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Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000715S
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00:01 (Breath of Life Theme Music)
00:08 Sermon #B715 - Let It Rain 00:20 If you will, take your Bibles and join me and go to the book of Acts, Acts 2. Remember, last Sabbath, we spoke on Acts 1. 00:29 We are now in part two of a special series on Church growth. Last Sabbath, Acts 1, we dealt with the upper room. 00:37 This Sabbath part two, we deal with Let It Rain, and I want to invite you. Let me invite you now to take your Bible 00:44 and go to the book of Acts, Acts . We're going to verse number one. We're just going to read verses 1, 2, 3, and 4. 00:51 Acts 2:1-4, the word of God says ─ you're hearing from the King James version of the Bible, 01:03 "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place." Verse 2, 01:11 "And suddenly" ─ If you were in the congregation, I'd say repeat that. 01:15 "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, 01:20 and it filled all the house where they were sitting." Verse number three, " 01:24 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them." 01:32 Verse number four, "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, 01:40 as the Spirit gave them utterance." 01:45 Today, we want to challenge you on the subject Let It Rain. Let it rain. let it rain. Let us pray. 01:53 God, we thank you right now. We have sung. We have listened to the offering appeal. 01:59 We've been blessed by children's ministries, by Oaktown. The Aeolians have warmed our hearts. 02:03 Praise team, they have also sung and blessed us. We've had the Sabbath School Study. 02:09 Now, Lord it's time to hear a word from you. I pray that You would speak. Speak over the internet airwaves, 02:16 the television monitor waves, smartphones and iPads. Lord, speak. When your servants through this Word today, 02:23 may they say they will follow Your Word, and they will follow You. 02:27 God, make us fall in love with You all over again through this message, we pray. Forgive us for our sins. 02:33 Hide us behind Your cross. When the appeal time comes, I'm asking, Oh, God, that men, women, boys, 02:38 and girls will respond to Your voice. Thank You, Lord, for hearing this prayer. Thank You for answering this prayer. 02:43 Thank You in advance for what You're going to do today. It's in Jesus name we pray, Amen. Amen. 02:51 Let me start this way. Let me start this way. Let me start this way. When I was growing up as a kid, 02:58 I hated watching the news. When I was a kid, I hated watching the news, but my parents, they liked watching the news. 03:12 Because I was living in their house, I had to watch the news. Do I have a witness in somebody today? Now, understand. 03:20 I hated watching the news, but they like to watch the news. The only part of the news I liked was the sports. 03:29 Therefore, if I wanted to see the sports, I had to first watch the news headlines. After I watched the news headlines, 03:39 I then had to watch the weather report, and somebody know what I'm talking about. 03:43 I had to wait till the news headlines were over, and then I had to wait until the weather report was over. 03:49 Then, I could watch the sports. They made it clear as long as I was in their house, they were in charge. 03:52 Now that I'm a little older, 03:55 I pay even more attention to the weather. Will it be sunny today? Will it be cloudy today? Will it be rainy today. 04:05 Is snow in the forecast? I now ─ and I believe I got two witnesses watching. 04:11 I now religiously go to the weather app on my phone to see the ten-day forecast. 04:18 I even like to see what's going to happen every hour on the hour. Somebody knows what I'm talking about. 04:24 Now, in Alabama, we don't get much snow. If we do, they set it down around here. Are you hearing what I'm saying? 04:31 But in Alabama, we get a lots of rain. Now, most people don't like to go out in the rain. 04:38 There are car accidents in the rain your hair gets wet in the rain. Your feet get wet in the rain. 04:48 Your car gets dirty from the rain. Even some people can get sick from the rain. 04:55 Most people don't like being out in the rain. But having rain is not that bad because rain is water 05:03 and we need water to survive. Are you hearing what I'm saying? We need water to drink. Praise God. 05:10 We need water so cook. Thank You, Jesus. We need water to wash. Amen. Somebody, we need water to clean. 05:18 Water is essential for life, and we get water from rain. If we didn't get rain, our land wouldn't cultivate. 