Mercy freely given. This morning I'd like us to consider
how God's mercy comes to the believer in Christ. And it comes
to us freely and voluntarily from God. Freely. We'll look at the different aspects
of God's mercy which are evidently manifested to God's people today.
Turn if you would to Hosea chapter 14. We'll look at a verse here
and then put your finger in Ephesians chapter 1. We will see in this
verse here in Hosea chapter 14 verse 4 that God's love is freely
given. It's freely given to his people.
Hosea 14 verse 4 it says, I will heal their backsliding.
I will love them freely. Oh, my. God freely loves his
people. God the Father freely loves those
he gave to Christ in eternity. Freely. Voluntarily on his part. The Hebrew word there for freely
means voluntarily. Isn't that wonderful? God voluntarily loves his people. Now there's nothing in us for
him to love, is there, in our natural state. There's nothing
in us in our natural state for him to love. We're born dead
in trespasses and sins. And yet the scriptures here declare
that God voluntarily in the Hebrew again free will offering it means
so by his will he voluntarily and freely loves his people my
just let that sink in and he's loved his people Jehovah Elohim
has loved his people in Christ from eternity voluntarily and freely. Let's now turn to Ephesians chapter
1. We know that our election in
Christ is according to the free grace of God, don't we? Our election
in Christ is according to the free grace of God. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 4 to
6 we see here that not only does God love us freely, but that
he has chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world.
According as he has chosen us in him, in Christ, before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without
blame before him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption
of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good
pleasure of his will. That will that was voluntarily
and freely expressed. by his love for us, by his love
for his people. Those who are born again by the
Holy Spirit of God, those have been purchased by the precious,
precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. According to the good pleasure
of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein
he hath made us accepted in the beloved. Now turn, if you would,
to Romans chapter three, verse 24. Before you go there, see the
words good pleasure there? See the words good pleasure in
verse 5, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will?
Now those words in Greek means to please, to favor, good will,
good pleasure, good intent, benevolence, a gracious purpose. So in God choosing us in Christ,
there's a gracious purpose behind that. Because of his love, which is
freely bestowed upon us voluntarily, according to his will. Isn't
that wonderful? That's good news, isn't it, for
sinners? The question is, are you a sinner? Has God shown you
that you're a sinner in desperate need of Christ? Because that's
good news for sinners. Oh my. So all this occurred according
to God's good and holy intent. According to his benevolence.
According to his benevolence to his people. According to his
love to his people. Because it pleased him to do
so. Now in Romans chapter 3, let's
turn there real quick. In Romans chapter 3, we see that
justification is also freely by his grace. So we know election
is according to God's grace and mercy. We know that his love
to us is according to his mercy. In Romans chapter 3, verse 24,
the scriptures declare being justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. So now we see
our justification in Christ is freely given to us. according
to God's grace, Romans 3.24, being justified freely by his
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. There's
the key as well. In Christ. In Christ. So God's grace and mercy is freely
bestowed according to God's will, according to his good pleasure,
voluntarily by Elohim. by the God of the universe, voluntarily, and based upon absolutely no
merit in us. No merit. If one thinks there's
merit in what they do, there's no mercy. There's no mercy there. Because the believer in Christ
knows that We are saved according to the good pleasure of God's
will, based upon absolutely nothing in us. No merit, no merit, no
merit, as Brother Tim James likes to say. It's so true. Now, here are three points to
remember about God saving mercy, because we are saved by the mercy
of God. Paul said, I've obtained mercy. And every believer in Christ
has obtained mercy from God, who is the fountain of all mercy.
Now remember that. He's the fountain of all mercy.
And that mercy from God flows down to his people through Christ
Jesus our Lord. There's no other way. He's called
the way of holiness in the scriptures. There's no other way except through
Christ and him alone. Three points to remember about
God's saving mercy. It's free. It's free. It cost the believer nothing.
