Mercy Triumphs Over Judgement

James 2:12-13 (NIV) "12Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!”

In the sermon at ICCJ on June 22, I delivered a teaching which is a continuation of the series on the book of James, focusing on chapter 2, verses 1-13. This passage deals with favoratism, ties it in with the Royal Law of Scripture which is to "love your neighbor as yourself", goes on to point out that the sin of favoratism/discrimination is equivalant to adultery or murder and then wraps up with the truth found in the above scripture verses 12-13 that Mercy Triumphs Over Judgement. An interesting and brilliant progression of concepts which takes time and study to understand.

But today I want to focus on the ending idea that Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment. James encourages us to speak and act as those who are going to be judged. The Bible teaches us in Matthew 12:35-37 (NIV) "35The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

The day of judgement will include a separation from those who have been qualified by receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior over their lives to receive eternal life, from those who will spend eternity in hell. It will further involve a judgement of those who are heaven bound and there will be a determination of rewards. And so we as Christ Followers need to be mindful that every word that we speak will count as evidence, one way or the other on the day of judgment.

James further elaborates that God will show judgment without mercy to those who have not been merciful in life on that day. Think about that for a minute... do you want to receive judgement from God without mercy? I don't think so. But it is a fact that this is what you will face on the day of judgement if you have not been merciful to other people in this life. Sowing and reaping has a much larger impact then only that of your finances.

Matthew 7:1-3 (NIV) 1"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"

Can the Word of God be clearer? There are different measurements that God will use on the day of judgement and those measurements are determined by none other then you and I. I am right now determining how God is going to judge me by how I deal with other people... sobering.

Think of it this way: If on the day of judgment, there is a TV screen which will show the key moments of your life for your trial (Jesus is your Advocate or Lawyer), picture how you treated your worst kid on his worst day, or your worst critic on his worst day. God will play that clip and He will then determine that based on the measurement of mercy you showed them, that is how you will now be judged... How're you doin'?

OK... the good news is that it's not too late. We can change! We can get our mis-treatment of others not only washed away from the Hard Drive of Heaven, but we can also renew our minds in the Word and change our behaviour. All you have to do is confess your sin and God will be faithful and just to forgive us our sins... even the sin of judging others mercilessly.

Mercy Triumphs Over Judgement. A powerful quote straight from scripture to always remember. But for the sake of further clarity, I want to add to it a bit:

Your Mercy for Others Triumphs Over God's Judgment of You.

Check this out: You are already being judged in this life... not just in eternity. If you have not been shown mercy, you have probably not been very merciful to others as a result. And you excuse yourself by making a statement like this: "Nobody looks out for me, I need to look out for myself." But if you are thinking that way, you have it backwards. It doesn't start with others, it starts with you. The reason mercy and grace are not being shown to you even now is because you have not been showing mercy. You can change your life even right now by stopping this cycle lacking in mercy by becoming a "mercy person" today. If you will start, mercy will come your way faster then you can imagine. Trust God and develop a new cycle in your life.

Can you handle one more point?:

Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV) "14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

With this teaching and with this scripture in mind, I want you to consider the following three statements which I hear allot. Fill in the blank if you can... and be honest:

“I can forgive anyone except for ___________________________”

“I can forgive almost anything except for _____________________”

“I’m not ready to forgive ____________________________ yet…”

Time for the test results. If you believe God's Word... and you really should believe God's Word... If you were able to put anything in any of the blanks above, your position in heaven is not secured.

Don't get mad... just get right. I'm not mincing words with this teaching because it is a fact and no excuse will change that. It is God's Word and the only way to deal with it is to submit to it and obey it.

You are determining the measurements that God is going to use on you right now. Your Mercy for Others will Triumph Over God's Judgement of You! That's good news if you will make a decision right now not only to be a Hearer of Gods Word, but also to be a Doer of God's Word.

Joy McKinney & Israel Houghton

Joy McKinney and Israel Houghton met today at a press conference as preparations are being made for the Israel and New Breed Concert coming up in Jakarta on July 01, 2008. The city is buzzing in anticipation and Joy McKinney & Soul2Praiz are preparing to open for the Concert with a 45 minute set with original music. Please pray for this event which will transform lives and shake this nation!

Crying on the Scroll

Psalm 56:8 (NIV) “Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll — are they not in your record?”

One of the Psalms that I often turn to when I am under duress is Psalm 56. David asks God to record his tears in the heavenly scroll.

Another statement in Psalm 56 that particularly touches me is found in verses 4 and 10. David says that he praises God’s Word.

When the pursuers attack and when the slanderers speak, there are a variety of reactions which we can choose. You can go and cry on someone’s shoulder, you can cry in your pillow (a good choice if you don’t want anyone to hear), you can cry while listening to sad songs, you could cry at a bar or tavern, you might call someone and cry for hours on the phone… even long distance and then you’ll cry again when you get the bill, you might cry while holding your cat or your dog, you might even cry while eating a pint of your favorite ice cream. Your tears might be hot and angry, they might be big and helpless and they might even put a salty taste in your mouth if they travel in that direction.

David’s attackers were people who he knew. He said that they attacked him in their pride. Feelings, positions and relationships were involved. He called them “my slanderers” (vs 2). That would imply that they pretty much had a full time job slandering him. My generals, my servants, my family… my slanderers. Wow!

