Ask the Lord Yahweh for rain when it is time for the final spring rain so that the Lord Yahweh may create lightning clouds and give showers of rain creating green plants for everyone in the fields. And the New Testament James chapter 5 verse 7 says keep going therefore fellow believers until the coming of the Lord. The gardener waits expectantly for the precious fruit of the earth and keeps at it until he receives the early and the later rain.

Water is one of the most essential things in our lives. We can't live without it. They say you can go about three days without water and then you're in a very serious situation.

Food we can last about 40 days depending on how much body reserves we got. But water is absolutely essential. When we denied water in our lives everything is affected.

As we look around the world there's so many countries now that have been stricken with drought and and even in this country our last season because of weather changes and the the famous El Nino they called. I don't know why they called it El Nino because El Nino is the Christ child and for some reason the Christ child always brings disaster and drought. So I think they chose the wrong name for that.

But El Nino produced for us not enough rain, produced droughts, produced water shortage and ultimately even began to lead to some kind of water rationing. We can't live without water. It is the very essence of life.

Now water is a beautiful picture in the scriptures of the presence and the anointing of God. And just as in the natural we cannot live without natural water, in the spiritual we cannot survive without the presence of God, without his anointing and his power in our lives. A lot of people seem to think that they can go without it.

Some people they major on the word and you know that's just like eating lots and lots of bread and never having anything to drink. Eventually you're going to choke and dry up. We need water and as wonderful as what the word is we need the spirit of God, we need his anointing, we need his power in our lives.

And many of us have gone for years on a kind of a spiritual drought without being aware of that presence of God in our lives. So rain in the word of God is always a picture of blessing. It's always a picture of the blessing of God that comes when he brings his presence and his power and his anointing.

Now in the land of Israel where much of the bible events took place and many of the illustrations that are taken from scripture come from that region. And so when the scriptures speak about the rain since the bible originated from that region you need to understand the geography of that area to understand fully what is meant when the scripture speaks about the rains. Because there are two different kinds of rain.

Under the King James version the words the former and the latter rain were used. And you'll read these terms in both the old testament and the new as I just read for you now one from the old and one from the new. Now what is the difference between these two rains? Each of them came at a different time and each of them carried out a different function.

The former rain was the rain that came right at the beginning of the planting season. It's the rain that got the plants to germinate and get going. It's a kind of a winter rain.

And winter rain is different to the rain that comes during the spring and the summer. Now we noticed that when we were living in Mexico and the region that we were living the rain always came in winter. Now I grew up in South Africa where we have a summer rain here in this region.

And so I was used to characteristic rain clouds building up great big storm thunder clouds and we have the thunder and the lightning begins to take place when it rains. We never ever heard thunder or saw lightning in Mexico. We got rain but there was never thunder or lightning with it.

It's a different kind of rain. It's a winter rain. Now that rain is great for getting things going when all is dead.

It's the planting rain. It's the rain that begins to bring things to life. It's the rain that causes the seed to germinate.

And so if we look at it from a allegorical or spiritual point of view you could think of the word of God as being the seed that is planted in the hearts of men and women. And the rain, the former rain if you like is the rain that brings that seed to life. In other words it's a foundational rain.

It's a rain that comes right at the beginning of our spiritual lives when we first come to know the Lord. Now there's a particular kind of anointing that we experience at that time and I've given it a term. I've called it the internal anointing.

You've heard that term? What is the internal anointing? The internal anointing is when the Spirit of God comes to live inside of us and his presence is now in our spirits. And his presence brought us to spiritual life and we became born again and we begin to grow up and become believers and to mature in him. But there's a second rain in Israel.

It's called the later or the latter rain. It took place in the spring just before the harvest season. The plants had already begun to grow but you needed this final huge rain to come to cause phenomenal growth, phenomenal fruitfulness so that the harvest could come in so everything could just expand and grow rapidly and all the fruit could be reaped.

This is a rain that has thunder and lightning in it. That's the kind of rain I'm used to. That's the rain that makes you sometimes tremble in fear.

Pretty powerful rain. When we first came back to South Africa we lived at first in a region that appears to attract more lightning than anywhere else in the country. I don't know if it's because of the mineral content of the ground but it seemed every time we had a rainstorm we kind of prayed a bit harder that the lightning didn't come close enough to hit us.