It cost our Lord a lot, didn't it? He died on the cross in the
place of his people. But it cost us nothing. Nothing. We cannot earn it. We cannot
pay for it. It's freely bestowed upon God's
people. The second point to remember
about God's mercy, it comes to us based upon no merit in us. To set up creature merit is to
destroy God's mercy. So if you set up any merit in
yourself, you've destroyed the mercy of God. Because there's absolutely no
merit for us to receive God's mercy. And number three, we do
not deserve this mercy of God that we have received. We do
not deserve it because of our natural enmity the scripture
declares with God. If God would show mercy only
to such as deserve it, nobody would be saved. No one, because
none of us deserve it. That's the great leveler, isn't
it? That destroys pride, doesn't
it? That lowers us right down into
the dirt. If God would show mercy to anyone
who deserved it, no one would be saved. No one would receive
mercy. But praise God, our great God
does not do that. He has voluntarily, as we said,
freely, as we saw, bestowed his love and his mercy upon his people
in and through Christ Jesus our Lord. Turn, if you would, to
Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8. Now for the born-again, blood-bought
child of God that has tasted the mercy of God, the golden
chain of redemption is full and interwoven with the free grace
of God and the mercy of God. Let's read verses 28 to 30 of
Romans chapter 8. Romans 8, 28. And this is written
to God's people. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God. Now, there's a good
examining question. Do you love God? Has the love
of God been shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Spirit to them
that love God, to them who are the what? called according to
his purpose. A lot of people like to stop
at that first part and say, oh yeah, see this is just, no, but
you gotta finish the verse. To them who are the called according
to his purpose. God calls his people in grace
and mercy according to his purpose through the preaching of the
gospel. Next is the golden chain of redemption in verses 29 to
30. And it's called the Golden Chain
of Redemption because it's all based on the mercy of God. It's
all freely bestowed upon God's people according to the mercy
and grace of God. Romans 8, 29. For whom he did
foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called. In whom
he called, them he also justified. In whom he justified, them he
also glorified. Oh my, that's a golden chain
of redemption. It's unbreakable. Because God's doing it all. And
he does this freely according to his great mercy and his great
grace. The word mercy is used in the
scriptures 261 times, that's just the word mercy, not merciful,
just the word mercy, is used 261 times in the scripture. The
first use is found in Genesis 19, where Lot is fleeing Sodom
and desires to go to Zohar instead of the mountains. Genesis 19,
19, the scriptures declare, behold now thy servant hath found grace
in thy sight, and thou has magnified thy mercy, which thou has showed
unto me in saving my life. And I cannot escape to the mountain
lest some evil take me, and I die. Magnified his mercy. Has not
God magnified his mercy to his people in Christ? Now in the Hebrew, the word mercy
is defined as kindness, loving kindness, mercy, goodness, faithfulness,
love, acts of kindness. So think of this, you who are
a child of God. God has showed, in the word mercy,
his kindness to you, his loving kindness, his goodness, his faithfulness,
and he's done it through acts of kindness in your life, hasn't
he? And every believer can say, yes he has. I can look in my
life and see multiple times. I didn't see it during the time
when it was occurring, but I can look back and just see the manifold
mercies of God in my life. Can you? It's wonderful, isn't
it? It's absolutely wonderful. The last use of the word mercy
in scripture is found in Jude, verse 21. I'll read verse 20
with it. It says, but ye, beloved, building
up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of
our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And that's what we do.
We constantly look to Christ, looking for his mercy. Looking
for his mercy and looking for his grace. Now in the Greek,
in the New Testament, in the New Testament, this is, Word
is defined, mercy is defined as kindness or goodwill towards
the miserable. Isn't that wonderful? Kindness
or goodwill towards the miserable. That's wonderful. Because what
is our state when God shows us our need for him? We get in a
miserable state, don't we? And even after we're saved, and
we get, and sin is working it, because we're all saved sinners,
aren't we? we still see God's grace manifested to us. And we
can become miserable in our sins. We can. It'll make us miserable. Oh, my. But we always look to
Christ, who is our balm. Christ, who is our balm. So this
word mercy in the Greek is kindness or goodwill toward the miserable
and the afflicted. And I like this. Join with the
desire to help them. So God's mercy comes to us from
God with a desire to help us. So think of that next time we're
going through a trial, or going through a temptation, or the
storms of life are just swirling around us. Our great God is ever with us. And he's showing us mercy even
during those times with the desire to help us. And the one who's
doing that is Elohim, the mighty one. The one who has all strength
and power. So the mercy of God is one of
several important features of God's character. It's good for
us to remember the mercy of God. along with the truth of God,
the faithfulness of God, the steadfastness of God, the justice
of God, the righteousness of God, the goodness of God, and
the holiness of God being some of his other characters. But
mercy, mercy is a big character of our God, isn't it? And grace. One old preacher said, mercy
and grace are like sheepdogs of the Lord. They bring us in. when we've gone astray. And mercy is a distinctive tendency
in God to do good to chosen sinners based upon, solely upon his grace,
his grace. And so true mercy, true mercy
only springs from God. We may be merciful to people
sometimes, But we can be unmerciful to people too, can't we? But
God is always merciful to his people. Always. Always merciful to his people.
