In this piece, we'll be continuing our Discovering God's Mercy series and we'll be examining The legal Basis for Mercy. Many people ask is this; is the Mercy of God legally obtained? On what basis does the Mercy of God become null and void in the life of a man? The reason we are looking at this is because we know there's devil, the accuser of the brethren. He is so cunny, and so knowledgeable because he had been with God. When God created the devil, the Scriptures revealed to us how God created the devil, the Bible called him the covering cherub, the cherub that covereth, meaning that he had great access to the throne of God, there was nothing that was happening in that atmosphere, or in that realm that the devil was not aware of; as long as he was the covering cherub.

So, you will see that we're dealing with a very old-time enemy that is very knowledgeable because when you see the encounter that the devil had with Jesus, it will show you that the devil had been there: the Bible called him the serpent of old; he is not the Ancient of Days, but he is the serpent of old: it talks about the level of time he had spent before we came on the scene. So, the devil has always been accusing men before God, before you were born. How do I know this? The Bible says that the sons of God presented themselves before God and the devil came with them; that was in the time of Job. What was he doing? He came to accuse. Is there any report they're bringing to God that he can stand against? Why do we have Jesus as an advocate? We have Jesus as an advocate because there's an accuser. What does your accuser do? (These things are legal terms and it's important we understand it). There was a particular teaching that was done on what happens to the actors in the courts of God.

Now, it's important we understand that in the spiritual realm, transaction and business go on, on a minute-by-minute basis till eternity. The book of Job exposes us to the actors that are in the courts of God, he said, the sons of God came to present themselves: what were they doing? Did they come to see the face of God and say, God, how are you doing today? No! They came to present issues, they came with petitions, and they came with issues from the earth. In the book of Revelation, the Bible says there is a particular vessel that contains the prayers of the saints, how is it offered? How is it accumulated? It is presented before God. So, when you come before the presence of God, or a mention of your case is brought before God, there is also an actor called the accuser. The funniest thing about this accuser is that he knows the word of God, he knows who God is, if you read the conversation he had with God during the time of Job, you will know that the devil knew God. He is not ignorant of God, it is just that he refuses to acknowledge God; he wants that throne, he wants that place.

The Bible says, you say you know God, yes, even the demons, they know God and they tremble: so, the devil knows God. If you read the conversation that happened between God and Satan, you will know he knows God. He told God, he said, is it not because you have made an edge around him? He said, if not that you have made an edge around him, I would have gained access. At a point when God said, okay, you can touch what he has, and he touched it and Job did not sin; then the devil came back to God and said, skin for skin, God, a man would do anything for his life. What was he doing? He was moving God to make a decision. And he knows once God makes a decision, the decision is binding on both the devil and man. And when he did that, that's when he had access to afflict the body of Job, until that time: he could not. All that we're emphasizing on is that there is a legal standing in God which the devil is aware of, anything that is illegal the devil will accuse. The devil will stand in accusation over any act of God that does not come from the place of justice because he knows who God is.

So, we’ll be looking at The Legal Basis for Mercy. How can you obtain Mercy and you are confident before the devil that he cannot accuse you of this Mercy you have received from God? How can you obtain the Mercy of God and you are sure without any shadow of doubt, that the devil will only look and eye you and move away; he can do nothing: that's what we want to examine. Mercy is not a right but a gift; that's the first understanding we must have. You receive Mercy as a gift, not a right: it is a gift bestowed by God to mankind. So, it is God's prerogative to give Mercy, it is released based on God's benevolence. So, Mercy is so tied to the person of God: it is released based on God's benevolence; His love and it is not illegal on the earth; even the devil knows that Mercy is not illegal on the earth. The reason why this is important is that the Mercy of God is only legal on the earth, this is one of the things that makes the devil mad.

