I was reading this note that a pastor wrote to his son . He broke mercy up into three different categories . He talked about mercy is who God is , what he does and what we need . So he says mercy is who God is , the Lord . The Lord , god , compassionate and gracious , slow to anger and abounding , instead fast love and faithfulness , exodus 34 . He says mercy is what he does . If God is for us , who is against us ? He who do not spare his own son , but delivered him over for us all ? How will he not also , with him , freely give us all things ? Romans 8 . Mercy is what you need , lord . Hear my voice . If you , lord , should mark inequities , oh Lord , who could stand ? But there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared . And then this dad writing to his son ends it like this God's mercy is not a theory , a bunch of words or stories from long time ago . It is the reality upon which your life depends . Mercy is a reality that anchors you into the life and death of Jesus Christ . He has come for us . He has come for you . You need help outside yourself . Ask for help . Wow , isn't that good .
Speaker 2I think really good . A man comes up to the Mexican border on his bicycle . He has two large bags over his shoulders . The guard stops him and says what's in the bags ? Sand , answers the man . The guard says we'll just see about that . Get off the bike . The guard takes the bags and rips them apart . He empties them out and finds nothing in them but sand . He detains the man overnight and has the bags analyzed , only to discover that there is nothing but pure sand in them . The guard releases a man , puts the sand into new bags , hefts them onto the man's shoulders and lets him cross the border . A week later , the same thing happens . The guard asks what have you got ? Sand , says the man . The guard does this thorough examination and discovers that the bags contain nothing but sand . He gives the sand back to the man and lets him cross the border on his bicycle . This sequence of events repeats every day for three years . Finally , the man doesn't show up one day and the guard happens to see him in a bar in Mexico . Hey , buddy , says the guard , I know you're smuggling something . It's driving me crazy . It's all I can think about . I can't sleep . Just between you and me . What are you smuggling Bicycles . What's that ? Is that it ? You killed a mug ? You are such . Is that it Parable ?
Speaker 1He was reading it .
Speaker 3He was reading your screen before you walked in here . I just want to know why is it illegal to bring bicycles to Mexico ?
Speaker 2Mark , you are such a bad person . That was the best punchline in history , I don't know . The man sips his beer and answers Bicycles .
Speaker 1I'm laughing .
Speaker 2Mark , why did you read my screen ? We made an agreement .
Speaker 3You guys can't do that . No , I made an agreement with Ray that I wouldn't steal his .
Speaker 2No .
Speaker 3For example , he's going to say Hang on .
Speaker 4is this a program on forgiveness ? Quickly ask for forgiveness , Mark .
Speaker 3But why is it illegal to bring bicycle ? How is he smuggling bicycles , mark , you're ruining the joke . I'm just trying to understand the joke . Import expert .
Speaker 4Mark's , the director of the Department of Annoyance Exercise tax .
Speaker 2This was a brilliant joke .
Speaker 3It was Laugh and laugh .
Speaker 2We can restart the episode . Yeah , mark , you are forbidden to look at my notes , hold on .
Speaker 1You didn't say that before . Let's do this , let's have him say bicycles , and then we'll all laugh and Scotty will cut it in . Go ahead and say it Bicycle . Ah , so good oh man , oh , I did not see that . I'm spitting , I'm spitting .
Speaker 2Oh , you guys are ridiculous . This is what we lost all our lives for . But guys , oh , oh , what one . This was very funny .
Speaker 3Have you ever smuggled anything easy ?
Speaker 2You know ? On that note , should you be in a Cartagena Columbia prison ? Uh , jalario , but have you guys seen some of the brilliant like containers they have to smuggle things in ? I saw the submarine .
Speaker 1Did you see the submarine ? No , Somebody was . They built a homemade submarine and they were sub-marining from like Mexico to California with drugs inside the submarine .
Speaker 2Yeah , Homemade Homemade submarine If there's anything I'm not going to trust as a homemade thing , Homemade submarine .
Speaker 3Homemade submarine made in Mexico . Check out my homemade submarine , yo Frey . How would they smuggle drugs in a prison ?
Speaker 4Oh , they inject oranges and underpossess staff .
Speaker 2Great . Tell our friends what that's all about .
