Marcus Mecum - Storing Up Mercy (12/14/2025)
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From Psalm 89, God made an everlasting covenant of mercy with David and his seed, promising faithfulness to generations even if children stray—He’ll discipline but never withdraw lovingkindness; today’s faithfulness stores up spiritual inheritance of mercy for our children and beyond, far outweighing any passed-down iniquity.
Singing of God’s Mercies Forever
Psalms 89:1. I want to speak to the family today about the importance of what you’re doing here, what you’re doing now, and how God sees it—how God makes a covenant with us, not just with us, but with our children and even beyond that. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever. This is verse one. With my mouth, I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. For I have said, mercy shall be built up forever. Your faithfulness shall be established in the very heavens. I have made a covenant with my chosen; I have sworn to my servant David. Your seed I will establish forever and build up your throne to all generations.
God’s Covenant Even When Children Stray
Let’s drop down to verse 34. I like this part. If, for some reason, your sons or daughters decide to walk away from all this, if they decide to forsake my law and not walk in my judgments, if they break my statutes and do not keep my commandments, I will deal with them. I will punish their transgressions with the rod and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless, my lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him, nor allow my faithfulness to fail.
David’s Legacy for Solomon
I love King David. King David is, of course, outside of Jesus, the most prominent figure in the Scriptures. What we know about David is that he had stored up the resources that would be necessary for building the great Solomon’s temple for Solomon’s generation. Solomon did not have to gather the resources needed; his father David left many of them to build the great Solomon’s temple, which, estimated in today’s dollars, would cost about five billion dollars.
As you think about that, David had the wisdom to realize that his responsibility was to take the influence he had and store up something for the next generation that would far outlive him and would reach beyond his life. But even greater than the financial inheritance that David would leave would be the spiritual heritage that he would provide. The Bible talks about how God made a covenant with David, using the phrase «a covenant of sure mercy.»
In other words, God made it a point to say there will never come a time, even if your kids go off a little bit, when I will not be in covenant with you, David, generation after generation. God’s covenant with David meant that because David honored and loved Him, God would ensure that He honored David’s family for generations to come.
Storing Up Inheritance for Generations
The Scripture is clear that we are either a stepping stone or a stumbling block to the next generation, that we are storing up an inheritance. What I do affects the next generation, whether godly or ungodly. I can store up mercy for the next generation, but I can also store up wickedness.
Exodus chapter 20 says that God visits the iniquity of the fathers up to the third and fourth generation, but His mercy is to thousands of those who love Him. So, there’s something about iniquity or sin that is stored up and passed down. But there’s also something about loving God and staying committed to Him that is laid up in a spiritual account from which later generations can withdraw. The Bible says that even when they run from God and act crazy, God will take care of them. But He will not allow His faithfulness to His covenant to fail, no matter how they are living.
It’s a pretty crazy promise if you think about it. God said, «You do this, you love Me, and I’m never going to forget that, even when you’re dead and gone. I’m going to remember that when I see that grandbaby, that great-grandbaby, that great-great-grandbaby.» You may not even know them, but I know them because it’s why generation is gene nation. Lineage is the line of ages. God said, «I’m going to pass through your genes an inheritance down the line, through the ages.» You can’t see that far, but I’m going to ensure that through the ages, iniquity or mercy is passed down.
Jeremiah 32:18 shows His lovingkindness to thousands, and God repays the iniquity of the fathers to their children. The NIV says it like this: God dumps the sins of the parents in the lap of the children. In 2 Samuel 3, verse 1, the house of David grew stronger and stronger, but the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker. God’s plan is for your faith to grow stronger and stronger, that the faith you have in your home gets stronger and stronger. Your faith should never get weaker and weaker from one generation to the next.
2 Corinthians 12:14 says it’s not for children to store up an inheritance for their parents, but it’s the parents' job to think about storing up an inheritance for their children. Proverbs 13:22 says a good man leaves an inheritance. That’s not just money; it’s a spiritual thing that we do as well.