Turn, if you would, to 2 Corinthians chapter 1. And we'll see here,
one of the titles of our great God, one of the names of our
great God is the Father of Mercies. This is one of his names. This is one of his titles. The Father of mercies. It originates,
mercy originates with our God. It originates with Him. 2 Corinthians
1, verses 3 and 4, look at this. Blessed be God, even the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God
of all comfort. Look at that title. Two titles
in this verse right here. He's the Father of mercies. Oh,
my. And He's the God of all comfort. Do you need comfort? Do you need
comfort in this world? Well, He's the God of all comfort.
I need comfort, I'll tell you that. He's the God of all comfort. Look at this, who comforted us
in our tribulations. Everyone goes through tribulations,
don't we? Every one of God's peoples goes through tribulations.
Who's our comfort and stay? It's our great God, who comfort
us in our tribulations. That we may be able to comfort
them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves
are comforted of God. The Father of Mercies. This title
brings forth our great Father's covenant relationship to the
mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. and his seed, which is the born
again blood-washed people of God. Galatians chapter 3, the
scriptures declare, brethren, I speak after the manner of man,
though it be but a man's covenant, yet it be affirmed, no man disannulleth
it or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were
the promises made. He saith not into the seeds as
of many, but as of one into thy seed, which is Christ. In this
I say that the covenant that was confirmed before of God in
Christ the law, which was 430 years after, cannot disannul,
that it should make the promise of none effect. What God promises
to do shall come to pass. Shall come to pass. And the Father
is the author of the everlasting covenant of which Christ shed
his precious blood for, to redeem his people from their sins. according
to the mercy and grace of God. So we see our God is called in
2nd Corinthians chapter 1 verse 3, our God is called the Father
of mercies. All life comes from him and all
mercies come from him. To his people he is the God of
all comfort. There's no comfort or rest except
in Christ. There's no comfort and rest except
in Christ, except in we flee to the God of all comfort, our covenant God. And again,
all these comforts and mercies that God gives his people come
to us in and through the Lord Jesus Christ and him alone. I'm
going to read some scriptures here. If you want to have a pen
to write these down, I'm going to read a few verses in the scriptures
that, bring forth our great God's mercy. In Genesis chapter 39
verse 21, the scripture declares of the Lord's mercy, but the
Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy and gave him favor
in the sight of the keeper of the prison. In Exodus chapter
15 verse 13, it said about the Lord's mercy, thou and thy mercy
led forth the people which thou hast redeemed thou has guided
them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation in numbers chapter
14 verse 18 it says of our Lord's mercy the Lord that being Jehovah
is long-suffering and of great mercy great mercy not just not
just some mercy great mercy Forgiving iniquity. Oh, he's done that
for his people in Christ. Forgiving iniquity and transgression
and by no means clearing the guilty, right? Because Christ
the sinless one died in the place of the guilty. See? By no means clearing the guilty.
Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children into
the third and fourth generation. So those in Christ are safe from
the justice of God. But those who are not in Christ,
the justice of God shall fall upon them. Oh my. In Deuteronomy it said about
the Lord's mercy, in Deuteronomy 7 verse 9, know therefore that
the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth
covenant and mercy with them that love him. Oh my. And keep his commandments to
a thousand generations. In 1 Chronicles, Chapter 16,
verse 34, it says of the Lord's mercy, oh, give thanks unto the
Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. Oh, my. In the book of Psalms,
Psalms, I had to pick just a few verses because Psalms is full
of the mercy of God, full of the mercy of God. Psalm 100 verse
5, it says, of the Lord's mercy. For Jehovah, the Lord, is good.