Speaker 4Yes , I was director of the Drug Prevention Center , which unfortunately was on High Street in Christchurch , New Zealand , and I knew nothing about drugs . And I received a phone call from a national television network and they said would you come on and talk about smuggling drugs in a prison , because a couple of drug addicts just died in prison . We need a statement from you because you're the director of the Drug Prevention Center . So I said , sure , come around . And I thought I know nothing about how they get drugs in prison . And I saw a couple of drug addicts and I said how they get drugs in prison and they told me that they inject oranges and put LSD under poachers stamps . So in the next 10 minutes I was on national television as an expert and that elevated me as an expert and I got invitations all over the place , but those two drug addicts had told me that we're dead . About a month later received a call from the police and said would you come on , identify these bodies ? Seriously , yeah , because they had a Bible , a new testimony that I signed for them , and I broke my heart . I remember smashing my fist against the wall . I was so frustrated , Wow .
Speaker 2Yeah , but Ray , you seriously like , how do you do this stuff ? Like you are , you became New Zealand's like foremost drug expert . You knew nothing about drugs .
Speaker 4Well , I'm the same with evangelism .
Speaker 2Yeah right , Same bug with a different color .
Speaker 4Yeah , but I got out of that drug business real quick when the Australian equivalent to me disappeared . They never found his body and I thought I don't want to die as a drug expert , so I just dropped it .
Speaker 2Whoa , but Australians are criminals , they do that , yeah , that's right they do that sort of thing .
Speaker 4Can't hammer and all that stuff .
Speaker 2Yeah , yeah , no , but I've seen like some of the craziest ways that people smuggle things and Don't you ever think like these guys are so creative .
Speaker 1No , no .
Speaker 4I gotta say something to you . Why not apply that to life ? Yeah Well , I watch a program every night about drugs being smuggled through In Spain . All over the place , all these airports and you cannot get past those guys . They know everything . They know that you soak your underwear in LSD . I'm serious that you think they pick it up and they weigh it and say this is too heavy for for a t-shirt . We know something's going and these guys get 15 years in prison because of the weight of the drugs they're sneaking through it . Just think you cannot fool them , because that this is what they do 24 hours a day . Yeah , got people from getting drugs through , so you might think that you can get it through by having cocaine inside your watch . Now They'll get it because the dogs dogs sniff everything and they smell it from 10 miles away crazy .
Speaker 2Yeah , yeah , yeah , there's this one . I remember seeing , like you know , a can look like a coke can and you , you remove the top , you put stuff in there . But even that the top portion , like that much , had actual soda in it . So like if y'all let's say I was in coke , oh , you know it was . So there's , there's all kinds of things like that . They'll put , they'll open a container of like yogurt , both hide something in there , put it back on , seal it like it's brand new .
Speaker 3Are we giving a bunch people ideas ? The best man in my wedding he had a secret compartment .
Speaker 4Not the best man . That's pride .
Speaker 3Yeah and yeah , pride he was a drug dealer and he would hide drugs inside the secret compartment side of his truck and he was always followed by the police who's being pulled over ? And they're always trying to search his truck . And when he became a Christian he got pulled over . They said can we search the truck ? And he and the times pass , he'd always say no . And this time he said Absolutely , because you think you're gonna find drugs . You're not gonna find drugs because I have become a Christian . And he started preaching the gospel to them and then they said whoa ? And then they found drugs . No so they let him go . He gets home , he opens up that secret compartment . He sees that it's still filled with drugs that he forgot about . No , way .
Speaker 4And what the police didn't realize , here's smuggling trucks .
Speaker 2You know what ? What's crazy is it with like people smuggling ? I don't know if you guys have ever seen those videos where they're like hiding under in a compartment like it's a fake compartment , under the bed of the child or whatever but there's like 50 people in there . Terrible , that's insane .
Speaker 1That's how I get all my kids into Disneyland , yeah .
Speaker 4You don't need to say just kidding , we know .
Speaker 2Yeah , and then you know you'll , you'll get these , these cases , sadly , where there was even one not long ago where people For found dead .
Speaker 1You remember the semi truck , the semi in Texas .
Speaker 2Oh Women's we want to dry women in children . They were abandoned , locked in there and died of like starvation and .
Speaker 4He exposure and Exposure that's really cheered up her introduction oh boy .
Speaker 2All right , france . Here is a comment . It took me only a few months to listen to every episode of this podcast because I couldn't get enough of it . I've worked as a landscaper at my church for the past three years and over that time I've listened to many , many Christian podcasts Well , over 2,000 different podcasts . This one truly stands out . What I love about the Living Waters podcast is how dedicated you guys are to the word of God . It's clear that the Bible is given the utmost authority in your lives , which is reminder to me to examine myself , to see what is in my , what in my life does or does not line up with the scripture . And Not only that , but you guys give practical advice to Christians living , to Christian living , which you , you yourselves , put into practice . As I'm still in my first few years of adulthood , I'm thankful for your examples of living fully for God's glory and living out the Great Commission . This podcast has increased in me the desire to magnify Christ with my whole life , including every decision I make , and to share the gospel in boldness . By the way , I've especially enjoyed the last few episodes , including the one on Isaiah 53 . My walk has been greatly impacted over the last year and a half by the idea that the gospel should be at the center of Everything I do , so it was cool to hear you guys talk about that . Keep up this wonderful work of ministry .