God’s Covenant Extends to Our Families
So, when I got saved and you got saved, God looked at us and said, «I’m going to make a covenant with you. I’m going to keep my eye not just on you, but I’m going to keep my eye on your family. I’m going to treat your family, your children, differently than other people’s children. I’m going to look at them differently because you are in relationship with Me. I’m going to make sure that I correct them if I need to. You may not be present, but I’ll be present. You may not be going where they go, but I’m going where they go. I’ll do what I have to do when they get off track to make sure they get back on track.»
That was God’s covenant with David, and it is God’s covenant with all His people. Psalms 18:15 states great deliverance for him and his seed. Psalms 103:17 says the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting to those who fear Him, extending righteousness to His children and His children’s children. Luke 1:50 states His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation. 2 Timothy 1:5, Paul says to Timothy, «The faith I saw in your grandmother Lois, I saw it also in your mother Eunice, and I’m persuaded it is in you also.» In other words, he is saying your faith is not going to die. Your love for God is not going to die. It’s going to grow stronger and stronger from generation to generation.
Praying for Grandchildren
I have two grandsons now, Gio and Solomon. You hear a lot more about Gio; he’s three years old now. Solomon is six months old. You don’t hear much about Solomon because Gio won’t let me touch him. I have to sneak in my Solomon time behind Gio’s back. My point is you hear a lot probably around here about Gio. If you’ve come to the church, you hear me talk a lot about him. I have a problem—a big problem. I don’t know what to do with this problem. I don’t want it to go away, and it’s my grandkids. I’m obsessed with them.
They say that if he’s walking down the hallways and some of you see him, you might say, «Oh, hey, Gio!» You talk to him like you know him. You don’t know him; I know him. But because I talk to you about him, you feel like you know him. You feel a connection to him that you don’t really have, but you have a connection with me. And because of our connection; I talk about Gio, you feel a strange commitment to him just by talking. I don’t know; maybe you don’t, but some of you do. Whereas if I ran into your grandchildren and you hadn’t talked to me about them, though Gio is no more important than yours, I wouldn’t have the same connection because you haven’t shared about that grandchild.
So, when I go to my prayer place and talk to God about Gio and Solomon, I mention the gifts I see in them and ask God to protect them, preserve them, and surround them with angels like a shield. I pray that they love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. Do you understand what is going on? Gio may one day say, «I don’t want to serve God. I don’t want to love God the way Daddy did and Granddaddy did.» But what I already know is that no matter where he goes and what he does, there’s a special connection that God has to Gio because I’ve talked to God so much about him.
God is committed to him because He is committed to me. He’s in a covenant not just with me, but because of our relationship, Gio is pulled into that covenant I’ve made with the Lord.
God Sees Our Families Differently
I’m just here to say that God looks at your family differently than someone who does not know Him. I’m not saying they’re more important; I’m just saying there is a different connection that God has with them because you talk to Him about your babies and grandbabies. Because you talk to God about them, there is a difference when they walk by and when they go through something in life; there is a different level of attention they get.
You still don’t believe me? I’ll prove it. What I’m saying is when you read the Word, when you pray, when you spend time with God, when you worship, when you give, and when you serve in God’s house, it is bigger than you. It is broader than here and now. We are affecting future generations. My goal is to help you see it in the Bible today.
Solomon’s Temple Dedication
So, 11 years after David died, Solomon dedicates the temple. Think about it. It took 10,000 men to cut the cedars of Lebanon to build the great Solomon’s temple. It would take another 150,000 laborers who would work 24 hours a day in shifts, seven days a week for 11 years to build this beautiful temple to honor God. On the dedication day, 3 million people were in attendance. 4,000 were ushering; another 4,000 were in the choir or orchestra. When Solomon dedicated the temple, he ended his prayer by saying, «Remember the mercies promised to my father David.» The Bible says that this so touched God’s heart that the glory of the Lord filled that temple, that the presence of God was so weighty and dense that the priests couldn’t stand up to minister God’s word, and the people fell down on their faces, praising God, worshiping, and giving Him thanks, saying, «He is good, and His love endures forever.»
The next generation caught a glimpse of what happens when one generation reminds God of the former generation’s obedience and covenant. The glory of God comes on that generation. That generation just needs to know, yes, God loves you, yes, God is for you, but there was an account that somebody before you poured into, and now that is accumulated, and there’s been some interest compounding, and God pours that out on the next generation.
