Practice Justice and Mercy in Faith

There's a scripture we probably all know of by heart, which is in Matthew 6.33, which says, Search your kingdom, his kingdom, you know, God's kingdom, and his righteousness. In other words, we ought to seek and search God's righteousness, not our own self-righteousness. I haven't talked a little bit about that previously and I pointed to Romans 10 verse 3, and it is very important that we look at God's righteousness. But one of the points about God's righteousness is about us practicing the important points of God's law. And the important points of God's law are briefly described to us in Matthew 23, 23. This is in a discussion that Christ was having with the Pharisees, and there is very tough. He doesn't mince the words. His words are not politically correct to that society of the day, I can imagine. These words were straight and saying, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! And he is saying, yeah, you're very faithful in the little things, which you should. I'm not saying that you shouldn't, but you have neglected the weightier matters of the law. The key important points about God's law, which is justice, mercy and faith. And I think we all have read this many, many a time. And maybe we've understood it to a greater or lesser degree. But today I want to talk about the point of practicing justice and mercy, and then walking humbly with God, trusting God in the words in faith that he will provide for us as we walk. As he followed away with justice and mercy.

The first point to start as we look at this, and as we consider this to be able to walk humbly with God, is that there will be a day of judgment. There will be a day of, let's call it, settling the account. There has, there will be. And this judgment is not just a day of condemnation, but it is a time period of probation in this judgment period. You know, it's like somebody is caught doing something wrong. He goes to jail, and then maybe he's released on probation subject to certain good behavior and further analysis of how he behaves. And if man does do that, how much more God is kind and loving and making sure that we have given every opportunity to repent. So God allows and gives mankind an opportunity to repent, to learn, and therefore to change. And therefore, we have to go through a stage of living and practicing over a period of time, so that we really learn to practice justice in mercy and walk humbly in complete faith that God is the righteous judge and he will settle the accounts.

Now, as we heard in the sermon, God is a gracious God and he has great favor towards us. And what he wants most from us is that we repent so that we can be in his family. And therefore, to achieve that, he has to be merciful. But mercy is not just by itself, because if mercy was just by itself, then we'll have a wrong standard of loving kindness, because mercy must be combined with justice, with judgment. And indeed, it has to be applied the two together. Ultimately, there will be mercy or there will be final judgment. Ultimately, there will be another two. We'll either have mercy, there will be eternally in the kingdom of God, or we will be punished eternally. In other words, it will be an eternal punishment, not that we're going to be living suffering eternally, but it will be an eternal punishment, will be punished for eternity forever, by dying forever in the lake of fire, through what is called an eternal death, the second death. So let's start by looking at 1st Peter chapter 4 verse 17. 1st Peter chapter 4 verse 17. Because the judgment is now on us. It says, for the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. So this period of judgment is what you and I are living in. In other words, think about it. It is as if the great white throne period is now for us as members of the church of God. I'm not saying this is the great white throne period, but I'm just saying it is as if for us it is our period of judgment. In other words, our period of probation. The intent, obviously, for judgment is to have us to be clean. It's not to condemn us. The intent that God puts us through a judgment period is not to condemn us, but it is as we are hurting the seminary through his loving kindness and favor to help us achieve a godly standard of behavior, of virtues, to be his children. So we as baptized members in God's church, we are now in this probation period. Today is our judgment day.

