The Christian Life

The Christian Life

                                     

Christianity is a brand new way of life, not by your own means, but by the grace of God. To truly trust in Jesus as not only your Savior, but allowing Him to also be the Lord of your life and all that you possess.

To truly receive all that God has for you, the Word must be inscribed in your heart. The way others see you is important to your testimony of Jesus in your life. As you read the Word of God, there should be a continual growth in your spiritual life. The Holy Spirit should be ever so present, that it will show when you speak of new life He has given you.

The fruits of the Spirit are what Christians should always be striving to achieve. Where there is love, peace, joy, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, & temperance, there will always be God. Without God there is only self, which can never please God. You can only serve one master, whom shall it be??? The choice is yours, and only yours.

To many the Christian life seems hard to follow, just the opposite is true when you surrender your life in complete trust and faith in Jesus Christ. Peace that surpasses all human understanding is found through God. Diligently seek and you shall find, much more than you can ever imagine. The love God has for his children are magnified many times over the love we as humans can comprehend.

Just as one man, Adam, caused all mankind to fall, one man, Jesus, restores all mankind to the Father. The world was created for our enjoyment, providing we obey our Father in heaven. There is no work or labor we alone can provide to restore fellowship with God, only the shed blood of Jesus. However it is up to us to keep that relationship alive by reading the Word of God every day. As we grow spiritually a peace will come upon us as never before. That peace will sustain us in our daily walk with our Lord. Learning to trust God with all we have, is a constant battle that is truly rewarding. The enemy, Satan, will do his best to deceive anyone who is seeking God, but press on, because Jesus already defeated him!

When we begin to live by the Spirit of God, many troubles will surround us, but none too big to handle with Jesus. Many times the Lord will allow these problems just to show us that we cannot handle them alone. As we lean on Jesus more and more we eventually will be strong enough in the Lord to share with others what we have received from Jesus. That is what it is all about, "The Great Commission".

Eternity is a long time, much longer than we can even begin to imagine. Life now as we know it, is but a brief moment, when you see it with your spiritual eyes. To worry about such things that concern this world are not for the true child of God. At times we will get wrapped up in the concerns of this world, because we live in it, but remember we are now also, spiritual beings created in the image of God.

As you experience the wonders of God changing your life as you allow Him, it is the greatest feeling of accomplishment you can have. The key here is as "YOU ALLOW HIM", God will not do anything in your life if you are not willing. Once you yield to His great power, watch out!! No one can take it away from you, except you yourself. You can be your own worst enemy. Once you ask Jesus in your life, not even Satan can take that away.

Always praise God for all things or circumstances in your life, whether they are bad or good. Giving God the glory in all things, will make a difference in your attitude. Praise is very important in the Christian life. It serves as a daily reminder of who our creator is, and all the wonders of the world, we so often take for granted. When we praise the Father we are acknowledging his greatness in our lives. This form of worship, I'm sure must make Him happy. Lifting your hands towards heaven and shouting a song unto the Lord, is the greatest thanksgiving of all. Not only do we make the Father happy, but the blessings bestowed upon us are wonderful!

There are many false Christians among us, so we must be on guard. Not all you hear, no matter how "good" it may sound, is truth. Sometimes, well meaning people can lead you astray. If what you’re being told does not line up with the Word of God, please avoid it. There is one way to the Father, and that is Jesus. If you search for Him, and listen when He speaks to your heart, you can be sure you’re on your way to a new transformed Christian life.

Too many get caught up in false religions that sound ever so promising, but are of the devil. This may sound harsh, but as revivals are occurring more and more throughout the world, Satan has to use some plan of attack on those who have not yet received this great gift of salvation. As people search for the truth in various ways, they can be so vulnerable to Satan. He is the father of lies. So it is very vital that you know the truth, for the truth will set you free. All you need to learn is just one book, and ask Jesus to open your spiritual eyes for a greater understanding, and dig in to the Word.

Hunger for God, never stop seeking Him. As the truth unfolds in you life, you will notice changes for the better continually happening. These are the awesome life changing powers of God at work in your life. No matter who you are, what you have done, Jesus can and will make a new person out of you. This new life will transform you from the inside, to the outside. Soon others will notice a change in you, then it is your moment to share the great news of Jesus ever healing powers.

This new life is exactly that, new. Actually, when you surrender your life to Jesus, you are being reborn. Being born again is similar in many ways to just the birthing experience. You start out as a baby in Christ, and mature in the ways of God your Father, just as you would grow and mature with your earthly parents. However, some mature faster than others, but that is no reason to think you’re not as close to God as someone else.

Only you know how your relationship is with Jesus. No one else can know your heart, but God the father. As long as you stay in fellowship with Jesus, through His Word as often as possible, you will receive the spiritual blessings you need. Little by little the Lord will open your eyes to new and glorious wonders of His great power, that is now working in your life. Whenever you feel His presence, you know you are maturing. The awesome feeling of being right there next to Him, no matter what you are going through is the most loving feeling. At times, when you are not feeling your best, or happiest and God feels so far away, that is when you can truly experience maturing in the Spirit. If you can keep your joy in the Lord even when you’re not feeling his presence, is living by faith.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for but not seen. To live by faith is what a Christian’s life is all about. Every situation in your life is not going to be an easy one, sometimes you will feel so overwhelmed, but you are never alone. Think about that, Jesus says He will never leave you nor forsake you. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. When you’re feeling down, why not lift your hands and eyes to Jesus and just rely on His care for you.

God our Father cares tremendously about all His children, He will never give you anything to hard to handle. Just when you think all is gone wrong and everything is in turmoil, the Lord will miraculously turn it around. All things work together for the good to those who trust in the Lord. He will never fail us. Let the Lord take control of your life, and watch the wonderful joy surround you.

Worldly possessions, shall no longer be a desire, for the Christian. Money, power, fame or such things of the world will no longer matter. True Christianity will seek for knowledge and wisdom of the Word of God. It is truly amazing, how your values will change as you grow spiritually. The things that may have made you happy, or at least you thought made you happy, no longer will. Happiness comes from within, nothing you can gain here on earth has much worth, when you consider that nothing goes with you when you pass on to eternity.

Eternity is for all, whether it is in heaven or in hell, all humans going somewhere beyond this earth. To know that through Jesus, we can spend eternity with our creator, it is the best treasure we can obtain. There are only two things that are eternal, us and the Word of God, which is God. Everything else will someday be destroyed. Grasp what is eternal, all that comes from the Father. We can only begin to understand the depth of the goodness God has in store for us. Read, read, and read more of the promises for God's children in His Word.

Pray continually, pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ, pray for the unsaved. Pray for the knowledge to know how to pray, always commune with God through Jesus. Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened for you. These are all promises from God's Word, and God does not lie! Search the Word for all the blessings given to you.

