Steps To Restoring Rain

Steps to Restoring Rain

2 Steps to Restoring Rain

Copyright CCFWriters 2013 www.missionglobe.com


Prologue: What is Rain?

2 Chronicles 7:13 “If I shut up heaven that there be no rain…”

Why is it so critical that there be rain? What is rain?

Isaiah 55:10-11 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and re-

turneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth bud, that it

may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater. So shall my word be that goeth

forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that

which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

God’s word is powerful; it alone will accomplish what God intends. It comes with a

guarantee, “it will accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing

whereto I sent it.”

God is light, and all light (or revelation) comes from Him. When He speaks, whether

to our spirit directly or through a person it is powerful. It gets into places where the

word of man could never reach, not by grossness, but in the same manner as a

bright light shining in a dim room will scatter all shadows with its luminosity.

Matthew 16:18 ...Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hell, shall

not prevail against it.

The rock was truth – the revealed truth of God's word. Just as Peter had spoken by

the revelation of God's truth and the speaking of it – this is the very thing God's

church is built on. God's church was built and restored by the revealing of God's

truth and by God's truth it shall continue on (and be restored).




Not just in the revelation of truth itself, but in our acceptance of it and our belief in it

– which necessitates or is manifested by our conformity to it and our standing on it.

We are only the church of God when we have communion with God, receive the ora-

cles of God from the mouth of God and walk in this revealed light of God. We are bab-

ylon the moment we are disconnected from God and/or stop walking in the light

(revealed truth) of God.

Man can tell us nothing. The truth of God can only come through the man, when

“truth” comes from the man it is ineffectual. It may be wisdom, it may be accurate, it

may be biblically based and irrefutable, but only the truth of God – from God, by God,

of God will enliven the church of God, ring true to the saints of God, move forward the

kingdom of God.

I am not here to declare who needs a restoral of rain, or state that any group or church

is in need of rain. I am just sharing this study with you because I feel it will be a bene-

fit to all. Whether in our personal lives or in general, we must understand the critical-

ness of rain.




Who stopped the rain?

1 Kings 17:1 “And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto

Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew

nor rain these years, but according to my word.”

First it is critical to note who stopped the rain and why.

If an enemy hath done this, then no problem, go to God in prayer and pray down a

deluge or pray the enemy out of the way. But on the other hand if God has stopped the

rain Himself then only He can restore it.

Yet if God has stopped sending rain, if He’s withholding rain from you in a certain way

it is because of something you did or didn’t do.

God doesn’t just stop sending rain arbitrarily because He knows the criticalness of it.

Yet He will with just cause withhold rain in order to get our attention. In order to

chasten His people, in order to appease His wrath, show His displeasure about a cer-

tain set of circumstances.




Therefore in order to restore rain you must first find out what caused the rain to be

withheld in the first place.

God is not going to just restore rain because a certain number of days have passed,

there must be a turning from sin and a turning to God; just as the Word says, Repent.

Revelation 3:19 “As many as I love I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore and re-

pent.”

You can’t repent until you realize what you’ve done wrong. You must see yourself, you

must see your wrong, you must see your action as God sees it. Otherwise you might

apologize, but you’ll never have a change of heart about what you are doing.

Moving in Step with God

1 Kings 18:1 “Go shew thyself to Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.”

God was ready to move and work at this time. God was ready to show mercy on His

people. God doesn’t extend mercy at all times. God is not wooing you at all times, but

at certain times He chooses to extend mercy.

Therefore we must work with His schedule, we must move when He says to move, we

can not afford to put Him off.

Acts 3:19 “Repent ye therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.

When the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”

Hebrews 3:15 “To day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provo-

cation.”




2 Corinthians 6:2 “(For He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day

of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is

the day of salvation.”

God wants us to move when He calls us, while He’s drawing us. He wants to see a cer-

tain urgency on our part. God is looking for sheep not goats. The first thing He wants

to know is can you be obedient to my voice. “Can you be led to by my hand? Can you

be directed to walk in the path I have chosen for you simply by following my voice? My

urging? If not you might as well not sign up because you’ll sin as soon as you begin.”