His mercy is everlasting. Everlasting. There's no beginning
and no end to his mercy, beloved. And his truth endureth through
all generations. His word, his gospel will go
forth through all the generations in this world, beloved. Oh my. Psalm 106, verse 1, praise ye
the Lord, O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for
his mercy endureth forever again. In Isaiah, in Isaiah 49, verse
13, the scripture declares of the Lord's mercy. Sing, O heavens,
and be joyful, O earth, and break forth into singing. O mountains,
for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon
his afflicted. In Micah. It says about the Lord's
mercy in Micah 7 verse 18. This is wonderful too. Who is
a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity? Pardoneth iniquity. Forgives the iniquity of his
people and passes by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage.
That's his elect. He retaineth not his anger forever
because he delighteth in mercy. He delights in mercy. In Luke, it is said about the
Lord's mercy. In Luke chapter 1 verse 49, for
he that is mighty hath done to me great things, and holy is
his name. And his mercy is on them that
fear him from generation to generation. Luke 150. In Romans, it speaks
of the Lord's mercy. Romans chapter 9 verse 15, for
he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I'll have mercy. I'll have compassion on whom
I'll have compassion. Ephesians it says about the Lord's
mercy but God who is rich in mercy rich you cannot exhaust
the mercy of God beloved you cannot exhaust it who's rich in mercy for his great
love wherewith he loved us That speaks of the people of God.
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with
Christ, by grace are you saved. In Timothy, it says this, of
God's mercy. 1 Timothy 1, verses 15 to 16. This is a faithful saying, and
worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners of whom I am chief. Paul writes that. He says,
I'm the chief of sinners. Well, every believer feels that
way, don't we? And then he says this, halibate for this cause,
I obtained mercy. I obtained it. It was given to
me. He didn't go out and earn it. It was given to him. He obtained
it as a gift. He obtained it as a gift that
in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering
for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life
everlasting. God, Elohim. Jehovah is called the Father
of Mercies. Just as we looked at there in
2 Corinthians 1, verse 3. And praise be to God he's merciful
to his people, eh? Praise be to God he doesn't give
us what we deserve. Oh, I'm thankful. I know you
are too. Oh my, he don't give us what
we deserve. He's merciful to his people,
to those the father gave in Christ, he's merciful to them. Today we'll look at seven quick
points, seven quick points on the mercy of God, the mercy of
God. First point is it's God's saving
mercy is powerful, all powerful and irresistible. Irresistible. Think of how powerful the mercy
of God is and the fact that it can soften the rebel's heart. It can soften the heart that
shakes its fist at him in our natural state. It can soften
that heart. It can deliver them from the
power of darkness and translate the unbeliever by the new birth,
by being born again by the Holy Spirit of God into the kingdom
of his dear son, in whom the saved sinner trusts,
the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom we have redemption through his
blood, through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. How
many sins? All our sins. Oh my. Because if there was one
left, that would be enough to cast us into hell, wouldn't it?
If there was one left unpaid, that'd be enough to damn us. But praise be to God, the Lord
Jesus Christ paid for the sins of all his people. So how powerful
then is our great God? How powerful is he? Marvel at
his power. Marvel at the wondrous mercy
of God. It can change a rebel into a
saint. It can change a rebel into a
saint. And it's not just a reformation. The believer's a whole new creature
in Christ. Oh, my. Mercy of God changed
Mary Magdalene's heart. Changed she who had seven devils. She was an inflexible, unyielding
sinner who was made a weeping pennant. The scripture declares in Luke
chapter 8 verses 1 and 2, and it came to pass afterward that
he went throughout every city and village preaching and showing
the glad tidings of the kingdom of God and the 12 were with him
and certain women which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities,
Mary Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils. The Lord by his
power took that rebel and made her a saint. And that's what he does for all
the children of God, all his people. The second point of God's mercy
I'd like us to consider is that God's mercy works sweetly, yet
irresistibly. In Jeremiah 31.3, this is brought
forth in the Old Testament. It says this, the Lord, that
being Jehovah, hath appeared of old unto me, saying, yea,
I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving
kindness have I drawn thee. And then turn, if you would,
to Luke chapter 1. And we will see here that this
truth is also brought forth in the New Testament. There's a
great truth tucked away here in Mary's praise to Jehovah. There's a great truth tucked
away in these words. Let's read the song of praise
of Mary in Luke 1, verses 46 to 56. Luke 1, 46 to 56. And Mary said, my soul doth magnify
the Lord. That's what God's people do.
