1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,960 That's great singing tonight. 2 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:16,600 And it prepares us well for our theme this evening, which is the mercy and grace of God. 3 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:23,040 I'd like for you to turn please to Ephesians chapter 2 as we look at the theme as it's 4 00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:30,640 revealed in the context of this second chapter of Ephesians. 5 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:35,920 To understand something more about the love, grace, and mercy of God, we need to back up 6 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:44,800 to verse 1 to get the whole context. 7 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:53,080 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when 8 00:00:53,080 --> 00:01:01,200 you followed the ways of this world, and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit 9 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:06,680 who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 10 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:15,040 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature 11 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:18,600 and following its desires and thoughts. 12 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:23,240 Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 13 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:26,760 That's what we were, dear people, before we were saved. 14 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:34,320 And every phrase and every word in that first section of this paragraph describes the lost 15 00:01:34,320 --> 00:01:39,640 person in his estate outside of Christ. 16 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:43,000 Verse 4 begins, though, with a pivotal word. 17 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:47,240 It swings the whole tone, the whole direction of thought. 18 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:59,560 He says, But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive 19 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:04,440 with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions. 20 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:08,480 It is by grace you have been saved. 21 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:15,280 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ 22 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:23,600 Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his 23 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:30,200 grace expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 24 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:36,560 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it 25 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:42,800 is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. 26 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:48,760 For we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared 27 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:52,080 in advance for us to do. 28 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:58,120 Specifically, this evening we are looking at the mercy and grace of God. 29 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:03,480 These two characteristics of God are similar to his love. 30 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:09,280 In fact, I think it is appropriate to say that they flow out of God's love. 31 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:14,200 But God's love alone could not save a single sinner. 32 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:19,160 Though God desires men to be saved, though God loves men, God so loved the world that 33 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:24,480 he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believed this in him should not perish but 34 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:26,840 have everlasting life. 35 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:29,880 But God's love alone cannot save. 36 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:41,480 God's grace and God's mercy play the all-important role of securing redemption for the lost sinner, 37 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:44,960 so that God's love can save him. 38 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:47,280 We have so many hymns written around this theme. 39 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:49,680 We have sung a few of them tonight. 40 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:54,600 I think of the words of Joseph Addison regarding mercy when he wrote, 41 00:03:54,600 --> 00:04:02,040 When all thy mercies, O my God, my rising soul surveys, 42 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:09,480 Transported with the view, I am lost in wonder, love, and praise. 43 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:12,440 And then regarding grace, Charles Wesley wrote, 44 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:17,600 O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise, 45 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:24,640 The glories of my God and King, The triumphs of his grace. 46 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:29,560 Mercy and grace are distinct, and yet they are similar. 47 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:32,080 They are separate, and yet they are intertwined truths, 48 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:35,800 and that is why we are looking at them together. 49 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:40,640 Were it not for these glorious attributes of God, I would repeat, 50 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:48,480 We could not be saved, but because of God's grace and mercy, we are. 51 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:52,040 Let's think of a definition for grace and for mercy. 52 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:57,880 Dr. Mark Cambren has this helpful paragraph in his book, 53 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:02,680 There is very little difference in the meaning of mercy and grace. 