¤
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>> The Scripture reading from
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today comes from
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Ephesians 2:19-22.
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It says, "Consequently,
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there are no longer foreigners
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and strangers,
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but fellow citizens
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with God's people and also
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members of His household,
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built on the foundation
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of the apostles and prophets,
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with Christ Jesus himself
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as the chief cornerstone.
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In Him, the whole building
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is joined together
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and rises to become
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a holy temple in the Lord.
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And in Him you, too,
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are being built together
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to become a dwelling
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in which God lives
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by His spirit."
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[ "O Come, All Ye Faithful
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(His Name Shall Be)" begins ]
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[ "Away in a Manger (Worthy)"
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begins ]
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>> And all God's people
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said?
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>> Amen.
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>> Amen. Amen.
00:12:51.50\00:12:53.80
Well, let's just get
00:12:53.90\00:12:55.24
the elephant out of the room.
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[ Laughter ]
00:12:57.41\00:12:58.67
I broke it.
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It is not due to my age,
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and we won the game.
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[ Laughter ]
00:13:06.31\00:13:08.55
[ Applause ]
00:13:08.65\00:13:10.72
[ Laughs ]
00:13:10.82\00:13:12.75
I go down on Sunday nights
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and play rec with the guys
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and a few ladies, as well,
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at Andreasen,
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and two Sunday nights ago
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came down on someone else's foot
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and rolled it over and snap,
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crackle, pop.
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And here we are.
00:13:23.30\00:13:24.00
So, now that
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we have acknowledged this boot,
00:13:25.70\00:13:27.87
you will not be distracted by it
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at all for the remainder of
00:13:29.60\00:13:31.07
this presentation this morning.
00:13:31.17\00:13:32.01
So...
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And to help you in that effort,
00:13:33.64\00:13:34.58
doesn't the sanctuary
00:13:34.68\00:13:35.74
look nice?
00:13:35.84\00:13:36.91
Stage up here looks nice. Yes.
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William -- and William is head
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of our maintenance here at
00:13:40.78\00:13:42.02
Pioneer.
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And he and his team
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did a great job, I think.
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It looks very, very good.
00:13:45.55\00:13:47.12
I think there's even some more
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decorations
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that are coming in the future.
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'Tis the Christmas season here
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at Pioneer.
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This is indeed part
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three of our series.
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This is the final installment
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of our series entitled
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"The Holy Hurricane."
00:14:02.64\00:14:04.34
And as we begin, I want to do
00:14:04.44\00:14:07.31
an advertisement here.
00:14:07.41\00:14:09.31
If you do not have this book,
00:14:09.41\00:14:11.35
"The Coming of the Comforter,"
00:14:11.45\00:14:12.25
by LeRoy Froom,
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I highly, highly, highly
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recommend that you get it.
00:14:15.38\00:14:17.42
It is one of the best
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summations of the Bible's
00:14:19.12\00:14:20.56
teaching on the Holy Spirit
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and what the Holy Spirit does,
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as well as on the Former
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and Latter Rains.
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And if you would like to know
00:14:25.63\00:14:26.29
more about those things,
00:14:26.39\00:14:27.36
this is an excellent book.
00:14:27.46\00:14:28.63
You can go to Adventist Book
00:14:28.73\00:14:29.53
Center Online.
00:14:29.63\00:14:31.30
They have copies there.
00:14:31.40\00:14:32.17
They'll ship it to you.
00:14:32.27\00:14:33.10
It is an excellent,
00:14:33.20\00:14:34.04
excellent read,
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and I highly recommend that
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you add this to your library.
00:14:36.84\00:14:38.27
You know, what we cover
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in this series?
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I mean, we cover a fair amount,
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but it's just scratching
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the surface
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of what the Holy Spirit
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longs to do in and through us.
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So, please,
00:14:46.18\00:14:47.45
looking for some good reading?
00:14:47.55\00:14:48.75
This is a great place
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to find it.
00:14:50.29\00:14:52.95
Now, in this series we have
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obviously been talking about
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the ministry of the Holy Spirit,
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and in part two we talked about
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something called the
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Latter Rain of the Holy Spirit,
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the final global outpouring
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of God's Spirit on His people.
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Now, if you missed parts one
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and two, I'm not going to do
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much review of it here today.
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I'm going to invite you to go
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and go to pmchurch.org.
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You can find those things
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archived,
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the previous presentations.
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Let me just say this.
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The Latter Rain
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of the Holy Spirit,
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as we discussed last time,
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will be incredible.
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It will be an amazing time
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to be alive.
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It will bring all other
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blessings in its train.
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Miracles will happen.
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The dead will be raised.
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And, most importantly,
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the Gospel of Jesus Christ
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will go to the world.
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Thousands upon thousands
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will be converted in a day,
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and at last Jesus Christ
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will return.
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That's going to be awesome.
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It will be an incredible time
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to be alive.
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But as was pointed out
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at the end of part two,
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we will not receive
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this great blessing of the
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Latter Rain of the Holy Spirit
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unless we are prepared
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to receive it.
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There is
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a qualitative difference
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and a substantive difference
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between the Former Rain,
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receiving it, and receiving
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the Latter Rain.
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How can we receive
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the global final
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outpouring of the Latter Rain
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of the Holy Spirit?
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Well, time is short
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and not just for this planet,
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but for this sermon.
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So, let's get right to it.
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Though some people
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may consolidate them
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differently than
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I'm going to here this morning,
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I would suggest that there are
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four steps
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to receiving the global
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outpouring of the Latter Rain
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of the Holy Spirit.
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Steps one and three are to be
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done personally.
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Steps two and four are to be
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done together corporately
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with fellow believers.
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And all together,
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these four steps will create
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the right conditions for God
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to send the global Latter Rain
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of His Holy Spirit.
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Here are those steps.
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Step number one...
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To receive
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the global Latter Rain
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of the Holy Spirit,
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we must personally daily receive
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the Former Rain
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of the Holy Spirit.
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Now, no surprises there, right?
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I mean,
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as we discussed previously,
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the Former and the Latter Rains
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are sequential.
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One follows the other.
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The Former Rain
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must come first.
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And then, and only then,
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comes the Latter Rain.
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Now, those of you that were here
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in part one, how do you
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receive the Former Rain?
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How do you receive the initial
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filling of the Holy Spirit?
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That's right. You ask for it.
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I heard somebody
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say you ask for it.
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Luke 11, Jesus says,
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"if you know how to give
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good gifts to your children,
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even though you're evil,
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how much more will your Father
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in Heaven give the Holy Spirit
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to those that ask Him?"
00:17:26.91\00:17:28.64
And so, in asking for that,
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we are giving permission,
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and we participate
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in letting the Spirit
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begin His work in our lives.
00:17:35.15\00:17:37.95
And the Latter Rain will not
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come unless we are
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experiencing the Former Rain.
00:17:40.52\00:17:42.19
Ellen White, "Testimonies
00:17:42.29\00:17:43.43
to Ministers," page 506 and 507,
00:17:43.53\00:17:45.09
she put it this way.
00:17:45.19\00:17:46.36
She says, "The Latter Rain
00:17:46.46\00:17:47.50
ripening Earth's harvest,
00:17:47.60\00:17:49.30
represents the spiritual grace
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that prepares the church for
00:17:51.37\00:17:52.73
the coming of the Son of Man."
00:17:52.83\00:17:53.64
That's Jesus.
00:17:53.74\00:17:54.87
"But unless
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the Former Rain has fallen,
00:17:56.07\00:17:57.61
there will be no life;
00:17:57.71\00:17:59.41
the green blade
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will not spring up.
00:18:00.31\00:18:01.34
Unless the early showers
00:18:01.44\00:18:02.84
have done their work,
00:18:02.94\00:18:04.28
the Latter Rain can bring
00:18:04.38\00:18:05.68
no seed to perfection."
00:18:05.78\00:18:07.08
And get this.
00:18:07.18\00:18:08.05
This is astonishing.
00:18:08.15\00:18:09.65
"Without the Former Rain,
00:18:09.75\00:18:11.39
we shall not recognize
00:18:11.49\00:18:13.46
the manifestations
00:18:13.56\00:18:14.62
of the Holy Spirit
00:18:14.72\00:18:15.59
in the Latter Rain.
00:18:15.69\00:18:17.39
It may be falling on hearts
00:18:17.49\00:18:18.36
all around us,
00:18:18.46\00:18:19.69
but we shall not
00:18:19.79\00:18:21.03
discern or receive it."
00:18:21.13\00:18:23.33
That's astonishing.
00:18:23.43\00:18:25.03
The Latter Rain,
00:18:25.13\00:18:25.87
as we read last time,
00:18:25.97\00:18:27.10
it will be an incredible time
00:18:27.20\00:18:28.30
to be alive.
00:18:28.40\00:18:30.54
And to think that if we are not
00:18:30.64\00:18:31.74
receiving the Former Rain,
00:18:31.84\00:18:33.07
we won't even recognize it?
00:18:33.17\00:18:36.38
You know, the only thing
00:18:36.48\00:18:37.21
that I can figure is that
00:18:37.31\00:18:38.48
it's not that we won't see
00:18:38.58\00:18:39.88
activity happening around us.
00:18:39.98\00:18:41.32
Oh, we'll see that --
00:18:41.42\00:18:42.12
conversions and miracles,
00:18:42.22\00:18:42.92
etcetera.
00:18:43.02\00:18:44.19
But because the Spirit of God
00:18:44.29\00:18:45.62
is not inside of us, we will
00:18:45.72\00:18:47.22
attribute it to the dark side.
00:18:47.32\00:18:50.16
We will not recognize it
00:18:50.26\00:18:51.29
as the work of God,
00:18:51.39\00:18:52.56
but rather we'll claim
00:18:52.66\00:18:53.40
it's the work of Satan
00:18:53.50\00:18:54.73
because spiritual things
00:18:54.83\00:18:56.00
are spiritually discerned.
00:18:56.10\00:18:57.83
Exactly.
00:18:57.93\00:18:58.80
So, we must be receiving
00:18:58.90\00:19:00.30
the Former Rain
00:19:00.40\00:19:01.47
of the Holy Spirit.
00:19:01.57\00:19:02.97
This needs to be a personal
00:19:03.07\00:19:04.27
daily experience.
00:19:04.37\00:19:05.77
That's step one.
00:19:05.87\00:19:07.44
Step two is one
00:19:07.54\00:19:10.48
that we are to do together,
00:19:10.58\00:19:12.58
and to find out what it is,
00:19:12.68\00:19:14.72
we need to, again,
00:19:14.82\00:19:15.65
think logically about what we
00:19:15.75\00:19:16.95
have learned from the Bible
00:19:17.05\00:19:17.99
about the Former and the
00:19:18.09\00:19:18.85
Latter Rain.
00:19:18.95\00:19:19.75
So, the Former and the Latter
00:19:19.85\00:19:21.52
Rains of the Holy Spirit
00:19:21.62\00:19:22.96
on a personal level
00:19:23.06\00:19:25.03
are two distinct phases
00:19:25.13\00:19:27.76
of spiritual growth.
00:19:27.86\00:19:29.56
There's the first initial
00:19:29.66\00:19:30.73
spiritual development,
00:19:30.83\00:19:32.60
and second, there is a spiritual
00:19:32.70\00:19:34.10
maturation, this growing
00:19:34.20\00:19:35.74
to maturity in Christ.
00:19:35.84\00:19:38.27
Similarly, the Former and Latter
00:19:38.37\00:19:40.54
Rains on a global level
00:19:40.64\00:19:42.18
are two distinct phases
00:19:42.28\00:19:43.85
of the global work,
00:19:43.95\00:19:45.08
not of an individual
00:19:45.18\00:19:45.98
but of the church.
00:19:46.08\00:19:47.72
The initial development
00:19:47.82\00:19:48.78
of the church's work,
00:19:48.88\00:19:49.55
starting in Acts 2
00:19:49.65\00:19:51.19
that was recognized as the
00:19:51.29\00:19:52.35
Former Rain of the Holy Spirit,
00:19:52.45\00:19:54.39
and the completion of its work
00:19:54.49\00:19:55.86
in the Latter Rain, as seen
00:19:55.96\00:19:57.33
in Revelation 18 and elsewhere.
