Divine Love And Mercy
Chapter 3
God Demands Divine Love And Mercy
By
The Man Who Saw God Face To Face
Raphael Okechukwu Nweze
Warn The Nations
"Cry aloud, spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they seek Me daily,
And delight to know My ways,
As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.
They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;
They take delight in approaching God.
3'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and You have not seen?
Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?'
Isaiah 58:1-3
The Lord rebukes more
"In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
And exploit all your laborers.
4 Indeed you fast for strife and debate,
And to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You will not fast as you do this day,
To make your voice heard on high.
5 Is it a fast that I have chosen,
A day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the LORD?
Isaiah 58:3-5
He explains more, very clearly
6 "Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'
Isaiah 58:6-9
"If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10 If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your darkness shall be as the noonday.
11 The LORD will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
12 Those from among you
Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.
Isaiah 58:9-12
How John The Baptist Preached Divine Love And Mercy
10 So the people asked him, saying,” What shall we do then?"
11 He answered and said to them,” He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise." Luke 3:10-11
How Jesus Preached Divine Love And Mercy
6:1 "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. Matthew 6:1-4
How Abraham Practised Divine Love And Mercy
He was always ready and willing to receive visitors and travelers. He attended to their needs. He even provided a visitor's room for outsiders. Divine Love and Mercy was his habit and custom.
How Zebulon Son Of Jacob Practised Divine Love And Mercy
5 And when I was in the land of Canaan, by the sea-coast, I made a catch of fish for Jacob my father; and when many were choked in the sea, I continued unhurt.
6 I was the first to make a boat to sail upon the sea, for the Lord gave me understanding and wisdom therein.
7 And I let down a rudder behind it, and I stretched a sail upon another upright piece of wood in the midst.
8 And I sailed therein along the shores, catching fish for the house of my father until we came to Egypt.
9 And through compassion I shared my catch with every stranger.
10 And if a man were a stranger, or sick, or aged, I boiled the fish, and dressed them well, and offered them to all men, as every man had need, grieving with and having compassion upon them.
11 Wherefore also the Lord satisfied me with abundance of fish when catching fish; for he that shareth with his neighbour receiveth manifold more from the Lord.
12 For five years I caught fish and gave thereof to every man whom I saw, and sufficed for all the house of my father.
13 And in the summer I caught fish, and in the winter I kept sheep with my brethren.
14 Now I will declare unto you what I did.
15 I saw a man in distress through nakedness in wintertime, and had compassion upon him, and stole away a garment secretly from my father's house, and gave it to him who was in distress.
16 Do you, therefore, my children, from that which God bestoweth upon you, show compassion and mercy without hesitation to all men, and give to every man with a good heart.
17 And if ye have not the wherewithal to give to him that needeth, have compassion for him in bowels of mercy.
18 I know that my hand found not the wherewithal to give to him that needed, and I walked with him weeping for seven furlongs, and my bowels yearned towards him in compassion.
19 Have, therefore, yourselves also, my children, compassion towards every man with mercy, that the Lord also may have compassion and mercy upon you.
20 Because also in, the last days God will send His compassion on the earth, and wheresoever He findeth bowels of mercy He dwelleth in him.
21 For in the degree in which a man hath compassion upon his neighbours, in the same degree hath the Lord also upon him.
From The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (www.Sacred-Texts.com)
What was the result of his acts of Divine Love and Mercy?
AND now children, I you (sic) to keep the commands of the Lord, and to show mercy to your neighbours, and to have compassion towards all, not towards men only, but also towards beasts.
2 For all this thing's sake the Lord blessed me, and when all my brethren were sick, I escaped without sickness, for the Lord knoweth the purposes of each.
3 Have, therefore, compassion in your hearts, my children, because even as a man doeth to his neighbour, even so also will the Lord do to him.
4 For the sons of my brethren were sickening and were dying on account of Joseph, because they showed not mercy in their hearts; but my sons were preserved without sickness, as ye know.
From The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (www.Sacred-Texts.com)
Divine Love And Mercy Is The Scale For The Last Day Judgement
There is no sacred text which has specified your religion or church as the standard for the last day Judgement. All bear evidence that it is Divine Love And Mercy that will be used as a standard.
So, why continue to deceive yourself with your religion or church?
31 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'
37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'
41 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand,'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'
44 "Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' 45 Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." Matthew 25:31-26:1
Church Or Mercy?
Between the church and mercy, which one is more acceptable to the Lord? Both are good. However, mercy is far better. Consider the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Priest and Levite did not live up to expectation. It was the Good Samaritan that did the right thing and found favour with God.
By the parable, Jesus teaches that both church leaders and members must not neglect to practice Divine Love and Mercy. Even the clergy are not exempted because they serve God. Truly, they should lead in the practice of Divine Love and Mercy.
Concrete effort should be made by the church, members and society to ensure and prosper Divine Love and Mercy.