RoadWarrior
Sep 5th 2008, 06:38 PM
David Wilkerson of Times Square Church in New York City has a monthly newsletter which is available online, or delivered to your home. These tend to be in-depth sermons, and I don't always carefully read my copies that show up in my mailbox. Recently however, I spent time reading and absorbing this one: http://worldchallenge.org/node/5016, The High Cost of Mercy.
Contained in this sermon is a powerful challenge to Christians. Here is a small example of the gist of the newsletter:
Make no mistake: it is a costly mercy you have received. We preach that God’s mercy is free, that it is unmerited and therefore of no cost to us. The price for it was paid in full by Christ’s shed blood. And, indeed, all of this is true. God is fully satisfied by the price Jesus paid to bring us his mercy. And now we have received heaven as an inheritance. His mercy provides assurance of eternal life to every true believer.
Yet there is a price on the human side — our side — of God’s mercy. What is the cost to us? It is the high cost of becoming a true witness to the power of the mercy we have received. The fact is, offering the same mercy that has been given to us will cost us dearly here on earth. It is a cost we can expect to pay in our everyday life.
You see, Jesus commands us, “Be ye merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 5:36). And, as Christ showed by example, to be merciful as the Father is merciful is very costly. Jesus paid the price of that mercy in his flesh. And you and I can expect to pay the same price. Like him, we will face total rejection. As messengers of the gospel, our words will not be accepted by the world. In fact, the more Christ is exalted in our lives, the more we can expect God’s mercy to be ridiculed and rejected.
I recommend this sermon as a good read as well as something to meditate on as we all continue to grow in Christ.
Contained in this sermon is a powerful challenge to Christians. Here is a small example of the gist of the newsletter:
Make no mistake: it is a costly mercy you have received. We preach that God’s mercy is free, that it is unmerited and therefore of no cost to us. The price for it was paid in full by Christ’s shed blood. And, indeed, all of this is true. God is fully satisfied by the price Jesus paid to bring us his mercy. And now we have received heaven as an inheritance. His mercy provides assurance of eternal life to every true believer.
Yet there is a price on the human side — our side — of God’s mercy. What is the cost to us? It is the high cost of becoming a true witness to the power of the mercy we have received. The fact is, offering the same mercy that has been given to us will cost us dearly here on earth. It is a cost we can expect to pay in our everyday life.
You see, Jesus commands us, “Be ye merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 5:36). And, as Christ showed by example, to be merciful as the Father is merciful is very costly. Jesus paid the price of that mercy in his flesh. And you and I can expect to pay the same price. Like him, we will face total rejection. As messengers of the gospel, our words will not be accepted by the world. In fact, the more Christ is exalted in our lives, the more we can expect God’s mercy to be ridiculed and rejected.
I recommend this sermon as a good read as well as something to meditate on as we all continue to grow in Christ.