“Have Mercy on Me”

Luke 18:9-14

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Introduction: Often times when we are learning to pray, we do so by learning what we call “rote” or memorized prayers. For meals our family often says, “Come Lord Jesus, be our guest, let this food to us be blessed.” OR, “God is great, God is good, now we thank Him for our food.” Probably the most notable rote prayer is The Lord’s Prayer.

Why do we learn rote prayers? Because they help us to feel comfortable praying, since it is often a challenge to think of our own prayers. They help us to not have to worry about what to say, and so we can come to God with confidence. They teach us some important truths. When Jesus taught the disciples The Lord’s Prayer, He wanted them to understand many foundational spiritual truths.

This morning I want to teach you another rote prayer that I say quite often, and then I want to break it down so that we understand what it is saying to us. The prayer goes like this: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”

I. Lord- (2 Corinthians 4:5; Psalm 23:3)

We talk much about Jesus coming to this earth to die for our sins, but we

don’t talk much about Jesus being “Lord.” The Bible is very clear that Jesus is not just our Savior, but our Lord. This means that Jesus is not only the one who saves us from our sins, but He is the One who we are to be subject to. And in fact, one of Jesus’ titles is Lord. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In fact He is referred to as Lord of all, Lord God Almighty, Lord from heaven, Lord of glory, Lord of hosts, Lord of the dead and the living, Lord of the Sabbath, Lord strong and mighty. I think you get the point!

In 2 Corinthians 4:5 the apostle Paul tells us: “For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants.” A lord is the one in charge, and the servant is the one who listens to his or her lord. This is difficult for many people, because they want to be the lord of their own life; they want to be able to control what they do.

To pray this prayer I am teaching you is powerful because it reminds us that Jesus is to be our Lord. If we start our day with this prayer, then maybe we will remember to have our priorities right, and seek our Lord to guide us and help us throughout the day. If we give Him control of our lives, I would bet our lives would go far better, because He would lead us in the right ways. As Psalm 23:3 tells us, ‘He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake..’ If we are children of God, and followers of Jesus, then how we live our lives affects the name of God. We need to let Him guide us for His name’s sake!

II. Jesus- (Matthew 1:21; Philippians 2:8)

The next word in the prayer is Jesus. Now in one sense this is a simple name.

It is just like Chris, or Tim, or Betty. It is the name He was called to distinguish Him and give Him identity. But the name Jesus is pretty significant. If you remember in Matthew 1:21 an angel comes to Joseph and tells him that Mary is pregnant by the Holy Spirit, and that they will name Him Jesus, because His name means ‘He will save His people from their sins.’

Jesus’ name had significance because it foretold what He was to do. Jesus is to be the captain of our salvation. But to do that He had to become human. And so in the name Jesus we also see the humanness of Jesus. Jesus, being perfect in human form, was able to give Himself as a sacrifice, once for all. The apostle Paul talks about this transformation in Philippians 2:8, “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.”

The name Jesus’ name reminds us that God became man, took on flesh, and dwelt among us. He then founded the church by the calling and training of disciples, and gave us the ultimate example of how we are to live. Because of Jesus, we can know how we are called to live, and love, and believe!

III. Christ- (Matthew 1:16; 16:15-16)

In Matthew 1:16, as we read the genealogy of Jesus, it says: “And Jacob the

father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” Even though we know Him as Jesus Christ, the term ‘Christ’ is a special term. The word Christ means ‘Anointed,’ or ‘Messiah.’

We see how all of these names of Jesus work together, as the Messiah was the One who was to come and save the people. Now there were many who were confused about how the Messiah would do this. Many believed it would be an establishing of an earthly kingdom where the Jews would reign.

We know, because of the Scriptures, that the Messiah is the One who came to remove our sins. Jesus, as The Christ, comes to establish a relationship with His people (at least with those who followed Him; the believers). And it seems that the disciples start to understand this after Jesus asks the disciples in Matthew 16:15, “… ‘Who do you say that I am?’” Peter answers, seemingly for all the disciples in verse 16: “… ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’”

As The Christ, Jesus was consistently seeking to get people to understand that they needed to believe in Him as the One who would take away their sins and give them eternal life. As The Christ, Jesus was leading them to understand that He would give His life for this purpose. As The Christ, when His death occurred, He wanted people to be ready to receive it as the magnificent, and predestined event that it was.

IV. Son of God- (Colossians 2:9)

Next, when you hear the word Son, you might think of it in earthly terms. In

one sense this is okay, because Jesus was the son of Mary and Joseph. But as the Son of God, we need to understand that Jesus was no mere human being; Jesus was God in the flesh! This title is to show the relationship Jesus had with the Father.