God's Mercy is not in heaven, God’s Mercy is on the earth. That's why the Bible says it is given for a man to die once after that it is judgment, not Mercy; because the Mercy of God has jurisdiction or an allowance on the earth, not in heaven. Once a man dies and transits this earth realm, the Mercy of God is suspended. What the man will face is judgment, judgment without Mercy. On the earth, we are privileged to the Mercy of God. So, Mercy is not illegal on the earth, but in heaven, God cannot show Mercy. We must have wondered why some of the demons and the angels that followed the devil didn't think at one point or the other to return to God and say, God, you know what we were deceived; let us just come back. God has declared judgment and that’s it; it is on the earth that we receive the Mercy of God. So, when we talk about legal basis, what are we talking about? We're talking about the lawful ground for us to collect or obtain or process the Mercy of God in our lives.

That is why we're talking about legal basis, we're talking about the foundational work that has been done, the groundwork that's been done legally, for us to be able to obtain Mercy. So, we're looking at the foundation that has been laid by God for Mercy to be legal on the earth, and we'll look at three of them.

#. Number One; what makes Mercy legal on the earth is because; It is an expression of who God is. The Bible says that heaven is the throne of God and the earth is His footstool; so, the earth is an extension of His government. So, whenever He wants to express Himself, He can express Himself on the earth and Mercy is an expression of who God is, He cannot deny Himself. Let us see Deuteronomy chapter 4:31, “(for the Lord Your God is a merciful God: it is an expression of Him.) For the Lord Your God is a merciful God, He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.” So, He cannot deny who He is; He is merciful: that is who He is, so He expresses Himself, and the expression of God is legal on the earth. God is love, He expresses that on the earth, and it is legal. God is merciful, He expresses it on the earth and is legal. God is faithful, and He expresses it on the earth and it's legal.

So, it is a concrete legal basis upon which we obtain Mercy and we are not afraid of the accuser. Second John chapter 1:3, “Grace, Mercy and peace will be with you from God (because He has it; it is with Him) the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.” So, God has Mercy, and He chooses to express it, it gives it a legal basis on the earth. God cannot deny Himself; He expresses Himself in Mercy. Let’s see what He said in Exodus chapter 34:6-7, when He wanted to introduce Himself to Moses, He said, “And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, the LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping Mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation.” The LORD, the LORD God, merciful; that is who He is. So, the expression of God as merciful gives a legal standing for Mercy on the earth. So, we receive Mercy because this is who He is; and God cannot deny Himself. The Bible says, of His fullness we have received: so, it is of the fullness of who He is; and remember, we are born of Him.

Genesis chapter 1:26, says, let us make man in our image after our likeness; you cannot tell a father not to pass on to a son, or his daughter, what he has or who he is. So, it's legal, it is who God is and we are His offspring. So, when God expresses Himself as merciful, He is expressing Himself as merciful to His offspring who are part of Him; so, it is legal. When you receive the Mercy of God, you receive it with boldness; that's why the Bible says that we should come boldly, we're not coming as beggars, we're not coming with a limitation: that you are going to have this thing for only a period of time; that the devil will snatch it away from us. No! That's why the Bible says the Mercy of God endures forever because the Mercy of God carries the nature of God; God endures forever, so His mercies endure forever: it is who He is.

 

Lamentations chapter 3:22-23, “Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed because His compassions fail not.” (It's a quality of who He is. His compassion does not fail, so His Mercy does not fail.) They are new every morning; Great is His faithfulness. Now, I want us to look at that critically. When the Bible says the mercies of God are new every morning, does it not talk about a picture of a person? The Bible says, and when the twenty elders will behold God, they will see another dimension of Him, God becomes new to them, even though they have been there before Him for thousands upon thousands and eternity before Him, they will see Him new and they will worship Him that seats on the throne and they will cast their crowns and worship Him. It tells you that the quality of Mercy is the quality of God. That is who He is; He is merciful. You can boldly say God is Mercy. When you see Mercy, you have seen God: (they are new every morning) Mercy has the attributes of God.

