A Sure Pathway To Living An Overcoming Christian Life.
The Expected Christian Life and Description
BIBLE TEXT: Jam 2:13, Matt 5:7, Matt 9:13, Heb 4:16, 1Pt 1:3, 1Jh 1:9, Titus 3:5.
INTRODUCTION
What Again is Mercy?
“It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness” (Lam 3:22-23)
Examples of Great Mercy of God in the Bible
The Israelites in the Desert
God certainly chose to be merciful to His people; He loved them despite their rebellion and ungratefulness in Exodus 16:3.
God’s covenant with them was out of His mercy. He chose to bless them with what they did not deserve – Exodus 16:12
He answered their complaints with food, water, protection and provision. This story of the book of Exodus is repeated many times in the Bible, and referenced in regards to many of the characteristics of God, including mercy.
King David
David, a man after God’s own heart, slayer of the giant Goliath and chosen king, committed adultery with someone else’s wife and then had her husband killed in battle (2 Samuel 11-12).
And then he cried to God in Psalm 51:1
David also pleaded in Psalm 51:10 God heard him and the bible says: “And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die” – 2 Samuel 12:13
Paul
Paul, formerly Saul, supported the crusade against Christianity. He was responsible for the death of Christians. Then, he ran into Jesus. “ ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ He replied” (Acts 9:5). Saul was struck blind but opened his eyes to see Jesus. Jesus’ mercy to forgive him ignited his faith and propelled him forward. Paul went on to survive shipwrecks, jail, beatings, and other calamities, all the while writing letters to encourage the churches he was planting along the way.
The Adulterous Woman
John 8:6-8 “This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground”.
Mercy is forgiveness and compassion extended to those who do not deserve it. The accusers and the adulterers. He chooses to extend mercy to us, and He is unchanging. We cannot afford to fail our way out of God’s love.
Blind Bartimaeus
He cried to God even in his helpless situation and God answered him – Mark 10:46-52
When Mercy Is Abused
Mat 18:23-34
“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go
How Do We respond the mercy of God
1.You ought to praise the Lord. You ought to just sit there in your heart and flip out and go to glorify him if you can.
In Psalm 86:12-13, it says:
“I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.”
You want to know what your response should be to His mercy? It is to praise God with all of your heart because of how great His mercy is to you and to your family – Psalm 89:1-2
Again your response to what you have learned and received about the mercy of God; it is not only to praise the Lord, but it is to pray for the Lord’s help. Psalm 69:13-16:
What should my response be to the mercy of God? It is not only to praise the Lord and to pray for the Lord’s help, but another response to God’s mercies is to present our bodies, our whole life to God. You can trust Him, people, because of His mercy. You do not need to worry anymore because of His mercy. A lot of us have never done this – Rom 12:1-2
Identify With The Sufferings Of Others
Romans 9:15 – “For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion”. So show mercy unto others.
CONCLUSION:
Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. – Prov 3:3-4.
