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03.02.2015 Feature Article

The Lord God Says; “i’ll Have Mercy On Whom I’ll Have Mercy”

Does It Mean He’ll Have No Mercy On Those He’ll Not Have Mercy?
The Lord God Says; ill Have Mercy On Whom Ill Have Mercy
03.02.2015 LISTEN

This week, we will devote the entire column to answering germane questions bordering on the faith of children of God as evinced by the numerous letters we receive on scriptural interpretation and Bible exegeses. Thank God for the New Media that has created a dialogic avenue for writers/columnists to engage with readers in diverse ways and forms. We shall examine some of the letters from our readers and allow the Holy Spirit to explain to us and answer them. Here we go.

Dear Dr Moshood Fayemiwo, This is my first time reading from you and I really appreciate how you explain and narrate your message very clear in your column. I have some questions to ask: I don't know where it's written in the Holy Bible but I have heard it many times that the Almighty Jehovah Lord God said He would have mercy on those whom He chose to have mercy on them. Does it mean there are special people He chose to have mercy on them? My second question is this: Do some people have special grace? How can someone attract grace of God? More questions about faith: sometimes I prayed and I believe that God will answer my prayers within the time I'm in need of what I prayed for, but it doesn't happen the way I thought it would be, does it mean that my faith is not strong enough or I have not prayed enough or the Almighty God will do it at his own convenient time? Do midnight prayers make difference when we are crying to God? May the Lord God Almighty Jehovah bless you with more wisdom and good health as you keep teaching us the true ways of life? God bless---J.S. Obiakor, Accra, The Republic of Ghana, West Africa.

Dear Mr. Obiakor, you're referring to Exodus 33: 19 where the Lord God Almighty told Moses thus: “And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” The same words were repeated in Acts 17: 11 and Romans 9:15 and similarly rendered thus: “I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” The two scriptures are basically the same. You see, the Holy Bible is a Book of knowledge penned by human beings carried along by the Holy Spirit. Every Word in that book is Holy Spirit-breathed and when you read it and rely on your mental and intellectual minds to grasp the nuggets and messages contained, you miss it. Many times, human beings put the Lord God Almighty in a box and think He is exclusive to us. We erroneously think He is just above us, but if you allow the Holy Spirit to open your eyes as you study-not read-His Words, you will be surprised at the breadth and length of the Mind of God. He is Awesome and beyond our finite human mind. The Lord is Almighty and so He truly is. This is the way Apostle Paul put it when referring to the Mind of our Lord God Almighty in 1 Corinthians 2: 10-15: “The Spirit-(referring to the Holy Spirit) - searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments…” Consequently, what the Lord God meant in that Exodus 33: 19 was that, He had chosen to have mercy and compassion on the human race as a whole, but has chosen not to have compassion and mercy on Satan and his demons. The Lord God Almighty that created the human race was and is the same Sovereign Lord God Almighty that also created Lucifer and one-third of the angels that rebelled against God in heaven, ever before the human race-you and I-came into the picture. In His manifestation to Moses in that encounter referenced above in Exodus, He-the Lord God Almighty-had chosen to have compassion and mercy on the entire human race, because we were deceived by Satan to rebel against Him, but Lucifer who later became Satan and the former angels who followed him in his rebellion and now known as demons, principalities and spiritual hosts of darkness were original sinners and will never earn the mercy and compassion of their Creator-the Lord God Almighty. Grab a copy of my co-authored book: “The Kingdom of Satan Exposed,” to learn more about this cosmic conflict.

