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The
Latter Rain Outpouring of the Spirit
It is going to rain. The
Bible is no hit-or-miss weather prophet. When the
Bible predicts rain, it will come.
The Bible predicts two rains, a rain of
powder and dust (Deuteronomy 28:24),
and showers of blessing (Ezekiel
34:26). The first rain the impenitent will
receive; the second, the penitent.
The barometer of the
Bible picture stormy times ahead. Of ancient
Babylon, Jeremiah declared, Thus said the
Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from
nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall go
forth from nation to nation, and a great
whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of
the earth. And again we read, Behold,
the whirlwind of the Lord goeth forth with fury,
a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain
upon the head of the wicked
In the latter
days ye shall consider it. Jeremiah 25:32;
30:23,24. And with this latter-day whirlwind,
which vents its fury upon the wicked, will come a
strange kind of rain. Thy heaven that is
over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that
is under thee shall be like iron. The Lord shall
make the rain of thy land powder and dust.
Deuteronomy 28:23,24. Such will be the lot of men
today who harden their hearts against Gods
Spirit. A prudent man forseeth the evil,
and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and
are punished. Proverbs 22:3.
However, another kind of
wind will also blow, the fresh winds of the Holy
spirit; another kind of rain, the latter rain
outpouring of the Spirit; and another kind of
harvest, the ripened fruit of a mature Christian
experience. (Isaiah 4:2.)
The everlasting
gospel is going with accelerated momentum
to every nation, and kindred, and tongue,
and people. (Revelation 14:6,7.) God has
set His hand a second time to gather
a remnant from the earth. (Isaiah 11:11,12.) When
God sets His hand to do a work, it will be done.
For he will finish the work and cut it
short in righteousness: because a short work will
the Lord make upon the earth. Romans 9:28.
The thrilling climax of
the plan of salvation lies just ahead when the
whole earth will be lighted with Gods
glory. (Revelation 18:1,2.) In Moses day
God insisted, As truly as I live, all the
earth shall be filled with the glory of the
Lord. Numbers 14:21. Isaiah, though he
foresaw a moral blackout in times last
houralso saw an awakening: Arise,
shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of
the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the
darkness shall cover the earth, and gross
darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise
upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon
thee. Isaiah 60:1,2.
What prerequisites must
the church meet in order to receive the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which will make
manifest the glory of the Lord? The fullness of
the Holy Spirit will come only after we have had
an upper room experience similar to
that of the disciples of Christ after His
resurrection. (Acts 1:2.) Then we shall
emphasize:
Revival and Reformation:
revival calls for a turning from those worldly
pursuits that displease Goda conscientious
about-face to make God first in all things. God
cannot give His Spirit in large measure to
lukewarm people who are under the illusion that
they are rich and have need of nothing.
Sin cannot be palliated,
ignored, or excused. With contrition of heart,
all must individually seek the hidden causes of
their spiritual feeblenesssuch as pride of
opinion, sensitiveness to slights, unholy
ambitions, soul-and-body destroying lusts, and
selfishness in its varied formsand
literally root them out of their lives. The
repentance called for in Revelation 3:14-20 must
be complete. We must loathe and despise our
inconsistencies, our petty feuding, and our
involvements with worldly amusements. With
warmth, ardor, and a holy animation we will
testify to the saving grace of Christ.
Christ our Righteousness:
Instead of taking pride in personal attainments,
seeking position, place or power, the heart
yearning of everyone will be to exalt and extol
the blessed Savior as the One altogether lovely.
When Gods people truly glorify Christ,
rivers of water will flow from them to bless all
whom they contact. (John 7: 37-39.)
The theme of
righteousness by faith will no longer be only a
formal confession of faith. People will glow with
the living experience that has brought them into
intimate relationship with Jesus. They will
detest the unclean garment of their own
righteousness (Isaiah 64:6) and array themselves
in the beautiful clothing of heaven (Isaiah
61:10). And as they sow
in
righteousness, Jesus will come and
rain righteousness upon them. (Hosea
10:12.)
Prayer: As earnest,
prevailing prayer ascends to the glory courts, we
may expect to receive the later rain.