First you must repent, be truly sorry for your sins. When you take that first step, the Holy Spirit will lead you the rest of the way, if you continually seek. All of us have sinned and fell short of the glory of God. If we could restore our relationship with God by being good, there would be no reason for Jesus to have died on the cross for us. When you really desire to know the Lord, you will find Him. Trust in Him for all things, and let Him lead you in all you do.

Christian living is the way of life God intended for us to live. By putting your life in God's hands, you are living by faith. No matter what the circumstances, know that God is there. He really cares about you, no matter what you have done in the past. Old has passed away and all has become new, you are a new creature in Christ. Living a Christian life now, with the help of Jesus, and your sins forgiven, should not be difficult. Whenever you feel the pressure of the past returning in your life to condemn you, remember, the blood of Jesus washed you white as snow!!

Sometimes it can be difficult to live up to the standards you think God expects. That is just the enemy deceiving you again. Remember, through Jesus you defeated him. He who is in you, is greater than he who is in the world. You must learn to avoid the things of the world, as they can cause you to stumble. However, if they do, lift your hands to Jesus and allow Him to lift you back up. God is love and He desires you to stay in fellowship with Him.

The worst thing you can do when you are feeling guilty about something in your life, is to stray away from God. That is the time you need His help the most. No matter how you feel at times, force yourself to pray if that's what it takes. Soon you'll be feeling the joy of the Lord again. The joy of the Lord is your strength.

Knowing God can and will take care of you, is one foundation of a Christian life. When you realize, that no problem is to big for God, is when you can start to really appreciate some of the many blessings. Trying to handle things your own way only interfere with the work God is trying to do in your life. Once you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, there is a plan already worked out for you. Faith plays a big part in this area of your walk with God. Just let go and let God, because He cares for you.

Life can be pretty scary without a plan, but don't deceive yourself with your own plan for your life, it will never work. Always remember, God knew you from the beginning of time, He will not fail you. You are now a child of God, a brother of Jesus; you can claim all the promises. Find them in God's word. The power a child of God has is more than the human mind can comprehend. Once you allow God to be in complete control of your situations, He can use you in many ways to glorify His holy name.

Praise be always to God the Father. When things look or seem too hard to handle alone, they most likely are. That's when the gifts of the Holy Spirit can be manifested in the true believer. Search for them in the Bible, and find your calling. All have a purpose and meaning in the Christian life. The Lord will reveal to certain individuals different characteristics of the Father in each of us. God has more for us than just the forgiveness of sins, which would be enough in itself, but God has much more. To diligently seek and hunger for what the Lord has to offer, is how will obtain all he has for you.

As you read the Word, your spiritual self should arise and feel the presence of Angels around you. God sends Angels to watch over all of His children, and you should be aware of them. When you are living according to God's Word you are under the spiritual protection of the almighty God. When you are disobedient, all angels are released from watching over you. The Angels are holy and good and righteous as we should be, being children of God. Angels cannot dwell around unrighteousness, they flee all that is not proper in God's sight. To keep your hedge of protection, you study the Word of God to always know the way to live.

The Lord is good; however He is also Holy, and demands His children also be holy. Righteousness and unrighteousness cannot dwell together in the same body. The Lord will punish His disobedient children, just as you would your own child whom you love very much. God wants only the best for and from us. Once we have acknowledged Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we must obey. The true child of God will have the ability to know right from wrong in the Christian life. When something does not line up with the Word of God, the Holy Spirit will give you an uneasy feeling about it. The Lord will never lead you in a area that does not edify His name.

Our earthly bodies, the shell that our spiritual self lives, will always be tempted. As scripture tells us, we are no longer slaves to sin, but to God our father. We can never overcome evil alone, we need Jesus in our lives. With the power of the Holy Spirit, we can overcome all temptations. Our own reasoning, however knowledgeable we are in a worldly sense cannot even compare to the Spiritual knowledge that comes from above. If we constantly keep our eyes on Jesus, we cannot fall. You cannot have your eyes on Jesus and worldly things at the same time. You see, you cannot go wrong if you are truly following the ways of the Lord.

God's promises are true and will not be broken, God does not lie. Only our promises we make to God can be broken. We in our fleshly lives can and will lie to others, and even to ourselves. With the Holy Spirit dwelling in us we are one with God, therefore, we cannot lie. Living the Christian life has but one ultimate rule, strive to be like Jesus. You can learn how Jesus lived through the Word of God.

Jesus is God, put into a human, corrupt, dying body, to show us how we can overcome the evil forces of this corrupt world we must live in. Jesus also lived here, but He did not conform to the ways of the world, just as we should not, He provided a way out for us. We are first born of this world, however as soon as we are of the age of reasoning, and know the Word of God, we have a opportunity to be born again. Not of the world, but a new creature in Christ. Now we must put away all that is old and grow in the ways of the Lord. This is the reason the gospel of Jesus Christ must be taught to everyone in this world. All need to know they do not have to lose hope. There is a hope, for a glorious eternity, with our Father in heaven.

The Word of God needs to be preached to all the nations. Until all hear and have the opportunity to choose, judgment cannot begin. Many will hear, yet refuse, they will not see the kingdom of God. Some will hear and choose life, yet eventually turn away from the truth; they too, will not see the kingdom of God. Jesus warned the apostles that only those who keep the faith until the end, will be saved. Search the scriptures, and ask God for understanding, you too will find out what He is teaching us, His children.

The Word tells us time and time again, that not all will understand the ways of God's children. Those of the world have spiritual blindness, but the child of God has his eyes wide open to the words of God. Refusing to repent of our sins can cause spiritual blindness, as can remaining in sin knowingly. God's desire is for all to have their eyes open to His way of life. However, not all will come to the Lord; the Word tells us that we as children of God have been predestined. As you know the Lord created the earth and all in it, so my belief is that since the beginning of time, God already knew who would choose His Son and whom would not. So this explains being predestined, or being one of the chosen few. All are called, but not all will come.

God knew Adam would fall, so He already had a plan of redemption through His Son Jesus. Following the scriptures will show you God's plan unfolding throughout the ages. Every promise God has made has been kept, every word He has given through His prophets has proven to be true. Nothing God has said or done has failed us. We must learn the way to live to please our Father, in order to share in all the great blessings He has for us. The rewards are tremendous, and the joy unfailing. To live the Christian life is to live life to the fullest, regardless of circumstances.

To live a Christian life requires a consistent way of living. You cannot talk one way and yet live differently. There are too many people watching us closely to see if we really are different from the world as we say. You must always be on guard, keeping self-control in all you do and say. Your speech should be gentle and never harsh, or with abusive language. The tongue of a Christian should be controlled, as should the mind. Never let anger take control of you, especially around the unsaved whom you are to be an example. Those who are hungry for the Lord, may be observing you, and how you live your life, before they pursue any further. To some people, we as Christians, are the closest thing to God they know. We shall then, be a perfect example of a what a Holy life is all about. Always be kind to those around you, and offer help to any who need it. Shine the light of Jesus, wherever you go.

