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                       The Lovingkindness Of The Lord

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By David Wilkerson
March 25, 1991
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          God's lovingkindness is one aspect of the Lord's
          character I know very little about. I believe few
          Christians do.

          During my lifetime, I have experienced and preached
          much about God's righteous judgments, holy fear,
          justice, holiness and hatred for sin. But I haven't
          understood or preached very much about His
          lovingkindness. While in prayer recently, the Holy
          Spirit spoke very clearly to my heart: "David, the road
          is indeed straight and the gate is narrow that leads to
          salvation. But don't try to make My way straighter and
          narrower than I have made it!"

          That hit me. I got out my concordance - and I soon
          discovered how much the Bible says about the
          lovingkindness of the Lord. From Moses, David and the
          prophets, we hear these wonderful words again and
          again: "Your God is merciful, and, gracious, anxious to
          forgive, full of lovingkindness, slow to anger."

          Moses was a prophet who thundered warnings to Israel,
          preaching that if they didn't walk in righteousness
          they would be judged. Yet this man of God also had a
          revelation of the Lord's lovingkindness. In the cloud
          of God's presence, the Lord revealed to Moses His
          nature:

          "And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with
          him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the
          Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord
          God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant
          in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands,
          forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin"(Exodus
          34:5-7).

          Beloved, I must confess: I have never really seen the
          Lord in this way. This knowledge of Him is in my head -
          it always has been - but I've never truly experienced
          it in my heart.

          In all of the warnings of judgment that Moses preached,
          he always remembered this important aspect of God's
          character. Moses said, "When thou art in tribulation,
          and all these things come upon thee, even in the latter
          days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be
          obedient unto his voice; (for the Lord thy God is a
          merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither
          destroy thee" (Deuteronomy 4:30-31).

          Nehemiah 9 is an amazing passage, describing a powerful
          revelation of God's lovingkindness toward His people
          throughout their history. Time after time the people
          forsook God and each time He restored them and gave
          them incredible blessings. The Lord had every right to
          give up on Israel, yet He remained faithful to them.

          Verses 28 and 31 sum up this wonderful revelation: "But
          after they had rest, they did evil again before thee...
          yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou
          heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou
          deliver them according to thy mercies.... For thy great
          mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor
          forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful
          God."

          Isaiah preached often about God's vengeance against
          sin. He told of the dark day of doom and despair coming
          upon those who live in rebellion. Yet in the middle of
          one of his most frightening messages about the Lord's
          day of wrath, Isaiah stopped and cried out:

          "I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and
          the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord
          hath bestowed on us... according to his mercies, and
          according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses"
          (Isaiah 63:7).

          In the midst of all the sin, apostasy and rebellion in
          Israel, Isaiah looked deep into his own heart and
          recalled a revelation of what God was truly like. He
          cried, "Lord, save us again by Your pity. We have
          rebelled against and vexed Your Holy Spirit - but stir
          up Your bowels of mercy to us. You are full of
          lovingkindness."

          The prophet Joel warned of coming days of thick
          darkness, the likes of which have never been seen:
          devouring flames, earthquakes, reelings to and fro, the
          sun and moon darkened. But suddenly the prophet stops -
          and in the midst of dire warnings about wrath and
          judgment, he says:

          "Therefore also now, saith the Lord, Turn ye even to me
          with all your heart, and with fasting, and with
          weeping, and with mourning and rend your heart, and not
          your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God, for he
          is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great
          kindness, and repenteth him of the evil" (Joel
          2:12-13).

          "Repenteth" means that God wants to change His mind
          about the judgment he has planned; He doesn't want to
          judge! He hopes we will mourn over our sins and turn to
          Him for forgiveness.
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                       I'm Learning Important Lessons
                        About God's Lovingkindness.

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          For years I have prophesied concerning the body of
          Christ, and I'll continue to prophesy until Jesus
          comes, if He will allow me. But I've felt the Lord
          saying to me, "You first have to understand My
          lovingkindness. Not one prophet in the Bible could
          prophesy until he first had a revelation of My
          lovingkindness."
              -----------------------------------------------
                                LESSON #1 -
                     The Foundation of Complete Victory
                     Over Sin Is To Understand That God
                   Is Tender and Full of Lovingkindness.

              -----------------------------------------------

          "Thus saith the Lord, Let not the man glory in his
          wisdom neither let the mighty man glory in his might,
          let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him
          that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and
          knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise
          lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the
          earth for in these things I delight, saith the Lord"
          (Jeremiah 9:23-24).