To illustrate this, let me give you a little theological lesson. In the Bible, when it is talking about having offspring, the word ‘begat’ is used. To begat is to give birth. Of course, like begats like. So, a cow begats another cow, a dog begats a dog, and humans begat humans. But because Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit, what was begat was God. The Holy Spirit, being the essence of God, created Jesus Christ, also the essence of God (the manifestation of God in human form).

Colossians 2:9 helps us to understand this, as the apostle Paul says: “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity (or Godness) lives in bodily form.” So we see that Jesus is God in full. He is not a lesser god, as the Jehovah’s Witnesses think, or a man who achieved godhood, as the Mormon’s believe. He is the Son of God, the One who created the world, redeemed the world, and now reigns over the world! He has the full power of God, and the full knowledge of God. This is why it is so magni-ficent that He allowed Himself to be arrested, beaten, tried, convicted and killed.

V. Mercy- (Luke 1:46-50)

He did it so that you and I could be saved. This is what God’s mercy is about.

Example- I think back to when I was a kid. My dad built a basketball hoop in our driveway. My brother and I would go out and spend hours shooting the basketball and playing against each other. Inevitably, one of our shots would bounce off the rim and head towards the glass window on the side of the house. We broke that window several times! But my dad would replace the window and not punish us (since it was an accident and we didn’t mean to break the window). I’m not sure how much it cost my dad to replace that window each time, but it was a merciful act on his part.

In an even greater way, Jesus has brought the mercy of God to us. Because of our sin we have cut ourselves off from God’s presence. Because God is holy and can’t be in the presence of ungodliness, we are unable to come to God on our own. God, in His mercy, sent Jesus to offer us forgiveness and cleansing from our sin.

Mary, the mother of Jesus recognized this after she gets pregnant with Jesus and she sings a song in Luke, chapter 1. Let me read verses 46-50 for you:

“And Mary said: ‘My soul glorifies the Lord ⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, ⁴⁸ for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, ⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. ⁵⁰ His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation…’” The mercy of God extends to those who fear Him; revere Him; give themselves over to Him; accept Him as Lord and as the Son of God.

VI. Sinner-

To do this though we have to acknowledge and accept that we are sinners. Then we have to give ourselves to Christ. There is a beautiful story, called the Quilt of Holes, that says:

As I faced my maker at the last judgment, I knelt before the Lord along with

all the other souls. Before each of us, laid our lives like the squares of a quilt in many piles. An angel sat before each of us sewing our quilt squares together into a tapestry that is our life. But as my angel took each piece of

cloth off the pile, I noticed how ragged and empty each of my squares was. They were filled with giant holes. Each square was labeled with a part of my life that had been difficult; the challenges and temptations I was faced with in every day life. I saw hardships that I endured, which were the largest holes of all. I glanced around me. Nobody else had such squares. Other than a tiny hole here and there, the other tapestries were filled with rich color and the bright hues of worldly fortune. I gazed upon my own life and was disheartened. My angel was sewing the ragged pieces of cloth together, threadbare and empty, like binding air. Finally the time came when each life was to be displayed, held up to the light; the scrutiny of truth. The others rose; each in turn, holding up their tapestries. So filled their lives had been. My angel looked upon me, and nodded for me to rise. My gaze dropped to the ground in shame. I hadn't had all the earthly fortunes. I had love in my life, and laughter. But there had also been trials... I often struggled with temptation to quit, only to somehow muster the strength to pick up and begin again. I spent many nights on my knees in prayer, asking for help and guidance in my life. And now, I had to face the truth. My life was what it was, and I had to accept it for what it was. I rose and slowly lifted the combined squares of my life to the light. An awe-filled gasp filled the air. I gazed around at the others who stared at me with wide eyes. Then, I looked upon the tapestry before me. Light flooded the many holes, creating an image; the face of Christ. Then our Lord stood before me, with warmth and love in His eyes. He said, 'Every time you gave over your life to me, it became my life, my hardships, and my struggles. Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside and let Me shine through, until there was more of Me than there was of you.'

Here we see the mercy of God. When we give ourselves over to Christ, Christ

not only forgives us of our sins, but makes us more like Him each day!

Conclusion: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner. When I say this prayer, I usually will say it several times, each time focusing on a different word. LORD Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner. Lord JESUS Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner. Lord Jesus CHRIST, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner. How powerful this prayer is when we understand what it means; when we understand what we are praying.

I hope that you will remember this prayer, and use this prayer, and let this prayer affect and change you. Let God be your Lord, and Your Savior, and Your God. Let Jesus give His mercy to you, this day, and every day. Amen.