Embracing God's Mercy: The Simplicity of Faith
Summary
In today's gathering, we explored the profound simplicity of God's mercy and His desire to dwell with us. Often, we tend to overcomplicate our understanding of God, especially during seasons like Christmas. However, the essence of our faith is beautifully simple: God, in His terrifying holiness, is rich in mercy. Despite our sins, He desires to forgive us, not because He has to, but because it is intrinsic to His nature. This is the good news that Moses brought down from the mountain, and it remains the good news we celebrate today. God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.
Reflecting on a recent experience overseas, I realized that people everywhere yearn for forgiveness, and God is eager to forgive. This is the heart of the gospel: God wants to forgive us and empower us. He desires to strengthen us, to fill us with His power so that we can bear much fruit and live as His disciples. This empowerment is not just about overcoming sin but also about impacting others with His love and grace.
Moreover, God longs to commune with us. The incarnation, God becoming flesh, is a testament to His desire to dwell among us. From the Tabernacle in the wilderness to the temple in Jerusalem, and ultimately through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, God's intention has always been to be with His people. This is the essence of Emmanuel, "God with us." Despite our feelings of unworthiness, God initiates this relationship, wanting to be with us, to drive out darkness, and fill us with His light.
As we gather, we are reminded of the joy of being in His presence, surrounded by those who share our faith and love for God. This is not complicated; it is the simple yet profound desire to dwell with God and each other. As we conclude, we join with the angels in heaven, praising God, and receive His blessing, knowing that His face shines upon us, granting us peace.
Key Takeaways:
1. God's Rich Mercy: God's mercy is not an obligation but a part of His very nature. Despite our sins, He desires to forgive us, offering us a chance to start anew. This mercy is a profound gift that we should embrace with gratitude and humility. [02:20]
2. Empowerment Through Forgiveness: God's forgiveness is not just about absolution from sin but also about empowering us to live fruitful lives. He wants us to experience His strength and power, enabling us to overcome sin and impact others positively. [05:22]
3. God's Desire to Dwell With Us: From the Tabernacle to the incarnation, God's consistent desire has been to dwell with His people. This divine companionship is a testament to His love and commitment to us, inviting us to live in His presence. [07:30]
4. The Simplicity of Faith: Our faith is rooted in the simple truth of God's love and mercy. We often complicate it, but at its core, it is about God's desire to forgive, empower, and dwell with us. Embracing this simplicity can transform our spiritual journey. [10:25]
5. Joining Heaven in Praise: Our worship is a powerful act that unites us with the heavenly hosts. As we praise God, we join the angels in a divine chorus, celebrating His presence and the miracle of His incarnation. [15:37]
Youtube Chapters:
- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:15] - The Simplicity of Christmas
- [00:31] - The Terrifying Holiness of God
- [01:09] - God's Rich Mercy
- [02:20] - Understanding Mercy
- [03:15] - The Desire for Forgiveness
- [04:25] - The Good News of Mercy
- [05:05] - Empowerment Through God's Strength
- [06:12] - God With Us: Emmanuel
- [07:30] - The Tabernacle and God's Presence
- [08:24] - The Indwelling Spirit
- [09:18] - God's Longing to Gather Us
- [10:25] - Dwelling in God's Light
- [12:19] - Celebrating God's Presence
- [15:37] - Joining Heaven in Praise
- [17:29] - Benediction and Blessing
Study Guide
Bible Study Discussion Guide
Bible Reading:
