Lord Have Mercy

[0:00] Welcome. Thank you for choosing to listen to this Spirit-filled word by David Inshu. When you catch a word, you have caught God. May you catch a word today that will cause God to change your story.

[0:13] Be blessed. Well, well, well, I am just excited because I'm about to speak about the mercies of God, the mercy of God.

[0:24] The mercy of God. Lord, have mercy. Listen, when you are a master of crying out for mercy, you will not be stranded in the highways of life.

[0:40] No! Why? Because God hears the cry of mercy. Why?

[0:50] Because he's not just a God of merit, but he's a God of mercy. I see that mercy is speaking for you.

[1:03] I see mercy defending you and mercy helping you. I know there are messy situations around you, but mercy will speak and defend you in spite of your mess.

[1:20] May mercy defend you in spite of your mess. In the mighty name of Jesus. Let's look at the text of Scripture.

[1:31] I want to read from Exodus chapter 34. Thank you, Jesus. Reading from the verse number 5. I'm reading from the King James Version.

[1:42] Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah, hallelujah. Exodus chapter 34 from verse 5. And the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord.

[2:00] And the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.

[2:23] And that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon the children's children unto the third and to the fourth generation.

[2:37] Hallelujah. What a text. We thank God for that. Now, the Bible says that this is a story, a very interesting story.

[2:50] A very interesting story. God, watch this, God visited Israel when they were in Egypt in the house of bondage. And by his supernatural hand, the Bible said, by an outstretched arm, he brought them out.

[3:05] So he brought them out by the leading of Moses, brought them out of Egypt and on their way to the promised land. Because God is a God of promise.

[3:15] The promised land is a land that he has promised to Abraham, not to them, to Abraham. And because of the covenant he established with Abraham, all the descendants of Abraham, the descendants of Abraham were bona fide beneficiaries of the promise he has made to Abraham by sending them and taking them to the promised land.

[3:38] And they leave Egypt in the wilderness. And God wanted to establish a relationship with them. But because human beings are flawed and we are not perfect, they must know how God does his things.

[3:53] So he gave them the law. The law was system to help them know how they should relate to God. And so Moses went up to the mountain to go and have interactions with God for God to bring them his system to relate with them.

[4:09] So they could know what to do when they go wrong or how to do what to please God. And a system, God had to put a system in place because they were a nation.

[4:19] And Moses went up. And because Moses was up with God for quite a few days, 40 days, the people told Aaron that Moses is not coming back.

[4:32] But we have to worship. Meanwhile, God has told them, I am Exodus chapter 20. I am the Lord your God. He gave them the commandments.

[4:43] The 10 first. He said, I am the Lord your God. Thou shall have no other God before me. There was no footprints unless Moses is not around.

[4:56] There wasn't any. He said, you shall have no other God before me. Period. And then he went on to say, thou shall not make unto thee any graven image of any likeness.

[5:07] He said, of any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth or that is in the water under the earth. For I am a jealous God. If you go down that line, you have provoked something that you can't contain.

[5:22] Thou shall not bow down thyself to them, nor save them. Why? For I, the Lord thy God, I am a jealous God. Visiting the inucity of the fathers or put the children onto the third and fourth generation of them.

[5:34] That hates me. If you do that, you hate me. If you give my worship to something else, to marriage, to money, to job, you are breaking the law. I don't want anything to be worshipped in my place.

[5:47] That was the first thing. And guess what? When Moses went up to the mountain to have interaction with God, before he could calm down, they have made a golden calf. And they have named the golden calf Jehovah.

[6:01] What an insult to God. They named me Jehovah. So God, you say we shouldn't worship any other God before him. This one is called you. So this is you we are worshipping. You see how sometimes we can be so smart.

[6:12] You know you are not serving God the way you should. And you are giving excuses because of the nature of my job. But you haven't done anything about the job. Right. Right. You haven't taken a lot of other things in God because of my children, because of my health, because of the virus.

[6:28] I can't go to church. But you have been to every funeral and party. Right. And shopping center restaurant. You, we, we, we can always find a replacement, a substitution to look like this is right because God even accepts it.

[6:44] And Bible says that God was provoked and God said, I'm going to wipe out these people. I'm going to deal with them because they have broken one of my primary rules I've given to them.

[6:57] And Moses, or something happened, I saw it in the scripture. I said, wow. Moses tried. You see, Moses had such a heart. And I believe every Christian leader must have this kind of heart.

[7:09] In Exodus chapter 32, verse 32. Moses said, you kill me in their place. Blot my name out of your book. So that, he says that, yet now, if you will forgive their sin, but if not, I pray, blot out my name from your book, which you have written.

[7:30] Moses said, please, you let me be the scapegoat like Paul in, I think, Romans chapter 9. He said, I have a heart for my people, Israel, and I wish I would be condemned so they would be saved.

[7:41] Something like that. He said, for their sake, I should be in love, and they should be saved. Now, Moses had the similar attitude. Moses said, Lord, you blot out my name and preserve your people.

[7:52] That is a good leader, a good spiritual leader, in spite of the mistakes of the people, crying out to God for mercy. Now, God said, no, no, no, no, listen, Moses, you are not qualified to die in their place.

[8:06] You are not qualified. And the Lord said, whoever has sinned against me, I'll blot him out of. So it's him who is culpable for what they have done. So, Moses, you can't do that.

[8:18] There's only one person who can die for others. Moses, you can't do it. Moses, you are going ahead. You can't do it. You are not good enough, one. And even if you are so good, your blood cannot save them.

[8:30] You can't die for them in their place. I have my own program. So God told Moses, not you, Moses. Not you, Moses. I have to judge sin, but you can't stand in their place.

[8:41] Not you, Moses. Not you, Moses. And so it became a dialogue before. And Moses said, Lord, if your presence does not go with us, don't go. Don't take us. Chapter 33. Now, Moses moved into chapter 33 and began to have a dialogue from verse 15.