          I have never had trouble confessing my sin - I've
          always run to the Lord right away. And to the best of
          my knowledge, I've not tried to excuse or hide my
          failings. Yet whenever I fail the Lord and know I've
          grieved Him, I become overwhelmed with shame, guilt,
          condemnation and unworthiness.

          I preach to others that the Lord is gracious and
          forgiving. But when I fail God it suddenly becomes
          different. I have to work my way through the terrible
          burden of guilt and shame.

          You ask "Aren't we supposed to experience those
          feelings when we sin?" Yes - but we are not supposed to
          continue for days and weeks thinking God is mad at us.
          The guilt and condemnation must be lifted quickly.

          You see, even after I repent, I feel I have to make it
          all up to the Lord. But like the Prodigal Son, I can
          have the Father hugging my neck kissing my cheek
          putting rings on my fingers and a robe on my back,
          telling me to forget the past and to come into His
          house and enjoy the feast He has prepared for me.

          Yet inside I'm saying "I can't go in - I'm not worthy!
          I've sinned against You. Let me pay You back. Let me
          grieve and carry the guilt a little longer." It's easy
          for me to believe God forgave Israel, Nineveh, the
          heathen, the dying thief. But I find it hard to
          understand how, the very moment I turn to Him with all
          my heart, He so quickly and lovingly accepts me as if I
          had not sinned!

          David gives us a promise that it is possible to
          understand the lovingkindness of the Lord. "Whoso is
          wise, and will observe these things, even they shall
          understand the lovingkindness of the Lord" (Psalm
          107:43).

          The verse dearly states that the key to understanding
          this aspect of God's character is found in this
          particular psalm. This key is simple and uncomplicated,
          and it is repeated four times: "Then they cried..."

          David received the revelation of God's gracious,
          forgiving heart by simply looking at God's past record
          of dealing with His beloved children.

          "Hungry and dusty, their soul fainted in them. Then
          they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he
          delivered them out of their distresses. And he led them
          forth by the right way... Oh that men would praise the
          Lord for his wonderful works to the children of men!"
          (verses 4-8).

          When they wandered away from the Lord, hungry, thirsty,
          lost because of sin, "Then they cried unto the Lord...
          and he saveth them out of their distresses" (verses
          3-8).

          Again they rebelled and backslid. They fell so low they
          were at the very gates of hell. "Then they cried... he
          sent his word, and healed them" (verses 17-20).

          Once more, God's people came to their wits' end. A
          storm was raging and trouble had melted their soul:
          "Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he
          bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the
          storm a calm so that the waves thereof are still"
          (verses 23-29).

          Here is what the Lord was teaching David: "Take a look
          at My record. Look at all My dealings with the children
          of Israel. They've failed Me and failed Me, as I've
          shown you four times in this revelation. But then they
          cried.

          They reached out to Me. And I'm of the nature that My
          heart is touched by tears and moved with compassion
          when My children return to Me. I am touched by the
          feeling of their infirmities."

          David is saying in this psalm, "Look how easily God's
          heart is moved., how quickly He responds to the cry of
          His children - There is no end to His mercies."

          Beloved, you don't have to run to a counselor or
          telephone a friend; you don't have to carry the agony
          and guilt. Just go to the Lord and cry out and confess
          to Him! He is a tender Father who is touched by your
          cries.

          A time came when David needed such a revelation of the
          Lord's sure mercies. As you know, King David fell into
          horrible sin - committing adultery and then covering it
          with murder.

          This man was full of the Holy Spirit, so we know he had
          to be miserable, because the Spirit reproves of sin. I
          am confident David wept in sorrow the very night he
          fell into adultery and as he continued to commit other
          sins.

          There is no way such a Spirit-filled man of God could
          operate day after day without an agonizing burden of
          shame, guilt and fear. I've been in the room when
          pastors or church members who truly love God have been
          confronted, their sin exposed. Those who are close to
          the Lord nearly always break down crying. ""Yes, yes!
          It's true! How could I have done it? My sin has been
          ever before me - I haven't slept. Oh God, forgive me. I
          want help!".

          That's what I believe happened when Nathan confronted
          David. But it's one thing to be forgiven, yet quite
          another to be free and clear with the Lord. Understand
          that David had committed not only adultery but murder!
          He was the king of Israel, and God told him "You have
          brought reproach upon My name." Yet even as he wept,
          Nathan said to him, "Your sins are forgiven."