It’s because they reminded God, «God, I know what my daddy did, my granddaddy. I know how they loved You, and I know that You settled it in their lives that You were going to pour that out in a different measure in mine.» So, don’t underestimate your prayers. Don’t underestimate your faithfulness. You may feel like it doesn’t look like much is happening, but don’t get discouraged. That’s how storing something up begins. It doesn’t seem to move much at first, but you’ve got to keep on making deposits because you’re storing up mercy that will be multiplied in the next generation.
A Personal Testimony of Generational Faith
Many of you know my story. I was 16 years old when I walked into a church on a Saturday night and heard the gospel for the first time, and it touched my life. I went to an altar, and they prayed with me a prayer that forever changed my life. They gave me a little Bible that I immediately started reading. I jumped right in, all in to the life of the church. I love the church. The church is flawed; the church is messy at times, but I love the church because it is the very thing that introduced me to the one we just sang about—there is no one like Him.
For many years, I would hear about how parents that serve God and love God experience a generational blessing and how it works. Sometimes I would feel like I didn’t really understand it; I felt like I was in some ways what I felt was first-generation, but I kind of felt left out until one day Sarah and I were dating. I went to visit my great-grandmother. I knew she had some religious background because she would put little Bible verses on birthday cards and send me $5. My great-grandma always sent me $5 in a birthday card. But I had never had a conversation with her. The only time I’d ever been around her was at reunions and things like that, so I couldn’t recall a real conversation.
One day, Sarah and I went to visit her. She was getting old and probably didn’t have much time left. This time, it was just Sarah and I sitting down with my great-grandmother. She started talking about God in a way I knew that she knew Him, in a way that I didn’t even know the Lord at that point—probably still don’t. I heard stories about how, when she was pregnant with my grandmother’s older brother, she was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and God supernaturally healed her.
When we walked into the house, I said, «Grandma, what have you been doing?» She replied, «Oh, I just woke up from a nap.» Then she got startled and looked over at the curtains and said, «Oh, I can’t believe He did that.» I was confused. «What are you talking about?» She explained, «Well, you know, your great-grandfather’s not around anymore, and I needed the curtains hung up, and I’m too old to hang the curtains up. I told God, 'You said You’d be a husband to the widow. I’m going to take a nap, and I need you to hang the curtains up.'»
She knew God in a way that, most of you are like, «Yeah, right.» But I’m looking at the curtains, and she knew Jesus—He’s a carpenter; He’s got some skill. He threw those curtains up.
The Drift Across Generations
My grandparents were salt-of-the-earth people. My grandfather was probably one of the best men in terms of his word and how he loved his family that I’ve ever met. But the church thing, the God thing—not so much. He respected it; he didn’t mind if my grandma went off to church. The drift was slow. It wasn’t that he didn’t have respect and regard for religious things; it just wasn’t for him.
The drift went from a woman who believed Jesus hung the curtains to a more general belief—“I’m not going to be too much into the ‘Jesus’ stuff» like the former generation was—but I’ll give a nod of respect, both for them and for that other generation. Then my dad shows up on the planet with his brothers and sisters. For the most part, if you looked at the Jesus that my great-grandmother knew, it was not experienced in any way, shape, or form in my dad’s life.
The Bible says the way that it works is that there’s a generation who knows God, and there’s a generation who knows of God. Then, look at the drift—there’s a generation that knows not God.
Generations in the Wilderness
The generation that knows Him is there when the plagues hit Egypt; they watch as they walk out of being enslaved for generations. They’re there when the Red Sea parts, and they walk across on dry land. They witness the Red Sea close in on and swallow up Pharaoh’s armies. They’re there for the supernatural provision of manna every single day; they taste that manna; they remember it. They’re there when the cloud leads them by day and the fire by night. They know God.
They’re not perfect; they mess up. They whine and complain, wishing, «I’m fine with the manna, but I wish You’d give me a little bit more.» They would complain like we all do. They would mess up, and God would have to fix that. But they knew God; they did not merely know about His miracles—they experienced those miracles firsthand.
