Mercy triumphs over judgment. In this lesson, I explain how mercy positions you to receive God’s grace so that you can be empowered to walk free in the light of truth. Watch my full Strong Course on MessengerX: https://go.MessengerX.com/Strong
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when God starts something in our life it
usually begins with forgiveness but it
doesn’t stop there it moves beyond that
moment of forgiveness into the fullness
of freedom
hey friends so I’m super excited about
this one I’m going to be talking about
strong in Mercy Grace and light now this
woman I’m about ready to introduce you
to she does not have a name but she has
ended up being one of my most important
women in the Bible to observe to observe
she is an incredibly strong woman I
don’t know if you’ll see this right away
but it is the story of the woman caught
in adultery from John chapter 8 and I’m
going to read all of it because I want
you to hear all of it now why I loved
her so much and just before I even start
is I need to know what Jesus says to
obviously guilty women because I am and
have been an obviously guilty woman so
it’s important for me to watch his
interaction John chapter 1 and I’m going
to read all the way through to verse 12.
it says Jesus returned to the Mount of
Olives but early the next morning he was
back again at the temple a crowd soon
gathered and he sat down and taught them
now first of all I want you to see that
Jesus wasn’t one of those that was
standing he sat down he sat down among
the people so he’s sitting on the ground
the people are sitting at the ground
it’s Dawn the sun’s just coming up and
it says that as he was speaking the
teachers of religious law
and the Pharisees brought a woman who
had been caught in the act of adultery
they put her in front of the crowd so
think about this everybody is seated and
on the horizon you’re seeing some
religious leaders struggling with
possibly a half-clothed woman she
probably has a sheet wrapped around her
her hair is tousled it’s obvious that
she has come from a bed of Shame and
they are grabbing her and they stand her
up in front of Jesus
and they say teacher they said to Jesus
this woman was caught in the act of
adultery the law of Moses says to Stone
her what do you say
and Jesus I love this Jesus is standing
up because we hear him say they were
trying to trap him into saying something
they could use against him not against
her they didn’t really care about her
they were trying to trap him but Jesus
stooped down so he obviously it stood up
when they brought her stooped down and
wrote in the dust with his finger they
kept demanding an answer so he stood up
again and said all right but let the one
who has never sin throw the first stone
then he went back down again and wrote
in the dust
when the accusers heard this
they slipped away one by one beginning
with the oldest
now I want to pause there
they went away one by one the oldest
ones
first
as a woman who is older hey it’s what
happens when you turn 60 this year as an
older woman
I know why they went away the oldest
ones first
because the longer you live the more you
know you need mercy and the more you
know you need Mercy the quicker you will
be to extend mercy and then it says
until only Jesus was left in the middle
of the crowd with the woman now right
there
I find it really fascinating that this
woman
remained
and it says Jesus stood up again and
said to the woman
where are your accusers
didn’t even one of them condemn you
know no Lord she said and Jesus said
neither do I go and sin no more now I
want to tell you why I love this woman
I like to think of myself as Sitting In
This Crowd where Jesus was teaching
and I would imagine if I was that woman
as soon as the woman caught in adultery
not the crowd woman as soon as the last
person who could have stoned me had left
I’d be like thank you Jesus I am out of
here
but this woman
remained
she stood as an object of scorn until
all of the accusers had left and waited
which made me think
why
you know women who have lived their
lives in the shadow
come to the place where they’ve heard
what religion says
but this woman was not content to just
have her accuse her sleep
she wanted to hear Jesus speak directly
to her so she waited and when Jesus
spoke to her he said hey
I don’t condemn you either now you and I
both know that he was the only one who
could have condemned her but he didn’t
do that and he said go and sin no more
now it’s interesting people tend to
highlight the whole
I don’t condemn you you are without sin
cast the first stone
but I don’t think we realize the
incredible
power in what Jesus was saying here he
was saying I don’t condemn you but I’m
