OPENING THE DOOR OF MERCY

Glory be to God Almighty for the year 2012. If you are a Nigerian, you will agree that the year started on a rather high note. Let me say here that sometimes, I get really involved in the emotions that trail our national events. But I am too sure this is the year God will open Mercy Doors for Nigeria. Today I will talk about Mercy.

It will be mainly about doors this year. And I will focus on certain 'everlasting doors'. By the end of the year, you would have walked through at least, 12 extra-ordinary doors. I said at the beginning of the year that certain doors have been shut since the foundations of the earth - for reasons best known to God alone. For similar reasons, He is opening those doors one after the other. It is an exciting year. I used to envy Paul the apostle a lot. He was fond of saying certain truths were revealed to him and through him to his generation which have been hidden since the world began (1 Cor. 2:7; Eph. 3:3-10; Rom. 16:25). I have discovered that every generation must press into God and make demands for its own share of God's never ending mysteries.

Oh yes, 'the secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever...' says Deut 29:29. Solomon even said God takes glory in concealing a matter, that (true) kings take glory in searching out the matter. (Prov. 25:2). When you become a believer, you are become a 'fellow' in the mysteries of God (Eph. 3:9; Mat. 13:11). Of course, we have the Spirit that does the searching if only we know how to engage Him (1 Cor 2:11). The devil gets jittery because he cannot even tell how much you know already. He is so full of guess work, and most times in his desperation he advances the very  course of God. (See 1Cor. 2:8). That is why lack of knowledge- not the devil- is the fundamental cause of any believer's suffering (Hos. 4:6). These doors are first of all in your mind, but they are very real. I trust God to open your eyes today
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Let us approach the Door of Mercy together.

1. MERCY IS AT THE CORE OF GOD'S NATURE.

God's mercy endures forever (Psalm 106:1:107:1:
Moses was the man God called 'friend'. God said while He would speak to other prophets in dreams and visions, He spoke with Moses 'face to face'. In other words, He was plain with Moses. (See Num. 12:6-8). Have you wondered how even Genesis was among the Five Books of Moses? Moses was not there in the days of Abraham, how come it was he who wrote about Abraham? Oh, God sat Moses down and dictated all those events to him.

I said all these to say this 'You can go to the bank with what God told Moses'. Moses was so intimate with God that the Psalmist said God made known His ways to Moses and His acts to the rest of Israel. (Psa. 103:7). So I wanted to know some of these 'ways of God' exclusively told Moses. The Psalmist did not waste time to quench my curiousity.  The next line (verse 8) says 'The LORD is merciful... abounding in mercy...'. I wanted to be very sure the Psalmist is right. I decided to probe a little more. In Exodus 33, Moses and God were engrossed in one  of those tete-a-tete, and in verse 13, I heard Moses tell God 'Show me now Your way'. Wao! I perceived that God wanted to talk Moses out of that request, but Moses would not be outdone, so in verse 17, God decided to oblige Moses. I like stories.

Anyway by verse 5 and 6 of Exodus 34, God descended and stood beside Moses and these were His words 'The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious... keeping mercies for thousands...'. He had said earlier in the same parley that 'I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy...' (Exo. 33:19). So the mercy of God is one of the 'ways' that was exclusive knowledge to Moses! Scriptures say our God is rich in mercy (Eph 2:4).  Need I prove it more to you?

2. PREROGATIVE OF MERCY

There is something called the 'Prerogative of Mercy' rooted in British tradition, where only the monarch had the power to withdraw death sentences that a judge had pronounced on a convict. There comes a point where all have been said and done, the man must die. It takes a voice with that special authority to say 'No!'. For many years, no one could guess the factors that would make a monarch reverse a death sentence. Forever and ever, no one can explore all the factors that trigger the mercies of God. Oh, He said 'I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy...' Yoruba calls Him 'Ase eyi owuu'. He does what pleases Him.

I know my generation like principles. We believe God is bound by His principles.  Yes, I agree. But we must know that God's principles are first and foremost extensions of His person. God is first a Character. And mercy is key in His characteristics. And no principle can bind His mercy.

I like Paul. As a lawyer, he attempted to interrogate God and search out the basis for God's mercy on the nation of Israel. That is in Romans 9. By the time he got to verse 18, he encountered the prerogative of God's mercy and he said in verse 20; 'But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God?...' He said God is like a potter, and He makes vessels- some are vessels of honour, others are vessels of dishonour; some are vessels of mercy, others are vessels of wrath.

Job never really complained about his predicament, he just wanted to understand the basis for his suffering. (See Job 23:1-4).  He has kept all there is to keep of God's laws, how did he (as it appeared) fall out of God's mercy? Anyway, by the time God asked Job a few questions, Job exclaimed '... I have uttered what I did not understand. Things too wonderful for me which I did not know' (Job 42:3).