The mind of a Christian must be renewed. Things that were important to us before our salvation, should not be of concern to our spiritual nature. We must concentrate on furthering the kingdom of God. All worldly desires are temporary; they have no substance, as does eternal desires. The ability to discern between the two, is by the Holy Spirit. Whatever is lovely and good belongs to eternity. Helping others, testifying the Gospel, and ministering to the needs of less fortunate then ourselves is doing the work of God.

The blessing's of wages from a day's work, is not for our needs, God has promised to supply all our needs, we are to give to the growing of the kingdom. Those who follow the ways of the Lord, will never be in need of anything, only the "want" of things. The only thing we should want for is, to be like Jesus, and to know the mind of God. Always strive to be the best in all you do, so you can show Jesus living in you. When people see you are above those in the world, they will certainly look to you for advice, and there is a perfect opening for the Word of God. When you can remain calm in all situations, and rely totally on the Lord, others will take notice. You are a child of God. Praise Him always and for everything. Give God the glory, and you will see showers of blessings heading your way.

Converse with God daily, about all you need to talk about and know that He not only listens, but truly cares. Our Father will see to it that all you need in life will be granted, even when it seems impossible. He is always working miracles. Only allow Him to flow through you by being obedient to His Word.

Be different, be all God wants you to be. Don't allow anything or anyone to stand between you and God. The glory to come will not even compare to these little trials here on earth. Sometimes that can be hard to remember, especially when your in the midst of a trial, but have courage, the Lord reigns. As a child of God you hold fast to the promises, God does not lie.

Allow the Holy Spirit to move in your life, respond to the tugging at your heart. Once your eyes are opened to the marvels of God, you will hunger for more. As you hunger for the Lord, He will reveal things to you that will strengthen you in your Christian life. The contentment in your life shall be far greater than any earthly reward you can imagine. No longer will circumstances rule your moods, the Holy Spirit will be in charge.

As the Holy Spirit takes control of your life, your whole being will be stirred by the reading of the Word. The power in God's Word can change moment by moment. At times, you will feel overwhelmed by the pressure of giving, other times you will just be enlightened by the very presence of God in your life. The more you give the more you will receive, as long as you are giving out of love. God loves a cheerful giver. Many times Jesus has told His disciples the importance of selling their possessions and giving to the poor.

Earthly treasures have no value in eternity, but blessing others with the abundance you have been given, has a multitude of value. Give and it shall be given unto you. none should go without if any have more then enough, it is not the way of the true Christian lifestyle. If you acquire excess of anything, that is of no spiritual value, of what good does it do in the kingdom? Our goals as children of God should first and foremost be in furthering the kingdom of God.

For what does it profit our soul if we gain the whole world? The love of Jesus in our everyday life is of utmost importance. To love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and to love your neighbor as yourself is the law of Jesus. You cannot say you love a brother or a sister and still let them go in need of anything. Jesus poured out His miracles that God His father had given to Him. As children of God, we also have the power to perform miracles, just as Jesus did, however we also must possess the love Jesus had for others. This can be obtained only through faith, in God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Living the Christian life as we should, we can truly make a difference in this world.

Read the Scriptures, find out where God wants to take you, sell your abundance of possessions and follow. The adventure will be exciting, and the rewards great!

CHAPTER TWO

The grace of God is sufficient enough for all mankind. We as sinners can be redeemed by the grace of God, through His son Jesus Christ. The birth, death and resurrection of Christ was foretold many times in the old testament. This was God's plan for saving his creation.

When we are born again, we are no longer struggling with hereditary traits of our former life. You see, because God is holy, we are holy also. If we have been in bondage to any particular sin, that our parents, siblings,etc. have been lugging around for many generations, with Christ we can break that bondage. The only genetic traits we acquire when we are born again, are those of out Father God, and brother, Jesus.

God's plan cannot fail, He gave us a free will to choose to serve Him or ourselves. As if we don't already know by now, serving ourselves has only brought uncontentment, strife, unhappiness, and sometimes even physical illness. Serving God requires a willing heart, and servant hood to all brothers and sisters in Christ. Also, a strong desire to rid yourself of anything that would stifle your spiritual growth. God knows your heart, so you cannot fool Him, you only fool yourself out of a multitude of blessings.

Stay strong in the Word, never giving Satan a foothold. For once he gets a foothold he can pull you all the way in. Be careful in all you do and say, always speaking kind, good and truthful words. This sort of conversation can keep you out of danger. The words you speak, can be very powerful. Watch your tongue so not to cause any unnecessary trouble. If when you speak, you give thought of first, what you say, you can avoid turmoil. The words of a Christian should always be loving, kind, and supportive.

The Lord our God is so awesome, when you learn to trust fully in Him for all your life. No matter what the situation He can turn it around for the good when you let Him. The Christian life is a life worth living. All past failures, now are long forgotten. The present time in which we are in is enough to sustain us in living a full life.

The Word of God is allowing the Lord to speak to you. This is really the only way to learn to truly live a Christian life. Always praying for Godly wisdom in everything you do. The knowledge of God is supreme knowledge, it does not even compare with the intellect of this world.

To have the mind of God is within reach, you must first realize that being born again means having the holy Spirit of God living in you. If you comprehend this you can know the mind of God. What an awesome thought, to think like God thinks.

As you study the Word of God, and grow spiritually, you will go to higher levels of Christianity, and just desire to be closer to Jesus every day. Just to feel His presence in all you do, is wonderful. He is the God that is more than enough. The Lord cares for our every need and want, and fulfills them when you allow Him to do it His way, and not yours.

Praise the Lord. The Lord inhabits praises. Remember, those chains that used to bind you, serve only to remind you, to praise the Lord!!! To live a Christian life can be difficult at times. Stubbornness may not be a sin, but can surely open the door to it. There are times when we can get our feelings hurt, and even get angry at someone we love. This is the time to meditate on God's word, even though our emotions are controlling us. Pray and praise, meditate , sing, anything that will keep your mind off of the circumstance. Reading a book written by another Spirit-filled Christian, can sometimes uplift your mood more so then reading the Word at times. Now don't get me wrong, there is no better way to be close to the Lord then in His Word, but, sometimes in a grieving frame of mind a good book is like a testimony to our soul, and therefore will enable us to be more attuned to the very presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Then, in fact we are able now to go to His Word and have a deeper understanding.

When in His Word, we learn to totally rely on the Holy Spirit to take control of the situations in our life that are beyond our control. Not just very important matters in a worldly sense, but the daily struggles of real life problems. To not feel the joy of the Lord is a real depressing feeling, what you need to do is, tell God that you alone cannot deal with this problem and if you were to try it alone, you know it would only make matters worse. Surrender all to the loving Father, don't hold on to any of it. You will be amazed at the wonders the Lord can perform in your life. Give it all to Jesus, and he will restore whatever is lost or broken in your life. Then, give God all the glory.