05:29 Our seeds wouldn't sprout. Our plants wouldn't grow. Our plates would be empty because there will be no food to grow. 05:38 So praise God for the rain. Now, rain is not only important in our day, but rain was also important in Bible days. 05:49 The Bible is full of rain stories, but the Bible specifically speaks of three kinds of rain. 05:57 Number one, the raining of water. Noah preached a hundred and twenty years and told the people it's going to rain. 06:05 Number two, the raining of fire. Elijah called on God to rain down fire on the altar at Mount Carmel. 06:12 Jezebel and her gods were there. It happened. His gods were there, but somebody knows Jehovah God, Elijah's God, 06:20 Your God, my God, our God rains down fire. Then, number three, there's the raining of the Holy Spirit. 06:28 This raining of the Holy Spirit has two manifestations: the former rain and the latter rain. 06:37 Now, our text, Acts 2, talks about the former rain. Acts 2:1 begins by saying, 06:43 "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come." Stop right there. "When the day of Pentecost was fully come." Now 06:52 Pentecost means fifty. It was a reference to the fifty days between the beginning of the feast of Unleavened Bread 06:59 and the feast of the first fruits. It was fifty days after Jesus' resurrection. 07:05 Forty in which Jesus had repeated contact with His disciples just before His Ascension, 07:11 and then another ten days ─ ten plus forty is fifty ─ where the disciples, after Jesus' Ascension, 07:18 were in earnest prayer and about to witness something like never before. Pentecost is not a denomination. 07:27 Pentecost is not a doctrine. Pentecost is not something that causes division. 07:34 It was on the day of Pentecost that one of the most phenomenal important events in all of history took place. 07:43 It was on the day of Pentecost that the coming of the Holy Ghost took place. Now, I need to say this. A lot of times, 07:52 I feel that the Holy Spirit gets the least respect out of the trinity. But don't you ever forget, friends of mine, 08:00 that it's the Holy Spirit's work that's at the forefront of our Christian walk today. Are you hearing what I'm saying? 08:07 The day of Pentecost began the coming of the Holy Ghost. 08:13 Acts 2:1 says again, "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they" ─ the disciples ─ 08:21 "were all with one accord in one place." Now, that means they have the right environment. 08:28 That means there was a spirit of agreements. That they were all together. They were all unified. 08:37 I want to say right now, I've started it last week, but I'll finish it up this week. 08:41 The reason why we don't see many manifestations in the house of God anymore is because there's too much discord. 08:48 But the Bible lets me know that the power of the Holy Ghost is present when the people of God get in one accord. 08:57 Personal agendas have to get out of the way. Ego has to get out of the way. Self has to get out of the way. 09:04 How can two walk together, unless they agree? But somebody knows there's power when we come into agreement. 09:11 Somebody knows that whenever two or three are gathered in His name, great things happen. 09:17 Somebody knows that when we touch and agree, mighty manifestations take place in the body of Christ. 09:26 Regardless of your intellectual training, regardless of your analytical mind, 09:30 there comes a time when you have to move beyond skepticism into a realm of corporate collective faith that says 09:39 I believe that God is about to do something. I don't know what God is about to do, 09:46 but I believe God is about to do something. You see, I serve a God who can move things I can't move, 09:54 who can do things I can't do, and who can say things I can't say. I believe that God is about to do something. 10:03 When the people of God come together like this, we believe that people who come in sick can leave healed. 10:10 People who come in blind can leave seeing. People who come in lame can leave walking. 10:16 Whenever you create the right atmosphere, power will be released over God's Church. 10:23 How can people be in the church so long, on the same pew so long, singing the same song so long, 10:30 and their lives are in the same place because there's no environment. You, all, ought to hear what I'm saying. 10:36 No atmosphere for miracles to take place. But when the atmosphere is right, when the environment is right, 10:44 when the people of God are in one accord, the presence of the Holy Ghost will be evident. 10:51 The world will be turned upside down. The gospel will be preached. Souls will be baptized. 10:57 The church will grow, and souls will be saved. 11:01 Let me tell you something I was reading this week. According to the Adventist commentary, 11:04 "Whatever interferes with such unity must be removed or it will obstruct the Holy Ghost." 