00:19:57.43\00:19:59.96
But notice carefully
00:20:00.06\00:20:02.40
both of these phases, whether
00:20:02.50\00:20:04.40
personally or corporately --
00:20:04.50\00:20:05.50
it doesn't matter -- are still
00:20:05.60\00:20:06.87
phases of the Holy Spirit.
00:20:06.97\00:20:09.50
The Spirit
00:20:09.60\00:20:10.27
is not absent from one
00:20:10.37\00:20:11.71
but present in the next
00:20:11.81\00:20:12.64
or vice versa.
00:20:12.74\00:20:14.01
Instead, it is one and the same
00:20:14.11\00:20:15.94
Holy Spirit working in both,
00:20:16.04\00:20:18.11
and therefore it follows that --
00:20:18.21\00:20:19.91
let me just put it on the screen
00:20:20.02\00:20:21.08
here for you.
00:20:21.18\00:20:22.65
The ways that God's
00:20:22.75\00:20:24.05
people prepared themselves
00:20:24.15\00:20:25.82
for the Former Rain at the
00:20:25.92\00:20:27.29
beginning of the church's
00:20:27.39\00:20:28.72
work -- Acts chapter 2 --
00:20:28.82\00:20:30.16
are some of the same ways
00:20:30.26\00:20:31.63
God's people should prepare
00:20:31.73\00:20:32.89
for the Latter Rain
00:20:32.99\00:20:34.20
at the end of the church's work.
00:20:34.30\00:20:37.00
We are to be looking to be
00:20:37.10\00:20:38.07
filled with the same spirit
00:20:38.17\00:20:39.17
in both "rains,"
00:20:39.27\00:20:40.84
and we can therefore prepare
00:20:40.94\00:20:41.97
to receive those rains
00:20:42.07\00:20:43.44
in some of the same ways.
00:20:43.54\00:20:45.24
For instance, take a look
00:20:45.34\00:20:47.24
at Acts 1, please.
00:20:47.34\00:20:49.28
Acts 1, page 733
00:20:49.38\00:20:51.68
in most of your pew
00:20:51.78\00:20:52.38
Bibles there.
00:20:52.48\00:20:53.42
Page 733, Acts 1:12.
00:20:53.52\00:20:58.19
One of the ways that
00:20:58.29\00:20:59.19
God's people prepared for the
00:20:59.29\00:21:00.56
Former Rain prior to Pentecost
00:21:00.66\00:21:03.16
stands out really more
00:21:03.26\00:21:04.33
than any other.
00:21:04.43\00:21:05.26
And that's what
00:21:05.36\00:21:06.46
we're looking for here.
00:21:06.56\00:21:07.13
Let me set the scene.
00:21:07.23\00:21:08.20
If we were to read earlier
00:21:08.30\00:21:08.80
in Acts 1,
00:21:08.90\00:21:10.23
Jesus has just literally
00:21:10.33\00:21:13.07
just returned back to Heaven.
00:21:13.17\00:21:14.67
Angels have appeared.
00:21:14.77\00:21:15.64
They've told the disciples,
00:21:15.74\00:21:16.44
you know, "This same
00:21:16.54\00:21:17.57
Jesus whom you saw go up
00:21:17.67\00:21:18.91
into Heaven will come in
00:21:19.01\00:21:19.64
like manner back down."
00:21:19.74\00:21:21.48
And then the disciples go to
00:21:21.58\00:21:22.98
Jerusalem because Jesus said,
00:21:23.08\00:21:25.28
"Wait. Wait for the blessing
00:21:25.38\00:21:28.12
of the Holy Spirit."
00:21:28.22\00:21:30.09
And that's what they do.
00:21:30.19\00:21:31.19
Verse 12, Acts 1.
00:21:31.29\00:21:32.99
"Then they, the disciples,
00:21:33.09\00:21:34.06
returned to Jerusalem from the
00:21:34.16\00:21:35.22
hill called the Mount of Olives,
00:21:35.32\00:21:36.52
a Sabbath day's walk
00:21:36.62\00:21:37.66
from the city.
00:21:37.76\00:21:38.96
When they arrived,
00:21:39.06\00:21:40.33
they went upstairs to the room
00:21:40.43\00:21:42.03
where they were staying.
00:21:42.13\00:21:43.50
Those present were Peter,
00:21:43.60\00:21:45.10
John, James and Andrew,
00:21:45.20\00:21:46.07
Philip and Thomas,
00:21:46.17\00:21:46.94
Bartholomew and Matthew,
00:21:47.04\00:21:48.30
James, son of Alphaeus
00:21:48.40\00:21:49.37
and Simon the Zealot,
00:21:49.47\00:21:50.31
and Judas, son of James."
00:21:50.41\00:21:52.01
Notice verse 14.
00:21:52.11\00:21:54.01
"They all joined together."
00:21:54.11\00:21:57.35
Interesting choice
00:21:57.45\00:21:58.01
of words there.
00:21:58.11\00:21:59.18
"They all joined together
00:21:59.28\00:22:01.15
constantly in prayer.
00:22:01.25\00:22:02.95
They all joined together
00:22:03.05\00:22:03.99
constantly in prayer,
00:22:04.09\00:22:05.15
along with the women and Mary,
00:22:05.25\00:22:06.25
the mother of Jesus,
00:22:06.35\00:22:07.16
and with his brothers."
00:22:07.26\00:22:08.59
And just to get an idea
00:22:08.69\00:22:09.46
of how big this group was,
00:22:09.56\00:22:10.96
Verse 15 -- "In those days,
00:22:11.06\00:22:12.43
Peter stood up among the
00:22:12.53\00:22:13.46
believers, a group numbering
00:22:13.56\00:22:15.06
about 120."
00:22:15.16\00:22:18.67
Hmm.
00:22:18.77\00:22:21.00
The second step to receiving
00:22:21.10\00:22:23.04
the global blessing of the
00:22:23.14\00:22:24.74
Latter Rain of the Holy Spirit
00:22:24.84\00:22:26.68
is this -- united,
00:22:26.78\00:22:29.48
persevering prayer.
00:22:29.58\00:22:32.48
United, persevering prayer.
00:22:32.58\00:22:34.92
Now, again, this shouldn't be
00:22:35.02\00:22:36.32
too much of a surprise.
00:22:36.42\00:22:37.72
Again, Jesus said in Luke 11,
00:22:37.82\00:22:38.72
"If you know
00:22:38.82\00:22:40.29
how to give good gifts,
00:22:40.39\00:22:41.46
God can give good gifts, too."
00:22:41.56\00:22:43.56
But what we didn't point out
00:22:43.66\00:22:44.46
previously is that
00:22:44.56\00:22:45.79
it doesn't specify
00:22:45.89\00:22:47.20
which rain this works for.
00:22:47.30\00:22:48.63
It just works for the outpouring
00:22:48.73\00:22:50.13
of the Spirit,
00:22:50.23\00:22:51.33
either in the Former
00:22:51.43\00:22:52.40
or the Latter Rains.
00:22:52.50\00:22:55.07
And we must ask for it.
00:22:55.17\00:22:56.81
We need to ask for both.
00:22:56.91\00:22:59.84
Zechariah 10:1 actually
00:22:59.94\00:23:01.51
is pretty explicit about this.
00:23:01.61\00:23:02.48
It says, "Ask the Lord
00:23:02.58\00:23:03.55
for the rain in the springtime."
00:23:03.65\00:23:05.38
Is that
00:23:05.48\00:23:06.72
the Former or the Latter Rain?
00:23:06.82\00:23:09.48
That's the Latter.
00:23:09.58\00:23:10.59
That's the Latter Rain here.
00:23:10.69\00:23:11.72
Now, the context
00:23:11.82\00:23:12.42
there is agricultural.
00:23:12.52\00:23:14.22
But if that was to help
00:23:14.32\00:23:15.52
the agricultural Latter Rain
00:23:15.62\00:23:17.26
in a farmer's field, how much
00:23:17.36\00:23:18.73
more for the field of the Lord?
00:23:18.83\00:23:20.93
Let us ask specifically
00:23:21.00\00:23:23.16
and frequently for the Former
00:23:23.26\00:23:24.80
and for the Latter Rains
00:23:24.90\00:23:26.13
of the Holy Spirit.
00:23:26.23\00:23:26.97
And do it by name.
00:23:27.07\00:23:31.51
And notice those two things.
00:23:31.61\00:23:34.24
The disciples had prayer,
00:23:34.34\00:23:36.95
but they did it united,
00:23:37.05\00:23:40.08
and they persevered in doing it.
00:23:40.18\00:23:44.05
And if we wish to receive
00:23:44.15\00:23:45.05
the global blessing
00:23:45.15\00:23:45.75
of the Latter Rain
00:23:45.85\00:23:46.55
of the Holy Spirit in our day,
00:23:46.65\00:23:47.52
we need to do the same.
00:23:47.62\00:23:48.56
So, let me ask all of us
00:23:48.66\00:23:50.19
two simple questions.
00:23:50.29\00:23:51.29
Number one, are we asking
00:23:51.39\00:23:53.36
for the Latter Rain of the
00:23:53.46\00:23:54.46
Holy Spirit in a united fashion?
00:23:54.56\00:23:56.83
You say, "Well, what do you
00:24:00.37\00:24:00.87
mean?"
00:24:00.97\00:24:02.97
Well, certainly united has
00:24:03.07\00:24:04.21
at least the connotation
00:24:04.31\00:24:05.71
of geography -- right? --
00:24:05.81\00:24:06.94
of being in the same place.
00:24:07.04\00:24:08.88
The disciples all gathered
00:24:08.98\00:24:09.71
together there.
00:24:09.81\00:24:10.81
And while undoubtedly there was
00:24:10.91\00:24:11.75
individual prayer happening
00:24:11.85\00:24:13.08
throughout the many days that
00:24:13.18\00:24:14.42
they were in that upper room,
00:24:14.52\00:24:16.18
they were also praying together
00:24:16.28\00:24:17.35
as a group.
00:24:17.45\00:24:19.52
Are we doing that?
00:24:19.62\00:24:23.16
You know, a week and a half
00:24:23.26\00:24:23.89
or two weeks ago,
00:24:23.99\00:24:24.69
we had an opportunity
00:24:24.79\00:24:25.96
over at the seminary.
00:24:26.06\00:24:27.03
Some of our seminarians there
00:24:27.13\00:24:27.86
planned a special week
00:24:27.96\00:24:29.16
dedicated to asking for
00:24:29.26\00:24:30.47
the blessing of the Holy Spirit.
00:24:30.57\00:24:32.13
You know, did you attend that?
00:24:32.23\00:24:33.13
Were you part of that?
00:24:33.23\00:24:35.54
Every week, every week
00:24:35.64\00:24:37.34
of the year on this campus,
00:24:37.44\00:24:38.94
there are small groups
00:24:39.04\00:24:40.24
of people that gather,
00:24:40.34\00:24:41.41
and they pray regularly
00:24:41.51\00:24:42.68
and specifically for the
00:24:42.78\00:24:43.88
outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
00:24:43.98\00:24:45.58
Are you a part of one of
00:24:45.68\00:24:46.41
those groups?
00:24:46.51\00:24:49.95
History is replete with examples
00:24:50.05\00:24:53.12
of how God has has given special
00:24:53.22\00:24:55.06
recognition when His people
00:24:55.16\00:24:57.29
gather together as groups.
00:24:57.39\00:25:00.43
And this is even more than just,
00:25:00.53\00:25:01.16
you know, where two or three
00:25:01.26\00:25:02.20
are gathered together there
00:25:02.30\00:25:03.13
the presence of the Lord is.
00:25:03.23\00:25:04.20
There's something special
00:25:04.30\00:25:05.87
when God's people gather
00:25:05.97\00:25:07.74
together, and they are asking,
00:25:07.84\00:25:09.10
they're pleading for God
00:25:09.20\00:25:10.54
to do the same thing,
00:25:10.64\00:25:12.84
including the outpouring
00:25:12.94\00:25:13.78
of His Holy Spirit.
00:25:13.88\00:25:16.31
You know, if you're not a part
00:25:16.41\00:25:16.98
of a group like that,
00:25:17.08\00:25:17.91
I would just encourage you to
00:25:18.01\00:25:18.71
either join
00:25:18.81\00:25:19.61
one of the existing ones
00:25:19.71\00:25:20.58
or to make one yourself.
