BrTom - Almighty Father Yahweh, we come before your throne in heaven,
BrTom - asking your presence with us this evening.
BrTom - Father, we come in the name ot Yahshua, the anointed one,
BrTom - and we ask in his name that you forgive our sins and our uncleanness.
BrTom - We have not always held to the high standard of holiness and righteonsness and love that you demand...
BrTom - but we are trying with your help.
BrTom - Please be merciful to your children.
BrTom - Father, we ask that you would guide this meeting and teach us your righteous ways.
BrTom - We love You and we love Yahshua.
BrTom - And we love our brothers and sisters.
BrTom - We thank you for all the blessings you give us.
BrTom - Jobs, families, especially the dear children, friends...
BrTom - health, guidance in right ways, the scriptures..
BrTom - what alist we could make!
BrTom - Thank you Father!!
BrTom - we commit this service into your hands
BrTom - in the name of Yahshua the Messaih we pray.
BrTom - Ah-mein and HalleluYAH ! !
Let's rejoice tonight !
Look at your life and consider the lives of others who are here
I see this dismal world and its deceit
and I rejoice
I rejoice because of what I see in Yahweh
Without it, we would not be here.. none of us
It is the Mercy of Yahweh
We might be compelled to ask, "But why has He called us ?"
So tonight I would like to talk about Yahweh's mercy
and to whom He will give it
Many are the studies on this website dealing with the importance of keeping Yahweh's commandments
It is clear from the word that Yahweh's law is the standard of righteousness for all mankind
However, it is true that we have ALL failed to live up to that standard
So what is Yahweh to do?
Psalms 103:8 - YAHWEH is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
Psalms 103:9 - He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
Psalms 103:10 - He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
Psalms 103:11 - For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.HalleluYah!!!!!!!
How high is the heavens above the earth?
Some years ago I read a story on CNN's website
They took the Hubble Space Telescope..which is a telescope so powerful it could look at a penny 500 MILES away and tell you if it was heads or tails ..
And they opened the lens on this telescope on a spot in the sky as small as a grain of sand held to the end of your finger
They opened it for 10 days so that it could catch all the light possible
When it was over, they found something that was probably quite frustrating
More Galaxies!
When you consider that the stars in our sky are of one galaxy...then you can imagine how high the heavens really are above the earth!!
I think it is infinite
Psalms 103:11 - For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
Psalms 103:12 - As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.Now consider this for but a moment..
If you were to go east, how far would you go before you would stop going east?
It is infinite, forver
If you were to go west, how far would you go before you would stop going west?
It is infinite also!
Either direction are infinitely apart from one another
Even so are the transgressions of those who fear Him removed from Him!
You see..
Psalms 103:13 - Like as a father pitieth his children, so YAHWEH pitieth them that fear him.
Psalms 103:14 - For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
Psalms 103:15 - As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
Psalms 103:16 - For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.Our days are short, but:
Psalms 103:17 - But the mercy of YAHWEH is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;We see that Yahweh's mercy is eternal, even though we are mortal
Notice also in verse 17
It says "His righteousness" is upon us eternally
That can only be through Yahushua!
Yahweh has laid on Him the iniquity of us all
and laid on us the righteousness of Yahushua the Messiah, HalleluYah!
Notice also in verse 18
Psalms 103:18 - To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.There are certain ones to whom Yahweh gives this righteousness...and this mercy through Yahushua
It is to those that are remember His commandments and keep His covenant!
Upon who does He give His mercy?
This is an important question!
If we want to receive it, surely we would want to know how
Most people want His mercy, but how many are willing to make the choices needed to receive it?
Proverbs 3:33 - The curse of YAHWEH is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.
Proverbs 3:34 - Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth favor unto the lowly.The humble and lowly state of a servant of Yahweh is one thing that seperated Moses from many of the other Israelites, David from Saul and Yahushua's disciples from the religious 'leaders' of that day.
These are the people that Yahweh would save and show mercy toward
For all have sinned.. but only certain ones will receive His mercy
And to those who show mercy..