You can’t disobey God and yet be saved. You must walk with Him as He leads you.

Absolute Obedience

1 Kings 18:1 “Go shew thyself to Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.”

The entire thing rested on Elijah’s obedience to God’s command.

No matter how dire the situation God only answers by virtue of our strictest obedience

to His commands.

God requires absolute obedience before He will bless in a particular way.

If Elijah had not followed God’s command, the drought would have continued and

many lives would have been unnecessarily lost.

The criticalness of our moving in step with God’s plan cannot be underestimated.




God could have just appeared to Ahab Himself in a dream or vision, but He had a cer-

tain plan already worked out not only to show Ahab who He was in a real way, but to

show forth His power to the people of Israel as well.

Verse 2 “And Elijah went to shew himself to Ahab.”

Elijah went without hesitation, worry or fear. He obeyed God’s command immediately

and implicitly. He unhesitating obedience made way for the rain that later fell.

Verses 7-15 “I will surely shew myself to him today.”

Elijah didn’t get distracted by Obadiah’s greeting, neither did he allow his fears to af-

fect him. He continued steadfast in his purpose, determined to accomplish the Lord’s

command that same day.

Taking Personal Responsibility

1 Kings 18:17-18 “Art thou he that troubleth Israel?”

Another critical step in restoring rain is taking personal responsibility for your actions.

As we said the first and most critical step is realizing why God stopped the rain in the

first place.

If you look at what you have done or failed to do then you can repent and correct your

action.

Verse 18 “I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house in that ye have

forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.”




Elijah put the responsibility right where it belonged on Ahab and those wicked kings

who’d come before him.

It was they who’d forsaken the right way and followed after strange gods.

Any time you disobey God and fail to serve Him with all your heart, you will experi-

ence a drought in your life.

You must obey God wholeheartedly and go after Him with all your heart, mind, and

soul.

You will never be blessed if you worship other gods besides God: If you allow anything

but God be the driving force in your life.

Gathering All Together

1 Kings 18:19 “Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel,

and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four

hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table.”

Several key steps are mentioned in this verse.

First the need to get everyone involved in it. If God is going to send rain on the earth,

it’s going to take a group effort.

Everyone must be called forth.




Joel 2:16 “Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather

the children, and those that suck the breast; let the bridegroom go forth of his cham-

ber and the bride out of her closet.”

Why must everyone be called? The same reason everyone was called in Joshua’s time

for starters.

Joshua 7:13 “Up, sanctify the people, and say, sanctify yourselves against to morrow;

for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, there is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O’

Israel: Thou canst not stand before your enemies, until you take away the accursed

thing from among you.”

Verse 15 “And it shall be, that he that is taken in the accursed thing shall be burnt with

fire, he and all he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and

because he hath wrought folly in Israel.”

Now there is a time to bring everyone forth so that the cause of the drought may be

searched out.

In Elijah’s case he knew who was the cause of the trouble, but the people had went af-

ter that thing in a certain way. Therefore we see another aspect in gathering everyone

together was so that every man might answer for himself.

Verse 21 “How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him: but

if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered not a word.”

The people were caught in the middle of this thing. They were confused themselves,

therefore they had to be gathered together so they could see this things with their own

eyes.




Romans 14:5 “…let every man be persuaded in His own mind.”

Another critical reason why everyone had to be gathered together was so that they all

could execute judgment on those who were guilty in a certain way.

Deuteronomy 13:6-11 “If thy brother; the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daugh-

ter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee se-

cretly, saying, let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy

fathers… thou shalt not consent to him, nor hearken unto him, neither shall thine eye

pity him, neither shall thou spare, neither shall thou conceal him: But thou shalt sure-

ly kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the

hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die… And all Isra-

el shall hear and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among

you.”

Joshua 7:25 “Why hast thou troubled us? The Lord shall trouble thee this day. And all

Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned him

with stones.”