00:25:20.68\00:25:22.05
This is not --
00:25:22.15\00:25:22.82
it's not complicated.
00:25:22.92\00:25:23.75
This is not difficult.
00:25:23.85\00:25:24.55
You don't need me
00:25:24.65\00:25:25.35
to hold your hand to do this.
00:25:25.45\00:25:26.25
You can do this.
00:25:26.35\00:25:27.79
Ask somebody, "Hey,
00:25:27.89\00:25:29.36
let's get together, and then
00:25:29.46\00:25:30.19
let's ask somebody else.
00:25:30.29\00:25:31.49
We're going to pray for this
00:25:31.59\00:25:32.26
on a regular basis,"
00:25:32.36\00:25:33.36
asking for the blessing of the
00:25:33.46\00:25:34.63
Holy Spirit in His Latter Rain
00:25:34.73\00:25:36.36
power to come.
00:25:36.46\00:25:40.14
And the second question for you.
00:25:40.24\00:25:41.87
Are we praying
00:25:41.97\00:25:42.74
for the Holy Spirit
00:25:42.84\00:25:43.64
while being united
00:25:43.74\00:25:46.74
in our hearts?
00:25:46.84\00:25:51.45
You know,
00:25:51.55\00:25:52.28
earlier in the Gospel accounts,
00:25:52.38\00:25:53.45
if we were to read there,
00:25:53.55\00:25:54.22
we would find very quickly
00:25:54.32\00:25:55.32
that the disciples were famous
00:25:55.42\00:25:56.75
for their disunity,
00:25:56.85\00:25:59.02
their bickering
00:25:59.12\00:25:59.69
and their fighting.
00:25:59.79\00:26:00.59
You know, who's the greatest?
00:26:00.69\00:26:01.79
Who does Jesus love more?
00:26:01.89\00:26:03.32
"You. Me? No, It's me."
00:26:03.43\00:26:04.63
"No, it's me."
00:26:04.73\00:26:05.66
But in the days
00:26:05.76\00:26:06.90
in the upper room in Jerusalem,
00:26:07.00\00:26:07.96
at last they set
00:26:08.03\00:26:09.36
their differences aside.
00:26:09.46\00:26:10.90
They were united in Christ.
00:26:11.00\00:26:12.50
How about you?
00:26:12.60\00:26:15.74
Are you united in heart
00:26:15.84\00:26:18.04
with your fellow believers?
00:26:18.14\00:26:19.81
It is a sad fact -- we all know
00:26:19.91\00:26:21.24
this to be true -- that there
00:26:21.34\00:26:22.58
are some churches -- present
00:26:22.68\00:26:23.71
company excepted.
00:26:23.81\00:26:24.88
We're all okay.
00:26:24.98\00:26:26.78
But I've heard
00:26:26.88\00:26:28.85
that there are some churches
00:26:28.95\00:26:29.85
where people can be
00:26:29.95\00:26:30.65
sitting shoulder to shoulder
00:26:30.75\00:26:31.75
and yet miles apart.
00:26:31.85\00:26:35.72
Are you united in heart
00:26:35.82\00:26:36.99
with your fellow believers?
00:26:37.09\00:26:38.49
Let me put 1 Corinthians 12:12
00:26:38.59\00:26:39.66
and 13 up here on the screen.
00:26:39.76\00:26:41.10
The Holy Spirit is all
00:26:41.20\00:26:42.40
about this unity.
00:26:42.50\00:26:44.07
Says, "The body," speaking
00:26:44.17\00:26:45.07
of a person's physical body,
00:26:45.17\00:26:46.20
"is a unit, though it
00:26:46.30\00:26:47.50
is composed of many parts,
00:26:47.60\00:26:49.27
and although its parts are many,
00:26:49.37\00:26:50.74
they all form one body.
00:26:50.84\00:26:52.57
So it is with Christ.
00:26:52.67\00:26:55.04
For in one spirit we were
00:26:55.14\00:26:57.08
all baptized into one body,
00:26:57.18\00:26:59.81
whether Jews or Greeks,
00:26:59.91\00:27:00.88
slave or free,
00:27:00.98\00:27:02.38
and we were all given one spirit
00:27:02.48\00:27:04.45
to drink."
00:27:04.55\00:27:05.92
"One body," God says.
00:27:06.02\00:27:08.96
"One body," the Spirit says.
00:27:09.06\00:27:12.76
What is separating you from your
00:27:12.86\00:27:14.50
fellow believers right now?
00:27:14.60\00:27:15.73
If there is something,
00:27:15.83\00:27:16.67
what is it that is separating
00:27:16.77\00:27:18.03
you from them?
00:27:18.13\00:27:19.37
And here's the key question.
00:27:19.47\00:27:21.04
Is that division worth stopping
00:27:21.14\00:27:24.24
the outpouring of the Latter
00:27:24.34\00:27:25.61
Rain of the Holy Spirit?
00:27:25.71\00:27:27.74
"Selected Messages, Volume 1,"
00:27:31.31\00:27:32.31
page 175.
00:27:32.41\00:27:34.08
Spirit of prophecy says this.
00:27:34.18\00:27:34.82
"When the laborers
00:27:34.92\00:27:36.79
have an abiding Christ
00:27:36.89\00:27:37.85
in their own souls,
00:27:37.95\00:27:39.35
when all selfishness is dead,
00:27:39.45\00:27:40.52
when there is no rivalry,
00:27:40.62\00:27:41.69
no strife for the supremacy,
00:27:41.79\00:27:43.32
when oneness exists,
00:27:43.43\00:27:45.09
when they sanctify themselves
00:27:45.19\00:27:46.70
so that love for one another
00:27:46.80\00:27:48.43
is seen and felt,
00:27:48.53\00:27:49.90
then the showers
00:27:50.00\00:27:51.20
of the Holy Spirit
00:27:51.30\00:27:52.43
will just as surely come
00:27:52.53\00:27:54.00
upon them as that God's promise
00:27:54.10\00:27:55.40
will never fail in one jot
00:27:55.50\00:27:56.54
or tittle.
00:27:56.64\00:27:58.07
But when the work of the others
00:27:58.17\00:27:59.57
is discounted,
00:27:59.67\00:28:01.24
that the workers may show
00:28:01.34\00:28:02.24
their own superiority,
00:28:02.34\00:28:03.85
they prove that their own work
00:28:03.95\00:28:05.91
does not bear the signature
00:28:06.01\00:28:07.48
it should.
00:28:07.58\00:28:09.02
God cannot bless them."
00:28:09.12\00:28:12.99
And that last sentence
00:28:13.09\00:28:14.59
is specifically talking
00:28:14.69\00:28:16.32
about the outpouring
00:28:16.42\00:28:17.33
of the Holy Spirit of God.
00:28:17.43\00:28:21.70
Ladies and gentlemen,
00:28:21.80\00:28:22.60
as a fellow traveler with you,
00:28:22.70\00:28:26.00
I would plead with all of us
00:28:26.10\00:28:27.37
to hear it and to hear it well.
00:28:27.47\00:28:28.40
If there is something
00:28:28.50\00:28:30.54
that is separating you
00:28:30.64\00:28:31.81
from your fellow believers,
00:28:31.91\00:28:33.48
the source of that separation
00:28:33.58\00:28:35.34
had better be from God.
00:28:35.44\00:28:38.05
It had better be clearly
00:28:38.15\00:28:39.31
evidenced in His Word
00:28:39.41\00:28:40.62
and clearly in accordance
00:28:40.72\00:28:41.95
with His will,
00:28:42.05\00:28:43.35
for if it is not, for God's
00:28:43.45\00:28:45.45
sake -- proper use of the
00:28:45.55\00:28:47.56
phrase -- for God's sake, let go
00:28:47.66\00:28:49.89
of it, get rid of it,
00:28:49.99\00:28:52.76
be reconciled.
00:28:52.86\00:28:54.10
Be reconciled to God.
00:28:54.20\00:28:55.76
Be reconciled to each other.
00:28:55.86\00:28:57.83
This unity requirement
00:28:57.93\00:28:59.43
is not a joke.
00:28:59.53\00:29:01.74
This is for real.
00:29:01.84\00:29:04.14
The Latter Rain depends upon it.
00:29:04.24\00:29:07.44
God is waiting.
00:29:07.54\00:29:10.18
So, hold on to Christ.
00:29:10.28\00:29:13.25
And as far as it depends on you,
00:29:13.35\00:29:15.72
be united with the rest
00:29:15.82\00:29:16.55
of His family.
00:29:16.65\00:29:20.49
That's unity.
00:29:20.59\00:29:22.76
What about perseverance?
00:29:22.86\00:29:25.86
You know, the disciples prayed
00:29:25.96\00:29:27.10
for the outpouring of the Former
00:29:27.20\00:29:28.10
Rain of the Holy Spirit
00:29:28.20\00:29:29.03
for days on end.
00:29:29.13\00:29:31.27
Can the same be said of us
00:29:31.37\00:29:32.80
with regard to the Latter Rain?
00:29:32.90\00:29:35.57
You know, we get tired
00:29:35.67\00:29:36.74
pretty easily, don't we?
00:29:36.84\00:29:39.11
We identify a little too closely
00:29:39.21\00:29:40.34
with the disciples
00:29:40.44\00:29:41.28
in the Garden of Gethsemane.
00:29:41.38\00:29:42.28
Watch and pray.
00:29:42.38\00:29:43.91
"Oh, Lord, we're going to
00:29:44.01\00:29:44.58
walk..."
00:29:44.68\00:29:45.08
[ Snoring ]
00:29:45.18\00:29:47.82
It happens way too often.
00:29:47.92\00:29:49.98
We grow weary of talking
00:29:50.09\00:29:51.89
with Jesus.
00:29:51.99\00:29:55.29
Yet if we persevere in praying,
00:29:55.39\00:29:57.86
particularly for the Latter Rain
00:29:57.96\00:29:59.49
of the Holy Spirit, it will
00:29:59.59\00:30:00.76
come.
00:30:00.86\00:30:01.60
"Review and Herald,"
00:30:01.70\00:30:03.30
March 19th, 1895.
00:30:03.40\00:30:05.33
She says, "The descent of
00:30:05.43\00:30:06.43
the Holy Spirit upon the church
00:30:06.53\00:30:07.50
is looked forward to
00:30:07.60\00:30:08.24
as in the future;
00:30:08.34\00:30:09.94
but it is the privilege
00:30:10.04\00:30:11.14
of the church to have it" when?
00:30:11.24\00:30:13.07
Now!
00:30:13.17\00:30:14.31
Now, if then, now was now,
00:30:14.41\00:30:17.41
how much more is now, now, now?
00:30:17.51\00:30:20.65
Today.
00:30:20.75\00:30:22.12
"Seek for it. Pray for it.
00:30:22.22\00:30:24.15
Believe for it. We must have it,
00:30:24.25\00:30:25.72
and Heaven
00:30:25.82\00:30:26.45
is waiting to bestow it."
00:30:26.55\00:30:28.96
That sounds like perseverance
00:30:29.06\00:30:29.66
to me.
00:30:29.76\00:30:30.56
"Seek for it.
00:30:30.66\00:30:32.09
Pray for it. Believe for it."
00:30:32.19\00:30:36.33
If we are to receive the global
00:30:36.43\00:30:37.77
outpouring of the Latter Rain
00:30:37.87\00:30:38.63
of the Holy Spirit,
00:30:38.73\00:30:39.37
we must have united,
00:30:39.47\00:30:41.47
persevering prayer.
00:30:41.57\00:30:45.24
That's step number two.
00:30:45.34\00:30:48.41
Step number three...
00:30:48.51\00:30:52.45
The third step to receiving
00:30:52.55\00:30:53.58
the global
00:30:53.68\00:30:54.38
blessing of the Latter Rain
00:30:54.48\00:30:55.62
of the Holy Spirit is this.
00:30:55.72\00:30:59.29
Fully cooperate with Jesus
00:30:59.39\00:31:02.99
as He takes the work
00:31:03.09\00:31:04.66
of the Former Rain
00:31:04.76\00:31:06.56
and brings it to maturity
00:31:06.66\00:31:08.60
through the Latter Rain.