2Samuel 22:6 - The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;
2Samuel 22:7 - In my distress I called upon YAHWEH, and cried to my Elohim: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.
2Samuel 22:8 - Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.wrong verses..
2Samuel 22:26 - With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and with the upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright.
2Samuel 22:27 - With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury.
2Samuel 22:28 - And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down.
2Samuel 22:29 - For thou art my lamp, O YAHWEH: and YAHWEH will lighten my darkness.
Psalms 51:17 - The sacrifices of Elohim are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O Elohim, thou wilt not despise.If we have failed Him...
We are not without hope
But how many tremble at His word today?
To whom will Yahweh look? Blessed is the man to whom Yahweh will not impute sin:
Psalms 32:1 - Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Psalms 32:2 - Blessed is the man unto whom YAHWEH imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.guile meaning deceit
Is their deceit in our spirit toward Yahweh concerning the seriousness of our repentence?
To whom will Yahweh look?
Will it be to those who rely upon their own righteousness?
Ephesians 2:8 - For by favor you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of YAHWEH,
Ephesians 2:9 - not of works, lest anyone should boast.But to whom will Yahweh look? To whom will He give the free gift?
Surely it's not a free gift given to all. If it were, then all mankind would be saved.
But we know that not all are saved. So to whom will Yahweh look upon with mercy?
Isaiah 66:1 - Thus saith YAHWEH, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
Isaiah 66:2 - For all those things hath mine hand made, and those things have been, saith YAHWEH: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.Yahweh will look upon the poor and contrite ones who tremble at His word!
Jeremiah declared the mercy of Yahweh
Lamentations 3:18 - And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from YAHWEH:Have we ever felt this way?
Lamentations 3:19 - Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.
Lamentations 3:20 - My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.But Jeremiah, in his humility He remembered...
Lamentations 3:21 - This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
Lamentations 3:22 - It is of YAHWEH's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
Lamentations 3:23 - They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:24 - YAHWEH is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
Lamentations 3:25 - YAHWEH is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
Lamentations 3:26 - It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of YAHWEH.Let's both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of Yahweh..
Even Paul said
Philippians 3:12 - Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of the Messiah Yahushua.
Philippians 3:13 - Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Philippians 3:14 - I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of YAHWEH in the Messiah Yahushua.He didn't even act though he already had attained
But he did press on! He was seeking the perfection, hoping in Yahweh's mercy
For His word...even His LAW has mercy
Yahweh Himself declared His mercy to all people. In fact, He wrote this with His own finger:
Deuteronomy 5:8 - Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:
Deuteronomy 5:9 - Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I YAHWEH thy Elohim am a jealous El, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,
Deuteronomy 5:10 - And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.So even in His law..written with His own finger..He declares His mercy to those who love Him and keep His commandments
Thus, we know as Yahushua said.. mercy is a weightier matter of the law
Matthew 23:23 - Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.The law/torah isn't just some list of legal regulations. "Torah" means 'teaching, instruction'
Exodus 34:1 - And YAHWEH said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.
Exodus 34:2 - And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount.
Exodus 34:3 - And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount.
Exodus 34:4 - And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as YAHWEH had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.
Exodus 34:5 - And YAHWEH descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of YAHWEH.
Exodus 34:6 - And YAHWEH passed by before him, and proclaimed, YAHWEH,
Exodus 34:7 - Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, 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.So even in the handing of the tablets of the law to Moshe, Yahweh declares His name.. His mercy
If we read on, we see that He did forgive the children of Israel for their sins.
Yet, some view Yahweh as "Jekyll and Hide"
Mean in the Old Testament and Kind in the New Testament
Angry in the OT and merciful in the NT
But this is not so at all!!
Yahweh is the same, He changes not
We need not read very far in the scriptures including the Torah to see that Yahweh has abundant mercy
Psalms 85:9 - Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.
Psalms 85:10 - Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.Those who act as if there is no mercy in what they call the Old Testament need to read these verses
Isaiah 55:7 - Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto YAHWEH, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our Elohim, for he will abundantly pardon.