And sometimes it would come close enough to hit the power lines and our power would go out. It was pretty terrifying at times. And as much as we loved the rain coming sometimes you just kind of wish the storm would just pass away a little bit because that lightning was getting a little bit too close for comfort.

Thank you. See the latter rain is a more powerful rain. It's not just water.

It's power with the water. It's lightning coming from heaven. It's thunder.

I remember as a child I always thought thunder was like God was shouting at us. It's like God was booming down on the earth door door door and everything shook. And that is exactly what the later rain is.

The latter rain. The second rain. It is a powerful rain and it comes not to make the plants grow for the beginning.

The plants are already there. They've already germinated but those plants must come to reach to maturity. They must grow rapidly and they must bear forth the fruit.

You see the spiritual allegory here. Rain is a picture of God's anointing and the first rain the internal anointing is the rain that starts the spiritual life. Well there's nothing like things not going the way we expect them.

I was preaching away there and suddenly I realized I left half of my notes and there's too many notes for me to just go ad lib. So here we go. We were looking at the rain as being a spiritual allegory and a picture of God's anointing.

Now the first rain is a picture of the start of the spiritual life. When we're first born again. When we begin to experience the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit which produces what I've called the internal anointing.

The second rain is a picture of the maturing of the spiritual life. And that is a different kind of rain. The latter rain.

It produces a different kind of anointing which I like to call the external anointing. Because just like rain comes and falls down on us the external anointing comes down on us. The internal anointing lives within us and flows out of us.

But the external anointing the latter rain is something that comes down and falls on you. Now you can feel the first one. You can experience it and know it's there.

But when you've been caught in the rain this is something you will never forget. It's something very distinct. Something that affects you in a far greater way.

You see the second rain is far greater than the first rain. And I'd like to just speak now about the importance of the second the latter rain. The latter rain is the one that produces the thunder and the lightning.

The latter rain is the one that actually makes things happen in the earth. Yes when the first rain fell and we saw the little plants coming out there was it was a sign. But it wasn't anything exciting.

You know we don't get up in the morning to go and look at our little seedlings. Unless you're one of these gardeners that can't wait for your plants to grow. And you know what you go and look at them every day they seem to take years before they grow.

They go so slow. But you know when the heavy rain comes down you have this problem that you can't mow the lawn fast enough because it grows like crazy. Just ask my son he does the lawn mowing around you.

Sometimes he spends half the week just mowing all the grass. Oh he got in You can't keep up with the growth that takes place when the heavy rains begin to fall. This is the rain that produces abundance and a harvest.

And it's exciting. It's exciting when you see the thunder clouds build up. It's exciting when you hear thunder and see the lightning.

Oh sometimes you have these these lightnings where it just flashes all around. I remember once standing and seeing there was a kind of a lightning that seemed to flash everywhere. It was like 360 degrees of of lightning and I just stood there and I watched lightning everywhere.

It's like free firework display that God gives us. Yeah we pay a lot of money to go to a firework display. But you know God gives us a free one every time it rains.

There's something about it that is exciting. It makes you want to come and have a look. You know the crowds are not coming to see your seedlings.

Trust me. If you want to draw the crowd you want to see the people come running. We need that external anointing.

That power of God that shakes the earth. And people say hey what was that? Let's go and have a look. What's happening in that church down there? Let's go and have a look.

We hear there's amazing things taking place. We hear there's miracles happening and signs and wonders. And people are getting healed and set free.

And God's doing crazy things. Let's go and have a look. Now some people they actually kind of get terrified of this power.

It's like we can get terrified of the lightning and the thunder. They're afraid to come near it. Usually these are the people who have something to fear.

Because those who are out of order and whose lives are not right before God. When God's power begins to manifest they're going to get revealed. They're going to get exposed.

In the early church as God began to move and the apostles began to go out in this power after the day of Pentecost and perform signs and wonders. There were two groups of people. There were those who flocked in and wanted to be part of it.

And those who were too terrified to get close. They were afraid of these men of God and women of God. They were moving in this power.

They were afraid. And the true fear of God began to manifest. And some people stepped out of line.

And they were judged. And that made them even more afraid. When the latter rain comes and God comes in the fullness of his power we can't just continue our little mediocre lives and allowing sin to continue in our lives.

The power of God's going to manifest that sin. It's going to expose it and reveal it and deal with it. The lightning's going to hit where it needs to hit.

Cut that tree right off. I'm afraid of getting hit by lightning. You don't have to get afraid of getting hit by God's lightning unless it's sitting in your life.

