RECEIVING THE EARLY AND LATTER RAIN
(week 09/16)
OLUBI JOHNSON
James 5:7 KJV: 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.
Deuteronomy 32:2 NKJV: Let my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, as raindrops on the tender herb, And as showers on the grass.
The former rain is the limited power of God released in response to the teaching of the elementary principles of the faith: new birth, baptism of the Holy Spirit, healing, deliverance and prosperity. This former rain is what we have experienced hitherto.
The latter rain is the unlimited power of God that is released in response to the teaching of God’s Word on the perfection of the church.
Paul speaks of this in
Hebrews 6:1-3 NKJV: Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to PERFECTION, not laying again THE FOUNDATION of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, (2) of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. (3) And this we will do if God permits.
It is instructive to note that God will ONLY permit us to receive the latter rain to go on to perfection, IF we have laid a solid foundation of acting on the teaching of foundational teaching of the former rain!
So, many Christians hear the teaching of the latter rain but CANNOT RECEIVE the REVELATION of it in their hearts because they have not laid a solid foundation of PRACTICING the teachings of the former rain.
Luke 6:46-49 NKJV: “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? (47) Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: (48) He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. (49) But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”
Observe that to hear and NOT DO is to have no foundation; it is those hear and DO that lay a good foundation and so are PERMITTED TO GO ON TO PERFECTION.
We are now in the 3rd day: the time of the latter rain (Lk.13.32).
Without the latter rain, the church will not manifest the perfection and fullness of Christ and so bring in the harvest of the fruit of perfect love and discipleship of the nations:
In particular, it is necessary for EACH individual Christian to receive BOTH the former and latter rain into the ground of their hearts, so they can bring forth the precious fruit of the perfection and fullness of Christ and manifest the power of the Spirit without measure.
In the natural realm, the former or early rain simply softens the earth so the seed can be planted into the earth.
The latter rain is much heavier than the former rain and it ripens the seed ALREADY in the ground causing it to grow into fulness for the harvest.
Spiritually, the early rain softens our hearts to receive the seed of God’s Word to get us born-again, filled with the earnest (i.e. deposit Eph.1.14) of the Holy Spirit to speak in tongues, to let us experience healing, deliverance and some degree of material and financial provision and prosperity.
The latter rain is much heavier than the early rain; this tells us that the latter rain: the teachings of perfection demand a greater degree of responsibility than those of the early rain. This is the reason why so many in the church reject or ignore the teaching of the latter rain and remain WILLFULLY IGNORANT (2 Pet.3.5) of it and so never grow into perfection and fullness of Christ and lose their inheritance of the power of the Spirit without measure.
So it is CRUCIAL NOW to receive BOTH the early and latter rain in your OWN heart so you can bring forth the precious fruit of perfection and glory!
