teaches
as if, they will let God show them mercy. As if it's in their
power, that is, they have the right and the might to demand
mercy from God. We don't deserve mercy. We did,
however, earn His wrath. But even though mankind has earned
God's wrath, yet God desires to show mercy. He wants to show
mercy. In fact, it is manifest to us
the mercy of God. We see Jesus, who was made a
little lower than the angels, hanging on a tree, being the
death we should have died. There's no greater picture of
God's mercy right there. He delighted to show mercy so
much that He gave His only begotten Son. He left the glories of heaven
and came down and was made like unto His brethren, Joe, so that
He might die for them. It's hard to understand that
being a finite creature. Thinking about the Lord of glory
coming down on being made like me, yet without sin. To die on
a tree cursed and being made sin for me, but He did. What
does this mercy bring about? We've said it already. Here in
our text it brings a change of mind, repentance. Mercy is not
a one-time thing. It's not that God does it and
then that's the end of it. God is merciful to us over and
over again. Why? Because we need mercy over
and over again. But since mercy is not a one-time
thing, then it goes without saying that repentance is not a one-time
thing. I need my mind changed over and
over again. But we see this in Psalm 136.
His mercy endureth forever. Mercy brings with it comfort,
deliverance, help, and hope, to give a short list. You can
add peace in there with that. Mercy brings about something
that I cannot bring about with this flesh. Just as it is with
everything else as it concerns God, it is cause and effect. Now His mercy does endure forever. But that does not mean we will
see what it brings us every time. We have this flesh and it wants
what it wants. So it is ever present with me
and it's an ever present battle that we have. He gives grace
in the time of need. So just who is the objects of
this mercy? My next point. We've already
said it. The objects of his mercy are
sinners. Those who drink up iniquity like
water. Those devoted to sin and those
who are not free from sin. That's what it means to be a
sinner. I know most of this world religion likes to boast in what
they have done for God, but not sinners, at least not in this
time of mercy. We might get to the point where
we think something of ourselves, but if we are one of his, he
will not leave us there. One day we might be on top of
the mountain of mercy, God taking us there. But even when he does,
we oftentimes forget to be thankful to the one who gave the mercy
for this. We are at times on top of a mountain,
but more times than not, it seems we are in the valley. We put
ourselves there and then complain to God as if we did not put ourselves
there. This flesh eats up iniquity like
water. This flesh eats up iniquity like
water, and I did not say if, I said when it does, then comes
other things. Pride, evil thoughts, scheming
to do this or that, self-gratification. We get to a place, to put it
as Spurgeon put it, where we are in darkness. We see nothing,
we know nothing, we believe nothing, and we hope nothing. We need
mercy. We need it for our wrongdoing
and we need it for our good deeds. God's mercy is higher than both.
Then there comes a time when the conscious begins to weigh
in and you begin to have trouble of soul. You beginning to be of contrite
spirit and a broken heart, because you had this presumption of God. I'm talking about those who have
known God for some time. We certainly feel this at the
first before God visits us with his mercy and his gospel. God
brings you here and it seems like I am there more than any
other place. I am in the valley where it seems
to be dark with no light to light my path. The heavens seem as
brass. I feel at times that I have been
forsaken of God. And I like what J.C. Philpott
said on this. Quote, a Christian, as he grows
in grace, like ripe corn, will bend down to the ground. He will
not lift up his stalk as when the ear is first shooting forth,
but like the ripening ear will more and more bend down his head.
