Our Worthy God - Part 9 - Grace and Mercy
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
16 But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, 17 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not. 18 Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations; 19 Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.
Our Worthy God - Part 9 - The God of Grace and Mercy
Grace: getting something you don’t deserve; unmerited favor
Mercy: Mercy: pity, compassion or the act of sparing; it means to stoop to help (it focuses on what is best for the person)
34 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good;
For his mercy endureth for ever.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
When you:
Recall your salvation - your thinking about God’s mercy
Go soul winning - your testifying of God’s mercy
Ask God for forgiveness and repent - you’re claiming God’s mercy
Illustration:
A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death.
“But I don’t ask for justice,” the mother explained. “I plead for mercy.”
“But your son does not deserve mercy.” Napoleon replied.
“Sir”, the woman cried, “it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for.”
“Well, then” the emperor said, “I will have mercy.” And he spared the woman’s son.
Look at the responses of God to His people:
1. God’s Acts
1. God’s Acts
Think about the prayer that has taken place so far:
“You were faithful, compassionate, you delivered them, you exercised your power for them, you directed them, you were a personal God to them and you provided for them the entire way...”
2. Israel’s Response
2. Israel’s Response
Then look at the first word of verse 16… “But...”
“But they...”
dealt proudly
hardened their necks
hearkened not to thy commandments
refused to obey
were not mindful of the wonders you did among them
hardened their necks
in rebellion, appointed a captain to return to their bondage
3. God’s Acts
3. God’s Acts
“...but thou art a God...”
Ready to pardon
gracious
merciful
slow to anger
of great kindness
and forsookest them not
4. Israel’s Response
4. Israel’s Response
“...yea when they made...”
A molten calf
and attributed God’s glory to it
5. God’s Acts
5. God’s Acts
“...yet thou...”
in thy manifold mercies
forsookest them not
“...the pillar of the cloud departed not from them day by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.”
31 Nevertheless for thy great mercies’ sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.
We’ve already spoken about the amazing attribute of God being a God of Direction in giving them the cloud and fire pillar to guide them...
But this portion of the prayer is praising God for His glorious acts and their people’s sin and rebellion...
Yet God remained:
faithful
compassionate
a guide to them
a personal God to them
A powerful God to deliver them
a God of provision to them
**How many times in your life have you witnessed the direct grace and mercy of God on your life?
At salvation (“For by grace are ye saved...”)
In forgiveness of sins
In eternal life
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
In other words… God spares His children from what we deserve...
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.
Look at this amazing passage:
1 Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass. 3 And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied. 4 Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice. 5 And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the Lord my God, 6 And said,
O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. 7 Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. 8 And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. 9 For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. 10 And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments, 11 Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness. 12 Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever: that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever. 13 And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this;
Conclusion:
Think of the progression with me throughout human history as we did with the provision God has given us:
When Adam and Eve sinned in Genesis chapter 3 and brought death into the world, God didn’t immediately destroy them...
Instead, He covered them with a sacrifice:
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
When all the world was corrupt and evil, God didn’t destroy the world immediately. He gave 120 years for Noah to preach righteousness and build an Ark
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
In Genesis chapter 11, the nations rose up with one language to build the tower of Babel. He didn’t destroy them immediately. He confounded the languages and gave promises through Abraham.
6 And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
In spite of ongoing sin, God accepted blood sacrifice instead of demanding their lives
11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
Through cycles of idolatry and disobedience, God still sent people like Samson, Gideon and Samuel to deliver them
When Israel persisted in constant rebellion leading to captivity, God spared a remnant and brought them home under Ezra and Nehemiah
9 For if ye turn again unto the Lord, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him.
We were lost in sin and God sent Jesus to die for our sin
17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Because of God’s grace and mercy, not only can we have eternal life, but we can have proper fellowship with God
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
We look forward to the continued mercy that God bestows on us and will bestow on us in Heaven
21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
Now… I hope this has enhanced your gratefulness for the grace and mercy of God...
It literally is everything...