And this day for us lasts as long as our life continues until we die or until Christ comes back. So when we say seek the kingdom of God, which is what we are to seek, we are to seek the kingdom of God, and how is by practicing God's righteousness? That is how. And part of that process of practicing God's righteousness, the steps that we have to follow for the ultimate goal to be in the kingdom of God, part of that is for us to practice justice and mercy and to walk humbly in faith in front of God. Because that, in the end, is the weightier matter of the law, which means it is a very important part of God's law. And if it is for us today, that day, when is it for the rest of the world? Are they scot-free? No! For them, it will be the day of judgment, which is described as the period of the Second Resurrection, as we call it after the millennium, which is the Great White Throne Judgment. Now, let's look at Revelation 11. Revelation 11 is a period in which God starts intervening directly in world affairs. And in fact, this is the time of the last of the Seventh Trumpet, because when he starts intervening in world affairs, that is the Sixth Seal, directly he starts intervening with the heavenly signs. And then we have the Seventh Seal, which has seven trumpets, which is intervening and punishing mankind. And before that, you will seal those that come out of the Tribulation and protect them, because he's not going to punish those that have repented during the Tribulation. So they will be protected. But then we get that one year, which is the year of the Lord's Day, of the Seventh Seal of seven trumpets. And then at the end of that, we come to the Seventh Trumpet. And so on Revelation 11 verse 15, it says, and the seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this wall have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. So now is the time that Christ is going to interact and take over world rulership, world government. In other words, the beginning of the world tomorrow on earth. And then we read a little later, jumping out to verse 18, and we know that the nations are angry. They do not want Christ to rule over them. But it says, he says that it's now the time of the dead to be judged. Now it says here three things that it's important for us to remember. First is the time of the dead to be judged. What does it mean by that? It means at Christ's Second Coming, it's the time of the resurrection, right? It's the time of the resurrection, the first resurrection. So there's the dead. Some dead will resurrect in the first resurrection, and some dead will stay dead for another thousand years. Therefore, there's a judgment of the dead, judging which ones will be resurrected and which ones will not for another thousand years. So, number one is the time of the dead that they should be judged. In other words, there will be some that will be judged to be in the first resurrection, and that means they got like a straight ticket, green ticket straight to be in the kingdom of God. It's a better resurrection. Second thing, and that you should reward your servants, the prophets and the saints, and explains great and small. So, we are not just given eternal life, but in addition to that, at that time, we will be rewarded according to our works. Like I said, some will rule over 1030, some will rule over 5, some will rule over 2, whatever. We'll have different tasks and responsibilities. So, there will be like a time that will be rewarded. This is the time.

And the third item that it says at Christ's coming, so it's this period of time that Christ's coming, that He will destroy those who destroyed the earth. So, the people who are fighting against Him will be destroyed. So, what we have here is a time when judgment begins. Think about it. In other words, not just the probation period, but the settling of the account of judgment. At that moment, there will be some that the judgment period is finished, and then now resurrect to eternal life. There will be others that will wait for another thousand years in the grave for their probation period to happen, then for a period of time in the Second Resurrection. And obviously, of those, some will really repent and some will not. And those that don't repent, then the final outcome is the lack of fire. So, what we have is a separation of sheep from goats in that terrible analogy. And you and I know that when Christ will do this, He will do it righteously. Look at Revelation chapter 19 verse 11. Revelation 19 verse 11. It says, And now I saw heaven open, and be all the white horse. And this is the fifth horseman of the apocalypse. Let's call it that, because there's four horsemen right up front. And this is the third, which is actually Christ. So, a white horse. And he was sat on him, was called faithful and true. And obviously, that's Jesus Christ. And in righteousness, He will judge and make war. Now, in this society, it's kind of, said, what? What? Christ's gonna make war? Well, that's what it says. But He'll do it in righteousness. In righteousness. Because there's a lot of weakness, and that weakness has to be fought and destroyed. There's a lot of weakness today. But He will do it in righteousness. Now, as part of that process of where He comes, and then there's the Millennium, and then there's the Great White Throne. So, there is a process, or period of judgment, of not only those that are dead, but then it'll be the Millennium of those physical human beings that live, and then it'll be the Second Reserve. So, there is a period of time. And at the end of that period of time, we have then in Revelation 20, verse 14 and 15, that says, then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. And this is the Second Death. So, at the end of that process of time, and there is a judgment, and part of that judgment, some people will not repent. They will not repent. You know, it talks about, they'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth. You know, sometimes I wonder about that, and obviously, I'm now, let me be frank, I'm speculating. I'm speculating. So, weeping and gnashing of teeth, I'm speculating that it's probably two different groups. Then one will weep, because we should have done better, and we don't do it. And another one will have gnashing of teeth, which means complete angry and vengeance to say, I hate God. So, there will be a time that it will be a judgment. So, let's back to the scripture. Yeah, verse 15, and anyone not found written in the book of life. In other words, anyone that has not been given eternal life as a spirit being, will be cast into the light of fire.