Your second question is about grace and special grace. I don't know what you mean by “special grace” but I know Grace. The word Grace simply means Favor and its simply means, the Unmerited or Undeserved Favor that the Lord God Almighty has on the entire human race to return to Him after the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when they were deceived by Satan. Favor and special grace mean the same. Satan and his demons do not have that grace because no one deceived them to rebel against their Maker, but they chose on their own to rebel. As original sinners, never again in creation will they have favor or special grace of God to be part of God's family. They are eternally lost forever, but for you and I, God showed us Unmerited Favor and Special Grace-to use your words-by asking His only-begotten Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to come to the earth and die for you and me so we can be reconciled back to Him aftermath of the disobedience of our First Parents-Adam and Eve-in the Garden of Eden. This Grace or Special Favor is for all human beings, except those who have spurned this Grace or Favor and have chosen to go along with Satan and his rebellious fallen angels. I pray that you and anyone reading this will not spurn this Favor, Special Grace or Undeserved Grace of the Lord God Almighty according to John 3: 16 in the Mighty Name of Jesus, Amen.

Next, you asked about your faith and answered prayers. You half-answered or partially provided the answers to your own questions. There are three files opened for every human being on earth who prays to the Lord God in His tabernacles in heavens and there are 28 spiritual hosts that attend to these prayer requests according to Revelation 5: 8: “And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God's people.” The files are: Answered Prayers, Waiting Prayers and Denied Prayers. Answered Prayers are prayers that are offered in accordance with the will of God as we read in 1 John 5: 14: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” So before you pray for anything, ascertain if what you're asking for is in accordance with His will. For example, there are plenty of things I don't pray to God for, because I know His will so it is pointless for me to pray over those things. For examples, I don't pray for food, clothing and shelter and material things, because He has already assured me and guaranteed those stuffs in Mathew 6: 31-33: "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing? For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.…”

When you ask or pray for anything that is not in His Will, it goes to the file; “Denied Prayers,” and also; “if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.-and won't hear your prayers (Matthew 6: 15). There are other reasons too that can make your prayer requests be denied, which we call clutters to our prayers, but unforgiving spirit and lack of faith are two major clutters. Waiting prayers are self-explicit; wait until the right time, because: “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3: 1). I once joined hands with a Christian brother to pray for a heavy financial breakthrough that would fetch him several millions, but the Holy Spirit told me he cannot handle the wealth for now so he has to wait. Do you know there are some Christians that would faint, if given $1 million? The Lord God so loves us too much to allow anything, including money to separate us from Him. Now as to praying at midnight; this is common sense; at midnight, everywhere is quiet, normal physical activities ceased to a considerable level and focus is essential. In addition, demonic activities occur mostly at night, as our Lord Jesus Christ disclosed in John 11: 9: “Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world's light.” Demons and their human agents congregate mostly at night and so the best time to take the battle to them is night time. Remember John 13: 30 after Satan entered into Judas and “As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.”

I hope the answers are explanatory enough to your questions?

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Dear Prof Moshood Fayemiwo. Thanks for a very insightful and highly informative article. Please I need some clarity on the following: 1. God made the heart of Pharaoh hard so that he will not let the people of Israel go easily. Exodus 4:21, 7:3; Exodus 9: 12, 35, Exodus 10:27, Exodus 11:9. Even after they left Egypt they pursued the Israelites (Exodus 14:4, 8). It looks like God knew the heart of Pharaoh, because he already hardened his heart so that the wonders of God can be seen in Egypt. 2. The fate of Judas was sealed as well. Somebody must betray Jesus to open the door of salvation for all mankind. If Judas had not done what he did, what will be our fate today? Maybe some people have some concluded arrangements before their birth. Please sir, how should we interpret Psalm 115: 3? Why didn't God allow everyone to have the kind of experience Saul of Tarsus had on the way to Damascus? It would have been easy for most people to accept Jesus. If most people hear the voice of God they would run to accept Jesus and give their lives to Him. Thank you---Mr. Olaniyi Emmanuel, Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa

Again as I explained above to Mr. Obiakor's questions, you need the Holy Spirit to illuminate your heart and give you revelation knowledge when you read the Holy Bible. One of my Bible College students once remarked that, he could prove so and so in the Holy Bible. No one can prove anything from the Holy Bible. It's the Holy Spirit that explains every word and phrase in His Word. If the Lord God Almighty had already hardened the heart of Pharaoh as stated in the account of Exodus which you referred to, why should anyone blame Pharaoh and the Egyptians for withstanding God Almighty in His deliverance of the Israelites? After all, He was the One who hardened the heart of Pharaoh anyway so Pharaoh had no choice. After all, Exodus 9: 12 said “But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said to Moses.” Here is one of those instances where mere reading the Holy Bible will not profit us, except we study the word as Paul admonished us in 2 Timothy 2: 15: “Study-(not read)- to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (KJV). At what stage or time in that epic did the Lord God Almighty harden Pharaoh's heart? Open your Holy Bible to Exodus 5: 2: “Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go." Get it? Pharaoh had already made up his mind to disobey the Lord, no matter and so four chapters after Pharaoh revealed what was in his heart, the Lord God “helped” him the more to continue with his rebellion and ultimately judgment. That is why Revelation 22: 11-12 says: “Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy. Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.…” When a person continuously sets his/her heart to disobey and rebel against the Sovereign Lord God Almighty over and over again after God Almighty has warned and warned such a person and yet the person continues and irrevocably committed to do evil, it will get to a stage the Lord will discard such a person. He did it to Saul as He told Samuel: “The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king."(1 Samuel 16: 1). We are told by some “super Christian giants” today that we can always tap into the Grace of the Lord ad infinitum because of God's forgiveness, but some Christians have forgotten that the Grace can be abused through monotonous sins, rebellion and disobedience that after several warnings, it will get to a stage, the Lord God will say, it's all over. Don't take my word for it, but His Words in Ezekiel 3: 18-21: “When I say to a wicked person, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself. “Again, when a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself.”

Your second question about the fate of Judas being sealed is unbiblical. Again, you will need to study the Bible thoroughly and let the Holy Spirit minister unto you. When you say the fate of Judas was already sealed, it simply meant the Lord God Almighty had already created Judas to betray our Lord Jesus Christ and Judas was destined to hell even before he was born. It sounds reasonable and logical to the human mind, but it is unbiblical and unscriptural. I stated here in this column few weeks ago that there is no destiny in the Holy Bible as being parroted by religionists. Again, I reiterate through the Power of the Holy Spirit in me; the Holy Bible is not a book of destiny but a Book of Decision, period! If the Lord God Almighty had already destined some human beings to make it to heaven and some to hell, then He cannot be God of Love. One of the characteristics of Agape Love as stated in 1 Corinthians 13: 6 is: “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth,” consequently, there is nothing like destiny even among the angels. God did not create any of the angels and separate them into two sets of angels: one set to obey and stay with Him in heaven and another set to disobey and then go to hell. In fact, the Lord God Almighty said the creation of hell did not come into His mind in Jeremiah 19: 4-5: “Because they have forsaken Me and have made this an alien place and have burned sacrifices in it to other gods, that neither they nor their forefathers nor the kings of Judah had ever known, and because they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. They have built the high places of Baal to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal--something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.”

You see, immediately any human being says and believes he/she is fated to certain desirable goal, it absolves self of responsibility. If we are fated to heaven or hell, what is the purpose of obedience and disobedience? Why will anyone will be rewarded or punished? Now about Judas, he wasn't fated to go to hell; in fact, he wasn't fated to betray our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, a betrayer would emerge to betray our Lord Jesus Christ as it was written so that the scripture and prophecy could be fulfilled, but it would have been the other Judas, James, even Peter or any of the disciples. As a matter of fact, as far as the Lord God Almighty was concerned, what Judas Iscariot did by betraying our Lord Jesus Christ was the same thing that Peter did by denying Him. The two toed the same paths that all of us-including you and me and the whole human race-had one time or the other toed through disobedience, rebellion and disbelief of God's Grace through the Sacrificial Death and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Peter cried and wept bitterly after he betrayed our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Judas Iscariot also came to that realization too when he said in Matthew 27: 4-5 “Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood." "What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility." At this juncture, Judas Iscariot should have carried out his responsibility just as the Jewish elders and Pharisees told him to his face. He said it with his own mouth that he had sinned, which was a conscious realization that he had done something terribly bad and wicked. It was the same statement that King Saul uttered when he disobeyed the Lord God Almighty and was murderously after David's life in 1 Samuel 26: 21: “Then Saul said, "I have sinned. Come back, David my son. Because you considered my life precious today, I will not try to harm you again. Surely I have acted like a fool and have been terribly wrong." You see, as far as the True Lord God Almighty is concerned, it is not the sins we have committed on earth that send human beings finally to hell, rather the fact that most human beings have refused to agree with God that they're sinners and wicked and are ready and determined to forsake their sins and disobedience by calling on the Lord for His Grace and forgiveness. Many innumerable souls that are in hell right now and those that will join them will cry and wail throughout eternity not because they are in hell, rather the missed opportunities they had to repent and embrace God's Love when they were here on earth like the rich man in hell in Luke 16: 14-31. Nothing pains the Lord God Almighty than to be disobeyed and disbelieved.

