“Arise! Become resplendent! For your light has come, And the glory of Yahweh, it is radiant up on you. For behold, the darkness, it shall cover the earth, And murkiness the folkstems, Yet Yahweh shall be radiant up on you, And His glory, it shall be seen over you.” Isaiah 60 1-2 concordant
Darkness has covered earthly minded people who grope about not understanding godliness, while God also has been forming a body of people to be one with His own nature through an everlasting message of true mercy and hope. In those who believe, their darkness is swallowed up in the radiant light where God’s glory rests, having a full portion of glory that brings an end to their earthly mindedness.
God has been preparing overcoming Christians for two thousand years for a more excellent ministry. They are to be sent unto every generation of all the kindreds and nations of mankind. A more excellent ministry is now demonstrating God’s merciful deliverance in such a way the world has never known. Now we can recognize His light arising out of our darkness.
Arise and shine! God’s glory swallows up what darkness of death is within our thinking and deeds. His great theater of revelation has been seen in us, causing us to turn our eyes from wrath, violence, and degradation to learn grand truths:
“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” Matthew 7:1-2
Note the words: “ye shall be judged” — “what measure ye mete”. Another positive way of saying it is:
“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” Matthew 5:7
We are exposed to two kinds of judgment: man’s and God’s. Man’s judgment is soaked in a spirit of condemnation, corrupted by earthly considerations. God’s judgment is coming from a spirit of merciful justice. Yet even religious Christians are constantly judging according to outer appearance, accusing others unto condemnation about the wrongs they are doing. God’s judgments are executed in righteousness to bring us unto a further salvation according to God's plans. His Word and Spirit flows in the truth, as He instructs:
“Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” John 7:24
He warns against the judgments which arise so easily from man’s fault finding and condemning spirit. His warning includes just this: we will be judged in the way our own judgment has been expressed toward others and we will be measured with, or in, what we measure out to others.
"Happy are the merciful, they shall be shown mercy." Matthew 5:7 concordant"
The judgment we measure out to others in our life is the very same measure that God uses on us — so, we should learn to become merciful ones!
How precious are the disciplines of obedience that in-work His grace whereby we are transformed into being MERCIFUL HAPPY ONES. Many have walked long sad years in the present Christian heavens without learning what it means to “have mercy.” There has been far too much fight in church leaders who demand in accord with what they perceive to be right. Our Lord taught us to try the spirit to see if it is from God, so we could rather become a vessel through whom His glorious mercy is channeled forth:
“And that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory, even us, whom He hath called...” Romans 9:23-24
Merciful vessels come from merciful hearts CIRCUMCISED by the Word of God. A sympathetic, compassionate heart is one in which the love of Christ constrains us to express only His perfect words unto others. In the middle east, if an adulteress woman is caught, she is to be beheaded, though many times her wrong sprang from lack of love in that deceitful self-righteous husband of hers. Yet so many men cannot face the truth, but rather want to judge her as being the obvious one being wrong. Even adultery among Israelites was worthy of death under the law of Moses. And for jealousy of her, many a man was saying silently within, “Good... one less promiscuous woman in the world. Now others will learn to do better."
Oh but, the Spirit of God written upon our hearts with indelible letters would have us be merciful, not jealous, understanding with love, forgiving unto a reconciliation one to the other. We ask for the same merciful heart as is in our High Priest who is still judging adultery:
"‘He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’ And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And when they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the midst. And straightening up, Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?’ And she said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go your way. From now on sin no more." John 8:7-11 NAS
I am sure she lived her life differently from that day to her last day on earth. The Messiah had spoken to her directly to "sin no more” and His Word had the power to create that godly character in her inner person. She didn’t forget that day. That was His answer for this problem when it was presented to Him.
It is important to learn about manifesting the Word and Spirit of truth in our judgment of other people now. God knows our true state, He knows our need, yet is requiring His maturing people to face their responsibility about their attitudes and expressed judgment toward others. When we are truthful and yet merciful, our involvement brings deliverance and encourages others in their desperate hours of need. Rather than allowing our fault finding, God’s judgment is encouraging deliverance in people. God can magnify our smallest kindness to others to become a comforting life line that says, "God cares for you!” And He does.
We have become filled with hope for others. We are not demanding obedience to a printed law or doctrinal standard, but point each one to the indwelling life of God. God Almighty, Jesus His Son, and all living creatures have access to the Word that judges with righteous judgment. We can be sharing it even now, having mercy for all that are repentant. This becomes more important than demanding retribution for past faults.