[8:56] Began to have a dialogue with God, particularly verse 18 and 19. And Moses said, verse 18. Okay, let's go to verse 15. Verse 15. And then he said to him, if your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.

[9:11] Let's move on. Verse 16. And he said, for how shall this fool know that we are your people, except you are with us? And then verse 18 says that Moses asked God, and he said, please, show me.

[9:23] God said, my glory will go with you. And then my presence will go with you. Moses said, show me your glory. God said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You don't know what you're asking for. You can't take what you're asking for. Then he said, I will make what?

[9:36] All. Not some. All. You can't see all my glory, but I will let all my goodness pass before you. And I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you.

[9:49] I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and I will have compassion. Give me King James. I will have compassion or I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy upon.

[10:01] Now, the reason why it's compassion there, in fact, another translation says that my loving kindness, loving kindness, tender mercies. All right. It's all, I will show mercy, loving kindness.

[10:12] It's the Hebrew word is hesek. Okay. It's hesed. It's kesed or hesed. Hebrew word translated mercy. And that particular Hebrew word, it's, you know, there are some languages, something said, a word in a language, one language, and you are struggling to translate it properly in the other language because there's no word in that other language that can really articulate or encapsulate or express cogently that word.

[10:42] So there's no matching word. So you need, you may use different, different expressions and other words a lot to explain one word. Now, mercy or kesed, kesed is like that.

[10:53] That word mercy is sometimes translated loving kindness. It's other times translated goodness. It's other times translated steadfast love. Sometimes it's translated kindness, goodness, favor, faithfulness, covenant, love, and the rest.

[11:07] So it's not only one word that, when we see kesed, it means loving kindness. It means goodness. It means God's faithfulness. It means God's mercy or God's mercies.

[11:20] It means God's forgiveness. It means God's favor. It means God's faithfulness. Steadfast love. Unchanging love. It means all that.

[11:31] And so God told Moses, my faithfulness, my steadfast love, my unchanging love, my forgiveness. Uh-oh. The people have sinned. It's that my forgiveness will go before you.

[11:43] So I will let my mercy. That's why it translated loving kindness. I will let my mercy go before you. I will not show you my, you can't see my glory, but I will let all this, verse 19 again.

[11:56] He said, I will let all my goodness pass before thee and I'll proclaim the name of the Lord and I'll be gracious to whom I'll be gracious and will show my mercy on whom I will show mercy.

[12:08] I will show my mercy on whom I will show mercy. So God told Moses that this is what I'm going to do. And then he takes Moses, hides Moses, said, you can't see my face, but a part of me will pass.

[12:22] So he took Moses and hid him. And then he let his, he passed. And then Moses then saw just the backside. He said, I'll only let you see my backside. He said, you can't see my face and leave.

[12:34] I'll hide you. Then later after I pass, I'll remove my hand so you can see my backside. Watch this. So that's what God said Moses. He was going to do to Moses. So in the, in the next chapter, chapter 34, when you read from the verse one, ask me where, let's go to the verse five again.

[12:49] And the verse five says that, verse five says that, and the Lord descended in a cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord. Watch this. Verse, verse six.

[13:00] This is what God said he'm going to. And the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed the Lord, the Lord God. Watch this. Mercyful. This says that I will show you this.

[13:11] I will show you that I am merciful. I'm gracious. I'm long suffering, abundant in goodness and truth. This is all his mercy. So I will show you because these people have sinned against me and I have to deal with them.

[13:27] But there is something, watch this brothers and sisters. There is something about God, according to scriptures, that can easily be known by nature. That nature, when you look at nature and creation, we can see the greatness of God.

[13:43] We can see the splendor of God. We can see the creative abilities and power of God by looking at nature. We can see how God has God designed. Look at your eyes.

[13:54] Look at your eyes. Look at your beautiful nose. Come on. Look at your nice head. Your nice. I mean, look at the mountains. Look at the birds. Some of them are very nice.

[14:05] Some of them are very funny looking. Look at the animals. It's interesting. God's beauty. The beauty of God has design. So when you look at nature, you can see the greatness of God.

[14:16] You can see his power. You can see his design. You can see his intelligence. There is an intelligent being behind. So there are things that when you look at creature, you will see. But when you look at creature, one of the things you will not see, it must be revealed, is the mercy of God.

[14:31] The mercy of God must be revealed. Else, man will never know how merciful, how forgiving God is. It must be revealed. That is why, by God's grace, I am sharing this message.

[14:44] Lord, have mercy. Because you have to know that God is a God of mercy. So that was the first time in scripture when God revealed that, listen, I'm going to show my mercy.

[14:57] He spoke about he being a God of mercy. But before then, he has demonstrated mercy throughout. But never declared that this is what I'm doing. So he said, now I'm telling you, I will declare my mercy.

[15:09] But in Adam, Adam sinned against God. God had mercy and covered Adam with the blood. And he maintained Adam in a resisting relationship with Adam.

[15:20] Noah, God says that Noah found favor. What did he do exceptionally? It was God. You see, Adam in his sin, God took a step to kind of cover him.

[15:32] Noah, he was living among sinful people. But for some reason, God spared him and his household. God found a way to reach out to Noah. God found a way to reach out to Abraham.

[15:43] He was an idol worshiper. He was living amongst idol worshipers. And he himself was like that. Why did God come to him? He's trying to say, listen, listen. I'm a God who is of mercy. I just reach out to people by my own will, by my mercies, not by their merits.

[15:57] I reach out to them. God showed Abraham mercy. In fact, Lot, in Genesis chapter 19, verse 19, God said, you have shown me such loving kindness.

[16:08] You have shown me such mercies. Genesis chapter 19, verse 19, it said, behold now, thy servant has found grace in thy side, in thy side, and has magnified thy mercy, which thou has showed unto me in saving my life.

[16:23] That's Lord speaking about, I've experienced your mercy. Jacob spoke about, in Genesis chapter 32, verse 10, how you have shown me mercy. Jacob spoke about his mercy.

