LET THE RAIN FALL

FROM  BARREN TO FRUITFUL OR

FROM DRY TO WET

For sometime I have thought about, read about, and prayed about being in a dry and thirsty place. At some point I may have even wrote about it. But this morning here I am doing it again.

Throughout the Bible people of God have spend days and years in a place we often call the "Wilderness", or the "Desert Place"!

So even today God's people will at times find themselves in their own personal wilderness; either lead there by God or by our own making. I believe the church as a whole can also be lead into a season of a dry and thirsty place, barren, dry lack of water and seemingly unfruitful.

What is the purpose of the season of dryness when God leads us, the church, into a time in what seems barren and unfruitful? We find ourselves in a time of His preparation, while here we will find ourselves under His protection and His provision. But let's remind ourselves by traveling back through time.

Abraham called out by God to go to a land he did not know, yet he went though he was only a sojourner in desert places living in tents with his family. Found in Genesis chapter 12 and beyond. Recapped in Hebrews 11:8-9

Joseph forced into a wilderness by jealous brothers: 1. Thrown into a pit, 2. Sold into slavery, 3. Sent to prison, and 4. Prepared for the palace. In Genesis 45:7-8 Joseph tells his brothers "And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you on the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance (right here do you see Joseph just prophezied of the coming deliverance after spending 400 years in Egypt), So now it was not you who sent me here, but God, and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt." Yet, Joseph did not see this when he was in a pit, a slave, or in prison.

NOTE: God was silent during the 400+ years the children of Israel spent in Egypt not a word until Moses!

Oh let's not forget Moses; Moses raised in a palace, ran to the wilderness, the back side of the desert at 40 years of age, spent 40 years in the wilderness and then he had a burning bush encounter. Then God sent him back to Egypt to lead God's people out of slavery. Exodus 2:15

The Hebrew nation spent 40 years in the wilderness, just to get Egypt out of them. Numbers 13 & 14 records this for us. Here we find the why they spent 40 years in the wilderness!

King David, anionted by God to be king of Israel, yet had to continually flee and hide from Saul into wilderness areas 1Samuel 23:14

Many times prophets would and even today find themselves in a dry, barren place, depending on God and His guidance. Prophets are the mouthpiece for God, they must be aware, yet not consumed by all that is going on around them, God places them in isolation for a time, that they may learn to hear and identify His voice, they come to a wayward people of God (even today) and they speak the truth of God's word to a people/person/nation about the sin of rebelling against God, it is rebellion because they have turned from God to seek worldly pleasures, they have left the narrow path God places us on and allowed ourselves to both mix God and the world and compromise the truth with lies. Let's consider the prophet Elijah; man of God, that at his words the heavens were shut up from receiving rain and dew for 3 years. A drought came upon the land, crops died and waterways dried up, people found no food and no water to feed and refresh themselves. But as this began, God sent Elijah into a area (by the Brook Cherith), to hide him away and to provide for him during this 3 year drought."1Kings 17:6 the Ravens brought him bread in the morning & meat in the evening; and he drank from the Brook." Then the Brook dried up and God sent him into Zarephath because God had prepared the heart of a widow woman to receive him and to provide for him. Because he obeyed and went and she obeyed and gave all she had, God made sure they were both sustained during this barren time. 

NOTE: God will use people, today, to fulfill His plan to provide for others and as we know that throughout God's word that when we obey God and we give where and to who God says to give both the giver and the receiver are blessed. 

But this was chapter 17 and God was preparing Elijah for chapter 18.

Mount Carmel was in his future, please read all of chapter 18 because it is after the Mount Carmel victory that a cloud appears and the rain comes. But also comes chapter 19, and Elijah desires to die.

With the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, we see that once more God is silent for 400+ years. Not one word from God, until John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ were born.

John the Baptist, the forerunner to Jesus, who came in the spirit of Elijah, came out of the wilderness to preach repentance and water baptism, he came to announce the Messiah had come. Matthew 3:1-6

Jesus the Son of God lead into the wilderness by the spirit for 40 days to be tempted by the devil. Matthew 4:1

The Apostle Paul at his conversion spent 3 years in the Arabian desert to be taught by Christ Himself. Galatians 1:17, in fact read the whole of chapter 1.