11:12 That's why when I go in the hospital and I visit certain people, I tell people in the hospital room with the sick, 11:17 "If you don't believe that God has the power to raise this person above rare infliction, get out of this room." 11:23 We don't need conflicting spirits in this room because when the people of God come together, they're in one accord, 11:30 in the right environment, and the right atmosphere is set, mighty miracles will take place in the name of Jesus. 11:35 The text continues, verse number two, come on. Look at it. "And suddenly," I told them to underline that 11:42 because I want you to get that. "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, 11:49 and it filled all the house where they were sitting." I need you to understand what the Bible is trying to say. 11:55 The Bible says, "suddenly." If you were here, I would say to you say "suddenly." The Bible says, "suddenly." 12:02 Without warning. Suddenly which means unexpectedly. Suddenly which means immediately. 12:09 The disciples had no idea the way the Holy Spirit will come, but the Holy Ghost just came. 12:15 I can hear the Holy Ghost saying today that when you come to a place of agreement, 12:21 there are some manifestations that are going to take place in the body of Christ. 12:25 Not next week, not next month, not next year, but suddenly. God's going to bring about healing suddenly. 12:34 God's going to bring about deliverance suddenly. God's going to bring about rescue suddenly. 12:39 God's going to bring about salvation suddenly. God says, "Look, I'm tired of something taking so long in your life. 12:47 There are some things I'm trying to do suddenly." I wish I had a witness in this place. Verse three, come on. 12:53 Let's get to our verse three. The Bible says, "And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, 13:03 and it sat upon each of them." "There appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire 13:09 and it's set upon each of them." They not only heard the sound of a rushing mighty wind, 13:18 but they also saw a tongue shape flame of fire resting upon each of the persons in the group. 13:25 You, all, don't hear what I'm saying. 13:27 Now, don't get it twisted. The people are not physically blown in the room. The people's hair is not literally burned, 13:34 but these are just powerful symbols of a powerful spiritual experience. Don't miss the similes in the text. 13:42 You know, what similes are. The words like or as which are words used to compare something. 13:47 The Bible says a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind. The Bible says cloven tongues like as of fire. 13:58 What the Bible is trying to tell us is that like wildfire, the Holy Ghost spreads through their ranks. 14:06 Verse number four, "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, 14:15 as the Spirit gave them utterance." Now, this was not a mere moving of the spirit. 14:23 This was not a mere prodding of the spirits. This was not a merely the breath of the spirit. 14:31 This was the complete possession of the disciples by the Holy Spirit. 14:38 There's a difference between the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the filling of the holy spirit. 14:44 Let me say that again. There's a difference between the indwelling of the Holy Spirit 14:51 and the filling of the Holy Spirit. You see, understand? All believers in Jesus can have God's Spirit dwelling in them, 15:01 but not all believers live lives filled or controlled by the Holy Spirit's power. You, all, don't hear what I'm saying? 15:08 Some believers have all of the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit may not have all of them. 15:15 You, all, don't hear and I'm saying. We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit at the time of our salvation, 15:21 but we are filled with the Holy Spirit when we submit to him. 15:26 Verse four, look at it again. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues. 15:36 Tongue is underlined. Let me hit that right now because we need to know and be reminded what the Word of God says. 15:42 Again, not what somebody has told us, but study the word of God for yourself. Not what you have heard, 15:48 but you need to know biblically what the word of God says regarding the speaking of tongues 15:52 because if it ain't in the Word, it doesn't deserve to be heard. Are you hearing what I'm saying? We need to know. 15:57 You hear me say it all the time. We need to know what we believe, why we believe what we believe, 16:03 and where it's found in the Word of God. Quickly, the Greek word for tongues is glóssa. 16:11 That's where the word glossary comes from, glóssa. 16:16 In this text is the fact that the disciples ─ listen to me ─ began to speak in languages that were known by other people. 16:25 Unknown to them, but known to other people. 16:30 The ability to speak foreign languages was a gift given to the disciples for the special purpose of carrying 16:38 the gospel message to the entire world. Because at Pentecost, everybody came from everywhere they came from the north. 