Everyone must stone him with stones, everyone must put him to death; not literally in

this day and time, but His influence over the people must be killed. No one can sympa-

thize with him or take his side. He must be utterly cast out of the congregation so that

the iniquity he wrought be not charged against us.

This also discourages others from following in his pernicious ways.

1 Timothy 5:2 “Them that sin rebuke before all that all may fear.”

Now this of course is after he is given the opportunity to confess and forsake his sin.

This is after he had been brought before the congregation and judged of all and will

not hear the congregation nor forsake his sins.




You Must Make a Decision

1 Kings 18:20 “So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets

together unto mount Carmel.”

Whether by God’s intervention or by their own accord, you must have others coopera-

tion if you’re going to restore rain.

Especially, as in this case, from the leaders themselves. Those who are in authority or

those of some influence must at least come to the bargaining table. They must be will-

ing to meet you halfway.

You can’t restore rain all by yourself. You might be able to sustain yourself personally

in the midst of the drought, but you’ll never restore rain of your own account.

As we mentioned in the last step, it is going to take the whole congregation working

together to restore rain.

1 Kings 18:21 “And Elijah came to all the people, and said, How long halt ye between

two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him: but if baal, then follow him.”




There’s a decision to be made here and every man must decide in his own heart and

mind. Now God is going to show up and show out, but even after all that, let every

man be persuaded in his own mind. God doesn’t want any more half service, He

doesn’t want any more feeble efforts.

He wants to be the only God in your life. Therefore He brought these people to the

point of a decision.

Ye cannot serve two masters. Therefore if the Lord be God, then follow Him, but if

baal, then follow him.

Don’t be torn between the two because you’re not doing either one justice. They’re

both being short changed. Either get all the way in on God’s side or wholly go after

baal.

If you’re going to serve God you must wholly eradicate baal, or whatever other god you

used to serve, out of your heart.

Joshua 24:14 “Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth:

and put away the gods which your fathers served that were on this side of the flood,

and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.”

Verse 15 “And if it seem evil to you to serve the Lord, choose ye this day whom ye will

serve…”

Verse 16 “And the people answered and said, God forbid, that we should forsake the

Lord, and serve other gods.”




If there’s to be a restoral of rain, there must be a turning to God and a turning from all

other things that rivals your affection for God, that robs your time from God, that pre-

vents your going after God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul.

God seeketh those to worship Him in spirit and in truth; in sincerity and in truth;

wholly and whole heartedly. He does not accept half service or part time service.

Setting the Stage

1 Kings 18:24 “The God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people an-

swered and said, it is well spoken.”

Elijah set the stage. He gave God an arena to perform in. A chance to show Himself

strong and glorify Himself in the midst of the congregation.

Sometimes in order for people to latch onto something they have to see God working

in a real way. They want to see God working in the midst of His people in a very visible

and tangible way.

In order for that to happen someone has to step out on faith and trust God in a real

way. Someone has to put themselves: their reputation, their health, their family, or

something dear to them on the line so that God can show forth His power in a real

way.

God wants to work; God wants to be glorified, but who is willing to allow God to work?

Who is willing to cast their care entirely on Him so that He can show forth His might

and majesty in a real way?




Allowing God to Work

1 Kings 18:25-26 “Call upon the name of your gods, but put no fire under.”

Does your God work with nothing? Can he make a way out of no way? Can he start

from scratch or do you have to help Him along?

Often people say, “It works if you work it.” Is that how your god operates?

These people worshipped a stock of a tree. They had to pick it up and carry it if they

wanted it to move. They bowed to it and prayed to it, but it never came through for

them or answered their request.

Does your God live? Does He hear your prayers? Does He move in your life? Does He

make ways out of no way? Can He work through nothing or do you have to do all the

work for Him?

What kind of God are you serving?

Verse 28 “And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives

and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.”




There are sacrifices one must make in serving God and things He’ll ask you to give up

for Him, but in all such things there is a purpose and in all such things God will show

Himself mighty.