Because that lightning brings blessing. Not destruction. But for those who are out of order that lightning can bring a judgment.

And God's power can be manifest. Very often as these strong storms come there also comes a strong wind that blows with it. And wind again is a picture of the presence of God.

You know what happened on the day of Pentecost? They heard the sound of a mighty Russian wind. Oh you know what a wind does? It just blows everything away. It just pulls out of the ground trees that aren't rooted properly.

It rips off things that weren't tied down correctly. It blows away all the junk. And only that which is well built and solid remains.

Sometimes when the power of God comes, God's going to remove from our lives the things that shouldn't be there. He's going to take away the things that are not firmly secured and grounded in him. Oh the blessing that this rain brings.

It's going to bring a food supply for the winter that's coming. For the months that lie ahead. There will be an abundant harvest.

It's going to bring a water supply. It's going to fill the dams. That there'll be no drought or water restrictions in the months that lie ahead.

And within a very short space of time we're going to see an explosion of growth. And like anything we've experienced. And when God's rain begins to come upon you, you are going to grow spiritually in a very short space of time.

Far more than you may have grown for many years since you first came to know the Lord. A new life is going to come in you. A new power is going to be manifest in you.

An exciting experience. Something every believer should have. But there are many people out there who are quite happy with the former rain.

You know they're pulling out the watering cans and watering their plants. Just kind of keep it going. You know and they get nice little tomatoes like this.

But you know when the big rain comes you get tomatoes like this. Well yeah I'm quite happy with these little tomatoes you know. They still taste okay.

I think it's abnormal for a person to think that way. When you can get something bigger and better. Well I should be satisfied with what's inferior.

Because so many believers are not open to God moving by his spirit in the days in which we live. When is the time of the latter rain? The scripture said ask the Lord for that rain. When it is the time and the season for that rain.

Folks if you are already born again and have known the Lord for many years. You've been through the former rain. You're in the time of the latter rain.

You're there right now. It is the time. It is the season for God to pour out his anointing upon you.

Now we should expect this. Got to get ready for it with expectation. James says that we continue to work hard waiting with expectation for this rain to come.

Now it doesn't mean we sit and wait and say okay when the Lord feels like blessing I'll be ready. In the meantime I've got other things to do that are more important. Now there's got to be a sense of expectation and a sense of I'm working hard expecting any moment for God to move and to bring his power upon me that I can rise up and fulfill what he's called me to do.

Will it be today Lord? Will it be today? Oh Lord let it come today. Will it be today? Each day as you rise and greet the new day. What's your response? Oh another day.

Oh I've got to make it through work. Got to go back to the grindstone. Oh just five more days until it's weekend again.

Some people live their spiritual lives that way. Some people serve the Lord that way. You know serving the Lord is exciting and we should have that excitement and expectation that God has more for us.

I'm not satisfied to continue the way I've been going. I want more and I want it now. You're ready for the latter rain.

You should wait for it expectantly and you must not give up but persevere. Lord I want it. Lord I want it and I'm not going to go on without it and I'm not satisfied and I will nag him and nag him until he says okay okay.

See that's the kind of asking that God likes. The new testament Jesus said knock and the door shall be opened you seek and you shall find ask and it shall be given to you and the the greek tense there is a present continuous tense. Continue asking all the time and you'll get what you ask for.

Continue knocking and the door will be open. Continue seeking and you will find. Have you given up seeking for that anointing? God obviously doesn't give it to me.

He gives to everybody else. I'm just going to be satisfied without it. Well then you will probably never get it.

He tells us to ask for it. It is the will of the Lord for you to have it. It is the right time.

It is the right season to ask for it. God has promised it. All we need to do is take him at his promise.

The Lord's blessed you and he's anointed you in the past and that's been wonderful and it's produced great things but he's got something better waiting for you. He wants to pour out a new anointing on you and you need to seek for this. You need to strongly desire it and you should not be satisfied until it comes and you need to do everything in your power to experience this thing that the Lord has for you.

Where are you today? Have you become complacent? Have you become satisfied with the little? It's okay. It's good enough. I know it could be better.

Perhaps you tried in the past to move on for God and you were a bit premature. You asked for rain when it wasn't the time of the latter rain. That's why it didn't come.

But the good news is it's time. It is time. It is time for the latter rain.

It is time for you to move to the next level now in your spiritual life. That little plant has been sitting there growing but now it's time for the flowers to come out. It's time for the fruit to start to grow.