[16:34] I've seen your mercy. I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies. So Jacob was saying, listen, when I look at some of the things I've done, even the way I lied to get the blessing, you shouldn't have given me the blessing.

[16:46] But I don't deserve it. But there's something about God. He's the God of mercy. He said, religious people don't realize, they don't know it. It takes revelation.

[16:59] God must reveal to you that he's a God of mercy. So you can approach him, even when you feel, you feel you should run away from him, you can come to him and don't ask for money. Don't ask for marriage.

[17:10] Don't ask for material things. Don't ask for anything. Even don't ask for righteousness. Ask for mercy. So he showed Abraham mercy. He showed Isaac mercy. He showed Jacob mercy.

[17:21] He showed Joseph mercy. All throughout scriptures, even before he declared himself that this is my name, I am the God of mercy. Even before he did that, he was showing mercy all the time.

[17:33] Because God is a God of mercy. With him is mercy. With him is plenteous of mercy. God has mercy. In the scriptures, there are about seven different adjectives that's used to describe, to throw light on the mercy of God.

[17:50] For instance, the Bible talks about his tender mercies. His tender mercies. That means that he's so gentle and loving in dealing with us. Not because we are deserving.

[18:03] Not because we are loving. But he is reaching out with tenderness in our bruised and our sinful state. He's reaching out with tenderness. He's a God of mercy.

[18:14] The Bible talks about his tender mercy. Psalm 25 verse 6. Psalm 51 verse 1. God, your tender mercies. Your tender. Remember, your tender mercies.

[18:25] Hallelujah. And now we talk, we hear about the great mercies. God is great. He asks, God is great and his mercy is great. His favor is great. Can you imagine? We are great sinners who have been shown great mercies.

[18:41] Enjoying great favor in God. Living great lives. Getting ready to join God in great heaven. To enjoy greatness. Hallelujah. His mercy is great.

[18:52] Psalm 57 verse 10. It talks about great mercies. Psalm 57 verse 10. Talks about how for thy mercy is great unto the heaven and thy truth into the cloud.

[19:04] And in Psalm 86 verse 13. Great is thy mercies. Great is thy mercy towards me. Someone shout mercy. Mercy. Great is thy.

[19:16] So we are talking about God is great in mercy. In Numbers chapter 14 verse 18. It talks about how God is a God of mercy and is great.

[19:27] The Lord is long suffering and of. Hey, hey. Someone say great mercy. So God's mercies are tender mercies. His mercies are great.

[19:37] Forgiving iniquity and transgression and by no means clearing the guilty. He forgives iniquity and transgressions. That's because he's merciful. But at the same time, he doesn't clear the guilty.

[19:49] So this sounds like an oxymoron. How can he forgive and then clear and not clear the guilty? If you are guilty, then you don't deserve forgiveness. Yes, that is where mercy comes in.

[20:01] Mercy is what makes the one who is guilty be able to enjoy forgiveness. Enjoy. So God does not deal with you based on your transgressions. He said, if Lord, you thou, Lord, should regard iniquity, who will stand?

[20:14] Psalm 130. If you should regard iniquity, who will stand? God has not dealt with us according to our weaknesses. He has not dealt with us according to our weaknesses.

[20:24] If the Lord should regard iniquity, mark iniquity, none of us will be able to stand. So he just has to be a God of mercy. Shout mercy. Mercy. God is a God of mercy.

[20:35] I'm talking to somebody. I know a lot has gone on in your past. Even there are things that your father had done that is meant to bring judgment on you. Your mother might have done in their ignorance.

[20:46] In your father's ignorance, he was trying to break through. He destroyed lives. He pulled people down so he can rise. And he has brought a malady. He has brought, evoked evil, evil men upon the family.

[21:01] But mercy, mercy, iniquity, iniquity, things that are in your bloodline you didn't even know about. Things that are in your past. God has mercy. He will pardon iniquity.

[21:12] That is why God has to deal with you in mercy. Because you remember, one day you were drunk. You were drunk and you prayed that God, please, don't let them find this out. And guess what?

[21:23] The mercy of God prevailed. I mean, you went to do some dangerous thing and now you were praying that Lord, don't let me catch STD. Don't let me catch.

[21:34] And God answered that prayer. He must be a God of mercy. Even before you became born again, he was showing mercy. He was covering you.

[21:44] He did not allow the enemy to have an upper hand over you. Because if he had not stepped in by his mercy, you and I wouldn't have been standing here. How could I be still standing here preaching?

[21:55] Man, I am not that good. I am not that fantastic. I am not that flawless. But what I obtain, I obtain mercy. Mercy is what makes me be able to stand here and speak to you.

[22:06] So if I can stand here and speak, I'm telling you, it's a function of mercy which everyone is entitled to if you can provoke it. Wow.

[22:19] Mercy. Mercy. Paul said. First Timothy chapter 1 verse 13. I persecuted the church. I was insolent.

[22:29] But I obtained. Ah. Who was before a blasphemer, a persecutor, injurious. But I obtained mercy. Someone said, Lord have mercy.

[22:40] Lord have mercy. Shall Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. You know, human beings will be very much aware of some things you have done. And if others don't know, you do know.

[22:53] Others may not know about your sins. Some know. And there are some sins no one knows. But you know. But there are other things that others don't know. And you don't even know that it's in your past.

[23:04] Because someone did some stuff and you compromised. You used to blast and you used to insult pastors about tithe. And yet, God still gave you a good job.

[23:17] Mercy. Mercy. Yeah. Mercy. Mercy Lord. Mercy Lord.

[23:27] Mercy Lord. So, God has great. In Luke chapter 1, this is Elizabeth talking about. God has shown great mercy. 58. God.

[23:37] Sorry. He says that. And this is the neighbors of Elizabeth talking about. How they saw how God has showed great mercy upon her. And they rejoiced with her. Hey. Her cousins. The neighbors and cousins heard that she's pregnant.