God gets no delight out of us just injuring ourselves for no reason. It is not in the af-

flicting of the flesh that God delights, but in our drawing closer to Him.

He only wants us to come into His presence without distraction; He only wants us to

focus more perfectly on Him. He only wants us to seek Him with all our heart, mind,

soul, and body.

When He sees us going after Him with all He honors that. He will bless such sacrifices

that are offered in sincerity and in truth.

Importance of the Altar

1 Kings 18:30 “…and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.”

There can be no restoring of rain without a repairing of the altar. God has ordained

this thing to work in a certain way.

There must be certain sacrifices on our part before we can expect God to move on our

behalf.

Not wild sacrifices, not cutting ourselves and crying about it later, but according to the

pattern God has set in place. According to what God has already ordained.




God has always worked in specific ways. Even as He led the children of Israel out of

Egypt we see He had a specific plan in mind.

Exodus 12:35-36 “And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and

they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and

the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto

them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.”

Why did the people need all there jewels? Was it for them to wear so they could look

like kings children? Was it their back wages for all their work they’d wrought in Egypt?

Later on it would become clear why God gave this order and what they were supposed

to do with all the silver and gold they got from the Egyptians.

Exodus 25:1-8 “…speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of

every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. And let them

make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.”

The same jewels and apparel that they had gotten from the Egyptians. God asked them

to use it or at least a portion of it to make Him a sanctuary.

Exodus 35:21-22 “And they came: everyone whose heart stirred him up, and everyone

whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering to the work of the

tabernacle of the congregation, and for all His service, and for the holy garments And

they came, both men and women as many as were willing hearted, and brought brace-

lets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered

offered and offering of gold unto the Lord.”

Exodus 36:3-7 “…And they brought yet unto him free offerings every morning… And

they spake unto Moses, saying, the people bring much more than enough for the ser-

vice of the work, which the Lord commanded to make. …So the people were restrained




from bringing. For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too

much.”

God doesn’t make the people offer these things, He didn’t place them under pressure

to do it, but He asked them to do it and they brought enough and more than enough of

their free heart.

Sacrifices to God are never forced. God doesn’t make you do it for the most part. He

may put it in your heart to do it, but He doesn’t force it out of you at the peril of your

soul.

There is a critical necessity of sacrifice, we cannot achieve certain results or maintain

certain victories without regular sacrifices, but God wants them yet to come from us,

from our heart.

He that offers it out of a willing heart. He that offers it freely.

God always supplies what’s needed to make the required sacrifice with.

God required the children of Israel in the Old Testament to sacrifice animals that were

of a certain quality, not spotted, not abnormal, not maimed or defiled in a certain way.

Now it would not have been fair of Him to require that and all their animals give birth

to maimed, crippled, spotted offspring. The people would not have been able to make

the necessary sacrifices.

The animals couldn’t all die in some plague or be killed by some wild beast. That

would cause the people to be hindered in bringing acceptable sacrifices to God.

Yet God always provides. He will give the wherewithal for every willing heart to make

an acceptable sacrifice unto Him.




Putting Everything in Order

1 Kings 18:33 “And he put the wood in order…”

God is a God of order. He commands that things be done a certain specific way. He is a

God of detail; He cares about the little things and the hows and whys not just the fact

of your doing things.

Most critically He wants you to put Him first.

Matthew 6:33 “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these

things shall be added unto you.”

Seek God, go after God in a certain way, seek His righteousness, have a certain mind-

set, a certain desire to want to please God to want to be like Jesus, to have the testimo-

ny that “I do always those things that please Him.” No matter what it means for me

personally, no matter what it causes me to have to cut off or sacrifice or do. I want to

please God; I want to glorify God in all I do; in every area of my life.

Nothing will cause rain to come quicker than a group of people with the mindset to go

after God and please Him in a real way.




The Need of a Sacrifice

1 Kings 18:33 “And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid

him on the wood, and said, fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacri-

fice, and on the wood.”

