I HAVE MERCY
Zechariah 10:6 And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them.
To experience God’s mercy is to experience God! The statements in this verse beginning with “I will,” along with our title statement, “I have,” and their benefit of being “as though I had not cast them off,” are based upon that which follows the word, “for!” For what God does is always based on who He is! Example: Malachi 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Therefore he has mercy on them because he is merciful!
Moses asked to see the essence of God – his glory! And God revealed his mercy! Exodus 33:18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. 19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. 34:5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
To experience God converts the soul! John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. that I may win Christ, Phil. 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10 That I may know him,
Hence, the Lord designs that there be both an “Egypt” experience, and an “Assyria” experience, in order for them to require his mercy! Zechariah 10:10 I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them. But as you can see, those times of bondage were for their edification and sanctification. They would have had no need for the balm of Gilead (Jer. 8:22), and they would not have been as the great cedars of Lebanon, to be built up into the household of God, had they not experienced God’s mercy in past afflictions!
Mercy is exclusively for the guilty! In order for God to display his character as merciful, a guilty object is essential! Therefore – sin enters! For grace is only made to abound where sin first abounded! (Romans 5:20-21). And sin must reign unto death before grace comes to reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord! For those who are not admitted sinners can get by with this two-for-a-nickel Jesus, being sold by the Whore church today! But those of us who are confessed, realized sinners need a great Savior!
And that’s the reason that there is no spiritual power in the massive amounts of religion across our land. For it is only those who have been forgiven much, who love much! (Lk. 7:47). We have been taught the doctrine of sin and mercy, but being proud minded religionists, we have eliminated ourselves from the experience of mercy! – And having not experienced mercy, we have not experienced God! We have the form of godliness, but deny the power thereof! And we shall be told by the King, “I never knew you!” upon entering eternity! For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. (1 Cor. 4:20). If God does not intervene, we shall send some of the most finely, religious trained souls to hell from this generation!
Restoring sinners requires an experience in mercy! Gal. 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. 2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
One cannot be involved in the restoration of a sinner unless he is spiritual! And “being spiritual” doesn’t mean being religious! It means the considering of one’s own need of mercy and restoration! For we are to pray that God will only forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have committed trespasses against us! (Matt. 6:12). WOW!! And it is only those who are merciful who shall receive mercy! (Matt. 5:7). Matthew 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
The involvement with a fallen brother is to be a reminder of our own past needs of merciful restoration, and also to give us the opportunity to act out God’s part in extending mercy to others! Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
The key to helping others lies not in “Christian” self help books! The key to helping others lies solely in the experience of ourselves being helped by God, when in our own failings! The Apostle Paul lays this out very clearly in his writings!
2 Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
God’s teachings are by our experiences! Dear Reader, what did the early church do before the printing press was invented? What did they have to rely on before there were any bibles available, and affordable to the common man for so many years? Experiential mercy and grace taught them! And so they should today!
Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
And God says that individual teaching of converts is not essential to the spread of spirituality! For in his kingdom they shall be all taught of God! (John 6:45). And God, who is a Spirit (John 4:24), shall teach them the spiritual by experiential mercy!
Hebrews 8:11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
Proverbs 16:23 The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips. Out of the heart filled with the mercy and grace of God their mouth speaketh! (Lk. 6:45). Truth always comes from within!
Job 36:22 Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him? 38:36 Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart? Psalm 51:6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
The continuation of the embodiment of God’s truth has never been maintained by divinity schools, or religious organizations, teaching the brain through the outer ear! The truth of God has always been kept in the hands, and under the control of the Holy Spirit! 1 Cor. 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
For it is only as the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers are directed by the Spirit to teach, and the elect children of God are enabled by the same Spirit to hear, that the truth of God is extended into each generation!
Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Consider these verses: Hebrews 10:15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, 16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; 17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
1 John 2:24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.. 27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
“For while faith ought to look to God, he (the Holy Spirit) alone can be a witness to himself, so as to convince our hearts that what our ears receive has come from him.” John Calvin (Vol. XXII, pg. 200.)
Pastor Gene Breed
April 14, 2011.