00:31:08.70\00:31:11.33
Fully cooperate with Jesus
00:31:11.43\00:31:12.63
as He takes the work
00:31:12.73\00:31:13.70
of the Former Rain
00:31:13.80\00:31:15.44
and brings it to maturity
00:31:15.54\00:31:17.47
through the Latter Rain.
00:31:17.57\00:31:19.74
In step two,
00:31:19.84\00:31:20.91
we asked for the Latter Rain
00:31:21.01\00:31:22.18
to come.
00:31:22.28\00:31:23.11
In step three,
00:31:23.21\00:31:24.51
we live out that request.
00:31:24.61\00:31:27.35
And let's be
00:31:27.45\00:31:28.08
even more specific here.
00:31:28.18\00:31:29.55
The Latter Rain takes what was
00:31:29.65\00:31:30.72
started in the Former Rain
00:31:30.82\00:31:32.29
and brings it to maturity.
00:31:32.39\00:31:33.52
We've seen this multiple times
00:31:33.62\00:31:33.92
now,
00:31:34.02\00:31:34.99
both in the Bible and elsewhere.
00:31:35.09\00:31:36.46
So, what was the work
00:31:36.56\00:31:39.23
that Jesus wanted to do in us
00:31:39.33\00:31:41.30
through the Former Rain
00:31:41.40\00:31:43.33
that He will now carry to
00:31:43.43\00:31:44.73
maturity in the Latter Rain?
00:31:44.83\00:31:48.27
Well, you might remember.
00:31:48.37\00:31:48.97
We made a list.
00:31:49.07\00:31:49.77
We put down seven different
00:31:49.87\00:31:51.07
things that the Spirit
00:31:51.17\00:31:52.31
begins to do in us.
00:31:52.41\00:31:53.44
Let me just remind you
00:31:53.54\00:31:54.41
what those things were.
00:31:54.51\00:31:55.88
In the beginning,
00:31:55.98\00:31:56.58
the spirit convicts
00:31:56.68\00:31:57.41
us of our sins,
00:31:57.51\00:31:58.85
takes Christ's resurrection
00:31:58.95\00:32:00.18
power, applies it to our lives,
00:32:00.28\00:32:01.88
teaches us all things,
00:32:01.98\00:32:03.12
reminds us of Christ's word,
00:32:03.22\00:32:04.62
guides us into all truth.
00:32:04.72\00:32:06.15
He begins to tell us
00:32:06.25\00:32:07.19
what is to come in the future.
00:32:07.29\00:32:08.12
This is prophecy.
00:32:08.22\00:32:09.62
And lastly here, He begins
00:32:09.72\00:32:10.83
to transform us into courageous,
00:32:10.93\00:32:12.43
faithful, powerful,
00:32:12.53\00:32:13.70
and passionate followers
00:32:13.80\00:32:14.83
of Jesus Christ.
00:32:14.93\00:32:17.07
Now, this is a great start.
00:32:17.17\00:32:19.47
This is the work that Jesus
00:32:19.57\00:32:20.90
does through His Spirit,
00:32:21.00\00:32:22.24
through the Former Rain.
00:32:22.34\00:32:24.74
And then, if we want to receive
00:32:24.84\00:32:26.31
the global blessing
00:32:26.41\00:32:27.34
of the Latter Rain,
00:32:27.44\00:32:29.21
we must commit personally
00:32:29.31\00:32:30.91
to living out the work
00:32:31.01\00:32:32.98
of the Former Rain of the Spirit
00:32:33.08\00:32:34.65
to the point of maturity,
00:32:34.75\00:32:37.42
to have Christ fully formed
00:32:37.52\00:32:39.92
in us.
00:32:40.02\00:32:44.09
Now, does that make sense?
00:32:44.19\00:32:47.50
Okay. I see some heads nodding.
00:32:47.60\00:32:49.66
All right, let me put a little
00:32:49.76\00:32:50.77
more meat on these bones.
00:32:50.87\00:32:52.77
Uh, vegan.
00:32:52.87\00:32:53.90
Vegan meat, of course, yes.
00:32:54.00\00:32:57.34
Now, what might this living out
00:32:57.44\00:32:59.04
of the work of the Former Rain
00:32:59.14\00:33:00.58
into the Latter Rain maturity
00:33:00.68\00:33:01.54
look like?
00:33:01.64\00:33:02.68
Let's get very specific here.
00:33:02.78\00:33:04.11
Let's go back to our list, okay?
00:33:04.21\00:33:05.15
So, it begins here.
00:33:05.25\00:33:06.58
In the beginning, the Former
00:33:06.68\00:33:07.65
Rain of the Holy Spirit begins
00:33:07.75\00:33:08.88
to convict us of our sins.
00:33:08.98\00:33:10.95
Now, this is often
00:33:11.05\00:33:12.75
kind of a general sense.
00:33:12.85\00:33:14.16
Many of you, if you look back
00:33:14.26\00:33:15.32
at your conversion experience,
00:33:15.42\00:33:16.49
you can relate to this.
00:33:16.59\00:33:17.76
There was a general sense
00:33:17.86\00:33:19.09
you see in the rearview mirror,
00:33:19.19\00:33:20.43
the Holy Spirit
00:33:20.53\00:33:21.16
giving this to you,
00:33:21.26\00:33:22.50
that your life is not right.
00:33:22.60\00:33:23.70
There are sins.
00:33:23.80\00:33:25.07
There's darkness in your life.
00:33:25.17\00:33:26.17
You are out of step with God,
00:33:26.27\00:33:28.34
and it brings you to the point
00:33:28.44\00:33:29.40
of initial repentance.
00:33:29.50\00:33:31.54
And then there is this initial
00:33:31.64\00:33:32.77
growth that takes place.
00:33:32.87\00:33:33.74
This is part of the Former Rain
00:33:33.84\00:33:35.38
of the Holy Spirit.
00:33:35.48\00:33:38.15
Now, if we are going to
00:33:38.25\00:33:39.75
participate in the Latter Rain
00:33:39.85\00:33:41.18
in this regard,
00:33:41.28\00:33:42.42
we now need to let
00:33:42.52\00:33:43.59
the Holy Spirit move beyond
00:33:43.69\00:33:45.22
that initial conviction of sin
00:33:45.32\00:33:47.32
and into every corner
00:33:47.42\00:33:49.59
of our lives to convict us
00:33:49.69\00:33:51.69
of any remaining sin
00:33:51.79\00:33:53.23
in our lives.
00:33:53.33\00:33:54.60
This is what the Bible calls
00:33:54.73\00:33:55.50
"sanctification."
00:33:55.60\00:33:57.20
You know, 1 Corinthians 2:10.
00:33:57.30\00:33:58.07
We're not
00:33:58.17\00:33:59.30
going to look it up here.
00:33:59.40\00:34:00.24
Let me just share it with you.
00:34:00.34\00:34:00.94
It says that the spirit
00:34:01.04\00:34:02.04
searches all things,
00:34:02.14\00:34:04.07
even the deep things of God.
00:34:04.17\00:34:07.21
And if the Holy Spirit
00:34:07.31\00:34:08.21
can search out
00:34:08.31\00:34:09.08
the deep things of God,
00:34:09.18\00:34:10.48
how much more can He root
00:34:10.58\00:34:12.15
out willful sin from our lives?
00:34:12.25\00:34:15.65
You know, Jesus through
00:34:15.75\00:34:16.55
His Holy Spirit is the greatest
00:34:16.65\00:34:17.99
soul surgeon who ever lived.
00:34:18.09\00:34:20.26
I mean,
00:34:20.36\00:34:21.16
He wrote the book on it, right?
00:34:21.26\00:34:22.46
I mean, He knows how to do this.
00:34:22.56\00:34:23.73
He is on your side,
00:34:23.83\00:34:25.26
and He has never lost a case.
00:34:25.36\00:34:28.06
So, to participate in the global
00:34:28.16\00:34:29.90
Latter Rain experience,
00:34:30.00\00:34:31.40
let His loving,
00:34:31.50\00:34:33.07
searching eye of His Holy Spirit
00:34:33.17\00:34:35.20
convict you of the cancer of sin
00:34:35.30\00:34:37.61
wherever and whenever
00:34:37.71\00:34:39.17
it is found in your life.
00:34:39.27\00:34:42.84
And as we mentioned in part one,
00:34:42.94\00:34:45.11
you don't have to be afraid
00:34:45.21\00:34:47.08
of this process.
00:34:47.18\00:34:50.02
God is not looking to crush you.
00:34:50.12\00:34:52.25
He is looking to save you.
00:34:52.35\00:34:55.29
Let me give you an illustration
00:34:55.39\00:34:56.49
of what that's like.
00:34:56.59\00:34:58.49
Many years ago,
00:34:58.59\00:34:59.23
I was 10, 12 years old,
00:34:59.33\00:35:00.73
something like that.
00:35:00.83\00:35:01.93
And it was a beautiful,
00:35:02.03\00:35:04.37
sunny Sunday,
00:35:04.47\00:35:06.33
central California day.
00:35:06.43\00:35:09.74
There was nothing much to do.
00:35:09.84\00:35:11.27
I was bored,
00:35:11.37\00:35:12.47
and so was my friend David.
00:35:12.57\00:35:13.51
He lived just down the street
00:35:13.61\00:35:14.18
from me.
00:35:14.28\00:35:14.91
We were
00:35:15.01\00:35:15.78
just kind of hanging out,
00:35:15.88\00:35:16.54
wondering what to do
00:35:16.64\00:35:17.48
when David had an idea.
00:35:17.58\00:35:19.81
He said, "Hey, Shane, let's go
00:35:19.91\00:35:21.08
play darts at my house."
00:35:21.18\00:35:25.22
All right. Fine.
00:35:25.32\00:35:26.79
Ride our bikes down
00:35:26.89\00:35:27.76
to the street to his house.
00:35:27.86\00:35:28.59
Go into his garage.
00:35:28.69\00:35:29.39
Get the darts out.
00:35:29.49\00:35:30.56
Foom, foom, foom.
00:35:30.66\00:35:33.53
We'd played darts before.
00:35:33.63\00:35:34.46
This really wasn't terribly
00:35:34.56\00:35:35.30
engaging, right?
00:35:35.40\00:35:37.13
And we're kind of losing
00:35:37.23\00:35:38.67
interest pretty quickly when
00:35:38.77\00:35:40.27
David has a bright idea.
00:35:40.37\00:35:45.21
"Hey, Shane,
00:35:45.31\00:35:46.98
what if we went outside,
00:35:47.08\00:35:49.34
and we found different targets
00:35:49.44\00:35:51.58
for our darts?
00:35:51.68\00:35:54.08
What if we found things
00:35:54.18\00:35:55.65
that a dart would stick into,
00:35:55.75\00:35:57.22
and we saw how far away we could
00:35:57.32\00:35:59.32
get and still hit the target?"
00:35:59.42\00:36:02.06
This was an awesome idea!
00:36:02.16\00:36:03.49
And so we went.
00:36:03.59\00:36:04.63
I grabbed my three darts
00:36:04.73\00:36:05.99
and put them in my pocket.
00:36:06.09\00:36:06.90
He grabbed his three darts,
00:36:07.00\00:36:07.60
put them in his pocket.
00:36:07.66\00:36:08.36
We got on our bikes.
00:36:08.46\00:36:09.20
We rode back down to my house,
00:36:09.30\00:36:10.00
and we began to find
00:36:10.10\00:36:11.63
and destroy targets.
00:36:11.73\00:36:13.54
We had these little saplings
00:36:13.64\00:36:14.70
out, you know, 5 or 6 of them
00:36:14.80\00:36:15.37
on the side
00:36:15.47\00:36:16.40
of our house at that time.
00:36:16.50\00:36:17.14
And they're only
00:36:17.24\00:36:17.87
about this big around.
00:36:17.97\00:36:18.97
And so, we would get, like, 10,
00:36:19.07\00:36:19.87
12 feet back,
00:36:19.97\00:36:21.04
and would throw a dart.
00:36:21.14\00:36:22.51
And the idea is if you stuck it
00:36:22.61\00:36:23.28
in the tree,
00:36:23.38\00:36:24.35
you had to step two steps back,
00:36:24.45\00:36:25.28
right?
00:36:25.38\00:36:26.05
So, pretty soon we're back
00:36:26.15\00:36:26.58
far enough.