54 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:09,840 Mercy, generally speaking, is used in the Old Testament and grace in the New Testament. 55 00:05:09,840 --> 00:05:12,560 That's a pretty general statement, alright. 56 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:17,720 Old Testament mercy and loving kindness go together. 57 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:27,400 In fact, in Psalm 136, there is an antiphonal choir number recorded for us without music, 58 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:29,600 and it magnifies the mercy of God. 59 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:34,840 In the King James Version, it says, after the first phrase in each verse, 60 00:05:34,840 --> 00:05:37,240 it says, For his mercy endures forever. 61 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:39,040 Remember that Psalm? 62 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:44,240 In the New American Standard Bible, it says, For his loving kindness endures forever. 63 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:45,960 I repeat what Dr. Cambren said. 64 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:49,920 Old Testament mercy and loving kindness go together. 65 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:55,000 Someone has said that mercy is negative and loving kindness is positive. 66 00:05:55,000 --> 00:06:00,600 Mercy is shown to the disobedient, and loving kindness is showered upon the obedient. 67 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:03,080 Both together mean grace. 68 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:09,760 Richard de Haan said, God's mercy may be defined as God's goodness to man in his 69 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:14,400 misery due to sin. 70 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:20,720 Mercy has to do with the wretchedness of sin, while grace has to do with its guilt. 71 00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:27,120 In other words, God's mercy is His love reaching out to us in our misery because of our lostness 72 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:29,680 and our helplessness. 73 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:35,840 And God's grace is that which forgives our sins and provides for that forgiveness by 74 00:06:35,840 --> 00:06:42,280 the innocent substitution of Jesus Christ in our behalf. 75 00:06:42,280 --> 00:06:48,120 Let's think of them individually rather than together for a moment. 76 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:56,840 Mercy is the manifestation of God's compassion in relieving the sinner from his misery. 77 00:06:56,840 --> 00:07:05,840 It is the manifestation of God's compassion in relieving the sinner from his misery. 78 00:07:05,840 --> 00:07:15,200 It is described in the Bible by words like these, great, plenteous, from everlasting 79 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:24,000 to everlasting, tender, abundant, sure, new every morning, filling the earth, above the 80 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:26,080 heavens. 81 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:28,760 Those are some kind of adjectives, aren't they? 82 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:31,040 Describing God's mercy. 83 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:34,440 And yet that is how God describes His mercy in the Bible. 84 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:40,160 In general, there are two aspects of His mercy as we see it in the Word. 85 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:46,640 There is the general aspect of His mercy, which is evidence to all of creation. 86 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:49,640 God is merciful to all of His creation. 87 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:56,040 In Psalm 145 verse 9 it says, the Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over 88 00:07:56,040 --> 00:07:59,800 all His works. 89 00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:05,040 So in a general sense, in that aspect, God's mercy is poured out upon all of creation. 90 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:10,360 There is no aspect of His creation where His mercy is not poured out in evidence to His 91 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:13,000 glory. 92 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:18,640 But we usually think of mercy in a more specialized context, and that is the second aspect. 93 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:22,520 It is two repentant sinners. 94 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:29,840 This is what is described in Romans chapter 9 when it speaks of those saved as being vessels 95 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:36,400 of mercy which God had prepared before unto glory. 96 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:42,240 You and I who have trusted Jesus Christ cannot boast at all in that we have done something 97 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:44,960 to gain our salvation. 98 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:50,380 We cannot even brag that we believed on God, for there is a very real sense in which even 99 00:08:50,380 --> 00:08:56,400 our faith, our believing in Christ, is a gift that God gives to us. 100 00:08:56,400 --> 00:09:01,320 In fact, that seems to be the real thrust of this verse here in Ephesians chapter 2 101 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:05,960 when it says, For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not 102 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:09,800 from yourselves, it is the gift of God. 103 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:16,040 So there is a sense in which even the act of believing on the Lord Jesus Christ is a 104 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:19,040 special privilege that God gives to us. 105 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:26,120 It is a mercy that He extends to us, and thus in Romans 9 we are called vessels of mercy 106 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:30,120 which God prepared for glory. 