          But that wasn't enough for David. He knew that
          forgiveness was the easy part; now he wanted to get
          things clear with God to be able to get his joy back.
          He cried, "Cast me not away from thy presence; and take
          not thy holy spirit from me" (Psalm 51:11).

          Psalm 51 is all about David remembering the
          longsuffering and mercy of the Lord. In the very first
          verse, David appeals to the tender, forgiving mercies
          of God: "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy
          lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy
          tender mercies blot out my transgressions."

          David knew what to do: he cried! "This poor man cried,
          and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his
          troubles" (Psalm 34-6). "The eyes of the Lord are upon
          the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry"
          (Psalm 34:15). "The righteous cry and the Lord heareth
          and delivereth them out of all their troubles" (Psalm
          34:17).

          Dear saint, this is your victory over sin: the absolute
          confidence that no matter how grievously you have
          sinned or fallen, you serve a Lord who is ready to
          forgive, anxious to heal, and who possesses more
          lovingkindness toward you than you could ever need.

          The devil comes to you and says, "No! If you get off
          the hook too easily, you'll jump right back into sin"
          He'll make you feel miserable, unworthy to lift your
          hands in praise to God or even to pick up His Word!

          But here is your weapon: Cry! Cry out as David did,
          with all of your heart! Go to God and confess you sin.
          Appeal to His lovingkindness. Say, "Lord, You love me.
          I know you're ready to forgive me. I confess!"

          At that very moment, you are clear with God. You don't
          have to pay for your sin. God loves you so much that He
          gave His son Jesus, who has already paid for it. A
          merciful, loving advocate is yearning to help and
          deliver you: "My little children these things I write
          unto you, that ye sin not And if any man sin, we have
          an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the
          righteous" (1 John 2:1).

          When I was with my young granddaughter recently, she
          wanted to walk atop a low concrete wall. As I held her
          from behind, she tried to knock my hand away. I let go
          - and eventually she fell (but without hurting
          herself).

          When she fell, I didn't desert her. I didn't say, "Look
          at what you did You're not mine anymore!"

          The Lord said to me, "David, you allow yourself such
          love for this child. But you won't allow Me to love you
          in the same way. You swell with pride over your
          children - but you won't allow Me to do so on your
          behalf!"

          The Lord spoke a tender word to my heart recently. He
          said, "David, you bless Me - you bless My heart!" No
          one has ever said anything better to me in my life. And
          it's true - the Bible says God takes pleasure in His
          children!
              -----------------------------------------------
                                LESSON #2 -
                   God's Lovingkindness Is To Be Enjoyed.

              -----------------------------------------------

          Jonah was a prophet who fully understood the
          lovingkindness of the Lord, but he could not enjoy or
          appropriate it. Instead, it was a burden to him. When
          God commanded him to go to the wicked city Nineveh and
          prophesy its quick destruction, Jonah ran away in
          haste. Later, he told the Lord why he had run away: it
          was because of the lovingkindness of the Lord!

          Here was Jonah's argument, "Lord, You've commanded me
          to walk up and down the streets of Ninevah, prophesying
          they have only forty days left before it's all over...
          But I can't do that because I know You, Lord You are
          easily touched. Tears and repentance soften Your heart.
          You'll change Your mind. Instead of sending judgment,
          You'll send a revival and I'll end up looking like a
          fool.

          "For I knew that thou art a gracious God., and
          merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and
          repentest thee of the evil" (Jonah 4:2).

          Finally, Jonah did go, but only by way of the belly of
          a giant fish, who spit him up onto dry ground. Jonah
          proclaimed the judgment of God and, sure enough Nineveh
          did repent, even though the prophet's message mentioned
          nothing about repentance, only destruction.

          These people wept, fasted, mourned and put on
          sackcloth, even on their animals! It was one of the
          most sweeping revivals ever recorded in the Bible.

          Yet in the midst of all this, Jonah became very angry.
          He must have prayed. "What happened, Lord? You were
          ready to destroy them. You sent me out on those streets
          crying "Judgment, bloodshed, fire!" Then they called on
          You; and as soon as You saw the first tear fall, You
          changed Your mind. I knew all along this would happen!
          Because I know You! You are slow to anger, ready to
          forgive, ready to send peace and blessing instead of
          calamity."