 Psalm 103:10-12, “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth (see the quality of Mercy), so great is His Mercy towards those who fear Him. Verse 12, as far as the east is from the west, so far as He removed our transgressions from us.” Can you see the quality of Mercy? Can you separate it from God? No! It is who He is. As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His Mercy. So great is He because this is who He is, His Mercy does not fail. Lastly, on that point, let us see Psalm 25:10, “All the paths of the Lord are Mercy (all; not some path) and truth, to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.” So, you realize that this is an expression of who He is. When you obtained the Mercy of God, you have obtained God. That's why the Bible says, therefore, there is no condemnation: when you receive the Mercy of God, you cannot be condemned because when you are condemned, they are saying that the Mercy of God is without a legal basis (that's why we can boldly sing the song; I'm the one that You have shown Mercy…… I'm not condemned). I have received it on the legal ground of who You are. This is who You are, You have appeared to me; I have received You as merciful. So, I can boldly walk on the earth as one that has obtained Mercy; not afraid.

#. The second legal basis for Mercy is that He created Mercy as a bridge to save us. God created Mercy as a bridge to save us; to reach out to us. So, God created that bridge and it became legal. John chapter 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.” The Bible says that He has translated us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His dear Son. Another translation says He has conveyed us. How did He convey us? He conveyed us on the bridge of Mercy. How did we move from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His dear Son? He created a bridge, and that bridge that He created was Christ. And that's why the ministry of Christ is a ministry of reconciliation; reconciling men back to God. Conveying men back to their Father. God created Mercy as a bridge and He made it legal, because if God did not make it legal, Jesus wouldn't have died. Bible says, and Jesus became the propitiation for our sins, He became the required justifiable sacrifice that was needed for us.

So, God in Christ created Mercy as a bridge and the death of Jesus made that legal. That is why every time we come in the blood: the Bible says, we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, not our own righteousness but the righteousness of Christ. So, Christ becomes the bridge, the medium through which we have access to God: He is the bridge and He made it legal. So, when God wanted to reach out to mankind, He created Mercy as a bridge in Christ. Titus chapter 3:4-6, “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior towards man appeared, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to His Mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through (the bridge) Jesus Christ, our Savior.” Bible says that the Mercy of God, the kindness and the love of God appeared to mankind according to His Mercy; so that gives us a legal basis.

How can you receive the Mercy of God and still be bold and confident without condemnation? Because Jesus have become the bridge of that Mercy, and God created that bridge legally. God could have said, after all, I created you devil, and I created these men, give them back to Me. But if He had done that, the devil will even accuse God as been inconsistent with who He is. After all, you said, You are a just God; this is not justice, Adam sold his entire race to me, You can't just come and take it over like that. That's why the Bible says, we have been purchased by the blood; He bought us back legally. That's why in the realm of the Spirit, the blood of Jesus is powerful, he said there are three that agree upon the earth; that bear record on the earth; the spirit, the blood, and the water: they bear record, so they stand in testimony of the legal basis of God.

So, when God was going to reach out to mankind in His Mercy, He created a bridge that makes it legal for Him to reach out to mankind in His Mercy. Ephesians chapter 2:4-5, “But God, who is rich in Mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive (how did He make us? Alive; He created a legal basis) together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” God who is rich in Mercy, because of His love, made us alive. 1 Peter chapter 1:2-3, “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus, Grace to you, and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant Mercy has begotten us again (according to His abundant Mercy He has begotten us again; He has reached out to us again) to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” If Jesus just came on the scene and died and His bones got rotten; there would be no bridge, but the amazing thing is that Jesus died, He resurrected, He ascended and the Bible says, He is seated at the right hand of the throne of God; that gave us a bridge. That transfiguration of Christ created a bridge for us; His death is like points that you could Join together. If Jesus did not ascend, it's also a challenge; if He is not seated, it is also a challenge.