107 00:09:30,120 --> 00:09:38,640 And then grace may be defined as God's goodness toward the ill-deserving. 108 00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:43,960 It is God's goodness to those who do not deserve it, but who deserve something else entirely. 109 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:48,040 That was what Richard E. Hahn said, goodness toward the ill-deserving. 110 00:09:48,040 --> 00:09:54,680 That which caused God to undertake on behalf of the sinner His guilt and His penalty is 111 00:09:54,680 --> 00:09:58,280 grace. 112 00:09:58,280 --> 00:10:03,700 He gave His Son in the place of the sinner on the cross. 113 00:10:03,700 --> 00:10:06,540 That is His grace in action. 114 00:10:06,540 --> 00:10:11,280 And we must remember that salvation is all of grace. 115 00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:19,000 As I have already stated when we talked about mercy, human effort is entirely ruled out. 116 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:22,520 Salvation is entirely of the Lord. 117 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:26,720 It begins by grace, Titus 2.11. 118 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:33,600 It continues by grace, that is our salvation continues by grace, and it will be consummated 119 00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:37,440 by grace and not by my efforts. 120 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:45,840 Because salvation is by grace and not by works, I am secure in my position in Jesus Christ. 121 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:51,840 If I could lose my salvation because of some disobedient act on my part, it would mean 122 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:58,400 then that somehow my works affect my salvation, and they do not, either in my securing it 123 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:01,560 in the first place or my keeping it. 124 00:11:01,560 --> 00:11:08,480 Works have nothing to do with my salvation as far as getting it and maintaining it. 125 00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:12,080 Certainly good works are the outflow of our salvation. 126 00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:17,560 God saves us so that good works may proceed from our lives for His glory, but good works 127 00:11:17,560 --> 00:11:22,800 have nothing to do with our getting salvation or our keeping it. 128 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:27,720 It begins, continues, and will be completed by grace. 129 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:34,040 I think that John Newton perhaps has captured these three aspects of grace in his hymn, 130 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:36,240 Amazing Grace. 131 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:43,760 Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. 132 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:48,840 I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see. 133 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:52,240 That's the past aspect to it. 134 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:59,200 He goes on to say, "'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved. 135 00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:04,240 How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed." 136 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:09,080 It seems to me here he is thinking not only of that salvation moment, but then God's 137 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:17,480 grace in leading him to fear, for his fears to be relieved and for him to fear the Lord. 138 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:22,680 And then finally he says, "'Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come. 139 00:12:22,680 --> 00:12:32,640 "'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.'" 140 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:40,320 In his commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians, Dr. Louis Barry Schaeffer has an excellent 141 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:41,320 paragraph. 142 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:45,640 Of course, he's a very helpful commentator. 143 00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:53,280 "'The exceeding riches of his grace are no less than all that the infinite God can 144 00:12:53,280 --> 00:13:00,520 do for the sinner when every barrier is broken down and every moral hindrance is removed. 145 00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:08,200 The measureless character of his kindness toward the one who puts his trust in the Savior 146 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:15,440 is seen in that transformation by which the sinner is taken from the lost estate and is 147 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:22,680 exalted to the highest conceivable position in heaven, there to be presented faultless 148 00:13:22,680 --> 00:13:29,760 before the presence of God, conformed to the image of his Son, and without blame before 149 00:13:29,760 --> 00:13:31,040 him. 150 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:38,200 What greater thing could infinite love desire than that the sinner, utterly doomed on earth, 151 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:43,440 should be through riches of grace like him in heaven?' 152 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:47,800 That's what grace and mercy have done for us. 153 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:56,240 We lost, condemned sinners without hope in the world apart from God, without life, have 154 00:13:56,240 --> 00:14:01,280 not only been forgiven of our sins, but we have been given a standing before God, described 155 00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:04,280 in our text in Ephesians 2. 156 00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:11,640 There is a standing before God that sees us vitally united to Jesus Christ. 