In the sermon titled 'The Mercy of God,' Alan Hillman discusses the profound and all-encompassing nature of God's mercy as depicted in both scripture and personal life experiences. He emphasizes that everything we have and experience is a reflection of God's mercy. The speaker elaborates on various definitions of mercy, touching upon compassion, forbearance, and divine favor, and relates these to biblical stories such as Noah's Ark, Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Passover in Egypt. The sermon encourages listeners to reflect on their own lives and recognize where God has shown mercy, urging them to show the same mercy to others, including family, community, and even adversaries. Hillman stresses the importance of being active listeners and applying these lessons practically in daily life, asking questions like, 'Am I having mercy on others?' and 'How am I speaking of God's mercy in my home and workplace?' The sermon concludes by highlighting the importance of not taking God's mercy for granted and ensuring that it is actively acknowledged and shared.

It was a joy to be here this afternoon and see all of you, and just so blessed by the sermon today, and like God always does, how it falls on the 23rd, and how it falls on a day when we're talking of mercy and His goodness in our lives. In one sense, this is really difficult to come up and study and do mercy when you look at how much out there in scriptures on mercy. And then on a personal sense with my life it was so hard to sift through and not just get stuck every minute of every thought on God's mercy on my life. It was just amazing how he did that. Then again in contrast it could be extremely easy Because I spoke to a gentleman last week and said here's how it's gonna go.

We're gonna walk in Say it's great to be here. We're gonna talk on mercy that you woke up this morning. Let's pray That's mercy on our lives everything that we have is mercy upon our lives On a serious note, let's seek God's wisdom. Let's pray. Father, I do thank you again for this opportunity just to be here, Lord.

Father, that in itself is mercy. Father, whole Baptist Church being here is mercy. Father, seeing the marriages, seeing the children, Father, the ability that you've given the men here to work. Father, all these things are mercy upon our days. Father, we ask for your wisdom.

We ask for your guidance during this time. Father, as words are spoken and ears hear, Father, let us have ears to hear. In your mighty name we pray. So as we talk about this, I want us to remember that, you know, the whole reason that we're all here is based on God's mercy. I really look at the beauty of this church and how we are all here and how God has brought us all here, but also more so is how the elders seek to honor what they do with how they talk to us, with how they shepherd us, with how we do the very service and the very manner that we do.

That's all God's mercy upon our days. The fact that the Krauses moved here a few years ago with a generational vision to be around their grandchildren, with a generational vision to take those young men and lead them. And then fast forward a little bit and look what we went through as a body, and look what a blessing it was. And you'll find that throughout this there's so many words that you can intertwine with mercy. So many words.

And what a blessing it was that God brought the Crowses here for us for such a time as this, to worship, to love on us. And then as we talked about to watch the Burks and the Krauses walk through that with Miss Jenny. That was mercy of God upon us. A little bit of a roadmap. We're going to talk about some definitions, then we're going to read through some scriptures together and kind of how it relates to mercy.

And then I have a question, and that is, is God merciful to you? And do we really understand that? Because the whole point of this, right, the whole point of all the attributes of God, every single one that we go through, we're blessed with some men here that are going to bring us and have brought us some great sermons on the attributes of God. That's the mercy of God in itself. But it's all in vain if we're not being active listeners.

I think to a few months ago when Pastor Scott sent off that message about worship, and it's an active thing. It's not just one person talking and one person preaching. It's what are we doing out there? So my prayers is as we go through this I'm gonna be thinking upon because I cannot separate mercy from my history from my past And I pray that God does that for you, that as we talk and as you hear these definitions and as you hear some of these examples that you say, that's God's mercy on my life, and God will bring some of these things back to you. So I'm going to say the primary definition for the last one because I want to tie it into a scripture.

But when you look at mercy for some definitions, compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power, lenient or compassionate treatment. That's mercy. A blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion. Divine favor or compassion. So we know that God has mercy upon us, but now we want to listen and say, am I having mercy on others?