There is one place to cry that I would recommend based on this Psalm of David. Cry in your Bible. In your torment, Praise God’s Word. Some of the best pages in my Bible… the most meaningful ones to me that have my life-line verses in them are crispy and stained from tears. The Bible that I use most is 12 years old… 1000’s of tears on 100’s of pages. The Word of God viewed through tearing eyes is beautiful and meaningful!

One of the differences between those who overcome and learn through trials and those who do not, is where they cry. Trust God and go to His Word in good times and in bad. Gain strength from His promises and gain advice directly from Him.

Verse 4 asks, “What can mortal man do to me?” And verse 9 says that “God is for me.” Awesome!

Commit that the very next time you cry… you will not cry on somebody’s shoulder but cry into your Bible. Get his Word deeply in you while you are broken and it will change you!

With this in mind, take a few minutes to read the 13 verses of Psalm 56 now. Be blessed!


Psalm 56 (NIV)
For the director of music. To the tune of "A Dove on Distant Oaks." Of David. A miktam . When the Philistines had seized him in Gath.
1 Be merciful to me, O God, for men hotly pursue me; all day long they press their attack.
2 My slanderers pursue me all day long; many are attacking me in their pride.
3 When I am afraid, I will trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mortal man do to me?
5 All day long they twist my words; they are always plotting to harm me.
6 They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps, eager to take my life.
7 On no account let them escape; in your anger, O God, bring down the nations.
8 Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll — are they not in your record?
9 Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help. By this I will know that God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise-
11 in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
12 I am under vows to you, O God; I will present my thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.

A Stiff-Necked Man

I delivered a Mini-Sermon at ICCJ today because the bulk of the service consisted of a powerful testimony from a Jakarta businessman. He shared about his process of salvation which included getting free from a 15 year affair in which he even provided a house and car for the "other woman", how he stopped cheating on taxes and bribing government officials in business, and how the Lord restored his health, his family and his wealth. As a matter of fact, he has gone from bankruptcy procedings, oweing more then 35 million US dollars just 2 years ago to literally making 1 million dollars per month now that he has dedicated his life to the Lord Jesus and has eliminated corruption and sin from his life (of course as with all of us this is still on-going). When I booked this man of God to share today, the Lord immediately gave me this message to go with the testimony. I pray that this teaching outline will be a blessing to you!

Proverbs 29:1 (NIV) “A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.”

Reasons why a person would stiffen their neck or their neck would become stiff:
· Brace themselves for a crash
· Hold their head high (sometimes arrogance?)
· Sleeping in the wrong position or sleeping too long (laziness?)
· Brace themselves to receive a beating (this is the main reason)

One of the tragedies of life is that when a drunk driver hits another car, causing a crash, if one dies and one survives, it is usually the drunk person who survives. The reason for this is that their body is relaxed in its drunken state. The sober and alert person, perceiving the danger and stiffening their body up is less likely to be able to handle the beating and more damage is done.

Interestingly, the scripture reminds us to be alert and sober, but also to be drunk by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18 & Acts 2). Alert to navigate but drunk and un-worried enough (at peace) to be able to withstand the crashes and challenges of life.

This is not only true in a car crash but in interpersonal relationships as well. An uptight or a controlling person is not able to handle conflict as well as an easygoing or less forceful person. The emotions of a stubborn person are more likely to crash (anger, depression, revenge, etc) when they don’t get their own way. Their happiness is based on coming out ahead of other people… life is a competition to them. One of their main objectives in life is to always look good in front of other people or even to always look better then others. What a stressful way to live!

One of the main reasons that a person will not make changes (remain stiff-necked) for the better is pride. They never want to admit that they are wrong. At the least, they want to be right more of the time then other people.

Proverbs 27:5-7 (NKJV) “5Open rebuke is better Than love carefully concealed. 6Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. 7A satisfied soul loathes the honeycomb, But to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.”

Hebrews 12:5-7 (NIV) “5And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." 7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?

Wounds and Discipline are necessary… but so are Friends and Love
Balanced Ingredients… 2 & 2
Role-play with me for a moment: “Jesus, my spouse won’t listen to me and I know I’m speaking the truth and they need to change or they will end up like the stiff-necked person and they will be destroyed.”
How Jesus Might Answer: “Did you wound them like a Friend would? Did you treat them (discipline) like someone who you deeply Love?”
If you need to Wound your Friend or your Family Member, do it the way that a doctor or a dentist would do it. The doctor most likely will need to inflict pain in order to deliver the cure, but it will be very specific and as gentle as possible.
Think of it in the form of an injection of medicine.
Use the right dosage.
Put it in the right place and leave the rest alone.

We have now covered both sides of this issue:
We need to accept the blows that come our way because if we remain stiff-necked, we will be destroyed.
Proverbs 20:30 (N IV) “Blows and wounds cleanse away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being.”
We also need to strike blows in a godly way… as Jesus, the Great Physician (Luke 5:32) would do it.
If we don’t admonish and warn those in our lives in a loving way (to dissuade --- opposite of persuade), then their blood will be on our hands.

Ezekiel 3:17-19 (NIV) "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 18 When I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. 19 But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.”