Divine Mercy – by Apostle Paul Oduneye

Divine Mercy

Hallelujah!
The message I want to preach is entitled Divine Mercy which is mercy from above, from the God Almighty, the Creator of the universe.
Before going deeply, let’s move into the Bible, according to Romans 9:15-16 “For He has said to Moses, I will have mercy in whom I will give mercy, and I will have compassion to whom I will have compassion. So then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth but of God that showeth mercy.”
Wow!
What the Bible is revealing to us here is that the success and the joy in life, the blessings of heaven, the goodness from the King of glory are not achieved by the ability of human beings but by the approval of God’s mercy. The mercy of God is very important to be perceived this way, that’s why the Bible says, it’s not of him that runneth, nor of him that willeth but it is him that God sheweth mercy. The passage is said unto Moses, “I will give mercy in whom I will give mercy”. Here is a depiction of God as a merciful God and through His mercy, God’s miracles, blessings and wonders can be released also to each and everyone of us.
I’m praying by the authority of God, in the name of Jesus, everyone that is reading this message now, the mercy of God will be your portion. The Lord God of mercy will fill your home, family, ministry and your life with the mercy from the throne of God, in the precious name of Jesus.

In the Christiandom, mercy is a very important treasure of heaven. Mercy somehow, is a relative of favor and grace. But I will tell you the little difference between them, before I go deeply. When we talk about favor, it is an unmerited grace of God upon human life. Something you do not desire or wish to have but you receive.
But when we talk about mercy, it is kind of “God sparing us from battling with what we deserve but He favored us instead of rewarding us with it.

Mercy is better explained this way. Most human beings commit mistakes that they deserve to be destroyed. These mistakes cause them to perish but because of mercy which God offers, they are rescued instead of being condemned That’s why God said, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”. The mercy of God is what rescues the sinner who is supposed to perish or die. It is this same mercy that brings peace to those who are supposed to be condemned.
We can infer that divine mercy is a significant gift from God, that instead of being rewarded for our mistakes, with our failure to do good, God gave His gift of mercy to change our story for good. What a good God we are serving! He is a good Father. We have seen His acts of mercy happening in the Bible very often. And it’s happening in our generation as well.

When the mercy of God is upon your life, no matter how people expect bad luck or misfortune to be following you, God’s mercy will rescue you. When the mercy of God is upon your life, no matter how unqualified you think you are, or you think you are doomed to fail, courtesy of the devil or tour mockers, the mercy of God will rescue you.
I don’t know what situations you might be in now. Probably, people condemn you, they see you as a hopeless case. Or God doesn’t like you, you cannot move an inch closer to Him because you are too dirty (with sin) or you can’t be successful in life. I have a good news for you! God is a God of mercy and He has a plan of giving mercy to you. And through that mercy, He is ready and willing to clean every mess of your life. You need to embrace the mercy of God. The Bible talks about a certain woman in Luke 7:13, who lost her only child. This woman, a widow, seems to have lost all hope. On the way to cemetery to bury the boy, she was crying. The Bible says in verse 13, when Jesus appeared in the scene, He felt compassion for the woman. The mercy of the Lord flowed to the woman and through that, the boy came back to life.

You may be experiencing hurdles in life that cause you sorrow, but I want to tell you that in this season, God is going to intervene in your life and in your house, in the mighty name of Jesus! You just need to believe in this message of mercy. It is for you reading this message now. When you thought it is finished, you thought you didn’t qualify, when you feel destined to be punished, the mercy of God will prevail. The Bible says “Mercy prevails over judgement.” Hallelujah!

That’s what God’s mercy is. That’s what God is. He is a good God, a merciful God. The mercy of God is greater than any of our mistakes yesterday. Because of the mistakes yesterday, the problems, the failures last year, five years or a few weeks ago, wherever you and whatever failed, I have a good news for you! In the book of Lamentations 3:22, “The mercy of God is new every morning.” Day by day, there is new release of mercy. God is releasing fresh mercy for your life and upon your family, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen!

Maybe you are in a situation where your husband whose lifestyle you are not satisfied with, is on the verge of perishing. Or the relationship is one of shame to you. Maybe this woman is your problem, or this relative, or a maybe this parent. Whoever your problem is, I want to tell you the mercy of God can rescue anyone . It’s not yet finished until God say it is finished . So, therefore, don’t conclude about the situation of your children , the mercy of God is new every morning. By the authority in the name of Jesus, right now as I am preaching this message, God is releasing new mercy upon you . In the precious name of Jesus! It is the mercy of God that gave second chance to the prodigal son in the Bible . The prodigal son messed up everything right in the beginning. It seemed there was nowhere for him to go but return to the right path. And mercy follows.