Then, the next generation comes along, and they weren’t the ones in the wilderness. They show up in Canaan; there’s no more manna. There’s no water coming out of a rock. The Red Sea isn’t parting for them; none of that is happening. They’re living in the miracle that their parents had believed for. So, they know of the manna; they know of coming out of Egypt. They know of how God swallowed up the enemy in the Red Sea because they heard about it from Mom and Dad. They didn’t experience it; they heard it from their parents. They knew of it.
In the same way, the following generation knew not God because this generation wasn’t sharing firsthand accounts; they barely talked about it because it didn’t happen to them. So how could they tell the next generation about it? Because it didn’t happen for them; it happened for grandma and grandpa. The drift begins to happen—the slow drift begins to occur.
But the same thing in the Bible happens that has happened in my family; God’s covenant is that He’s not going to forget the family. He’s not going to forget your seed. Again, it’s the line through the ages that He’s looking at. Somehow God just said, «I see the prayers of that great-grandmother, and I understand that, » and my grandparents got saved—they were born again. My grandpa, on his deathbed, had a pastor walk him through his encounter with God, his salvation experience, and it was real. He even regretted losing all those years that he spent away from God. My dad—he might be on his way there; we’re still working on it.
But my point is this: God jumped over that and found a 16-year-old kid because God’s covenant in my life, I believe, is connected somehow. You may not even know where you are in your lineage, but somebody was praying, and someone was making an inheritance. Just because you haven’t seen that inheritance taken advantage of, I believe God has stored that mercy up for you, and you found your way into a church today; somehow, God will show you His mercy for someone else’s sake.
God’s Faithfulness Centuries Later
In 2 Kings 11, this is 23 years after David has been gone. Solomon is messing up, and God says, «I’ll take the kingdom from you, but I’m not going to because of your father.» I will not remove the kingdom for your father’s sake. Solomon, if it were just about Me and you, I’d be dealing with this. But I’m factoring in because David talked so much to God about Solomon. «I haven’t been the perfect dad; I messed up along the way. I wasn’t the best example. But don’t give up on my boy.» He didn’t break the covenant with Solomon for David’s sake.
In 1 Kings 15, 57 years later, the great-grandson of David, Jeroboam, is sacrificing children to a false god. Nevertheless, for David’s sake, the Bible says the Lord did not remove the light or the lamp from Jerusalem but kept it there. He kept the commitment to Jerusalem even amidst all that and literally jumped all the way to Jeroboam’s son. God grabbed hold of Jeroboam’s son to turn Jerusalem back to Israel and Jerusalem back to God. God didn’t give up when He saw the wickedness of Jeroboam because God had made a covenant with David to his seed.
«I’m going to make sure that I keep that covenant. It’s never going away. I’m not breaking it, no matter what the other side of that covenant looks like. I’m going to stay faithful to the covenant I made with David.»
In 2 Kings 19, this is 305 years after David is dead. Hezekiah is surrounded by the Assyrian army, and God says, «For my sake and for my servant David’s sake, I will deliver you.» The angel of the Lord struck down 180,000 Assyrian soldiers at once, completely wiping them out. Hezekiah was delivered, and he was saying to God, «God, why did You do this for me? Why did You deliver me? Why did You act in such a supernatural way for me?» And God said, «It’s because of your great-great-great-great-great-granddaddy David that I delivered you.»
I don’t know how far my life is going to reach, but I do know I’m naive if I’m just thinking about my life for my life’s sake. I have to be weighing out that at some point the scales are going to be weighed in generations to come. I need to make sure I’m laying up something for them so that God can come in and say, «You know what? They’re surrounded right now. That enemy looks like he’s going to take them out, looks like they don’t have a chance. There’s no hope; there is no way out of this. But it’s alright. I remember the covenant I made with the former generation, and I’m going to keep it in this generation. They’re going to have victory that they don’t even know why they have it.»
