About
Welcome to Mercyland Ministries
MERCYLAND MINISTRIES OUTREACH ACTIVITIES AROUND THE WORLD ARE BASED ON THE RESURRECTION POWER AND PURPOSE OF RESURRECTION.
Bible Passages: 1 Corinthians 15:17-19, Philippians 3, 4-11
Welcome to Mercyland Ministries International website. First and foremost, this ministry is dedicated to the preaching of the Gospel worldwide through demonstration of resurrection power of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
For over forty years, the set man,Bishop Bayo Yusuff has been an evangelist, highly anointed to preach the Gospel with signs and wonders. He has travelled to many nations of the world to hold meetings, revival services and crusades.
He received a personal experience of the fire of Holy Ghost through which RESURRECTION POWER becomes a reality in his life and ministry. Under Bayo’s ministrations people are brought under the influence of the Holy Ghost fire and manifestations of healings and deliverance are evident through the finger of God upon his life.
Many have received salvation, terminally ill people are healed and people tormented by demons are delivered and set free. No doubt, the Holy Spirit is actively working with Bayo in the areas of healing and deliverance. To God be all the glory, praises, honour and adoration.
RESURRECTION POWER AND ITS PURPOSE
There is a purpose for which Christ rose from the dead, and there is a power made available to us through His resurrection. We need to know both the purpose and the power for us to enjoy maximally our relationship with God, with the accompanying benefits in this world and in the world to come.
This is the bedrock of Mercyland Ministries activities. As we take the whole WORD to the whole WORLD, we don’t take any compromise on this. OAs an evangelistic ministry, set up by God, to demonstrate RESURRECTION POWER and make it a thing of reality to the people of the world, our slogan has ever being:
“I want to know Christ, and know more of HIS power of resurrection.”
This statement came from Apostle Paul as his primary desire; this is what Paul wants more than anything else in this life. Mercyland as an evangelical team with focus and heart desire. This is our MISSION slogan, our MISSION statement.
– To know the living Jesus, the resurrected Christ, and to know the power associated with HIS resurrection.
The contention of Apostle Paul has been on the fact that, if He (Jesus) is not raised from the dead, then He has no power today. It simply means He is dead. His words might have some influence — but He (Jesus) himself has no power. He could just be ranked with any other prophets and all other religion founders of this world. As a Muslim convert, I wouldn’t at all have any business with Jesus. Because He (Jesus Christ) rose from the dead, that’s the main reason I gave my life to HIM.
As the set man of this ministry, my conviction and definite assurance on Jesus resurrection from the dead brought me out of Islamic religion. I know for sure that Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour on the third day rose from the dead. This is the Gospel truth and biblical principle that the Mercyland Ministries International is being based upon.
This is the reason why the RESURRECTION POWER OF JESUS is so central in the message that Mercyland, as an evangelistic ministry preaches around the world.
Under the umbrella of Mercyland Ministries, we affirm the truth that Christianity is not a religion in any form, based on abstract principles. We strongly believe that Christianity is greater and mightier than any religion of this world. Christianity is life that one needs to live.
It is a relationship with a living Saviour, a Saviour we can personally know and experience, a Saviour who infuses our life and empowers us with HIS RESURRECTION POWER, who transforms us into HIS likeness through the help of the Holy Spirit.
What does Paul mean when he says he wants to know Christ? And what is this power of his resurrection?
KNOWING CHRIST
First of all, what does “knowing Christ” mean?
Let us first consider whether or not this desire belongs to Paul alone. Is Paul stating a personal preference, or a truth that is central for all Christians of all ages? Jeremiah 9:23, 24 (NIV)
“Thus says the Lord : “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord , exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight, says the Lord .”
Under the umbrella of Mercyland Ministries, we teach people around the world that knowing God is more important than wisdom, strength, or riches. Think about the people who are most admired in this world. They are admired for these three qualities. But knowledge of God is greater than all these three.
People in the world today admire those who are bright, intelligent, and knowledgeable; or those who are physically gifted in strength, talent, or beauty; or those who have amassed great wealth. But the Lord says through Jeremiah that none of those are of great importance.