Am I having mercy on the body of Christ? Am I having mercy on my spouse, on my children, on those I work with? Am I having mercy on my unsaved neighbors? And then compassion or forgiveness shown towards someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm. Think upon that.

Compassion or forgiveness shown towards someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm. Who has that ultimate power? And who deserves to be punished or harmed as I stand before you and as you sit before me? That's the picture of mercy. I found many, between the Hebrew and Greek, definitions of this.

Mr. Bozzi might be listening online. One of them I found was ra-kam, and is also ra-kan, but it means in the Hebrew to love, to love deeply, to have mercy, to be compassionate, to have tender affection, to have compassion. So again, are we having mercy? Look at the words here, tender affection, love, love deeply, and compassion.

Exodus 33, 19 reads, and he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy." Think on that statement, okay? He will show mercy to whom He will show mercy. Mercy is a gift for us. In several of my studies I found several men, three, that had a statement I want you to think upon. On your worst day God is being merciful to you.

And we're going to circle back to that. Psalm 51, 1, have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy love-kindness, according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. He has mercy on us, understanding it's according to his love-kindness and his tender mercies, not according to what we deserve. So there's two pieces to that. Number one, the mercies upon us are his love kindness and his tender mercies.

So again, bringing that back to us when we're having mercy on others around us, a we understanding that it's not within our ability to do mercy, but it's the ability because of what God has done for us that we can show mercy. Lamentations 3, 22 and 23. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His Mercy never comes to an end. They are new every morning.

Great is thy faithfulness. As everyone mine breaks out in the song. Beautiful song. That is also a testimony of the mercy that we have with hymns and songs. The King James reads that same verse, it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed because of his compassions fail not.

So we just read the mercies that we are not consumed. I'll give you a quick example of being consumed. If somebody could grab me a black coffee and a piece of cheesecake, I'll show you consumed. Right? But seriously, picture this.

Picture a tree or a house in the midst of the California fires we just had. In 2018, there was 8, 434 fires in California, burned 1, 890, 438 acres. That's consumed. The Great Fire of 1910, the largest fire in U.S. History, burned an area the size of Connecticut, which is three million acres, killed 87 people, 78 firefighters into North Idaho and Western Montana.

Okay? That's consumed. And this says in the King James, it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed because his compassion fails not. God does not fail. So okay, in the context of this, consumed is speaking of us.

It's speaking of people, right? So let's read about it. Genesis 6, 9, all the way up through 9.17. I'm not going to read it all. I'm going to pull out a little bit.

On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of the three sons, entered the ark. They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind, and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings. Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark. The animals going in were male and female of every living thing. As God had commanded Noah, then the Lord shut him in." That is the mercy of God.

God's mercy on Noah and his family. The last line of that states, Then the Lord shut him in. And we know that prior to that, that was a long time that Noah went through that and dealt with that. God's mercy. How about Genesis 19 with Sodom and Gomorrah?

When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters, and led them safely out of the city. And The last line of that is, for the Lord was merciful to them. When it says, when he hesitated, the men grasp. That's speaking of the angels. He hesitated, and God grasped their hands and took them out.

That's the mercy of the Lord. How many times have we hesitated? And the Lord has had angels that have grasped our hands and pulled us out. Many times. Back in Exodus 12, 12-13, when God allowed them to have a sign on the doorposts.

For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment, I and the Lord. Now the blood shall be assigned for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you. And the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt." Another picture of amazing mercy. Second Kings 20.

In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death, and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, Thus says the Lord, Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live. Then he turned his face toward the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before you in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what is good in your sight. And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And It happened before Isaiah had gone out in the middle of the court that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Return, and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father, I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears, Surely I will hear you, heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord, and I will add to your days fifteen years.

I will deliver you and this city from the hand of King Assyria, and I will defend this city from my own sake and for the sake of David my servant." Again we see the Lord's mercy. Let's remember it's for His own sake. Let's ask ourselves, Are we weeping bitterly to the Lord? Here's a situation where he wept to the Lord. The Lord heard him.