So, the process had to be complete for the breach to be formed and solid, because if Jesus did not ascend and if He is not seated, you don't have an advocate. (Because when the devil comes with accusation saying, LORD, according to Your will, as documented in Your eternal agenda concerning this man and this is what is recorded.) What we need Mercy for is that we find grace. Grace is God's supply to us out of His fullness. Now, you need that grace to be able to operate as God on the earth, but you necessarily need to obtain Mercy to find the grace. So, what the devil is always after is to stop you at the place of Mercy. If you don’t obtain Mercy, you can't find grace. The devil says, why should you reach out to her? After all, see the evidence I gathered on the earth when I was walking to and fro; then Jesus appears as Your advocate, says, Father, she has confessed Me, she believes in Me and My blood is speaking for her on the earth, and God ceases to see you in your imperfections and inadequacies, what He sees is the perfection of Christ on you.

Then automatically you have obtained Mercy by that bridge of Christ. That's why the Bible says it is not our works. What can you do to obtain Mercy? How far can you go? While Jesus was teaching, He said until your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the Pharisees, do you know the kind of things they subject themselves to? All the laws of Moses. If you go back and read Exodus and Deuteronomy, Leviticus and Numbers and see the number of laws, you will know you're a sinner; that's why the bridge of Christ is our lifeline to receiving grace.

#. The third reason why the Mercy of God is legal on the earth is that God chooses the recipient or the benefactors of His Mercy. It is God's prerogative, that He shows Mercy and He chooses those that He shows His Mercy to. Romans chapter nine. Romans chapter 9:15-16, “For He says to Moses, I will have Mercy on whomever I will have Mercy and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion. I want us to see the difference between the love of God and the Mercy of God. You see, embedded in the love of God is the Mercy of God; but the love of God does not equal the Mercy of God. God loves everyone but does not show Mercy to everyone. God loves sinners; He has created a bridge to reach out to them. The Bible says God gave up Christ to die for us in hope; that's love. But when it comes to the Mercy of God, God chooses. He said, I will have Mercy on whomever I will have Mercy and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion, so then, it is not of him who wills, so you cannot just will to receive the Mercy of God; it is not of him who wills nor of him who runs but it is of God who shows Mercy. It is not of him who wills: I will that I just get this thing done, I become this, I become that; it is not of him who wills.

 

It is not of him who runs: about your ability, what you can do, what you can make happen for yourself, no! but it is of God who shows Mercy; it is His prerogative. So, what makes God's Mercy legal on the earth is that He chooses the recipients of His Mercy. When God chooses to have Mercy on you, and He has Mercy on you, no one can upturn it because it is His choice. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, He is Kabiosi: you can’t ask Him why He has chosen to do what He has done. And the purpose of God, the intent of God, the Word of God and the actions of God stands sure. So, when God looks unto you with Mercy, know that He has given you a legal basis, He has given you a ground upon which you will find grace and don't take Him for granted because He chooses the recipients of His Mercy.

1 Peter chapter 2:10, “Who once were not a people, but are now the people of God who had not obtained Mercy but now have obtained Mercy.” So, when you were there in the kingdom of darkness, you had not obtained Mercy. That's why as believers, don't take the Mercy of God for granted. Don't treat your salvation with levity, it is because you have obtained Mercy. Many people are wallowing in darkness, not because they don't want to be in the light; Bible says the god of this world has blinded their eyes and God has refused to show them Mercy. We remember the story of Cornelius; Cornelius could have continued like that: giving alms, being a devout man, doing all the things he is doing and it will continue to be a memorial and God will not show him Mercy. And in the final day, Cornelius will appear before God and God will say to Cornelius, Cornelius, you tried but you were not perfect; because the perfection of men is that they are in Christ.

And Cornelius would have been shocked, weep bitterly but there is no Mercy there; that’s why on the earth God chose to show him Mercy, sent an angel to him in the dream, go and find Peter. He is in the house of Simon the tanner, get him to come so that I can have Mercy on you. Once Cornelius did not obtain Mercy, but now have obtained Mercy; once we did not obtain Mercy, but now we have obtained Mercy because God has chosen us: many are called, few are chosen. God has chosen us as the few that have received His Mercy in Christ Jesus. Do you know with all the patience and longsuffering of God, some people will still not accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Some people will be living around the message, they will be walking around the message and will still not accept Him. Look at how you received salvation, is it because you are better off than somebody else? Is it because you thought and you thought so well and you made an important decision of your life? It is because you obtained Mercy; because God chose you to be a recipient of His Mercy.