157 00:14:11,640 --> 00:14:13,160 We are one with him. 158 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:16,840 We are joined to him. 159 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:18,460 When he died, we died. 160 00:14:18,460 --> 00:14:21,680 When he was buried, we were buried with him. 161 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:25,560 When he rose from the dead, we did too. 162 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:28,980 When he ascended to heaven, we were with him in that. 163 00:14:28,980 --> 00:14:36,100 And now he is seated there in the heavenly places in his kingly and glorious session 164 00:14:36,100 --> 00:14:41,960 before the presence of God, and in Christ we too are there. 165 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:47,880 Whatever has happened to Jesus Christ has happened to you because you are in Christ, 166 00:14:47,880 --> 00:14:54,400 and that is God's grace and mercy, his provision for your salvation. 167 00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:59,080 Let's think of the manifestation of God's grace and mercy. 168 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:02,620 We've already touched upon that somewhat. 169 00:15:02,620 --> 00:15:11,720 God can show mercy and grace toward sinful men because of the work of Christ. 170 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:18,840 Perhaps one of the key passages undergirding that truth is found in Romans 3. 171 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:29,840 We have in verses 23 to 25 of Romans 3 an amazing statement. 172 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:35,960 In fact, I think that there are few paragraphs in the Bible that are packed with so many 173 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:41,920 theological thoughts and words as this particular paragraph in Romans 3. 174 00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:45,600 I'm going to pick up just a few words from verse 22 where it says, 175 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:53,960 There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are 176 00:15:53,960 --> 00:16:02,480 justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 177 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:12,080 Think of verse 25, God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his 178 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:13,800 blood. 179 00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:22,400 He did this to demonstrate his justice because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed 180 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:28,520 beforehand unpunished, referring to those sins of the Old Testament that were under 181 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:36,440 the blood of atoning animals but were not forgiven. 182 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:39,040 They were covered over by the atonement. 183 00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:44,760 He goes on to say, He did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to 184 00:16:44,760 --> 00:16:52,160 be just and the one who justifies the man who has faith in Jesus. 185 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:56,680 Now I'm particularly interested in what it says in verse 25 where it says, God presented 186 00:16:56,680 --> 00:17:04,400 him as a sacrifice of atonement, as the NIV puts it, but that is a marvelous word translated 187 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:08,960 in the King James as propitiation. 188 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:16,240 God set him forth as the propitiation for our sins. 189 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:18,800 A propitiation, what is that? 190 00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:25,640 Well, in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross there were three results, and each result 191 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:29,200 is toward a different end. 192 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:36,000 This word propitiation is the result of the work of Christ toward God. 193 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:39,240 God has been propitiated by the work of Christ. 194 00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:41,280 Now what does that mean? 195 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:47,920 Well, it means that the righteousness and the holiness, the justice of God has been 196 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:54,640 satisfied through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on our behalf. 197 00:17:54,640 --> 00:18:01,400 He as an innocent substitute took your place and mine upon the cross. 198 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:04,520 He died in our stead. 199 00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:13,000 He took upon himself the wrath of God for our sins, and thus God is propitiated toward 200 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:17,100 us who are in Christ. 201 00:18:17,100 --> 00:18:24,400 This word propitiation, as we see it here, is translated a different way over in Hebrews 202 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:25,400 chapter 9. 203 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:26,400 Just turn over there. 204 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:28,120 This is kind of interesting, I think. 205 00:18:28,120 --> 00:18:37,900 It shows how wonderfully our faith is put together and how wonderful the Bible is in 206 00:18:37,900 --> 00:18:41,940 revealing these truths to us. 207 00:18:41,940 --> 00:18:48,280 In Hebrews chapter 9, the writer speaks about the first covenant, that is the covenant of 208 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:56,480 the law, and some of the regulations for worship and the pieces of furniture to that tabernacle 209 00:18:56,480 --> 00:19:01,240 which the Jews had. 210 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:08,680 He says in verse 2, a tabernacle was set up in its first room where the lampstand, the 211 00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:11,260 table, and the consecrated bread. 212 00:19:11,260 --> 00:19:14,920 This was called the holy place. 