Hello, Dear Reader.

Welcome to the morning session of Higher Ground Conference Day 2. Our senior Pastor, Pastor Sola Osunmakinde, was the first to minister that day. He started by leading the house in an intensive prayer session before delving into his sermon.

Pastor Sola Osunmakinde began his sermon by speaking on perception. God and men see differently. And when we come to the courtroom of heaven, two things happen: we either receive mercy or judgment. When it comes to mercy, it is totally up to God’s decision.

READ ALSO: Letter to the Nigerian Church by Dr. David Ogbueli, sermon at Higher Ground Conference

Pastor Sola pressed further to explain that it takes revelation to understand the reasons for certain negative, long-standing issues. As such, we must keep praying when things haven’t been revealed. A person may have been a lawful captive or perhaps stepped into a thing that brings destruction. In some cases, it could be that the individual’s faith isn’t strong enough. Notwithstanding the case or law, mercy can prevail.

What this shows is that when faith, sacrifice, thanksgiving and different spiritual endeavours may not produce the desired results, mercy can be the ultimate answer. While some people who encountered Jesus got their miracles on the basis of faith (the woman with the issue of blood, the Syrophoenician woman, the Centurion), others received theirs on the basis of mercy (Blind Bartimaeus, the father of the epileptic boy, and the mad man of Gadara). In fact, the mad man wasn’t in the right frame of mind to exercise faith, but Jesus proceeded to heal him nonetheless.

The question of God’s ability and His willingness also surfaced. Many believe that God can do anything; but when push comes to shove, they do not believe that God will do it for them. It is one thing to believe that God can; it is another thing to believe that He will do what He says He will do. One aspect of faith many do not realize is that when the responsibility for faith is transferred to a person, and the person doesn’t know what to do or how to demonstrate it, the person is doomed. This is where a cry for mercy comes in.

READ ALSO: Household Of David: The Restoration Series

Just like that father of the epileptic boy, we can learn to cry for help when we are faithless or we appear weak in faith. A cry for help is a cry for mercy and God never rejects a cry for mercy.

Not only that, Pastor Sola mentioned the case of Epaphroditus, Paul’s assistant who was sick near to death despite Paul’s prayers and demonstration of faith. It ultimately boiled down to God’s mercy to guarantee Epaphroditus’ healing. This re-emphasized that at times what faith cannot do, mercy will do.

Finally, Pastor Sola stated that a cry for mercy is not made in silence, as Blind Bartimaeus demonstrated. It is a cry, not a solemn prayer.

In the second session of the same teaching (after an intense prayer of mercy), Pastor Sola dropped an invaluable revelation: “Resurrection is a demonstration of restoration.” He said that death was once considered as the most hopeless of any situation – the end of hope. However, at Christ’s resurrection, He demonstrated two things: the first being that nothing is irreversible and the second being that serving and following God do not mean attacks won’t come. The story of Lazarus perfectly demonstrates this.

Pastor Sola went on to share the story of the church building’s burning just before the Mercy Conference in February. He stated that God is the only authorized Person to say it is over. When God does not say it is over, it isn’t over. In fact, the story is just unfolding. God works in such a way that He declares the end from the beginning.

Pastor Sola reminded us that God is never late, and He makes all things beautiful in His time. Furthermore, when restoration happens, you will receive more than what you initially lost, as in the case of Job.

You can watch the full sermon on our YouTube page or listen on our website.