I want us to see Micah chapter 7:18-19, “Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in Mercy. Verse 19, He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities.” He delights in Mercy but He chooses a recipient of His Mercy. And how God shows Mercy is amazing. If you read the book of Psalm, he said, God destroyed Pharaoh and his men because His Mercy endures forever. He said, I will have Mercy on those whom I will have Mercy, I will have compassion on those whom I will have compassion; not everyone. As much as God loves everyone, the love of God is what ushers’ people to the Mercy of God. So, if you don't receive that love, you cannot receive His Mercy. So, the quickest way to receive the Mercy of God without Him choosing you as a benefactor of it, is for you to receive the love of God; the love of God being revealed in Christ. Jesus said, no one comes to the Father except through Me, no one can approach the Father, no one have access to the things of the Father, so if you don't have access to the Father, you can't have access to the Mercy; because Mercy and the Father are one: it is who He is.

 So, Jesus is saying that except you come through Me; the love of God, that have been shed abroad in our hearts, that have been shared on the earth, you can't have access to the Father, who is rich in Mercy, who is the Father of Mercy; who has Mercy in abundance. You see that the love of God is like the first hurdle that anyone has to go through. If any man refuses the love of God, he cannot have access to the Mercy of God; because the grace of God is the connection. When you receive the love of God, you obtain the Mercy of God; when you obtain the Mercy of God, you find the grace of God. So, the grace of God flows in the direction of His Mercy, the Mercy of God flows in the direction of His love; it is important we understand it.

I want to share three scriptures with us: Mark chapter 6:34, “And Jesus when He came out, saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having Shepherd; so, He began to teach them many things.” Until there was compassion, there was no release of grace for teaching. Jesus had compassion; He did not teach them then have compassion on them: He had compassion on them, He had Mercy on them, then He taught them. The many things we are desirous that God should give to us, that God should make happen for us, if we have not obtained the Mercy of God, we cannot receive them. They were like sheep without shepherd, an example we can give is like somebody that needs the grace of God for wisdom desperately but is yet to obtain the Mercy of God that will usher such into the grace that brings wisdom. So, we need that Mercy in that direction that the grace flows.

Hebrews chapter 4:14-16, “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain Mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Let us therefore come boldly, because whenever we come boldly to the throne of grace, we have an advocate: Jesus Christ the righteous, our high priest who sympathizes with our imperfections, who sympathizes with our weaknesses and inadequacies, He is there standing for us. So let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain the Mercy that is necessary, the Mercy that is required for us to find grace for our walk and effectiveness on the earth.

Lastly, Matthew chapter 10:8, “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons, freely you have received, freely give.” This is the admonition of God to us. You received Mercy as a gift; show Mercy. One of the ways that we put God in constant reminder that we are grateful for His Mercy is when we show Mercy. And that's why when Jesus was teaching His disciples to pray, He said, forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. We put God in constant reminder to show us Mercy, when we that have received it freely; freely give it. What does that tell of us? It tells that we are indeed the children of God, it tells that indeed, we have so learnt of God our Father: that like father, like son. The Bible says, He shows Mercy for generation to generation. When disciples of Jesus ask Him, how many times should we forgive our brother who sins against us? They said seven times; He said no; seventy times seven times in a day. What Jesus was saying in essence is; keep forgiving, keep showing Mercy. He said, because blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain Mercy. We must remember this, and we must walk in the consciousness of it. Because daily, we must be men and women that have obtained Mercy, because that's the only way we can find grace for our effectiveness on the earth.

Thanks for the gift of your time, We are Lara Gboyega Adedeji and Apeh Francis Abah!

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