Speaker 1Wow thank you so much I intentionally amen .
Speaker 2Thank you so much . I intentionally did not Read the name or the comment at the top
. Oh , here we go , because it says dark crystal 29 , ray , mark and Oscar . Yeah , yep , just those guys . That makes it well , looks like Oscar's . Oscars thing is making a man , by the way . Are you supposed to send people stuff ?
Speaker 1Yeah , they're getting . I think Mark sending them give cards in and out .
Speaker 2Oh yeah , anyway , that's on you , Thank you so much dark crystal .
Speaker 1That is the best comment I've ever heard of my entire life . Yeah fitting .
Speaker 2All right , france . This podcast is brought to you by the tract sample pack . Our track sample pack contains one of each of our gospel tracks , approximately 40 to 50 , to assist you in deciding what works best . I love this . It's one of my faves . Why did you come up with it , ray ? I don't know .
Speaker 4I'm like a good idea at the time .
Speaker 2Audit care . No , I love it because people get get a taste of what we have you can ?
Speaker 4yes , as the cream , like cream , of our tracks .
Speaker 2Yeah , and that's the thing you know with our tracks . A lot of them have unique elements to them , so you want to handle them feeling especially like that take it to heaven track .
Speaker 4Yeah , I know , when I walk into a department store , I really like it when some guy comes up to me and just says can I help direct you ? So well , I'm looking for a jacket . I want a lightweight summer jacket . Children's eyes .
Speaker 2Babies , babies .
Speaker 4Yeah , baby size , and I like it when he gives me a little bit of direction , without pressure . Yeah , you know he's not saying trying to sell me some easiest , trying to help me out . And that's what we're trying to do with a track sample pack sale . This is what works .
Speaker 1Yeah , exactly , I love it for anybody who's listening , who's never handed out tracks before , and and through listening to the podcast You've compelled to step out of the boat , as Mark likes to say , and give it a shot . I think the trample pack pack it trample Sample pack is a great place to start because the reality is as , as I've discovered , your personality , your Disposition , your cultural context you will discover your own track that's easy and fun to give out and that's an important aspect of it and so that that sample pack is a great place to figure out what works best for you .
Speaker 4We had a guy in the ministry yesterday , you guys , when hearing , I think , but his name was Elvis and he wasn't the Elvis , he was Elvis .
Speaker 2Elvis . Elvis , where's he from ? He's my Habibi Iraq . His family's from Iraq , his mom and dad yeah , he cheered his testimony .
Speaker 4Harry got saved , thoroughly saved , through a gospel tract .
Speaker 2Wow , I love it .
Speaker 4Yeah , I found it on the street .
Speaker 2Yeah , now he's on fire and serving the Lord and they're about to have their seven .
Speaker 1Is he okay ?
Speaker 2Well , all I know is he ain't nothing but a hound dog . But that's all I know about Elvis .
Speaker 3Oh , I never did that for him I should have .
Speaker 2they almost won't need to probably get tired of it . All right , friends Are you ?
Speaker 4gonna do the song .
Speaker 3I'll save it for another time .
Speaker 2We've already gone 12 minutes , man , you guys are crazy . All right , friends , today we're talking about the mercy of God . You know , I grew up hearing the word to mercy a lot , in fact probably daily , because I grew up in Lebanon and Lebanon was under French Occupation , I feel that , but under under French rule . I didn't know that . Yeah , before we got our independence , I think 1940 something but so the word thank you was always mercy . Oh , no , wait , 11 land , merci , no , that's the show guys . Merci , mark , you took French for like 400 years . Oh 500 little more , yeah , 5600 . You learned nothing , but can you at the very least give us a good pronunciation in French of the word mercy ?
Speaker 3Merci .
Speaker 2Wrong very mercy ?
Speaker 4No very . I talk French for three years and after the three years the teacher said this isn't a French that they use in France . This is called school French . Talking about three years , yeah , and I didn't use it for like 30 or 40 years . I saw some Frenchmen and I said pass the salt please , and they didn't respond .