[23:50] They knew that this is mercy. Listen. There are some good things that happen in your life that are purely a function of the mercy of God. Yeah. Purely a function of the mercy of God. Good things.

[24:01] Good job. Good house. Good marriage. Healthy children. Having a child. Good grades. Please. Please don't take the credit.

[24:12] Remember. It's all functions of the mercy of God. As you acknowledge that, you tell him that by revelation. Now I acknowledge this is you. So, all along, I didn't realize it was you behind me.

[24:24] Lord, now I sin. There is you behind me. Give me more of that. Show me how. It's important to recognize that God is a God of mercy. For his mercies endures forever.

[24:37] Bible says that great is his mercies. And then on undeserved mercies. His mercies are unmerited. Now watch this. This is very important. This is very important. The scriptures make it very clear that when you talk about mercy, it's completely different from merit.

[24:57] I keep saying this. Merit is what you deserve. Mercy is what you don't deserve. What does that mean? Charles Perkins says, puts it this way.

[25:08] Mercy. To say deserved mercy is a misnomer. How can you say someone? How can you deserve mercy? Mercy, you can't actually go for mercy.

[25:19] Mercy is the prerogative of the one who shows mercy. So Jesus tells the parable of a man who owns a business owner who went to the field, hired some people to work in the morning.

[25:32] Later in the day, they went and hired some people. Negotiated pay with those in the morning. In the afternoon, going to hire some people who were standing idle. And then later in the, towards the end of the day, found some people else and said, come and work on my field.

[25:45] And I'll pay you. So he went and brought them to come and work. And then when the day was over, pay time came. Everyone needed to be paid. He paid those who he negotiated with, those who started.

[25:56] He paid them according to the negotiation. And then there, those who came afterwards, he also gave them same pay. Then those who came last, who came to work only two hours, he also paid them same.

[26:09] And then those who came, who started working first, got upset. So they were not happy. They were not happy. And he said, listen, listen.

[26:20] He said, did you not receive what I negotiated with you? Why are you complaining? He said, that is my negotiations with you. That's what the master said. But he answered and said, friend, I am doing you no wrong.

[26:34] Say no wrong. No wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? And I've paid you denarius. Why are you complaining? Don't I have the right to do with my money what I want to do?

[26:46] If I want to give somebody more denarius and I want to give you what I've negotiated with you, what's your problem? Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish to do with my own thing?

[26:58] Or is your eye evil because I am good? Mercy is a reflection of goodness, one. And mercy is the prerogative of the one who extends mercy.

[27:08] If you offend somebody, you cannot demand that they should have mercy. They choose to have mercy. If you owe me 100 pounds and I choose to say pay 10 pounds.

[27:21] Another person owes me 100 pounds and I choose to say the person should pay me 50 pounds. Why must he complain? It's my money. I choose you. Pay this. I choose to take the losses.

[27:34] I choose what loss I want to take. And the other one, I choose to say, you know what? Don't pay. That's okay. Why does the one with 10 pounds, I have to pay 10 pounds, suddenly begin to complain that why am I not let?

[27:45] Have I done anything wrong? So mercy is the prerogative of the one who gives mercy, who shows mercy. In fact, in Romans chapter 9, verse 15, particularly 16, God said, he said to Moses, I will have mercy.

[28:00] Oh, thank you, Jesus. So then it's not of him that willeth, neither is it of him that runeth, but of God who shows mercy. Verse 17. I will have mercy. For the scripture said unto Pharaoh, for this same purpose I have raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared to all the earth.

[28:18] It says, I will have mercy, therefore he will have mercy on him, he will have mercy, and whom he will harden, he does. Verse 15. I will have mercy upon whom, for it says, I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion upon.

[28:35] It's my choice. I choose to show mercy to whom I will have mercy upon. And so when they sinned against God by worshiping idols, God said, I'm going to have mercy on these people.

[28:48] I'm going to have mercy. So Moses, I will let my goodness go before you, and I will declare my kindness. That is why we still have Israel, because of the message of God.

[28:58] That's why we still have David entry behind the pulpit. Why? Because of the message of God. That is why we still have some people in the choir singing. Why? Because of the message of God.

[29:09] That is why, in spite of the coronavirus lockdown situation, you are still strong going. Why? It's because of the mercy of God. And I came to announce to you that that same message that has brought you far, it's available as long as you shall begin to provoke it more.

[29:25] Mercy is available to cover you. Mercy is available to take you further. Mercy is available to help you. If you believe it, shall Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Hallelujah.

[29:36] Hallelujah. So, one, the tender mercies of God. Two, great mercy. Three, undeserved mercy. Four, rich mercy. When we say God's mercy is rich, it means that it can cover so much.

[29:51] It can go straight where it needs to go to. It can reach out where it needs to reach out to. The mercy of God. In Ephesians chapter 2 verse 4, the scripture says that, but God, who is, but God, but God.

[30:08] Thank God for the births of the Bible. Thank God for the births. Because earlier on, he was talking about we were children of wrath. We were disobedient. Look at verse 2 and verse 3.

[30:18] It says that, wherein time passed, you worked according to the course of this, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience. There's three amongst whom also we all had our conversation in the time passed in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind.

[30:36] And where by nature, children of wrath, don't forget this, as others. By nature, when you were born, wrath was after you. By nature, those who overemphasize God is love.

[30:47] God is love. Yes, God is love. But don't forget God has wrath. God has wrath. He has to. Why, pastor? How can you say God has wrath? Because the Bible says that.

[30:59] Where does it say? In Romans, if people forget, Romans chapter 1 verse 16. I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation for those who believe to the Jew first.

[31:10] And then to verse 17, we stop there. But look, verse 17, for therein, the righteousness of God. Somebody say the righteousness of God. The righteousness of God. So the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.