What matters more than anything else is “understanding and knowing the Lord, the covenant keeping God who delights in kindness, justice, and righteousness.
This prominence of knowing God carries over into the gospels (New Testament Bible), from the OT (Old Testament of the Bible). Old Testament prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah made this very clear in the Bible.
Jesus himself, on the night prior to his death prays for his followers, saying: “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent”. (John 17:3)
Eternal life is, knowing God, knowing Jesus! Without knowing him, there is no true life. Peter also emphasizes this point: (2 Peter 1:3)
“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness”.
Our knowledge of Him (Jesus) leads to His empowering us with everything we need for life and godliness.
John makes a similar point near the close of his first letter:
“We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true. And we are in him who is true– even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life”. (1 John 5:20)
John says that Jesus came so that we might know Him. The purpose of the incarnation was our knowing him. This is central to the gospel.
So Old Testament, New Testament, gospels, letters, Paul, Peter, John — all agree that knowing God, knowing Jesus, is central. But what does knowing God mean? We get to know a person in part by being in his physical presence. But how do we get to know Jesus?
Surely knowing God also is much more than knowing facts about God. How can we come into this deep, personal relationship with God?
Mercyland Ministries as a Body of Christ is very passionate about “How to know God”. We teach this through our life style, through the Bible and demonstration of the RESSURECTION POWER of Jesus Christ.
How Do We Know God?
First, surely we must know about Him. So we do indeed need to learn about God. How do we do this? The summary is given below.
In part, by listening to faithful preachers of God’s word. In part by regular reading and studying of the Bible. In part by witnessing the impact of God on the lives of others.
But, second, we must go beyond learning facts. We must cultivate our own relationship with Him. Let us consider three steps to cultivating a relationship with Him:
- The first step is putting your faith in Him: believing that He is the Son of God, believing that the event we celebrate yearly, Easter Sunday – the resurrection of Jesus Christ, really did take place on the first Easter Sunday as Bible recorded it, and that the purpose of Easter is, wanting Him to make you into a new creation, to be like Jesus Himself.
- A second step is spending time in prayer. Pray alone, and with others. In prayer, you can share all your joys, frustrations, and sorrows with the God of the universe, the God who cares. Talking to God builds your relationship with him and put your faith into action.
- The third step is following Jesus. Listen as you pray and read the Bible. Be willing to follow, even when His commands don’t seem to make sense. Depend on God when His requirements seem unreasonable. When you do this — when you step out in faith — He will be there to support you, and you will see Jesus as a living, risen Saviour. You will see Him as a companion that stays with you 24/7 in form of the Holy Spirit.
KNOWING THE POWER OF THE RESURRECTION
The second part of Paul’s desire is “to know . . . the power of his resurrection.” Note that Paul does not ask God for more power of his own. He didn’t as for health, wealth or any other things of this world. Instead, he asks God that he might know the resurrection power he already has.
Paul’s first prayer for the Ephesians parallels this idea. In chapter 1 of that letter, he prays that the Ephesians might know three things. The third is: His incomparably great power for us who believe . . . which he exerted in Christ when he raised Him from the dead (Ephesians 1:18 & 20)
All Christians have this power; all Christians have access to this incomparably great power – the resurrection power. Our task is to tap into it.
Let us consider five aspects of this power.
(1) The Power to Have Sins Forgiven
Sin has a hold on all of us. Without God, we are slaves to sin. But Christ, through his death and resurrection, frees us from the power of sin.
He was delivered over to death because of our sins, and raised to life because of our justification (Rom 4:25)
Christ died as the necessary sacrifice for our sins. But His being raised to life, his resurrection is absolutely vital! As Paul says, he was “raised to life because of our justification.”
When Jesus died, God laid on him the iniquity of us all, the punishment that all of us deserve for all our sins.
Had there been anything lacking in Jesus’ sacrifice, if His blood had lacked the power to cancel the penalty for anyone’s sin, God could not have raised him. In that case, God’s justice would not have allowed him to raise Jesus from the dead. Now that Bible makes it clear and certain that Jesus was raised from the dead, His blood lacks NOTHING. His blood has absolute power over all things.