Speaker 2I'm gonna sell several play . Ray , what I would give to hear you speak French with a New Zealand accent . Hmm , they made my tans . Just , we's out there . Merci , okay , by the way , very bad no it's not what you said . It's Listen , yeah , yeah , here we go I stand corrected .
Speaker 3I'm so selfish .
Speaker 2Yes , yes , I'm sorry . Yes , yes , listen , listen , listen . Merci Oscar , you know you appreciated that .
Speaker 4I know how a French would respond to that . He'd say what ?
Speaker 1Merci , I was . I was reading this note that a pastor wrote to his son . He broke mercy up into three different categories . He talked about Mercy is who God is , what he does and what we need . So he says mercy is who God is , the Lord . The Lord , god , compassionate and gracious , slow to anger and abounding , instead fast love and faithfulness . Exodus 34 . He says mercy is what he does . If God is for us , who is against us ? He who do not spare his own son but delivered him over for us all ? How will he not also , with him , freely Give us all things ? Romans 8 mercy is what you need , lord , hear my voice . If you , lord , should mark inequities , oh Lord , who could stand ? But there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared . And then this dad riding to a son ends it like this . God's mercy is not a theory , a bunch of words or stories from a long time ago . It is the reality upon which your life depends . Mercy is a reality that anchors you into the life and death of Jesus Christ . He has come for us . He has come for you . You need help outside Yourself . Ask for help . Wow , I'm good .
Speaker 2I'm really good , you know a mark . We often Give the sort of distinction between grace and mercy right . We talk about how , how grace is Getting what you don't deserve , mercy is not getting what you deserve . Can you expound on that a little bit ?
Speaker 3Well , it's , it's beautiful If there's a third one that belongs in there as well . And that's justice , right ? We ? We all rejoice at justice . Unless it's for us , right , mercy is not getting what you deserve . And I remember I was inside of a church service a while ago and I just felt Just the weight of my sin Upon me and and I felt this condemnation that was just and I just , I couldn't concentrate on what that the preacher was saying and and I remember sitting there and just saying God , god , be merciful , I need mercy , mercy , lord , give me a mercy . And it was as if just just a flood of peace Came down into my soul where I was able to concentrate , I was able to it , re-engage into the message and take notes once again . But but mercy , is God holding back that which you deserve ? It was , thomas Watson said every time you draw your breath , you suck in mercy . Right , it's , it's , it's not deserved . There there's no guarantee of an exhale or another breath , which would be grace , getting what you don't deserve , thomas Watson . He went on to say . He said take heed of abusing the mercy of God . To sin because mercy abounds is the devil's logic . He that sins because of God's mercy shall have judgment without mercy . Ooh , it puts things into perspective , right . Grace and mercy . These bedfellows are there to teach us about the kindness and the love of God . And if you reject the , the kindness , the mercy of God , the grace of God , well , then you receive justice without grace and without mercy , which is exactly what you deserve . And when Jesus died on the cross , it's when grace and mercy and the justice of God they all kissed , and God dealt with all three and gave us what we did not deserve . Finally , give me just a moment . Let me just share this . I love it . John Dershner . He said only the Christian gospel presents a way in which justice and mercy kiss each other . First , christianity confirms the fact that justice must be satisfied . Sin must be condemned according to its demerit . This means eternal doom . The sinner must be damned because God is holy and God is just . His all powerful being must vindicate his all holy being . Christianity never compromises the ever-blessed purity and excellency of the divine nature . And second , christianity alone finds a way to satisfy infinite justice and provide infinite mercy at the same time . What no other religion has ever dreamed of , jesus Christ has accomplished he underwent the infinite wrath of God against sin and he lived to bestow his mercy on the damned sinners for whom he died . The infinite Son of God took upon himself a human nature in which he underwent the full fury of the divine wrath . The omnipotent God satisfied his violated his holiness , excuse me . The omnipotent God satisfied his violated holiness by punishing sin completely in his blessed son , who became sin for his people . The justice of God was vindicated in full in the substitute , his own son , our savior , and he survived that awful vengeance and rose victorious over the grave by the power of his own divinity . Now he offers to every sin , sick and pleasure , burden , soul and everlasting mercy , perfect mercy and perfect justice in the gospel of the crucified one . Such a word picture that it's hard to remove from our mind , and it shouldn't be removed . That's what happened on the cross grace , mercy and justice .
Speaker 2Wow , that's so moving , ray . I love the use of the word perfect alongside those different things , and especially with mercy . God's mercy is perfect because the atonement of Christ was perfect , the substitutionary atonement of Christ . He took our place , he washed our sins away . God's justice was satisfied , so now his mercy is perfect toward us .