There are times we feel alone waiting on a move of God in our lives and our land, a time of it seems it will never rain that heavenly rain in our lives or in our churches, our cities, our nation. Just waiting to hear from God! Waiting for the promise of that revival rain, that rain that will revive, restore, replenish the thirsty. That rain that will bring salvation and reconciliation, bring a renewed spirit within us. 

The silence from God's word among a nation unwilling to hear, a church unwilling to proclaim, a people unwilling to listen.

Yet there is a remnant, in the body of Christ that are hungry, thirsty, being prepared to receive revival, being prepared to be sent and are willing to go. Calling out to God, "Speak O Lord Your servant is listening", "Here am I send me"!

We have been in a spiritual season of dryness, for many years. Locked away to be prepared to receive and go. Revival we crave yet it is the very presence of God we crave more. Oh God, we are a hungry and thirsty people in need of You. We need God and we need His Word throughout us, our churches our nation our world, for our King is coming make yourselves ready.

Revival will not come upon a prayerless people, nor will it come on a church who has turned from the truth of God's word to walk in the ruins of this world. We can miss our time of visitation, because we did not watch and pray. America does not know God as the whole counsel of His word reveals, nor is there any fear of God. But there is coming an end to this drought from His word, a drought from His presence. For He is about to reveal Himself to His remnant churches who are seeking an encounter with our Holy God. Years ago in my time of prayer I asked "Father what will revival look and sound like?" He replied "The music will stop, the preachers can't preach, the altar will be full of weeping and laughing in joy, they will weep in conviction and rise rejoicing"! Oh how I long for that day to come. My pastor has been preaching on it is through prayer and by the word that revival will come so I searched the word in the scripture he gave, 2 Kings 22-23

In chapter 22, while under King Josiah they began to restore the temple and found the Book of the Law that had not been read, they brought it before the king (did not check to see how long it has been since the people had heard and read the Book of the Law) but when king Josiah heard it, it is recorded in 2 Kings 22:11 "he tore his clothes," this was an act of repentance. Upon hearing the word the king and the people fell under conviction and repentance. The same is true in Nehemiah when in building the wall and once more restoring the temple, they again found the Book of the Law, and they gathered all the people, young and old and in Nehemiah 8:6 the people responded the only way one could by hearing of the holiness of God, "they lifted up their hands, bowed their heads and worshipped".

In verse 9 we read "that all the people wept, when they heard the word of the Law."

Throughout the church age there have been times of great revivals; revivals that turned communities, cities and towns upside down. People falling to their knees in a holy fear of a holy God, just at the hearing of the word, people on the streets had an encounter with God and right there they fell under conviction and repentance and in faith gave their lives to Jesus. Oh that God in His grace and in His mercy will move again among us, His people, sending a God given revival upon a hungry and thirsty people. And people everywhere will be brought into the kingdom by the presence of God moving inside and beyond reaching out to all. Oh how I could go on and on, but I will close with two scriptures:

Amos 4:7-8 I also withheld rain from you, When there were still three months to harvest. I made it rain on one city, I withheld rain from another city. One part was rained upon , And where it did not send rain it withered. So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water, But they were not satisfied; Yet you have not returned to me says the LORD.

Amos 8:11 Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD GOD, That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But the hearing the words of the LORD.

America and the freedom of worship we have had for more than 200+ years has fallen into a position of not believing in God, no fear of God, mocking and laughing at God, and at Jesus, declaring to be godly yet denying the work of the Holy Spirit. We have become in many places, churches that fail to teach and preach the absolute truth of God's word, instead it is watered down least it offend the people and the world, it has allowed a demonic spirit of muteness to come in and silence our voices, deafen our ears to the truth, because we prefer opinions over truth, and itchy ears seeking a tickling versus the sound teaching. Oh see how far we have fallen, from going out into the highways and byways making known the goodness of God through our words and our lives, settling on our pastors to do it all, while we walk in and walk out and continue on as if the world is okay and so are we.

The prophets prophesized The Messiah is coming, the church confirmed Jesus is here and we are to go forth announcing "He's coming, Jesus is coming, Hope came as a baby, our Redeemer died as a Lamb, rose from the dead as our High Priest and be ready for our King the Lion of the Tribe of Judah is on His way"!!!!!

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