So, what do we conclude here? We conclude that there'll be righteous judgment, and we conclude that it will be Christ that will judge. Now, let us support that with further evidence that indeed is Christ that will judge. Let's look at John chapter 5 verse 22. John chapter 5 verse 22.

John chapter 5 verse 22.

And this putting it in context, they wanted to kill Christ and saying that he had made himself equal with God. And then in verse 19 he says, most surely I say to you, the son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the father doing he does. The son also does in life. So, he's basically saying, I always respect the father. I am under authority. I'm a man under authority, and I'll do what the father tells me to do. And then he says, well the father loves the son. And then in verse 21, and he says, as the father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the son gives life to whom he will. So, he has a point that the father, yes, he has the power to do it, and he resurrected Christ because Christ was dead. But now, who is going to do the resurrection of different people? He says, the son gives life to whom he will. Look at verse 32. For the father judges no one. But has committed, has delegated all judgment to the son. The father has committed, delegated all judgment to the son. That all should honor the son. Just ask that honor the father. Wow! If we don't honor Christ, he says, he who does not honor the son does not honor the father. If we do not honor Christ, we are not honoring the father because the father put the son in that position of authority. But the point here is that it's Christ that will do all judgment because it all has been committed to the son. But look at John chapter 7, just a few pages ahead, John 7 verse 24. John 7 verse 24. He says, do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. He has an instruction to us, but it's basically what Christ does. Christ does not judge according to appearance. And I think that is the real challenge for us because it's so easy for us to see a person, man or woman, and criticize or say, well, he's done this, whatever. It's so easy for us as human beings because of the appearance that comes across, because of the appearance.

So what I've said so far, brethren, is the following. There's going to be a judgment, and it'll be Jesus Christ who will be doing the judging because everything's been delegated to him. He's going to be the judge, so therefore he's the one that's going to say, you get resurrected and you don't because the Father delegated it to him. That's what it is, the judgment of the dead. That will be his responsibility. But what is our role? What is our responsibility? Well, we've just seen. God is the judge through Christ, of course, because he delegated to Christ. So he is the judge, which means it's not you and it's not me.

It means it's not us. We are not the judges. It's God. Therefore, in Matthew chapter 7 verse 1, it says, judge not. Judge not. Because the judgment is God's through Christ, not us.

And if we step the line and do it, we're going to be judged for that. That's what it says. So don't judge.

And believe it, brethren, that has been one of the causes of many problems in the Church.

Because people have not applied righteous judgment because we've judged by appearances. Oh, look at what he's done. Oh, look what she's done. How can he begin the Church? Or he left the Church and oh yeah, I can understand. Or she left the Church. I can understand and he's in the situation, that situation. Therefore, there's no hope for him. He's going to be in second death. Maybe you haven't literally said that, but maybe a kind of borders on that and we've got to be careful.

I have seen certain people giving certain explanations saying, if there's a person which is in this situation and he's been in the Church, he's been in the situation, I left the Church. Therefore, we apply. That's it. Look at Hebrews. Therefore, bang, he's gone.

Who are you to judge? Because you don't know the heart and you don't know if that person really has rejected God. Maybe just got sidetracked for a while. Which one of us hasn't got sidetracked for a while? Are you better than others? We all have been sidetracked one way or another. Or have had others that said, well, these people have received the good news. They have received the beyond today. They have been cold, but they've rejected the calling.

They're tickets now. They're gone. That's it.

Brethren, why do we preach the Gospel? Matthew 24 14, preach the Gospel unto all nations to condemn them? To second death? No! You preach the Gospel to all nations as a witness so that one day later when they say, yeah, that was right, I better repent. So, there is a witness.

So, brethren, we have to be careful that we do not judge by appearance.

