|
DIMENSIONS OF GOD’S GRACE
and LOVE by Dr. D.A. Farmer, pastor
Psalm 103:8-12; “The LORD [is] merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
He will not always chide: neither will he keep [his anger] for
ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us
according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth,
[so] great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is
from the west, [so] far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”
Do you remember the Pot Bellied pig craze of the 1980’s? People
were shelling out thousands of dollars to buy and own one of these
exotic house pets. Their breeders claimed that these mini pigs would
grow to a weight around 40 lbs. Now the pigs were very smart. Many of
them could be trained to walk on leashes. Some were trained to do
tricks. Some were taught to use litter boxes. A few I’ve been told
even learned how to use the commode. But there were some problems with
raising these porkers. Many of them grew to weight 150 lbs or more. So
what were people to do? I mean what do you do with an unwanted potbellied pig? Someone
suggested a pig roast. But their meat is very tough and stringy.
Besides, doesn’t our Bible say in Leviticus 11:7-8 that the pig is
unclean to eat? “And
the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he
cheweth not the cud; he [is] unclean to you. Of their flesh shall ye not
eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they [are] unclean to you.” No a pig roast was not the solution. So what were people to do?
Well, according to U.S. News and World Report a certain man came to
the pigs rescue. What happened was this. Someone gave a man one of these
unwanted potbellied pigs and he fell in love with him. He named the pig
Rufus. Now Rufus never learned to use a commode or a litter box. No, he
liked the carpet. And not just one spot either. Now what was he to do? Well, he sold his suburban home and bought a small 5-acre farm in
West Virginia. He and Rufus loved the farm so much that he let others
know that he would take their unwanted pigs. Before long, this man and
Rufus were living literally in Hog Heaven. Soon he had over 180 pigs.
And none of the pigs have the fear of ever becoming bacon or pork chops
someday. The man was quoted as saying: “I think we’re all put on
earth for some reason and I guess pigs are my lot in life.” Friends, please will someone tell me how anyone in their right mind
could fall so totally in love with pigs? You know after I read this story I thought about something that is
to me even more amazing. What I’m about to tell you, I believe is the
central theme of our entire Bible. And that is the fact that an
infinite, perfectly Holy and Majestic God is passionately in love with
sinful and rebellious people like you and me. This morning I would like for us to look a little at God’s love
and grace. Please return with me to PS 103: 8-12. These verses tell us that
when it comes to love for sinful people, God has a Long Fuse. Not only
does He have a Long Fuse, but God also has a Short Memory, a Thick Skin
and a Big Heart. Now before anyone misunderstand what I’m saying, I would like for
us to take a closer look at each of these verses. First I said that God
has a Long Fuse. In other words friends, God is patient with us. And I
believe that is best describe in verse 8. “The LORD [is] merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and
plenteous in mercy.” Something very interesting about this verse is that King David is
quoting something that Moses had written many years before in Exodus 34.
Lets turn there. Ex. 34. Lets do a little review of this story. Moses
had been up on Mt. Sinai holding a conference with God in Exodus 32.
There God gives Moses the 10 Commandments. As Moses starts down the
mountain he hears a party going on in the Children of Israel’s camp.
They were dancing around a Golden Calf. Moses throws the 10 Commandments
down the mountain, which breaks the solid rock they were carved into.