Elijah had carefully repaired the altar, he had laid the wood in order as it should go,

but with all that, with all his doing there had to be a sacrifice.

With all our desires, with all our declarations and determinations there must be a sac-

rifice.

We will not get it at a cheaper price; we must sell all we have. It is not about finding

the right sacrifice, it is about being the sacrifice. It is about giving ourselves to God in a

particular way and allowing Him to work through us as He will.

Wet Wood

1 Kings 18:33 “…fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on

the wood.”




Wet wood. Wet wood is like a faithless prayer. You’re bringing wood, but it is not even

flammable in a certain way. It is being offered to no avail because you don’t actually

believe that it will spark or ignite anything.

When we go to God in prayer, we should be bringing not only dry wood, but if we’re

truly saved and have a relationship with God we ought to have some fire, some intensi-

ty, some heat because we know God hears us, because we have maintained our experi-

ence between prayer times, because we’re yet stirred up about this thing, we’re yet

passionate about God and want to see His work going forth in this evil world.

Yet wet wood was a perfect depiction of what the children of Israel were bringing in

this situation. They had come as they were bidden, they were in attendance and their

attention was rapt, but they didn’t believe God would send fire any more for Elijah

than baal had answered the 450 prophets earlier.

They were filled with unbelief. All God had shown them in times past seemed to be

just as a fairy tale or a thing of legend. It meant nothing to them at this present time.

Therefore there was much submission in Elijah pouring on all that water, note that he

poured on 12 barrels: one for each of the tribes of Israel.

Glorifying God

1 Kings 18:36 “And it came to pass at the time of the evening sacrifice…”

Again timing is everything. Elijah did everything in order and on time. If you want to

be blessed of God do everything in order and right on time and God will honor your

prayer and grant your request.

1 Kings 18:36 “Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac,

and of Israel…”




Elijah came to God with a certain reverence, fully acknowledging Him and honoring

Him before the people. He left no doubt who He was praying to and who He expected

to answer His request.

God wants to be glorified in us. God wants us to acknowledge Him before, during, and

after He comes through for us. We don’t want there to be any doubt who we’re expect-

ing to come through and answer for us.

1 Kings 18:36 “…Let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy

servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.”

Glorify yourself, Give witness to your word which you have spoken unto me.

Elijah prayed that God would now show forth Himself to the people. All this time Eli-

jah had been the central figure of this tale, Elijah was the one who called the show

down, Elijah was the one who had set up the altar and ordered the water poured on

the wood, Elijah had the people’s undivided attention at this point, but he prayed that

God show up and show forth Himself in a definite way before the on looking eyes of

the people.

Glorify yourself O’ God. Give us what we stand in need of.

Elijah prayed that God would show and give witness that it was He and not Elijah him-

self that had ordered and orchestrated these things.

It was God that desired to show the people that He was God and not baal; that there

was no comparison between Himself and that dumb idol.




When God Answers

1 Kings 18:38 “Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice and the

wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

When God shows up He shows out. It seems like any little answer would have con-

vinced the people at this point. Baal had done nothing and his prophets had made a

spectacle of themselves.

Yet God didn’t just send a little blaze and consume the burnt offering. He burnt the of-

fering, the wood, the stones, the dust, the water… all of it.

When God answers He does a complete job of it. He takes care of the whole situation

and leaves no doubt in the minds of the people who it was that did it.

God, as Elijah prayed in verse 37, turned the hearts of the people back to Him again,

this is a critical part of restoring rain.

We can seek God all day long, but we will only find Him when we seek Him with all

our hearts.

James 1:8 “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”




A double minded man’s heart is torn between two things or either he is uncertain

about the situation and how it will turn out.

God will only answer when we are able to take or accept His word as reality.

When God says it that settles it. I’m going to build my house right here on the sure

foundation of God’s word. I’m going to lay myself wholly on what God has promised

me and rest on His word. I will live and die on the promises of God without any re-

course. I don’t have my back up plan, but I’m standing on the Word of God. My heart

is fixed, trusting God.

