Are We Ready for the Latter Rain or Outpouring of the Holy Spirit?
The Lord has been revealing to me recently in several ways, that HIS church is unbalanced and immature and unable to grow because it lacks discipline and the ability to be corrected. No one can grow beyond their ability to receive correction, instruction and discipline and this lack of not being able to receive correction leads to severe discipline from the Lord and we donât understand what is going on. We do not have spiritual ears to hear and this starts at the top in the church. We have been falsely taught in the church that any exposure or bringing up sin or the condition of someoneâs heart is judging and that it is condemnation, yet that is the job of the Holy Spirit that has been given to us to make us Christ like and the Holy Spirit exhorts, reproves and rebukes as well as instructs unto righteousness. To reject this instruction unto righteousness, is to blaspheme the Holy Spirit and grieve Him which is not a good thing to do spiritually and think you will not reap bad repercussions. The word exhort means a light admonishment. It does not pat the flesh and make someone feel good by building them up. To reprove means to charge with a fault. This is not judging or condemnation and it is a work of the Holy Spirit. To rebuke means to show strong hatred for something you are doing and it is also a work of the Holy Spirit and is not judging or condemning but an attempt to turn you from your sin, causing you to repent and receive grace and forgiveness, rather than the Fatherâs judgment. You canât go through life without someone correcting or confronting you whether it be a boss, spouse, child, congregant if you are a pastor, neighbor or anyone in your life. You will be corrected and confronted and the Holy Spirit may be using someone in your life to do the correcting, instructing and confronting and that is why we need to be submitted to one another in the fear of the Lord.
God can give a Rhema or revealed word to a donkey, child, someone in your congregation, a friend, a boss or whoever He chooses to convey what God wants conveyed and to reject the donkey or congregant that God uses is to reject God if you refuse to be humble and seek God on what is being said. You may even perceive the person as not respecting authority, but it may be you that is the one not respecting authority because if you are submitted to the authority and Lordship of Christ, you will go to the Lord and ask Him if what is being said was of him. This is a time to remove the beam from your own eye before you remove the speck from anotherâs. A church leader submitted to the authority and Lordship of Jesus will get their eyes off the source and go to the Lord to see if what is being said is from Him. Perhaps the one not respecting authority is the church leader who rebukes the congregant for their disrespect, when the congregant was acting in obedience to the Lord to bring instruction and correction in a blind spot we may have. One reason we cannot receive correction or instruction is pride, rebellion, or your ability to separate who you are from what you do.
There are three attitudes shown in the bible that we can have when we are corrected, instructed, exhorted, rebuked or reproved. Those responses are one of despising as Hebrews 12:5 teaches. You despise Gods chastening, correction, instruction, exhortation, reproof and rebuke because of pride and your reaction will be to attack the person God sent to you to speak through and discredit them and lie about them and put them out of the church. You will be defensive and not humble yourself and submit to the authority of the Lord. There is a real problem in churches where there is an atmosphere where no one can question the pastor and he is idolized. God will dethrone Him real quickly for the sake of the sheep. His TV shows dry up for lack of funding. His money dries up. Anointed people leave the church. His vision and church building are removed from him and given to another. His programs dry up. If the Lord builds the house, He can sure tear it down as well or give it to another. With this type of person, whatever the person despises is what the Lord will use to speak through to humble them. If you hate donkeys, a donkey will be sent to you to speak. If you have problems with women, God will send a woman. If you despise people of color, that is who God sends to you with correction and confrontation. If the person refuses the instruction and blasphemes the Holy Spirit, the bible says let the ignorant be ignorant still if they are not teachable. If the meek or teachable inherit the earth, then surely those that are unteachable and do not receive correction will have taken away even that which they have. In some cases, the bible states that God will send them strong delusion because they received not the love of the truth and this was spoken to the church, not unbelievers. We donât fear God anymore or respect and submit to His authority but we are quick to accuse others of what we ourselves do.