Learning to be merciful has become more important than witnessing door to door to make converts out of nonbelievers. Learning to be merciful is more important than quoting scripture verses at work or teaching church doctrine in Sunday school. Instead of door to door witnessing, the merciful are made LIVING WITNESSES of what God’s true mercies are. Though no man escapes God’s judgment, our Father bestows mercy upon all those reconciled to Him.
There is no need to be skilled in the wisdom and ways of the world, no need to attend a Bible School or Seminary. No special earthly talent is needed, no secular training or college education, no payment with dollars is required to attain mercy. BEING A VESSEL OF MERCY comes to believers trusting God’s Spirit to flow within to guide us in any and every matter. On any day, there are many people around us who need healing help. As we learn to be merciful, we find we really do care for others within our spirit, as He cares for us and delivers us when needed.
Our Father does care for every soul that has ever drawn breath upon this planet. We are all His children. He has chosen to reveal Himself to us now, so we know that He cares, more than ever. NOW is the great hour of our change. I thank God for MERCIFUL vessels who came into my life that knew God’s just judgment, knew what the pinnacles of His purposes were. Some believers are destined to be brought before His mercy seat now, to be made priests filled with kindness and tender mercies that are promised to enduringly flow within our inner being throughout all time.
It is the property of God to have mercy placed in His sons and daughters, as His mercy triumphs over man’s judgment. His mercy is flowing from the pinnacle of Mt. Zion. The third heaven has the glory of God’s mercy seat provided in a way that reveals past heavens are hereby banished, never to return.
Men have limits to their compassion, but our Father has NONE. There is a limitless supply of tender mercies in God. God gives mercy to those who follow Christ with the utmost carefulness. He responds in tenderness, in compassionate love and infinite kindness. It is His merciful concern that continues to reach us all, to cover the darkest sin, to deliver us from torments in our lowest places.
Christ Jesus Himself manifests mercy without any alloy (mixture). It is pure and without any restraint. His divine mercy is without any remembrance of transgression, a grace that blots out the record against us. Our past wrong is erased. He is casting it into the deep sea of lasting forgetfulness. Those who are now kingdom vessels of the Most High abound with and are exercised in this mercy.
When we exercise mercy it must not be grudgingly, not by compulsion, but only because now in our deepest center is a merciful spirit. Gentle and heavenly mercy can be found within our spirit in every time of need because God is able to bring about this heart change. There we found what endures for all ages—His mercy seat to be above and beyond the attainments of the Pentecostal church heavens, as if it were the dome of Infinite Love over the best man has ever done.
It matters not that men have ascended in church heavens with false judgment, teaching about God’s wrath and damnation forever. The truth now placed in His vessels will dissolve the dark understandings of confusion that have ruled over us. We are now placed much higher than all that! He shines brightest when given the opportunity to prove Himself according to His purposes. He crowns us with God’s Name, as Hi s character is bestowed from the mercy seat.
As God Himself is Our Father, He is communicating directly to us from the Mercy Seat still. This is the treasure we found within, where Christ was formed, the celestial diamond, that for joy we sell all that we have, and buy into that treasure. The diadems of heaven are set in crowns of mercy on those who forgave when they could, were compassionate, kind and merciful to others, even to love their enemies, in becoming the very sons and daughters of our Father. Husbands and wives need this, children need this — we all need God’s character to be bestowed from the mercy seat.