Listen to verse 10 from the NIV: “Now leave me alone so that my anger may
burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into
a great nation.” But Moses prays for the people and reminds God that they are His
people. Then God promises Moses that He would not destroy the Children
of Israel. This must have touched Moses’ heart because in chapter 33
Moses asked to be able to see God’s Glory. God says that He would walk
in front of Moses but that as He did so He would place His hand over
Moses’ eyes to protect him. After God walked in front of Moses, He
removed His hand and Moses sees the back of God and proclaims verse 6 of
Ex. 34; “And the LORD passed by before him,
and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious,
longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.” This is the same verse that King David repeats in PS 103:8. God
exercises great patience with us. He is hoping we will turn from our
sinful ways. But, just because He is a God with an abundance of love and
grace, that does not give us the right to abuse His patience. But we can
be thankful He has a Long Fuse with us. Now
lets look at the Short Memory God has. Look at Ps. 103:9 again. “He will not
always chide: neither will he keep [his anger] for ever.” God
chooses to have a Short Memory. Psalm 130:3 tell us that if God kept a
detailed record of our sins, none of us would ever be able to stand
before Him. Listen to Ps. 130:3-4 from The Contemporary English Version:
“If you kept records of our sins, no one could last long. (4) But You
forgive us, and so we will worship You.” Imagine
this. I make a mistake and feel awful about it. I go to the God and say:
“Oh Lord, I blew it again”. God says: “Again? Son this is your
73rd time today. Sorry David, my son oh boy, but your punch card is all
punched out. I stop forgiving at 50.” Friends, I hope you
understand this is not the way God operates? And after we have been
forgiven, God doesn’t bring up the past again. God chooses to have a
Short Memory when it comes to forgiven us our sins! Something else I learned from Ps. 103 and that is God has a
Thick Skin. Verse 10 says: “He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us
according to our iniquities. Friends, if God punished us every time we deserved it, then we would
be in a lot of trouble. 1 Peter 4:8 says, “Love covers a multitude of sins.” Desire of Ages pg. 25 says: “Christ was treated as we deserve,
that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins,
in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His
righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death, which
was ours, that we might receive the life, which was His. "With His
stripes we are healed." Friends, God does not treat us the way we
should be treated. He treats us better. Yes, God has a Long Fuse, a Short Memory
and Thick Skin. Now verses 11 and 12 say that God has a Big Heart toward
forgiven sinners. “For
as the heaven is high above the earth, [so] great is his mercy toward
them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, [so] far hath
he removed our transgressions from us.” King David tells us that when we ask God to forgive us of our sins,
he removes them as far as the east is from the west. Do you know how far
that is? Let me give you an example. Lets take a globe. Lets say you
start at the top here at the North Pole. When I start down I’m heading
south right? When I start up what direction am I heading? Yes, north.
But if I start here in Texarkana, Texas and go east, when do I start
heading west? Never, right? And that is what David said God does with
our sins. Our sins are removed! Gone. As far as east is from west. God
is serious about taking care of our sins. Listen to some other great verses that speak about His desire to get
rid of our sins: Micah 7:19; “He will trample it under foot and throw it into the deepest
part of the sea.” Is 38:17; “He’ll put it behind His back where He can’t see it.” Is 43:25; “He’ll blot our sins out.” Is 44:22; “He’ll rescue us and swept away our sins as though they were
clouds.” (CEV) Jeremiah 31:34; “God will refuse to remember our sins He will block them from
His memory.” If anyone here should ask me how big of a heart does our Heavenly
Father have? I would have to say it cannot be measured! Back in 1992 the Olympics were going on in Spain. When the gun
sounded for the 400-meter race, a man by the name Derrick Redden knew
that his lifelong dream of winning the Gold Medal was in view. As he ran
and entered the backstretch, suddenly, he went to the ground because of
the pain of a torn hamstring. But Redman was determined to finish. He
had never been a quitter before and was not about to now. By an act of
sure will power, Redden struggled to his feet and started hopping toward
the finish line. All of a sudden his father broke through the security
guards and ran over to Derrick. He placed Derrick’s arm around his
shoulder and whispered; ”Come on son, let’s finish this together.”
At this the crowd cheered as they watched the father half carry his son
across the finish line. That’s the way God is with us. Friends do you understand God wants to forgive us of our sin. He
wants us to come to Him for all of our needs. And come just as we are.
He wants to carry us when we are down. He wants to carry us when we are
hurting. Even when we feel like we just can’t take it anymore. Why
does want to do this? That is what I’ve been trying to tell you all
morning. You see, I believe God has a Long Fuse, a Short Memory, Thick Skin
and a Big, Big Heart, when it comes to loving and forgiving us. That is
what His Grace and love is all about.
|
|
Printed From Texarkana SDA Church Website http://www.tagnet.org/texarkana |
