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Experiencing
the Glory of God 2
A Revelation of God’s Great Mercy
by Pastor John Hamel
We are talking about
the Glory of God. It is easy to get into His presence in the time that
we are living in. Everything we have need of will begin to just start
showing up in our lives; healing, finances, wisdom, family salvation, etc.,
if we'll just take the time to get into the presence of God. One
thing that makes it easy to step into God’s presence is to become
Scripturally acquainted with His mercy. We’ll do that in this
study. God is looking to show you mercy.
“And in that day
ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall
ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked
nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be
full. These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time
cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. At that day ye
shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father
for you: For the Father himself loveth you,
because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.”
(John 16:23-27)
When someone loves
you they want you to have joy, not fear. They want you to have
abundance, not lack. They want you to be healthy, not sick.
Well, the Father loves you. Religion teaches people that God is mad
at them, particularly when they make very human mistakes. Some
religions teach that Jesus stands between God and man, protecting man from
the wrath of God. That is not what the Bible teaches. The Bible
teaches in John 3:16 that God sent Jesus
because He loves the people of the world and wants to help them.
Unless we keep our thinking in line with what the Bible says about
the Father, we'll never receive from Him as proficiently or as abundantly
as He desires for us to. Let's look at some things the Bible reveals
about our merciful God.
The Bible
Reveals that God is Love, Not Wrath
You will never find
one single, solitary place in the entire Bible where God judged someone for
no reason or just because He's a big mean God. As a matter of fact He
always sends someone, a Prophet, Pastor, fellow Christian, etc. to warn us before
judgment comes. He will even do this time and again. I have seen
it. He would prefer that we simply repent for wrongdoing so that we
won't have to be judged. One time in the Bible He actually warned Israel to smarten up and
repent seven times before judgment finally came. That's big time
mercy! Even when we refuse to repent, God Himself does not have to
judge us because the Laws of Sin and Death and the Laws of Sowing and
Reaping will simply take over and do it. He set them up this
way. When we live right, the Law of the Spirit of Life blesses us.
When we do not live right, the Laws of Sin and Death and the Laws of
Sowing and Reaping are designed to drive us back on track.
God simply steps back, so to speak, and allows His Laws to go into
operation. Quite frankly, our own sins will correct us.
“Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy
backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil
thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear
is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.”
(Jeremiah 2:19)
When we get into a
backslidden position, we set the Laws of Retribution into motion against
ourselves. God does everything He can, short of violating our free
will, to turn us back because He loves us. He does not want us to
suffer for wrongdoing.
“But let none of
you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody
in other men's matters.” (1 Peter 4:15)
Some people
actually believe that God leads them into sin so He can punish them for
it. The Bible says that God leads us away from sin so the Law of Sin
and Death will not go into operation against us. Unless we understand
this, we will never get into the Glory where our needs will be met.
Wrong thinking about the nature of God
will grieve Him and prevent the Glory from showing up.
A
Biblical Look at God's Fatherly Attributes
“But I will sing
of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou
hast been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble. Unto thee, O
my strength, will I sing: for God is my defense,
and the God of my mercy.” (Psalm 59:16-17)
Now isn't that how a
real Father should be? When we are in trouble, even trouble of our own
making, we can run to Him as our refuge and He will defend us. This is
why we like to say, “God is never your problem. God is always your solution.”
“Bless the Lord, O
my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy
name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who
forgiveth all thine
iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness
and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with
good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are
oppressed. He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the
children of Israel.
“The Lord is
merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will
not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not
dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our
iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his
mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west,
so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Like as a father pitieth his children, so the
Lord pitieth them that fear him.” (Psalm
103:1-13)
"Pitieth" actually means “compassionately loves.” This is where we get the
instinct to have mercy when our children go wrong. We are created in
His merciful image. (Genesis 1:26)
“The Lord is
gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his
works. All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall
bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom,
and talk of thy power; To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and
the glorious majesty of his kingdom. Thy kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom, and thy dominion endureth
throughout all generations.