He was very merciful in all these situations. Now let's look at society today. Can anyone draw any question that the Lord is merciful to us? Okay, we just read out of Genesis where he brought male and female, even with the animals. We're in a society today where they can't even agree on what a male and a female is.

We're in a society today where you can have a genderless child. That is the Lord's mercy on us. Micah 7, 18-19. Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgressions of the remit of His heritage. He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy.

He will again have compassion on us." Again, we're seeing about compassion. We're seeing about how he does not anger forever and how he delights in his mercy. Matthew 6, 14 and 15, for if you forgive men their trespass, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespass, neither will your Father forgive your trespass. How are we doing with this, with the body of Christ?

How are we doing with this in our own homes? Are we forgiving our trespasses? How are we doing this with the church in general? Right? We've all learned that no church is the end all be all.

Right? It's God's church. And that we're human here. Our elders are human. Your deacons are human.

We mess up. Are we having mercy for others around us and other churches around us that maybe don't think exactly like we do? It's the body of Christ. Let's have mercy. Psalm 25, 6, and 7.

Remember, O Lord, your tender mercies and your love kindness, for they are from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth nor my transgressions. According to your mercy, remember me. For your goodness sake, O Lord." So for those that weren't raised in a Christian home that might have a little history, a verse like that, it cuts right to the heart. For they are from of old.

Do not remember the sins of my youth. Okay? I'm a pretty practical guy in the sense of I'm not a book smart person. I don't want to call it a street smart person, but I'm more of a relational person, right? Anybody that knows me knows that.

That's why I say it's very hard to get through this and not have this thing just full of God's mercy on my life. But some things, again, to give God the glory, there was days I woke up where I didn't know where I was. There was a morning I woke up in a closet, didn't know how I got there. There's a morning I showed up for work, and the woman at work that was also a police officer said, you're welcome. I said, for what?

She said, for bringing you home last night. We found you walking out and who knows where. That's this person standing before you. That's God's mercy on my life. Did I deserve it then?

Absolutely not. Do I deserve it now? Absolutely not. That's the thing. It's His mercy.

My wife that was told she'd never have children, Five children later, twins miscarried, one grandchild—that's God's mercy. And I want us to grasp God's mercy in our lives without too many stories. Romans 12, 1-2, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you represent your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God. In Exodus 20, you shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth, you shall not bow down nor serve them.

For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, showing mercy to thousands to those who love me and keep my commandments. Mercy to thousands to those that keep his commandments. And then Ephesians 2, 4 through 5, But God who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespass, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. Does that not align with our sermon on John 9 today?

Rich in mercy, great love, We were dead in trespass. That's us. Dead in trespass. Made alive together in Christ. Together in Christ.

Your family, your spouse, your children, Pope Baptist, the body of Christ—that's together in Christ. I'm going to encourage you to read Psalm 136. For the purpose of time, I'm not going to, But I will read the first verse. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. And you'll find that all through that.

I'm going to dig in a little bit to Matthew chapter 5 here, which may be a little different for mercy, but again, couldn't separate it. So again, I'm gonna go back to on your worst day, God is being merciful to you. Do you agree? Matthew 521, you have heard that it was said of those of old, you shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. Happy dance.

I haven't killed anybody physically So I'm okay But Matthew 5 22 says But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment and whoever says to his brother Raka shall be in danger of the council but whoever says you fool shall be in danger of hell fire. How's that going for us? Matthew 5 23 and 24. This again is a good way out. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go your way.

First be reconciled to your brother and then coming off your gift. Are you truly reconciled with everyone that you should be? When is the last time you actually left the altar to be reconciled? So again, this is all in the context of mercy. This from Scripture again shows God is merciful to us.

Because speaking for myself, don't quite have these things down. Matthew 5 25, agree with your adversary quickly. How's that going for you? Matthew 5.27, you have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not commit adultery. Okay, we're good.