God Leaves No Doubt

1 Kings 18:39 “And when the people saw it, they fell on their faces and they said, The

Lord, He is the God; the Lord, He is the God.”

God left no doubt. When God shows up in a real way; when God does something, He

leaves no doubt; it is undeniable.

God does things to glorify Himself, He works in ways to show Himself mighty. When

God shows up in a real way, His strength is showcased and His glory is manifest to

others looking on in a real way.

Sometimes the entire reason you go through a test is for God to get the glory out of it.

Sometimes the only reason we experience certain things is so that God can be glori-

fied. God could have prevented you from going through in the first place. He could

have protected and shielded you in the very beginning, but rather than doing that, He

allowed that thing to come upon you so that He could:




1. Show off to the world the difference between you and those who profess, but don’t

possess what you possess.

2. To strengthen you and perfect you in the midst of the trial.

3. To show Himself mighty in your behalf, when He brings you out without the

slightest smell of smoke on you. When He saves you by a great deliverance.

God knows how to perfect you – He knows how to keep you in the midst of and bring

you out of a situation.

Yet when God brings you out, you’ll come out with a witness. You’ll come out with

your white robe on.

Cleansing of the Sanctuary

1 Kings 18:40 “And Elijah said unto them, take the prophets of baal; let not one of

them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook

Kishon, and slew them there.”

This was no different than Elijah setting up the altar and laying the wood in order.

Everything Elijah had done had been in order and according to the Word of God, so

also this step had to be taken to keep the Word of God and do everything according to

God’s will.

Deuteronomy 17:2-7 “…man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of

the Lord thy God, in transgressing His covenant, and hath served other gods, and

worshipped them… And it shall be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired

diligently, and behold, if it be true, and the thing certain… then shalt thou bring forth

that man or woman, which hath committed that wicked thing… and thou shalt stone

them with stones, till they die.




This was no new thing but an old commandment that God had given Israel so that

they could show definitively that they were not following or going along with sin.

They were to keep the camp clean. They were to show a separation from all wicked-

ness. They were to have no part with sinners at all. They were to be wholly holy.

This is why Paul warned the Corinthian church not to keep company with fornicators,

those that were false brethren, feigning to be a part, but yet were not holy.

Also why He told them not to have fellowship with unbelievers. They were to be dis-

tinct and separate from false professors and other religious groups.

They were to be without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing.

2 Peter 2:13 “…spots they are and blemishes…”

These false prophets whom Peter is talking about in this chapter are characterized as

spots and blemishes. Note that Paul in Ephesians the 5th chapter tells us that God

wants His church to be without spot and without blemish.

Notice Jude also calls these false prophets spots.

Jude 1:12 “These are spots in your feast of charity, when they feast with you, feeding

themselves without fear…”

What does this mean when they feast with you? What feast is he talking about?




1 Corinthians 5:9-13 “…I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornica-

tors. Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or ex-

tortioners, or with idolaters: for then must yet needs go out of the world. But now I

have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a

fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner;

with such an one no not to eat… Therefore put away from among yourselves that

wicked person.”

Do not eat, do not keep company with false professors, don’t allow them to be associ-

ated with you in a certain way. Don’t bring them into your house as John wrote, don’t

even bid them God speed.

Don’t have anything to do with them at all, let them know you stand against them or

more critically that you don’t go along with their evil deeds.

1 Corinthians 11:18-20 “When ye come together in the church, I hear that there be di-

visions among you… When ye are come together therefore in one place, this is not to

eat the Lord’s supper.”

You can’t eat the Lord’s supper as you should because of the divisions and the here-

sies and because they which are approved will not be made manifest among you as

they should be.

Verses 28-29 “Let a man or woman examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread

and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and

drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.”

Not the physical or literal body of Christ, not the symbolic wafer, but the body of be-

lievers. Not discerning the church – not recognizing that he himself is not a part.