“The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.
The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest
them their meat in due season. Thou openest
thine hand, and satisfiest
the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. The Lord is nigh
unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him:
he also will hear their cry, and will save them. The Lord preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked
will he destroy [permit / Jeremiah 2:19]. My mouth
shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name
for ever and ever.” (Psalm 145:8-21)
There is a
confidence that comes when we realize that God is not out to get us. He
is out to bless us. If He was out to get us, He would have
gotten us all by now. We are not that smart and He is not that
dumb. So we see even in the Old Testament that God eagerly yearned to
have mercy on people. Some boneheads simply would not listen and they
brought judgment upon themselves.
God's
Mercy Is Even Better in the New Testament
“But now hath he
[Jesus] obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the
mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.”
(Hebrews 8:6)
“What shall we
then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He
that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he
not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing
to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.”
(Romans 8:31-33)
God is for us, never against us, even when we are
wrong. He desires to freely give us everything we need in life.
He justifies us, as opposed to condemning us when we miss the mark
because of our humanity. Wow! What love and mercy He has for
His family!
“Blessed be God,
even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God
of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our
tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble,
by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” (2
Corinthians 1:3-4)
"Tribulation"
is actually “pressure.” That would be the pressure of persecution,
sickness, trouble, etc. He wants to comfort us even when we are under
the pressure to sin. He wants to comfort us and strengthen us against
that kind of a mess. He does not get mad. He does not get
even. He is not some white-robed, moody, puritanical monster, leaning
over the balcony of Heaven waiting for us to miss it so He can whip up on us
to fulfill His mean quota. He loves us and He longs to help us
in times of trouble. As a matter of fact, when we do something wrong,
He actually sends the “Gift” of repentance to
us so we can make things right.
“And the servant
of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach,
patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God
peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are
taken captive by him at his will.” (2 Timothy 2:24-26)
God actually sends
repentance when we miss it because He wants to restore us. He doesn't
want us to be judged by the Law of Sin and Death. Get a hold of His
Fatherly attributes or you'll never get into His Glory. He is
offering you mercy. He is calling you into His Glory. He wants
to help you. He cares about every little detail of your life.
Let me remind you in
closing that King David said that God is our refuge and our defense in times
of trouble – even when that trouble is of our own making. All we
have to do is to yield to the “Gift” of repentance when God pours it
into our hearts. He'll do the rest. He's so merciful when we
acknowledge wrongdoing. It is confidence in His mercy that enables us
to step right into the Glory where all our needs are met.
“For the eyes of
the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew
himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.”
(2 Chronicles 16:9)
The Bible reveals
God as a God who is gracious, full of compassion and mercy who is just
looking for someone who has a perfect heart that He can show Himself strong
on behalf of.
The word for “perfect”
there actually means "friendly and ready." Are you God’s
friend? Are you ready for God to show you mercy and compassion?
All you need to do is ask Him to forgive you for any compromise He has been
talking about to you and off into the Glory you will go. You know if
He has been telling you to repent in some area. Quit playing
games. Quit looking for the needle in the haystack. Look for the
elephant in the bread box. You know if you’ve got sin in your life
and you know what it is. Take advantage of that “Gift” of
repentance and allow God to once again show Himself strong on your behalf.
Someone once asked
Mrs. Barbara Bush, wife of the former President, “Which of your children
is your favorite?” She responded, “Whichever one is in the most
trouble at the moment.” Now there’s a woman with a revelation of
the mercy of God.
Have you been in
trouble? That means you are favored of God. (Psalm 5:12) He’s longing to help you back into
the Glory where all of your needs will be
met.
Be blessed ...
Pastor John and Barbara Hamel
How
to Be Born Again (Receive Christ as Your Savior)
How
to Receive The Holy Spirit & Power
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