The Latter Rain
One song we don’t really want to sing today is Holy Spirit rain down. We have cancelled church because most of us cannot get to it, it’s flooded. The lower carpark at church?… Don’t even bother unless you have a snorkel. So between COVID and floods, we are seeing unprecedented difficulties having church this month, but so much rain reminds me of the blessings of God being poured out upon us.
Deuteronomy 11:10-15 (ESV)
For the land that you are entering to take possession of it is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated it, like a garden of vegetables. But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, a land that the LORD your God cares for. The eyes of the LORD your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
“And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full.
Water, as I said last week, is often representative of the Holy Spirit. Hence the imagery of the river of God, and we discussed how God is pouring out His Spirit, and you can choose to go into the river of God ankle, knee, waist deep or totally immersed. The water brings life where ever it goes. And the rain, yes even this extreme amount that we are seeing, is still a blessing. Flooding, damage and all, in the Bible water represents the incredible blessings of God.
THE BLESSING FLOWS TWICE
Time has 2 words used in the Bible to describe it, CHRONOS and kairos.
CHRONOS is what we think of as time, hours, minutes, seconds, days, etc. Kairos is different, it is a God appointed time, a specially marked out season. And our nation is in a special season right now. You are in a special season right now too.
A SEASON OF RAIN
Getting back to the rain, in Israel there are 2 God appointed seasons of rain.
The early rain, in Autumn, Oct to Nov,
and the latter rain in spring, March to April.
Deuteronomy 11:14-15 (ESV)
he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full.
In Israel God sent rain in seasons. If it rains all year, there won’t be a harvest. In fact, there would be floods, much like downtown in our city right now. As I said, In autumn, the early rain falls, and in spring, the latter rain falls.
The early rain falls in the months of October and November, and this rain is for cultivating the seeds when they’re first planted.
Back then, after the Israeli farmers planted their seeds, they prayed for rain.
Now you need to understand that this is different from how they used to farm in Egypt.
Deuteronomy 11:10-11 (ESV)
For the land that you are entering to take possession of it is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated it, like a garden of vegetables. But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven,
“the land of Egypt … where you sowed your seed and irrigated it”, means “watered it by foot” — When they were in Egypt, the way they farmed was by hard labor, watering their seeds by foot. Water was dispersed using a system that required pedaling.
“the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the Lord your God cares” — When God brought them to Canaan their promised land, they no longer depended on their old system of irrigation by foot. They depended totally on rain from heaven.
Deuteronomy 11:12 (ESV)
a land that the LORD your God cares for. The eyes of the LORD your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
In Egypt, they had to look down at their pedals and see their own work. In Canaan, the only option they had was to look up and see God work. They depended on Him for rain. They depended on Him to care for their land.
THE RAINS
Deuteronomy 11:14-15 (ESV)
he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full.
Early rain — In the Hebrew, early rain is “yoreh,” which means “shooting arrows.” But another word for early rain is “moreh,” a derivative of the word “yoreh.” And “moreh” means “teacher.” The early rain establishes the work, and gets the seeds sprouting and establishes them. If you miss the early rain, you miss the chance of a decent harvest.
Latter rain — In Hebrew, latter rain is “malqosh.” The latter rain matures the crops and brings the harvest to fullness. It ushers in the time to “gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil.” And or course the grain and the new wine — represents the bread and wine of the Holy Communion.
The oil — represents the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
At Ignite, we have seen God do so much. We have seen the miracles of the former rains, that has started ministry and seen it grow. But the lesson of the latter rain tells us that God is not done yet. The latter rain is where the harvest becomes a bumper harvest, it’s what accelerates the Blessing of God to exponential levels. And God specifically challenges us to ask for the latter rains.
Zechariah 10:1 (ESV)
Ask rain from the LORD in the season of the spring (latter) rain,
from the LORD who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field.
“showers of rain” — the Hebrew word for “showers,” is “geshem,” which actually means “torrential rain.” It refers to a heavy downpour, much like the I aptly names Sunshine Coast right now.
The root word of “geshem” means “manifest.”
So we will see God manifest in a palpable, tangible, even torrential way this year.
A cloud “manifests” itself in the form of rain. When it rains, we can feel and experience the water that was in the cloud. The whole time God traveled with His people in the wilderness, He was in a cloud, but He never rained on them. He never manifested Himself to them in that way.
