Mercyland is the third garden given to mankind by God as the show of unlimited affection He has for him. His pleasure in having a cordial and unending relationship with man made Him handover a place which He can freely listen, deal and settles issues with him at anytime to Celestial Church of Christ.
Since creation, there are three gardens which was aimed at bringing man to know and walk in the will of God.
i. The garden of Eden(where the will of God was lost) : God made His will(what a man is to do and not do to please Him) known to Adam in the garden of Eden but because the woman listened to another voice, she went against the will of God and presented it to her husband which made man fell and lost the will of God(Gen 3).This eventually lead to the expulsion of man out of the garden created for his rest into a world of hard work and labour.
ii. Garden of Geshemane(Where it was planted) : On the night Jesus was to be arrested, He went with his disciples to a garden called Gethsemane to pray. During His prayer, He told God to take the cup over Him at the same time He said the will of God should be done. He prayed to the extent that the sweat coming out of Him was as blood. This sweat, planted the will of God which Adam lost in Eden back on earth( Luke 22:41-44).
iii. Mercyland (where it is found/harvested) : This is where the will of God is revealed to man. Little wonder then prophets are in spirit and they are to give members spiritual messages, they take them to the Mercyland. What a wonderful Grace!
The Mercyland is a seperated space outside the church which is mostly filled with sea sand,with fruitful trees and a water source. It is quite different from the main church building although it has seven candle stand altar, it is not the same as the main church.
There are few services which are done in Mercyland in Celestial Church of Christ :
1. Service for the prophets between 12pm-1pm every Friday.
2. Ascension day service
3. Good Friday service.
The voice that instructed the building of the place never called it ilẹ̀-àánú (Mercyland) but ijù(wilderness). It is important to know that those things found in the Mercyland( sea sand, trees, water source) are not there s part of the building but also has their spiritual meanings and potitive spirituals effects in the lives of those that go in there to render prayers.
1. The seasand : This was instructed to be spread on the floor of the Mercyland so that all spiritual works that are meant to be done by the sea side would be done in there.
2. The fruitful trees : Trees must be planted for two reasons.
i. As stated earlier, the voice that brought the creation of the space called it ijù(wilderness) and in the wilderness there are trees so any spiritual work that has to do with wilderness could be done in there.
ii. As the tress planted there are yielding fruits in their seasons so also everyone that steps inside and pray under them will be fruitful in all they do.
3. Water source : Wells are dug or a container is placed and water is filled inside it. The water in the Mercyland should never run dry as it serves as the source to the trees planted and also it breathes peace of mind to those who come to pray.
It must be stated here that because the Mercyland is a wilderness, all spirits converge there so it is not adviceable for anyone to sleep there at will unless there is a spiritual instruction to do so. Sometimes there are spiritual messages that strange spirits occupy the trees planted there, this is not totally strange because it is a wilderness. However when this happens, the shepherd is to be directed by the spirit on what to do, the solution is not cutting down trees as we have seen over time. If the instruction is to cut down the trees, it should be followed if not, there are other solutions which could be carried out to permanently drive away all unwanted and strange spirits from the Mercyland.
The main difference between the main church and the Mercyland is the difference between the Palace(ààfin) and the Yard(àgbàlá).
The Palace however has settings and strict rules that guides it for example
i. The throne is setup permanently there.
ii. The king must always be officially dressed
iii. The king only sits on the throne and no where else etc
As we know, Celestial Church of Christ is the Palace of God (Heb 12:22-23,Hymn 205) and there are patterns and principles that must be understood with stepwise order of services which must be followed without overzealousness or proven to be wiser than God so that the angel that bears the name of the church which resides in the altar can bless those who come in to worship. Because of this, anointed members during Sunday worship and Watchnights must appear in their full regalia and caps which they will take off before going into the church. When the bell is rung, they put down their caps(crowns) and bow to the Lord God of hosts just as it is recorded in Rev 4:10.
However in the yard, the king is free, he can sing, play and have unrestricted chats and discussions with people.Therefore in the Mercyland, we are free to speak to God without restrictions because He is there to listen to all our pleas and worries regardless of how we present it. This freedom however does not mean the Mercyland doesn’t have its own set rules. Part of them are
i. Mufty are not allowed ; as long as it is not the garment given to Celestial Church of Christ (popularly called ‘sutana’) , it should not go in there neither should anyone wearing it go in to pray or do anything. If spiritual messages are given to non-members of the church to pray, they are to stay at the entrance and perform all spiritual works.
ii. Just like the church, food with pepper and red oil should not be taken in there
iii. Women on their monthly period should not go in or come close to the place.
iv. When prayers and spiritual works are carried out, shouting should be avoided because those that listens to prayers are present, close and always ready to listen to those who comes in.
It is also important to note that we are to go into the Mercyland and ‘drop’ or ‘pour’our hearts before going into the church for service so we can free before Him in worship. This helps us come in with joy that He whom we spoke to in the Mercyland would answer us before the end of the service.
The Mercyland becomes a ‘dead zone’ when it is abandoned. By revelation, it was made known that most of the spiritual works which concerns memebers of Celestial Church should be carried out there. This will make the place spiritual active for the benefit of all.
Most people that joined the church from other denominations wonder why Celestial Church do not have a “hill or mountain(ori òkè or òkè)or refer to their parishes as such, it is because the mercyland serves as our “hill” but set on the land. Hills and mountains sprung up from the land,those who leave on hills need to resources on land to survive.
It is also worthy of note that this kind of structure located at the Imeko City (where we gather for our yearly convocation) is not called mercyland but holy land . By research,it was found out that there is a place at the entrance where those in mufti(non Celestials)can stay but this is not so in the mercylnd in our various parishes.
That miracle tou seek, that thing tou have been asking God for, why not go into the mercyland and talk to Him? Believe me, He will answer you.
God has indeed blessed us, let us embrace and enjoy the blessings with peace of mind.
Bro Ayo Sobule
