Rain
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Acts 2:1-21
Rain in the Bible is an interesting thing...
It is one of the great contrasts that we see...
You know, there are several contrasts...
Things that seem to be both good and bad...
Lion - devil is said to roam around like a like seeking someone to devour
Jesus will also return as the lion of Judah
Lake of fire is the place where those who reject Jesus will burn for all of eternity, but fire will also be used for purification…and, at pentecost the Holy Spirit was “like fire” when the tongues descended on those in the upper room
Water is used for the flood and destruction, but also for baptism and purification
A stone was used to kill Abel, but was also used to killed Goliath, and Jesus is the chief cornerstone..
So, there are several things that seem to be contrats or have dual meanings....
Rain is one of those things…can be used to indicate something not so good...
In Matthew 7 Jesus talks about how the rains come down and causes the streams to rise, which beat against the house on the sand and it falls…indicating destructive...
But, more so than not, rain is indicated as a good things!
It’s associated with healing and restoration....
So, I feel like God was saying to talk about this season of rain…It’s coming!
7 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. 9 Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
So, while we are dealing with the suffering and pain…we are called to wait for the rain...
In an agrarian culture, much like ours, rain is essential...
How many of you like rain?
The other night when it rained a little we went into the garage and just watched it, felt it, and Peter even danced in it!
Our land, needs it! This is something we all know and feel!
We need rain....
So, much like the farmers, who wait for rain, we too wait for the coming of Jesus!
Jesus loved to talk about farming…again, they are in an agrarian culture...
I am not a farmer, but I happen to know a few...
And it seems, there are seasons of farming...
There are times of preparing the land...
Then times of planting....
Both of those take a lot of work on our end!
Then there is time of waiting for the rain and growth of the crops....
There isn’t much on our end to do during this time...
At this point praying the rain comes and the crops grow...
Then we will more work to do when the harvest is ready...
I think that even in the history of the church, there have been seasons that we have been in...
There is a working the ground phase and planting phase...
We learn the Word of God, and so we can spread the word of God
There can be a lot of nuances and metaphors here, but bear with me...
In a perfect world, church lifecycles would look like this...
You would have a church planter (hence the name) move into an area and they would start “working the ground”
They would learn about the community and start building connections…they would do lots of research
They put out feelers to see what the needs of the community are...
And then they either find a place to meet or build one and start gathering with a small group of dedicated people who will do the work...
After being focused on vision and mission, they start praying and planting seeds...
They go out and share what is going on and start reaching people for Jesus....
Those seeds start to grow as more and more people are coming to the church meeting…and then those people start learning while the church is growing...
Then the people are sent out to continue spreading the Word and more seeds...
And things continue to grow, more “programs” or events....
Then the harvest comes! People are coming, being baptized, being discipled, and being sent...
This is the exciting point!
But, there are phases...
And at each phase, we believe in, pray for, and trust the work of God!
I don’t want to create a false dichotomy this morning between our work and God’s work as that isn’t helpful…We know that God is constantly at work…and we are constantly at work in some degree...
But I think there seem to be phases that seem like God is doing more of the heavy lifting...
I think the same is true in the bigger Church....
I think there are times when we seem to have more work than others...
I think there are times when we are busy doing the work of working the ground and planting and times when we we are waiting more for the rain and the growth....
During this time, God seems to be doing most of the work...
And, this morning, that is where I want to head...
I believe that what God is saying is that we are in a stage of waiting for the rain!
We are to be patient and to stand firm!
It seems like we are in a place where God is choosing to pour out His Spirit!
I believe God has been doing that since the day of Pentecost…but there seems to be times when it is more evident than other...
Michael Perkins did a good job of sharing about that through the revivals throughout the years..
As we read a few moments ago, at the day of Pentecost, Peter preached from the Prophet Joel
17 “ ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
What Peter is preaching there is a connection between what just happened with the Spirit Coming upon the people in the upper room and they began to speak in other languages....
the people heard them in native languages and accused them of being drunk...
Peter says Joel prophesied that this would happen
And that this would continue until the great and glorious day of the Lord...
So, when is this....well, it wasn’t Christ’s first visit as that already happened prior to the day of pentecost...
Almost all scholars believe this is the return of Christ and the judgement of Christ...
So, that means that God is still pouring out His Spirit until Christ’s return...
So, I think that we are to expect to see God working and pouring out His Spirit...
I looked up the greek definition of the word pour and it has a literal meaning and a figurative meaning...
Pour - ekcheo - literally - cause to flow out..like the rain
pour new wine into old wine skins
figurative - to fully experience
So figuratively, God is going to pour out His Spirit so that we can fully experience Him!
To fully experience the Holy Spirit, we have to allow the HS to work through us!
The work of the HS is both in us and through us!!!
Talk about Jesus
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Jesus was full…and led!
He was full in preparation to face the enemy
In Acts 4 Peter and John are out preaching after healing the lame beggar and get arrested
The next day they are questioned...
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people!
After this, many were together...
31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said,
So, to be filled with the Spirit means to be enabled to do something...
18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God pours out His Spirit not just for us, but so that we can do His work.....
God pours out His rain, to fill us, so that the overflow will splash on someone else!
When we are filled with the Spirit we receive
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
If you want this overflow…now’s the time