Verse 31 “If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.”

This is why Ananias and Sapphira dropped dead – they feigned themselves to be a

part and were not.

This is why it says of the rest durst no man join himself to them, because of the swift

judgment on false professors. Not judgment of man with a lot of talk and harsh words,

but the judgment of God, where a person’s sins are made manifest before the whole

congregation, not through gossip, but by the power of God.

Matthew 18:15-17 “If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go tell him his fault be-

tween thee and him alone… If he neglect to hear thee, then take with thee one or two

more… If he shall neglect to hear them… tell it unto the church: but if he shall neglect

to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen and a publican.”

Now they are put out of the church. Now you don’t associate with them the same way.

Now you’ve let it be known you’re not a part, you’re not one of us.

Resting Confidently on God’s Word

1 Kings 18:41 “…There’s a sound of an abundance of rain.”

Elijah spoke with confidence although the sky was clear overhead. Without even the

smallest sign of the promise taking place Elijah stepped out on it and rested his repu-

tation squarely on God’s word.

When we get an assurance from God, when God speaks clear you can speak bodly; you

can rest assured; you can tell others what God has told you.




Believing God, resting on God, trusting in God will lead you to prayer, but there must

be an assurance given before you predict an abundance of rain. You have to know

some things with a certain clarity if there is to be any rain fall at all.

Verse 42 “So Ahab went up to eat and drink.”

After the victory on Carmel, Elijah’s word was even more reverenced in the eyes of the

king.

Ahab went to eat and drink at Elijah’s direction. Again showing how God can give you

favor even with rulers.

Verse 41 “And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the

earth and put his face between his knees.”

While Ahab was eating and drinking, Elijah went and humbled himself before the

Lord. Not that he was in doubt, but because he realized the matter was in God’s hands

at this point. He had prepared the way, he’d moved the stone, now it was God’s turn.

Verse 43-44 “Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said,

there is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the sev-

enth time, he said, behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand.

And he said, go up, say unto Ahab, prepare the chariot, and get there down, that the

rain stop thee not.”

Elijah wasn’t distressed by the report that there was nothing. He sent the servant

back 7 times until God’s plan was completed and the clouds began to appear.




When God has promised us something let us have the wherewithal to tarry for it and

fight for it until the enemy of our soul be defeated and God’s will be done.

Habakkuk 2:3 “Though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tar-

ry.”

It may not seem like it is going to come, or that it will come in time, but trust God, it

will come right on time. Don’t let the devil cause you to doubt God’s blessing. Keep

hold of God’s hand and wait until your change comes. Don’t wait playing, but praying.

Expecting a Miracle

1 Kings 18:43 “Behold there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And

he said, go up, say unto Ahab, prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain

stop thee not.”

Before the first sign Elijah had already predicted an abundance of rain in the midst of

a terrible drought.

God is looking for more people who will call things that are not as though they were

according to His promises.

He is desiring more who are able to hope against hope.

Anyone can show hope or faith when they have a reasonable assurance of success. An-

yone can believe when there is nothing hindering or blocking the way, but who is able

to see their way clear when no one else can see it, when there is no reasonable expec-

tation of change?

Who is willing or able to hope against hope?




Rain

1 Kings 18:45 “…and there was a great rain.”

After all was done according to the Word of the Lord, there was a great rain.

When we put our trust in God and obey His word, He will come through for us.

He will bless us when we obey and do what He says.

Our faith is no greater than our obedience. Our obedience shows our faith, and

strengthens our confidence.

We can rely on God because we have been doing all to please Him.

We are not ashamed to pray to God because we have been living right before Him.

We can expect God to answer according to His word when we obey His word and do

His will.




Three Results of Restoring Rain

1. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and

hearing by the word of God” (Romans

10:17).

2. “And ye shall know the truth, and the

truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

3. “If we walk in the light, as He is in the

light, we have fellowship with one anoth-

er, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son

cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

Steps To Restoring Rain

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Transcript of Steps To Restoring Rain