It wasn't the betrayal of our Lord Jesus Christ that was sinful, because at this period in his life, Judas Iscariot could still have saved his soul from hell. If after he returned the blood money and cried and wept as Peter did and asked for forgiveness, he would still have received pardon and mercy from our Lord Jesus Christ. After all, our Lord Jesus Christ forgave the Pharisees and the Jewish Rabbis that connived with the Romans to crucify Him. But it was what Judas did next that sealed his eternal fate in Matthew 27: 5: “And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.…” The sin that Judas Iscariot committed was not the betrayal of our Lord Jesus Christ but greed. We have all betrayed our Lord Jesus Christ at one point in time in our Christian life, including this columnist. But our conscious desire to return to Him and ask for His forgiveness is what is known as Grace. Consequently, Judas Iscariot wasn't fated to be greedy but chose to; he wasn't created to be a betrayer but chose to and he wasn't fated to self-immolation but chose; thus, hell was his eternal comeuppance.

On your question concerning Psalm 115: 3, you must read the preceding and succeeding narrative first before you can understand what the Psalmist in verse 5 meant by: “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.” Yes, the Lord God Almighty does whatever pleases Him in heaven not on earth. Satan and his demons, including disobedient human beings are not in heaven and thus, He does whatever pleases Him because there is no opposition to His sovereignty in heaven. That is why our Lord Jesus Christ said; “…your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” (Matthew 6: 10), because His Will is 100 percent done in heaven as I stated last week but His Will is rarely done on earth since the fall of Adam and Eve. That is why He doesn't want stiff-necked, proud, incorrigible and disobedient human beings to bring all the nonsense, junk and dirty stuffs going on here on earth to that clean place known as heaven, because of His Holiness and Righteousness. Get it now?

Finally, you asked about Apostle Paul and his conversion experience. His conversion experience was not unique, although it was unique the time it occurred but there are many true worshippers that have passed through the same Damascene Experiences on earth since Paul. In fact, Paul himself said it that he was given the grace to pass through that experience (1 Corinthians 3: 10: “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care.” Our Lord God Almighty is a God of variety and He doesn't treat each and every one of His creation the same way in terms of how we know and understand Him. Although He has set a uniform principle for human salvation and redemption which is; faith and belief in the Death and Resurrection of His only One and begotten Son Jesus Christ (John 3: 16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life). But in bringing us to Him as individuals through the Holy Spirit, God doesn't use the same method on us all. Some unbelievers are brought to the Saving Grace of the Lord through sickness, some through imprisonment, some through miracles, others through persecution, etc. The Lord Jesus Christ chose to call Saul of Tarsus who later became Apostle Paul through his Road to Damascus and so we all have our different roads to Damascus-salvation-but all the roads lead to one Person-our Lord Jesus Christ, Hallelujah!