We who are born again by the Holy Spirit of God, we magnify
the Lord, don't we, in praise and thanksgiving? Oh, we're so
thankful to him. My soul doth magnify the Lord,
and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. Who do you rejoice
in? The believer rejoices in God.
our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. For he hath regarded me, for
he hath regarded the lowest state of his hot handmaiden, for behold,
from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he
that is mighty, he's Elohim, remember, he's the mighty one,
hath done to me great things, and holy is his name. And his
mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
He has showed strength with his arm, He has scattered the proud
in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from
their seats and exalted them of low degree. He has filled
the hungry with good things and the rich he has sent empty away. Those who think that they're
rich in their self-righteousness, he sends them away empty. But God's people are full in
Christ, aren't we? Oh, we're full. We have so many
spiritual blessings in Christ, it's incredible. Now this, see
verse 54 here? He hath hopened his servant Israel
in remembrance of his mercy, as he spake to our fathers, to
Abraham, and to his seed forever. And Mary abode with her about
three months, and returned to her own house. See the word hopened
there in verse 54? He hath hope in his servant in
Israel, servant Israel in remembrance of his name. This word at first
glance, we may think it means hope at first glance. But it does not mean that in
the Greek. It means to take hold. It means to take hold. To hold,
to take hold of another mutually as by the hand. It's like little
Gavin with his grandma and grandpa. He just takes your hand, doesn't
he? And you put your hand out there
and take his hand. That's what this means. Figuratively,
to support from falling. See, God draws his people to
himself, and then he holdens us. He takes us by the hand,
Lord. He keeps us standing. He keeps
us standing. figuratively to support from
falling as by the hand to support and assist. He's ever with us. There's never a time when God's
not with his people. There's never a time when he's
not supporting us. And it's all according to his
mercy. It's all according to his mercy. And the Lord draws
us to him, doesn't he? He draws us to him with mercy
and grace, with loving kindness as we heard in Jeremiah. with
loving kindness, and then he holds us and supports us all
through our life. We who are his people. And even
before we are saved, he cares for his people. That's the one
that just absolutely takes me to another place. Because I know
how I was before the Lord saved me. And I know that was totally
mercy, just like it's mercy now. God is so merciful to his people. So merciful. You cannot plumb
the depths of the mercy of God. He hath hope in his servant,
Israel. That's his people. Oh, the law may terrify and it
does. What does the law do? It shows the sin or the desperate
need for Christ. It terrifies us. Not as a believer,
but when we were unbelievers, it terrified us, didn't it? Soul that sinneth, it must die.
And that speaks of everlasting torment. It terrifies the sinner being
drawn to Christ. And the people of God, it shows
us our sinfulness. But oh, then comes the mercy.
The mercy, mercy, mercy of God. from the God of all comfort and
the Father of mercies. And this is why the cry goes
out, flee to Christ. Flee to Christ. He's the only
hope for sinners. There is no other hope for sinners but Christ
Jesus. No other hope. The third point is God's mercy
is that God's mercy is superabundant mercy. Now think of this too,
if the Son hath made you free, then you're free indeed, aren't
you? That's what the scripture declares. God's mercy is superabundant
mercy. The Lord has treasures of mercy
in store and therefore is said to be plenteous in mercy, Psalm
86 5. And the scriptures declare in Ephesians 2 4 that God is
rich in mercy. You cannot exhaust his mercy. Imagine all the gold and all
the silver in this world, all the precious items from this
world, and it does not even give a speck to how rich God is in
mercy. Doesn't even come close to how
rich God is in mercy. The vial of God's wrath only
drops, but the fountain of his mercy runs fast like a roaring
river to his people in Christ. And here's a contrast for us
to think of. Here's a contrast for us to think of. The sun.
The sun is not so full of light as God is of mercy. That sun's
bright, isn't it? We can't even look at it. We can't even look at it. We
look at it and we turn away, we've got spots in our eyes.
