“Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.” Zechariah 10:1
All through the Scriptures, and from the begining of time, especially since the Fall of Man, there is the constant testimony of the fact that man has needs, in particular, needs that only God can meet. Before the Fall, man was in a postiion, and attitude of heart, to receive freely all that God desired to give, so that he would live a holy, and blessed life, the glory of God being revealed in him. When sin came into the world, and man fell from his very high, and lofty, yet humble relationship of fellowship with God, that freely flowing stream of the blessing of God was no longer constantly experienced. In fact, where before the fall, the blessing of the eternal life of God ministering constantly to the heart, mind, and spirit of the man, it was now was cut off, the window of his soul being shut. From that point on, though God would freely offer everything good to all men, that he should truly live, men no more possessed the capacity to receive the fulness of the glory of God. Not only was the capacity not there, but the strength to receive the blessing was not present. As John the Apostle would write concerning this thousands of years later, men would only become sons of God by the new birth,
” …not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. ” (1:13)
So then, how is sinful man, fallen from grace, whose heart is dark, whose soul is lost, whose capacity is non-existant to believe, receive, and live, able to do so?
With the knowledge of the truth of God, and the sinful, lost state of man, comes the very initiative of God to draw man’s heart towards Christ. So, the testimony of who God IS, and WAS, is the “light,” or revelation, given by God to men. That testimony was Christ, shining as a bright light in the darkness of human depravity and death. John the Baptist would testify by his preaching that the LIGHT had come, in Christ, and that He was the true Light. As John the Apostle wrote: “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not.” (Jn. 1:10) With the knowledge of who Christ was, as contrasted to lost, depraved, sinful man in his darkness, there arises in the individual heart, the heart’s cry to God for mercy. From the second of hearing that cry, God moves, and works to save that individual. He gives him the capacity to “receive” Christ, not only the revelation of the truth of Christ, but the very power of Christ. John puts it like this,
“…but as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” (jn. 1:12)
Here is revealed the mercy and grace of God in dealing with sinful man, that he should first be able to “see” or perceive who God is in Christ. Then there is the call from the heart to God, in response to Christ’s wondrous, saving work. God moves to enable him to “receive” from heaven itself, the very blessing of life by the Spirit, and the POWER to become a child of God, born of the Spirit, into the body of Christ. The work is ALL of God, for the glory of God.
What of the power not to just be born again, but to live? That power was declared by the prophets of old, especially by Joel. It was promised and provided on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem. Since Pentecost, and the outpouring of the Spirit, every believer is called to cry out to God, calling upon Him for abundant “rain,” the power of His Spirit, in this present time of the latter rains.
Dear Father, Fill us fully today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.