213 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:22,560 Beyond the second curtain was a room called the most holy place, which had the golden 214 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:29,480 altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. 215 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:38,140 This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron's rod that had budded, and the stone 216 00:19:38,140 --> 00:19:41,000 tablets of the covenant. 217 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:53,560 Look at verse 5, above the ark were the cherubim of the glory, overshadowing the place of atonement 218 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:57,120 or the mercy seat. 219 00:19:57,120 --> 00:19:58,120 Did you get the picture? 220 00:19:58,120 --> 00:20:06,120 He's describing this box or this ark of the covenant as it is called. 221 00:20:06,120 --> 00:20:12,600 He tells us what is in it, and he says that the mercy seat was made out of gold and it 222 00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:20,920 was fashioned into these cherubim who held out their wings covering that place called 223 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:25,560 the mercy seat or the place of atonement. 224 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:30,320 That very word there for mercy seat or the place of atonement as it is in the NIV is 225 00:20:30,320 --> 00:20:36,520 the same word as propitiation back here in Romans 3 when it describes Jesus. 226 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:42,160 He is the propitiation or we can say he is the mercy seat. 227 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:46,480 What was the significance of that mercy seat in the Old Testament? 228 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:56,300 That was the place where the high priest once a year would sprinkle the blood of a sacrifice. 229 00:20:56,300 --> 00:21:02,040 There was on that day of atonement when he would enter in behind that veil described 230 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:13,320 here into the most holy place, coming into that sacred room where the very presence of 231 00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:18,360 God was manifested between the cherubim. 232 00:21:18,360 --> 00:21:22,400 That is where the Shekinah, the glory was. 233 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:28,080 There below the glory was this gold covering to the ark called the mercy seat and it was 234 00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:31,080 there he would sprinkle the blood. 235 00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:34,520 It was there that justice was accomplished. 236 00:21:34,520 --> 00:21:40,040 The blood indicated that the sentence was carried out upon a substitute for the sins 237 00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:41,720 of the nation. 238 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:46,640 And the blood of that innocent substitute, that animal, was brought in and placed before 239 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:52,760 God as an atonement, a covering for the sins of the nation for that year. 240 00:21:52,760 --> 00:21:56,840 We no longer have that, of course, because that is fulfilled. 241 00:21:56,840 --> 00:21:59,800 This ritual is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. 242 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:02,120 He is now the propitiation. 243 00:22:02,120 --> 00:22:05,320 He is the mercy seat. 244 00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:11,160 He was the innocent substitute who shed his blood for our sins. 245 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:17,720 That's why he is called the propitiation or the sacrifice of atonement, or we can say 246 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:22,520 he is the mercy seat where we meet God. 247 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:30,120 God's grace and mercy are manifested in that work of the Lord Jesus Christ. 248 00:22:30,120 --> 00:22:35,240 Now let's think about some application and we'll be on our way. 249 00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:38,240 We have defined God's grace and his mercy briefly. 250 00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:43,200 We have looked at it being manifested in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, shedding his 251 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:44,760 blood for our sins. 252 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:47,280 Now let's think of application. 253 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:50,160 What does this mean to us? 254 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:57,800 In the first place, these truths that we're talking about should be brought to our minds 255 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:01,440 very often. 256 00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:07,800 In other words, we should sing of them as we are commanded in Psalm 89.1, where the 257 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:14,400 psalmist says, I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever. 258 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:20,420 I believe that we ought to sing often of the mercy of God and realize what we're singing 259 00:23:20,420 --> 00:23:23,400 as we do it. 260 00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:30,560 As those words of one hymn writer said, depth of mercy, can there be mercy there reserved 261 00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:32,360 for me? 262 00:23:32,360 --> 00:23:40,480 Can my God his wrath forbear, me the chief of sinners spare? 