God is coming to reign over us in righteousness. He does this in Christians from a seat of mercy. The Mercy seat of God is the center activity of God’s authority and power:
“And in mercy shall the throne be established…” Isaiah 16:5
The Hebrew word for throne also means “a canopy; something that is covered.” The mercy seat in the tabernacle in the wilderness was covered by skins of animals and the veil into the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place was a canopy. Even the overspreading wings of the Cherubim of gold were a canopy for the glory of God:
"He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with me in my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father in his throne." Revelation 3:21 ASV
To him who overcomes will be granted to sit with the mercy seat of God in a covered, hidden place. The secret place of the mercy seat is where it is unlawful for fleshly man to enter or to speak. It was upon the mercy seat that the glory of God dwelt. He is preeminently a God of mercy, not wrath, who remains merciful in every time of judgment upon evil such as the times we are now in. God knew what He was doing when inspiring the writing to Hebrews:
“Having , then, a great Chief Priest, who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, we may be holding to the avowal. For we have not a Chief Priest not able to sympathize with our infirmities, but one who has been tried in all respects like us, apart from sin. We may be coming, then, with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may be obtaining mercy and finding grace for opportune help." Hebrews 4: 14- 16 concordant
Our God is THE God of mercy. Mercy is the ability to have a thorough understanding of another person's condition, to have empathy. We hear them, we feel what they feel — so that we also are touched by the feelings of their infirmities. That is exactly what Jesus constantly does for us:
“In mercy shall my canopy be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth...judging, and seeking judgment, and accelerating righteousness…” Isaiah 16:5
God’s throne has been a covered hidden place to fallen mankind, a canopy of flesh hiding God from view. His wisdom is hid in that place where His mercy abides, where all is covered. He has been gathering people in a hidden, secret place, a celestial place. Only Christian overcomers reach to enter levels of kingdom enthronement with God. Here in the hidden secret place, our Father is tabernacling within His temple, His body, THE body of Christ.
The people who are the temple of God in heaven are in the Holiest place, in the third heaven. They are a people to be opened so all people in heaven and earth may now see the ark of God in these tabernacles of God. Now there are temples where the ark can be seen! These are Christians who are made kingdom priests standing together in Kingdom principles to carry the ark to its place, the place which rolls the waters of death back to the Garden of Eden, back to Adam.
There was a rank of Levi priests who carried the ark across Jordan. Where they placed their feet, the waters going to the dead sea rolled back to Adam. True priests stand for God’s people to inherit the promises—for all to live, death destroyed off God’s people. The way stays open and active in us, as within our being we find the mercy seat set in Jordan’s path. Death is the enemy but divine guidance has come. By following the leading of God’s Spirit about the Word, we enter a truth that sets us free:
"Then the sanctuary of God in heaven opened, and the ark of the covenant could be seen inside it. Then came flashes of lightning, peals of thunder and an earthquake and violent hail." Revelation 11:19 NJB
"And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail." Revelation 11:19 KJV
Lightnings where? IN US! Voices of thundering hail as earth realms shake in earthquakes IN US — HIS TEMPLE — where He sits upon to reign. Where? IN US is His seat, and He shall judge. Where? IN US-HIS TEMPLE! “And He shall seek justice.” Where? IN US- HIS TEMPLE! “And He shall accelerate righteousness.” Where? IN US- HIS TEMPLE! Nothing of God’s sacred scripture is worth a hill of beans until its message brings us to Christ becoming alive within us. God’s reign within us is advanced a great deal more as we learn to be merciful to others. As we live in God’s mercy, we do prosper.
In the church world today are people who excel in many virtues, live in states of holiness so far as their visible conduct is concerned, and yet spoil it all with unmerciful judgments of critical disposition. It has been said that there are only two kinds of sin: the sins of the body and the sins of the disposition (soul). We church folk have been conditioned to condemn the sins of the body as far worse than the sins of the disposition. But listen to what the firstborn son stated while on earth, and does so now from Mt. Zion:
"Now what are you supposing? A man had two children. And, coming to the first, he said, Child, go today, work in my vineyard. Yet he, answering, said, I do not want to. Yet subsequently, regretting it, he went forth. Now, coming to the second, he said similarly. Now he, answering, said, I go, lord! and he went not forth. Which of the two does the will of the father?"
They are saying, "The first." 'Jesus is saying to them, Verily, I am saying to you that the tribute collectors and the prostitutes are preceding you into the kingdom of God. For ]ohn came to you on the road of righteousness, and you do not believe him. Yet the tribute collectors and the prostitutes believe him." Matthew 21:28-32 concordant
No form of vice, not worldliness, not greed for money and possessions, not foul language, not drunkenness, not adultery or sexual perversion, none does more to shut up the Kingdom of God from men than not receiving what wisdom God directs them to get. Resisting the spirit of truth causes a spirit that condemns people, wants them to die, lies to see them burn in hell forever. Unmercifully embittering life splits up marriages and happy homes and misaligns communities. For destroying the most sacred of fellowships, for withering up husbands and wives, for perverting the innocence of childhood, for fostering hostilities and warfare, in short, for sheer misery-producing power, the lack of forgiving mercy in our own hearts is the main cause for discord, separation, and division.
Lack of forgiving mercy ultimately results in not entering into the kingdom of God, not knowing God as a Father, “not entering the promised land."