Intro:

[Psa 72:6 KJV] 6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers [that] water the earth.

Anyone here that likes a good thunderstorm?

Illustration: One of the most memorable moments for me happened when I lived in Texas. You know everything is bigger in Texas and that includes thunerstorms. This one was mammoth! It was a midweek evening, and everyone had gone to bed and you could hear the roar of the thunder getting loader and closer. Supposedly you count between the time you see the light and the time you hear the thunder and you are supposed to be able to tell how close it it. Well we were counting and the time between the lighting and the thunder was getting closer and closer, and louder and louder, when suddenly there was crash that sounded like the earth was opening up underneath the house, and the rumble was so deep and loud and vibrated with such intensity you would imagine all the windows on the house shattering…. It was a deafening boom, like a bomb, and immediately there was a flash of light from a lighting strike outside so bright that it lit up the entire house as if it was the middle of the day… and Oh the rain just pounded down on on the roof — If I had one word to describe that storm, it would be “POWER” — The Power of the earthshaking thunder, the power of the bolt of lighting striking the street and lighting up the house, the power of the great pelting rain storm….

[Psa 72:6 KJV] 6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass…

A rain storm doesn’t have to represent a drizzle — and in the Middle East the rain doesn’t come down in a drizzle, it comes down in great floods, it comes like a powerful storm, and the Bible promises that God will come to his people like rain!

But in the years leading up to New Testament times — there was no evidence of a fresh display of God’s power. Instead, there was silence. I’m talking about the time period right after the last book of the Old Testament – Malachi. From Malachi to Matthew, this represents 400 years. During that time there was no word from God, No Prophet to split rocks or call fire from heaven, no visions, no dreams, no parting of the red sea… And had you lived during that time you also would have wondered with all the other people who went with you to church, if the power you read about during the time of the Old Testament prophets was gone forever, a time to never again return!

Think about it, 400 years of silence! 400 years ago from today would’ve been just after Martin Luther nailed the 95 Thesis to the walls of Wittenberg and started the protestant reformation. That’s a long time ago for us, and for those living several hundred years after Malachi, this is what it felt like.

They did have prophecies of a coming glorious age. The time when the Messiah would bring the glory of former years again to this oppressed nation. But you know, just like I do, when God is silent, even the most hope-filled prophecies can seem like idle tales, far-fetched dreams, a time that won’t come, at least not in my lifetime. Do you ever feel that way?

Israel, the Jewish nation, matched well what Peter said of scoffers in the last days who would say:

[2Pe 3:4 NKJV] 4 … “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as [they were] from the beginning of creation.”

The sheep of a hundred family farms still grazed the green hills that surrounded their villages, as they had been doing for centuries. The age old customs were repeated every year in every Jewish home. The same verses were read from the Bible at synagogue every Sabbath day, as they had been read to your grandparents when they were in Sabbath School. The early rain storms came  thundering in as they always did at the same time every year to germinate the seeds of their lush Mediterranean crops, and the later rain came pouring down at the same time at the end of the season and always fell on time to reap a nice harvest. You see, to these Galileans or Judeans, or Isrealites of other areas — everything continued as it had always continued and everyone was in the comfort of a spiritual slumber at the very moment when prophecy was being fulfilled.

And I have to pause to highlight that the Bible reveals this will be the very condition of our world at the end of time, and not only the world, but also the church:

In Matthew 25, Jesus gave a parable of virgins waiting for the bridegroom — What happened right before the bridegroom came?

[Mat 25:5 KJV] 5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians of the End of Time:

[1Th 5:1-6 KJV] 1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as [do] others; but let us watch and be sober.

Paul warns the church about it, because prophecy reveals a luke-warm sleepy church at the end

[Rev 3:15 NKJV] 15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.”—

Jesus spent considerable time reminding us

Matthew 24:42 “Watch therefore…”

[Mar 13:33 NKJV] 33 “Take heed, watch and pray…”

[Luk 21:34 NKJV] 34 “But take heed to yourselves, lest… that Day come on you unexpectedly.”

[Rom 13:11 NKJV] 11 And [do] this, knowing the time, that now [it is] high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation [is] nearer than when we [first] believed.

As the nearness of Jesus return approaches, so does the call and urgency for God’s people and the world to awake out of their sleep! As it was when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, so it will be when He comes on the thunderclouds of heaven! The world and church will be asleep when the first drops of God’s promised rain begin to pour.

There was evidence at the birth of Jesus that heaven’s promised time had come:

• Angels had visited Mary and Joseph announcing the time
• Mary was miraculously pregnant having never known a man
• A star of mystery had led wise-men from the east to search out the infant king
• The glorious announcement from the myriad of angels to the Shepherds
• The fulfillment of the time prophecies pointed to the Messiah’s arrival.