[31:23] As it is written, the dust shall live by faith. But we don't go to the verse 18 because it says that for the wrath of God. So there are two things that are revealed from God. The righteousness of God and the wrath of God.

[31:36] The righteousness of God and the wrath of God. Why must God have wrath? God needs to have wrath because of sin. Listen, those who don't understand or who marginalize the wrath of God, they don't respect the impact and the negativity of sin.

[31:52] Now, what is it about sin? Sin is an offense against the nature of God. Sin is an offense against the nature of God.

[32:02] So by virtue of God's holiness, he is a holy God. He definitely of a necessity must react towards sin because he is holy.

[32:14] How can a holy God accommodate sin? How can a holy God overlook sin? How can a holy God be comfortable with sin? Sin doesn't just offend God.

[32:25] His nature. His nature. So that is why Adam should have been wiped off. But mercy, mercy, mercy. Even though God has wrath, a God of wrath, he is also a God of mercy.

[32:42] He is also a God of mercy. Now, watch this. So when Moses attempted to stand in the gap between the people and God because of the sin of the people, God said, stand aside.

[32:54] Stand aside because you are not qualified to do that. I am the only one who can stand between me and the people. And plead and show mercy. So the death of Christ was an expression of the manifestation of the mercy of God so that the justice of God, the righteousness of God will be extended to people who under normal circumstances should be getting the wrath of God.

[33:19] Instead of wrath, because of the death of Christ on the cross, we are getting the righteousness of God. The death of Christ on the cross tells us how God takes sin seriously.

[33:30] So please, the mercy of God is not because you are so cuddly. The mercy of God is not because you are so cute. You are so cool. Oh, when God looks at you.

[33:42] I look at you the way you see a baby, an adorable baby. Coo-choo-choo-choo-choo-choo-choo-choo. Coo-choo-choo-choo. Ah, this baby I like. No, no, no. Don't mistake that to think that you are so fine.

[33:52] So God just can't have enough of you. No, no, no. He's actually angry with you. He's actually, he's actually, the wrath of God is against falling humanity. The wrath of God is against man because of the sins of man.

[34:05] But because he's messy. His mercy is what makes him look at us again. Not because we are so fine. Not, our mess makes him turn his face away from us. But his mercy makes him look at us.

[34:16] Your mess makes him turn his face. His mercy makes him look at us. And because he looked of his mercy, Christ was forsaken on the cross. Because the wrath of God came on Christ on the cross.

[34:27] On the cross, the wrath of God was vented on Christ. So that's why Christ said, Eli, Eli, Lamexabactani, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

[34:39] Because when sin is found in you, God will forsake you. But mercy is the only thing that can come. So God will not forsake us. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. In Psalm 9, verse 10. Psalm 9, verse 10.

[34:51] I like that. God will not forsake you because of his mercy. In Psalm 9, verse 10, he says that, And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee. Someone say, Lord, I trust you.

[35:02] Lord, I trust you. Say it again. Lord, I trust you. Lord, I trust you. They who know thy name will put their trust in you. For thou, Lord, has not forsaken them that seek thee.

[35:16] When you seek God, I'm going to talk about that in a minute. When you seek God, you obtain mercy. When you obtain mercy, you are not forsaken. I know I'm talking to somebody.

[35:26] Sometimes you look at your life. You look at what is going on around you and you feel forsaken. You look at how others are progressing and you are retrogressing. You look at how nothing seems to be working for you.

[35:40] Everything seems to be against you. But once you trust God and you seek him, you cannot be forsaken. Because God is a God of mercy.

[35:54] He's a God of mercy. So in Ephesians chapter 2, he said we were by nature the children of wrath as others. So that means those others who are not part of the we are still children of wrath.

[36:07] That's why we have to preach the gospel. Because in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed. Within the gospel. As you preach, that's when people can come escape the wrath of God and receive the righteousness of God.

[36:19] So it says that we were children of wrath as others. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, but the next verse, the next verse says, but God, but God. Someone say, but God.

[36:29] Say, but God. But God who is rich in mercy. God is rich in mercy for his great love.

[36:40] So here we can see that his mercy is rich. So I've said his mercy is tender, tender mercies. His mercies are great, great mercies. Undeserved mercies, rich mercies.

[36:52] And I like this in 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 3. It talks about abundant mercy. Ay-ya, yi-ya, yi-ya. What does it mean for it to be abundant? In other words, it's inexhaustible.

[37:03] It's inexhaustible. Which according to his abundant mercy has begotten us. His mercy is abundant. Inexhaustible. It's exhaust. You can't exhaust it.

[37:14] He has a lot for everybody. And there will still be a lot more for all your great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandchildren. If Christ does it. There is enough. Abundance. You are not running.

[37:25] God doesn't run out of mercy. It's in abundance. It's in abundance. God's mercy is in abundance. It overflows. So don't say, anyway, others have gone ahead of me and they've gotten it.

[37:39] I don't think I will get. No, no, no, no. No, no, no, no. His mercies shall endure forever. God is good and his mercies endure for there is abundance of mercy.

[37:52] So we talk about abundant mercy. And then number six, we can talk about, the Bible talks about manifold mercy. Nehemiah chapter 9. Nehemiah chapter 9 verse 19.

[38:02] Manifold mercy. Manifold mercy. What is manifold? Manifold means many-sided. Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsaketh or forsooketh them not.

[38:16] In the world. Ah, I told you. Mercy is what makes you not forsaken. They that seek the Lord shall not be forsaken. They that trust in him and seek him shall not be forsaken.

[38:28] He says that you, because of your manifold. Manifold means that it's not only one who, oh, I know you got mercy.

[38:40] God showed you mercy and forgave you from that sin and saved you. That's not all. There's mercy to cover your marriage. There's mercy to cover your health. There's mercy to cover your progress. There's mercy to cover your ministry.

[38:52] There's mercy to cover your children. There's mercy to cover your wife, your husband. There's mercy to cover your finances. There's, it's manifold. So whilst one mercy is working here, there's more mercy to work on that, to work on that, to work on that, to work.