1. John 1:14 - "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
2. Ephesians 1:18-19 - "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe."
3. Numbers 6:24-26 - "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."
Observation Questions:
1. What does John 1:14 reveal about God's desire to be with us? How does this relate to the concept of Emmanuel, "God with us"? [06:35]
2. According to Ephesians 1:18-19, what does Paul pray for believers to understand about God's power? How is this power meant to impact our lives? [05:22]
3. In Numbers 6:24-26, what specific blessings does the Lord promise to His people? How does this reflect God's nature as described in the sermon? [18:00]
4. How does the sermon describe God's mercy and His desire to forgive us? What is the significance of this in our daily lives? [02:20]
Interpretation Questions:
1. How does the incarnation of Jesus, as described in John 1:14, demonstrate God's commitment to dwell with humanity? What does this mean for our understanding of God's presence in our lives? [06:35]
2. In what ways does the sermon suggest that God's mercy is intrinsic to His nature? How does this understanding affect our perception of God's character? [02:20]
3. How does the concept of empowerment through forgiveness, as mentioned in the sermon, align with the prayer in Ephesians 1:18-19? What does this empowerment look like in practical terms? [05:22]
4. The sermon emphasizes the simplicity of faith. How can embracing this simplicity transform our spiritual journey and relationship with God? [10:25]
Application Questions:
1. Reflect on a time when you felt unworthy of God's presence. How can the truth of John 1:14 encourage you to embrace God's desire to dwell with you despite those feelings? [06:53]
2. Consider an area in your life where you need God's mercy. How can you actively seek His forgiveness and embrace the new beginning He offers? [03:58]
3. Identify a specific way you can rely on God's power to overcome a challenge or sin in your life. How can Ephesians 1:18-19 guide your prayers for strength and empowerment? [05:22]
4. Think about a relationship or situation where you can extend God's mercy and forgiveness to others. What steps can you take to reflect God's nature in this context? [02:20]
5. How can you simplify your faith journey by focusing on the core truths of God's love and mercy? What practical changes can you make to avoid overcomplicating your relationship with God? [10:25]
6. In what ways can you join with others in your community to celebrate God's presence and share in the joy of being in His light? How can this communal worship strengthen your faith? [12:19]
7. Reflect on the benediction from Numbers 6:24-26. How can you incorporate this blessing into your daily life and interactions with others, seeking God's peace and presence? [18:00]
Devotional
Day 1: The Nature of God's Mercy
God's mercy is not an obligation but a profound expression of His nature. Despite our sins, He desires to forgive us, offering us a chance to start anew. This mercy is a profound gift that we should embrace with gratitude and humility. It is not something we earn or deserve, but a reflection of God's character, which is rich in mercy and abounding in steadfast love. Understanding this can transform how we view our relationship with God, moving from fear to a deep appreciation of His grace. [02:20]
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV)
Reflection: Think of a time when you felt undeserving of forgiveness. How can you embrace God's mercy today and extend it to yourself and others?
Day 2: Empowerment Through Forgiveness
God's forgiveness is not just about absolution from sin but also about empowering us to live fruitful lives. He wants us to experience His strength and power, enabling us to overcome sin and impact others positively. This empowerment is a call to action, inviting us to live as His disciples, bearing much fruit in our daily lives. It is about transformation, moving from a place of guilt to a place of purpose and influence, where we can share His love and grace with those around us. [05:22]
"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV)
Reflection: Identify an area in your life where you feel weak or powerless. How can you invite God's strength into this area to empower you for His purposes?
Day 3: God's Desire to Dwell With Us
From the Tabernacle to the incarnation, God's consistent desire has been to dwell with His people. This divine companionship is a testament to His love and commitment to us, inviting us to live in His presence. Despite our feelings of unworthiness, God initiates this relationship, wanting to be with us, to drive out darkness, and fill us with His light. This is the essence of Emmanuel, "God with us," a profound truth that can transform our understanding of God's love and presence in our lives. [07:30]
"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.'" (Revelation 21:3 ESV)
Reflection: In what ways can you create space in your daily routine to be more aware of God's presence with you?
Day 4: The Simplicity of Faith
Our faith is rooted in the simple truth of God's love and mercy. We often complicate it, but at its core, it is about God's desire to forgive, empower, and dwell with us. Embracing this simplicity can transform our spiritual journey, freeing us from unnecessary burdens and allowing us to focus on the heart of the gospel. This simplicity invites us to trust in God's love and to live out our faith with joy and confidence, knowing that He is with us every step of the way. [10:25]
"For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." (1 Corinthians 2:2 ESV)
Reflection: What are some ways you might be overcomplicating your faith? How can you return to the simple truth of God's love and mercy today?