Next response to being confronted, corrected, instructed, exhorted, reproved or rebuked is to faint from it through fear. This is done because the person interprets the confrontation or correction as condemnation and they lose hope as many do. The people who faint from fear do not understand
that the chastening is to help them and is done out of love and it is not condemnation, but to turn you from your path and back toward God in repentance so you receive His forgiveness and grace. This false âtherefore no condemnationâ teaching in the church has produced that as well as the false teachings on judging. Many people will tell you not to be judgmental in an attempt to silence you because they canât bear to look at their behavior in the mirror of Godâs word. There are many places in the bible where we are commanded to judge, but those who canât receive correction or confrontation silence you so they can remain in their sin and stick their head in the sand and thus they attack you. We have so many false teachings in the church that promote immaturity, that allow us to remain in our sin rather than be victorious over them.
Another response would be to endure the chastening, instruction, correction, confrontation, exhortation, reproof, rebuke through faith because it is being done by a Father who loves you, wants the best for you and requires submission to His authority and if the submission is not done, expect the spanking. Hebrews 12:7, 8 and 11
Correction is for the present and it confronts a sin. It comes from the Greek word meaning to straighten up again. Instruction is for the future and this comes when the person has received the correction and education is needed so that it doesnât happen again.
The Lord has been working on this message inside me for a while and this morning He gave me a dream. In the dream, I was in a little country church built at a slant on the side of an incline on the corner of a street. The church was in Florida because of the landscaping. It was a beautiful day and a class was being taught inside the church. I noticed that much socializing and talking were going on during the class and not many were even paying attention because of the social distractions as that is all church had become. When I would raise my hand to speak, I was ignored by the pastor because he was afraid of what I might ask or bring up. This happened several times and soon the side wall pulled away from the church building allowing birds (symbolic of demons in the bible) to fly in the church as the Rhema was being ignored and even silenced. Soon it started to rain heavily and the roof gave way to leaking inside the church causing ruin and the ceiling crumbled and the church slide off its foundation in the rain on the incline it rested on. You can pretty much expect an open demonic door if the foundation is not sound and in place. The rain symbolized the Latter Rain or the outpouring of the Holy Spirit which this particular church could not bear the weight of and instead of it bringing signs, wonders and miracles, it brought destruction as the Lord was gathering out of His kingdom all who offend and all workers of iniquity. A lot of people do not realize that God is glorified whether sin is overcome or when it is judged. The Holy Spirit was not received in this church and was silenced and the Holy Spiritâs latter rain brought it down. People got up to leave as the roof leaked and ruined the church. The teaching that was going on allowed people to remain in their sin and idolatry while ignoring God. The Lord then showed me a vision of the church while it was being built. The paint was pure radiant white on the walls. The stair case going to the balcony was beautiful and clean as was the whole rest of the church as it was being constructed as God intended and used as He intended. This was a beautiful church, without spot or wrinkle. Fresh, clean and white and it had gotten so defiled by false doctrines in our now apostate church that has fallen away from the truth. Also, in my dream, I remember an anointed lady next to me who was observing all the same things and she got up to leave the church and while she was standing she said, âI have got to intercede more for the churchâ. I left vowing to do the same and would ask the same of all who read. He is returning soon for a bride without spot or wrinkle. Be that wise virgin when He returns.
We have an image of Jesus only being nice and if something isnât nice it must be of the devil or flesh. All the church wants to hear today is flesh patting, ear tickling, make me feel good, only good news, bless me bless me words. Do you know how many times Jesus called people names and the disciples did as well throughout the scriptures. Our image of Jesus is unbalanced. The Kingdom of God has a king and you do not enter this Kingdom without submission to the King and that is why adulterers, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, people who put anything or anyone above God (idolatry) and so on will not enter this kingdom. I donât care if they did say a little pray and get water baptized. If they are practicing unrightoeusness they are not children of God. Search the scriptures because in them you think you have eternal life. If we do not repent and submit to the King, Jesus, we will not enter in. If we cannot receive correction and instruction, we will not enter in or we will be severely judged.