16:47 They came from the south. They came from the East. They came from the West. 16:51 People were in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost. 16:55 For the disciples, sake and for those who will receive the message through them, 16:59 the Holy Ghost enable the disciples to proclaim the gospel in the native languages or native tongues of the 17:06 different people. 17:08 When you read 1 Corinthians 12, you discover that tongues are a gift, 17:12 but the gift of tongues is not exclusive evidence of the Holy Ghost. What am I saying? 17:17 Don't let anybody tell you that you don't have the Holy Ghost because you don't speak in tongues. 17:23 Because I don't have to speak in tongues to have the Holy Ghost. I wish I had a witness in this place . 17:28 Tongues are a gift that is given. When you get to 1 Corinthians 14 in the Word, 17:36 the Bible declares how they are ought to be used. Because if there are tongues in an assembly, 17:44 if there are tongues in a gathering, if there are tongues in a congregation, there must be an interpreter. 17:52 Because all gifts are given for the edification of the body of Christ. You, all, don't hear what I'm saying. 17:58 If a spiritual gift is not manifested to edify the body, then it's not inauthentic gift from God. 18:06 I wish I had a church in his place. 18:08 1 Corinthians 14:4 says, "He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself." 18:18 If somebody spoke in tongues in church without interpretation those others present wouldn't know what he 18:26 or she was talking about. How could they take part in worship? How would they be edified? 18:34 You don't have to speak in tongues to prove you've had the Holy Ghost. I don't know about you, 18:40 but I want an authentic experience from God. I'm not looking to learn how to speak in tongues. 18:47 So don't take me up into a room and make me stay in that room all night long until I learn how to speak in tongues. 18:55 You, all, not ready today. But not only that, you don't have to wait all night long for the power of the Holy Ghost. 19:01 The Holy Ghost is already here. The Holy Ghost already came in Acts 2. That's the former rain, 19:08 but now the Holy Ghost wants to reign in our lives, that's the latter rain. 19:15 Joel 2:28 is clear. "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; 19:22 and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 19:28 " Church, God is about to pour out His Spirit on all flesh. That's men and women. That's all flesh. 19:37 God is about to rain, hallelujah, on His people. When you study Joel 2, the primary application of the former rain 19:48 and the latter rain is the restoration of adequate rainfall. The former rain fell in the fall 19:57 and it promoted germination. The latter rain fell ─ read Joel 2 ─ in the spring and help to bring the crops to maturity. 20:07 When we apply this to God's Church, the former rain and the latter rain both represent the work of the Holy Ghost. 20:16 The former rain represents the outpouring of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost. 20:21 In Acts 2, the latter rain represents the outpouring of the Holy Ghost which produces the ripening of the harvest 20:29 in the last days just before Jesus comes. Let me tell you something. This latter rain is not a sprinkling. 20:39 It's not a little shower, but it's a downpour. Ellen White makes it very clear to us. 20:45 In Great Controversy page six hundred eleven, 20:48 she says, "The great work of the Gospel cannot close with less power than marked its opening." 20:55 Which means that the second rain, the latter rain, will be greater than the former rain. 21:01 I get excited when I think about that. Because you know what that means? 21:04 if three thousand people were baptized in one day in the former rain, 21:12 imagine how many are going to be baptized in one day in the latter rain. 21:18 The events at Pentecost were just a partial fulfillment of Joel's prediction, 21:24 but the prophecy will reach its full accomplishment in the last days in us. In other words, child, 21:32 you ain't seen nothing yet. God wants to rain his Holy Ghost in us not next week, not next month, not next year, 21:42 but now. God wants us to take the gospel now. God wants us to let it rain. 21:51 Now, I'm not a weatherman. I'm not a meteorologist, but I can tell you something about rain. 22:02 Number one, if the atmosphere is cold, water molecules will bond with cold particles in the air and you get snow. 22:14 If the atmosphere is cool, these same water molecules will bond with cool particles in the air and you will get sleet. 22:24 But if he atmosphere is warm and water particles bond with warm particles in the air, you get rain. 22:35 If you have a cold atmosphere, snow. If you have a cool atmosphere, sleet. If you have a warm atmosphere, rain. 22:45 I'm going somewhere with this. 22:47 Oh, but when your heart is warm, when your heart is warm, 22:51 your heart is right to receive the Holy Ghost and the Holy Ghost will reign in your life. Let me tell you something. 