Day 5: Joining Heaven in Praise
Our worship is a powerful act that unites us with the heavenly hosts. As we praise God, we join the angels in a divine chorus, celebrating His presence and the miracle of His incarnation. This act of worship is not just a ritual but a profound expression of our love and gratitude for God. It is an opportunity to align our hearts with His, to experience His peace, and to be reminded of His blessings in our lives. Worship is a celebration of who God is and what He has done, inviting us to live in the joy of His presence. [15:37]
"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!" (Psalm 150:6 ESV)
Reflection: How can you incorporate moments of praise and worship into your daily life, even outside of church services?
Quotes
"Okay right now in Heaven There is a being that if we saw him we would be terrified he would just take our breath away I would just collapse and that God who's keeping us all alive the Bible says even despite our sin even though we have done things that he absolutely hates, the Bible says that he is rich in Mercy so that God is terrifying as holy as powerful as he is he says I am rich in Mercy." [00:00:31]
"But what Moses comes off the mountain and he says the Lord the Lord a god merciful like this is the great news God is looking at you and he goes I want to be merciful I am merciful I am rich in Mercy you understand what Mercy means it's it's we deserve this punishment and he says but I want to forgive you of that I want to show Mercy like that's who he is this is the great news that we celebrate as our God is a merciful god a god merciful and gracious slow to anger and abounding and steadfast love." [00:02:03]
"These people want to be forgiven and God wants to forgive them that's it he's rich in Mercy there's like something in him in who he is it's like I want to forgive you I want to forgive you this is in me I want to forgive you I have this desire it's who I am I'm rich in Mercy it's like overflow I got to forgive someone I got to forgive this is who he is that's our God that's the great news and then we come with our sin and our shame of things that we look back in 2024 and go I'm so sick that I did this I can't believe I did this I can't believe I did this I thought I was going to grow out of that I thought I was going to mature out of this so we come with this shame going man I just want to be clean I just want to be forgiven and God's going this is great because I want to forgive I'm rich in Mercy." [00:03:11]
"So right now many of us we feel weak you know and the good news is God says I actually want you to be strong and I want to give you strength just like I want to show Mercy now I want to strengthen you so that you have power that's why that that prayer in Ephesians 1 it ends with Paul saying I I want the eyes of your heart enlightened so you may know the power the immeasurable greatness of power toward us who believe like he wants you to have the Jesus Says by this is my father glorified that you bear much fruit showing yourselves to be my disciples so this is his desire if you just feel like gosh I don't know what I did with the year I don't want to have another year like this I want to see Power in my life I want to defeat these sins and I also want to impact other people God saying well I want to empower you I want to forgive you I want to empower you this is who I am as God." [00:05:01]
"Finally and this is what I really want to celebrate today is God wants to commune with us he wants to dwell with us right that's what Emmanuel means god with us this the verse we celebrate today is is John 1:14 the word became flesh and dwelt for a while Among Us okay now now some of you are thinking gosh I would love to go and be with God but sometimes we forget that God is the initiator that God and I know this is hard for some of us to accept because we feel so dirty we feel so small and insignificant but God wants to dwell with you I love that that idea of like the word became flesh and dwelt with us that word dwelt it's it's the idea of the word Tabernacle in the Old Testament I want a tabernacle with you why did he why did he tell Moses to build that Tabernacle because he said says I want to dwell with you isn't that amazing that the Tabernacle was God's idea he goes I want to be with you I want to be with you I want to be with you in the desert I want to be with you when you go in the promised land and then then with David David's going I want you to be with us and then God he goes I want to build you a temple so you never leave us and so so you know David's son Solomon builds the temple why so that God could dwell with his people and then Jesus comes why because he wanted to dwell with his people and then he leaves the Earth why cuz he says if I don't leave the Earth then I can't send the spirit because he's not only going to be with you he's going to be in you do you see the beauty of this like this was the garden why did God create the garden he was going to dwell in there with Adam and Eve but Adam and Eve wanted their sin rather than God and so they hid from him and enjoyed the pleasure pleasures of their sin it's the same thing that Jesus says that's what they say about Jesus in John it says he came but the people the light of the world came but the people Lov their Darkness so they rejected the light you see this is a God who says I want to be with you that's why in Matthew 23 you have Jesus going oh Jerusalem Jerusalem I just wanted to gather you I just want I want to dwell with you I just want you to sit I want to be like a hen with her her little chicks you know just where you're just under my wings I just I just wanted to dwell with you but you weren't willing." [00:06:13]
