375. Our Merciful God (Attributes of God)

Transcript

Speeding Ticket Story On Mercy

Defining Mercy Versus Grace

Psalm 103 And God’s Character

Living Mercy Toward Others

Listener Note Invitation And Close

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Well, welcome to Moments of Worship. I'm Keith McMahon, worship pastor at Bethel Baptist Church in Yorktown, Virginia. This podcast seeks to encourage you in the worship of God each weekday. Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket? Or maybe you ran a stop sign or failed to yield the right-of-way? Well, years ago I got a speeding ticket. I'm not really a speeder. All my friends will tell you I drive like a grandfather, I'm not a speeder. But years ago I did, and the officer was very kind and let me go without giving me a ticket. Well maybe you've turned in a paper late or a budget proposal or results of a study to your boss that and you missed the deadline. And then the person, your boss, supervisor withheld any sort of consequence. We can all recall times when we did something or did not do something and deserve some sort of punishment or consequence and we did not receive it. This is mercy, friend. Wayne Grudom in his systematic theology text defines mercy in this way. Mercy is defined as God's goodness towards those in distress, highlighting God's compassionate and loving response to human suffering and sin. He really explains here that mercy is distinct from grace. Mercy involves God withholding deserved punishment and showing compassion often associated with forgiveness and alleviation of human misery. I love this chapter, this Psalm in the Bible, as we're exhorted by the Psalmist to forget not his benefits. Verse eight says, The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. We head to the New Testament in Ephesians chapter two, verses four through five. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions. It is by grace you have been saved. It's clear that God has given you and I mercy if we belong to Him. He is a merciful God. Praise Him for that. Don't let that moment pass you by. Let's recognize God's mercy to us. Augustine said, Church Father, Great are you, O Lord, and greatly to be praised. Great is your power, and of your wisdom there is no end. And man being a part of your creation desires to praise you. You stir man to take pleasure in praising you, because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rest in you. Yet you show mercy to man, frail and in sin. May we have humble hearts this day, this Tuesday, as we interact with others at our job, at school or wherever the Lord might take us, that we would be people that show mercy to others, that we would have the mind of Jesus Christ. We would be merciful to those that we meet. Thank you so much, friend, for joining me on this episode of Moments of Worship. I would love to hear for you, and for fun, if you would want to send me a note, doxology at BBC Yorktown.org or a text through the app and let me know what time of the day you're listening to this and where you're listening, how you're listening. I would love to hear from you. I'm grateful for the time that you spent on this podcast, and I hope that it helps you, encourages you to think bigger and greater about the great God of the Bible. Well, join us next time on Moments of Worship. Until then, may we worship our merciful God. Thanks for listening.