Now, you may have never gone to those stages of thinking that way, but I can assure you that I have personally seen and heard people say those things. And all I'm saying to those people is, yes, there is a situation if people, indeed, have completely rejected God, that's it, but I cannot put x, y, z person in that box, because I don't know the heart of that person. Can you see the difference? So, yes, if you are an individual in a situation that will not repent, Hebrews says there's no second sacrifice, that's it. Right! But how do you know x, y, z put the name of that person is in that box? You don't know because you don't know the hearts. So don't please, don't go that way, don't step into that box. As I was talking to another minister about this, and he told me, well, to step into that box is above my pay. I thought it was an interesting way of putting it. You know, that's just above me. You know, that's a, in other words, it's Christ's, Christ's role. Now, let's look at a parable, yeah, in Luke 15. In Luke 15.

And we're going to start in verse 11. A certain man had two sons, and the young of them said to his father, father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me, and you know, the rest of the parable. Don't you? I don't have to read it. He says, I'm going to take it, and I'm going to blow it. I'm just going to have fun, and goodbye, and all gone. And then one day, as he says in verse 17, the penny drops, and he came to himself. Oh man, what did I get myself into? He really repented. So he says, I'll go back to my father's house, because the servants in my father's house will be better off than the way I live now. And he goes, and you know how his brother reacted, but the point is, how did the father react? The father reacted, I mean, the father didn't even ask, have you repented? The father didn't even ask, what do you believe now? The father just said, come my son, this is home. Now, obviously he had repented, because he saw by the fruits that to come back shows repentance. And you don't need anymore. He just opened arms and says, you are welcome. Please come back home. This is home.

If this is God's mind, is it ours? Is it our mind?

You know, when somebody hurts us deeply, and then they come back to us, do we have that same open arms, or do we hold a grudge? Look at James chapter 4 verse 11. James chapter 4 verse 11.

This is one of those difficult scriptures, but it's a very, very truthful statement. Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He will speak evil of a brother, and therefore, he's judging the brother. Therefore, judges the brother, speaks evil of the law. Now, how can he be speaking evil of the law?

Because one of the weightier matters of the law is mercy.

And if you are not showing mercy, which is a weightier matter of the law, you are speaking evil of the law.

And judges the law.

I would judge the law, but if you judge the law, you're not a doer of the law, but a judge.

Brethren, are we doers, justice, mercy, and faith, or judges?

You see, we read in Matthew 7 verse 1, it says, do not judge. Now, judgment can have basically two intents. Now, think about this. Judgment can have two intents. One intent of judgment is to discern, to distinguish, to separate, clean and unclean, clean and dirty. For instance, when you go to a restaurant, and you look around and say, is this food clean or unclean? You are judging.

So, Yah is an intent of judging, which is discerning, separating bad from good. For instance, you sit at the table, and you are given a plate, which doesn't look clean. What are you going to tell the waiters? He says, excuse me, please can I have another plate? That is discerning. That's judging. But along with that, taking that to a spiritual greater concept is to sanctify, is to say, I want to be separate, clean. So, Yah is an important point about clean and unclean foods. Clean and unclean foods train us. Think about it. Train us to be always on the lookout for what is clean and unclean. You always on the checkout, right? I mean, you go to the shops, is it clean or unclean? Maybe you read the labels, or you've got a restaurant, or does it have pork in ingredients, or doesn't it? You always check it. Why is that training important? Because you and I have to have the same sort of spiritual kindling awareness to what we hear, to what verbiage we allow in our minds, to what thoughts we allow in our minds, and say, is this clean or unclean? Just like you do that with food, you and I need to do it likewise, spiritually speaking, to thoughts and to words that we allow us to hear and things like that. So, it really is in a sense, it's a training ground to more important matters of clean and uncleanness. And that is called sanctification. Think about it. You know what sanctification means? You are going to have clean thoughts, not unclean. You're going to have clean words, not unclean, and likewise. So, you're going to do clean things, you're going to behave in a clean manner, and I'm using the word clean in the generic way, which means you're going to do what is godly. So, therefore, YAH is one intent of the word judging, which, put it another way, it's examining. It's discerning. It's separating. It's distinguishing. It's making a choice. And doesn't the Bible tell us? Choose. I give you life and death. Choose life. God wants us to choose.

A little bit of a pun there. Forgive me. God is pro-choice, but pro-life, so that you choose life.

So, God wants us to choose correctly. Now, there's another intent of judging.