22:59 I seen it rain so hard that entire houses have been washed out. Entire communities have been washed out. 23:07 Entire cities have been washed out ]. That's what the Holy Ghost will do when you let Him in your life. 23:13 He will clean you up. He will clean you out. You will be a new man. You will be a new woman. 23:20 If any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things are passed away. All things become new. 23:26 When it rains, God changes you. God washes the old man. God washes the old woman. 23:33 God washes them away and cleans you up and clean you out. Let me tell you. When the Holy Ghost rains, 23:38 saints are made out of sinners, deacons out of drunkards, pathfinders out of pimps, choir members out of blue singers. 23:49 believers out of doubters, strong men out of weak men, brave women out of scared women, 23:57 humble men out of high-minded me, conquerors out of cowards, Christian witnesses out of cursing tongues. 24:05 Let it rain 24:07 Let me tell you something. God is getting ready to bring somebody out. 24:12 God is getting ready to bring somebody out of their dry season. Somebody's in a drought right now. 24:18 Somebody's in a dry place right now. A dry place with no job. A dry place, you're lonely. A dry place with no money. 24:26 A dry place, you can't pass the test. A dry place, your marriage is on the rocks. Some people, some places, 24:32 and some things are dead and dry, but God is about to rain in somebody's life. 24:38 God is about to bring a downpour in somebody's life. 24:41 I'm not a weatherman. I'm not a meteorologist, but I know something about the rain. Number two, 24:47 I've learned that you hear rain before you see rain. Somebody missed that. Let me say that one more time. 24:55 I said you hear rain before you see rain. You hear thunder and lightning before you see it. 25:03 You got to hear God say it's going to rain before you see it's going to rain. 25:08 God told Noah, "Noah, it's going to rain," before no even saw rain. you, all, don't hear what I'm saying. 25:14 You got to hear God say you're going to be healed before you see your healing. 25:19 You got to hear God say that you're going to get a new job before you see it. 25:24 You've got to hear God say you're going to be married before you even see that man, or see that woman. 25:30 You got to hear God say that your son, your daughter, your grandson, 25:35 your granddaughter is coming back to the Lord before you see them coming back to the Lord. 25:39 I once was young, but now I'm old. I've never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread. 25:47 You hear rain before you see rain. You better tell somebody after you leave church today on the internet, 25:53 "I don't see it, but I can hear it." I said, "I don't see it, but I can hear it." 26:00 I almost gave up but I heard something. I almost threw in the towel, but I heard something. 26:08 I almost walked away, but I heard something. I almost left the ministry, but I heard something. 26:15 I almost dropped out of school, but I heard something. I almost left my marriage, but I heard something. 26:23 I almost left the church, but I heard something. In the name of Jesus, you hear rain before you see rain. 26:34 I'm not a weatherman. I'm not a meteorologist, but I know something about rain. Number three, when you hear something, 26:47 you got to tell somebody. I said, "When you hear something, you've got to tell somebody." 26:55 When you hear that rain is coming, you tell somebody. You see, when you hear that a hurricane is coming, 27:03 you tell somebody. When you hear that a thunderstorm is coming, you tell somebody. 27:10 When you hear that a tornado is coming, you tell somebody. I want somebody to know, 27:17 somebody who's watching right now. I hear rain, and I've got to tell somebody. 27:23 I came to tell somebody that God is about to rain on somebody. 27:28 I came to tell somebody that God is about to bless somebody. I came to tell somebody that the best is yet to come. 27:37 I came to tell somebody that your best days are in front of you. 27:41 I came to tell somebody that you're latter will be greater than your former. I hear the abundance of rain. 27:49 I hear somebody coming out of their drought, out of their negativity, out of their depression, out of their illness, 27:56 out of their sickness, out of their financial place. You may be in a dry place. You may be in a drought, 28:04 but God's about to rain. Not a shower, not a sprinkle. Get ready for the abundance of rain. 28:17 Jesus is soon to come. Go tell it on the mountain, 28:22 over the hills and everywhere. Go tell somebody that Jesus was born. 28:28 [END] |
Revised 2021-04-29