Habakkuk got seriously worried about God's silence in the face of so much perversion of judgement (see Hab. 1:1-4). By the time God answered him, Habakkuk exclaimed in 3:17-18 'Though the fig tree may not blossom... yet will I rejoice'.

Jonah disobeyed God's instruction to go warn Nineveh. By the time he obeyed, God had mercy on Nineveh. Jonah got angry. 'Why did you make a show of me, God? Why not just go ahead and forgive them without me preaching?' I like real people talking to God, not pseudo-righteous people.

Jesus came to demonstrate God's prerogative of mercy at different points of His ministry.  It was a Sabbath day and that was the day the full essence of the Law comes to bear on a Jew. On Sabbath days, he should not do any work- not even cure anyone if you are a physician.  Jesus saw a man with a withered hand on one Sabbath day. He knew the Law but He had mercy on the man and healed Him. That was the day the Phariseees signed His death warrant (Mark 3:1-6).  It is amazing how men can get really mad at God for being Himself. Jesus was face to face with another Sabbath day bait. A woman who for eighteen years had an infirmity that made her bent over was in the synagogue where Jesus was. Jesus healed her- against the Law. (see Luke 13:10-17). Of course, you know the story of the woman caught in the act of adultery and was condemned to die by stoning. Jesus displayed God's prerogative of mercy there (see John 8:1-12). There was also a thief hung beside Jesus at Calvary. God alone has the prerogative of mercy. So in the course of His ministry on earth, Jesus gave us an assignment in Mattew 9: 13 when He said '... Go and learn what this means 'I desire Mercy and not sacrifice'...'.

3. LEARNING MERCY

My generation likes sacrifice. There should be 'Seven Steps' to everything- and when there is none, it does not make sense.  God desires Mercy- not Sacrifice. Sacrifice shows things have gone bad. This is what Jesus said we should learn. So how do we learn Mercy if it has no principles? How did Moses know the ways of God? Scriptures tell us that God's ways are on the seas (Psalm 77:19). If someone walks on the seas, you cannot count on his footsteps. How do we get the footprints of God's mercy? But that is where we are going today, so get ready.

You see, if you have not accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour of your soul, I do not know what is holding you or what you are waiting for. Oh yes, you enjoy His mercies too and that is why you are still alive reading this. But there is an advantage you have in God by salvation. And as a sinner, God forbids that I condemn you. I have commited sins- and this is the truth, I still fall into sin from time to time.  Oh yes, I still enjoy His mercies and look forward to so much more (Jude21). But I am now in a covenant. The covenant of mercy (I will explain this later). Sin has lost its hold on me. I am only inviting you to a higher realm in God's mercy. You cannot afford to be so exposed to the vicissitudes of life. Covenant Covers Completely. What I am talking about is for you to make one conscious decision today to give your life to Jesus. Will you take this chance? No one will even know you are praying, so say this prayer and mean it; 'Lord Jesus, I come to you today as I am. I offer my life, my spirit, soul and body to You. Save me and deliver me from Satan and the power of sin. Wash me with Your blood and make me a new person. Thank You, Father for saving me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

This is the only way I know of that you can truly learn mercy. Because, Paul said we should come boldly to the throne of grace and obtain mercy (Heb. 4:16). You see, if you are in a court, and you plead guilty in a case against you, you have opened yourself up for mercy. That prayer is the access to God's prerogative of mercy.

But I can tell you two other ways you can experiment with God's mercy.
 
   Have mercy on other people (Matthew 5:7; 18:23-35)
    Fear God (Luke 1:50)

4. COVENANT OF MERCY

A covenant is not what we think. We like to think of covenant as having terms and conditions. Of course, that is true. But you must look at every covenant from the perspective of who initiated it. The initiator usually has done the major part of the deal. How can God call you into a covenant and expect so much from you? Why burden yourself? He said "Come unto me, I will give you rest. Take my yoke and it is easy and light' (Matthew 11:28-30 paraphrased). In other words, the yoke you are carrying in the covenant is like you are resting.

So each covenant is unique, each with its own terms. And as far as the covenant of mercy is concerned, you have just kept your own part, if you prayed and meant that prayer above, or if you have prayed a similar one before. See Psalm 25:10; 'All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth, to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies' and the next verse sums up this art of 'keeping His covenant'; '...O LORD, pardon my iniquity for it is great.' The mercy that conquers sin is too much for any devil to handle.

In Psalm 89:28; God said 'My mercy I will keep for him forever, and My covenant shall stand firm with him'. Now God emphasied that no matter what happens, He will never break His covenant of mercy with David. (See Psalm 89:34). That is the mercy that Paul was interrogating in Romans 9.  This is the point where you become an enigma to men and to the devil. This is the door God is opening for Nigeria, and for you.

Mercy door is open today.

Enter.