Speaker 4Yeah , if you don't see your sin , you don't see God's mercy . It's obscured from you . I remember in our movie Exit I interviewed a girl and she said her aunt committed suicide because she was sick of brushing her teeth .
Speaker 2Oh , I remember you mentioning that , yeah .
Speaker 4And I thought about that a lot and think , man , if you don't realize that every meal , every tooth , every breath , every day comes by the mercy of God , then you'll not have the fruit of Thanksgiving . Charles Birgitt said so long as we're receivers of mercy , we must be givers of thanks . And so you end up , it's the fruit of evolutionary , secular thinking . You know what's my tooth ? What are my teeth ? Well , they're just part of evolution . It's just to chew and to survive , whatever . But no , these are gifts of God . Why is it gifts from God ? The brain is a gift from God , lungs are a gift from God . So everything comes to us by his mercy . We don't draw a breath without his mercy because he doesn't treat us according to our sins , because if he did , we'd be damned .
Speaker 3Wow , you know , that is so good . It's that root of being ungrateful . I used to complain about my shoes until I saw a guy with no feet . I used to complain about brushing my teeth until I saw a person with no teeth . Everything we have is such a blessing from God , even the trials inside of our life , when we recognize and realize what they actually do to you , that God is working inside of you something that you could never sign up for , that you could never try to will up by your own power to create God does through trials and circumstances and issues . We are all going through trials , right , and as my friend Christina Pertell said , the hardest trial you'll ever go through is the one you go through without the Lord . And she said listen , I don't wish cancer upon anyone , but the effects upon the heart of a redeemed soul . I wish that upon everyone , that when you go through that tumultuous , cancerous episode , what that does to you is it causes you to well up with Thanksgiving , knowing that God is gracious and he's kind and is with you in the midst of the fire , and it has your roots grow upward instead of downward , because this is not our home . Wow , that's so good
.
Speaker 2Yeah , and on that note of what you guys are talking about , ray , you talked about that that the mercy of God and forgiveness , psalm 130 , verse three . If you , oh Lord , should mark iniquities , oh Lord , who could stand ? But there is forgiveness with you and that was ultimately found in the cross and in what Jesus did , and this goes back to Ephesians two , one to five . It says and you he made alive , who were dead in trespasses and sins in which you once walked . According to the course of this world , according to the prince of the power of the air , the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience , among whom also , we all once conducted ourselves in the lust of our flesh , fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were , by nature , children of wrath , just as the others . But God , who is rich in mercy , because of his great love , with which he loved us even when we were dead in trespasses , made us alive together with Christ . By grace , you've been saved , and that is at the heart of it all . We forget that we were children of wrath , just as the others . This is where pride comes in for the Christian , as I've mentioned before , forgetting who we were and where we were , this was our state . We were conducting ourselves in the lust of our flesh , fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind . That was our heartbeat . We were children of wrath , but God , who is rich in mercy , rich in mercy , he decided to not give us what we deserve . What did we deserve ? Wrath . I love that description children of wrath .
Speaker 3And because of what Christ did . Hebrews tells us let us therefore come to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy . So , in light of what Christ did and he did that because there's no way for us to get to heaven he says you want mercy ? It's found at the throne of grace , whereas one person said God desires to exercise mercy upon you more than you desire to receive it , and God's mercy is greater and bigger and more grander than the sin that nailed Jesus to the cross . Wow right .
Speaker 2Like Mark said , when we recognize why it is that we have access to that mercy because of what Christ did it'll be that wave of just peace and freedom that comes over us . We just need to cry out . You know , brian Chappelle said mercy stimulates the gratitude that is the only enduring motivation for effective Christian service . Gratitude recognizes the love that never fades and restores confidence in our eternal relationship . That is the only true source of Christian power . It draws its source back to mercy . And again on the theme of mercy and salvation , 1 Peter 1.3, . Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord , jesus Christ , who , according to his abundant mercy , has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead . We can't disassociate God's mercy from us being born again . That's what God employed to give it to us . Ray , I'd love for you to comment on this . This is dealing with David , if you remember , after David had numbered the people and God gave him three options basically to choose .
Speaker 4Oh , that's the sort of thing . You start so many podcasts with three options . Yeah , three options , and that's where I get it right . Sure .
Speaker 2But it says in 2 Samuel , 24 , 14, . And David said to Gad I am in great distress . Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord , for his mercies are great , but do not let me fall into the hand of man .
