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I DESIRE MERCY

Live In
His Presence E-LETTER
OCTOBER 2008

Matthew 9:12-13
When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."

Our hearts are like doors that we can open and close. The wisdom that is from above is first of all pure. We need to open our hearts wide to the mercy of God to flow through us in our relationships, aligning ourselves with Jesus who lives to intercede for all of the saints. We must be contending to walk in His love and peace in all of our relationships. Therefore it is of utmost importance that we carry a spirit of mercy and humility expressed through a heart of grace and intercession.

Hebrews 7:25
Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

I. GOOD VS. GOD

In all of the things that we do to get God's attention we must remember that all of it is vain if we are not attending to the things that He has His finger on. You may strive to worship and push in your fasting but it does not seem to get anywhere. It may be that there is an issue that you have not resolved. God calls us to mercy.

Micah 6:8
He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?

He calls us to obedience. Therefore, all the good things that you can do mean nothing if you have not dealt with relationship issues. We are called "ministers of reconciliation". How then can we reconcile the world to God if we cannot be reconciled to one another within the Body of Christ. We must be willing to do our part to make sure things are taken care of in our relationships. We are taught not to let the sun go down on our wrath.

Matthew 5:23
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 come and offer your gift.

The responsibility is put on the person "who sees" the heart problem with their neighbor to get it reconciled. Here we are dealing with the person who does not have the issue, but does see what is going on in the heart of another.

Likewise, if a person does hold something against another Jesus says we must forgive them "from the heart". This means that our actions must reflect this choice of forgiveness. It must be more than mere words. God calls us to a higher place of action that demonstrates the love of Christ to others. (Romans 5:8) Love is more than words. It is the substance of that love demonstrated through actions, laying down our lives. It is also true that when we do this, however the Lord shows us to, that there is a spiritual release that takes place within us. We find a deeper freedom and completely break ties with the enemy to hold us back from God's best. All common ground with the enemy is removed. It is there that the scripture comes to life where "love never fails". It is true. Love never fails when we allow that love to motivate us to action. This brings internal cleansing to us and places pure motives back into our hearts.

II. ACCESSING GOD'S GRACE

Hebrews 12:15
"Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled."

We must be sure that our hearts our clean before the Lord and with others. Our heart must be to pursue peace in all of our relationships. The wisdom from above is first of all pure. Purity is the litmus test that the Lord takes of us to see if we are abiding in Him. (Jer. 20:12) We must be alkaline and not tainted with the acidity of sin. When our hearts are pure we will walk in His peace. There will be not striving, but our hearts will be fully released into this peace that passes all understanding. When our lives are found in Him there is no limit to the grace that He gives us. His grace is completely sufficient for us to overcome all obstacles. It is the grace of God that keeps us from being defiled through the circumstances of life.

To fall short of the grace of God is to fail to access the grace of God that is available to us. It is then that we lose touch with Him. We must always access His grace. His grace is there so that we may live the life that He has called us to live. In His grace we reflect His goodness and walk in the light of His love. (I John 1:7) His grace opens the door to the spirit of supplication as well. This is where we enter into the grace of God to pray for others, pray for enemies and come into alignment with Jesus who ever lives to intercede for all the saints. Otherwise, if we don't access this grace the door of our heart is open to the spirit of accusation and the pointing finger. This is where a root of bitterness gains entry into lives causing defilement with an open door to the enemy to bring in confusion, hatred and strife. We are told to not allow the sun to go down on our anger or wrath. What this is saying is that we must access the grace of God laying our cares down at His feet daily. (I Peter 5:7) We are not called to carry these burdens of flesh, but to carry the easy yoke of the Holy Spirit. As we yield to the Spirit, sowing to the Spirit we reap life.

We will always have offenses come to us. But we never have to take offense. We can choose to stay free from all offense and keep our hearts clean before the Lord. It is in this place that we abide in His peace and joy. This also keeps us from offending people because of our wrong associations with unrighteous thinking. The only time people should be offended by us is because of our obedience to God. In those cases there isn't anything we can do about that. But in all things we must access the grace of God because that is our inheritance as sons of God. (Hebrews 4:16) He has provided His grace. We are saved by His grace and we live by His grace through faith as well. The grace of God is the ability of God placed within us by His Spirit. Everyday we have the choice to access His grace. Do we want the grace of God or do we want our own flesh to rule our lives? As we choose the grace of God we will see breakthrough in all of our interactions and see God glorified in all that we say and do.

Worship in the Glory!


John Belt
Live In His Presence Ministries