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The Lord Is Graciously Merciful

Posted on 03 May 2020, Pastor: Tolu Makinde

Title: The Lord Is Graciously Merciful

Text: Ps. 145:1-8

[Psa 145:1] I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.

[Psa 145:2] Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.

[Psa 145:3] Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

[Psa 145:4] One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.

[Psa 145:5] I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.

[Psa 145:6] And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness.

[Psa 145:7] They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.

[Psa 145:8] The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.

Introduction

The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy
Gracious comes from the word grace – grace means unmerited favor – we are not deserving of the grace of God, but He gave it to us anyway.
It is by grace that we were saved – [Eph 2:8] For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
It is by Jesus that grace came – [Joh 1:17] For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Mercy, came by grace – it means forgiveness shown when it is within one’s power to punish.
Mercy is showing compassion
[Lam 3:22] It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ always be available to us in the mighty name of Jesus
May the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ never depart from us in the mighty name of Jesus
Anywhere you see grace, don’t look far, mercy is following behind.

Main Topic

The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy.
However, the Lord Moses: [Exo 33:19] And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
The Lord reserve the right to be gracious to whom He chooses to be gracious to, and be merciful to whom He chooses to be merciful to.
However, I have discovered that there are certain things we can do to provoke the grace and mercy of the Lord.

Noah

[Gen 6:6] And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
[Gen 6:7] And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
[Gen 6:8] But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
Out of all the inhabitants of the earth, only Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.Why did Noah find grace? – [Gen 6:9] These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
If you walk with God, you will find grace in eyes of the Lord

Abraham

[Gen 12:1] Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
[Gen 12:2] And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
[Gen 12:3] And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Abraham found grace in the eyes of the Lord, why? – [Gen 12:4] So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
He is obedient and his heart is right with God.
If you are obedient to God, you will find grace in the eyes of the Lord

Lot

[Gen 19:19] Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:
[Gen 19:20] Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.
[Gen 19:21] And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.
[Gen 19:22] Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
Lot found grace by association with Abraham
If you associate with those close to God, you will find grace by association

How?

If you walk with God, you will find grace in the eyes of the Lord
If you are obedient to God, you will find grace in the eyes of the Lord
If you are associated with those close to God, you will find grace by association
How do you walk with God?
- [Psa 119:105] Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
- Solomon’s prayer of dedication in the temple – [2Ch 6:14] And said, O LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts:
- You walk with God by being obedient to His Word and His instructions with all your heart
How can you be obedient to God?
- Do what His Word says –
- [Jas 1:21] Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
- [Jas 1:22] But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
- [Jas 1:23] For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
- [Jas 1:24] For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
- [Jas 1:25] But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
How can you associate with those close to God?
- Elisha followed Elijah with his whole heart, knowing he’s indeed a prophet
- By being faithful
- Gehazi followed Elisha but not whole heartedly. When he was tested, he failed and did not find grace
- Peter followed Jesus, Judas Iscariot equally followed Jesus
  - They were both tested and they both failed
  - One found grace, the other did not find grace. Why? His heart was not right and he did not follow whole heartedly, therefore he could not obey the Word of Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy
If we find grace, mercy will follow.
If you walk with God, you will find grace in the eyes of the Lord
If you are obedient to God, you will find grace in the eyes of the Lord
If you are associated with those close to God, you will find grace by association
Finding grace in the eyes of God boils down to one thing: Obedience to the Word of God.

Sermon

The Lord Is Graciously Merciful