The very fact of the resurrection shows once and for all that Jesus’ sacrifice is all that is necessary to pay the penalty for my sin, for yours.
Whenever Satan accuses us — saying, “God could never forgive you for what you have done — Think how terrible you are!” — we can say to the devil: “Keep your mouth shut! Jesus rose from the dead! Because of His resurrection I am justified. Because I believed in Jesus, I’m righteous in God’s eyes.” That is the power of the resurrection for you and me.
(2) The Power to Conquer Sin
But resurrection power doesn’t end with our forgiveness. Christ’s resurrection also empowers us to conquer sin in our lives.
Paul wrote that we put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:24)
In Christ we are a new creation; His Spirit lives within us. We have been renewed, we have a new self — and the purpose of that new self is to be conformed to the image of Christ, to become like him: truly righteous, truly holy — to become what God intends humans to be!
So if this is the case, why do Christians keep on sinning? Paul gives us the answer in his letter to the Philippians when wrote that: “we don’t know the power! Or we don’t appreciate the power!”
We have all this power, but we continue to act as if we are weak, as if we are still slaves to sin. Satan tries to deceive us, making us think we are still his — and he uses habits ingrained in us over years to make us believe him.
God gives us the power to break those habits — but we must first know we have the power! That is why Paul has such a strong desire for this knowledge of His power. “That I may know Him, and the POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION”
(3) The Power to Be God’s Agent
But Christianity is not just about forgiveness and overcoming sin. Christianity is not simply a solution to our problems. God has a positive purpose in our salvation. He has determined that we are to be His agents of change in this sinful world.
God empowers us not only to defeat sin but also to share and display his loving message to the world. Jesus says, “You are the light of the world.” Paul says,
He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. (2 Cor 5:19,20); (2 Cor 12:9) my power is made perfect in weakness
That is the idea. Mercyland Ministries International takes this awareness to the whole world. This is where our motto came from:
“TAKE THE WHOLE WORD TO THE WHOLE WORLD”
God shows His power by working through us, by working mightily through us, even though we are weak and unworthy. However, with His RESSURECTION POWER, He (God) accomplishes His heart desire and purpose through us as His agent of change around the world.
(4) The Power to Be Conformed to His Likeness
Finally, resurrection power’s greatest accomplishment is conforming us to the likeness of Christ. We are forgiven for our sins, enabled not to sin, appointed as ambassadors — and perfected in His love. Paul says: “We are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit”. (2 Cor 3:18)
Into his likeness! Can you imagine what that means? Think of everything about yourself that you don’t like, all the habits, all the negative characteristics — the things you have wanted to change, have tried to change.
God will deal with every one of those. You are being made into a perfect creation — you are becoming like Jesus! That is your destiny, Christian — becoming the perfect bride of Christ, spotless, blameless, loving, kind, strong — transformed into his likeness. That is the power of the resurrection for you!
(5) The Power to Overcome the Devil and his Kingdom
It was through His death and resurrection that Jesus was given a name above every other name, and this means a power above every power. Phil 2:5-11.
Jesus gave us this power to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the devil.
Knowing this power will make us to exercise our rightful authority over the powers of darkness. Imagine someone who has never seen gun in his entire life. He doesn’t know how gun looks like. If he’s given full loaded an automatic rifle, he might consider it to be a walking stick. That’s the position of many Christians who are loaded with RESSURECTION POWER but who doesn’t know what it’s all about. That’s why Apostle Paul cried unto God “That I may know Him and Power of His RESURRECTION”
CONCLUSION
So the fact of the resurrection is central to true Christianity, and very central to Mercyland Ministries International. The resurrection must be true if we are to know, to have a relationship with our Saviour; the resurrection must be true if we are to have access to the power which raised Jesus from the dead — power to:
- Be forgiven from sin;
- Overcome sin;
- Be God’s ambassadors;
- To be conformed to Christ’s likeness
- To overcome Satan and his kingdom
This is the POWER upon which MERCYLAND MINISTRIES is based and operates around the world. Join us in enjoying this power and make Christianity a dynamic life to live and enjoy. We will like to hear from you. God bless you.
Bishop Bayo Yusuff.