          I confess - I know how this feels! I recently felt a
          little egg on my face, as Jonah must have. Our ministry
          warned America that God might judge us on the
          battlefield of Kuwait and Iraq, echoing Lincoln's
          belief that all war is a sign of God's judgment. We
          warned that America had not repented nor had our
          leaders called for nationwide repentance - and we
          feared a great effusion of blood.

          During one of our Friday night prayer meetings, I said,
          "How can God be with our armies when we have so much
          blood on our hands? The Bible is full of accounts of
          God giving up on His armies when they sinned as we
          have. We face judgment!"

          Instead, victory came swiftly. After only 100 hours of
          ground fighting, it was all over - one of the most
          lopsided wars in history. It ended faster than Israel's
          Six-Day War against Egypt. Soon I got a letter from
          someone who used to attend our church. It said, "You
          lied! There was no judgment. God was with our armies,
          and there were not thousands dead. Your warning was not
          from God."

          Here is what I believe happened: Once again the Lord's
          gracious heart was easily moved. Multiple thousands of
          soldiers and believers around the world cried out to
          God: "Help us! Give us one more chance!" Churches all
          over the world held prayer meetings, crying out, "O
          God, forgive us! Cleanse us from our sin!"

          One reporter in Saudi Arabia said, "Never have I heard
          so many soldiers praying or singing spiritual songs.
          Never have I seen so many reading the Bible. It was
          like church!"

          I believe God was moved with compassion. He was moved
          and touched - because He is so ready to forgive! Like
          Jonah, I should have known that He is "slow to anger,
          of great kindness, and repentest of the evil." Instead
          of pouring out judgment on America, He used our army as
          His rod against Saddam Hussein. God was with America!

          If we had gotten what our nation deserved, we would be
          burying tens of thousands of our troops right now. We
          would be weeping and wailing, ashamed! Yet our gracious
          Lord took pity and changed His mind, as surely as He
          changed His mind about Nineveh. The tears and
          repentance of believers brought forth His great
          lovingkindness.

          Jonah didn t enjoy God's lovingkindness. I pray that
          the church doesn't make the same mistake. We need to
          thank Him for His great mercy toward us, and that He
          heard the cry of our nation - and answered!
              -----------------------------------------------
                                LESSON #3 -
                  God's Lovingkindness Must Be Proclaimed,

              -----------------------------------------------

          We are to preach about the Lord's lovingkindness to all
          mankind. David said: "I have declared thy faithfulness
          and thy salvation; I have not concealed thy
          lovingkindness and thy truth from the great
          congregation" (Psalm 40:10).

          David not only appropriated this wonderful message for
          himself. He knew it was sorely needed by the whole
          congregation and by a hurting world. David was grateful
          to God for such great love, because he was surrounded
          by his own failings: "Mine iniquities have taken hold
          upon me" (verse 12). It doesn't matter how badly people
          have sinned - God still loves. That's why He sent His
          Son. And that is what we should be preaching to the
          world!

          Can you say with David, "I have not concealed thy
          lovingkindness from the great congregation"?

          Perhaps one of the most quoted and sung verses in all
          of God's Word is this: "Thy lovingkindness is better
          than life, my lips shall praise thee" (Psalm 63:3). You
          may ask, "What do you mean, His lovingkindness is
          better than life?" Life is short! It fades like the
          grass, which is here one season and gone the next. Yet
          His lovingkindness will endure forever. A billion years
          from now, Jesus will be as tender and loving to us as
          He is now. Others can take your life from you but they
          can't take away His lovingkindness.

          The greatest proclamation of His lovingkindness is
          joyful praise. Stop and think for a moment: God is not
          mad at you anymore. If you're ready to forsake your
          sins, you can be forgiven and restored this very
          moment.

          The Word says nothing can come between our Lord and us:
          no sin, no guilt, no condemning thoughts. You can say,
          "My life is a blessing to the Lord, and I can rejoice
          and praise Him. I am clean, free, forgiven, justified,
          sanctified, redeemed!"

          If you really understood how tender He is toward you -
          how patient, how caring how ready to forgive and bless
          - you would not be able to contain yourself. You would
          shout and praise Him until you had no voice left!

          Beloved, Jesus is coming - and we're clean. We're ready
          to go. You have a loving, tender Father who cares about
          you. He's bottled every tear you've ever shed. He's
          seen every need. He's known your every thought - and He
          loves you!

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771 USA.

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