[39:06] The mercy of God is manifold. Someone say, Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. So we have the manifold mercy. And then finally is the unfailing mercies.

[39:18] Unfailing. So his mercies are tender. His mercies are undeserved. His mercies are great. His mercies are rich. His mercies are manifold. His mercies are abundant.

[39:30] And his mercies are unfailing. Lamentations chapter 3, verse 22. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. Oh my goodness. Hallelujah. His mercies never come to an end.

[39:42] The steadfast love of the Lord never. His mercies never is unfailing. When you look at the King James, the King James says that his compassion failing. You know, I told you that hesek.

[39:54] Kesek or hesek can be translated compassion. Can be translated goodness. So he says that it's the same thing. He's loving mercies. He's compassion. They fail not.

[40:04] They are enduring. Ever enduring. Ever living. Everlasting. In the name of Jesus. I see somebody enjoying, enduring mercy. Amen. What does that mean?

[40:16] They fail not. The mercy that got you born again will help you through life. Wow. It will help you. Mercy that helped you to get married. It will help you through marriage. So that that negative trend of marriage in your family will not repeat in yours because you are operating under mercy.

[40:36] So it's not failing. It will take you through life. It will see you through down times. It will see you through sickness. It will see you through difficult times. Mercies will not fail.

[40:47] I don't know. You might be going through difficult times. Listen, listen. God does not necessarily guarantee. Let me show you something. Psalm 86 verse 5. Psalm 86 verse 5.

[40:58] When you call on the name of the Lord, He didn't tell you, I'll give you money. For thou, Lord, are good and ready to forgive. And plenty of us in money? No.

[41:09] Plenty of us in marriage? No. Plenty of us in breakthrough? No. So all, it's not, when you call on God, it's not prosperity He guarantees to give you. He didn't promise you.

[41:22] So sometimes you might not even have the prosperity. But the good thing is you, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. The good thing is that you have enough mercy.

[41:34] Abandoned mercy. Where money is needed, mercy will provide. Mercy will open the door for you. Mercy will open the door for you. He says that He will guarantee. He will give you mercy.

[41:45] He will is plenteous in mercy. Beaucoup mercy. Mercy plenty. Mercy. God is plenteous in mercy. Rich in mercy. Rich in mercy.

[41:56] God is rich in mercy. Mercy. Shall Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. If there's anything we need, listen.

[42:08] Mercy. If there's anything you need more than ever before in our lives, in our world we call mercy. Because it takes mercy for us to enjoy grace.

[42:21] Yeah. God is gracious. But we are low. So He has to bring us up to where He can show grace on us. That's mercy. So mercy brings you from where grace cannot reach you.

[42:32] Yeah. I mean, you can't be living in that sin and be enjoying grace. No. So for you to enjoy grace, mercy must cover you, must bring you out of that, or must treat you as though you don't deserve that punishment.

[42:47] So mercy is covering you so that grace can come. Mercy always must go ahead so grace can work. In the absence of mercy, grace cannot work.

[42:57] In fact, Hebrews chapter 4, Hebrews chapter 4, verse 6, it says, Therefore, let us come boldly before the throne of grace. When we come, we will obtain mercy and then find grace to help.

[43:12] It's a throne of grace. But for the grace to work, you first of all need to enjoy mercy. I see someone receiving mercy. I see someone receiving mercy. Someone lift up your hand and say, Lord have mercy.

[43:25] Lord have mercy. You must learn how to constantly cry for mercy. Constantly ask God for mercy. It's interesting. Isaiah said, when I saw the Lord in the day, in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord lifted in the temple.

[43:47] In Isaiah chapter 6, and he still filled the temple. And he said, he saw the angels. And then the angels were singing. Holy, holy, holy. Holy, holy, holy.

[43:59] Holy, holy, holy. Is the Lord. We were in his dignity to come. They were singing.

[44:10] Watch this. This is very important. In the, look at verse 1. Look at verse 1. I need to show you something. And in the year that King Uzziah, I have to teach on this, Uzziah died. Uzziah was good, but he ended up bad.

[44:22] He got leprosy because he tried to go into the temple to go and combine kinship and priesthood. That's the work of the Messiah. Uzziah. So God cleared him with leprosy.

[44:36] And he died. And you know how when he died, his burial tomb. They didn't write he was a leper. He is a leper. Uzziah died according to 2 Chronicles chapter 26.

[44:47] I think the last verse. They buried him with his fathers and they wrote, he is a leper. Yeah. He is. His epitaph. His tombstone. He is a leper.

[44:58] That's the only thing. In spite of all the good things he has done. 2 Chronicles chapter 26 verse 23. And Uzziah slept with his fathers and they buried him with his fathers in the field of the burial which belonged to the kings.

[45:11] And they said, he is a leper. That's it. That's his tombstone. Not that he did inventions. He did great things. All those things didn't matter because he ran out of mercy.

[45:23] He is a leper. So, so watch this. Why did he run out of mercy? He went into the temple to go and offer incense in the temple. Because Bible says, look at verse 16.

[45:36] Verse 16. His heart was lifted to his destruction because of his achievements. But when he was strong, when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction.

[45:47] For he was transgressed against the Lord his God. By entering into where? The temple of the Lord. To burn incense. His heart.

[45:58] Please be careful. The way you have been talking about pastors. The way you have been talking about church. Be careful. Now that you are married. Now that you have got a good job.

[46:09] Now that you are not in prison. Now that you are free. Now that you have been healed. Now that you are also in ministry. Be careful. The way you are talking about other ministers and other ministries and other churches. Be careful.

[46:21] Be careful. His heart was lifted to his destruction. In the temple, it should have been God who was lifted. But Uzziah's heart was lifted because he wanted to ascend and become so important.

[46:34] He went beyond his pay grade. He exercised some. 131 verse 1. He exercised himself in matters too high for him. Yeah.