Dear Fayemiwo, Calvary greetings. I have been following your write ups but permit me to air my views on some issues you raised around God's omniscience and man's heart. I seem to differ slightly. God knows what is in man as well as his heart. In fact he is the only one that understands man's heart and in John 2: 24-25. Jesus Christ knew what was in man and did not need anyone to tell him, thus He did not commit himself to them. When the Lord tries a man's heart, it is not because he does not know what is in it but he would want man to glaring judge the contents of his heart by the actions he displays during the test or trial of his reins and thereby proof whether he is inclined to God truly or not. This further justifies God's actions when He dishes out His rewards based on man's actions (Jeremiah 17:9-10). The assertion you made here as copied below is misleading because there is no how an omniscient God would choose not to know the contents of the heart of man that he created. It is not possible! God knows the beginning from the end and nothing is hidden from his sight including the contents of the heart of man. Kindly correct this error. May the Lord keep you and grant you more grace. ---Engineer Kachi Okereke

Go and re-read the Holy Bible over and over again and go to your pastor to discuss and study the Word of God with him. I pray that the heart of your understanding may be opened and you'll allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate your mind in Jesus Mighty Name, Amen. I will continue to pray for you to grow in the true knowledge of His Word and Grace to the Glory of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

Hello sir, I'm Oyebola Orija from Nigeria. I got your prophecies for the year 2014 and virtually the prophecies and predictions came to past, kudos to you sir. That gave me the assurance and a great belief that you are indeed a genuine and real man of God. This year too, I have gone through your prophecies for the year as well and I know you have actually spoken the mind of our Lord God Almighty. Sir, as you know this is a year of election, Nigeria needs prayer form men of God like you, thou, you have said a lot, including the two letters you have written to the two leading presidential candidates; President Goodluck Jonathan and Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. But we still need prayer. Sir, please always remember to pray for us in the country. It's our Jerusalem. May God continue to renew his mercy upon you and enlarge your ministry in Jesus Mighty Name, Amen. Please sir, pray for me too because I need prayer. Thank you and looking forward to hear from you. God bless Nigeria--- Bola Orija Lagos Nigeria

Dear Orija, Where do you think the relative peace and stability that Nigeria still enjoys come from? Go and read the stories of many nations that have gone into wars and millions of lives have perished, and considering the fact their situations didn't reach the level of Nigeria but somehow, the prayers of the saints are still holding up Nigeria together as a united and an indivisible nation. Yet, it would have been worse but for intercessors praying for Nigeria and Nigerians, whether living within or residing outside Nigeria. Yes, we have plenty of His Own turning the battle away at the battle gate and we do not need to shout and boast about it. That is what we are called to do in His Holy Name, Amen.

FIRST PROPHECY FULFILLED LESS THAN A MONTH INTO THE NEW YEAR 2015

At the beginning of this New Year 2015, in fact just two weeks ago when we released the Lord's Prophecies and Predictions for the Year 2015, we made the following prediction concerning events in the Middle East thus: “THE MIDDLE EAST: There will be a great revival in Israel this year as many souls will be won for our Lord Jesus Christ. A member of the Saudi Royal family will pass on in 2015.” We released this prophecy on January 2015 and two week later, January 22, 2015, the Saudi King joined his ancestors. Praise the Lord, not for the death of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia but for the apt fulfillment of the prophecy revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. Anyone who ignores the prophecies and predictions of God does so at his/her peril, because prophecy, as disclosed 2 Peter 1: 21: “… never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Do not treat prophetic revelation with a wave of the hand. The Holy Spirit of the True Lord God Almighty is well and alive on earth and still talks to His own. Are there fake and false men and women of God? Of course, you bet, but there are also genuinely-called and true men and women of God being used by His Holy Spirit to pass messages to people on earth.

*Dr Moshood Ademola Fayemiwo is the co-author of the book: “ The Kingdom of Satan Exposed: Activities of Principalities and Demon in Our World”

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-kingdom-of-satan-exposed-activities-of-principalities-and-demon-worship-in-our-world-inside-the-world-of-witchcraft-voodoo-warlocks-and-spiritual-warfare-moshood-ademola-fayemiwo/1120887689?ean=9781634900898 and CEO, Alternative Lifestyle Communication, DBA. He lives in Chicago, Illinois in the United States.

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