MERCY DROPS ARE FALLING AGAIN

 “Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”

- Exodus 33:19

A while back, the Lord kept showing me a picture of a massive drop of golden liquid hanging in the air. It was translucent and glistening, and it was rich thick like honey. As I walked into worship and began to sing and pray, the Lord gave me the following vision. I was looking up to the heavens and suddenly the sky above me was covered with a sheet of honeycomb. The honeycomb stretched from one end of heaven to the other and the pockets of honey were vibrating to the sound of worship. Then, as I was looking in anticipation, the Lord changed my perspective and I was watching the honeycomb from heaven’s side.

As I was looking at the throne room, I saw Jesus standing there in Kingly attire. The entire room was filled with His glory and draped in golden light, as if everything was made of translucent gold. Jesus was standing on the backside of the honeycomb. It was as if a sea of honeycomb stretched across the heavens. He had a golden staff in His hand and He took His staff and pounded the honeycomb floor three times.

Suddenly, I was back, watching the honeycomb from the ground. The sky started to shake and then, with a massive thrust, the combs burst open and sky began to rain down massive drops of golden honey. I watched as people began to be covered with honey. Joy fell upon all as they lifted up their eyes and began to rejoice over the richness of the outpouring. They were reaching out and touching others. The honey was sticky and clang to everyone it touched. Like a golden impartation, the honey was distributed to all. Much like “pay it forward” – the commission was to reach out and touch somebody, sweeten their lives, and let the anointing stick to them and draw them to Him.

I asked the Lord what the honey was and He said,

 “The honey is my sweet tender Mercy. Just as Moses sought to seek my face and to see my glory, I made all my GOODNESS pass before him, and I proclaimed My name before him. For I am gracious upon whom I am gracious and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. For I am clothed in tender mercy, and my kingdom stands upon that mercy, for I am good all the time and My goodness is starting to pour out.

Mercy drops are falling, are falling – yes,

Mercy drops are falling, are falling.

I will drape you with tender mercy. You will go out and come in with sweet mercy upon your lips – and you will take My mercy to the streets, to the highways, and byways, and My mercy will flow. My mercy is endless. My grace is more than sufficient for you. My desire is that you would be vehicles of My peace and power – that you will touch the downcast and the broken hearted and release My tender mercy.

The people are rigid; they don’t see Me as the lifter of their heads. My Mercy is endless; it sets free them that are bound. They need to see Me in all My goodness, for I Am GOOD all the time and My mercy is from everlasting to everlasting. I laid down My life so that My honey would fall and fill the earth with My glory.
Mercy drops are falling, are falling....
And this drop is for you.”

The cry of the Lord in the book of Isaiah amplifies His heart and mercy:

“Thus says the Lord: “In an acceptable time I have heard You, and in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You and give You as a covenant to the people, to restore the earth, to cause them to inherit the desolate heritages; That You may say to the prisoners, ‘Go forth,’ To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’

“They shall feed along the roads, and their pastures shall be on all desolate heights. They shall neither hunger nor thirst, neither heat nor sun shall strike them; for He who has mercy on them will lead them, even by the springs of water He will guide them. I will make each of My mountains a road, and My highways shall be elevated.
Surely these shall come from afar; Look! Those from the north and the west, and these from the land of Sinim.” Sing, O heavens! Be joyful, O earth! And break out in singing, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people, and will have mercy on His afflicted.”

- Is 49:8-13

Let Your mercy fall upon us. Let our hearts be merciful. To know the love nature of God is to know the heartbeat of mercy. God is love. God is good. He is good ALL the time. If grace is getting what we don’t deserve, mercy is not getting what we do deserve.

Mercy is a two-sided coin. On one side, we have our own testimony of God’s mercy and grace towards us, how we were once blind, but now we see. On the other side, we have the responsibility to give away what we have received..., the love of God and His mercy. When we, as a people, learn to embrace the love nature of Christ and move out in a non-judgmental way, radiating the love of Christ, the world will take notice. They will see that we aren’t looking to manipulate them into the Kingdom. Love will draw them.

Jesus is calling us to be the “Love Feast” for the world to dine. When they see honest love in action, they will taste and see that He is good. We will be sticky like honey bringing sweetness to the lives of those around us. In these last days, our Lord wants a bride that is fragrant with His nature. Love releases the Kingdom.

God is calling us to a new place, a higher place, and nothing we have known from the past will be sufficient for this new season. We are moving into a place much like Moses was in Exodus 33. Moses lived his first forty years in royalty in the house of Pharaoh and forty years tending sheep on the backside of the desert. At 80 years of age, he was confronted by God and commissioned into his life mission. This reluctant, stammering, excuse-making fugitive was called back to Egypt to lead the Hebrews out of captivity. Now this broken-down sheepherder became the man of the hour and for the next forty years, he would see the mighty hand of God deliver a ragtag motley assembly of complaining, unbelieving, and rebellious tribesmen into a nation.