You can then be on your way to a life changing love!

See you at the top!

Pastor Mike

NB: i will appreciate your comments, it helps us to know how blessed you are.

SOMETHING FOR THE WEEKEND - ON A LIGHTER MOOD

Actual Announcements from Church Bulletins (very funny!!!!)

• Coming Up—Theological Open House. We discuss thought-provoking topics. Your opinions are hardly welcome.
• All singles are invited to join us Friday at 7 p.m. for the annula Christmas Sing-alone."
• Thursday night – potluck supper. Prayer and medication to follow.
• Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and the community.
• For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
• The rosebud on the altar this morning is to announce the birth of David Alan Belzer, the sin of Rev. and Mrs. Julius Belzer.
• This afternoon there will be a meeting in the south and north ends of the church. Children will be baptized at both ends.
• Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. there will be an ice cream social. All ladies giving milk will please come early.
• Wednesday, the Ladies Liturgy Society will meet. Mrs. Jones will sing "Put Me In My Little Bed" accompanied by the pastor.
• Thursday at 5:00 p.m. there will be a meeting of the Little Mothers Club. All wishing to become little mothers, please see the minister in his study.
• This being Easter Sunday, we will ask Mrs. Lewis to come forward and lay an egg on the altar.
• The service will close with "Little Drops Of Water." One of the ladies will start quietly, and the rest of the congregation will join in.
• Next Sunday, a special collection will be taken to defray the cost of the new carpet. All those wishing to do something on the new carpet will come forward and get a piece of paper.
• The ladies of the church have cast off clothing of every kind and they may be seen in the church basement Friday.
• A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.
• At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What Is Hell?" – come early and listen to our choir practice.
• Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.
• Miss Charlene Mason sang, "I will not pass this way again," giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
• "Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands."
• The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water." The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus."
• Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.
• Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack's sermons.
• The Rector will preach his farewell message after which the choir will sing "Break Forth into Joy."
• Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
• Eight new choir robes are currently needed, due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
• Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles, and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
• Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person(s) you want remembered.
• The church will host an evening of fine dining, superb entertainment, and gracious hostility.
• The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday morning.
• Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday. Please use the back door.
• The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7:00 p.m. The Congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.
• Weight Watchers will meet at 7:00 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.
• The outreach committee has enlisted 25 visitors to make calls on people who are not afflicted with any church.
• The Rev. Merriwether spoke briefly, much to the delight of the audience.
• Next Sunday Mrs. Vinson will be soloist for the morning service. The pastor will then speak on "It's a Terrible Experience."
• The music for today's service was all composed by George Friedrich Handel in celebration of the 300th anniversary of his birth.
• Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community.
• The concert held in Fellowship Hall was a great success. Special thanks are due to the minister's daughter, who labored the whole evening at the piano, which as usual fell upon her.
• Today's Sermon: HOW MUCH CAN A MAN DRINK? with hymns from a full choir.
• Pastor is on vacation. Massages can be given to church secretary.
• Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa, will be speaking tonight at Calvary Methodist. Come hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa.
• Attend and you will hear an excellent speaker and heave a healthy lunch.
• This evening at 7 pm there will be a hymn sing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.
• Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B.S. is done.
• The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday "I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours.


WHO IS SATAN?


A few minutes before the services started, the townspeople were sitting in their pews and talking. Suddenly, Satan appeared at the front of the church. Everyone started screaming and running for the front entrance, trampling each other in a frantic effort to get away from evil incarnate.
Soon everyone had exited the church except for one elderly gentleman who sat calmly in his pew without moving, seeming oblivious to the fact that God's ultimate enemy was in his presence. So Satan walked up to the old man and said, "Don't you know who I am?"
The man replied, "Yep, sure do."
"Aren't you afraid of me?" Satan asked.
"Nope, sure ain't," said the man.
"Don't you realize I can kill you with a word?" asked Satan.
"Don't doubt it for a minute," returned the old man, in an even tone.
"Did you know that I could cause you profound, horrifying, physical AGONY... for all eternity?" persisted Satan.
"Yep," was the calm reply.
"And you're still not afraid?" asked Satan.
"Nope."
More than a little perturbed, Satan asked, "Well, why aren't you afraid of me?"
The man calmly replied, "Been married to your sister for the last 48 years."

ABOUT JONAH?

Atheist: "Do you honestly believe that Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish?"
Preacher: "I don't know, sir, but when I get to heaven, I'll ask him."
Atheist: "But suppose he isn't in heaven?"
Preacher: "Then you ask him."



THE VISIT!
A new pastor was visiting in the homes of his parishioners. At one house it seemed obvious that someone was at home, but no answer came to his repeated knocks at the door.
Therefore, he took out a business card and wrote 'Revelation 3:20' on the back of it and stuck it in the door.
When the offering was processed the following Sunday, he found that his card had been returned. Added to it was this cryptic message, 'Genesis 3:10.'
Reaching for his Bible to check out the citation, he broke up in gales of laughter. Revelation 3:20 begins 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock.' Genesis 3:10 reads, 'I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid for I was naked.'

AT THE PEARLY GATES!

At the pearly gates again, a taxi driver and minister are waiting in line. St. Peter consults his list and says to the taxi driver, "Take this silken robe and golden staff and enter the Kingdom of Heaven."
St. Peter next greets the minister saying, "Take this cotton robe and wooden staff and enter the Kingdom of Heaven."
"Just a minute," says the minister. "That man was a taxi driver, and he gets a silken robe and golden staff while I get a cotton robe and wooden staff. How can this be?"
"Up here, we work by results," says St. Peter. "While you preached, people slept; while he drove, people prayed."


AT THE RIVER?
A preacher was completing a temperance sermon. With great expression he said, "If I had all the beer in the world, I'd take it and throw it into the river!" The congregation nodded their approval. With even greater emphasis he added, "And if I had all the wine in the world, I'd take it and throw it into the river, too!" The people clapped and were saying "Amen." And then finally, he concluded, "And if I had all the whiskey in the world, I'd take it and throw it into the river!"
As he sat down, the song leader then stood up quite cautiously and announced, "For our closing song, let us sing Hymn #365: "Shall We Gather at the River."





