Thunder Clouds
“Can you hear that thunder in the
distance, like a train on the edge of the town? Can you hear the moving of the
Spirit? Lay your burdens down…” Remember these words from the Revival in
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“Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go and enjoy a good meal! For I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!” 1 Kings 18:31 NLT
As soon as he spoke the words which
promised relief from the long drought, he sent out his servant to look at the
sky. Nothing. Zip. Nada. He sent him out seven times until the servant finally
saw a cloud the size of a “man’s fist.” THAT cloud was the sign of relief from
the drought. Within a short period of time, Elijah warned Ahab to leave
Elijah had just defeated the prophets of
Baal at
Why did God choose that time to refresh
the land? Because evil was in control, and God’s people needed His help. The
defeat of the pagan idols at
Does it sound familiar yet? America is rapidly declining into an abyss filled with the spirit of anti-Christ. Our economy is failing, sin is rampant, 2 Timothy 3 is revealed before our eyes not only in the world but in the church. But like the pattern of God’s Word before us, our loving, merciful God will preserve us in the midst of these difficulties with the refreshing of rain. Rain in the language of Scripture denotes provision, blessing, refreshing. And we need that double portion anointing for the times ahead!
“Ask the Lord for the rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field for everyone.” Zechariah 10:1 NKJV
If you look at Scripture, what we call “revival” ALWAYS transforms people into followers of the Living God. It isn’t a movie, or an entertainment venue, it’s an act of God in which He draws people to Himself. It’s about bringing people through Jesus into relationship to God. (John 10:16, John 10:9) Please be wary: there will always be false junk out there. But if Jesus is the focus, Jesus will move. He said, "If I be lifted up I will draw all men unto Me." Don't be drawn to people, be drawn to Jesus.
In Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit fell, they manifested the power of God by speaking in “tongues of fire” – which simply means languages that were so pure they manifested as flames. (Read Zephaniah 3:9 for the original prophecy. The word “fire” is “pur” from which we get pure, and “tongues” means languages.) That manifestation came with such power that 3000 people repented after hearing the testimony of Jesus’ sacrifice. The manifestation of God that we call the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” is a clear indicator of a move of God, and the experience is all about Jesus and mankind one on One.
Until recently most of us had not heard of many baptisms of the Holy Spirit for several years. In the late 60’s through mid 80’s, almost any Charismatic meetings manifested not only The Presence of the Holy Spirit, but often infillings complete with the gifts of the Spirit as set forth in 1 Corinthians 12. Since then, that type of manifestation waned. Powerful conversions with all of the gifts seemed to be few and far between. We’ve had prophecies (some good, some riddled with flesh), but rarely the power once normal in Charismatic meetings. The manifestations we see today are rarely ones of such deep life-changing power. Until….
I’m here today to let you know: “He’s baaack.”
Recently there have been a small handful of people baptized in the Holy Spirit and a tiny few powerful conversions in this area; there have been a few obvious and certifiable healings scattered throughout the county. Raindrops. Tiny raindrops that give us a sign of things to come. No man’s stamp is on it—and we pray that continues. The Holy Spirit is here, still calling to all of us, still sending the refreshing of help to His people, and especially seeking those who do not know Him.
A few days ago I had a vision of a wheat field. Not just any wheat field, but one that was made up of several different kinds of wheat in a patchwork design. Winter wheat had ripened in a section next to hard red wheat which had ripened at the same time as a section of soft wheat, etc. I could literally smell the ripe grain. But the Lord had a question: do My people even see that the fields are ripe? They are so busy being self-absorbed, having their own problems, backbiting, social-climbing, doing their own thing…do they realize that the fields are ready to reap? Both tares and wheat have grown up together, and the reaping is close at hand.
God wants to move so that the reaping may begin! God wants to bring the rains of blessing and gifts so that we will have the power to actually stand strong, be lights in a dark world (Isaiah 60), and love God and His people in the middle of it. We need His power to do that. Life has become stressful and difficult, our problems magnified. But He longs to release His power for us to use as witnesses of His love!
So refresh your faith, let the Lord re-fill you with His Spirit as the day of Pentecost! Renew your heart towards Him and let Him fill your life with the changes you once knew as a new Believer. Dig the wells of salvation deep, stir up the gift of the Holy Spirit within you, and put your mind on Christ. Let’s pray to be a part of God working on the earth rather than a victim of earthly plots and plans. Can you see the tiny clouds of refreshing, and can you hear the thunder now?
Faye Higbee