From the beginning, the very nature of Moses’ relationship with God was one of “presence.” From the days of the burning bush to the heights of the unveiling of the law on Mt Sinai, Moses would have a face-to-face relationship with God. His relationship with God was unlike any before him in scripture. He witnessed the miraculous deliverance of Israel from the grip of the Pharaoh. He saw the grand exodus take place and the power of the Passover blood on the doorposts of God’s children turn the page of Pharaoh’s 430-year grip on Israel. Now it was ending. He witnessed the miraculous journey to Sinai, with deliverance at the Red Sea, provisions of manna and quail provided in their desert wanderings, and protection from the hostile Amalekites. He had encounters with God, so powerful, that his face literally glowed with the Glory of God.

Then in Exodus 33 we see the heart of Moses revealed when the Lord commands him to depart from Sinai and go to the promised land.

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’”

- Exodus 33:1

Moses is promised that God would send His angel before him. Here’s the catch, God said He would not go himself lest He wipe out this stiff-necked people from His presence.

“And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”
 And when the people heard this bad news, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do to you.’” So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb.
Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the Lord went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp. So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle.
And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door. So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.”

- Exodus 33:2-11

Moses was grieved in His heart. All he knew of God was birthed in His presence. The very thought of God taking them into the next season of their destiny without the presence of the Almighty was too much to bear. He moves in closer to God. He starts to pull on His heartstrings. And from the depth of his being he says, “Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight.”

“Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.”And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

- Exodus 33:12-14

Moses, in essence is drawing a line in the sand. His heart is aching for more of God. He had been to the mountaintop and his face had radiated with the glory of God. He walked with God like no other, yet in this moment he is relentless, saying, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.” His desire to live in the presence moved the Lord to relent and give Moses the desire of his heart.

“Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”So the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”

- Exodus 33:15-17

Even at this, Moses is not satisfied. His hunger for God is unstoppable. His mind is not on the mission ahead or the future promised land. He is not thinking about his call or his duty. All he wants is more of God. He wants to see Him in all His glory. It is at that moment that God is moved to answer the heart cry of Moses and show him His glory. Only the surprising thing is, when God responds to Moses about His glory He points him to His nature, He says, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”

In essence, God is saying, “My identity, My nature, who I am, reveals My glory, and that is My goodness, that is my name, it is the revelation of the understanding who I am, and the love nature of my being that displays My glory. When you see and understand that, you are ready.”

“And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.”

Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” And the Lord said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”

- Exodus 33:18-23

At that moment, Moses is given a gift, and the gift is the revelation of the nature of God, His name, His goodness, and His overflowing compassion. God takes him and places him in the cleft of the rock-of-our-salvation. He is hidden, as it were, in Christ, and then, when God removes His hand, he sees the back of God. I would suggest to you that the back he saw was the back of Jesus himself, scourged on Calvary at the whipping post. It is that place of complete surrender and desire to see God face to face, knowing that nothing else matters in life but that one desire, is the platform for God to draw him in.

God is bringing us to that place. He is changing our desires to and drawing us to a place of transformation. Each one of us, personally, is at a crossroad. Do I go to the left, and settle for His angelic covering as I move forward in life? Or, do I stop and say, “God, I can’t go anywhere, unless you go with me. I need to know You completely, in all Your fullness. I need to see Your glory. Father, reveal to me Your nature and Your name. Let me be saturated with the knowledge of Your incredible love and compassion.” You see, when His love nature and goodness burns inside us, we can change the world.

The Lord hinted at His nature when He gave Moses the schematics of the tabernacle in Exodus 25. What’s interesting in this set of instructions is that God does not start with exterior of the tabernacle and work inward. He, instead starts at the most Holy place of all, the “Holy of Holies.” The first furnishing of that place is the Ark and the Mercy Seat. The Mercy Seat was the cover that rested on top of the Ark. It was made of pure gold and had two golden Cherubim that bowed on each end.

The Mercy Seat was more than a covering for the Ark, it was the place of His presence, for between the Cherubim, the cloud and fire of His presence would hover just above the Mercy Seat. It was the space between the Cherubim, which represented God’s presence among the people. This space, this sea, or sheet of gold, could not be controlled by man. In this manor, the Mercy Seat conveyed to the Israelites the idea that God was in their midst. The Ark then becomes a foundation the Mercy Seat and His presence rests.

However, we don’t get a full revelation of this until the resurrection of Christ. John record of this is very interesting. We read in chapter 20 a very unusual encounter Mary has at the tomb.

“But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”

- John 20:11-13

It is here, and nowhere else in the gospels, we see the actual Mercy Seat, mentioned in Exodus 25. Mary peers into the tomb and she stops down and sees the spot where Jesus had been laid. At each end of that space were Angels, one at His feet and one at His head. At this moment, the essence of the Holy of Holies and the Mercy Seat becomes clear.