00:36:26.68\00:36:27.32
Can't hit that one.
00:36:27.42\00:36:28.15
Lose interest.
00:36:28.25\00:36:28.92
What else could we hit?
00:36:29.02\00:36:30.39
Well, I had this fence.
00:36:30.49\00:36:31.59
If I remember right,
00:36:31.69\00:36:32.85
it was fairly recently painted.
00:36:32.95\00:36:34.02
So, I know my stepdad
00:36:34.12\00:36:34.72
really enjoyed
00:36:34.82\00:36:35.72
what was happening out here.
00:36:35.82\00:36:36.99
We would stand back
00:36:37.09\00:36:37.99
on the sidewalk and say,
00:36:38.09\00:36:39.23
"Okay, I'm going to hit that one
00:36:39.33\00:36:40.23
that's got the knothole in it."
00:36:40.33\00:36:41.20
"Okay, go for that."
00:36:41.30\00:36:42.26
And we'd step back.
00:36:42.36\00:36:43.50
We actually got all the way
00:36:43.60\00:36:44.93
across the street.
00:36:45.03\00:36:46.03
I mean, this is like 60 feet
00:36:46.13\00:36:47.07
away, okay?
00:36:47.17\00:36:48.40
Throwing, chucking these darts
00:36:48.50\00:36:49.60
and bonk in the side
00:36:49.70\00:36:50.77
of the fence there.
00:36:50.87\00:36:53.91
But even throwing darts
00:36:54.01\00:36:55.28
from 60 feet
00:36:55.38\00:36:57.48
can get boring after a while.
00:36:57.58\00:37:00.42
And after about half an hour of
00:37:00.52\00:37:01.82
throwing darts hither and yon,
00:37:01.92\00:37:03.59
I said to David, "Here,
00:37:03.69\00:37:04.69
here's your darts.
00:37:04.79\00:37:06.05
Let's go find something else
00:37:06.15\00:37:06.69
to do."
00:37:06.79\00:37:07.82
So, we go around
00:37:07.92\00:37:08.76
to the front of my house,
00:37:08.86\00:37:10.36
and I'm sitting there
00:37:10.46\00:37:11.23
actually on his bike.
00:37:11.33\00:37:12.39
Sometimes we would switch bikes,
00:37:12.49\00:37:13.70
and I was sitting on his bike.
00:37:13.80\00:37:15.73
And David has great idea
00:37:15.83\00:37:18.90
number three.
00:37:19.00\00:37:21.54
He didn't tell me about it.
00:37:21.64\00:37:23.84
He decided that
00:37:23.94\00:37:25.64
from where he was standing,
00:37:25.74\00:37:27.04
he was going to try to put
00:37:27.14\00:37:29.04
a dart in the post that held up
00:37:29.14\00:37:31.68
my family's mailbox.
00:37:31.78\00:37:33.38
You know, it's 4x4 post.
00:37:33.48\00:37:34.82
You've seen these things.
00:37:34.92\00:37:36.15
It's right there on the curb.
00:37:36.25\00:37:37.55
And he thought to himself,
00:37:37.65\00:37:38.25
"This is a great idea."
00:37:38.35\00:37:39.35
He's like 25 feet away.
00:37:39.45\00:37:41.19
And so he eyes it up there
00:37:41.29\00:37:42.12
with a dart, right?
00:37:42.22\00:37:43.22
And he winds up,
00:37:43.32\00:37:44.46
and he throws this thing.
00:37:44.56\00:37:49.03
And he missed that thing
00:37:49.13\00:37:50.63
by a country mile
00:37:50.73\00:37:53.00
and stuck it right in my knee.
00:37:53.10\00:37:56.94
You see,
00:37:57.04\00:37:57.74
my leg was propped up here
00:37:57.84\00:37:58.71
on the top tube of his bike,
00:37:58.81\00:37:59.51
just sitting here,
00:37:59.61\00:38:00.44
minding my own business,
00:38:00.54\00:38:01.34
I was about two feet away from
00:38:01.44\00:38:02.08
the mailbox.
00:38:02.18\00:38:03.88
And this is a thunk
00:38:03.98\00:38:05.35
right into my knee.
00:38:05.45\00:38:06.11
Now, this was not
00:38:06.21\00:38:06.92
a soft-tissue injury.
00:38:07.02\00:38:08.45
This was, like, into cartilage,
00:38:08.55\00:38:09.32
right?
00:38:09.42\00:38:10.09
Boom, like that.
00:38:10.19\00:38:11.49
About that far in, I don't know,
00:38:11.59\00:38:12.65
half-inch, pushing three
00:38:12.75\00:38:14.12
quarters, right?
00:38:14.22\00:38:15.36
And at this moment,
00:38:15.46\00:38:18.96
I had two choices
00:38:19.06\00:38:21.20
that I could make.
00:38:21.30\00:38:23.37
I could choose
00:38:23.47\00:38:24.57
to remove the dart.
00:38:24.67\00:38:27.60
Or option "B," I could pretend
00:38:27.70\00:38:31.34
that it wasn't there.
00:38:31.44\00:38:34.94
I could, for instance.
00:38:35.04\00:38:36.08
I mean, what if I did it?
00:38:36.18\00:38:37.08
What if I had, you know,
00:38:37.18\00:38:37.81
taken off my light jacket
00:38:37.91\00:38:39.21
and put it over my knee?
00:38:39.31\00:38:40.25
Nothing to see here.
00:38:40.35\00:38:41.08
[ Whistling ]
00:38:41.18\00:38:43.72
What if my mother had come by?
00:38:43.82\00:38:44.62
"I'm fine, Mom."
00:38:44.72\00:38:45.45
"Why aren't you
00:38:45.55\00:38:46.39
bending your knee?"
00:38:46.49\00:38:47.26
You see, I actually tried
00:38:47.36\00:38:48.02
to bend my knee right away,
00:38:48.12\00:38:48.96
and I discovered really quickly
00:38:49.06\00:38:49.99
that my skin was moving
00:38:50.09\00:38:51.29
at a different rate
00:38:51.39\00:38:52.53
than whatever it was stuck into,
00:38:52.63\00:38:53.36
right?
00:38:53.46\00:38:54.40
So, I had to have my leg cocked
00:38:54.50\00:38:54.93
like this.
00:38:55.03\00:38:56.43
And so, if I had hopped
00:38:56.53\00:38:57.53
into the house and said,
00:38:57.63\00:38:58.37
"It's fine, Mom.
00:38:58.47\00:38:59.53
Everything is totally fine,"
00:38:59.63\00:39:00.17
right?
00:39:00.27\00:39:01.37
And what
00:39:01.47\00:39:02.70
if Mom suspected something,
00:39:02.80\00:39:03.67
and we went to the doctor?
00:39:03.77\00:39:04.87
And by now I had found kind of
00:39:04.97\00:39:06.21
maybe a large plastic cup
00:39:06.31\00:39:07.54
that you couldn't see through,
00:39:07.64\00:39:08.31
you know, a darkened cup,
00:39:08.41\00:39:09.51
and put it over the dart.
00:39:09.61\00:39:10.78
And the doctor says, "Oh, son,
00:39:10.88\00:39:11.75
do you think
00:39:11.85\00:39:12.85
I could have a look at that?"
00:39:12.95\00:39:13.88
"No, no, no, everything's fine.
00:39:13.98\00:39:15.85
It's fine.
00:39:15.95\00:39:16.65
Don't worry about it."
00:39:16.75\00:39:19.02
I know exactly
00:39:19.12\00:39:21.06
what you would have thought
00:39:21.16\00:39:22.12
about that young man.
00:39:22.22\00:39:24.23
You would have looked at him
00:39:24.33\00:39:25.09
and said, "Genius.
00:39:25.19\00:39:28.70
This kid is brilliant!
00:39:28.80\00:39:30.57
Look at what he's doing, hiding
00:39:30.67\00:39:32.03
this dart on his leg like that.
00:39:32.13\00:39:34.47
This is top-shelf behavior."
00:39:34.57\00:39:38.47
No, you would have said,
00:39:38.57\00:39:39.87
"This kid's as dumb
00:39:39.97\00:39:41.08
as the post that David missed
00:39:41.18\00:39:42.64
when he threw the dart," right?
00:39:42.74\00:39:44.08
Who would do this?
00:39:44.18\00:39:45.68
Who would possibly try to hide
00:39:45.78\00:39:46.82
this dart sticking out of their
00:39:46.92\00:39:47.58
knee?
00:39:47.68\00:39:49.05
Only a fool would try.
00:39:49.15\00:39:51.49
The sin in my life or yours
00:39:59.63\00:40:04.23
in the eyes of Heaven
00:40:04.33\00:40:07.17
is every bit as obvious
00:40:07.27\00:40:10.01
as a dart sticking out
00:40:10.11\00:40:12.04
of the side of your knee.
00:40:12.14\00:40:15.41
And if you try to cover it over,
00:40:15.51\00:40:18.41
to put your jacket over the top
00:40:18.51\00:40:20.05
so no one will know in Heaven,
00:40:20.15\00:40:23.85
the only person you're fooling
00:40:23.95\00:40:26.05
is yourself.
00:40:26.15\00:40:28.99
And let me play it out
00:40:29.09\00:40:29.76
just a little bit further.
00:40:29.86\00:40:31.66
If I had tried
00:40:31.76\00:40:32.53
to hide that dart,
00:40:32.63\00:40:34.56
it would have messed my life up.
00:40:34.63\00:40:37.03
I mean, truly think about this.
00:40:37.13\00:40:38.00
What if I had actually done this
00:40:38.10\00:40:40.17
crazy thing and tried to hide it
00:40:40.27\00:40:41.90
and never get it out?
00:40:42.00\00:40:44.77
I couldn't run. I couldn't play.
00:40:44.87\00:40:46.57
It would be difficult to get
00:40:46.68\00:40:47.61
to school and back and forth,
00:40:47.71\00:40:48.58
certainly not like I had been.
00:40:48.68\00:40:50.68
I probably actually wouldn't be
00:40:50.78\00:40:52.68
sitting here right now, would I?
00:40:52.78\00:40:55.82
Because when you leave stuff in
00:40:55.92\00:40:58.29
that ought to be out,
00:40:58.39\00:41:00.59
it will mess you up.
00:41:00.69\00:41:05.03
When the Holy Spirit
00:41:05.13\00:41:06.73
in the Latter Rain goes looking
00:41:06.83\00:41:08.33
to convict you of your sin,
00:41:08.43\00:41:09.86
He is not looking to harm you
00:41:09.96\00:41:11.90
but to heal you.
00:41:12.00\00:41:13.87
He is looking to get the dart
00:41:13.97\00:41:15.54
out of your knee.
00:41:15.64\00:41:17.04
So, cooperate.
00:41:17.14\00:41:18.57
Let Him into every nook
00:41:18.67\00:41:20.38
and cranny of your life
00:41:20.48\00:41:22.78
because every conviction of sin
00:41:22.88\00:41:24.71
by the Holy Spirit
00:41:24.81\00:41:25.88
is an invitation to participate
00:41:25.98\00:41:27.32
in the next part of Christ
00:41:27.42\00:41:29.22
and the Spirit's work, which is,
00:41:29.32\00:41:31.12
as we saw on our list here,
00:41:31.22\00:41:32.29
takes Christ's
00:41:32.39\00:41:33.29
resurrection power
00:41:33.39\00:41:34.49
and applies it to our lives.
00:41:34.59\00:41:36.46
This is such incredibly
00:41:36.56\00:41:37.39
good news.
00:41:37.49\00:41:38.59
If the Holy Spirit
00:41:38.69\00:41:39.89
and the Former Rain begins
00:41:40.00\00:41:41.50
this second step, begins
00:41:41.60\00:41:42.83
to apply this in our lives,
00:41:42.93\00:41:44.40
then in the Latter Rain,
00:41:44.50\00:41:45.60
we need to let the spirit
00:41:45.70\00:41:46.80
into every corner of our lives.
00:41:46.90\00:41:49.10
What was in the Former Rain
00:41:49.20\00:41:50.84
an initial dip into the process
00:41:50.94\00:41:52.67
of becoming more like Jesus --
00:41:52.77\00:41:53.94
again, what the Bible
00:41:54.04\00:41:54.81
calls "sanctification" --
00:41:54.91\00:41:56.28
now, in the Latter Rain,
00:41:56.38\00:41:57.71
go for full immersion.