263 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:44,320 Those are not words that you find in some little ditty of a chorus written in the 20th 264 00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:46,800 century, that's for sure. 265 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:51,560 Or other hymns that are written that speak of this, depth of mercy, as I've just quoted, 266 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:57,280 majestic sweetness sits enthroned upon the Savior's brow. 267 00:23:57,280 --> 00:24:02,280 That verse concludes, his lips with grace or flow. 268 00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:10,000 There's a wideness in God's mercy, grace greater than my sin. 269 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:14,440 Grace tis a charming sound, harmonious to the ear. 270 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:22,700 Only a sinner saved by grace, wonderful grace of Jesus as we have sung tonight. 271 00:24:22,700 --> 00:24:26,760 We ought often to sing of the grace and the mercy of God, but we ought to do more than 272 00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:27,760 that. 273 00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:30,520 We ought to talk about it too. 274 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:36,260 In Psalm 107 verse 1 it says, O give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his mercy 275 00:24:36,260 --> 00:24:38,320 endureth forever. 276 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:45,360 And then it goes on to say, let the redeemed of the Lord say so, those he's redeemed from 277 00:24:45,360 --> 00:24:47,020 the hand of the enemy. 278 00:24:47,020 --> 00:24:48,360 Let him say what? 279 00:24:48,360 --> 00:24:51,680 That his mercy endures forever. 280 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:58,800 I was raised in a little country church that had on a typical Sunday night about a third 281 00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:00,720 of the size of this crowd. 282 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:03,400 That was a good evening. 283 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:06,600 And it was just as hot in that church as it is in this one. 284 00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:08,320 We had no air conditioning. 285 00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:12,160 The windows were thrown open in the summertime and it was a small enough town that I think 286 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:18,800 probably half the town knew when we were in church because, like you, we were a singing 287 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:21,080 church and enjoyed singing. 288 00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:25,200 And I can remember some great testimony meetings growing up. 289 00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:29,960 And there was one lady who every time she stood up, and that was almost every time we 290 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:33,960 had testimonies, she would quote that verse. 291 00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:37,360 Well, the Bible says, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. 292 00:25:37,360 --> 00:25:41,220 And then she would go on to give her testimony. 293 00:25:41,220 --> 00:25:43,080 I was confessed as a young person. 294 00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:46,720 I got a little old, got a little tired of hearing that statement, let the redeemed of 295 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:48,300 the Lord say so. 296 00:25:48,300 --> 00:25:52,480 And yet I appreciate it now more than ever what she was doing. 297 00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:54,760 She was simply obeying scripture. 298 00:25:54,760 --> 00:25:59,120 We ought to talk of the mercy and grace of God, how easy it is for us to get together 299 00:25:59,120 --> 00:26:07,880 and talk about the weather or to talk about sports or to talk about our kids or our house 300 00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:12,000 or what our plans for vacation are. 301 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:18,880 Folks, let's discipline ourselves to speak more often of God's mercy and grace when 302 00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:20,600 we get together. 303 00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:22,520 His mercy endures forever. 304 00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:25,800 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. 305 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:28,440 Encourage one another with those things. 306 00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:31,920 And then we ought to rejoice in the grace and the mercy of God. 307 00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:38,160 The psalmist said, I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy. 308 00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:49,180 If we get our eyes focused on scenes around us, as Dick said earlier, we will become depressed. 309 00:26:49,180 --> 00:26:53,800 This world is in a sad state. 310 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:57,120 And if we think about some of the things that happen to us, it's easy for us to become 311 00:26:57,120 --> 00:27:01,900 disillusioned and unhappy and unsettled. 312 00:27:01,900 --> 00:27:07,520 What we need to do is focus more upon the mercy and grace of God and rejoice in it. 313 00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:11,960 The little things that happen to us in this world are but for a while. 314 00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:16,480 Quickly they pass away and very soon we should all be in eternity. 315 00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:20,360 And we will be there in heaven by the grace and the mercy of God, and that will be the 316 00:27:20,360 --> 00:27:23,840 theme of our singing and our praise to God forever and ever. 317 00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:26,040 And why will that be so? 318 00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:31,840 Because it says in Ephesians 2 that forever God is going to keep revealing more aspects 319 00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:36,020 of his grace by doing kind things for us. 320 00:27:36,020 --> 00:27:40,400 I have no idea what God's got up his sleeve, so to speak, if you'll pardon that. 321 00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:43,800 A rather human way of putting it. 322 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:49,640 I don't know what God has in store, what he has planned, but God has things planned 323 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:56,720 so that throughout eternity new dimensions of grace will be revealed to all of his creation 324 00:27:56,720 --> 00:28:00,400 by his kindness toward us in Christ. 