Had the world and church been watching, they would have seen the first evidences of the veil which separates earth and heaven opening ever so slightly, and they would recognized the first evidences of God’s glory being poured out from heaven on earth in the life of Jesus. But to those not watching, to those not praying, to those not seeking, everything continued as it always had.

THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT IN THE LIFE OF JESUS

In fact, for the next 30 years there was no supernatural evidence that Jesus was anything other than an ordinary boy. So Israel slept on… Then after 30 years, the time had come for that curtain that had hidden his glory so well, that had held back that great ocean of supernatural power to begin to tear and Divinity flashed through humanity. At Jesus’ baptism the Bible says:

[Luk 3:22 NKJV] 22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

Imagine what it must have been like to be one of those present on the shore of the Jordan when a man who looked like any other man, went down into the water like every other baptismal candidate had done that day, and was baptized in the Jordan by John in the same way, with the same words, in the same water, maybe even in the same spot as the previous hundred men before him but as this man ascends out of the water something different happens. Thunder peeled across the sky, and the clouds begin to part, and the Spirit of God and the voice of God, and the power of God is seen and heard for the first time in 400 years.

It’s not that God had been absent all the years they hadn’t seen Him. God had not forgotten or abandoned Israel in the silent years, and It’s important to remember that God is just as close to humanity in the centuries of silence, or in the moments of seemingly unanswered prayers, or in the dark valleys we go through where His face is hidden from our view — He is just as present in those as in the years when prophets split rocks, or fire roars down from heaven, or when God gives miraculous answers to our prayers in visions or dreams or other revelations. God promised through King David in the Psalms:

[Psa 23:4 NKJV] 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You [are] with me…

Remember the promise friends,

[Heb 13:5 NKJV] 5 … [God] Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

I’d like to read a quote from the pen of inspiration that reminds us of God’s watchcare:

“Though [God] is so infinitely high, he cares for the lowliest of his creatures. We may not see him with our natural eyes, but he is ever looking upon us. His eye is ever upon us, noting every difficulty, every trial, every suffering. He is our best friend, our everlasting helper. His love is greater than that of a mother for her child.”

— Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 3, p. 293

I’d like to just pause in the sermon and recognize that some here today may feel like they are going through the silent years — You don’t hear God’s voice or see his face and certainly aren’t having vision or dreams. I want to encourage you to not despair or give up, or believe the lie that God has abandoned you or forgotten you. Not a sparrow falls from the sky but our Father sees and you are more valuable than many sparrows.

There is a curtain that separates our view of God’s glory, and should that curtain be torn in two this very moment, you would see the Father, you would see the Son, you would see the Holy Spirit, and you would see the thousands upon thousands of heavenly beings active for your eternal well being. When you can’t see God, remember that He still sees you.

The flashes of Divinity through the veil of Christ’s humanity, were reminders to Israel that God had not left them, they were reminders that the prophecies of a Messianic age were promises God himself would fulfill, and Israel would again see the glory of the early years when prophets parted oceans, split mighty rocks, and called fire from heaven!

To witness this early rain downpour of His glory, Christ called twelve… and listen to what the Bible says He gave them:

[Mat 10:1 NKJV] 1 And when He had called His twelve disciples to [Him], He gave them POWER [over] unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.

and of Christ Himself it is written:

[Mat 9:35 NKJV] 35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

Now, the entire nation was finally shaken awake by the fresh displays of God’s power among them. Never had Israel witnessed such power among them. The sick were healed — whole villages where Jesus and His disciples passed were left without one moan of pain or sickness.

Lepers — the incurable men and women of the ancient middle east were made clean and whole. The Blind, even some born blind were made to see. The Deaf could hear. Those with broken or deformed limbs could walk again. The dead were risen to life — None had heard of one coming back from the dead, especially as in the case of Lazarus where he had been dead for four days! Even his disciples protested:

[Jhn 11:39 NKJV] 39 … Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been [dead] four days.”

But Jesus response was?

[Jhn 11:40 NKJV] 40 … “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”

The curtain was tearing friends, the glory of God was shining through more and more and more… Lazarus was raised to life and gave a powerful witness to the ministry of Jesus. It was evident to all of Israel, the glory days of old had come! A man more powerful than any previous prophet of centuries gone by was here. He could heal disease, He could raise the dead, He could feed thousands, He could teach with power, He walked on water, He was destined to be

their king, Destined to be their the Commanding Officer of their armies.