But that light, that light that that star gives off does not
even compare to the mercy of God. Does not even come close
to the mercy of God. Because God's mercy is superabounding
mercy, superabounding mercy. His mercy is overflowing and
ever flowing to his people. His mercy is infinite. It's infinite. It's without bounds. It's without
an end. It's without an end. That's why
the scriptures declare his mercies endure forever. Forever. One commentator put it this way,
and I like this. Think upon this. Every time we
draw our breath, we breathe our breath because of the mercy of
God. Saved and lost. Every time we breathe a breath,
we breathe a breath because of the mercy of God. And God supplies us with everything,
doesn't he? The fourth point of God's mercy is that God's
mercy is, has made God's people monuments
of his grace. Do you know that if you're a
child of God that you're a monument to the mercy of God? We don't
feel that way, do we? No, because we know our sinfulness.
But every believer in Christ is a monument to the mercy of
God. And what great mercy God is showing
his born-again, blood-washed people in Christ. And we should think upon this
every day we're alive. the mercy of God and how merciful
he's been to us. He could take our breath away
just like that, couldn't he? He could. And he shows his people
mercy by daily supplying us with our needs. We don't have what
we want because if we did, we'd ruin ourselves. But we always
have what we need. We always have what we need.
He supplies us with health. And when we're in good health,
for we humans, when we're in good health, life seems sweeter.
But I'll tell you what, sometimes the sweetest times that I've
had with the Lord is going through afflictions and trials and temptations.
Is it so for you? It is, isn't it? That's the times
when we just draw close to our king, isn't it? We just draw
close to him. And he always provides for those
who are living monuments of his grace. Listen to the words of Joseph
in Genesis. Turn there if you would. Genesis chapter 48. We've been going through that
study in the life of Joseph before the pandemic hit. And it's been
so wonderful. But look at this in Genesis 48.
And all of us could put our names in here. We could put our names
in here. We could say the same thing that is said here by Israel. Genesis 48 verses 14 to 16. And
Israel stressed out his right hand and laid it upon Ephraim's
head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's
head, guiding his hands willingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn.
And he blessed Joseph and said, God, which is Elohim, before
whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk. Look at this. The God
which fed me all my life long until this day. The angel which redeemed me. That's Christ. That's Christ. That angel there is Christ. the
angel of the covenant, which redeemed me. He purchased us
with his precious blood from all evil. Bless the lads and
let thy name be named on them in the name of my fathers, Abraham
and Isaac, and let them grow into a multitude in the midst
of the earth." Now look at that. For the people of God, mercy
spreads out a table. Mercy spreads out a table and
carves, one commentator said, mercy spreads out, spreads our
tables and carves for us every bit of bread we eat. And we never
drink anything other than the golden cup of God's mercy. That's for those who are in Christ.
That's for his people. But look at that, look at that
little bit right there. The God which fed me all my life long
until this day. God takes care of us from conception
all the way to the moment we die and we're in the presence
with him and then we're forever with him. What comfort. What comfort we
see here. The fifth point of God's mercy
I'd like us to consider is that God's mercy is restraining mercy.
It's restraining mercy. Oh my. God restrains us from
seeing. He restrains us from sin. Turn,
if you would, to 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. God's
restraining mercy. He restrains us. Lusts within
are worse than lions without, one commentator said. Lusts within
are worse than lions without. The greatest sign of God's anger
is to give men and women up to their own sins. And the scripture
declares this. So I gave them up unto their
own hearts, unto their own hearts' lust, and they walked in their
own counsels." God just give them up. Praise God he didn't do that
to we who are his people, eh? Yeah. Because remember, we're
no different than anybody else except for the grace and mercy
of God. It's he who has made us to differ. And we need sometimes,
sometimes we get full of pride. We think something of ourselves.