The Enemy’s Attack on the Home
Matthew 12:43–44 speaks about an unclean spirit that leaves a house. When it comes back, the Bible says it can bring seven times more, but it comes back to the house. Notice the emphasis is not on the individual; the emphasis is on the home. The enemy knows when God sees me make a commitment to Him, He sees not only did He get me, but He’s going to stay committed to my family. The enemy, in the same way, wants to get you, but the real commitment to the devil is if you let him in, he knows to stay after your babies and grandbabies. He knows if he can get you to open the door, he will find his way into the whole home.
In the same way that God wants to get a hold of your life for generations to come, the devil wants to get a hold of your life because he cares about future generations as well. He knows that if he can keep generations walking further and further away from God, his mission is accomplished—to steal, kill, and destroy.
Known by Our Fruit
A tree, the Bible teaches, is known by its fruit. You don’t ever have to wonder what kind of tree it is once you experience the fruit. All you have to do is reach up, grab the fruit, and you won’t have to wonder, «I wonder what kind of tree this is.» You grab that apple; that’s an apple tree. It’s not maybe; it’s not, «Is it an apple tree?» It’s not, «I hope it’s an apple tree.» Grab the fruit; that’s an apple tree. Your family tree also has fruit. You don’t have to wonder what kind of tree it is. Simply reach up and grab the fruit. The fruit tells us about the tree.
I’m not saying that everything the tree produces is always perfect; I’m saying you know the kind of tree.
Exchanging Trees at the Cross
When Jesus died on Calvary, the Bible says He died on a tree—the cross—a tree. Cursed is any man who hangeth on a tree. He died on a tree. When you and I come to that tree, whatever our family tree has been before that moment, we exchange not just our sin at the cross, not just our sickness and disease at the cross; at that moment we make an exchange.
We say, «Whatever the tree has been like before me, whatever iniquity has been stored up, there is a line drawn before me. Whatever debts that have not been collected, whatever sins that are still being paid for, whatever consequences that the enemy knew were not going to just be realized in one generation but will be compounded in other generations.» Isn’t that amazing—how it may start off small in one generation, but the addiction grows in the next and the next? You can see it; you can see how it gets worse.
But when you come to the cross, you exchange your family tree. There is a brand new beginning. The debts are paid; the debts are canceled. The Bible says He was bruised for our iniquities. Now what happens is you get to put your roots down into something different. You get to make sure you’re drawing on the right things, and God will produce through you godly fruit, spiritual fruit, God-honoring fruit because you showed up and said, «God, I don’t want to keep passing down to the next generation the mistakes, sins, and failures of former generations. I’m going to trust You with my life.»
When you trust Him with your life, you pass on that godly legacy. Your prayers never die. Your walk with God never dies. Your love for God, your heart for God lives on and on and on, even after you’re gone.
Prayer for Families
And I want to pray today, just for a minute, for the family. I want to pray, and I’m actually going to give you a chance to pray for your family—spend some time with God thinking about them.
Again, all week, we’ve been ministering to young people, so it’s on my mind. In this service, I just want us to spend time stretching our faith towards our children and our children’s children. Just talking to God about them. I love that God walks by and sees little Gio. «Oh, hey, you’re Gio. How do you know him?» «Well, I hear your grandpa talk about him all the time.»
So, can we talk about our children? Can we whisper the name of our children and our children’s children if we have them? Or your future children? Maybe it’s your time to say, «God, would You give me a man of God? Would You give me a woman of God for my spouse? God, would You help me be courageous to stay the course? All of our young people, wait for the person that God has for you.»
Amen. Let’s stand on our feet.
Altar Call for Knowing God Personally
There are three groups of people: you know Him, you know of Him, or you don’t know Him. Every eye closed, every head bowed. If you’re here today and you’d say, «Marcus, I know of God. I know of Him. I’ve heard the stories from my parents.» I want to be clear: God in no way looks at your life and wants to know how your parents felt about Him, how your uncle felt about Him, or how your grandma felt about Him. When God shows up in your life, He wants to know, «What have you done with Me? How do you feel about Me? Does your life honor Me? Is your life being lived to please Me?»
Don’t think that just because of what they did, God’s lovingkindness is there for you merely for their sake. It’s important that you stop and say, «God, thank You for not being done with me. You haven’t given up on me.» I just want to say it’s not enough to know of Him; you need to know Him. It’s not good enough just to know about Him; you must know Him firsthand.