No longer did the Messianic prophecies seem like some far-fetched dream to the thousands of Israel. They were witnessing the dazzling glory behind the veil, now on display before the nation. No one moaned about things being like they always had been — A new excitement gripped the entire nation as thousand fed off of the energy of Christ’s presence. What new miracle would occur in the next city he visited? What new teachings would ring in their ears? What fresh display of power and God’s presence would they witness next?

It was now when the attention, the zeal, the interest, the following of Jesus had reached it zenith that God tore the curtain fully open for all to see the His glory! But the full display of God’s glory was not the blazing swords and victorious battle Israel had hoped Christ would lead against the Roman oppression. No, when the curtain finally tore open, and the full display of glory shone upon Israel, it was at the moment that Jesus gave His life for all on the cross.

[Mat 27:50-51 NIV] 50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split.

and the disciples, and the multitudes who had followed Jesus, the mocking soldiers, and the jeering priests did not realize that they were beholding a display of the Spirit of God more powerful than the healing of the blind. It wasn’t when Jesus walked on water or fed the five thousand or raised Lazarus or road a donkey as a king that He displayed the full power, and glory, and majesty of God. It was when Jesus hung on the cross, gave up His life for us, and God was silent once again, that His glory, His goodness, His power over sin, His might over death, His triumph over evil, His victory over self, burst forth from behind the veil in a display that had never before been witnessed by all the Universe.

But to the disciples, the cross marked the end (not the climax) of power. The tragic shattering of their dreams, the beginning of a new dark period, a return to the silent years. Even after the resurrection of Jesus, their vision for the future was dim: Would there ever be a display of the Spirit again as they had lived and witnessed for 3.5 years? Would they again see the mighty works of God, hear those words of life that so often fed their souls, or feel the power of God’s presence so close again? Or was it gone, gone forever, a blip in history never again to be repeated?

It was when the disciples were in this valley of despair, when felt so uncertain about their future life that Christ appeared to them and :

[Act 1:4 NKJV] 4 “…commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” [He said], “you have heard from Me;

Friends, when we are tempted to despair because the future looks dismal and bleak God often comes with a message for us to wait:

To the disciples he said “Wait”


To David anointed to be king while young, He said “Wait”

To Moses who was to free Israel, He said “Wait”


To the souls under the altar who cried for justice God says “Wait”

Why? Why does God make us wait? Is there something necessary in the wait?

Isaiah 40:31:

• “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

Waiting isn’t just sitting around doing nothing — for Jesus it meant to wait expectantly, to watch and wait, or to eagerly look for… To not sleep like others, but to look forward with faith. When we wait for something with eager expectation, our desire for it grows, our expectation of it heightens, our readiness to receive it broadens. The waiting is part of the gift, because it makes the miracle more marvelous. God’s plans know no haste nor delay!

Immediately after telling the disciples to wait and pray in Jerusalem, Jesus gives them the promise of power again.

[Act 1:8 NKJV] 8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…”

The power you witnessed for 3.5 years, the power you think is dormant and gone forever, the power that your hearts yearn to see again — Yes the power witnessed in the life of Jesus, “YOU SHALL RECEIVE THIS POWER”

With renewed hope, the disciples met in the upper rooms of a house in Jerusalem to wait and pray. And friends, the prayer meeting began to grow. It started with 12, then 20, then 50, then 100, then 120 praying, all praying, for the promise of the Holy Spirit. Not for a day, not for a week, not for a month, but they prayed until the day of Pentecost had come.

[Act 2:2-4 NKJV] 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and [one] sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

and it didn’t just come once, as if God would give the Spirit in a sprinkle, it came as a downpour on the early church. Acts mentions it again in chapter 4:

[Act 4:31 NKJV] 31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

Notice that the Spirit was given with power to empower the church to give the loud cry, to be His witnesses to the world. I want to highlight this point, if God gives His Spirit and power to those who pray and to those who witness, which two things are missing from your life if you aren’t experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit? Am I praying for it? Am I seeking for opportunities to share to Jesus with others?

If you read the book of Acts, the power displayed in the life and ministry of Jesus is reproduced in the early church. The blind once more were given sight, the ears of the deaf were once more opened, the dead were once more raised to life, and the good news of Jesus went to the whole world.  

Power . . . . Might . . . . Divine Authority … Supernatural Ability  . . . A Revelation of God Among Men — These were the hallmarks of the Early Christian Church! And Christians basked in the fresh displays of God’s glory — in those days, persecution broke out against the church. Tertullian, a Christian theologian from 150AD, wrote that “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church” — the more persecution broke out, the more the church grew, and the more the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the church.