One, the one I just finished explaining, is discerning, separating, distinguishing, examining. The other intent is to throw away, is to destroy. In other words, it's to condemn. So, what does the Bible tell us to do? Tell us to choose, but don't condemn.

You see, so, we need to practice justice, to choose what is right with mercy, with loving kindness, and trusting God that he will do the rest in faith. We walk humbly before him and trusting him. And this is the weightier matter of the law. So, if you and I are judging to condemn and criticize, we're not understanding the heart of the matter. We're not leaving it on Christ to do the judgment. And therefore, then we're judging the law, because we're not applying with mercy.

So, brethren, we need to practice justice with mercy together. Which means it's not just mercy without justice, but it's also not just justice without mercy, because the both are not balanced. You see, if you just have mercy and there's no justice, you're allowing every sort of evil thing. But if you have justice and you discern, but you apply it with mercy, you have this balanced approach. Because if you have justice just by itself, then you become hard, kind of dictatorial, justice without mercy. But when you have, when you mold it with mercy, then it's justice with loving kindness. It's so beautiful. It's so beautiful. It's so beautiful when you think about that. And when we put those two together, we then have to rely on God that He is the ultimate judge, that He will sort the other things out that's beyond our scope, beyond our pay grade, right? That leave it with God, but have faith that He will do it. And He will do it because He will judge righteously. And therefore walk humbly before God, always with justice and mercy. And those are the weightier matters of the Lord.

Look at Micah chapter 6. Micah chapter 6.

Micah chapter 6. Amos, Abadiah, Jonah, Micah, and whom Abacak to help you. Micah chapter 6. Starting in verse 1, here now what the Lord says, Arise, plead your case before the mountains.

And let the hills hear your voice, hear of your mountains, the Lord's complaint, and use strong foundations of the earth. For the Lord has a complaint against His people, and He will contend with Israel. And these people, spiritually speaking, it's us. So let's look at it. Ask, Oh my people, what have I done to you? And how have I wearied you? Testify against me. For I brought you up from the land of Egypt. I redeemed you from the house of bondage, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Mirian. So think about us. God redeemed us from sin, from our life of sin, from Egypt, and He's given us His ministry and the church to guide us. So all my people remember now what Beilach, king of Moab, counseled, and what Beilam, the son of Beor, answered him. From Acacia Grove to Gilgal, that you may know the righteousness of the Lord. So they they twisted scripture to say, Oh well, if seeing that I can't curse Israel, just do these little subtle things he are, and therefore he was trying to get his way by being subtle. But look at it. Verse 6, With what shall I come before the Lord? And bow, bow myself before thy God. Shall I come before him with burnt offerings? What does God want from us? What does God want from you and I? With calves and a year old. So shall we now do offerings? And obviously there's no temple now, but basically offerings mean, shall we just go beyond our means and give of what we don't have and just sacrifice and go just really beyond what is expected. Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams? Ten thousand rivers of oil. Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression? Shall I just give everything and in a sense kind of die the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? Verse 8, He has shown you a man what is good. God has shown us what and what does the Lord require of you? What does God require of you and I? But to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. The weightiest matters of the Lord. You see, it's not New Testament, it's Old Testament. Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. We need to love and do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly without God because we absolutely trust and are fighting in.

God has done tremendous things for us. And what is it that we and you and I need to do? To practice justice with mercy and walk humbly in faith before Him.

And so, we need to judge not to criticize, but we need to judge with righteous judgment, not according to appearance. Those are Matthew 7, as we saw, verse 1 and John 7 verse 24, also as we saw. Yes, we need to discern right from wrong, separate right from wrong. We must make choices in life, but that discerning is not condemning others.

We are to choose between two trees. The tree of life, which is God, tells us what is right and wrong and therefore believe in Him and have faith in Him of what He says is right and wrong. That's a tree of life. Or the tree of death, which is I decide what is right and wrong. It was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I make that decision and that's going to be the wrong decision. That's the way the world is going today. Well, everybody has a right to decide what's better for their body or whatever it is. That's the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The tree of death, because they're not trusting in God to decide what is good and what is evil.