You see what happens to a peach tree when it's about the season? You have this barren tree standing there with nothing on it. No leaves, no nothing and suddenly as the spring comes, out comes these beautiful blossoms. Something is about to take place and as those blossoms die, peaches begin to form where those flowers were and then after that the leaves begin to grow.

I tell you it comes so fast. You've been watching that tree the whole of winter standing there bare and now suddenly in a very short space of time these buds begin to come out. Growth begins to take place and before you know it the peaches are beginning to form and they're growing and they're starting to ripen.

Suddenly you have this huge glut of peaches. We discovered in our peach tree that we didn't need to invite our friends and neighbors to come and help us out to our peaches. They figured that the sign, the sight of a beautiful peach was an invitation to come and pick and that's the power that fruit has and that's the power that you're going to have in your life when God begins to produce that fruit in you.

When his reign comes you're going to become attractive again. People are not going to walk past you and say oh what an ugly looking tree. You know what? They're not going to notice the tree.

Nobody's going to say oh look at those beautiful branches. They're not looking at that. They're looking at the fruit and they want some of it.

You want your ministry to flourish? Get some fruit. You want your ministry to grow? Get some fruit. And how are we going to get the fruit folks? When the rains come.

When the beautiful later rain, the harvest spring and summer rains begin to fall, growth will begin to take place. It is the right season right now for you to ask the Lord for rain. It is the time of the latter rain.

You're going to stand by and watch everybody else get drenched by this rain while you're on the you're going to be like me. I'm going to be in the front there saying hey Lord I was first. I was first Lord.

I was first. Lord I want it. You said I can have it.

Lord you promised. He likes us to nag him. Lord you said in your word I could have it.

And the devil comes and says well it's not the will of God. Devil have you read the word? It is his will for me to have this. He said I must ask for it and so I'm asking for it because it is the time.

It is the season. I'm not going to be satisfied with mediocre anymore. I'm not going to be satisfied with the little little drizzles.

I want the real rain. I want the real stuff. I want the thunder and the lightning.

I want the power of God. When I stand up here and preach I want the lightning to come here from the pulpit and hit the people. I hope there's some coming out today because I can feel it.

Amen. Let's move into it folks. It is time and God's about to do some amazing things in this world and in his church the body of Christ.

He's promised it and he always keeps his promise. Let's embrace that promise. Let's lay hold of it and let's enter into it.

Father I thank you for your word. Presented it as you gave it to me. Thank you for each person in the presence of the hearing.

Those who are present today and those who watch this afterwards. I ask Lord that you will take this and challenge and motivate and inspire and that you'll stir your people up to come out of their complacency to let go of the things that have distracted them for so long and show them that it's time to get moving. That it's time to get moving.

That it's time to rise up. That it's time to embrace this anointing that you have for us. We reach out and we take it now.

I'm going to pray and I want you wherever you are just to stand in agreement with me in prayer. Lord we ask you for rain in the time of the letter rain. We ask you father for a fresh anointing.

For a fresh touch from above. We ask you to manifest your power and glory. We ask for your thunder and lightning to begin to fall upon us and upon the earth and upon the church your people.

And I make myself available to you now Lord afresh to be your instrument of blessing. Lord I want to be one that you can use to release this power in the earth. I can't do it without your anointing.

I can't do it without your power. I can't do it without this flood mighty power from you. So I stand ready.

I stand ready Lord. I stand willing and I stand with a heart full of desire. Give it to me Lord.

I ask for it now. I reach out and I take it now for it is mine. I thank you for it now in Jesus name.

Hallelujah. Let the rain begin to fall. The spirit I see the rain beginning to drop.

It starts just with light gentle rain and then the clouds begin to build and we begin to hear the thunder in the distance and then the flashes of lightning begin to take place and the whole room is lit up and it gets closer and it gets louder and the wind begins to blow. It is time. It is time and as you stand in this power you're going to grow up.

You're going to grow up suddenly from the tiny little person you were into a giant. You're going to stand closed in his armor and in the weapons of the warfare that he's given you. We're going to go out and we're going to plunder the kingdom of darkness.

We're going to destroy satan's realm. We're going to set the captives free. We're going to take this world for the lord.

We're going to bring in the harvest of souls that he's waiting for that he's coming to receive for himself. Make myself available to you for that lord afresh in the name of Jesus.

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