"And I just got excited about this morning because I thought okay I'm going to be with people that I really love who believe the same way I do and all we want does the same thing we just want to dwell here with God we want to be like David who's telling God I want you to dwell with us I want your presence I don't want Darkness I want you to drive Darkness out of my life and I just want to be filled with your light and the great news is God saying oh that's exactly what I wanted this is what I've always wanted to dwell with you so we don't need to again over complicate this we just came together to dwell with God and I've looked forward to this and even this morning seeing some of your faces and catching up with some of you seeing Tim and tala back there because I I love you guys and I know that you believe what I believe we just want to dwell with God that's it John Karissa it's just good to be with you guys it's all we want right it's not complicated it's just be with people who love him who love each other we just love being in his presence Kevin and Liz and is looking forward to being with you guys today even though we announced it late to the free Church forgot about you guys but um now that you're here I'm very happy Marcus and Janelle up there man I love you guys and I know what you believe about our savior I know you would do anything for him I feel like You' do anything for me and God says that's where I want to dwell as you love one another and you love me I'm going to dwell with you Pastor Don's great being here with you celebrating with you sister inz you've been worshiping in this building for like 50 years it's great to be worshiping with you and just enjoying the presence of God God's with us." [00:09:18]
"There's just something so powerful about this that almighty God wanted to dwell with us so badly that he became flesh and dwelt with us he had to grow up like we grew up learned the scriptures like we learned the scriptures grow in favor with God and man and then one day die for the sins of the world world this is what we celebrate you know as I think about the Angels declaring I mean you got the Angels screaming out singing those to the Shepherds just declaring this good news it was one of those times that heaven and earth were together you had the Shepherds you had the angels heaven and earth together then you had the word becoming flesh you know there's a song that we sing in the church called the doxology and I love it because it again is about heaven and earth praise God from whom all blessings flow Praise Him All Creatures here below then you say that sign Praise Him above ye Heavenly you Heavenly hosts praise Father Son and Holy Ghost it's just a call for us on Earth and a call for the angels in heaven to join with us as we praise Father Son and Holy Spirit God is with us and the Bible says somehow the Angels join with us just like they did in announcing the birth of Christ I want us to right now join with heaven and I don't know if they're going to sing this with us they could because of our faith they could be joining us right now and all staring at god father Son and Holy Spirit and praising him if this miracle happened how could we doubt that this miracle of us singing with the angels right now could happen at the same same time let's sing the doxology together praise God from whom all blessings flow Praise Him All Creatures here be Praise Him ye Heavenly Host praise father and Holy Ghost." [00:13:19]
"And one last thing before you leave I'm going to give the Ben Ben benediction and honestly I've never been more excited to give a benediction in my life this morning I thought I am more excited about the benediction than I am about the sermon or anything else communion um because I was looking in numbers and some a lot of you guys have heard this before the ironic blessing the Lord bless you and keep you the Lord make make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace but the next verse says so shall they put my name upon the people of Israel and I will bless them he tells these priests I want you to bless Israel in this way I want you to say these words because this is how I'm going to put my name on them so I believe something spiritual happens as I say these words and I pray these words over you I mean think about it is there anything more you would want than for the lord to bless you and keep you and make his face shine upon you and to be gracious to you for him to lift up his countenance on you and give you peace there is no greater thing that we could receive today so receive this blessing the Lord bless you and keep you the Lord make his face to shine up upon you and be gracious to you the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace amen." [00:17:29]
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