[46:46] He exercised himself in great matters. Things that were too high for him. Because he thought he has achieved a lot. So this one too.

[46:57] He is a business owner. His businesses are doing well. So he has now come to the church to come and rebuke pastors, correct them. Because he is a successful business owner. Humble yourself.

[47:10] Join the ushers. And stay there. Be careful. Be careful. Be careful. One thing I saw in the Bible which was quite scary.

[47:21] The Bible said God gave them delusion. God gave them strong delusion. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 8 verse 11. For God calls. For this cause.

[47:32] God sent them strong delusion that they should believe a lie. God. He can allow you to believe a lie. That someone is eating your money. You follow.

[47:45] Follow worldly news items. Social media. Lambasting of churches. Men of God. You follow. God will give you strong delusion to believe a lie.

[47:59] For your own hurt. But that will not be your portion. That will not be your portion. So Uzziah's heart was lifted. Because he went to the temple. Instead of God being raised.

[48:11] He decided to raise himself. Quickly. I need to break that. And so Isaiah. Bible says. Isaiah chapter 6 verse 1. In the year that Uzziah. This guy. You see. He died a leper.

[48:21] When he died. I saw the Lord lifted. Upon a throne. No Uzziah. It is God who must be lifted. High and lifted up. In strength. Where? The temple.

[48:32] Uzziah. Don't lift yourself. Uzziah. Leave the temple. You are a big man. You are a big woman. Don't bring it into the temple. And Isaiah.

[48:43] When this man became an example. Isaiah saw. Oh my goodness. And when he saw. God lifted. In a temple. He saw something else. He saw something else. Verse 3. He saw angels.

[48:54] He saw. He cried one to another. The angels. He saw them. They are crying. Holy. Holy is the Lord. In the temple. But watch this. Brothers and sisters. When Solomon built the temple.

[49:05] And they dedicated it. Human beings. They were not singing. Holy. Holy. They sang. For his. In the temple. They sang. For his. Mercies. Shall endure. Forever.

[49:16] For his. Mercies. Endure. Forever. For his. Mercies. Endure. In fact. In Ezra. When they laid the foundation. Of the altar. That is the song. That they sang. They sang.

[49:27] Ezra chapter. Chapter 3. Ezra chapter 3. Verse 10. And verse 11. Ezra chapter 3. Verse 10. And verse 11. He says that. And when the builders laid the foundation.

[49:38] Of the temple of the Lord. They set the priests. In their apparel. With trumpets. And the Levites. The sons of Asaph. With cymbals. To praise the Lord. After the ordinance. Of David.

[49:48] The king of Israel. Verse 11. And how did they do it? And they sang together. By course. In praising. And giving thanks. Unto the Lord. Because he is good. For his.

[49:59] Mercies. And that is the song. So if you read the Psalms. It talks about. Psalm. 1. 1. 8. Verse. Verse. Verse 29. Psalm. 1. 1. 8. Verse. Verse 1. Psalm. 107.

[50:10] Verse 1. Psalm. 106. Verse 1. Psalm. In all. Several places. It talks. It says that. Praise the Lord. For his mercies. And for his good. And his mercies. Endure forever.

[50:20] It became a regular song. On the lips of the people of God. Because you have to come to God. Recognizing that he is mercy. Now watch this. In the. When you go. When you look at.

[50:30] Those days. The creation. The center. The group of people. Who God has chosen. The God's choice of people. Were the Israelites. And then among the Israelites. God's.

[50:41] God location. Favorite location for worship. Was Jerusalem. And when you come to Jerusalem. God's favorite location. Where he has put his name. Is the temple mount. When you come to the temple. God's favorite location.

[50:52] Within the temple. Where he has put his name. Is the holies of holies. Oh come on. And when you come to the holies of holies. The most central aspect. Of the holies of holies. Is called the ark of the covenant.

[51:03] And do you know what is in the middle. Of the ark of the covenant. The platform. Where the two cherubs are standing. Okay. Hebrews chapter 9. Verse 4 and 5. I think we should look at that. And I quickly round out. With a few points.

[51:14] Hebrews chapter 9. It says that. This is talking about. The holy of holy. Which had the golden censer. And the ark of the covenant. Overlaid around about with gold. Wherein was the golden pot.

[51:25] That had the manna. Aaron's rod. That bad that too. And then the tables of the covenant. These three things were in the ark. The pot of manna. Aaron's rod.

[51:36] And the covenant. The ten commandments. He was put in the ark. And we were covered. And look at the next verse. And over it. Is the cherubs of glory.

[51:48] They are angels. Okay. It's like they made angels. Overshadowing what? The messes. So two angels. Left and right. And what? On top of the thing. The center of that.

[51:59] It's mercy. Before you can even enjoy whatever is in the ark of the covenant. It's mercy. Mercy is the covenant thing. God said you can't come to me without mercy. In the heart of God dealing with man.

[52:10] It's mercy. Someone shall Lord have mercy. Shall Lord have mercy. Shall Lord have mercy. Quickly. How do you access mercy? Let me mention this one quickly. Number one. Ask for mercy. Mercy.

[52:21] I read it earlier on. Psalm 85 verse. Psalm 86 verse 5. When he spoke about. Those who call on your name. You will show them mercy. Those who call on your name. It says that. The Lord.

[52:31] Thou art good. And ready to forgive. Plenty of his mercy. To all who call on. You have to ask God. Call God for mercy. Pray for mercy. Brothers and sisters. This is how you can enjoy mercy.

[52:42] Learn how to say Lord have mercy. When you hear any news. Whether good or bad. Learn how to say Lord have mercy. When you are upset. Learn how to say Lord have mercy. When things are done. Even when you are done. Say Lord have mercy so much.

[52:53] That in your dream. You may be saying. Lord have mercy. Lord Jesus have mercy. Lord have mercy. Blind by the miles. Mark chapter 10 verse 47. He cried out. Lord son of David.

