SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES
(John 3:16-17) (16) "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish but have everlasting life." (17) "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."
(Lamentations 3:22-23) (22) "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not." (23) "They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."
(Hebrews 4:16) "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
(Ephesians 2:4-5) (4) "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us," (5) " Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved"
(Micah 7:18-19) (18) "Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy." (19) "He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea."
PREFACE SUMMARY
This message came about as I thought about all the things we encounter on life's journey, and it seems as though we are being prepared for something greater, something that is somewhere in our future. Therefore, when I see the innocent suffer and the wicked prosper, I catch myself with a prayer on my lips asking God, how am I, as your preacher, going to make you look good to someone in need?
Dear lord, you were not there for the family of Lazarus when they were in desperate need, and you missed the wake when he died.
Saints of God, as I pondered this in my heart, I remember being taught that there is a God of this world, and he is called Satan, the deceiver, the accuser, and the master of lies. But Saints, let me tell you that we have an incredible creator who loves us more than we could ever imagine, for he proved it in sending his Son to die that awful death on that old rugged cross to defeat Satan, the master deceiver, stripping him of his authority over death, hell and the grave.
Beloved, God's love demonstrates his mercy in giving his Son Jesus to die in our place, and beloved, his mercy can be seen in the old rugged cross.
Church, all our songs, praise, prayers, communion, preaching, giving, and all of our worship reflect God's mercy, which can be seen in Jesus Christ the Son.
Dear reader, behind this universe, stands an incredible, powerful God who sits on his throne and is beloved; if we look there, we will not find warring spirits attempting to overthrow him, for he is all-powerful and majestic beloved because he is the judge and ruler over all creation.
Beloved, this awesome God loves us and had a plan for us, his most incredible creation and beloved; my prayer is that he will use this message to satisfy our hunger and kindle our desire to know him, the one that loved us so much that he made a way to deliver us from sin which causes us to develop a more profound longing to bathe in his presence.
Saints, this message is about the beautiful mercy of God, and when we catch a glimpse of who he is and of his holy character, realizing that it separates him from all other things because he is not dependent upon what has been created to sustain him. Still, all things created, both seen and unseen, must depend upon him for their continued existence.
The bottom line to this message is that God is all-powerful and majestic. He sits on His throne, ruling over all creation. His love for us is incredible, and His plan is full of hope and purpose. Let us never forget God's mercy and love. May this message inspire us to know Him more and to seek His presence in our lives.
(Psalms 90:2) Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
WHAT IS MERCY?
I begin this part of the message by asking this question, especially when making decisions that affect others. That question is, "Do we make decisions in the Light of knowing that there is a Living God sitting on his throne, or do we place ourselves there in his place?"
Beloved, we have all heard several hospitals advertise as being a hospital of mercy, and more than one has chosen to use Mercy Hospital as a name, placing large signs near their establishment in the hopes of attracting business.
Dear Saints of God, may I ask you, "What is mercy, and why would a hospital choose to use that word as a name?"
1. Mercy shows compassion or forbearance to someone, especially an offender.
2. Mercy is a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion.
3. Mercy would be the court imposing imprisonment rather than death for murder.
Our Christian life has God’s mercy as its foundation because God loved and showed compassion in the giving of his Son Jesus for our sins; therefore, all our songs, messages, prayers, praise, and our giving of worship reflect upon the mercy of God that can be seen in Jesus Christ his Son.
Church, because of the mercy of God that I have experienced when I should have received justice, my whole life is one of worship, in total surrender to him, his cause, his purpose, and his kingdom.
(Matthew 5:7) "Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy."
Dear reader, did you know that forgiveness and mercy are what God demonstrates to the undeserving sinner?
(Romans 3:23) “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
Saints, did you know that according to this scripture, that undeserving sinner is everyone born after Adam's fall, including you and me?
Dear reader, did you know that the scriptures teach that how we forgive people is how we shall be forgiven, and does not the Lord’s Prayer, as found in (Matthew 6:12) declare for us to forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors? Therefore, beloved, how do we show mercy and forgiveness when forgiving ourselves?
Church, there are some people that you have to love at a distance, and others claim that you need your enemies closer than your friends; still, I will let you decide on that because there is not one person in the whole world worth you allowing them the power to control your life for only God has that right, provided that you have completely turned it over to him.