not stopping there in essence he told
her your past is not your future your
past was godlessness but your future is
godliness bondage was in your past but
freedom is in your future
shame was in your past but dignity is in
your future nakedness was your past but
garments of Splendor are in your future
Jesus does so much more than just
forgive this woman he sends her away
free when God starts something in our
life it usually begins with forgiveness
but it doesn’t stop there it moves
beyond that moment of forgiveness into
the fullness of Freedom I’ve been
actually Empower you to live a life free
from sin when he said go and sin no more
it was not a threat you know my son
Alexander he he he was he was a wild
thing and he did so many things so often
and one of the things he did I remember
that was a a landmark thing is he
thought it was a good idea to kick a
hole in the wall he kicked a hole right
outside of our master bedroom wall he he
just was like I just wanted to see how
strong I was and so we had this big hole
in the drywall and
thankfully we were still there’s a newer
house we had something else happen a guy
came along he fixed the drywall for free
we’re like that was the mercy of God
Alec that got that got fixed for free
but then a couple weeks later
he put his foot on the wall again in the
exact same place and
re-kicked a hole in the wall I remember
thinking why so we sat down and we said
Alec why would you have done this why
would you have kicked a hole again in
the wall right after you’d been shown
mercy and he was like Mom and Dad these
spankings they’re just not working I
just keep doing things well you know
what the law doesn’t work and I’m not
saying don’t spank your kids I’m not
saying that but the threat of if you do
this again you’re going to be under a
rock pile that’s not what Jesus was
saying he was saying I am showing you
Mercy Mercy is what triumphs over
judgment in our life Mercy is when we
don’t get what we deserve but I’m not
going to just stop with the mercy I’m
going to empower you with grace and
grace means that you and I can walk
free in in the ability that Mercy has
purchased for us and then what’s really
interesting to me a lot of times we just
stop right there but that’s not where
the passage stops it goes on to say that
Jesus next thing he said
I am the light of the world I am the
light of the world and he said he who
walks with me lives with me has
fellowship with me no longer walks in
darkness but they have the light of life
so when we hear God say go and sin no
more which is wonderful it’s permission
to walk in Freedom we also need to hear
that we have permission to leave behind
Shadow and shame and walk in light I
don’t know where you may feel like an
obviously guilty woman I I know that as
a young mother I felt like an obviously
guilty woman every single day when I
yelled when I wish I wouldn’t have
yelled maybe it’s a point of contention
with your husband maybe it’s something
that you just say I just feel like I
just keep doing it and you know Jesus is
going to put me under a rock pile no
he’s not he’s not he’s actually saying I
don’t condemn you
I’m also going to empower you to leave a
life of Shame and Shadow all of us have
areas of our life where the enemy grabs
us and throws us into the presence of
God and tries to accuse us
but Jesus refuses to say that our
present condition is our permanent
situation he is always going to speak
better things of us so I want to Echo
what he is saying to you
I want to give you full permission to
leave behind a life of guilt
and shame I want to give you full
permission to stand in the presence of
God until Jesus speaks directly to you
it’s not going to be enough for you to
be strong in what I say I want to give
you permission to bring that one thing
that the enemy is always accusing you
about into the presence of Jesus that
I’m going to challenge you to remain
there until he speaks to you until he
speaks Mercy until he speaks Grace until
he speaks light and then I’m going to
celebrate that you’re going to leave the
shadow realm and you’re going to walk
forward in the light and the strength of
his word and his freedom I believe this
is the time again that God wants to
speak very very pointedly and very very
intimately to areas in our life that
have just come under the sway of Shadow
because of busyness because of
distraction and because to be quite
honest we just didn’t think it was
important to deal with it
I’m going to challenge you to go into
the presence of God and let him speak I
do not condemn you go
sin no more leave this place of Shame
leave this place of accusation sin no
more and walk in the light of my love in
Jesus name rise up strong
[Music]