325 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:04,320 We ought therefore to rejoice in God's grace and mercy. 326 00:28:04,320 --> 00:28:07,440 So we should remind ourselves often of these things. 327 00:28:07,440 --> 00:28:11,600 And then we should trust his mercy and grace for our daily failures. 328 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:15,560 Do you fail every day? 329 00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:20,920 If you can go through a day without one failure, you're doing well. 330 00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:30,800 I think all of us realize that every day we need a fresh embassage of God's grace and 331 00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:33,280 mercy to our lives. 332 00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:38,360 I like what David said as he concluded Psalm 23. 333 00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:49,120 Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. 334 00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:51,240 Then of course he talks about heaven. 335 00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:55,820 But first he talks about this life. 336 00:28:55,820 --> 00:29:02,360 We were talking about Psalm 23 several weeks ago in our Wednesday night Bible study, and 337 00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:09,320 we noted that God's goodness and God's mercy there are probably the names of sheepdogs 338 00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:11,840 that God has. 339 00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:14,000 The shepherd is out in front leading his flock. 340 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:16,640 The Lord is my shepherd. 341 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:20,680 He's guiding the flock and leading the flock and caring for the flock, but behind the flock 342 00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:22,320 are his sheepdogs. 343 00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:26,480 Shepherds often had them, sheepdogs which would keep the sheep moving along with the 344 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:29,760 shepherd while he was out in front showing the way to go. 345 00:29:29,760 --> 00:29:35,040 It seems to me that that verse is simply saying that God has two sheepdogs, one called mercy 346 00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:40,120 and one called goodness, and that these two are with us all the days of our life. 347 00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:41,200 They move us along. 348 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:44,180 They nip at our heels when we lag behind. 349 00:29:44,180 --> 00:29:46,080 They minister to us when we are lost. 350 00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:48,320 They get us back with the flock. 351 00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:52,600 God's goodness and His mercy, we should trust them daily for our failures. 352 00:29:52,600 --> 00:30:00,520 This is what David trusted in Psalm 51 as he realized his sin and confessed it. 353 00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:07,120 And then finally, we ought to show mercy and be gracious to one another. 354 00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:14,040 Our God is noted for both grace and mercy, and we should be noted for the same. 355 00:30:14,040 --> 00:30:21,040 In other words, we ought to be forgiving. 356 00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:30,680 We ought to be willing to allow an offense to pass without retaliation, without a tit-for-tat 357 00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:37,020 kind of an attitude, the chip on the shoulder. 358 00:30:37,020 --> 00:30:40,560 We ought to be merciful to one another. 359 00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:45,080 Now in any kind of a congregation, there are going to be times when people will rub each 360 00:30:45,080 --> 00:30:52,940 other and there's the opportunity for offense or irritation. 361 00:30:52,940 --> 00:31:01,920 We ought to evidence God's mercy in those situations, and if need be, suffer the wrong. 362 00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:07,240 This is true not only in little personality clashes, but it's true in even things like 363 00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:11,480 monetary loss. 364 00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:15,880 Clark Morphew, who is a religion editor for one of the local newspapers, called me this 365 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:23,920 last week wanting to know my attitude about Bill Gothard and the suit that has been filed 366 00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:26,560 against him by some of his former workers. 367 00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:32,960 Maybe you haven't heard about that, but that's another episode and a saga that seems to be 368 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:38,000 going on with the Institute of Basic Youth Conflicts in the last couple of years. 369 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:44,280 Little charges which, if proven true, would be rather serious. 370 00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:48,360 I had to remind him a couple of times that they have not yet been proven true, but he 371 00:31:48,360 --> 00:31:51,600 wanted to know what I thought about that. 372 00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:57,760 I said, well, I think that you'll find a lot of Christians are coming to the defense of 373 00:31:57,760 --> 00:32:00,560 Bill Gothard in this matter. 