Exercising Mercy (Part 3)
Matthew 7:1 “Judge not, that ye be not judged.”
vs. 2 “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”
Romans 14:4 “Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.”
James 2:13 “For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.”
James 4:11”Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.”
vs. 12 “There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?”
Do you know the murderer can find mercy, the prostitute can find mercy, the drunk can find mercy, but the one who will show no mercy, can find NONE!!!
James 2:13 ”For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy;"
Every disciple fled for his life when Jesus was arrested and crucified.
Zechariah 13:7 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.”
Matthew 26:31 “Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.”
The best men fail at times.
Where was God when Adam sinned? Trying to reconcile things.
Where were you the last time someone in church messed up and fled? Were you looking for them?
Were you looking to reclaim them?
Who is the church for? For the sinless or the sinner seeking to do right?
For whom did Christ die? You understand that the reason Christ's death was so morbid, so violent, so brutal was because that is the treatment we deserved.
God laid our stripes on Jesus because that is what we should have faced.
Show me the great stories in your Bible. Let us start with the gospel of John and see how many “sinners” our Lord worked with.
John 3 - a proud foolish religious leader
John 4 - a woman with five husbands living with a sixth
John 6 - quitters because the preaching was hard to understand
John 8 - an adulterous woman
Further in the book of John we find:
• boastful Peter... “though all forsake you, I never will”
• Judas who betrayed Jesus.
• disciples who forsook Him.
• After seeing the Lord resurrected, Thomas doubted and all the rest of the disciples went back to fishing.
The Lord only worked with sinners, and mercy flowed freely.
At this moment, some of the finest of God's servants sit useless because of the judgmental spirit of God's people. I believe some of the best Christians in America sit doing nothing today because of criticism and slander. Some have been so critical and hard on others, offering absolutely no mercy, that today they too sit doing little or nothing because those who offer no mercy find no mercy.
Perhaps the greatest president America has ever had relaxes in Florida today because of arrogant, slanderous people who will give an account for every word. Sadly, when they need help from Heaven, there may be none because of their merciless treatment of a decent President.
Mercy is a wonderful commodity to give. Judgment without mercy is a terrible weapon to use against others, for it will most certainly come back on us.
Pastor