Then the Edict of Milan was passed by Constantine in 313AD — granting religious tolerance to Christianity and also restored confiscated properties to Christians which marked the end of state sponsored persecutions of Christians. Christianity grew in popularity from there until in 380AD, the Edict of Thessalonica was enacted by the emperor Theodosius which officially made Christianity the state religion of the Roman empire.  

The fresh displays of the Holy Spirit that marked the early church began to die down as the church settled into a more popular position, and Christians in general became more nominal. By now all the initial christian leaders had been martyred or died, and a new generation who did not now watch for, and yearn for, and pray for the power of the Holy Spirit, had filled the church and the power that had attended the life and ministry of Jesus died away — and the church once again entered the silent years we know now as “The Dark Ages”.

For the disciples of this time their vision for the future was dim: Would there ever be a display of the Spirit again as they had witnessed in the early church? Would they again see the mighty works of God, hear those words of life that so often fed their souls, or feel the power of God’s presence so close again? Or was it gone, gone forever, a blip in history never again to be repeated?

If you go back to the day of Pentecost, I want you to listen to how Peter quotes from the prophet Joel:

[Act 2:17 NKJV] 17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh…

“The Last Days” is added through inspiration, because the book of Joel just says:

[Joe 2:28-29 NKJV] 28 “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit…

Peter quoted from Joel and then also added the last days to capture two points: 1) The Holy Spirit was being poured out as the book of Joel had prophesied during Pentecost. This was a fulfillment of prophecy! It was the early rain… 2) Peter mentions the last days because it will happen again, the Spirit of God will be poured out again upon God’s people, Pentecost will be repeated, the power of the Holy Spirit will once more be displayed in God’s church. This is the

Latter Rain.

[Hos 6:3 NKJV] 3 Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter [and] former rain to the earth.

This is what Psalms 72 promises: God will come to us like rain, first like the former rain, then later like the latter rain. This concept is repeated a few verses latter in the book of Joel:

[Joe 2:23 NKJV] 23…For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you–The former rain, And the latter rain…

and then James makes it even clearer that this prophecy of latter rain applies to the time right before Jesus comes:

[Jas 5:7 NKJV] 7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See [how] the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.

For those who like the early disciples are disappointed this morning, and think in your mind will we ever see fresh displays of the power of the Holy Spirit again?

Remember the words of Jesus, “You shall receive power” and “Wait and Pray in Jerusalem”

[Luk 11:9-13 NKJV] 9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you…If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will [your] heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

How many here would say it is time for Latter Rain? How many here say we need to see the life and ministry of Jesus fresh again like it was in the early church, like it was when Jesus walked among men? The rain will fall again, the Holy Spirit will be poured out for a final work

Jesus said: “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come” — Matthew 24:14

Appeal:  

In 2011, much of the United States, including Kansas, experienced severe drought conditions. Farmers were particularly hard hit, as the lack of rain threatened their crops and livelihoods. In such dire circumstances, many people turned to prayer, hoping for divine intervention to bring much-needed rain. In the midst of this desperation for rain, an editorial written all the way back in 1939 was reprinted in the Kansas Newspapers, entitled “A Prayer For Rain”. It was written by William Lindsay White, and here is what it said:  

 “O Lord, in thy mercy grant us rain, and by that we don’t mean a shower. We want to go out and watch the lightning rip across the southwestern sky in hot blue forks as the fat clouds roll in on us. We want to hurry home to close the house with the first fat drops the size of marbles, on a suddenly rising wind, chasing us and plunking on the car hood. We want to scramble all over the house, just as the first sheets descend, frantically slamming down the windows.

“O Lord of Hosts, we want to look out the windows and watch the regiments of close-packed raindrops march diagonally down. We want to hear the gurgle of the gutters under the eaves, and then the sputter of the downspout. Let it come down so hard, let the drops dance so high, that the streets and sidewalks seem covered with a 6-inch fog of spatter-drops.

“Then let it just keep up for awhile, and then begin to taper off, and then turn right around and get a lot worse, swishing, pounding, drenching, the thunder coming — crackity bam — and the lightning flashing so fast and furious you can’t tell which flash goes with which peal of thunder. And then, O God, repeat the whole act about three times and in the middle of the second time, we will climb the attic stairs and put the wash pan under that tiny leak in the roof which usually you can’t even notice in an ordinary rain.

“And after a couple of hours kind of taper it down, O Lord, to a good steady rain — not a drizzle, but a businesslike one that keeps up until just about dawn…” So be it. — Did the rain come? Do you feel a drought this morning? Why not try an old fashion remedy — get down on your knees and pray for rain!