The Pope and the Rabbi

Several centuries ago, the Pope decreed that all the Jews had to convert to Catholicism or leave Italy. There was a huge outcry from the Jewish community, so the Pope offered a deal: he'd have a religious debate with the leader of the Jewish community. If the Jews won, they could stay in Italy; if the Pope won, they'd have to convert or leave.
The Jewish people met and picked an aged and wise rabbi to represent them in the debate. However, as the rabbi spoke no Italian, and the Pope spoke no Yiddish, they agreed that it would be a 'silent' debate.
On the chosen day the Pope and rabbi sat opposite each other. The Pope raised his hand and showed three fingers. The rabbi looked back and raised one finger. Next, the Pope waved his finger around his head. The rabbi pointed to the ground where he sat. The Pope brought out a communion wafer and a chalice of wine. The rabbi pulled out an apple. With that, the Pope stood up and declared himself beaten and said that the rabbi was too clever. The Jews could stay in Italy.
Later the cardinals met with the Pope and asked him what had happened. The Pope said, 'First I held up three fingers to represent the Trinity. He responded by holding up a single finger to remind me there is still only one God common to both our beliefs. Then, I waved my finger around my head to show him that God was all around us. The rabbi responded by pointing to the ground to show that God was also right here with us. I pulled out the wine and wafer to show that God absolves us of all our sins, and the rabbi pulled out an apple to remind me of the original sin. He bested me at every move and I could not continue.'
Meanwhile, the Jewish community gathered to ask the rabbi how he'd won. 'I haven't a clue,' said the rabbi. 'First, he told me that we had three days to get out of Italy , so I gave him the finger. Then he tells me that the whole country would be cleared of Jews and I told him that we were staying right here.
'And then what?' asked a woman. 'Who knows?' said the rabbi. 'He took out his lunch so I took out mine.'

“THE MERCY OF GOD.”

  “THE MERCY OF GOD.”

You know, when you truly begin to think about it, this subject is something that really gets hold of you. And it has really affected me this week as I’ve been studying it. Actually I began to think a little bit about it last week. Then off and on through this week I’ve been studying on this subject, “The Mercy of God.” I read Spurgeon and various others, and traced the subject through the Bible. And the more you think about it, the greater it gets. Or as a country boy might say, "The more you think about it, the 'gooder' it gets.”

Let’s think about this together for a few minutes --- “The Mercy of God.” As we introduce the subject and begin to bring our thoughts together along the lines of the Mercy of God, there are several things that we need to notice by way of introduction. In the first place, mercy, we need to recognize, is the result and the effect of God’s goodness and grace. Notice that I’m emphasizing God’s goodness.

If you turn over to Psalms 33:5, you will see our first Scripture reference for today. Psalms 33:5, says this: “He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” So, we need in the beginning of thinking about turning our thoughts toward this idea of the mercy of God, to recognize immediately that mercy is entirely the result of and the effect of God’s goodness. It comes not from any other cause, nor any other source, nor from any other reason, except from God’s own goodness.

Both goodness and greatness meet in God. Both majesty and mercy.

The pagans, when setting up their great mythologies, their great systems of religion, they always tried to portray their number one god, their chief god, as one exemplifying greatness, and usually goodness as well. But in their case, usually this goodness did not manifest itself in mercy. But in just about all the pagan gods, the top god, the top dog, is shown to be both great and good. Such as Jupiter, for example ... Both great and good. But in God we find not only greatness and goodness, not only majesty, and power, but we find also mercy, which is entirely missing from most of the pagan gods.

God is essentially good in Himself.

Now think about that for a minute. The very essence of God is goodness. He’s essentially good in Himself. And not only is He the very essence of goodness within Himself and of Himself, but He is relatively good to us. You may say, “Well, I had a hard time last week. How is that relatively good to us?” Do you know 500, or could you have found 500 other people last week who had a lot harder time than you did? Yes, you could have, couldn’t you?

In fact, you could have found 5,000 people last week who had a lot harder time than you did. All you would have had to do was just look around a little bit. So, even if you had a hard time last week, then God was relatively good to you, wasn’t He? You were much better off than 5,000 or 10,000 or 5,000,000 other people in the world, no matter how badly off you were last week.

But this also is shown even in Scripture, the fact that God is relatively good to us and that His very essence in Himself is good. It’s shown in one verse over in Psalms 119:68. Of course, it’s shown also in many other verses, but this is one very short verse where we can find the fact that God is essentially good in Himself and relatively good to us, where it says: “Thou art good, and doest good: teach me thy statutes.” He’s not only good, but He does good as well. He’s not only good in His very essence, but His works are good also.

The things which He does, the things which He accomplishes, the activity in which He engages, the things which He allows to come to pass, are also good.

Let us go on a little step further, now that we’ve introduced the idea of the mercy of God. Let’s think a little further along this line. Concerning God’s mercy, let’s look at several propositions now.

First, it is the great design of Scripture to present and reveal God as merciful.

You find this all the way through this book we have right here, the Word of God. The great design of the whole book, is what? To present God as merciful, to reveal God to man as merciful. Something that the pagan gods never do. They never reveal themselves as merciful. But the whole purpose of God's book, the Word of God is to represent God, and reveal God to man as a merciful God. This is like a lodestone to draw sinner’s to Him. You know what a lodestone is --- it’s a magnetic type of ore which will draw iron filings to it. A lodestone, that’s what God’s mercy is; it’s like a magnet to draw men to Himself.

Sometimes I realize that you need to preach on judgment as well, but sometimes you can preach on judgment until you are blue in the face, and then preach on mercy and it’ll touch some heart that preaching on judgment never would touch. The love of God, the mercy of God, touches hearts. And it is primarily designed to draw men to Him. This is the great purpose of the Scripture in presenting God, representing and revealing Him to man as merciful.

Exodus 34, beginning with verse 6 has something to say that fits well here. That’s the second book of the Old Testament, as you know. “And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, is merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.”

Now notice there in those two verses, just in those two verses alone (6 & 7), we have six expressions of God’s mercy. Six distinct expressions of God’s mercy in those two verses alone. And only one expression of His judgment or wrath.

So, we’ve got a ratio of six to one there, of His mercy being proclaimed as opposed to His wrath or His judgment. Six different times there He emphasizes or calls attention to or sets forth His mercy. And only one time He sets forth His justice, where He says, “Who will by no means clear the guilty,” that’s the one time where He speaks of justice. But six other times in that same passage He proclaims and sets forth His great mercy.

There’s another place that I didn’t jot down on my notes here today that is of interest though that I believe I’ll refer back to, over in Exodus 33:18-19. In it Moses asked God to reveal His glory to him. And what does God do? He doesn’t jump up and down and shout about His judgment and His wrath and His punishment and so forth. But what does He do? He speaks about His mercy there in the same chapter. In Exodus 33:18-19 it speaks of the glory of God --- the greatest glory of God, perhaps, in the eyes of man, is His mercy. And this is shown there even in one of these passages in which God was speaking to Moses after the Israelites made the Golden Calf.

God is represented in the Scripture as a great King with a rainbow about His throne. That’s in Revelation 4:3. Now what does the rainbow stand for? What does the rainbow indicate? It indicates the mercy of God.

You say, “Well, where do you get that?” Well, do you remember the rainbow promise? The rainbow couldn’t represent anything but the mercy of God, after He gave it in the fashion that He did, could it? It could not possibly represent anything except the mercy of God. Because we remember the promise of God to Noah when He showed the rainbow and said this was His sign that the world would never again be destroyed by judgment of water. So, it clearly represents mercy. Psalms 108:4 teaches us that God’s mercy is far above the heavens.