(Luke 11:13.) Those who do not pray for this
blessing disqualify themselves to receive it, for
they would not appreciate the gift if God
bestowed it upon them. To encourage our
petitions, God offers to pour upon His faithful
people the spirit of grace and
supplications. (Zechariah 12:10.) He
admonishes, Ask ye of the Lord rain in the
time of the latter rain, then He promises,
So the Lord shall make bright clouds, and
give them showers of rain, to every one grass in
the field. Zechariah 10:1. God would have
His people eager to receive the blessing He would
give them to empower them to reveal the gospel to
the whole world.
Spare thy People:
Specifically the entire church should pray,
Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not
thine heritage to reproach. Joel 2:17. The
ungodly have ridiculed, mocked, and derided the
people of God because their lives did not
harmonize with their high profession. The fruits
of the Spirit so beautifully exemplified in the
life of Jesus are yet to be seen in their
fullness in the lives of His children. When in
their distress Gods people plead for
victory and persist until they get victory, the
rain will come. (Verse 23.)
Bible Study: Part of the
restitution of all things, which God hath
spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets
since the world began is the
refreshing spoken of in Acts 3:19-21.
When Gods people know a fullness of truth
through their study of Gods Book of Truth,
God will give them the refreshing
promised.
Obedience: The
people in whose heart is my law (Isaiah
51:7), those who diligently hearken unto my
commandments (Deuteronomy 11:13, 14), are
those who accept the Spirit in faith. We
are his witnesses;
and so is also the Holy
Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey
him. Acts 5:32. Thus, obedience plays a
role in the reception of the Spirit.
Perseverance: God has no
reluctance to fill His last-day disciples with
His Spirit, but in faith (Galatians 3:14) they
must follow through in order to receive the
blessing. Then shall we know, if we follow
on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared
as the morning: and he shall come into us as the
rain, as the latter and former rain unto the
earth. Hosea 6:3. When like Jacob at Jabbok
Gods last-day disciples wrestle with the
angel, saying, I will not let thee go,
except thou bless me, the blessing will
come.
Unity: Fellowship of the
Spirit produces unity. The Spirit in one disciple
could never be at war with the Spirit in another.
When the 120 had achieved complete oneness, the
Pentecostal showers fell. (Acts 2:1-4.) We may
all expect the harvest rain to fall when
Gods children experience the unity of the
Spirit. (Ephesians 4:3-13.) Thy watchman
shall
see eye to eye, when the Lord shall
bring again Zion. Isaiah 52:8. This unity
of Spirit will unlock the floodgates of spiritual
power.
Missionary Witnessing:
What message do you have that is so important to
the world that you must have the power of the
latter rain to tell it? How has the message
affected you? What is it doing in you and for
you?
Are the three
angels messages of Revelation 14: 6-12, the
last messages of mercy to be heralded before
Christs Second Coming (Revelation 14:14),
like a burning fire shut up in your bones so that
you feel distressed to remain silent and find
relief only in heralding them abroad (Jeremiah
20:9)? The latter rain will fall on those who
allow God to use them in any way He chooses.
What can we expect when
the latter rain falls? Converts will flock to the
church. Zechariah 8:23 predicts, In those
days
ten men shall take hold out of all
languages of the nations,
of him that is a
Jew [that is, a believer], saying, We will go
with you: for we have heard that God is with
you. The plowman shall overtake
the reaper. Amos 9:13.
Converts will not be of
the mixed-multitude variety. Isaiah cried out,
Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion:
. Henceforth there shall no more come into
thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
Isaiah 52:1. The church waiting for their
Lords return will be a glorious
church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such
thing. (Ephesians 5:27.) She will be
beautiful and comely,
fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and
terrible as an army with banners. (Song of
Solomon 6: 4,10.)
How will this be
accomplished? Will it be by formulas, slogans,
and catch phrases? By human wisdom, might, and
power? The grand secret of success calls for
something more: Not by might nor by power,
but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
Zechariah 4:6.
Thrilling
days lie just ahead. What joy can be compared
with that of being used by the Spirit to gather
in earths harvest? Showers of
blessing await total commitment.
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