You also might be thinking of you have missed the way, lost the zest, you didn’t need to go to church anymore, God doesn’t love you anymore or people don’t like you. I want to tell you, the mercy of God never changes. His mercy is available to rescue anyone. Don’t let the devil condemn you, stop condemning yourself, trust in the mercy of God. And through it, the same God who gave the prodigal son a second chance can give you the same. You can enjoy the mercy of God afresh, in the precious name of Jesus . Amen!

But one thing I observed in the Bible , despite the fact that God’s mercy is available to everyone, we need to understand that we still have a role to do: choose mercy . That’s why He said, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”. Every human being who wishes to enjoy the mercy of God must understand how to choose this mercy. It depends on what to choose. That is why it said in the passage, “He said unto Moses and I will have mercy in whom I will have mercy”. In other words, God is saying, “everybody may not qualify for mercy, but I’m going to have a mercy whomsoever I will have mercy”. That simply means that there are qualifications, some requirements. There are some things that we need to do in order to enjoy the flow of the mercy of God. This suggests that not everybody can avail the mercy of God if one will not follow the principle of God for mercy. That is why in this message, I would like to tell you some important kingdom principles that can help you enjoy the divine mercy all the day of your life.
I believe that you are excited to know. I would like to tell you five principles to avail of God’s mercy. Make use of these principles on a daily basis, so that you can enjoy the flow of divine mercy. Hallelujah ! Amen !

1.Return to God.
If we say divine mercy, its source is not the devil. It is not from the devil, there’s no mercy in him. Satan is wicked he doesn’t show mercy to anybody. He is looking for victims and are off to destroy them. So, when you move with the devil, you miss the mercy of God . For you to enjoy the mercy of God, the beginning of the release starts with returning to God. Probably, you might have gone far with devil, maybe happened to be a child of God’s minister. You were born growing up in the ministry, you had a ministry experience, you’ve been part of a Christian community before, but because of worldly sins and lust, you have been carried away by the devil. The enjoyment of this world caught up with you and you must have thought that it is how you just end up in life. This should not be! God loves you! He’s going to call you again and you need to get connected back to Him. Upon returning to God, there is sure available mercy. According to the book of 2Chronicles 30 verse 9 , the Bible says , when you return to God , the mercy of God will be upon you. He will be merciful to you, so it doesn’t matter how far you have gone now. God still loves you . He wants to show you mercy. Make sure you decide to come back to Him, make sure you make a decision to maintain your relationship with God , so that you will not lack His mercy.
Not only that , if you want to enjoy the mercy of God , you want God to be merciful to you . Another thing is:

2.Abide in the throne of mercy.
Now, it is one thing to return to God to give your life to Him but it is another thing to abide . There are many people who have returned to God, have surrendered themselves to God, but returned to the devil in the next few. Such people may not enjoy the flow of mercy. If you want to enjoy the flow of God’s mercy , make a choice to abide at the throne of God’s mercy as emphasized in the book of Hebrew 4:16 , the Bible says Come, let’s come boldly at the throne of mercy, so that we can obtain grace in time of help. The throne of mercy here simply means “in the presence of God”. You must be present in His presence, continually. Not only one time but it has to be in your lifetime . According to the Bible, in the book of Psalm 23:5, it says, Godness and mercy shall follow me in all the days of my life. Now, why? Reason is “bacause I will dwell in the presence of God forever and ever.” This is the condition, for you to enjoy goodness and mercy all the days of your life, you must make a decision to value the presence of God . Either appearing in the church regularly or in a fellowship or the cell group or in your personal devotion with God, in your home, at your office or in reading the Bible, reading a book, listening to or watching videos. These are the ways for you to abide in the presence of God . Very important personal question: how long , how many days do you read your Bible or have you spent at least 15 minutes of your time in prayer? There are many of us who have lost that kind of relationship, it shouldn’t be so. If you really want that continuous flow of mercy, be sure you are in a relationship with him. Intimacy with him, being in His presence is very important. Never let one day pass without creating an atmosphere of communion with God . Hallelujah!

3.If you want to enjoy the flow of mercy from God, be merciful.
As I have mentioned, mercy is not for everybody, Matthew 5:7 says “Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.” So, not everybody will get it. It is obtained only by those who can meet this condition: to have compassion for others. Enjoying God’s compassion and His mercy, but cannot share the same for others sounds impossible. Enjoying God’s mercy entails knowing how to be merciful to others and showing it. There are many people on earth who have lots of food, who have houses, who have money in their pocket but are unmindful of others who lack crying for money, begging for food, who need amelioration. These privileged people don’t care if their brothers suffer moving on with their lives driving their big cars. They pass by mendicant people unconcerned focusing on where they are going. Some people do not care if their pastor has something to eat. No, that should not be! Those who enjoy constant flow of mercy need to be naturally inspired to help others. It is innate in them to have mission of mercy for others. The more you love to show mercy to others, greater mercy from God awaits them. That is why Jesus said “Blessed are the merciful, for they will enjoy the mercy to the glory of God.” Many people are wondering about the pastor’s generosity in sharing load , giving this and sharing that. The secret behind this generosity is the awareness that the more one shows mercy, he can never lack the mercy of God . That’s it! Hallelujah!