00:41:57.81\00:41:59.68
Dive in.
00:41:59.78\00:42:02.35
Again, the Latter Rain is
00:42:02.45\00:42:03.18
intended to bring deep and
00:42:03.28\00:42:04.85
profound conviction of sin,
00:42:04.95\00:42:06.82
for sin harms us,
00:42:06.92\00:42:07.96
and it must be removed.
00:42:08.06\00:42:09.39
But the Bible is clear.
00:42:09.49\00:42:10.33
Romans 5:20.
00:42:10.43\00:42:11.99
Many of you have memorized this.
00:42:12.09\00:42:13.23
Where sin increased,
00:42:13.33\00:42:14.86
grace increased all the more.
00:42:14.96\00:42:18.13
Christ through His Holy Spirit
00:42:18.23\00:42:19.37
can bring you victory
00:42:19.47\00:42:20.54
over every willful sin,
00:42:20.64\00:42:22.50
transforming you by His grace.
00:42:22.60\00:42:24.64
Christ through His Holy Spirit
00:42:24.74\00:42:25.91
can bring previously
00:42:26.01\00:42:27.01
unimaginable power to bear
00:42:27.11\00:42:28.84
against the sinful habits
00:42:28.94\00:42:30.08
that may have held you back
00:42:30.18\00:42:30.98
for years.
00:42:31.08\00:42:32.41
And this is not true
00:42:32.51\00:42:33.58
because I say so.
00:42:33.68\00:42:35.42
It is true because God says so.
00:42:35.52\00:42:37.69
Let me just put it up here
00:42:37.79\00:42:38.35
for you to see.
00:42:38.45\00:42:39.15
Philippians 1:6...
00:42:39.25\00:42:40.99
"...being confident of this,
00:42:41.09\00:42:42.39
that he who began a good work
00:42:42.49\00:42:44.13
in you will carry it on to"
00:42:44.23\00:42:45.36
what?
00:42:45.46\00:42:46.39
>> Completion.
00:42:46.49\00:42:47.36
>> "To completion until the day
00:42:47.46\00:42:48.60
of Jesus Christ."
00:42:48.70\00:42:49.60
Amen.
00:42:49.70\00:42:50.47
Look at this -- Jude 24.
00:42:50.57\00:42:52.20
"Jesus is able
00:42:52.30\00:42:53.64
to keep you from stumbling
00:42:53.74\00:42:54.80
and to present you unblemished
00:42:54.90\00:42:56.17
in His glorious presence
00:42:56.27\00:42:57.34
with great joy."
00:42:57.44\00:42:59.57
How about this from Romans 8?
00:42:59.67\00:43:01.34
"What then shall we say
00:43:01.44\00:43:02.41
in response to these things?
00:43:02.51\00:43:03.65
If God is for us,
00:43:03.75\00:43:05.41
who can be against us?"
00:43:05.51\00:43:06.15
What's the answer
00:43:06.25\00:43:07.15
to that question?
00:43:07.25\00:43:08.12
>> No one.
00:43:08.22\00:43:09.22
>> No one, no one can be.
00:43:09.32\00:43:10.45
"If God is for us,
00:43:10.55\00:43:11.35
who can be against us?"
00:43:11.45\00:43:11.99
No one can.
00:43:12.09\00:43:12.79
"He who did not spare His own
00:43:12.89\00:43:13.89
son but gave Him up for us all,
00:43:13.99\00:43:16.16
how will He not
00:43:16.26\00:43:16.96
also along with Him,
00:43:17.06\00:43:18.06
freely give us all things?
00:43:18.16\00:43:20.13
Who will bring any charge
00:43:20.23\00:43:21.56
against God's elect?
00:43:21.66\00:43:22.73
It is God who justifies.
00:43:22.83\00:43:24.43
Who is there that condemns us?
00:43:24.53\00:43:26.27
For Christ Jesus,
00:43:26.37\00:43:27.34
who died and more than
00:43:27.44\00:43:28.27
that was raised to life,
00:43:28.37\00:43:29.57
is at the right hand of God,
00:43:29.67\00:43:30.84
and He is interceding for us.
00:43:30.94\00:43:33.24
Who shall separate us
00:43:33.34\00:43:34.24
from the love of Christ?
00:43:34.34\00:43:35.31
Shall trouble or distress
00:43:35.41\00:43:36.48
or persecution or famine
00:43:36.58\00:43:37.71
or nakedness or danger
00:43:37.81\00:43:38.65
or sword?
00:43:38.75\00:43:39.65
No, in all these things we are
00:43:39.75\00:43:42.52
more than conquerors through Him
00:43:42.62\00:43:44.59
who loved us."
00:43:44.69\00:43:48.39
I tell you what.
00:43:48.49\00:43:49.82
It's no wonder to me
00:43:49.92\00:43:50.89
that some quotations from
00:43:50.99\00:43:52.13
the Spirit of prophecy came out.
00:43:52.23\00:43:53.19
I have no wonder at all why
00:43:53.29\00:43:54.63
Ellen White said the following.
00:43:54.73\00:43:55.50
Look at this.
00:43:55.60\00:43:56.63
This is from
00:43:56.73\00:43:57.50
"Selected Messages, Volume 1,"
00:43:57.60\00:43:58.37
page 124.
00:43:58.47\00:44:00.80
She says, "There is nothing
00:44:00.90\00:44:01.77
that Satan fears so much."
00:44:01.87\00:44:03.30
Stop right there. I like that.
00:44:03.41\00:44:06.64
I get tired of living in a world
00:44:06.74\00:44:07.74
full of fear. Don't you?
00:44:07.84\00:44:09.21
Wouldn't be nice to see
00:44:09.31\00:44:10.01
the enemy getting a taste
00:44:10.11\00:44:10.81
of his own medicine?
00:44:10.91\00:44:12.11
All right, here it is.
00:44:12.21\00:44:12.98
"There is nothing that Satan
00:44:13.08\00:44:13.98
fears so much as that the people
00:44:14.08\00:44:16.08
of God shall clear the way
00:44:16.18\00:44:18.02
by removing every hindrance,
00:44:18.12\00:44:18.99
so that the Lord can pour out
00:44:19.09\00:44:19.95
His spirit
00:44:20.06\00:44:20.79
upon a languishing church.
00:44:20.89\00:44:22.42
Every temptation,
00:44:22.52\00:44:23.46
every opposing influence,
00:44:23.56\00:44:24.66
whether open or secret,
00:44:24.76\00:44:26.26
may be successfully resisted,
00:44:26.36\00:44:28.56
'not by might, nor by power,
00:44:28.66\00:44:30.53
but by my spirit,'
00:44:30.63\00:44:32.10
says the Lord of hosts."
00:44:32.20\00:44:33.50
Ahh!
00:44:33.60\00:44:35.67
You know, there's so much more
00:44:35.77\00:44:36.50
to be said about this.
00:44:36.60\00:44:38.91
What Jesus began through
00:44:39.01\00:44:40.38
the Former Rain He longs to
00:44:40.48\00:44:42.31
and is able to complete
00:44:42.41\00:44:44.28
through the Latter Rain.
00:44:44.38\00:44:45.88
We serve such a good God.
00:44:45.98\00:44:47.42
You know, we're going
00:44:47.52\00:44:48.92
to talk more in the future
00:44:49.02\00:44:49.88
about righteousness by faith,
00:44:49.98\00:44:50.72
because, really, that's what
00:44:50.82\00:44:52.02
we're talking about right here.
00:44:52.12\00:44:52.99
But until then remember at least
00:44:53.09\00:44:55.09
this.
00:44:55.19\00:44:56.09
Without God, you can't.
00:44:56.19\00:45:01.00
Without you, God won't.
00:45:01.10\00:45:05.33
But with you and God together,
00:45:05.43\00:45:07.44
all things are possible.
00:45:07.54\00:45:10.84
I can't help but put
00:45:10.94\00:45:11.71
one more thing up here for you.
00:45:11.81\00:45:12.41
2 Corinthians 3:17-18.
00:45:12.51\00:45:15.31
"Now the Lord is the spirit,
00:45:15.41\00:45:16.44
and where the Spirit of the Lord
00:45:16.54\00:45:17.15
is, there is...?"
00:45:17.25\00:45:18.05
>> Freedom.
00:45:18.15\00:45:18.95
>> Freedom.
00:45:19.05\00:45:19.88
That's what it says.
00:45:19.98\00:45:20.68
"There is freedom.
00:45:20.78\00:45:21.45
And we all,
00:45:21.55\00:45:22.42
who with unveiled faces
00:45:22.52\00:45:23.42
contemplate the Lord's glory,
00:45:23.52\00:45:24.35
are being transformed into His
00:45:24.45\00:45:26.99
image, with ever-increasing
00:45:27.09\00:45:27.96
glory, which comes from the
00:45:28.06\00:45:29.02
Lord, who is the Spirit."
00:45:29.12\00:45:32.76
Put your trust in Jesus Christ,
00:45:32.86\00:45:35.10
and by the power of His Spirit
00:45:35.20\00:45:35.96
living in you,
00:45:36.06\00:45:37.10
you can be set free.
00:45:37.20\00:45:42.77
There's so much more we could
00:45:42.87\00:45:43.61
say about the list
00:45:43.71\00:45:44.44
that we had up there.
00:45:44.54\00:45:45.24
Let's go
00:45:45.34\00:45:46.41
at lightning speed here.
00:45:46.51\00:45:47.34
The Holy Spirit in His
00:45:47.44\00:45:48.08
Former Rain
00:45:48.18\00:45:49.64
began to teach us all things.
00:45:49.74\00:45:51.85
So, in the Latter Rain,
00:45:51.95\00:45:52.81
Jesus invites us to forsake any
00:45:52.91\00:45:54.45
and all other teachers that
00:45:54.55\00:45:55.55
would lead us away from Him.
00:45:55.65\00:45:57.19
In the Former Rain,
00:45:57.29\00:45:58.12
the spirit begins to remind us
00:45:58.22\00:45:59.42
of Christ's words.
00:45:59.52\00:46:00.49
So, in the Latter Rain,
00:46:00.59\00:46:01.62
let us let the spirit
00:46:01.72\00:46:02.59
make Christ's words
00:46:02.69\00:46:03.86
an integral part of us,
00:46:03.96\00:46:05.13
not merely something external
00:46:05.23\00:46:06.59
but the very fabric
00:46:06.70\00:46:07.60
of our hearts.
00:46:07.73\00:46:09.06
In the Former Rain
00:46:09.16\00:46:10.03
of the Spirit,
00:46:10.13\00:46:11.20
He began to guide us
00:46:11.30\00:46:12.13
into all truth.
00:46:12.23\00:46:12.93
So, in the Latter Rain
00:46:13.03\00:46:14.10
let us live in that truth.
00:46:14.20\00:46:15.97
Truth is not a destination.
00:46:16.07\00:46:17.34
It is intended for our
00:46:17.44\00:46:18.14
transformation.
00:46:18.24\00:46:20.21
The Holy Spirit in the Former
00:46:20.31\00:46:21.34
Rain begin to tell us
00:46:21.44\00:46:22.58
what is to come in the future
00:46:22.68\00:46:23.51
to bring us
00:46:23.61\00:46:24.98
to the attention of prophecy.
00:46:25.08\00:46:26.51
So, in the Latter Rain,
00:46:26.61\00:46:27.58
let us take what we've heard
00:46:27.68\00:46:28.72
and study it.
00:46:28.82\00:46:29.98
Study carefully, persistently,
00:46:30.09\00:46:31.49
relentlessly what is
00:46:31.59\00:46:32.72
to come in the future.
00:46:32.82\00:46:34.39
The Christian who does not take
00:46:34.49\00:46:36.59
Bible prophecy seriously,
00:46:36.69\00:46:38.23
particularly in these last days
00:46:38.33\00:46:39.63
of Earth's history,
00:46:39.73\00:46:40.66
is resisting one of the major
00:46:40.76\00:46:42.30
purposes of the Latter Rain of
00:46:42.40\00:46:43.77
the Holy Spirit in their lives.