Isaiah 55:8 - For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith YAHWEH.The purpose of the Torah is to make our thoughts like His thoughts
To give us the instruction we need to be as He is
To be righteous and wise
To love one another
and to love Him
If our heart is right, Yahweh's mercy should not be a license to sin
As even the "new testament" says
Romans 2:4 - Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of YAHWEH leadeth thee to repentance?
Romans 2:5 - But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of YAHWEH;
Romans 2:6 - Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
Romans 2:7 - To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
Romans 2:8 - But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
Romans 2:9 - Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;His mercy is an absolutely positively FREE gift to the humble who are called and repent of their ways, but after our repentance, surely we would not want to return to the sin! If we want to return to the sin, we haven't "turned/repented" at all!
2Peter 2:20 - For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Master and Savior Yahushua the Messiah, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.
2Peter 2:21 - For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.
2Peter 2:22 - But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: "A dog returns to his own vomit," and, "a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire."Brethren, we must also imitate the mercy of Yahweh
Matthew 6:14 - For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Matthew 6:15 - But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.Part of being righteous is being merciful
Yahweh is righteous and He is merciful
Thus, if we want to be righteous then we must also be merciful
v
So certainly are conditions to receiving mercy and forgiveness from Yahweh aren't there?
So there certainly are conditions to receiving mercy and forgiveness from Yahweh aren't there?
Some are living a life of sadness and pain and spiritual cancer because they believe Yahweh is holding a grudge against them for their lack of faith or lack of obedience toward Him.
If we are sincere in our repentance and desire to change, scripture says that Yahweh does forgive
We must choose to believe His word
Luke 7:47 - Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.Some believe that Yahweh has not pardoned their sins regardless of their cries to Him.
But Yahweh doesn't want us to have a grudge
Leviticus 19:17 - Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
Leviticus 19:18 - Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am YAHWEH.And He wants us to have mercy
To one who lives in such a state, I think the humility and reverence for Yahweh is beautiful. But to you I ask one question, "Would Yahweh expect our mercy to exceed His own?"
Consider what Yahushua said here:
Matthew 18:21 - Then came Kepha to him, and said, Rabbi, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
Matthew 18:22 - Yahushua saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.Yahweh surely wouldn't hold a standard of mercy for us that He wouldn't Himself uphold.
Surely our own mercy cannot exceed His!
But it is true that we must ask in humility and repentance
You see, Yahweh loves them who are this way.
1John 4:9 - In this the love of YAHWEH was manifested toward us, that YAHWEH has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.
1John 4:10 - In this is love, not that we loved YAHWEH, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Romans 5:8 - But YAHWEH commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, the Messiah died for us.Does this not prove His love toward us?
Can we show the same love to others?
Can we love those who aren't showing love to us?
That's the calling of Messiah. That's being like Him
At one time, most of us did nothing but rebel against Yahweh!
So what did He do? Destroy us?
Curse us? Leave us without a savior?
No way!!! He loves us too much
Will we love Him?
Will we show the same love to others? Will His love do its work in us?
Important questions tonight brethren
We see that Yahweh's mercy was not without works that proved it
In sending His Son to die for us, He showed His mercy and love toward us
Will we show our love for Him?
John 14:15 - If ye love me, keep my commandments.Let it be so, I pray
Not only in word..
Not just by our tongue...
1John 3:18 - My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.But in DEED
How could any man after knowing such a love believe that it is ok to disobey Yahweh's commandments again? This is why Yahushua had to die for us.
Isaiah 26:10 Let grace be shown to the wicked, Yet he will not learn righteousness; In the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly, And will not behold the majesty of Yahweh.grace does no good if one isn't willing to seek it
How could any man after knowing such a love believe that it is ok to disobey Yahweh's commandments again? This is why Yahushua had to die for us.
Hebrews 12:12 - Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees,
Hebrews 12:13 - and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be [dislocated], but rather be healed.Let's take hold of that love He has for us
Let's seek Yahweh's strength to walk in His light
and let's LIVE it brethren .. in DEED.
For in DEED Yahweh showed us His mercy by offering His Son for us
Thank You Yahweh!!
May Yahweh bless you and may He have mercy on us all!