« Pray for my husband Power for the Church »
Missing the point?
Posted by: dmaizers | Thu, Apr 26, 2007 4:27 pm | Tag(s): Testimonies | Permalink |
In response to the “Operation Global Rain” event, I would rather our focus be on setting our faith on fire. I desperately want to seek God and would fully embrace a world wide prayer meeting but the premise on which this “Operation” is based is not right and I will not endorse it. I believe we should be asking for the Spirit to be poured out on us to change our hearts, to help our disbelief, and help us to constantly be focused on showing Christ to others through love, not fear, and to lead us in fulfilling God’s plan for us individually, which will bring us together in one Spirit.
He has given what He has promised… to not believe this is His full measure… means the Holy Spirit is leading us to pray for Him. If we feel like we don’t have Him and “He isn’t doing what He is suppose to do for us” then we need be renewing ourselves in Him.
Christ promises in John 14 ” If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you.(What does He tell us to do to love the Lord with ALL of our hearts and our neighbors as ourselves.) I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will ALWAYS have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him. Doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you! I will not leave you orphaned. I’m coming back. In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you’re going to see me because I am alive and you’re about to come alive. At that moment you will know absolutely that I’m in my Father, and you’re in me, and I’m in you.” We need to be praying for God’s authority in our lives, for showing love- God’s love to this world- so that they will see the Light. This operation is a distraction from walking in the Light. I believe we are stumbling in darkness looking for a way to bring about the latter rain… we are not to be looking for anything except Jesus. It’s that simple.
God’s time line is His own not ours… ours is to be showing God’s love to the world period… not spending hours trying to bring about his coming based on OUR understanding of the time line. Jesus specifically tells the disiples this before his assends in Acts 1… “When they were together for the last time they asked, “Master are you going to restore the kingdom to Isreael now? Is this the time?” He told them, “You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business. What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witness in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.” These were his last words.” Reactions of fear to the idea of “global rain” that this could actually put the “end time” events into motion proves that our focus is in the wrong place. We have so many underlying fear messages which come to the forefront when people start promoting prophecy not Christ which is why I do not endorse a corporate movement like this operation… we must be careful!! We need to prayerfully ask God to redirect our church leaders to seek Him only Him. Who is going to get us through end time events? God… he is the Comforter and if we can’t focus on what Christ told us to… the greatest commandment… we will not only be unable to save ourselves which is what this fear based preaching results in but we will more importantly not be fulfilling his great commission. That will put us in the same boat as the Israelites, listening to God but only on their terms. Let’s be sure He is going before us… we can only do this by the Spirit individually convicting us.
Another concern I have in regards to this is the emphasis on the latter rain. On the website they are using very few verses to support there understanding of something I am not convicted is necessarily about the Adventist church. Biblical I think that references to the latter rain point to the apple of God’s eye, the nation of Israel because they rejected Christ as the Messiah. The first rain came to the gentiles and when the Jews heard them speaking there native tongue many we convicted by the Spirit to belief that Christ was the Messiah. I believe the latter rain again is speaking more specifically of the Jews again where God will again call upon Israel to recognize Christ as their Messiah. I believe we are grafted to the tree through Christ not a replacement for it. This is also in line with Messianic Jewish beliefs in prophecies being fulfilled through Christ’s Life Death and Resurrection in alignment with the symbolism of the Jewish feasts which have to do with the planting of the seeds and reaping of the harvest.
“But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone.Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.” Jeremiah 5:23-25.
“After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.” Hosea 6:2-4
“Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. Joel 2:22-24 This verse even makes direct reference to a time… why are we randomly choosing a time??? To say it doesn’t matter if anything becomes of it is careless and also shows a lack of faith that we don’t believe we will receive what we ask for… to me it is a haphazard approach for an entire world church to take.
This verse really brings it together-what we should really be focusing on… Deuteronomy 11:13-15 “And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full.
And finally… James 5:7-8 “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.”
These verses directly refer to the latter rain though there are countless verses with regards to the Spirit. I am afraid that we are making something of this “latter rain” and believing it to be something out the context of God’s word. As a side note through Christian history “Latter Rain” movements have sprung up and have cause dissension in churches over the preoccupation of having an emotional experience. God gives us this longing and promises to fill us when we are doing his will which is always to love Him and serve Him with all our heart and soul and mind… that doesn’t leave any room or time for devising ways to preoccupy our efforts.
Let us pray for our memory 
that we will remember how we find God by seeking Him with all of our heart and obeying his commands which is to love Him which we are able to do in fullness through the Spirit. When we for a second take our eyes off of this focus we find ourselves like Peter… sinking into the water of distractions instead on focusing on Christ. I would be enthusiastic if our church was leading to bring to fruition His plan for our lives not “our” plan for “our ” prophesy.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
One Response to “Missing the point?”
James Joyce used to write for the Daily Express you know! | September 21st, 2007 at 10:01 amBut I watch a lot of Discovery Channel….
Define. I think the logo could be part of the image….
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.