God does not expect you to become somebody’s trash can, and it is tough to forgive someone who has torn your heart out and stepped on it without the slightest bit of remorse.
Church, some have stated that if you cannot forget, then you still are not forgiving the person, but dear reader, do you think that God can forget when we have done wrong when he knows all and can behold the past, the present and the future all at the same time.
When God states that all our sins will be cast into the sea of forgetfulness, he means that the payment for them has been made, and they will not be held against us now or in the judgment at the last day because they have been placed on Jesus and God can now show us mercy.
Church, when we forgive someone who has deeply hurt us, we release them of being accountable to us for the sin and look to God to bring justice in his time.
Saints of God, the first work of a Christian, should be to show mercy, for the scriptures teach that those who are merciful shall be shown mercy, and saints, just as we need God’s mercy every day, must extend mercy to others.
Beloved, Jesus told his disciples that they should forgive man their trespasses 70x70 a day, and do you not think that he would ask us to do something that he is not willing to do?
Church, we need to get it in our big heads that God loves us and desires to see us grow in his kingdom, for he said that he will never leave us but will go all the way with us, even to the end of the age; now beloved, that’s a God we can put our trust in.
Saints, I am talking about the abundant life found in Christ. If we fall short, our God, in his word found in (Psalms 103:4) declares that he redeemeth our life from destruction and crowneth us with loving kindness and tender mercy; therefore, may we have complete trust that he that began the work in us will also finish that work unto the day of the Lord Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)
Beloved, can we pause for a moment and rightfully say, "It is not my brother or my sister, but it is me, oh Lord, needing prayer," as we cry, "Lord, help me come out of my comfort zone and have a clean heart to do thy will," because Lord, your word says that they that are in leadership are the ones that ascend. They must have a clean heart."
Saints, what about those who bring their gift to the altar, which could be singing, preaching, or some other gift, and they remember there is some unfinished business with another brother or sister? Saints, does not the word say they need to go and make things right, then come back and offer their gift?
A LOOK AT GOD'S MERCY
This message is about the incredible beauty found in the seat of God's mercy, especially with a powerful being who is all-powerful and able to rule over including work outside of his creation according to his sovereign will and purpose, which reminds me of a story about some missionaries who visited a tribal country and were welcomed with open arms.
Dear reader, the missionaries could not understand why the natives were so friendly until they found someone who could speak broken English.
Beloved, the native explained to them that before they had their gods made from their own hands, they were not protecting them from disease and the dangerous tigers that roamed at night.
Dear reader, the native informed the missionaries that one day, their chief was out in the field and noticed the beauty of the noonday sun, which brought a thought to his mind that there must be a particular creator behind the beauty of the sun from whom everything is dependent upon for life.
Beloved, the native, told the missionaries that the chief came back into the village and called everyone together, commanding them to get rid of their useless idols and start praying to the God behind the sun, which did not take long for them to notice that people were no longer getting sick. The tigers were no longer prowling their village at night.
The native told the missionaries that it did not take long for the chief of the tribe to call another meeting and instruct the villagers to not only pray to the god behind the sun but to pray that he would send someone to tell them his name therefore when they come preaching Jesus to them, they were excited to know his name.
God, in his mercy, had shown kindness to this tribe who discarded their hand-made idols and sent these missionaries across the world to preach the most significant news on earth to a people who did not know their left hand from their right. Still, they knew that what they were worshipping was not benefiting them and began to seek greater power, for there is nothing any more potent than the name of Jesus except God's holy word, which he honors above his name, therefore beloved, do you know him and do you know him in the power of his resurrection?
Dear reader, let us now examine some attributes of God, our creator, which distinguish him as the supreme majesty and judge of all the universe, both seen and unseen.
(Isaiah 9:6) "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."
1. Our God is Holy in thought and deed, beloved, and free of space and time, not being held by it, for God has no equal in his superior greatness, for he has hall power.
(Matthew 19:26) "But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."
2. Our God is Omnipresent.
(Psalms 139:8-10) (8) "If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I
Make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there;" (9) "If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;" (10) "Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me."
3. Our God is majestic, loving, and kind.
(Exodus 15:11) "Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is
like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?"
4. Our God is Righteous and is just in all his ways; therefore, his will and purpose will be accomplished.
(Proverbs 19:21) "There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand."