374 00:32:00,560 --> 00:32:02,500 He said, why is that? 375 00:32:02,500 --> 00:32:06,120 Because the terrible things have been charged against him. 376 00:32:06,120 --> 00:32:11,880 I said, well, in the first place, he's a man of character and he believes in biblical 377 00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:14,160 principles. 378 00:32:14,160 --> 00:32:20,680 If these things are true, he's the kind of a man that will admit it and make it right. 379 00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:29,360 I said, secondly, the Bible forbids one Christian to take another Christian to court. 380 00:32:29,360 --> 00:32:34,640 These former staff members who claim to be Christians have sinned in doing that. 381 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:36,880 He says, where does the Bible say that? 382 00:32:36,880 --> 00:32:39,960 I said, in 1 Corinthians chapter 6. 383 00:32:39,960 --> 00:32:42,000 He said, then you would advise them not to go to court? 384 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:43,000 I said, yes. 385 00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:45,440 He said, well, what should they do then? 386 00:32:45,440 --> 00:32:46,440 They were wrong. 387 00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:50,600 I said, well, it's alleged that they were wrong. 388 00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:52,120 He said, what would you tell them to do? 389 00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:55,380 I said, well, I would tell them that if they couldn't talk to Bill Gothard and get anywhere 390 00:32:55,380 --> 00:33:01,440 to go to his board, and if they couldn't get anywhere with the board to drop it and 391 00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:04,080 to suffer the wrong. 392 00:33:04,080 --> 00:33:05,600 He said, you would tell them to suffer the wrong? 393 00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:08,200 I said, yes, I would. 394 00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:13,640 Dear people, that's exactly what they should have done, and that's what we should do. 395 00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:17,080 Rather than taking another believer to court, even in a matter of monetary loss, we need 396 00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:24,400 to be merciful to one another and not hang out our difficulties before the unsaved of 397 00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:26,840 the world for them to judge. 398 00:33:26,840 --> 00:33:31,140 It only brings harm to the cause of Christ when that's the case. 399 00:33:31,140 --> 00:33:36,440 We need to be merciful and gracious to each other in our homes. 400 00:33:36,440 --> 00:33:42,120 Husbands and wives need this, parents and children. 401 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:47,960 We need evidence, not only the strictness of the law to our kids, folks, but we need 402 00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:51,600 to show them that God is also gracious and merciful. 403 00:33:51,600 --> 00:34:00,400 I remember one time I was trying to illustrate this, I think, to my son. 404 00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:04,560 He was due for a spanking. 405 00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:09,720 So I thought, well, I'm going to illustrate a great theological truth to my son. 406 00:34:09,720 --> 00:34:14,360 I said, now, you deserve a spanking, isn't that right? 407 00:34:14,360 --> 00:34:17,400 I think he said yes. 408 00:34:17,400 --> 00:34:19,960 I said, I'm going to show you something. 409 00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:25,360 I'm going to be gracious, and I'm going to forgive you, but somebody has to suffer 410 00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:28,920 the wrong, so I'm going to give myself the spanking. 411 00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:33,880 So I used the spoon on myself. 412 00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:39,280 Then I said, now, I've taken the spanking for you, and you're forgiven. 413 00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:43,480 I'm not sure he got the full theological implications of that. 414 00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:51,080 I know that I was a little sore as a result of that particular illustration, but my point 415 00:34:51,080 --> 00:34:57,040 is that we need to illustrate to our children not only justice and righteousness, but we 416 00:34:57,040 --> 00:35:02,840 need to illustrate at times mercy and forgiveness. 417 00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:09,100 We ought to evidence these because they are aspects of our God and our Father. 418 00:35:09,100 --> 00:35:14,800 He is called the Father of mercies, and we as His children should resemble Him. 419 00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:21,180 I'd like for us to close this evening by singing a song about these characteristics 420 00:35:21,180 --> 00:35:23,800 of God. 421 00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:31,600 And in number 360, these words by Annie Johnson Flint, He giveth more grace. 422 00:35:31,600 --> 00:35:38,640 And here it speaks of the kind of grace that goes beyond just salvation, but it's the 423 00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:44,720 ministering, strengthening, enabling grace of God. 424 00:35:44,720 --> 00:35:50,640 As we speak this evening, it may be that you are troubled and burdened, and you're low 425 00:35:50,640 --> 00:35:54,000 because of problems in your life. 426 00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:58,920 I want you to look at these words as we sing them and believe them, because what is written 427 00:35:58,920 --> 00:36:01,440 here is based on Scripture. 428 00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:06,760 He gives more grace as the burdens grow greater. 429 00:36:06,760 --> 00:36:10,200 And if we can be of some spiritual counsel to you, I hope that you'll come to us after 430 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:12,200 the service and indicate that. 431 00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:15,360 We want to help you and minister to you in any way that we can. 432 00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:21,120 Let's stand and sing the first verse of number 360.