Apostle Selman started by shedding light on the meaning of God’s Mercy. He said in order for one to understand it, one must understand the nature of God, the nature of man and the entire discourse of the plan of salvation. Reading from Psalm 51:1, Apostle Selman pointed out that God’s mercy is tied to his loving-kindness. He then read from Nehemiah 9:31 to further expand on the meaning of God’s mercy. In addition to that, he also read Psalm 13:5.

In a bit to describe the nature of God, Apostle Selman read from a number of passages. They include 1 John 4:8 and Psalm 145:8-9. As he progressed in his message, he emphasized that the Lord is good to all. In Genesis 34: 5 – 7, he showed how God is love, full of compassion, slow to anger and that his mercy is over all his works. He proceeded to talk about the nature of man. In Psalm 51:5, he explained that this passage reveals the fall of man. He also read from Jeremiah 17:9 and explained that this passage captures the nature of the heart of man. In Genesis 6:2-5, he mentioned how fallen angels brought wickedness upon the earth. The last part of Verse 5 of this scripture talks about the wicked nature of man’s heart.

As he went further, he defined what mercy was as a way of opening the understanding of the congregation. He explained that anytime mercy was been discussed from the kingdom perspective, there are two broad angles to it. The first angle has to do with forgiveness and the second angle has to do with relieving pain from those who are suffering. To corroborate this, he mentioned that the Bible actually says, Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. Apostle Selman explains how it was important that we have mercy on others because mercy is the basis for doing business with God here on the earth. He pointed out that the foundation for Mercy is compassion (love) because mercy is the fruit of compassion. 

Apostle Selman went on to define love as the absence of self. He likened love and the self to light and darkness. He charged Christians to ask that they grow in love rather than ask God to make them merciful because growing in love is the only way Christians can be compassionate unto others just like Jesus himself. He explained the character of love as one that finds satisfaction in bringing happiness to a subject outside of itself. He linked this to what Jesus does for mankind, how he’s seated at the right hand of the father and makes intercession for us. He explained that Jesus is able to feel our infirmities and weaknesses because he has been here as a man and has gone through the emotions that we are going through. Apostle Selman explained that our pain is our gift; they make it easy for us to understand other people’s pains and consequently makes it easy for us to administer mercy.

Using the story of the woman who committed adultery in John 8:9, Apostle Selman explained that nobody has the moral credence to point fingers at anyone. He explained that man at his best is still flawed based on God’s standards. He supported this with Isaiah 64:6. After saying this, he re-emphasized that the basis for administering mercy unto others is showing compassion – being able to understand that no one is without weakness. He then revealed that the key to understanding Mercy is to contrast God’s love with man’s inability to save himself. Giving several examples, Apostle Selman explained that the advantages we enjoy have nothing to do with our righteousness or ability to pray very well. We are all only enjoying God’s mercy.

Apostle Selman closed by promising to continue in his next teaching session on how to administer God’s Mercy. After this, he led the congregation into a powerful prayer session based on what he had taught.