Dear Saints, in continuing this message, may we embrace the cross of Jesus Christ and seek the will of God as we give up this life for the eternal glorious life that God offers when we accept his plan of salvation in giving up the rights to our life, allowing him to live his life through us, conforming us to the image of his dear Son calling us sons and daughters of his royal family.
Beloved Saints, I am almost beside myself as I think of how powerful our God is and how mere prominent men in bible days fell on their knees trembling with fear as they stood in the presence of the Holy Angels of God.
Beloved, what can we glean when we look in the book of Isaiah, the sixth chapter, and find the Holy Angels of God covering their faces when in the presence of our Holy God?
(Isaiah 6:1-5) (1) "In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted, and his train filled the temple." (2) "Above it stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with twain, he covered his face, and with twain, he covered his feet, and with twain, he did fly." (3) "And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory." (4) "And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke." (5) "Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell amid a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."
Saints, I believe we should now have a good understanding, including a foundation for this message concerning the hope for the believer that can be found in the mercy of God.
Beloved reader, as we minister on the mercy of God and how it, according to Romans the twelfth chapter, secures our sacrifices, for under the old covenant with the blood sacrifices which could never do away with man's sin, our Christian life now has God's mercy as its foundation which is being held up by the grace of our God as we present our bodies a living sacrifice unto God, which is just our reasonable service.
(Romans 12:1) "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."
THE MERCY OF GOD PROVIDES HOPE
Saints, it is so sad that the world around us still centers upon satisfying its selfish fleshly ambitions saying “see what I have done and accomplished, screaming that nobody can tell me what to do,” but beloved, does not God in his word tell us that the nation that forgets God, shall be turned into hell and beloved that is what we have today in our streets for a young boy today will take someone's life without thinking twice about it?
Beloved reader, this world refuses to bow and give thanks & glory to God choosing rather to worship created things pursuing fleshly pleasures, sometimes at the expense of others, perverting God’s laws by trying to become righteous in attempting to keep the laws instead of putting their trust in his finished work which he wrought in Christ through the death of his cross and his resurrection, and did you know that these worldly people rely on themselves to be their own savior when we all know that God’s word says "our righteousness in his eyes, is as filthy rags."
Dear reader, did you know that under the old covenant, God would accept the blood of a sinless animal to put their sins forward for another year which was a shadow of the blood of Jesus which through his death would fulfill all the requirements of the law and clear the record of man’s debt for sin for we find God in his word saying that he that knew no sin was made sin for us? (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Beloved, this reminds me of the people who disguised themselves with old clothes with old wine skins to make Joshua think they had come from a far country when in fact they were at the time in the land that God had instructed Joshua to conquer and to make the story short, they were on the wrong side and destined for destruction because, after all, they had heard how the God of Joshua had caused the mighty walls of Jericho to fall and crumble under his mighty power.
Saints of God, could these people have heard about the Jordan River departing and standing up as much as fifteen feet high to allow the priests to carry the ark of God across on dry ground but one thing is for sure, they were no match for this mighty God of the Israelite people.
Beloved, they might have to become slaves, but they knew they had to make a covenant with Joshua that they might live. Church, the plan worked and the covenant was made before Joshua could find out he had been deceived. Saints, their penalty was to provide their young men to work in labor chopping wood and doing errands for the priests but they did not care because now they were on the right side.
Saints, because of the fall of Adam, the entire human race had lost its fellowship with a Holy God who hates sin and these people realized that they were on the wrong side facing certain death.
Church, we were destined to find death, but God provided us a substitute in the giving of his Son to be tried, convicted including to be executed in pour place.
Saints of God, like Adam, Jesus had God’s pure blood not the blood of Joseph running through his veins which made him the perfect sacrifice to do away with sin and its penalty of death once and for all.
The brazen altar is where we can find the letter of the law spelling out our death but at God’s seat of mercy, we find the Spirit of God showing the law was fulfilled in Christ therefore, no longer do we find the blood of innocent animals making forgiveness and reconciliation possible before a living God who hates sin, but at God’s seat of mercy, we can view the constant stream of pure agape love flowing from God the Father through Jesus the Son unto all humanity.
Saints and fellow peers, it is at God's seat of mercy where God makes atonement for our sin through the finished work of his Son Jesus Christ and it is where he begins the process of reconciling fallen man back to himself that we might be called sons and daughters of the most high God. A-men
GOD'S MERCY IS BASED ON HIS GRACE
Saints and fellow peers, did you know we can find mercy in God's amazing grace, for the believer grounded in grace has learned how to enter into his rest?