Secondly, let us go another step forward and think of it another way. God is more inclinable or more disposed to mercy than to wrath.

Aren’t you glad He is more inclined to mercy than to wrath. Mercy is His attribute He most delights in displaying to man. And we can prove that by Scripture. He doesn’t delight in His wrath upon man. But He delights in His mercy toward man. It brings Him great pleasure to show mercy to man.

Micah 7:18 says, “He delighteth in mercy.” Mark those words --- “He delighteth in mercy.” And you will not find a single verse anywhere in the Book that says He delighteth in wrath and judgment and punishment. Not a verse anywhere in the whole book from cover to cover, from Genesis to Revelation --- you won’t find a single verse that teaches or says that God delights in judgment or punishment or wrath. But you can find many places which either state plainly or clearly indicate, just as it does here in Micah 7:18, that He delighteth in mercy. It’s His joy to show mercy to fallen man.

Lamentations 3:32-33 says: "But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men." God does not grieve nor afflict men willingly, but He does so only upon great provocation. It is a good idea for all of us to read Lamentations chapter 3 once in a while.

Now, let me give you an illustration here of what we’re talking about. We’ve just said, according to this passage that we mentioned from Lamentations chapter 3, that God does not afflict nor grieve men willingly, but only upon great provocation. Let me give you an almost perfect illustration of that from everyday life. Think with me now for just a minute about this. All of you have seen the honeybees. Now, what’s the main business, what’s the chief delight of the honeybee? Is it to sting people? Of course not! What is the chief delight of the honeybee? To make honey, isn’t it? That’s his main business.

That’s what he delights in doing, that’s what he’s engaged upon all the time, except after great provocation, he will sting. He will sting. But that’s not his business, that’s not his purpose in life. It is not his joy in life, to sting us, is it? But his purpose, his main occupation, his principle idea, his reason for being, is to produce honey. And this makes a pretty good illustration of God, relative to His mercy and His wrath. His chief delight is to show mercy. But upon occasion, after great provocation, He must show His wrath as well, like the honeybee.

God punishes, in other words, only when He can bear no longer. As it teaches us in Jeremiah 44:22, where it says this: “So that the Lord could no longer bear, because of the abominations which ye have committed.” In other words, there comes a limit when God just can’t continually extend mercy. When the abominations become overwhelming, then His wrath follows, as He tells us there in Jeremiah 44:22. The abominations referred here are worship of false gods.

We could say it or illustrate it another way. Mercy is God’s right hand, the hand He loves to use. But, inflicting punishment is called His strange work in Isaiah 28:21. So, His chief delight, His principle object, His joy, His purpose, is to extend mercy, like using His right hand, His strong right hand. But, the infliction of punishment is referred to as His strange work. It’s a work He does not prefer to do. A work that He does not enjoy doing. That He only does upon great provocation.

In the Psalms, if we look at two references there in chapter 103:8 and then at chapter 86:5, these two places together tell us that He is slow to anger but ready to forgive. Again, this is emphasizing the chief delight of the Lord as being to show mercy to man.

There’s no condition --- going on now to the third step --- there’s no condition that we can be in, but that we can see some mercy in it.

You might think, “Well, as we used to say when I was a child, “I feel lower down than a snake’s belly.” Now, that’s pretty low, isn’t it? But even if you’re lower down than a snake’s belly, at least you’re not buried, are you? So, there’s even some mercy in that kind of position, isn’t there? You’re still above ground. So, any condition or position we find ourselves in, we can still see some of God’s mercy in it. As the Scripture says, “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed.” So, any condition in which we find ourselves, certainly is still mercy from God, isn’t it? It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed.

The fourth step --- Mercy sweetens all of God’s other attributes.

Mercy sweetens each of God’s other attributes. Without His mercy, God’s holiness and His justice would be terrible. Think about that! Without His mercy, then His holiness and His justice would be terrible to behold. But it’s all tempered and sweetened with His mercy! It is made bearable by His mercy.

Mercy sets God’s power working for us. Nothing else sets His power working for us, only His mercy. We can’t demand, “Now, God, You do this and You do that.” We can’t do that, can we? It’s only His mercy that sets His power working for us. And it works for us everyday. In ways we never even think about. In ways for which we are totally ungrateful. And yet, His power works for us day by day. His mercy even makes His justice become our friend.

And, furthermore, His mercy eventually shall avenge our quarrels. All these people, all these enemies of God, all these who make it tough on us, including the old devil himself as well, some day God’s mercy is going to cause Him to bring about an adjustment of our quarrels with these, isn’t He? And then, He’ll bring about vengeance because of their quarrels with His children.

God’s mercy --- step number five --- is one of the great glories of His crown.

Think about it this way --- the glories of His attributes are like a golden crown with great jewels in it. And mercy is the brightest of all the jewels. Think about it. The mercy of God. The center jewel in His crown. The great diamond. The great jewel that flashes out and draws men to Himself --- The mercy of God is the greatest jewel in His crown.

His holiness, one of His other attributes, makes Him illustrious, we could say. But, His mercy makes Him propitious, doesn’t it? We can approach to Him, it makes Him kind, loving, gentle and good to men. Even the worst men taste some of God’s mercy. You think about that! Even such as fight against God’s mercy and yet, they taste of it. And the wicked even have crumbs from mercy’s table --- Even the wicked all around us here. The fifty or a hundred more who should be here to hear this message, and they’re not here. Even in spite of their rejection of God and the truth, yet in spite of that, they still get crumbs from the table of mercy. If they didn’t, they’d be in hell right now, wouldn’t they? If they didn’t, they’d be dead right now, wouldn’t they? But even the wicked get crumbs from mercy’s table.

Psalms 145:9 says this, “The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.” In other words, what he’s saying here when he says, “The Lord is good to all: his tender mercies are over all his works,” basically we could illustrate that by saying it this way. The sweet dewdrops are on the thistle and on the thorn, the same as on the rose! The sweet dewdrops of God’s mercy are on the thistle and the thorn, on the cactus, the same as they are on the beautiful rose!

Step number six, one act of mercy engages God to another.

Now, think with me. That is completely the opposite of a man, isn’t it? A man may do you a big favor. He may even do you two big favors. He may even be exceptionally kind to you several times. But there comes a time when he says, “Quit bothering me.” He’s not inclined to help you anymore when he’s already helped you two or three times. But God is just the opposite of that, because one act of God’s mercy engages God to another and to another and to another. And it just goes on and on and on. God, when He shows us His first and greatest act of mercy, is not inclined to cut it off! He is ready still to show us mercy.

It’s like a parent’s love for their child. The parent’s love for the child makes him give, and give, and give, and keep on giving, doesn’t it? And that’s the way God’s mercy is to us. He delights in mercy.

Step number seven, All mercy in the creature is derived from God!