Speaker 4Yeah , each one of those are frightening . Yeah , we look at them , you know . But David chose that and you read the words of David and the famous death psalms , psalm 23 , that we always hear quoted on Hollywood movies . When someone dies , they think it's to do with death , need it to do with life . But Psalm 23 , surely goodness and mercy shall follow me on the days of my life and I'll dwell in the house of the Lord forever . We couldn't have the goodness of God without the mercy of God . The mercy of God has to follow us all the days of our lives or we couldn't have his goodness . Mercy is the essence of the gospel and that's why we need to trust in Christ every minute of every day . And that's the end of my thought . I like there's more . There's more .
Speaker 3Sam storms . He said God is a holy temper , but he has a very long fuse , even those who deny in blaspheme his name or recipients of his patience and long suffering . He permits his enemies to live and dispute for their horde blasphemies , all the while blessing them with food and air and earthly pleasures . Wow .
Speaker 4Well , you know , the thing is , the long fuse is they're holding the stick of dynamite and they're the ones that lit it yeah they're the ones that lit it . Yeah , and storing up right , that's going to be revealed on the day of judgment . Wow , it's like that description of bitterness .
Speaker 2right , it's like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die . Right , you know , mark . I'd love you to elaborate a little more on what you mentioned earlier I think it was you Hebrews 4 , 14 to 16 , about the throne of grace and the fact that you know Paul . Well , I think it's Paul , and there's talking about how , you know , we don't have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses . He was tempted on all points , as we are , yet without sin . Then he says therefore , come boldly to the throne of grace . You may receive mercy and find grace to help and time and need . It's not this half-hearted sort of hesitant . Boldly to the throne of grace the words I say most often , I think , in prayer is here I am again .
Speaker 3You know , here I am again in need of your mercy and grace .
And scripture tells us that God delights in being merciful . Delight he takes a delight . What does God take delight in ? I mean , you think of what your spouse or your child takes delight in . Well , god takes delight in being merciful . He actually takes a grace . He takes delight in being merciful . He actually takes a great delight in that . Scripture says that his mercy is new every morning I like to say Lord , it's morning sometime in the world , right now . And because you're not subject to time zones or my timeframe , I'm handcuffed to the same called time , but you're not , and I'm praying to that . I'm an inept God who dwells outside of time and I'm gonna give you a chance to be have great delight . See , right now , regardless of the time zone , here I am seeking after your mercy , seeking your smile in the midst of my chaos . And then there's the Lord , right in the midst of it , dancing in the midst of the fire , able to mock the tumultuous storm around us , because he is a God who is slow to anger , slow to wrath , he's quick to be merciful , he's quick to be gracious to his children , who are come to him not asking for a rock , but asking for what he delights in . He's gonna be quick to give it .
Speaker 2Yeah , amen , oh , mark is so good , and then- .
Speaker 4You say Mark is so good . Oh Mark .
Speaker 3No , cause I'm not .
Speaker 4There's none good , there's no there's not one , not one .
Speaker 2Mercy , mercy , please , mercy . Again . I can't get away from the connection between mercy and salvation and all that . We as a ministry try to encourage people in remembering , right , magnifying to a proper degree the wrath of God and the judgment of God and the law of God . And I think that Daniel Fuller put it well . He said God delights far more in mercy than in his wrath . So in order to show the priority of his mercy , he must place it against the backdrop of his wrath . How could God's mercy appear fully as his great mercy unless it was extended to people who were under his wrath and therefore could only ask for mercy ? It would be impossible for them to share with God the delight he has in his mercy unless they saw clearly the awfulness of the almighty wrath from which his mercy delivers them .
Speaker 4Is that a Puritan or a ?
Speaker 2contemporary ? No , he's contemporary .
Speaker 4Wow , that's great .
Speaker 2Yeah , isn't that good Ray .
Speaker 4Yeah , really good to hear that sort of talk , cause it's so true . Who are you quoting ?
Speaker 2Daniel Fuller , and when you see that in its light , I mean when you gain an understanding of the interwoven theme of God's law and wrath and judgment and scripture , and then you understand his mercy and his grace . You read these words and they're beautiful . These are beautiful to me , like they make my heart sing . They make me say yes , of course you can't appreciate mercy until you recognize the just dessert of wrath . That's when it's Lord . This is what I should have . This is what causes gratitude to well up in our hearts and makes us not only wanna receive God's mercy and revel and rejoice in it , but extend it to others as well .
