The Lord will Pour Out His Spirit

Israel rejected God but in anguish and intercession the priests of God and the people of God went to the house of God and pleaded on behalf of the people for the Lord to have mercy on his people.

Christians across the world are pleading in anguish and intercession that the Lord relents from his wrath and that he pour out his Spirit one last time as a testimony for revival to ensue.

And the Lord will have pity on his people. The Lord relented from his wrath and he made an offering on behalf of us.

Joel 2:23 ““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.”

The early rain, the 1st outpouring of the Holy Spirit happened at Pentecost. For:

1. Our vindication; Jesus came to legally clear us of all wrongdoing, he came for our salvation.

2. To teach: Early rain = Moreh = to teach

Acts 2:17 - Peter’s sermon is the first fulfillment of this prophecy…To spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. To scatter the seed of the gospel and teach all of man who this Jesus Christ is.

The latter rain, the 2nd outpouring of the Holy Spirit will happen right before the tribulation. Before the end. For:

The gathering: Later rain = malqosh = to gather

Matthew 9:37-38 “…The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

The crop is fully mature. It is grown. And the harvest is about to come. The rapture, the gathering of God’s people.

Joel 2:28 ““And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.”

What power will come!!

Acts 3:6 “But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!””

Acts 4:8 “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders,”

Acts 5:12 “Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico.”

Acts 5:15 “so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them.”

Acts 5:18 “they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison.”

Acts 7:59 “And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.””

Acts 20:9–10 “And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.””

Ohhh boy! the paralyzed walk, the weak preach with authority, the sick are healed, the righteous are imprisoned and martyred, the dead are raised to life. And the latter rain is greater than the early rain.

Joel 2:29 “Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.”

You think you’re not good enough for the Lord to pour out his Spirit? You think God can’t use you? Well I got news. God’s pouring out his Spirit on all who are open and willing.

You! You are not too weak. You are not unimportant.

If you are willing, if you just want to be used by God, the Lord will pour out his Spirit on YOU!

Joel 2:30-31 ““And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.”

Revival is coming, what can I do?

Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

Jesus says go to all nations! But stay right where you are…

Acts 1:4 And while staying with them [Jesus] ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father”

Acts 2:1–2 “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.”

They were ready. 120 on fire believers. All sitting in one place. Expectant for the Holy Spirit to show up. Expectant for the power of God to be poured out. Equipped in knowledge but now empowered by the Holy Spirit.

They’re now walking in Romans 15:18 “For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders…”

By word, by deed/action, by power.

In that, the gospel is ministered to all nations

Acts 2:47 “The Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

Stop sitting around thinking you aren’t ready. You aren’t good enough. You have more to learn and more to go.

John 16:6–7 “But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away…”

The disciples thought they were not ready.

The disciples were scared.

The teacher is gone. What on earth do I do?

Jesus says my power is made perfect in your weakness. GO!

It’s time to stop sitting around and waiting for perfection. It’s time to step out in boldness for the time is now!

Acts 4:31 “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”

Luke 12:12 “for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

Since you have been filled with the Holy Spirit, let his power rain down

1 Corinthians 4:20 “For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.”

Because we are pleading with God to have pity on his people. Because

2 Chronicles 7:14 “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

And praise God, revival will break out!

Joel 2:32 “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.”

The Holy Spirit. He’s coming like wind.

Wind creates an environment that shakes things up.

It was a beautiful, calm day. But then suddenly a strong wind came. The water became turbulent, rough. Waves began beating up against a man’s boat. As he rushed to the boat in an attempt to save it from being crushed against the dock.

The Lord is going to shake the world‘s possessions and the economy of this city with his power. And many will rush to their possessions, trying to save them from the wind of God. Their focus is on their wealth, status.

Others are putting on jackets, uncomfortable by the cold wind.

They protect themselves by putting on the comforts of the world, hunkering down to hide from the wind of God. God’s power can make your life uncomfortable, especially the parts that are raw and exposed. So in an effort to run away from the power of God. The calling God has on their life. They put on the comforts of life and stay silent. Ignoring what God is doing. Ignoring the obvious outpouring of the Spirit. Ignoring the obvious signs of revival. In favor of not offending. Or making others feel uncomfortable.

Others sitting and admiring the beauty of the wind and the transformation that it’s bringing even in the midst of chaos and its beauty.

They see the beauty in the chaos of the waves. They feel refreshed by the mighty rushing wind on their skin. And they feel ready for the Lord to bring transformation and revival in the chaos.

Jesus says come. And in faith, like Peter, they step out onto the chaotic waters. And like a windsurfer. He will glide calmly across the waves. The fin is underneath the chaos of the choppy waves as he moving calmly and unswayed by the chaos.

He’s using what others see as disruption as energy to propel him. Drive him at exponential speed towards the calling in which he’s been called. He’s at peace, using the same effort as he would on a day that wasn’t windy. But this time, the wind is tripling his movement.

On a regular day, he can move slowly as gusts of wind periodically come. As little breaths of God come across his life. He makes progress.

But when the latter rain comes. When the outpouring of the Holy Spirit comes like an aggressive rushing wind.

The preparation God has been taking you through. The training. The difficulty. The trials.

You have the confidence and peace to execute exactly as you have been these last 10 years.

Except the results won’t be gradual. They’ll be exponential. Because God’s power is being breathed upon it.

In the rushing wind there will be peace and we will excitedly expect the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:1–2 “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.”

The paralyzed walk, the weak preach with authority, the sick are healed, the righteous are imprisoned and martyred, the dead are raised to life. And the latter rain outpouring of the Holy Spirit is greater than the early rain.

Joel 2:28–29 ““And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.”

Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

Romans 15:18 … when we speak of what Christ has accomplished through us by word and action, by the power of signs and wonders…

Joel 2:32 “it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Oh Holy Spirit. Come like a fire. Come like a wind. Oh Holy Spirit won’t you come again!

PRAY

Revival break out in this city. Revival break out in the state. Revival break out in this country. Lord I plead with you pour out your latter rain on us. That we may see visions and prophecy. That by the ministry of the power Holy Spirit the nations will see there is a God in Seattle. And his name is Jesus Christ, the son of the living God!

That your power may pour out and revival will come down in this place.

That every person here expects the encounter. We expect you to show up in our lives.

We are called by your name, we have humbled ourselves, we are praying and seeking your face and turning from our wicked ways. We repent. We are turning away from sin completely. Lord, hear from heaven and forgive our sin and heal our country.

Zechariah 4:6 “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”

By the latter rain power of your Holy Spirit, rain Lord, let it rain!