Yes, all mercy in the creature is derived from God, and is but a drop of the vast ocean of God’s mercy. If you think about that, you’ll see how true it is. All mercy in the creature, that is in us, is derived from God. And the most mercy we have or ever can show is only just a wee drop in the ocean of God’s mercy. We need to think much more about this question of mercy. I’ve been thinking along these lines relative to myself lately, about taking a more compassionate attitude, a more merciful attitude. I know we see so much evil and it, “vexes our righteous soul,” as the Bible says about Lot. If we are not very careful we will sometimes just feel, “Well, those sorry so and so good for nothing rascals out there, they deserve anything they get.”

But that’s not the right attitude, is it for us? What if God had taken that attitude about us? We’d still be lost! And we would have deserved everything we got, wouldn’t we? But thank God, He delights in mercy. And we should delight in mercy also. When I speak of mercy and compassion, it is not to say that we should compromise with sin, that’s not what I’m saying at all. But we do need to have compassion for the sinner. We need to hate sin but show mercy to the sinner.

Now, let us think further about this great truth that all mercy in the creature is derived from God. And yet man's mercy is like a drop in the ocean when compared to the great ocean of God’s mercy. God is called the Father of mercies in Scripture. That’s in II Corinthians 1:3, if you’d like to look it up some time. There He is called the Father of mercies. And why is that? Because He begets all the mercies in the world. Without God, there would be no mercy of any kind in the whole world. He’s the Father of mercies.

Just imagine how terrible the world would be without any kind of mercy from any source anywhere in the whole world. It would really be like hell on Earth, wouldn’t it? A world without any mercy is unthinkable, and would soon become uninhabitable. We can’t even imagine how bad it would be if there were no mercy, not even one little scrap of mercy anywhere on Earth! And yet, without God being the Father of mercies, there would be no mercy anywhere on Earth, to anyone, about anything.

Again, thinking a little further, still on the idea of the mercy in the creature being derived from God; if God has put any kindness into the creature, and we know He has, otherwise the world would be totally uninhabitable, how much more is in Him who is the Father of mercies? He delights in mercy. He is the Father of mercies.

Step number eight --- Mercy should make us both Happy and Humble.

Yes, mercy should make the saints both happy and humble. (Now who are the saints? The faithful church members, if you check it out in God's Book you’ll find that’s what it means in the Bible when it speaks about saints). It means nothing more nor less than faithful church members. But, as we started to say, mercy should make the saints both happy and humble.

Continuing now on the fact that it should make us both happy and humble, mercy is not the fruit of our goodness. A lot of people seem to take the attitude that mercy is the fruit of our own goodness. “Oh, I’m such a good fellow, I’ll be merciful to this person, I’ll let him off the hook.” That’s just stupidity and foolishness and a whole bunch of other things rolled into one, isn’t it? “I’m such a good fellow, I’ll just let this slide, I’ll be merciful to this one.” Well, that is not the reason we’re merciful.

Mercy is not the fruit of our goodness, but it’s the fruit of God’s goodness. It’s the fruit of God’s goodness, it’s not the fruit of our goodness. We don’t have any goodness that will produce mercy. Mercy is entirely the fruit of God’s goodness, not ours.

Any righteousness that we have is not the product of ourselves. Any righteousness we have is the product of God’s grace and mercy shown to us. It’s entirely because of God’s mercy. Let us be humble and honest about it. Almost slipped again there, Tom.

Job 10:15 is a good verse to read here. If you remember the story of Job, you will remember that he was a very good man, as men would count goodness. He was a man who humbly served and loved and worshipped God, as a man should. He was a great man. A wonderful man. Even in God’s sight, he was a good man in the sense as far as God can see man being a good man, because he did love and worship and serve God as a man should. And yet, Job here in chapter 10:15 said this, “If I be wicked, woe unto me: and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head.” Now he understood that righteousness --- any righteousness that we may have doesn’t come from any goodness within ourselves, but it comes from what? From the mercy of God, doesn’t it? From the goodness of God. Any goodness we have is just a little spark of the goodness of God that He’s given to us, the mercy that He’s shown to us, that He’s put in our heart. And Job clearly understood that when he said, “If I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head.” He wouldn’t even lift up his head, even in doing good. He would still be humble with bowed head, realizing that any goodness he had, any righteousness he followed, came only from the mercy of God, and not from himself.

Mercy delays the speedy execution of God’s justice. Aren’t you glad it does? What if there had been speedy execution of God’s justice, we should all have been lost, had we not? But aren’t you glad that there wasn’t speedy execution of God’s justice? We were rebels against God. Enemies of the cross. Every thought that we had was evil before God, yet He showed His mercy to us. He drew us to Himself. He saved us. He gave us eternal life in Christ. So, mercy delays the speedy execution of God’s justice.

Sinners continually provoke God. Every breath they breathe, they constantly provoke God. And as Ezekiel 38:18 says, “They make the fury come up in His face.” And yet, He doesn’t generally just strike them dead like that. And He could. Why does God not immediately arrest and condemn sinners? It’s not that He cannot do it. Remember He’s armed with omnipotence, isn’t He? It’s not that He’s incapable of arresting immediately and condemning instantly all sinners. He’s certainly capable of that because He’s armed with omnipotence. He can do anything. He has all power. But the thing that keeps Him from doing it is this --- His mercy! The mercy of God! Nothing else prevents Him from immediate execution of every sinner in every country, and even those in space, except His mercy.

Mercy gives a reprieve for the sinner, in other words. God would, by His goodness, lead them to come to repentance. That’s the purpose in His gracious mercy. Like a magnet drawing them with His own mercy to Himself. That He, through His own mercy, might save them. And that He, through His own mercy, might give them eternal life in Christ.

Romans 2:4 is good to read, where it says: “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” It’s God’s mercy, God’s goodness, leading men to repentance, isn’t it?

If we turn over to II Peter 3:9, there’s another great reference. It says: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promises, as some men count slackness,” but listen now to this last part, “but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Oh, the wonderful mercy of God!

Step number nine --- We could speak of many other kinds of mercy.

We could speak of preventing, sparing, supplying, guiding, accepting, healing, quickening, supporting, forgiving, correcting, comforting, delivering, dying, and crowning mercy and many others. But now let us continue by looking at the properties or qualifications of God’s mercy.

In the first place, God’s mercy is free.

Mercy requires no merit on our part. Were it so that it did require merit on our part, we could never obtain mercy! But mercy requires no merit on our part, it’s free. We may force God to punish us. That’s one thing we can do, we can "force" God to punish us by obstinately continuing in sin, we can "force" God to punish us, but we cannot force Him to love us.

Hosea 14:4 speaks of this when it says, “I will love them freely.” That’s the only way God loves people. The book of Hosea as you may remember, is dealing with a people who are in rebellion against God. People who are far from God. People who are living in wickedness. And yet, He says, “I will love them freely.” That’s the only way God loves men --- by His own free choice! We cannot "cause" Him to love us, but we can "cause" Him to punish us.