Are you forgiven? Are you in a relationship with Jesus Christ? Or maybe you’re here and you don’t know Him at all. You say, «I don’t know God. I’m not in a relationship with God. I’ve been doing my own thing, living my life.» But maybe you’re here today and say, «I want a relationship with God. I want that God connection.» What do I do? Well, you just stop right where you are. Every eye is closed, every head is bowed.
In just a moment, I’m going to invite you to lift your hand, and we’ll pray with you. You’d say, «Marcus, I fit into one of those two categories. I do not know Jesus Christ. I’ve not put my trust in Him. I’m not born again. I’m not saved. I don’t know who Jesus is. I need forgiveness. I need a new beginning. I need a new start. I want a relationship with God. I want to know the God you’re talking about. I want to know Jesus today. I need forgiveness and a new beginning.»
If that’s you, on the count of three, lift that hand as high as you can. One, at all our locations. One, two, three. Throw that hand up as high as you can. Thank you. Thank you. Keep it raised. Thank you. God bless you. Anyone else? Let me see that hand. Thank you. God bless you, sir. Anyone else? Amen. Thank you, Jesus.
Salvation Prayer and Family Worship
Let’s all put our hands on our hearts. I’m going to pray. We’re going to go into a prayer time, a worship time in just a second for our families. But let’s begin with this because you just drew the line in the sand. God’s starting fresh with you for the next generation. Say this with me: «Jesus, thank You for dying on that cross. It was my sin that You were paying a price for. I want to say thank You for paying my debt, for forgiving me. I acknowledge that I’ve not served You. I’ve not walked with You and I ask You now to forgive me, cleanse me, and wash me. I believe that You’re God’s only Son. Now, I confess it with my mouth what I believe in my heart. I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. I ask You now to be the Lord of my life. I don’t know how this works, but from this point on, I desire a relationship with You. I want to get to know You.»
Now, Father, I pray for every other person that’s here—all those who know the Lord. Can we take just a moment and lift up our families? I’m going to invite some prayer partners to come. As they come, maybe you’re here and you’d say, «I have a real need. I’m facing a real challenge in my marriage or with one of my children.» Maybe you want somebody to stand and pray with you personally. Feel free to do that over the next few moments as we worship. But for many of you, can we just take a moment as we sing this song once again? Can we pray for our babies, our grandbabies, pray for our youth camp this week? Pray for God to continue to use us to be a church that considers the generational covenant we make with God and that God makes with us.
Can we sing it together? Come on. I’m lifting up Savannah and Lauren and Luke, Lauren’s future husband. I’m lifting up Gio and Solomon. I’m lifting up my extended family, the Caves and River and Addie. Come on. I’m praying for my family and Judah. I lift them up to You, Jesus. Keep them in the palm of Your hand. Come on, talk to the Lord about them. If their hearts are broken, if they’ve been captured by some sin, talk to Him about them and worship. There is no one else like Him. There is no one else like You, for You are great; You do miracles so great. There is no one else like You. Oh, there is no one else like You. You are great; You do miracles so great. There is no one else like You. There is no one else like You.
Amen. We pray for our families; we pray for our future children, some of those who are here. We pray for our children, our children’s children, and the generations to come. Father, give us the wisdom to look at our lives and say, «God, help me pass on a spiritual inheritance. Help me store up mercy for those I’ll never meet, but that somehow my life and my obedience will touch. Give me the wisdom to know how important this life is and that I will live through what I leave for future generations.» In Jesus' name.
Bless the families that are here. For every parent that has a lost son or daughter, a lost grandson or granddaughter, Father, we’re praying for them today as a church family. We’re asking for You to bring them home. We’re asking for You to turn their lives around. We’re asking, Father, for Your lovingkindness to endure in their lives. In Jesus' name. Do what You have to do. You promised David You would do it; that You might have to correct them and deal with them. You might have to let life beat them up a little bit, but that You would never allow Your faithfulness to not be realized in their lives. In Jesus' name, we all said a big amen. Amen.