That's why you and I are told to examine ourselves, aren't we? Remember the scripture we read just before Passover? 1 Corinthians 11. Let's look at that. 1 Corinthians 11. Look at verse 28.

But let a man examine himself and so let him eat the bread and drink the cup. Now, brethren, it does not just mean that you do that at Passover. We need to do it all the time. We need to all the time be determining what's clean and unclean in our spiritual lives. Look at verse 31. For if we will judge ourselves, in other words, if we examine ourselves, if we discern, if we distinguish right from wrong ourselves, then God does not need to do it to us. Think about it. Then we're not going to be judged. Why? Because we're doing it ourselves, so God does not have to do it to us. But, verse 32, but when we are judged by God, we are chastened by the Lord.

So when God judges us, he is actually correcting us, chastening us, redirecting us in the right path, not to condemn us, but to redirect us in the right way, with gentle loving kindness and mercy, with grace, as we heard in the sermon, so that we can go the right way, not to condemn us, not so that we may not be condemned with the society, with the sword. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 11. 1 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 11.

But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named the brother who is sexually immoral of covetous nor an idolater, nor a reviler or drunker or an extortioner, not even to eat with such a person. Are we condemning those people?

But, you know, it's just like if they brothers and they're now falling away of complete immorality, saying to them in a loving kind way, listen, I can't associate with you now because you're not living the way. It's going to affect me. It's going to... I'm not comfortable with that. And in a loving kind way you can tell them I'm sorry, you know. But understand, you change. You're more than welcome. You're more than welcome. I have had in Brazil, I've had people that said that had done things. Well, they were with somebody else and they already had a child or they were pregnant or expecting out of wedlock. And I said, look, I love you. I respect you. I really want you to change, but understand that I cannot allow you in church under these conditions. Please, I am telling you this in tears because I do care for you, but I cannot allow you in church. It's a bad example. It's going to affect others. It's not the standard. Can you understand that? And you better stop that and or get married and get clean. And you know what? Once you do that, you are more than welcome to be back in church. And you know what? They repented, they got married, and they're back in church. But you got to do it with loving kindness. You got to do it with loving kindness. Reverend, I'm not any better than anybody else. God inspired us to do this. So, please, don't look at me and say, I've done it well. I'm always learning. So, but the point here, yeah, is look at continue reading in verse 12. For what have I to do with judging those that are outside? Well, people are not in the church. I can't do anything. Do you not judge those who are inside? In other words, as the ministry in the church, as leaders in the church, we have to take a position of loving kindness for the brethren to protect the flock, to protect the sheep. But those who are outside, God will sort them out. Therefore, put away from yourselves that sin until they repent. And that's what happened in 2 Corinthians. They repented and then the person was welcomed back in.

Look at chapter 6. So, continue reading there. And we read in verse 2. Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Oh, isn't Christ then that's going to judge? Of course, it's Christ that's going to judge. But he's going to be the supreme, let's call it the supreme court.

And therefore, he appoints other judges under him. And you and I, once we ask, but it means we will be in positions of judgment under him. So, Jesus Christ will then delegate to us, as we learn now, to practice righteous judgment in bigger areas. But in the meantime, we need to learn to judge in small things, but not condemning, but more along the lines of discerning and separating. Because if we're going to judge and condemn, we're going to be judged. So, let us not be self-righteous like, if you go back to Matthew 7, when it says, you know, don't judge and don't be like that person that's got a beam in his eye.

When I was at a pre-teen camp, when they had had huge logs like this, they'd cut. So, I told my little grandson, he says, go and stand by that log and look at it very closely to it. So, there was, he had this big beam right in front of his eye. So, I said, can you see what I'm doing now? No, I can't. Why not?

Well, because I got this beam in front of me. Well, it's the same thing, you know, just an analogy of Matthew 7, you know. If we have this beam in front of us in our eye, how can we try and take the spit out of somebody else's eye?

So, we can't be self-righteous because we all have done things wrong. So, we're not yet to be self-righteous, but we already are to protect God's people. And therefore, the ministry does have certain roles. Look at Hebrews chapter 17. Now, do they enjoy going to that person and say, I have to tell you, you can't come to church anymore? I didn't! That was not enjoyable at all. That was extremely emotionally painful to me. Because I knew the person was a real child that had grown in the church.