00:46:43.87\00:46:46.03
And lastly,
00:46:46.13\00:46:47.90
the Holy Spirit in the Former
00:46:48.00\00:46:48.94
Rain begin to transform us
00:46:49.04\00:46:50.27
into courageous, faithful,
00:46:50.37\00:46:51.57
powerful, and passionate
00:46:51.67\00:46:52.87
followers of Jesus Christ.
00:46:52.97\00:46:54.64
So, in the Latter Rain,
00:46:54.74\00:46:56.11
this identity is made to endure.
00:46:56.21\00:46:58.95
It is made to last,
00:46:59.05\00:47:00.48
to become permanent.
00:47:00.58\00:47:03.02
Under the power of the Latter
00:47:03.12\00:47:04.19
Rain of the Holy Spirit,
00:47:04.29\00:47:05.39
courage for Christ,
00:47:05.49\00:47:06.52
faithfulness to Christ,
00:47:06.62\00:47:07.59
the power of Christ,
00:47:07.69\00:47:08.76
the passion for Christ
00:47:08.86\00:47:09.79
ceased to be flashes
00:47:09.89\00:47:11.36
of brilliance that may fade
00:47:11.46\00:47:12.89
with our moods and emotions,
00:47:12.99\00:47:14.50
and they instead become
00:47:14.60\00:47:15.83
an unwavering way of life.
00:47:15.93\00:47:19.27
They become not
00:47:19.37\00:47:20.20
just things we do,
00:47:20.30\00:47:22.14
but rather they become
00:47:22.24\00:47:23.24
who we are.
00:47:23.34\00:47:27.18
Step three to receiving
00:47:27.28\00:47:28.48
the final global blessing
00:47:28.58\00:47:29.64
of God's Holy Spirit
00:47:29.74\00:47:31.41
is to live the Latter Rain
00:47:31.51\00:47:33.35
experience, fully cooperate
00:47:33.45\00:47:35.62
with Jesus as He takes
00:47:35.72\00:47:36.95
the work of the Former Rain
00:47:37.05\00:47:38.49
and brings it to maturity
00:47:38.59\00:47:39.72
through the Latter Rain.
00:47:39.82\00:47:42.46
That's step number three.
00:47:42.56\00:47:45.16
Final step, number four.
00:47:45.26\00:47:47.76
The fourth step to receiving
00:47:47.86\00:47:48.86
the global outpouring of the
00:47:48.96\00:47:49.80
Latter Rain of the Holy Spirit
00:47:49.90\00:47:50.97
is found in at least two texts.
00:47:51.07\00:47:52.10
The first one here,
00:47:52.20\00:47:53.10
let me put on the screen --
00:47:53.20\00:47:53.94
Matthew 24:14.
00:47:54.04\00:47:55.24
Jesus is speaking.
00:47:55.34\00:47:56.94
He says, "And this Gospel
00:47:57.04\00:47:57.97
of the kingdom will be preached
00:47:58.07\00:47:58.84
in the whole world
00:47:58.94\00:48:00.38
as a testimony to all nations,
00:48:00.48\00:48:01.98
and then the end will come."
00:48:02.08\00:48:04.41
Jesus here
00:48:04.51\00:48:05.18
is foreshadowing our day.
00:48:05.28\00:48:06.72
There will come a time
00:48:06.82\00:48:07.48
when no longer
00:48:07.58\00:48:08.32
there will be huge pockets
00:48:08.42\00:48:09.52
of people that have never heard
00:48:09.62\00:48:10.32
the name of Christ.
00:48:10.42\00:48:11.59
Jesus knows that
00:48:11.69\00:48:12.39
that cannot stand.
00:48:12.49\00:48:13.42
If He's going to come back,
00:48:13.52\00:48:14.32
and if it's going to be a fair
00:48:14.42\00:48:15.19
ballgame, everybody needs
00:48:15.29\00:48:16.49
to have a chance to hear.
00:48:16.59\00:48:18.03
And so, there will come a time
00:48:18.13\00:48:19.23
when the Gospel goes everywhere.
00:48:19.33\00:48:21.53
There's another text
00:48:21.63\00:48:22.16
we've already seen
00:48:22.26\00:48:23.00
that talks about this, as well.
00:48:23.10\00:48:23.73
Revelation 18:1.
00:48:23.83\00:48:25.07
"After this," John says,
00:48:25.17\00:48:26.03
"I saw another angel
00:48:26.13\00:48:27.00
coming down from Heaven.
00:48:27.10\00:48:28.30
He had great authority,
00:48:28.40\00:48:30.04
and the earth was illuminated
00:48:30.14\00:48:31.41
by His splendor."
00:48:31.51\00:48:32.57
The entire planet is lit up.
00:48:32.67\00:48:34.34
Now, as we read further in this,
00:48:34.44\00:48:35.91
in parts one and two,
00:48:36.01\00:48:36.91
we discover this is the Gospel
00:48:37.01\00:48:38.25
going out.
00:48:38.35\00:48:39.55
God is calling people to make
00:48:39.65\00:48:41.05
a decision for or against Him.
00:48:41.15\00:48:42.48
This is the good news of Jesus
00:48:42.58\00:48:44.42
that's being foreshadowed here
00:48:44.52\00:48:45.49
in Revelation 18:1.
00:48:45.59\00:48:48.39
And because this is the final
00:48:48.49\00:48:50.36
great work,
00:48:50.46\00:48:52.36
the spreading of the Gospel,
00:48:52.46\00:48:54.36
the fourth step to receiving the
00:48:54.46\00:48:56.00
Latter Rain is crystal clear.
00:48:56.10\00:48:57.43
Here it is.
00:48:57.53\00:48:59.40
If you want to receive
00:48:59.50\00:49:00.37
the global Latter Rain,
00:49:00.47\00:49:02.17
a majority of the church
00:49:02.27\00:49:04.01
must deeply engage
00:49:04.11\00:49:06.04
in sharing Christ with others.
00:49:06.14\00:49:10.31
A majority of the church
00:49:10.41\00:49:11.15
must deeply engage
00:49:11.25\00:49:12.65
in sharing Christ with others.
00:49:12.75\00:49:13.62
In other words,
00:49:13.72\00:49:15.48
we get things started,
00:49:15.58\00:49:18.22
and the God of the universe
00:49:18.32\00:49:19.72
will recognize that fact
00:49:19.82\00:49:21.09
by sending a massive outpouring
00:49:21.19\00:49:22.72
of His Holy Spirit.
00:49:22.82\00:49:25.59
"Last Day Events," page 193.
00:49:25.69\00:49:26.80
She says this.
00:49:26.90\00:49:27.76
"The great outpouring of the
00:49:27.86\00:49:28.56
Spirit of God, which lightens
00:49:28.66\00:49:30.23
the whole earth with His glory."
00:49:30.33\00:49:31.30
So, Revelation 18, we're in
00:49:31.40\00:49:32.23
the same place.
00:49:32.33\00:49:33.47
"Will not come
00:49:33.57\00:49:34.90
until we have an enlightened
00:49:35.00\00:49:36.71
people that know by experience
00:49:36.81\00:49:39.37
what it means to be laborers
00:49:39.47\00:49:40.58
together with God.
00:49:40.68\00:49:41.74
When we have entire,
00:49:41.84\00:49:42.91
wholehearted consecration
00:49:43.01\00:49:44.15
to the service of Christ,
00:49:44.25\00:49:45.65
God will recognize the fact
00:49:45.75\00:49:48.18
by an outpouring of His Spirit
00:49:48.28\00:49:49.48
without measure.
00:49:49.58\00:49:51.39
But this will not be while the
00:49:51.49\00:49:53.05
largest portion of the church
00:49:53.15\00:49:54.09
are not laborers
00:49:54.19\00:49:55.46
together with God."
00:49:55.56\00:49:57.33
"Evangelism," page 699.
00:49:57.43\00:49:58.46
She says this.
00:49:58.56\00:49:59.13
"The disciples
00:49:59.23\00:50:00.00
just prior to Pentecost"...
00:50:00.10\00:50:00.80
Okay? Acts 2.
00:50:00.90\00:50:01.60
"...did not ask for a blessing
00:50:01.70\00:50:03.63
for themselves.
00:50:03.73\00:50:04.87
They were weighted
00:50:04.97\00:50:05.63
with the burden of souls.
00:50:05.73\00:50:07.34
The Gospel was to be carried
00:50:07.44\00:50:08.44
to the ends of the earth,
00:50:08.54\00:50:09.14
and they claimed
00:50:09.24\00:50:10.04
the endowment of power
00:50:10.14\00:50:11.31
that Christ had promised.
00:50:11.41\00:50:13.14
Then it was that the Holy Spirit
00:50:13.24\00:50:15.38
was poured out, and thousands
00:50:15.48\00:50:16.71
were converted in a day."
00:50:16.81\00:50:18.15
And finally,
00:50:18.25\00:50:18.88
"Testimonies, Volume 8,"
00:50:18.98\00:50:19.58
page 21...
00:50:19.68\00:50:21.05
"Let Christians put away
00:50:21.15\00:50:21.92
all dissension
00:50:22.02\00:50:23.15
and give themselves to God
00:50:23.25\00:50:24.89
for the saving of the lost.
00:50:24.99\00:50:26.25
Let them ask in faith
00:50:26.35\00:50:27.69
for the promised blessing,
00:50:27.79\00:50:28.72
and it will come."
00:50:28.82\00:50:32.76
You know, the message to me,
00:50:32.86\00:50:33.76
therefore, is crystal clear.
00:50:33.86\00:50:35.43
Jesus has already long ago
00:50:35.53\00:50:37.70
given us the joy and the duty of
00:50:37.80\00:50:39.27
sharing him with others, right?
00:50:39.37\00:50:40.50
I mean, this is Great Commission
00:50:40.60\00:50:41.07
territory.
00:50:41.17\00:50:42.10
This is not new.
00:50:42.20\00:50:43.77
Matthew 28:18-20 has been around
00:50:43.87\00:50:45.51
for a long time.
00:50:45.61\00:50:47.74
And at the end of time, this joy
00:50:47.84\00:50:50.05
and duty of sharing Christ
00:50:50.15\00:50:51.48
with others is to go global.
00:50:51.58\00:50:53.52
No nation, group, or people
00:50:53.62\00:50:54.55
is to be missed.
00:50:54.65\00:50:55.72
The Holy Spirit -- get this.
00:50:55.82\00:50:57.19
The Holy Spirit
00:50:57.29\00:50:58.35
is not going to perform a duty
00:50:58.45\00:51:00.56
for us that we have not
00:51:00.66\00:51:02.02
already started ourselves.
00:51:02.12\00:51:05.19
So, let us get to work.
00:51:05.29\00:51:08.26
Let us go, and as we go,
00:51:08.36\00:51:10.67
God will send the final fuel
00:51:10.77\00:51:12.53
of his Latter Rain
00:51:12.63\00:51:13.50
to spur us on to victory.
00:51:13.60\00:51:15.00
You know, we talked about this
00:51:15.10\00:51:16.37
a couple months ago.
00:51:16.47\00:51:17.57
Every last one of you, if you're
00:51:17.67\00:51:18.67
a follower of Jesus Christ
00:51:18.77\00:51:19.84
and you're hearing my voice
00:51:19.94\00:51:20.74
right now, every last one of you
00:51:20.84\00:51:22.21
has at least one spiritual gift.
00:51:22.31\00:51:23.98
And I've never met someone
00:51:24.08\00:51:25.25
who doesn't have more than that.
00:51:25.35\00:51:27.15
God has given you talents
00:51:27.25\00:51:28.35
and gifts and abilities
00:51:28.45\00:51:29.38
and resources.
00:51:29.48\00:51:30.19
He has put you
00:51:30.29\00:51:31.25
in certain places.
00:51:31.35\00:51:32.22
He puts your apartment
00:51:32.32\00:51:33.76
in certain neighborhoods.
00:51:33.86\00:51:34.82
He's having you take
00:51:34.92\00:51:35.69
certain classes and being
00:51:35.79\00:51:37.03
in a certain occupation
00:51:37.13\00:51:38.63
so that He will have a witness
00:51:38.73\00:51:41.00
for Him in that place.
00:51:41.10\00:51:43.87
Not a single one of you doesn't
00:51:43.97\00:51:46.60
have what it takes to share
00:51:46.70\00:51:47.80
Jesus with somebody else.