Speaker 1Although the way that you pit that you parallel his mercy with his wrath , and it reminds me of the mockery that we find in Genesis three , which I think is the same kind of mockery that we find today in culture , which is people want to mock God as like . Well , he sounds like this vengeful , angry , wrathful child abusing father in heaven and they lose sight of his mercy , they question his goodness . And in Genesis three the serpent says did he really say and I've heard pastors , I've had pastors in the past be like ah see , what the serpent is doing is questioning , making you question what he said . But scholars point out that it's not so much a questioning but a mocking Did he really say oh , is that what God said ? Oh , God said that he's good . Oh , god said that he's merciful , and it makes so . What happens is the beginning of the fall starts with us questioning the character of God , and if we're questioning the character of God , we could not possibly begin to understand the goodness and the mercy of God . And so I just I love the way you put those two things next to each other , the wrath of God and the mercy of God , because when we understand it in its proper context . It brings us to a place of worship that God would be merciful to somebody like me who deserves wrath .
Speaker 2No no , and it makes you step back , ray , and think how anyone could ever truly believe that they're saved by their own works , that they're there . Good deeds are going to erase the reprehensible nature of their sin , the stench that it is in the nostrils of a holy God .
Speaker 4The ultimate illusion . I've been camped on Exodus 20 , which is the Ten Commandments , for about a week and a half , two weeks , just going through them again . So you're going to stay since the 70s , yes , since the 70s , since the late 70s . But I think we often forget what follows the Ten Commandments , the thunderings and lightings that came with that law , revealing God's wrath , just because God was present . And then it says the people said to Moses you speak with them , don't let God talk to us anymore , at least we die . That was so terrified . And then Moses said this fear not , for God has come to prove you . And that is fear , maybe before your faces , that you say not . How powerful is that ? Fear not because God's not wanting to kill you . Mercy is rejoicing over his judgment , but fear that you say not . So there's a fear that we need to cultivate , a fear of God for who he is and what he can do to us justly , and that causes us to walk in a life that's free of sin . Wow , such a paradox .
Speaker 2Yeah , I've been thinking about that lately the fear of God and how it applies to the believer . You know , obviously we know that we're no longer under wrath or no longer under judgment , but we have to remember that God disciplines his children and that should strike a holy fear in us , even though we know it's for our good , it's costly and it's painful and you don't trifle with the Lord in those things , and so it's so important for us as believers to understand . I think that's been lost . We so magnify the grace of God that we forget that a part of the element of the grace of God is discipline in our lives , and that's a mercy that the Lord doesn't give us . What we deserve , and what we deserve in our sin is to eat the fruit of our own ways , but often the Lord will , in mercy , spare us through discipline that we don't keep going down that road .
Speaker 4We've got an image of God that's so hard to get rid of just comes with our sinful nature , I guess , and sometimes when we're editing our YouTube channel , I talk about the wrath of God . Just adding thunder and lightning above that , with a little rumbling of , produces a fear of God and me that I don't normally have . Like , the wrath of God abides on sinners . Just saying that . But when you add the thunder and lightning and that sound of thunder bring some reality to what we're speaking about . This is the God that created the lightning . He can split the lightning in two if he so wishes . He can go faster than the lightning . He can stop it in its tracks because he's its creator . We forget that .
Speaker 2You know what magnifies that for me , ray , more than anything is well , we here in California have absolutely wimpy thunder , wimpy thunder . But I've told you guys a story when I was in Montana years ago . Oh , even to this moment I remember it and that's what I like to think in my mind when I think of the God of thunder , I mean it was . I can't even sound like some . It's like some Lebanese at a party . No no no , no , no , no , no , no , no , no , no , no , no , no , no , no , no , no , no , no , no , no , no one can replicate , it . It was so unbelievably . It was so unbelievably it was so unbelievably it was so unbelievably again I got to my feet . I have no idea to this day how I just not was lying on a bed . Next thing I knew I was on my feet . It was that . It just made me jump like that .
Speaker 4And put the fear of God on you .
Speaker 3Yeah , it's a good way to put it . John Knox said I've never feared the devil , but I tremble every time I enter the pulpit . You know just having the right picture of God and being able to convey that and the truths from the Word of God to the people .
Speaker 1Mark modern sensibilities when we talk about the wrath of God , I think the modern years like cringe at the idea of a God being wrathful . What would you ? You know you're sitting across it's not a debate for them , but like you're sitting across someone who's just struggling to understand . What would you say to someone like man ? That's just a God . He's wrathful . What about like a loving God ? Doesn't that make more sense ? What would you say to that person ?