Beloved, we can find rest in knowing that while we were sinners, Christ died for us, and when we accept God’s plan of salvation, we find him imparting his righteousness to us. (Romans 5:8)
Beloved Saints, we become God's children when we hear and respond to the gospel message of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. (John 3:16)
Saints, when we embrace the cross of Christ and turn from our sin, allowing him to take charge of our life, we are baptized into his death and are raised to a new life like he was raised then beloved; we will discover that our nature has changed and the things we once hated become the things that we now like.
Beloved, when we come to the mercy seat of God, his extraordinary grace frees us from sin and the curse of the law, allowing this mighty, powerful being to indwell us by his Holy Spirit, who is our comforter and guide, and saints, there is an old saying that “men do not obey God until they believe in him."
Beloved, did you know that the world has the peace of God, but we that are saved have peace with Him because we have been cleansed by the blood of God’s precious lamb, which grounds us in his grace for beloved, we that know him as Lord have experienced his grace sustaining us through the pressures of life like the impurities being removed as they are filtered through a strainer.
Dear Saints and fellow peers, may we, in the closing of this message, take a few minutes and give thanks to our God as we come running to his mercy seat and find healing, direction, comfort, hope, including unconditional love, now that beloved, is what I call love worth living for.
Dear reader, let us bow our heads in worship and thank God for his excellent plan that predestined our birth for his purpose, and beloved, let us not ever forget to thank him for the blood of Jesus, which will protect us from evil, make our life count as its protecting power keeps the enemy from bringing his facts in the courts of heaven against us.
Beloved, now that we have gleaned from this study and discovered that our birth on Earth was not an accident but predestined for His divine purpose, let us fall before Him in reverence and ask Him to forgive our sins and remove our transgressions.
MY CONCLUSION
We are now entering a time of spiritual cleansing and are all becoming the same size? Yes, beloved Saints, there are no big I’s, and no little U’s in the body of Christ.
Saints of God, we are entering a time of unity, including harmony in the body of Christ and are being conditioned by the Holy Spirit to work in unity and harmony where everyone is flowing together in the gifts.
Beloved, did you know we are no accident and nobody has our DNA or fingerprints?
Church, we each have a lot to fill in God’s eternal plan and purpose, and nobody else can do what we were chosen to do; therefore, there can be no place for jealousy to be found in our ranks.
Beloved, God needs all kinds of people to reach all the different cultures and ethnic groups in our world; therefore, we need to start caring for one another and quit being selfish and isolated, for there is strength in numbers.
Church, to be true Christians, we must have the right attitude toward God and our fellow men. Then, we can enjoy fellowship, realizing that we are blood brothers and sisters in Christ because we are bound by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and not doctrines or denominations.
Church, we need to realize that we are in a fight and the enemy loves for us to fight among ourselves, but if we are in a fight and are not fighting each other, then we must realize that we need to fight together as one colossal body.
Saints, when we discover the plot our enemy uses to bring division among us, and we prayerfully unite together in love, we will experience a spiritual divine strength from within as we become a powerful force that will begin reclaiming ground that the enemy through lies and deceit had been wrongfully taken from us because beloved, we can then start to fight our battles together from the side of the victory that has already been won.
Beloved, did you know there is a powerful strength and force in unity, and every moment we have been given on this planet is a precious gift from God?
Church, God wants us to manage our time and invest it in something worthwhile because once a second is gone, it can never be recovered; therefore, let us obey the word in (Ephesians 5:16) that instructs us to redeem the time for the days are evil.
The bottom line to this message would be that there is a powerful strength and force in unity, and every moment we have on this planet is a precious gift from God. God wants us to manage our time and invest it in something worthwhile because it can never be recovered once a second is gone. Therefore, let us redeem the time for the evil days.
In conclusion, let us practice extending mercy and forgiveness to become valuable vessels in the Lord’s vineyard by learning to practice extending mercy and forgiveness, for in doing so, we will release ourselves to become valuable vessels in the Lord’s vineyard. One day, we will hear him say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."
(Matthew 25:21) "His lord said unto him, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." A-Men
International Evangelist
Jerry W. Hulse Ph.D.
Miracle Life Church International
