Mercy Takes Dominion Over Judgment

by: Jill O’Brien

 

When many of us were memorizing scriptures in the early days of our walk, we remember the familiar scripture from James 2:13, "Mercy triumphs over judgment".  Oftentimes we can become too familiar with well-known scriptures. This current season more than ever is filled with opinions that immediately turn into judgments.  We all have them. Personal judgments about people, ourselves, then corporate judgments about churches, businesses, governments, etc...The list is oh so long! In The Passion Translation which is taken from the Aramaic, the language Christ spoke when on the earth, it says it this way in context: James 2:12-13 "So we must both speak and act in every respect like those who are destined to be tried by the perfect law of liberty, v 13 and remember that judgment is merciless for the one who judges others without mercy.  So by showing mercy you take dominion over judgment!" Going back to the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2:16, God instructed Adam and Eve to not eat from only One Tree in the Garden which was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil for if you eat of it you shall surely die.  Another name for that infamous tree is the tree of right and wrong or the religious tree.  For the fruit that it bears is judgment, criticism, negativity, fault finding and of course, pride.  This directive is for us today as well.  We have become so accustomed to our right and wrong mentality without realizing it is carnal Christianity, and this mindset has produced a bumper crop of judgment throughout the Body of Christ and the world. I was living in Jerusalem in 1996. I was treated very rudely one day, in a grocery store, for not counting my shekels fast enough to pay the cashier.  As I walked home carrying my groceries, I was telling the Lord that I could see why he called His people stiff necked. I went on to build my case about how hard and difficult they can be when you actually live in Israel and is not just a tourist bringing them money. The Lord became very quiet, and I knew… uh oh I was in trouble.  Then I clearly heard the voice of the Lord, "Jill, Jill, Jill, Jill, Jill" . When God says your name 5x you know it's not going to be good.  I said, "yes sir". He said, "Jill, I have not called you to be RIGHT, I have called you to be RIGHTEOUS! For my Kingdom is about Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit."  I dropped to my knees that very moment on that sidewalk in Jerusalem and repented; to this day I carry the marks from that very moment. Forgiveness is the primary assignment when we have unforgiveness towards others, ourselves, even God, situations personally and corporately.  I began to notice that forgiveness of course, cleanses us of our sins and brings us back into a healthy relationship with God and others but often the residue of the offense and the judgment lingers.  The Lord led me to James 2:13 to use as a second action step to clear up the debris after the forgiveness piece.   So by releasing our Mercy it takes dominion, it takes authority over the judgment we have released personally and corporately.  What a powerful revelation and tool!  The illustration I see in my mind is an old school blackboard filled with line upon line of accusations, opinions and judgments.  As Mercy is released it wipes the board clean immediately, which then frees the person or organization to be tried by the perfect law of liberty which frees them up to receive healing, deliverance, even salvation.  I have multiple testimonies of how this principle has worked in our life and the life of others in just the past few weeks!  It literally wipes out the soul power that holds individuals in an old bad place. Then we pray Mercy back over ourselves to deliver us from peoples opinions turned into judgments that have tied us up and locked us down from the law of liberty.  It is so refreshing to take dominion and use our God ordained authority to wipe the slate clean again.  Now God is the Judge and this gets us out of the way for Him to Judge in His way and His time as He sees fit.  We then step out of self-righteousness and back into Kingdom righteousness.  They will know we are Christians by our Love and Goodness and Mercy shall follow us all the days of our life.  Our Life and Times are in His capable Hands.  Amen!