Every link in the chain of salvation is built with God’s mercy. Every link in the chain has God’s mercy written all over it. If we think of this day by day, it will change us! It will make a difference in what we do, in what we think, in what we say, even make a difference in the very way we are.

Secondly, justification is free. Romans 3:24 speaks of being justified freely by His grace. Or Titus 3:5 speaks of salvation, saying, “According to his mercy he saved us.” And when you go through studying this subject of salvation, you find that every single link in the chain, even from drawing us to Himself, or to wooing us to Himself and winning us to Himself and keeping us to Himself and our final delivery to heaven --- every thing about our salvation has mercy painted all over it. Every link in the chain has mercy in great big letters on it.

We need not say, “I’m unworthy.” Because mercy is free. We are unworthy, that’s true. We should recognize that. But we don’t need to worry about the fact we are unworthy, because mercy is free.

Thirdly, God’s mercy is an overflowing mercy.

It is infinite. Psalms 86:5 speaks of Him as being plenteous in mercy. Ephesians 2:4 speaks of Him as being rich in mercy, and Psalms 51:1 speaks of the multitude of mercies of God.

GOD'S MERCY IS ETERNAL. Not only is it infinite, but it’s eternal. If we look at Psalms 103:7, it tells us this: “But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting, upon them that fear him and his righteousness unto children’s children.” So, His mercy is eternal. The blessed --- and I like to think of this, imagine this in your mind with me --- the blessed shall ever bathe themselves as if we’re bathing ourselves daily in the warm, sweet water of His mercy. And that’s what we’re doing, isn’t it? That is what we’re doing, even now, AND THE BEST IS YET TO COME! His mercy endureth forever! If you look at Psalms 136, twenty-six times in that one chapter it says those words exactly, “His mercy endureth forever." God’s mercy is not only overflowing, but it’s ever flowing as well!

Look on God today, in His robes of mercy, surrounded by the rainbow of mercy. Believe in His mercy. Psalms 52:8 says, “I will trust in the mercy of God forever.” Isn’t that wonderful to think about? His mercy is like a fountain that’s open. A fountain that flows and never stops and all we need to do is let down the bucket of faith and drink of this fountain, which is the fountain of His mercy! Just let down the bucket and drink of this fountain of salvation.

What greater encouragement could there be to believe than to think on God’s mercy? There are two outstanding ways that God’s mercy or His willingness to show mercy appears to men. One is by entreating sinners to lay hold on mercy. God is constantly entreating, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you . . . and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls.” Again, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock. If any man will open unto me, I will come in and sup with him and he with me.” Again, Revelation 22:17, “And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” He’s constantly calling sinners to come to Himself. So, that’s one of the wonderful ways that God’s willingness to show mercy appears.

Another outstanding way His willingness to show mercy appears to men is by Heaven's joyfulness when sinners lay hold on His mercy. “There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God when one sinner cometh to repentance,” the Scripture says. Think about this question, “How is God the better, whether we receive His mercy or not, what does it benefit Him?” An additional question, “What is the fountain profited that men drink of it?” This wonderful fresh flowing spring of God’s mercy. How is the fountain benefited if we drink of His mercy? It isn’t really benefited at all, is it? And yet, God’s goodness is so great that He rejoices at the salvation of sinners. He is glad His mercy is accepted.

When the prodigal came home, the father was glad and rejoiced and had a big celebration. You remember the story, I’m sure. Mercy pleases God. He is a God of pardons. Nothing prejudices us from receiving pardon, except one thing, and that is unbelief, our own belief. Not one other thing prevents us from receiving His mercy and His pardon, except our own unbelief. Unbelief, we could say, stops the current of God’s mercy from running to us.

Fourthly, take heed that you do not abuse the mercy of God.

That is like taking poison. Do not suck poison out of the sweet flower of God’s mercy. That is what a lot of people seem to do. They take God’s mercy as a sign of weakness and a license to sin forever. And that’s like drinking deadly poison!

Do not think you can go on in sin because of His mercy, because this is to make mercy your enemy! And when mercy becomes the prosecutor, then all are convicted. None can escape. To sin because mercy abounds is devil’s logic. And yet, that’s what many people are doing. They think, “Well, I’ll be saved just before I die. I want to sow my wild oats now.” But it doesn’t work that way. This is just like one who wounds his head because he’s got a box full of bandages to put on it. Now, that’s just as sensible, isn’t it? Like one who slashes his head with a hammer, and says: “Well, I wanted to use these bandages I’ve got here. I’ve got a box full of bandages,” so he bangs himself on the head because of it. Now, that’s the kind of logic it is to sin, thinking that later because of God’s mercy, you can get it straightened out anyway. But mercy abused, always turns to fury. Like love spurned becomes the deepest, most violent hatred! Mercy abused, always turns to fury!

Then, the main question for all --- what shall we do to be interested in God’s mercy?

It is most urgent that any unsaved should realize how much you stand in need of pardoning, saving mercy. How much we all stand in need of it. Be emptied of any opinion of self-worthiness. God pours the oil of mercy only into empty vessels. He does not pour it into people who are filled up with their own importance and self-righteousness. He pours it only into empty vessels. Come to God for mercy, remembering that all the mercy must come through Christ. Coming in our own name, God may refuse our plea for mercy. But He will never refuse our plea of mercy when we come in the name of Jesus. He never has and never will refuse those who come pleading the blood of Christ for mercy. Christ’s blood, in other words, is the price of pardon, full and free, without price!

Those who have found God’s mercy are exhorted to do three things.

First, to be upon Mount Gerizim. Now, you may remember the story of Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. Mount Gerizim is the mount of blessing, and praising. And Mount Ebal is the mount of cursing and judgment. So, when we have received God’s mercy, we should always be on Mount Gerizim! The mount of blessing and praising God. We need not be on the mount of God’s cursing and judgment anymore.

Second, we need to love God, when we have experienced His mercy. We should love God. As God’s justice makes us fear Him, let His mercy make us love Him. Love God for giving us food, health, strength, peace and many things one could list. But much, much more, love Him for giving us grace, for showing us saving mercy.

A famous Christian, whose name has slipped my tongue, once said these words, “I would hate my own soul, if I did not find it loving God.” And we should feel that way ourselves, shouldn’t we? “I would hate my own soul, if I did not find it loving God.”

Third and last, if we’ve really experienced the mercy of God, if we know this saving mercy, we should imitate God in showing mercy. That’s very important. We can love people into the church, but we can’t drive them to the church. We can’t even drag them into it. But we can love them into the church. So, we need to imitate God in showing mercy. As God is the Father of mercies, then we should show ourselves to be His children by being more like Him. Let us be merciful, showing that we are the children of the Father of mercies.

SEE YOU AT THE TOP,




PASTOR MIKE.