And what God did, he just bring us back down. He just brings
us back down. He abases us when we're like
that. Oh, my. Do you remember in Genesis, Amalek
in a dream, he was going to take Abraham's wife, Sarah. But in
a dream, Amalek had a dream, and the Lord said to him, I also
withheld thee from sinning against me. So that shows in Genesis
chapter 20 verse 6, that shows God's restraining hand. He restrains
us. Look at this in 2 Corinthians
chapter 5 verses 14 and 15. For the love of Christ, what? Constrains us. It restrains us. It constrains us from sin. Because
we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead. And that he died for all, that
they which live shall not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto
him which died for them and rose again. And the all there is God's
people. He died for all his elect. He
died for all his people. And he constrains us and restrains
us. And it's the love of Christ that
constrains us from sin. What that means is when we think
of the love of Christ, we don't want to go out and do the things
that our flesh wants to do. Because every believer has a
battle, a civil war going on. Every single believer. Between
the flesh and the spirit. And it's the love of Christ that
constrains us. Why? Well, the ungodly sin themselves
to hell. God has laid the bridle of restraining
grace. Well, it's like we're bridled,
beloved, and it's not a bad thing. I don't mind being bridled, do
you? Praise God he's bridled us. Praise God he has. He's bridled
us with restraining grace upon this people. He's withheld us
from those sins which might have made us pray to Satan or even
a whore to ourselves, a terror to ourselves. So you never forget
what's in us. Never forget that. We're but
saved sinners, saved by the grace of God. The sixth point of God's
mercy I'd like us to consider is that God's mercy is guiding
and directing mercy. Turn, if you would, to Psalm
37, 23. God's mercy is guiding and directing mercy. God shows
mercy in guiding and directing us, his people. And it's Elohim
who does this. The scriptures plainly declare
this. Look at Psalm 37, 23. The steps
of a good man are ordered by the Lord, are ordered by Jehovah. The steps of a good man, that's
good man or woman, the steps of a good man are ordered by
Jehovah. And he delighteth in his way. Our steps are ordered by the
Lord. We are going to look at Wednesday
night, we're going to look at Wednesday night that our afflictions
that believers go through are appointed of God. In preparing for that study,
it's helped me so much in afflictions and different things you go through
because you realize that God has appointed those to occur.
And we know if we compare scripture to scripture, right, that all
things work for good for those who love Christ, for those who
are called according to his purpose. So it'll put a whole different
view on trials and tribulations and afflictions that way. It's
very comforting. It's very comforting. So look
at this, and this verse ties right in with that, doesn't it?
The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, by Jehovah, and
he delighteth in his way. God's people delight in the gospel,
don't they? God's people delight in the way,
who is Christ. We delight in him. We delight
to gather together. We delight to hear the word preached.
We delight in those things. We delight in our great God.
If we don't, there's something wrong. Seriously. Because we delight in these things.
We delight in these things. It's wondrous. God directs the
steps of his people. As one commentator brings forth,
he guides our affairs. He chalks out our way. I love
that. I used to be a sign painter, and we used to chalk the lines
where we'd put the bottom of the lettering. We'd chalk it
on the side of a trailer. And you don't go past that chalk
line. He's chalked out our way, beloved. That's incredible. He's chalked out a way, the way
that he would have us to walk. Now isn't that comforting to
know that the one who's done that is Elohim, the mighty one? That's comforting. And God leads
his people with his blessed word under the guidance of the Holy
Spirit of God. And the scriptures declare, thou shalt guide me
with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. He guides
his people, he guides our heart, He guides our heads. He keeps
us from error. He guides our feet to keep us
from sin and scandal. And what mercy it is to have
God be our guide. What mercy it is to have God
be our guide. To have God direct our path. And he corrects his
people by the preaching of the word. He corrects his people
by the preaching of the word. And he does this in love and
with mercy and grace. The last point I'd like us to
consider is that God shows mercy in saving
us. He shows mercy in saving his
people. Turn, if you would, to Titus chapter 3. Titus chapter
3. And we will see here a topstone
of the mercy of God brought forth in Titus chapter 3, verses 4
to 7. A topstone of God's mercy. Titus chapter 3 is so clearly
brought forth here. God's mercy in saving us. Titus
chapter 3 verses 4 to 7. But after that the kindness and
love of God our savior toward men appeared. That being Christ. Look at this. Not by works of
righteousness which we have done. But here's the top stone right