But once the people settled in the land, that’s when the rain became a serious necessity. No manna, no quail, they had to trust God in a different but very real way.
Joshua 5:12 (ESV)
And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
We are at the point where we need to see God pour out the latter rain upon us so we can see abundance in the harvest.
CLOUDS MANIFEST RAIN
Hundreds and thousands of tons of water are released from the clouds through rain. If all the water was released at one time, like here right now, the result is havoc. It causes death, extensive damage an sludge and mud everywhere.
But mostly, in His kindness and mercy, God releases water on the earth in rain, in small doses. Rain that can drop on a little flower and not destroy it.
This is how God gives us His Word too:
Isaiah 55:10-11 (ESV)
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
“For as the rain comes down … So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth … it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” — When God’s Word, His pure concentrated wisdom, falls on us like rain, it will cause us to prosper. Just like the rain causes the seeds to bud and the trees to blossom.
The world right now will grow darker and darker. The fear of global warming was replaced by the fear of COVID, which just this week has been super ceded by the fear of world war with Russia invading Ukraine.
But for the church, it’s going to be a year of the latter rain. We will receive showers of blessings. It will be a time of the harvest, a time of manifestation of blessings. This year I believe we will see blessing in a scale beyond what we have ever seen before.
These blessings are for the people who gather corporately as the church. Keep on coming to church. Don’t just come to church on Christmas or Easter Sunday, come. Knit in, be part of the Ignite community, if you can’t be here physically, commit to being online.
2022 is the year of the latter rain, and we will see, feel, touch, experience the presence and power of God in a way that we have never seen before.
Ezekiel 34:26-27 (ESV)
And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land.
Remember the showers of blessings is a torrent, not a trickle.
When you are drenched in the rain, you look different. Your clothes are soaked, your hair is soaked. The rain changes your appearance.
This year, when you experience the latter rain, you will look different in a good way. People around you will see it. Your relatives will see it.
GOD’S PROMISE FOR US THIS YEAR
Joel 2:23 (ESV)
“Be glad, O children of Zion,
and rejoice in the LORD your God,
for he has given the early rain for your vindication;
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the latter rain, as before.
And he goes on to say, the next verses…
Joel 2:24-25 (ESV)
“The threshing floors shall be full of grain;
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
I will restore to you the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent among you.
The latter rains are associated with the restoration God promises us. They come together. God’s blessing restores the years the locusts have eaten.
God has established us by the former rain of righteousness. We come to Jesus, the seed of His Spirit sprouts. His life is there. His presence is there. Our church is established, but as I look out my window at the superabundant rain, the Lord reminds me that the increase the real overflowing, super abundant blessing comes with the perfectly timed (in God) latter rain.
This year, for us as a church and I believe for you as God’s people, is going to be a year of latter rain, a year of God pouring out increase. This is the year when the years the locusts have eaten will be restored. This is the year when God will open the flood gates. So what do we need to do to revive this?
BE FAITHFUL
That’s God’s promise and it’s His part, but what is our part. It is to trust God, and believe His Word. Our part is to give of ourselves fully to Him. Let me finish with the challenge God gave the people of Israel. Malachi accused the people of robbing God, but giving God damaged, blemished sacrifices. They were giving God the dregs, keeping the best for themselves. God issues the same challenge to us today.
Most of us have held back of our time, our finances, our lives, our hopes and dreams form the Lord. We give a little, but not excessively. We go ankle deep, maybe knee deep, but not too far. Let’s not get too over committed. Let’s not get too fanatical. But right now our dark world needs more that moderately committed Christians. This is the challenge…
Malachi 3:10 (ESV)
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.
Tithe is not just money, it’s time, it’s dreams, it’s all of you. Bring the best of yourself and give it to the Lord right now, and see if He doesn’t open the floodgates of heaven and pour down blessing until there is no more need.
God challenges us to test Him… Try me out, I dare you! Trust me for the latter rain and see if I’d do not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out blessing until there is not more need.
WHAT DOES THE FORMER AND LATTER RAIN RESULT IN?
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO INCREASE THE HARVEST OF BLESSING IN YOUR LIFE?
Image by Markus Distelrath from Pixabay