He cannot get too low. And the more grace he has, the
lower he will get. For the richer the ear and the
riper the corn, the more it droops its head. Barren professors lift
themselves up on high. No stalks grow so high as barren
stalks. No ears look so proudly as those
that have all chaff in them and no corn." End quote. It is the
grace of God to know and see mercy and not of ourselves. No matter how much we have sinned
or not sinned, God's mercy comes because he is the God of all
grace. And we find mercy in his grace
towards his people. So it's all of grace. Mercy is
of grace. You know, I've said before, grace
is like that canopy. God's grace gives us mercy, it
gives us peace, it gives us joy even in the midst of groanings
and trouble and complaint. It gives us salvation when we
hear the gospel. God in being gracious to us gives
us all these things, but he does not have to. But he does because he is a gracious
and merciful God. There are no works of mine that
shall gain me mercy. If I'm working to gain or get
mercy, I shall never see mercy, not from my works. That will bring me down into
the valley when I begin to be so proud that I think I can do
something without Christ. Those filthy rags, I must repent
of those. His mercy brings me to that place
where I change my mind about me and my works. and learn to
love and trust his works. Mercy causes me to see how I
could be shown mercy at all, and it has nothing to do with
my works. Habakkuk 3, 2, you all know this
one. Oh Lord, I've heard thy speech and was afraid. Oh Lord,
revive thy work in the midst of the years. In the midst of
the years, make known in wrath, remember mercy. Mercy will never be known in
lies. It is always the truth. And again,
I want to say this because I want to point this out because I hate
this saying. It's not my truth, but God's
truth in his gospel that we will ever see mercy and see it manifested
in Christ. By his grace, he opens my eyes. He causes me to quit looking
to self, quit counting on self. And that's this flesh. and to
begin to look and trust on him that died for me and gave himself
for me. Therefore, he can then show mercy
to me. I want to see this over and over
again because I all too often see myself or look to myself. I want to see that that murderous
Barabbas named Paul Pendleton was there ready to be put up
on that cross in shame and be put to death. But God in his
ordination calls the people to cry out, kill him, kill him. That was me there with them cheering
them on. As I've told you before, when
I first started hearing the truth of God, The one thing I remember
in my mind saying, didn't say it out loud, I was by myself,
but I said, I will not have this man reign over me. And you know
what? I meant it. Oh, yeah. That's
what comes from this old, evil, wicked heart. But oh, the grace
and love and mercy of God that caused him to take my place. A murderer of God, a sinner. And I thank Him right now. I
thank Him for His mercy which endures forever. I pray God He
continue to show me His mercy. I am a sinner in need of His
mercy. I need His mercy every day. And
I thank God that His mercy is never failing. Oh, I might not
feel it because I am sowing to this flesh all the time it seems.
But God be thanked, he brings us down into the furnace of affliction,
way down in the valley. I am brought low by his grace
and mercy to see that God, who is rich in mercy, brought down
the wrath due me on his blessed son. So now I'm able to go free. This
sinner, the one in this flesh, is devoted to sin, not free from
sin, and in my flesh I drink up iniquity like water. But we
read in Luke 1, 78 through 79, through the tender mercy of our
God, whereby the day spring from on high hath visited us, to give
light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to
guide our feet into the way of peace. We are told in scripture
to preach the gospel to every creature. He by his spirit if
he is so pleased will visit those who are such and he will continue
to visit those who are such. That verse there in verse 78
of Luke 1, whereby the day spring from on high hath visited us. Spurgeon says this, and this
is not a direct quote, but something like this. He said, when he visits
us, it's not with the noonday sun, that hot heat beating down. It's that morning sun, the day
spring. You first see it coming up in
the morning. Rest assured, full sunlight will
come. It will come. but we can bask
in that sunlight. I thank God for his mercy that
it's always there. God calls me to heed your word,
your gospel. Calls me to see Jesus who authored
and perfected faith. Give me faith to believe, to
always look to you, to trust you. He does and he will if you're
one of his. Why? Because he said he will. He says so in His Word. My mercy
endureth forever. Calls me to be thankful, calls
me to be humble, to look for everything from You and stop
trying to work out things on my own. I would see Jesus. Amen. Dear Lord God, we're thankful
to be able to be here today, dear Lord, to hear words of Your
Son. calls us to go out from here,
and dear Lord, may we just keep these words
in our heart, dear Lord. Open our hearts so that we can
receive them, dear Lord, but calls us to keep them close to
our hearts and desire to hear them all the time. Be with all
of those who are out there that preach Christ, dear Lord. Be
with them, comfort them, support them, give them mercy, dear Lord,
because we all need mercy. in all these things we ask in
Christ's name, amen.