She had really shown a lot of good fruits, but made a mistake and now was in a sad situation. And yeah, now she's got to pay for it for the rest of her life. She's got to be married to that individual and maybe then have all their love, that then the preparation that she'd have, etc. But the point is, did I enjoy doing that?

No, I didn't. Look at Hebrews 13 verse 17. Obey those who rule over you. And that's actually talking to the minister, to the brethren saying, Obey those that rule over you. And then it was the ministers that over you and be submissive that for they watch out for your souls, in other words, for your eternal life, for your life, as those who must give account. We have to give account as ministers. So we got to be very careful. It's not easy to have a role of having to kind of tell somebody, look.

You know, I don't enjoy doing that. I really don't, but sometimes I have to. But it says, let them do so with joy and not with grief, because it grieves me having to tell them. But if people are cooperative, like this person I went, and this person said to me, you know, Uncle George, they call it Mr.

George, they said, Mr. George, I really understand what you're saying, and I respect. I will change. Give me the time, and I will make amends, and then I'll be back. And the person was back. So that submissive made it to me not to be a grievous situation, even though it was grievous in a way, but made it to me to be joyous.

Because I knew it would have a right outcome. And you know what? That person today is baptized and in the church. What a beauty! What a beautiful story to me! So, here is a point that we need to keep in mind. We all will be shown mercy, or we will be judged.

In other words, yeah, we all have sinned, right? We all have sinned. So we'll all be shown mercy, and it'll be forgiven, and it'll be in the kingdom, or we'll be judged. And condemned, and be in the lake of fire. There's only those two final outcomes in the end. There'll still be a time of probation, but there's only those two. Now, which one wins? Mercy. The one that wins is mercy. Because there's nothing you and I have done to deserve eternal life. And so, look at James chapter 2 verse 13. James chapter 2 verse 13. For judgment is without mercy, to one we're shown no mercy. So, if you and I don't show mercy to other people, if we are hard. This is justice, and only when I see real fruits will I show mercy. Be careful. Be careful, because judgment must be with mercy. The two mingle together. But it says, mercy triumphs over judgment. Mercy is victorious! Mercy will win! Thank God, mercy will win, that you and I can be in the kingdom of God. Thank God for His grace and kindness towards us. Sure, showing mercy, being forgiving, reconciling is not easy. No, it's not easy. But do we forgive another? Do we forgive the others? This is forgive and you'll be forgiven. So, if you and I want to be forgiven, we have to forgive. So, like, says there, if judgment is without mercy, you'll be shown no mercy. It's the same thing. So, brethren, we have to show mercy.

We have to discern, separate, but we have to forgive. And you know what? You and I have to forgive whether the people repent or not. That's the difficult part.

Because if you and I don't forgive, you're going to hold this root of bitterness inside the earth. And the one that's going to be most effective is you and I. So, we're going to do our best to reconcile and we're going to let it go. We're going to let it go.

Look at Malachi chapter 3 verse 5. Malachi chapter 3 verse 5. And I'll come near you for judgment, for justice, for judgment. I'll be a swift witness against sorcerers, against adulterers, against purgerers, against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, against those who turn away an alien, because they do not have a good way to do it. And I'll come near you for justice, for judgment. I'll be a swift witness against widows and orphans, against those who turn away an alien, because they do not fear me, says the Lord of Oz. For I am the Lord, I do not change. Therefore, you're not consumed. It was I will show you mercy.

So, return to me as it says in verse 7, and I'll return to you. Repent.

So, brethren, we have an option. We can either forgive and practice justice with mercy, and walk in humbly in faith, trust in God that you will sort it out in the end, or not. That is the way to a matter of the law. And then, ultimately, you and I look forward in faith for the soon coming of Jesus Christ to start His judgment of the world, and then He will bring peace to earth. You know the Lord's Prayer that says, "'Thy will be done on earth.'" You and I need to have faith in that prayer, because God's will will be done on earth. Jesus Christ will judge with righteous justice and mercy. And all we can say is, come, Lord Jesus, come and come quickly.