Many people say that Jesus did away with the law. These people have no clue what they are talking about and probably donât read the bible. Jesus didnât do away with the law, He fulfilled it. There were different kinds of laws. There is the sacrificial law, which Jesus fulfilled with His death and resurrection atoning for sin as the sacrificial lamb. There is the moral law of God which will never change. We are now empowered to keep His commandments by the power of the Holy Spirit given at Pentecost. God counts us as righteous as long as we are making the trip. Grace is not a license to sin but the power of God given to us not to sin which was never available before the death and resurrection of Jesus and the out pouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. This fulfills the moral law and willful sin is judged by the Father after knowing Christ as Hebrews 10 states. That word âjudgmentâ in Hebrews 10 means âcrisisâ or the time it is determined whether one will be cut off and die. It also mean condemnation. If you are in Christ Jesus you will not be willfully sinning. There is no excuse for breaking Godâs moral law if you have been empowered to keep them. There is the ceremonial law and this is the feasts. Jesus has fulfilled the feasts with the exception of three which are the rapture, second coming and thousand year reign.
The Passover
The term “passover” is to be considered in the sense of “hovering over”, i.e. to protect or deliver. God’s presence overshadowed His people for their protection. The nation of Israel was transferred from physical slavery leading to death in Egypt, to lifelong service to God. Likewise, the believer in Christ is delivered from spiritual slavery (bondage to sin) leading to death, to a life of service to Christ, leading to eternal life. Jesus, the Lamb of God, is our Passover.
1 Corinthians 5:7-8, “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
The Feast of Unleavened Bread
This was a continuation of the Passover. Yeast (or leaven) promotes fermentation and Scripture uses yeast as a type of sin (1 Corinthians 5:6,7). Forgiveness for our sins can be obtained through the intercession of Christ, our mediator. Entry to this feast is possible only because “Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.” Both the Passover and the feast without leaven show essentials for the believer. As there were 7 days eating bread without yeast, so for the believer there should be a complete life separate from sin. The sacrifice of Christ is of no benefit unless sinful yeast is excluded from our life.
The Feast of Firstfruits
This prefigured the resurrection of Jesus. The ceremony took place on the third day from the Passover; Jesus rose the third day (Matthew 16:21). 1 Corinthians 15:20, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” Until the sheaf of the firstfruits had been presented to the Lord, no one was permitted to eat bread, parched corn, or green ears. So, until God had reaped the firstfruits from the tomb in the garden, there could be no gathering of the harvest (1 Corinthians
15:23).
The Feast of Weeks (or Pentecost / Harvest)
This was held at the beginning of wheat harvesting, seven weeks from the Feast of Firstfruits (Leviticus 23:15-16). In the New Testament it is called Pentecost (Greek ‘pente’ = fifty). This festival commemorated the giving of the Law which took place 50 days after the Sabbath following the Passover. On the day of Pentecost following Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 2), a new revelation was given to the people in the gospel preached by the apostles, with the invitation to all to enter a covenant with God through baptism into Christ.
Acts 2:38, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every oneof you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
The Feast of Trumpets Prophesies the Rapture ofthe Church
Almost four months after the Pentecost, though not at a precise interval, the feast of Trumpets was a day of rest celebrated with trumpet blasts and sacrifices when the nation was presented before God. This prefigured the time when the Lord came down from heaven with the trumpet call of God.
1 Thessalonians 4:16, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God…”
1 Corinthians 15:52, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound…”
The Day of Atonement Prophesies the Second Coming of Jesus Christ
On this day the priests offered sacrifices of atonement for themselves and the people. The ordinance of the scape-goat was a figure of the death and resurrection of Christ, and the atonement thereby made, which pointed forward to the work of redemption accomplished by Christ.
Hebrews 9:7,11, “But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;”
Hebrews 9:24-26, “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”
The Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths) Prophesies the Millennium Reign of Jesus Christ
The feast of tabernacles commemorated their wandering forty years in the wilderness, but foreshadowed when they were given a judgment period of 40 years to repent before the destruction of Jerusalem. In contrast to the Day of Atonement, during which the Israelites were to afflict themselves, during this festival they are commanded to rejoice. This third great festival held at the end of the harvest prefigured when the redeemed rejoiced before God (Revelation 7:9-17). The harvest of faithful ones represented the final ingathering developed out of the waving of the first single sheaf (typifying the Lord Jesus Christ) on the first day of the week following Passover.