Matthew 5.28, but I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery in his heart. Guys, gals, that's God's mercy. To offend God is not a good place to be. All these things are examples where we are offending God. Matthew 5.43, you have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

Finally, we can all agree that we are doing that, right? It is really easy to love someone. Matthew 5 44 says, but I say to you love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. Love your enemies. Anyone?

Bless those that curse you. Pray for those who spitefully use and persecute you. Okay, we've all been in the Browns Barn and seen the picture of persecution on there? Okay, we're not even dealing with that. Do we bless the little bit of persecution we may get?

And then think upon some of these statements from some other pastors and preachers that have gone before us. The mercy of God may not be represented as opposed to His justice. It is exercised only in harmony with the strictest justice of God and view of the merits of Jesus Christ. If the righteous Lord were to deal with me according to my deservings, I would at this moment be under the rack of excruciating pain, or under the pressure of a most abject poverty, thus feeling the foretaste of eternal woe. Those in Christ do not have to worry about the foretaste of eternal woe.

If thus dealt with in strictest justice, death would receive his commission to hurl my frightened soul into the gulf of endless misery, there to remain an everlasting monument of the vengeance of a holy God. But we have his mercy. Do I enjoy a portion of health? That's mercy. Am I undergoing sanctified affliction?

That's mercy. Do I possess dear, affectionate friends? That's mercy. Do I experience the love of God in Christ, pardoning my sins and purifying my heart? That's mercy.

So where does this leave us? Consider God's mercy. Consider God's mercy on you. Ask, where has God been merciful to me? Again, that's where the rubber meets the road.

Where has been God merciful to me? Like anything from scripture, we need to hear it, we need to listen, we need to meditate on it, then we need to apply it, and then we need to adjust, because our application is always not perfect. Ask, am I showing the same mercy to others around me that God shows to me? Ask, am I speaking of this mercy in my home, at my work, and when I am out and about? That goes back to the mercies of the past, the sins of the past that are gone.

I'm a new man. I'm a new creation in Christ. But that old man was there. Children that are here, that are in a home, that has believing parents, that are opening scripture, you know, we as parents know we're not perfect. We rely so much on God's mercy, so much on God's mercy.

But we want you to recognize the mercy of God that you're in a home that is like that. Because many of us, and you can all think of different parents or grandparents that you have, were not raised in a home where God's mercy was spoken of. So we want to speak in our homes, right? Am I speaking of this mercy in my home? We want to speak of this mercy in our homes, but not in the sense of, like a dear friend said years ago, a braggamony, but a testimony to Christ.

It's not bragging of, look what I did. It's not bragging that I did this and got away with it. It's bragging that the mercy of God is upon my life. That is what we will brag on. And am I showing others mercy around me?

Am I being merciful to those in my home and merciful to those in my church? Again, you can't disconnect. I can't disconnect. Love. And then this body.

Because it truly feels like a family. Okay? The way that we do things at Hope means that I can stand up here, I can look out there at each person here, and I can think of a specific thing and know of a specific thing where God was merciful on your life. I dare say, and again, this is not speaking down of any other place, if this was the fifth service of the morning and I was up here preaching to the fifth congregation, I'm gonna have a hard time knowing personally where God has been merciful to you. So again, that in itself is God's mercy on us.

So let's not waste these moments. Let's not waste the times in our home that we have to speak of His mercy. Let's not waste these times of service, of men's meeting, of prayer, the New Year's Eve coming up. These are times that we want to speak of God's mercy in our lives. Let's pray.

Father, again, I humbly come to you, and I thank you, Lord, for your mercy upon my life. Father, I thank you for the mercy upon this body. Father, I thank you that we can unequivocally go to Scripture and we can find verse after verse, story after story, example after example of Your mercy upon us. Father, this is not something that is open for debate anywhere, anytime at all. Your mercy is clearly before us.

So, Father, help us to go forward. Help us, Lord, to recognize and speak of your mercy. But Lord, help us to be merciful in the context of understanding and grasping the mercy that you