MEMORY VERSE: for he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment, James 2:13.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Num 30, Ps 74, Isa 22, 2 Pet 3
The simple definition of mercy is not getting what you deserve for your sins or transgression. A classical example of mercy is found in John 8:1-11. A woman was caught in adultery and brought to Jesus Christ for judgment. This woman was guilty as charged, whether the Pharisees brought the man she was committing adultery with or not she was guilty and she deserved a horrible death – death by stoning. From the day Moses gave the law, anyone caught in adultery had been stone to death so this woman knew that her case wasn’t going to be an exception. Jesus looked at her and offered her a second chance. That day the mercy of the Lord rejoiced over His judgment. Another example is the death of Jesus on the cross of Calvary. The wages of sin is death, Romans 6:23. The Lord says in Ezekiel 18:20 –the soul that sinneth, it shall die. For every sin we have committed we deserved a death penalty but Christ decided to die and instead of death penalty we received life.
We serve a God who is full of mercy. Lamentations 3:22 says it is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. In other words we woke up this morning not because we are healthy but because of His mercies. From studying Jeremiah 42:12, we come to the conclusion that God needs to show you mercy first before men can you mercy. In other words His mercy precedes men’s mercy. One important point I want you to know is that God is not obliged to show mercy to everyone . He says in Exodus 33:19 , I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. This suggests that there are certain conditions we need to satisfy before we can expect God’s mercy. The first condition is we must fear the Lord. According to Psalm 103:11, just as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is God's mercy towards them that fear Him. Those who fear the Lord run from all appearances of evil. Proverbs 16:6 says by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil. Proverbs 14:16 says a wise man fears the Lord and departs from evil.
The second condition is we must always show mercy. James 2:13 says for he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. God is only oblige to show mercy to those who are in the habit of showing mercy. Sometimes last year one of the staffs in my team did something that he should be sacked for right on the spot. The truth of the matter was it was unintentional, he did what he did with a noble intention but what he did was gross misconduct. To make matter worse it reflected badly on me as his supervisor but for a reason or the other I was not comfortable with the idea of sacking him partly because he was hard working. I prayed and I approached my manager and this staff was offered a second chance. Not too long after that I found myself in the same shoes. I investigated a matter sincerely and my findings where used against me. On technical grounds I should be sacked even without any hearing despite the volume of evidence against me. I had no one to appeal on my behalf but I had Jesus who could show mercy. Today I still have my job. The mercy of the Lord rejoiced against the judgment at the hearing.
PRAYER POINTS: Father as I show mercy please show me your mercy too.
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