00:51:47.90\00:51:49.57
If Jesus lives within,
00:51:49.67\00:51:51.24
there you go.
00:51:51.34\00:51:52.11
You've got everything you need
00:51:52.21\00:51:53.48
to get started.
00:51:53.58\00:51:54.38
So, find it.
00:51:54.48\00:51:55.48
Find some way that fits you,
00:51:55.58\00:51:58.31
how God has gifted you
00:51:58.41\00:51:59.68
and wired you up to share
00:51:59.78\00:52:01.62
the good news with other people.
00:52:01.72\00:52:04.35
And when the majority
00:52:04.45\00:52:05.25
of the church is doing that,
00:52:05.35\00:52:06.69
great things
00:52:06.79\00:52:08.02
are going to happen.
00:52:08.12\00:52:11.79
Four steps
00:52:11.89\00:52:14.93
to receiving the global
00:52:15.03\00:52:15.96
outpouring of the Latter Rain
00:52:16.06\00:52:18.73
of the Holy Spirit of God.
00:52:18.83\00:52:21.00
What a time that's going to be.
00:52:21.10\00:52:24.01
And do you see?
00:52:24.11\00:52:26.27
Do you see what the Holy Spirit
00:52:26.37\00:52:28.64
is doing here?
00:52:28.74\00:52:31.68
In the Former and the Latter
00:52:31.78\00:52:32.85
Rains, the Holy Spirit --
00:52:32.95\00:52:33.85
perhaps we could put it
00:52:33.95\00:52:34.62
like this.
00:52:34.72\00:52:35.85
The work of the Latter Rain,
00:52:35.95\00:52:38.29
the Holy Spirit in it
00:52:38.39\00:52:40.49
is weaving.
00:52:40.59\00:52:43.29
He is weaving
00:52:43.39\00:52:44.39
Christ's righteousness
00:52:44.49\00:52:45.53
into us personally.
00:52:45.63\00:52:47.60
He is weaving Christ's
00:52:47.66\00:52:48.96
righteousness into others
00:52:49.06\00:52:50.47
through us.
00:52:50.57\00:52:52.23
He is weaving His people
00:52:52.33\00:52:53.77
into something.
00:52:53.87\00:52:57.21
Well, what word can we use?
00:52:57.31\00:52:58.94
He is weaving his people
00:52:59.04\00:53:00.68
into something that is...
00:53:00.78\00:53:05.95
normal.
00:53:06.05\00:53:10.45
Did you hear what I said?
00:53:10.55\00:53:12.69
Normal!
00:53:12.79\00:53:14.66
You say, "Whoa, whoa. Hold on.
00:53:14.76\00:53:15.32
Time-out.
00:53:15.42\00:53:16.76
Pastor Shane, we've been talking
00:53:16.86\00:53:17.59
about the Latter Rain.
00:53:17.69\00:53:18.63
It's going to be an incredible
00:53:18.73\00:53:19.29
time.
00:53:19.39\00:53:20.40
I mean, that's not normal,
00:53:20.50\00:53:20.96
right?"
00:53:21.06\00:53:22.03
You tell me.
00:53:22.13\00:53:22.90
Let me put the list back up
00:53:23.00\00:53:23.63
here.
00:53:23.73\00:53:24.60
Four steps to receiving
00:53:24.70\00:53:25.47
this personal, global
00:53:25.57\00:53:27.00
Latter Rain of the Holy Spirit.
00:53:27.10\00:53:28.77
Personally, daily receive the
00:53:28.87\00:53:30.07
Former Rain of the Holy Spirit.
00:53:30.17\00:53:31.37
United persevering prayer.
00:53:31.47\00:53:32.77
Fully cooperate with Jesus
00:53:32.87\00:53:33.54
as he takes
00:53:33.64\00:53:34.58
the work of the Former Rain,
00:53:34.68\00:53:35.58
brings it to maturity
00:53:35.68\00:53:36.58
through the Latter Rain.
00:53:36.68\00:53:37.41
A majority of the church
00:53:37.51\00:53:38.65
must deeply engage in sharing
00:53:38.75\00:53:39.81
Christ with others.
00:53:39.91\00:53:41.25
What in there is different
00:53:41.35\00:53:43.42
than the normal Christian
00:53:43.52\00:53:45.09
should be, according to God?
00:53:45.19\00:53:48.59
Could it be
00:53:48.69\00:53:52.53
that in waiting to pour out the
00:53:52.63\00:53:54.30
Latter Rain of the Holy Spirit,
00:53:54.40\00:53:56.06
God is just waiting for someone
00:53:56.16\00:53:58.10
to be normal?
00:53:58.20\00:54:01.67
Just be normal.
00:54:01.77\00:54:05.84
The Latter Rain does
00:54:05.94\00:54:06.78
not call for super Christians.
00:54:06.88\00:54:09.14
It calls for Christians.
00:54:09.24\00:54:11.88
And did you know
00:54:11.98\00:54:13.88
that there have been at least
00:54:13.98\00:54:14.65
two times in the Seventh-day
00:54:14.75\00:54:15.95
Adventist Church's history
00:54:16.05\00:54:17.02
when we were almost normal?
00:54:17.12\00:54:19.92
You may not know this,
00:54:20.02\00:54:20.99
and I'm not going to spend
00:54:21.09\00:54:21.59
much time here,
00:54:21.69\00:54:22.46
but just very briefly.
00:54:22.56\00:54:23.59
1844, just after it -- sometime
00:54:23.69\00:54:26.66
when you have some spare time,
00:54:26.76\00:54:27.66
read "Evangelism," page 695.
00:54:27.76\00:54:30.20
And we have been in "the time"
00:54:30.30\00:54:31.37
of the Latter Rain,
00:54:31.47\00:54:33.34
according to the Spirit
00:54:33.44\00:54:34.10
of Prophecy, since 1888.
00:54:34.20\00:54:35.87
You can see 5 "Manuscript
00:54:35.97\00:54:37.44
Release," 151, Letter 230, 1908,
00:54:37.54\00:54:38.51
for instance.
00:54:38.61\00:54:40.68
It is almost as though
00:54:40.78\00:54:42.74
the Holy Spirit
00:54:42.84\00:54:43.85
has many times been standing
00:54:43.95\00:54:45.75
on the edge of Heaven,
00:54:45.85\00:54:47.12
leaning out over the edge,
00:54:47.22\00:54:48.72
waiting, longing to come,
00:54:48.82\00:54:50.22
ready to come
00:54:50.32\00:54:51.52
but so far has been held back.
00:54:51.62\00:54:54.76
And we have to ask ourselves
00:54:54.86\00:54:56.93
the question,
00:54:57.03\00:54:59.06
"What will history say about
00:54:59.16\00:55:01.13
those of us that are listening
00:55:01.23\00:55:02.40
to this right now --
00:55:02.50\00:55:04.77
that we almost received the
00:55:04.87\00:55:07.07
Latter Rain of the Holy Spirit,
00:55:07.17\00:55:09.80
or that we did receive it?
00:55:09.90\00:55:14.28
The choice is ours.
00:55:14.38\00:55:17.15
I pray the answer
00:55:17.25\00:55:19.41
is the second option.
00:55:19.51\00:55:22.28
May God richly bless us,
00:55:22.38\00:55:24.45
as the Spirit weaves us to be
00:55:24.55\00:55:25.85
fully awake, fully alive,
00:55:25.95\00:55:27.86
passionate,
00:55:27.96\00:55:29.32
normal disciples for Him.
00:55:29.42\00:55:32.56
>> What is it about the
00:55:39.33\00:55:39.93
holiday season
00:55:40.04\00:55:41.57
that gives you the greatest joy?
00:55:41.67\00:55:44.27
Is it the time spent cutting
00:55:44.37\00:55:45.67
down the family Christmas tree
00:55:45.77\00:55:46.91
at the local farm?
00:55:47.01\00:55:48.18
Or, if you're
00:55:48.28\00:55:48.88
south of the equator,
00:55:48.98\00:55:50.35
maybe it's the time spent
00:55:50.45\00:55:51.51
with friends under palm trees
00:55:51.61\00:55:52.75
at the beach.
00:55:52.85\00:55:54.48
Perhaps you find joy
00:55:54.58\00:55:55.92
in contemplating the profound
00:55:56.02\00:55:57.65
meaning of the carols
00:55:57.75\00:55:58.45
that we sing.
00:55:58.55\00:56:00.19
Or maybe Christmas joy for you
00:56:00.29\00:56:02.29
is found in the spirit of giving
00:56:02.39\00:56:04.09
that surrounds this season.
00:56:04.19\00:56:06.63
As we reflect on these joys,
00:56:06.73\00:56:08.16
let's always remember
00:56:08.26\00:56:09.56
the great light who guides us,
00:56:09.66\00:56:11.33
the source of joy
00:56:11.43\00:56:12.43
and meaning in life,
00:56:12.53\00:56:13.60
the loving Father
00:56:13.70\00:56:14.57
who is at the heart
00:56:14.67\00:56:15.94
of all treasured relationships,
00:56:16.04\00:56:17.94
and the wonderful God
00:56:18.04\00:56:19.37
who gave the ultimate gift
00:56:19.47\00:56:20.88
in a newborn child.
00:56:20.98\00:56:23.71
Some of my joy this season
00:56:23.81\00:56:25.08
comes in part from your letters
00:56:25.18\00:56:26.48
and e-mails, your prayers,
00:56:26.58\00:56:28.05
and your faithful giving of
00:56:28.15\00:56:29.22
support for this ministry,
00:56:29.32\00:56:31.25
which literally reaches
00:56:31.35\00:56:32.12
around the world.
00:56:32.22\00:56:33.82
If you've been blessed
00:56:33.92\00:56:34.49
this year,
00:56:34.59\00:56:35.56
I'd like to ask you to join
00:56:35.66\00:56:36.96
the many people who financially
00:56:37.06\00:56:38.49
support Pioneer's media
00:56:38.59\00:56:40.40
ministry, which brings you this
00:56:40.50\00:56:41.53
program.
00:56:41.63\00:56:42.96
It's simple to do.
00:56:43.06\00:56:44.57
Just call our toll-free number,
00:56:44.67\00:56:45.97
877-HIS-WILL.
00:56:46.07\00:56:49.27
One of our friendly operators
00:56:49.37\00:56:50.31
will be happy to help you.
00:56:50.41\00:56:52.07
You can also click the "donate"
00:56:52.17\00:56:53.91
link at the top of our website,
00:56:54.01\00:56:55.84
pmchurch.org, and look
00:56:55.94\00:56:58.11
for the "media ministry" option.
00:56:58.21\00:57:00.65
Truly, no gift is too small
00:57:00.75\00:57:02.38
for God to use to spread
00:57:02.48\00:57:03.72
the good news of His love,
00:57:03.82\00:57:05.29
His sacrifice, and His future
00:57:05.39\00:57:06.99
plans for our happiness.
00:57:07.09\00:57:09.02
Every gift is entirely invested
00:57:09.12\00:57:11.43
in our mission to communicate
00:57:11.53\00:57:13.23
God's good news to a generation
00:57:13.33\00:57:14.93
who needs the hope
00:57:15.00\00:57:16.46
found in Jesus, who alone
00:57:16.56\00:57:18.80
can bring them true joy in life.
00:57:18.90\00:57:21.44
Once again, our website
00:57:21.54\00:57:22.90
is pmchurch.org.
00:57:23.00\00:57:25.87
This season, know that
00:57:25.97\00:57:27.08
our Pioneer family
00:57:27.18\00:57:28.28
is praying for you
00:57:28.38\00:57:30.05
and that our greatest wish
00:57:30.15\00:57:31.48
is that Emmanuel, Jesus Christ
00:57:31.58\00:57:33.88
in the flesh and in your heart,
00:57:33.98\00:57:35.88
will be at the center
00:57:35.98\00:57:36.75
of the best memories made
00:57:36.85\00:57:38.45
with your family and friends.
00:57:38.55\00:57:40.59
¤
00:57:40.69\00:57:42.59
¤
00:57:42.69\00:57:52.57
¤
00:57:52.67\00:57:56.71
¤
00:57:59.54\00:58:02.44
¤
00:58:02.54\00:58:12.45
¤
00:58:12.55\00:58:22.43
¤
00:58:22.53\00:58:28.20