4.Fear God. Let the fear of God be in you.

According to Luke 1: 50, Those that fear God, He will show mercy to them. The Word of God tells us that to enjoy the mercy of God, just fear God. Allow the fear of God in your life. It’s very important because if you don’t have the fear of God, you may miss His mercy. Sometimes, you just opt to live your life the way you want it, you don’t care what sin you are committing , you don’t even care what is going on in the kingdom of God. You choose to walk with the devil and live your life with him. The fear of God is nowhere in these situations. You may not be able to enjoy the mercy of God that way. That’s why the Bible says, He will show mercy in whom He will show mercy. It qualifies you to obtain the mercy of God if you have the fear of God. Fear of God is abstaining from things that are twins to sinful living. Choose then a Godly life – a life that pleases God. The more you have the fear of God, the faster His mercy flows to you. May the Lord bless you! The fear of God will never depart from you in the name of Jesus. Amen.

5.Another thing is appreciate mercy that open door for greater mercy.
Appreciate open doors of mercy for greater mercy. According to the book of Psalm 136 if you read from verse 1 to the end, it says Blessed be the name of the Lord for He is good and His mercy endures forever” And when He moves, He said, He will do wondrous things. Now, listen, if you want to enjoy the mercy of God, never abuse mercy. Anything that God gives you which you don’t appreciate, you might end up losing them, burnt and lost. If God shows you His mercy, have the spirit of gratitude to appreciate it. There are many people praying for mercy. Pastors can pray for you. Pastors can bless you saying receive the mercy of God, but if you don’t have the appreciative character, you may lose that mercy. The Lord bless you! Your boss gave you a cash gift. God’s plan is after a while He is going to make that boss to give you a car and you received the car. You just said, “What is it?”, shrugged the shoulder, said thank you but never appreciated the gesture. Complaining also closes the door for the coming car. If you don’t want to close the door of mercy for yourself, have an appreciative attitude. Have a gratitude attitude. The Bible talks about ten lepers who came to Jesus. Many of you might have read the Bible story. They came and said, “Jesus, heal us”and Jesus told them, “Go and show yourself to the priest and as they are moving off their way, miracle took place and after that, among the ten, only one came back and said thank you to Jesus. And Jesus said, “There were ten, how come only one stranger came back, where are the others?” They are no longer here, they don’t value the healing, only one did and appreciated it. And Jesus told that one who came back, “You go, your faith healeth thee.” Those remaining nine, thei problem returned back to them. If you want continuous flow of God’s mercy, never be like the nine lepers who got healed and abused mercy. There are some whom God will promote greatly through the life of other people – those that God will connect to you. When they do you just one favor, when God uses them to release certain mercy to you and you ignore them and think that you are wise because that is your character, in effect, you are closing the door of bigger mercy. Any mercy you abuse will never come back again. Never abuse mercy, appreciate it, it may come small today, but greater one is coming that is when your character doesn’t abuse the first one. My preaching right now is showing His mercy to us. I’m not qualified, I am just a human being with limitations and faults but since I value and acknowledge the mercy of God upon me and as I cherish and appreciate this message day-by-day, it will promote me more and elevate me in his mercy. The same thing with you, I don’t know where you are now, I don’t know the people God has connected you to. I don’t know, maybe your pastor has helped you one time but now you are the number one person who talks against him. Maybe some of the brethren have been your helpers before but now that you can afford, that you can already spend on your own, you turned proud and rebellious against them. Remember, every mercy abuse (ingratitude, not reciprocating, demeaning) closes greater doors. Never shut the door of mercy against your self through your character. Appreciate it and God will give you a greater end in the mighty name of Jesus. Appreciate God for His mercy, appreciate also the people He is using around for His mercy, so that the channel will flow more. May the Lord bless you in the mighty name of Jesus.

Prayer: Father in heaven, in the mighty name of Jesus, thank You, King for glory for You have sent me to your people again. Oh Jesus, You are worthy. I commit every reader in Your hands as I deliver what You have sent me, bless all individuals, let your mercy flow to them, let your mercy rescue the sinners. Your people, change their story for good in the mighty name of Jesus. Lord, I declare, door of Mercy that has been closed, right now, let it be opened. Show your mercy for Your people. Let There be testimony, thank You my dear Father. Whosoever needs it right now, show your mercy. Lord God Almighty, rise and reward Your people with Your mercy. Thank You, Father. We give You all the praises, in Jesus mighty name, amen.