[53:04] Have mercy on me. You have to learn. We have to learn. How to ask God. Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Because when you call on his name. You will not be forsaken. Remember it says. Let us come boldly before the throne of grace.

[53:16] You have to come. So you obtain mercy. So approach God and ask for mercy. Number two. How do you enjoy mercy? Show mercy to people. People have offended you. If you want God to show you mercy.

[53:27] You must be merciful. Matthew chapter 5 verse 7. Blessed are the merciful. For they shall. Huh? Huh? What happens to those merciful? They obtain mercy.

[53:38] What happens to the merciful? They obtain mercy. Blessed are the merciful. For they shall obtain mercy. In Matthew 18. He said.

[53:48] Didn't you also have to let someone go? Should us. You can just. Give me. You can just. Should you not also have had compassion. That's mercy.

[53:59] On your fellow servant. Just as I had pity on you. You want mercy. But you don't want to show mercy. You want mercy. You don't want to show mercy. What they have done against me.

[54:10] I go. Pastor. People will hurt you. But let them go. Don't hold them in your heart. Church leader. Don't hold them in your heart. Sister. Let that ex go.

[54:22] I know. There are a lot of people listening to me. With ex problems. Ex problems. Problem with exes. Wicked people. They have a child with you. And I'm telling you.

[54:33] Learn how to let them go. So because. Your state. You will need. Mercy. To rise. Above. The limitations. Satan is putting on you. Mercy.

[54:43] Mercy. You don't want to show somebody mercy. But you. What makes you think you are entitled to mercy from above? You have not read James chapter 2 verse 13. Read it and see.

[54:54] James chapter 2 verse 13. It says that. For he. He shall have judgment without mercy. That has shown. You see that?

[55:05] Yeah. You only have merit to. And brothers and sisters. I don't think you. Any of us will be able to take merit. Yeah. You have. He said.

[55:16] For he. Shall have judgment without mercy. That has shown no mercy. That has shown no mercy. You want to enjoy mercy. Show mercy. Number three.

[55:26] You want to provoke mercy. Be truthful. Some people are fake. I know. I know. I have offended her. And I know it. I'm pretending.

[55:36] But I didn't know. I didn't know. I didn't know. I know. I am not in a good shape with Christ. I said. I've been praying. I'm reading. I'm praying my Bible. I'm praying my. Oh you know. I'm reading my Bible. I'm praying. I don't know. Let no one trouble me.

[55:48] But it deep in my heart. Deep in my heart. I know I left that church because of sin. Because I was sinning and I was uncomfortable. Don't fear. Don't make you look at that church is bad.

[55:59] Please don't do that. You are observing lying vanities. And you forsake your mercies. Jonah chapter 2 verse 8. He that observes lying vanities forsaken their own mercies. You are observing lying vanities.

[56:12] That's why it's dangerous when God gives you to lies. They that observe lying vanities forsaken their own mercies. So that means be truthful. Tell God. God I know I've done wrong.

[56:22] Tell God. God I know I'm being jealous against this lady. God I know I'm developing negative tendencies against my husband. My wife. My mother. I have to be honest.

[56:33] God. Between you and I. Lord help me. Don't observe lying vanities. Be honest. Be truthful. Be plain. Now it's getting very quiet here.

[56:44] Number four. Number four. Number four. Quickly. Fear of God. Look after one verse 50. Look 150.

[56:56] And his mercy is on those who fear him. From generation to generation. Please. Many people fear coronavirus. You fear HIV. You fear sexually transmitted diseases.

[57:06] You fear police arresting you. You fear shame of public. Being found out. You fear those things more than God. Please. I'm not saying those things are good. We have to stay away from them.

[57:18] But there's something which you fear more. And when you fear God. It brings you. There are some things because of your fear for God. You won't do it. There are some things because you fear God. You let go. I won't join them.

[57:29] You let them do whatever. I can't say that. I can't attack a man of God. I can't join this. I can't attack a church. I can't attack my mother. I can't attack my father. I know my mother provoked me to say some things.

[57:40] But you know I fear God. Let me go and say mom I'm sorry. Let me go and say dad I'm sorry. Let me go and tell my wife. Even though I know she's con tantrum. I know what she did was wrong.

[57:51] But I fear God. And God says that forgive. So you let me go and say I'm sorry. I fear God. You are doing some things because you fear God. You provoke God. God will not forsake you. He will show you mercy.

[58:03] God will. You keep doing what is right in the fear of God. And see if you will not have abundant mercy. Do what is right. Do what is right. And God will show you abundant mercy.

[58:16] Because you are doing what is right. And finally. You want to provoke mercy. Number one. Ask for mercy. Number two. Show mercy. Number three. Be truthful. Number four. Fear God. And number five.

[58:27] Love God and keep his commandments. Or keep his word. Love God. Love him. I love you Lord. I'm serving because I love you. Love God.

[58:38] And keep his word. Deuteronomy chapter 7 verse 9. Deuteronomy chapter 7 verse 9. It says. Therefore know that the Lord your God is God.

[58:49] The faithful God who keeps covenant and what? Mercy. For a thousand generations. With those who love him and keep his commandments. He shows.

[59:01] He keeps covenant and mercy. For a thousand generations. To those who love him and keep his commandments. Get busy loving God and keeping his commandments. Mercy will be a natural company.

[59:12] You'll be automatically enjoying mercy from God. Because God is a God of mercy. He is always willing to show mercy.

[59:25] For his mercy shall endure. Ever faithful. Ever end. Ever sure. Because he's good. Because he's good.

[59:37] Thank you for listening to this message by David Entry. When God speaks. Works show. And the works will surely show in your life. To hear more from David Entry.

[59:49] Follow him on Facebook. Instagram. Twitter. LinkedIn. And subscribe to Caris Church on YouTube. Don't forget to share and subscribe to our podcast. So you're always up to date.

[60:00] Be blessed.