Form the time that Moses built the tabernacle and the Priests carried the Ark of the Covenant before the people, what they were actually caring was a living prophecy of the Lord Jesus Christ, their Messiah, resurrected on Easter morning. The space between the Angels was indeed the place where Christ raised from the dead and in His resurrection; He conquered sin and death and brought us into His presence and into the Holy of Holies. This is a powerful revelation. When God gives Moses the schematics of the tabernacle, He starts with a picture of the resurrected Lord.

The first act of Mercy on that Easter morning, 2,000 years ago was a presence encounter with Mary. Like Moses, Mary was hungry for her Lord. She was disheartened. Her Jesus was gone. The man who freed her from seven demons, the one who healed her heart, and forgave her of all her sins, was gone. She woke that morning, crying inside. She had to be with Him, even in His death. She took off running, probably before dawn and ran to the tomb. It was probably still dark outside. Didn’t matter, she had to be with Him. And when she arrived she found herself at an empty tomb, face to face with the Mercy Seat.

“Where have you laid Him,” she cried. Nevertheless, the tomb was still empty. That empty tomb is the place we find ourselves today. When all of our preconceived ideas and thoughts about God nature are placed in the tomb, crucified if you will, then we are in a position to, like Mary, hear Him call out our name, and like Mary, we shall see Him for who He really is. He will show us His love nature. His love nature will bring about the change we are seeking. He will bring us into that Holy place. His love nature will transform us into a Bride ready for a wedding.

“Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”
She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary!”

- John 20:14-16

You see, everything we are, and everything we do is wrapped up in the resurrection of our Lord. At the heart of the sacrificial act lies the tender heart of the Father and His Mercy towards us. His incredible love and mercy draw us. It is His undying commitment to forgive us, woo us, and draw us into His presence that sustains us. We go from glory to glory in His love. With every step we take, the revelation of His loving kindness takes us deeper into Him. This deepness is always birthed out of resurrected mercy and love.

It is also interesting that the Hebrew name for the Mercy Seat is “kapporeth,” which is best rendered in English, “propitiatory,” meaning - having power to atone for or offered by way of expiation or propitiation. In other word, the very name points again to the atonement and the redeeming power of Christ forgiveness extended to us.

The first time my eyes were opened to the truth of how much the Father perpetually loves me happened thirty years ago. I was a young Christian, still carrying luggage from my past on my back. I had sinned, I had gotten in an argument with my wife, and the weight of my guilt was crushing me. Up to this point in my life, I had felt that salvation was something I had to work at, as if it was fragile, and I needed to toe the line or it was over.

I was feeling so dreadful. I felt ashamed. The shame in my heart was smothering me. I couldn’t even talk to the Lord about. I was driving home from work along a road that parallels the mountains, along the desert, from Palm Desert to Palm Springs, California. The sun was starting to set, and the sky was starting to turn orange. I was crying inside. Then, without thinking about it, I mumbled to the Lord, “I feel like dirt.”

Suddenly, in a moment, I was in a trance. You have to understand, I was driving. The Lord must have had some Angel take over at the wheel, because I was caught up in the most incredible vision. Here’s what I saw:

I was standing in the middle of a field on a farm. Jesus was standing in front of me. His long hair was blowing in the wind. He was dressed in overalls. He looked at me intently. The, very gently, He reached down and scoped up some dirt in the palm of His hand. He brought His palm up close to His mouth, staring at the dirt. Then He stretched His arm out, palm facing up, and spun around. As he was spinning, He began to blow upon the dirt in His hand. Instantly, the dirt flew out of His hand and scattered across the land like seeds being scattered. Instantly, as the dirt hit the ground, crops began to shoot up, as far as the eyes could see. Then looked at me with soft tender eyes, very close, and said, “Boy, what I can do with dirt.”

I was blown away, crying my heart out. He, in a moment, when I expected rejection and the firm hand and discipline of a father, showered me with love and favor. Like Mary, I wanted to run to Him and cling to Him. I had found my Lord in the midst of my pain.

I came to, still driving, and cried and praised Him all the way home. His love nature drew me in. His tender mercy and compassion caused me to want to go deeper. I knew one thing, His love for me was unshakable, and it caused me to love Him even more.

When we get this, we will truly be able to show the world the love of Jesus Christ. The resurrection is wrapped up in love and mercy. Like the sons of Aaron, we are called to carry the Ark of resurrection and presence before us in battle. That Ark is, in essence the Ark of tender mercy and love wrapped up with His presence and His power.

Paul reminds us of this very thing when he says:

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.”

- 1 Cor 13:1-10

The last day’s bride is a lovely bride. She will move out with incredible grace, mercy, peace, and love. She is so lovely that she will literally draw the Lord of Glory to return for her. Be lovers dear children. Seek what Moses sought. Be as eager as Mary, and lay your preconceived ideas at the doorstep of the tomb. Embrace Him like John the beloved at the last supper. Be clothed by Him like Gideon of old. Run to Him and don’t stop until you have a life changing love encounter with Him. Only then will you be His eyes, hands, feet, and heart to this dying, hungry planet. He needs your loveliness.