here. Here's the top stone of the mercy of God. But according
to his mercy, he saved us. He saved us. By the washing of
regeneration, born again by the Holy Spirit of God, in the renewing
of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus
Christ our Savior, always through Christ and only through Christ,
that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according
to the hope eternal life look at that according to his mercy
he saved us in Titus 3 verse 5 this is a top stone beloved
of mercy of God that he would save his people according to
his mercy oh my that Christ would go to
the cross now think of this that Christ would go to the cross
constrained by his own mercy to die for his people. He must. Constrained by his own mercy
and grace to go to the cross to die for his people. To bleed
and die in the sinner's place. To purchase his people with his
eternal blood. Purchase our eternal souls. We
who are the redeemed people of God. So that we would be in his
presence forever. Remember what I said earlier,
if God didn't show mercy, if God would show mercy to those
who deserve mercy, no one would be saved, no one. But Christ constrained by his
own mercy and grace goes to the cross and redeems a people undeserving
of his mercy, undeserving of his grace in our natural state
enmity with God. Oh, what wondrous love is this? Oh, my soul. Oh, my soul. All according to God's mercy,
he saved us. Saving mercy is God's crowning
mercy. It's God's crowning mercy. It's
not merely to be freed from hell, but it's to be with the Lord
forever. all according to his mercy and grace. So what rich
mercy we see manifested in the fact that one
day the people of God shall see our savior face to face. That's
mercy too, isn't it? He saves us according to his
mercy, he keeps us according to his mercy, and one day we'll
be in his presence according to his mercy. Makes you want to shout, doesn't
it? It's wonderful. It's wonderful. Mercy overflows
in God. Mercy more overflows in God than
sin in us. And think of how sinful we are.
From the top of our head to the bottom of our feet, right? But
the mercy of God overflows more than our sin. His mercy can drown great sins,
great sins. And he breaks the power of sin.
Just as the sea covers great rocks, you've been to the sea.
If you go to the west coast out in Oregon and you'll see these
huge rocks. And the water comes in and just
covers them for a moment. And then you see them come back
again. But nice thing with us, it's God's people. That mercy
of God covers our sin. Just like the water covers those
rocks and it don't come back. It's gone. God has forgiven us. We who are his people. Oh, it's
wonderful. So one may ask, how may I know
that my sins are pardoned? Well, when God removes the guilt
of sin, he breaks the power of sin, doesn't he? Scripture declares,
he will turn again. He will have compassion upon
us. He will subdue our iniquities. And that will cast all their
sins into the depths of the sea. Brother John was on the ocean
in a ship. John, if you dropped something in the ocean, you'd
never find it again. Never find it again. God will remember the
sins of his people no more. Gone. Washed clean in the precious
blood of Christ. So what pardoning love we see
here. God gives subduing grace and the saving mercy of God only
comes to us in and through Christ Jesus. Outside of Christ there
is no saving mercy. We read in the Old Testament
that none might come into the Holy of Holies where the mercy
seat stood except the high priest. Only the high priest could go
into the Holy of Holies. And this brings forth in picture
that we have nothing to do with the mercy that we receive. See,
that picture is that we have nothing to do with the mercy
we receive. It only comes through Christ, our high priest. Only
through him. And that high priest might Might
not come near the mercy seat without blood. He couldn't, the
high priest couldn't go near that mercy seat without blood. And that shows that we have no
right to the mercy of God. We have no right to the mercy
of God, but through the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary and through
his precious, precious blood. And that blood was shed for the
remission of the sins of his people. Romans chapter 2 verse 4 says
this, oh, despises thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance
and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God, the
goodness of God, leadeth thee to repentance. The goodness of
God. Today we've looked at the mercy
and goodness of God, haven't we? Oh, I pray that if you do
not know him, oh, that the Lord would show you your desperate,
desperate state. And that if it be his will, he'd
save you, regenerate you. Heavenly Father, we thank thee
for once again allowing us to be together. Oh, Lord, it was
so long. But you knew, you knew our hearts
and you knew how we longed to be together, Lord. And I pray
that you would keep this message in our minds this week. We who
are your people, that we would remember your mercy. that we
would remember your grace, which has been freely bestowed upon
we who are your people, undeserving, unmerited, unasked for. And yet
what great mercy you've had on your people. Praise your mighty
name, Lord. May you be glorified and magnified
as this message goes forth, in Jesus' name, amen.