Larry Kirkpatrick

A Positive Place on the Web for the Third Angel's Message

Rain-catching

Introduction

This sabbath has been set aside by our Pacific Union Conference as a day of emphasis for prayer for the Holy Spirit and the latter rain. We are glad to join in this event. The Scripture passage chosen for emphasis today is found in the section of the book of Leviticus known as "The Holiness Code": Leviticus 26:1-13:

Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the Lord your God. Ye shall keep My sabbaths, and reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord. If ye walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments, and do them; Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish My covenant with you. And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new. And I will set My tabernacle among you: and My soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be My people. I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright (Leviticus 26:1-13).

Several points benefit us here. As we move through them, let us keep in mind that God sends His rain on the evil and on the just (Matt 5:45). Everyone benefits from His rain, but not everyone receives it. One other point: this text is speaking about the literal covenant conditions for God to give the literal later rain. But the passage is extremely relevant to our interest, because if it is true for the reception of the type, then it is only consistent for it to be true for the reception of the antitype.

Who Receives

Only those who are living up to the light they have will receive greater light. Unless we are daily advancing in the exemplification of the active Christian virtues, we shall not recognize the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the latter rain. It may be falling on hearts all around us, but we shall not discern or receive it (Testimonies to Ministers, p. 507).

Notice that a condition for catching God's rain is to be living up to all the light that He has sent. If we want to receive the latter rain then we need to be fully responsive to truth. This sets the bar rather high. Are you honestly living up to all the light that God has sent you? Are you partaking of what you know to be the most healthful diet possible? Are you filling your mind with only the spiritually most helpful thoughts? The latter rain is such an extraordinary gift, is so powerful, that while available to all, it is only receivable by those willing to meet Heaven's conditions.

God calls for daily advancement in the active Christian virtues. What would those be? Copy Jesus day by day; you can't go wrong. This doesn't necessarily mean that you give more money to the next panhandler. Our interactions with others should be more prayerfully conducted, more tactful, more to their long-term benefit than to their perceived immediate need.

If we are not thus living (true to all the light given us, daily advancing in Christlikeness), then we will not have clear discernment of the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the latter rain. We are told that it may be falling on hearts all around us, yet we will neither discern its fall nor receive its help. We will not be rain-catchers.

Conditions

Let us now explore Leviticus 26.

Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the Lord your God (Lev 26:1).

The world does not start with idols; men make idols. What are the basic qualities of an idol? It is a representation of something else; it is usually shaped like a modified or duplicated version of something God created; it is set up to be bowed down to. A representation could have physicality, like a statue, or could be a mental image, something we choose in our mind to value highly. Both kinds remain popular. Neither variety are to be made. Idolatry and the Holy Spirit are incompatible.

Ye shall keep My sabbaths, and reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord (Lev 26:2).

Keeping the Sabbath is a condition of receiving the latter rain. This excludes all persons, Adventists or otherwise, who are not keeping the Sabbath according to the commandment. In the last days, when error has reached its most seductive stage, when more than any time in 6,000 years, the help of God is needed to avoid deception, then we must have the help of the Holy Spirit. But many will not have the Holy Spirit, because they are mired in a theology that only legitimizes disobedience.

We are also commanded to reverence God's sanctuary. This brings us again to Adventists, since no other group of believers recognizes the existence of God's heavenly sanctuary. Those who believe in God are to reverence His sanctuary, and that is going to mean coming to grips with all that surrounds it: Daniel 8 and 9, the 2,300 day/year prophecy, the year-day principle of interpretation, Jesus as our High Priest currently making the atonement, 1844, the antitypical Day of Atonement, victory over sin and at last, the close of probation. Undersanding and accepting the importance of these points is important in reverencing God's sanctuary today.

If ye walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments, and do them (Lev 26:3).

The third of the conditions listed in Leviticus 26 is to keep God's commandments. We saw this under the Sabbath commandment already. Here, all of God's commandments are made explicit. That means we should be in the right place when it comes to adultery, fornication, theft, and so forth. It should be clear that anyone who is emphasizing the unimportance of obedience in the end-time will be inclined to leave lingering in the life unaddressed idols. This is covenant unfaithfulness, and prevents reception of the latter rain.

God's Promise

The remainder of the verses in our passage outline God's promise. When we are faithful--in God's help, meeting the conditions--then we may be sure He will faithfully aid us in receiving His rain in benefits. Again then, here are Leviticus 26:4-13:

Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish My covenant with you. And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new. And I will set My tabernacle among you: and My soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be My people. I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright (Leviticus 26:1-13).

If we are faithful, He will give rain in due season and the land will yield its increase. If we are unfaithful we are given no guarantee that the land will yield her increase. Remember, it is entirely possible for the rain to fall on others but for us to miss receiving it.

This is perhaps the greatest warning to us--the idea that the rain could be falling all around us but that we would misperceive it. We would probably not miss that something was happening, but we would misinterpret what is happening. We would say, "This is not a manifestation of the Holy Spirit." That is a danger.

This is a picture of division in the ranks. One party will be active, we are told that the trees will yield their fruit. There will be visible evidence something is occurring. But the other party will identify it as not being from the Spirit of God.

God promises His people that they will have what they need to sustain them. There will be peace in their land. That is, among those receiving the latter rain, there will be a general unity of spirit, a basic sense of agreement. And the promise continues: they will triumph over their enemies. God's covenant will be established with them. He will dwell with them. He will not abhor them. His presence will be with them. He will give them all that is needed for the accomplishment His mission.

Conclusion

God's promises are beautiful and compelling. He wants us to receive the rain.

Be this as it may, there is something for us to do. Besides obeying, we must ask:

There must be a constant development of Christian virtue, a constant advancement in Christian experience. This we should seek with intensity of dsire, that we may adorn the doctrine of Christ our Saviour (Testimonies to Ministers, p. 506).

The dispensation in which we are now living is to be to those who ask, the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. Ask for His blessing. It is time we were more intense in our devotion. To us is committed the arduous, but happy, glorious work of revealing Christ to those who are in darkness. We are called to proclaim the special truths for this time. For all this the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is essential. We should pray for it. The Lord expects us to ask Him. We have not been wholehearted in this work (Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 511, 512).

So we see that we should be constantly advancing, but should not expect the latter rain to make up for a lack of wholehearted effort to prepare ourselves to receive. The present hour is our opportunity to receive the Holy Spirit. What should we do?

  1. Ask for the former and latter rain.
  2. Seek with intensity of desire to experience constant advancement.
  3. Open the heart to God wider than ever before.
  4. Sense with greater clarity our personal need.
  5. Cooperate with God such that the heart is cleansed of every defilement.
  6. Receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

To those who ask are those who will receive. So, let us ask. Let us pray. And let us be growing in Christ, day by day. If we are following the Lamb wherever He goes (Rev 14:4), we will be ready for all that He longs to give us. No need to wait. No need for gimmicks. The greatest need is a prepared heart. God will help us be faithful to the covenant. It is time that we were intense in our devotion. Yes, let us join in prayer for the former rain and the latter.


Presentations:

Mentone CA SDA 2007-10-13