Mercy throws a party
Owasso First Assembly of God Pastor Bruce McCarty August 28, 2016
Mercy throws a party
MERCY: undeserved forgiveness & unearned kindness
1. God’s mercy is declared frequently in the Old Testament (specifically Psalms) and demonstrated in the New Testament by Jesus. 2. When do I need mercy most? When I am : 1. Ashamed 2. Angry 3. Afraid 3. This are all three in play when I’m lost. Luke 19:10 (NLT) 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” Titus 3:5 (NLT) 5 he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.
4. Jesus told three stories to explain lostness in Luke 15. a. the lost sheep 15:1-‐7 b. the lost coin 15:8-‐10 c. the lost son 15:11-‐31 Three stories—One conclusion—When the lost is found-‐Throw a party!!!
1. What happens when I am Spiritually lost? 1. I lose my direction. (lost sheep)
Isaiah 53:6 (NLT) 6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all.
2. I lose God’s protection. (lost sheep)
Zechariah 10:2 (TLB) 2 How foolish to ask the idols for anything like that! Fortune-‐tellers’ predictions are all a bunch of silly lies; what comfort is there in promises that don’t come true? Judah and Israel have been led astray and wander like lost sheep; everyone attacks them, for they have no shepherd to protect them.
3. I lose my potential. (lost coin)
1 Corinthians 2:9 (NLT) 9……“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
4. I lose my happiness. (lost son)
Luke 15:14 (NLT) 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve.
5. I lose my home in Heaven. (lost son)
Luke 9:25 (NLT) 25 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?
2. How does mercy save me?
1. Salvation rescues me from myself.
1 Timothy 2:5 (CEV) 5 …Christ Jesus is the only one who can bring us to God. Jesus was truly human, and he gave himself to rescue all of us.
Psalm 50:15 (NLT) 15 Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”
2. Salvation recovers my potential.
Matthew 11:28 (MSG) 28 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. Joel 2:25 (NLT) 25 The LORD says, “I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts. It was I who sent this great destroying army against you.
3. Salvation reconnects me to God.
2 Corinthians 5:17-‐18 (CEV) 17 Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new. 18 God has done it all! He sent Christ to make peace between himself and us, and he has given us the work of making peace between himself and others.
3. How do I connect with God’s mercy?
1. Get fed up with my life.
Luke 15:13-‐17 ..he wasted it all…he had nothing left…he was desperate and hungry…lonely and miserable…then FINALLY he came to his senses. Jeremiah 29:13 (MSG) 13 "When you come looking for me, you'll find me. "Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else,
2. Own up to my sin.
Luke 15:17-‐18 (NLT) 17 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you,
3. Offer up myself to God.
Luke 15:20 (NLT) 20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. Romans 5:2 (MSG) 2 And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.
2 Corinthians 6:2 (NCV) 2 God says, “At the right time I heard your prayers. On the day of salvation I helped you.“ I tell you that the “right time“ is now, and the “day of salvation“ is now. Romans 12:1-‐2 (NIV) 1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-‐-‐this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-‐-‐his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Mercy throws a party
MERCY: undeserved forgiveness & unearned kindness
1. God’s mercy is declared frequently in the Old Testament (specifically Psalms) and demonstrated in the New Testament by Jesus. 2. When do I need mercy most? When I am : 1. Ashamed 2. Angry 3. Afraid 3. This are all three in play when I’m lost. Luke 19:10 (NLT) 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” Titus 3:5 (NLT) 5 he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.
4. Jesus told three stories to explain lostness in Luke 15. a. the lost sheep 15:1-‐7 b. the lost coin 15:8-‐10 c. the lost son 15:11-‐31 Three stories—One conclusion—When the lost is found-‐Throw a party!!!
1. What happens when I am Spiritually lost? 1. I lose my direction. (lost sheep)
Isaiah 53:6 (NLT) 6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all.
2. I lose God’s protection. (lost sheep)
Zechariah 10:2 (TLB) 2 How foolish to ask the idols for anything like that! Fortune-‐tellers’ predictions are all a bunch of silly lies; what comfort is there in promises that don’t come true? Judah and Israel have been led astray and wander like lost sheep; everyone attacks them, for they have no shepherd to protect them.
3. I lose my potential. (lost coin)
1 Corinthians 2:9 (NLT) 9……“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
4. I lose my happiness. (lost son)
Luke 15:14 (NLT) 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve.
5. I lose my home in Heaven. (lost son)
Luke 9:25 (NLT) 25 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?
2. How does mercy save me?
1. Salvation rescues me from myself.
1 Timothy 2:5 (CEV) 5 …Christ Jesus is the only one who can bring us to God. Jesus was truly human, and he gave himself to rescue all of us.
Psalm 50:15 (NLT) 15 Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”
2. Salvation recovers my potential.
Matthew 11:28 (MSG) 28 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. Joel 2:25 (NLT) 25 The LORD says, “I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts. It was I who sent this great destroying army against you.
3. Salvation reconnects me to God.
2 Corinthians 5:17-‐18 (CEV) 17 Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new. 18 God has done it all! He sent Christ to make peace between himself and us, and he has given us the work of making peace between himself and others.
3. How do I connect with God’s mercy?
1. Get fed up with my life.
Luke 15:13-‐17 ..he wasted it all…he had nothing left…he was desperate and hungry…lonely and miserable…then FINALLY he came to his senses. Jeremiah 29:13 (MSG) 13 "When you come looking for me, you'll find me. "Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else,
2. Own up to my sin.
Luke 15:17-‐18 (NLT) 17 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you,
3. Offer up myself to God.
Luke 15:20 (NLT) 20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. Romans 5:2 (MSG) 2 And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.
2 Corinthians 6:2 (NCV) 2 God says, “At the right time I heard your prayers. On the day of salvation I helped you.“ I tell you that the “right time“ is now, and the “day of salvation“ is now. Romans 12:1-‐2 (NIV) 1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-‐-‐this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-‐-‐his good, pleasing and perfect will.
