Sunday, July 5th, 2020
"The living, the living, it is he who praises you" (Isaiah 38:19) We want to celebrate Him with all our hearts. He is among us and until the end of time. He loves this communion because He is its author. He came down in the evening to commune with Adam.
"But to all who received him, to those who believe in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1: 12-13) We need the Lord. Satan will seek by all means to prevent you from doing so, but we are fighters, persevering. We are soldiers in our Lord's army. We need to feel responsible for the task the Lord has given us. It is not a man doing the work, but it is the work of God. We come to prepare to go home.
Zechariah 10: 1
In the French version, we talk about the spring rain but in the English version, we talk about "latter rain", that is to say rain of the latter part of the season, therefore of autumn.
Joel 2:23
The spring rain is not the rain of the last season but of the first season. Jesus was speaking in a parable and the disciples asked why was Jesus speaking in a parable? God is not in the number or the crowd. Elijah was facing the 400 prophets of Baal, he was alone. The 400 prophets agreed but nothing happened, but Elijah alone had God and God answered. There must be a showdown. The 400 prophets of Baal, those who taught the people but there had to be confirmation. Elijah was causing trouble because he was not like them. The people was there watching what the preachers were doing. Elijah did not need the people to preach because he knew what he had received from God. What you receive will determine who you are. 400 in relation to a person is very important, but God is not in the quantity. God can be with a person. Elijah said the sky will be closed for three and a half years. He knew the authority he had and it came to pass. Heaven obeyed him. Jesus said to Peter, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 16:19) The God of heaven gave the keys to a man on earth. “You are happy, Simon bar-Jonah; for it is not flesh and blood which has revealed this to you, but it is my Father who is in heaven. "(Matthew 16:16)”.
Revelation 1: 16-18
There is only one who is the first and the last. God holds the keys of hell, but it is Peter who has the keys to the kingdom of heaven. God keeps His promises. Joshua, that little fellow, when the people would give up, always believed him and was sure that God was giving him the land. This same man ordered the sun to stop and the sun stopped. We need to know who we are. We have to identify with the things of God. We are to become men in the things of God with firm confidence.
1 Thessalonians 1: 2-5
Paul was certain, the election is certain. You have to know if you are one of these people or not. Faith is a firm assurance, I believe it, I'm sure. Chosen: I know it and I am. You have to examine yourself because it is a matter of life and death. We have given up everything for Him. You have a decision to make in soul and conscience. God gives ministries for the perfecting of saints. We need what is necessary to position ourselves in the things of God. When we talk about rain, we have to know what we are talking about.
Isaiah 44: 1-3
Rain is the Spirit of the Lord. The rain comes to moisten the earth because in this earth there is a seed. We have everything fully in Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 1: 3
As long as you are in Him, the blessing is on you. Every situation you go through is for your own good. When you are a chosen one, you are like Abraham, persevering. Hoping against all hopes. If you are a son of God, there must be a shake in you. Looking at the invisible. We do the opposite, we have a serious problem with the faith. All these men of faith were elect. An elected, we do not beg him because he was elected for a purpose, for that purpose. When the problem comes, there is always a word to support you. “We know, moreover, that all things work together for the good of those who love God, of those who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). Abraham was strengthened by faith. This is why the Word is preached because He wants to strengthen you and remind you of the promise He made to you. Without promises Abraham could not continue. God made you a promise that you stand by. It doesn't change. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. "(Hebrews 13: 8) We have our today, that is why" Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. (Hebrews 3:15) We need the seed that He has put in us to be shaken to germinate more. That's what we need the rain for. We long for the rain of the last season, but the rain of the first season is also important. God is going to do great things. We have to be rooted in the things of God. The rain is coming because there is something to plant in the earth. The seedling is planted in the spring. After spring comes the sun, summer. In order for the seed to grow, it takes rain. If there is no rain, then there is no harvest. The water comes, the seed can die, and the roots are anchored in the soil. Rain is the Spirit of the Lord. “These people are not drunk, as you suppose, because it is the third hour of the day. But this is what was said by the prophet Joel: In the last days, says God, I will pour out of my Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your young men will have visions, And your elders will have dreams. (Acts 2: 15-17) The first rain falls on all pulpits. The disciples were taught by Jesus, and they received the Word. It is the Son of God who sows the Word. Fall is before winter. Winter is when death comes. When we talk about the last season, we are talking about fall. Soon after fall comes death and then we start again. "He will send you the rain of the first and the latter (Joel 2:23). Rain is necessary for the seed. When you sow, you do not sow thorns but you sow what is necessary. Each seed produces according to its kind. When God said that, it remains. No matter how powerful the rain is, it will never change the nature of the seed. We had the rain in the first season. The rain comes to help make what I am. God never changes his plans. “I will pour out my spirit on all flesh.” This was accomplished at Pentecost. So there must be the rain from the last season. There is only one Spirit manifesting in each of us. We are read letters. You are a chosen one and in your trial, God wants you to prove that He is alive. An elected must know who he is. A chosen one is a fighter, a perseverant. "Simon, bar-Jonah, do you love me more than these love me?" He answered him: Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Jesus said to him, Feed my lambs. He said to him a second time, Simon, bar-Jonah, do you love me? Peter answered him: Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon, bar-Jonah, do you love me? Peter was saddened by what he had said to him for the third time: Do you love me? And he answered him, Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you. Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep (John 21: 15-17)". How much can you love the Lord? The Lord doesn’t send anyone to hell, it’s you who are cutting your way in the wrong direction. “… But the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). The wages of sin is death. At the judgment bar, you will have nothing to say. The apostle Paul treated his body harshly to be subject to the Word. When you are chosen by God, you know the principles of God. When you are a chosen one and you go the wrong way, God holds you back. A man that God holds in his hand, you have to have respect for him. If God is holding the vase, if you play with it, it might cost you a lot. Miriam was a prophetess and she spoke against Moses. God wanted to strike her. David was a man after God's heart. God was holding David. You can criticize him but God was watching over him. Yet David had weaknesses but he remains the anointed in the heart of God. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (first rain) has continued ever since.
Matthew 13: 24-25
The seed is the Word of God. Satan sows the tares and goes: this is the seed of discord. What drives the devil away is your faith. We must fight. God gives his life for you, neither will he believe for you.
1 Peter 1: 22 until 1 Peter 2: 4 / Philippians 4: 8
When God is with us, our way of thinking has changed. When a bad thought comes, if you are a son of God, you recognize it when it comes. The battlefield is in your head.
Matthew 13: 25-30
The rain came and it fell on the good seed and the tares. Both pushed. You can feed an eagle and a vulture the same, but the vulture will never become an eagle. "Where the body will be, there will be gathered the eagles (Luke 17:37).” The rain comes to manifest the seed but the rain cannot change the seed. At Pentecost their hearts were deeply touched. God wants your heart. God doesn't want to change your haircut or your skirts but He wants to change your heart. When the heart is changed, everything changes.