Speaker 3Yeah , you know , that kind of goes hand in hand with the person says you know God is a jealous God . How dare God be a jealous God ? You know that he demands and he commands your worship .
Speaker 4Do you remember that was Oprah Stumpling Block Yep .
Speaker 2Was that right ?
Speaker 3That's what I mean to talk about in one of our programs . But when you think about it , there is not a more loving thing that God can do than to demand and command your worship . Because if the greatest need of man is God , then the most evil thing God could ever do is not allow man to have that reprieve and that release right . So God would be evil if he did not invoke man to be able to receive that release right . So the most loving thing God can do is to reveal himself to man . So now we head back over to what you're talking about with the fear of God . Because man fears God so little he rejects everything about God and he fears . It's been said right , when you don't fear God , you fear everything else . Well , I want to be a man and I want to be surrounded by men and women who have this one desire , this one resounding heartbeat to fear God , love God and leave the results to God . Right , so when you know God and the attributes and the character of God , everything begins to fall into place . Right , it may be above our pay grade , but we trust that God is doing the right thing . It's like Corrie 10 Boom when she said when I'm going through a dark tunnel and I can't see the edge of where I'm heading , I don't throw the ticket out of the train window and jump off with it . It is all about the mercy of God the Great Puritan . In the 1600s I had written this down concerning Thomas Hooker there's a visitor that came to console him when he was dying and he said to him sir , you're going to receive the reward of your labor . And Thomas Hooker said , brother , I'm going to receive mercy . That's good . That's a person who knows the character and the attributes . I like that .
Speaker 2I love that .
Speaker 4Amen .
Speaker 2All right . In the last few minutes we have left , I want to make this practical for us , ray , matthew 5.7, . Blessed are the merciful , for they shall obtain mercy . How key is it for us to emulate God's mercy ? Because we often don't , and I feel that it's kind of part and parcel with the parable that Jesus gave of the servant that was forgiven such a huge debt and wouldn't forgive his fellow servant . God has been so merciful toward us . How reprehensible is it when we don't extend it .
Speaker 4That's why it's so key to catch a glimpse of your own sinfulness . If you don't , then you'll be judgmental of others . If you do , then you'll extend mercy to others .
Speaker 2Wow , that's so true . Yeah , and Luke 6.36, . Therefore , be merciful just as your father also is merciful . Again , we're called there to tie that in with emulation . And Oscar James 2.13 , for judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy . This is a famous verse mercy triumphs over judgment .
Speaker 1Spound on that a little bit , yeah , I mean , I think it kind of goes back to what you guys have been saying , which is like when we truly or even what Calvin was getting at when we truly understand our dependence on the mercy of God , that will change our disposition towards others , which the opposite is true . If we have a disposition towards others that's not merciful . Do we understand the mercy of God ? Have you come to truly understand how God has showed you grace and mercy ? No , amen .
Speaker 3You know , the story is told about a mother who once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son , and the emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and that justice demanded death . But I don't ask for justice , the mother explained . I plead for mercy , but your son does not deserve mercy . Napoleon replied . Sir , the woman cried , it would not be mercy if he deserved it , and his mercy is what I asked for . Well then , the emperor said I will have mercy and he spared the woman's son .
Speaker 1Wow , Sorry , was that Napoleon Dynamite or Bonaparte Napoleon Dynamite ? Great , great film .
Speaker 4That's had a rake a quote , but my lips hurt real bad . Oh , wow guys , this is hey listen , I got to ask something here Was Napoleon a good guy or a bad guy ? Because he said some incredible things , so really deep , you know , if man won't believe anything as long as not in the Bible . Was he a tyrant or a great ruler ?
Speaker 2Yeah , he was a tyrant but did some pretty bad stuff . Yeah , but he's one that said some good things . I guess tyrants can do that once in a while .
All right , well , friends , we hope you've been refreshed . I know my soul has been rejuvenated of the reminder that there is mercy in the Lord for me . I want it and I want to demonstrate it toward others , and so just remember , go back to what scripture says and let your heart overflow . All right , friends , there you have it . Don't forget the track sample pack , the Living Waters Mug , the Heaven Decided Bible , alllivingwaterscom . And please , we want to hear from you , so tell us good things or not about me at podcastlivingwaterscom .
Speaker 4Did you say about me , about me ?
Speaker 2I thought I heard that it's all about me . I can't and remember to also give us comments and ratings , and all that on the platform you listen on and share with others . Thank you for joining us , friends . We will see you here next time , lord willing . On the Living Waters podcast , the ultimate cure for insomnia , oh shh .
Speaker 1Bye , bye .