Embracing God's Mercy: Freedom from Burdens and Anxiety

``Thank God that's not how he shows mercy to us. God's mercy doesn't come with shame. It's not riddled with reminders of our sin. There's not this scorekeeping replaying of the tape of our offense in God's mind. Once he has forgiven us, there are no strings attached when it comes to God's mercy. [00:42:52] (21 seconds)  #unconditionalDivineMercy

Mercy is what moved God to act on our behalf. God would see humanity's plight. He would see Adam and Eve, his creation, living in the perfect setting of the garden that he placed them in. Adam and Eve made in the image of God, placed in the perfect setting, and given one command, hey, don't eat from that tree. Of course, they eat from the tree. They're tricked by the enemy. They eat from the tree. And when they ate from the tree, sin entered into the world. And sin for every human being after Adam and Eve would now flow through you and I. [00:50:24] (41 seconds)  #mercyInAction

Grace is the unmerited favor of God. So grace, unmerited favor, mercy is God withholding what we do deserve. And so the wrath of God, the justness of God, that somebody has to pay this sin debt and instead of them paying for it, I'm gonna put the payment on Jesus, that's mercy. Grace is the unmerited favor. Grace is, I'm not just gonna pay their debt, I'm gonna give them eternal life and I'm going to give them my spirit. That's grace. Grace is God giving us what we don't deserve. [00:59:58] (33 seconds)  #graceAndMercyDefined

Grace is 100 % God's favor towards the undeserving. Grace eradicates, this is a tough one for me, so I'm assuming it's going to be tough for you. Grace eradicates the mantra, work like it's up to me, pray like it's up to God. It eradicates that mantra because grace isn't about our effort. Grace isn't about our skill. It's not about our worthiness. It's not about our giving. It's not about our generosity. It's not about our good deeds. It's not about our work ethic. Grace, grace is just simply about the character of the master. That's it. [01:02:22] (38 seconds)  #graceEradicatesSelfReliance

Because grace is unearned. The only proper response is faith. Faith is the opposite of self -dependence. Yes, we should work hard. And I wrestle with this because I like to think of myself as a work ethic type of person. Yes, we should want to.be the best at what we do, but with the foundational understanding that it is God's grace that what we have is ours in the first place. It's not because of what we've done. It is because God's grace was lavished upon us. [01:03:42] (30 seconds)  #faithOpposesSelfDependence

By the grace of God, we are here. We're not the first to say this. John Newton was a man who trafficked humans. He captained slave ships. He profited from the suffering of other people, and by every account, he was a hard -hearted man. He was blind to evil. He was a part of, but one night, one night, he was caught in a fierce storm at sea, and Newton cried out to God for mercy, and mercy came rushing in. God didn't just spare his life that night. Over time, he transformed Newton's life. Newton left the slave trade. He would become a pastor, and he would spend the rest of his life fighting to end the system he once upheld. He even mentored a young politician named William Wilberforce, who would become the leading voice for the abolition in England. Newton summed up his story with a simple confession. I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I wish to be. I am not what I hoped to be. But by the grace of God, I am not what I was. [01:05:22] (57 seconds)  #transformedByGrace

Paul writes in Romans 12, he says, therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, get this, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This, this is your true worship. Not just singing songs, not just lifting your hands, not just listening to worship music in your car, but to present your body as a living sacrifice. This is worship, my friends. [01:06:39] (35 seconds)  #livingSacrificeWorship