Genesis 8:22 (NASB®)
“While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night Shall not cease.”
A lot of “shaking in the earth”; a battle for the heart of our nation — many symptoms but the underlying cause is spiritual!
I. Why a New Response Now? (A Conclusion Point?)
A. Scripture Identifies “THIS SEASON”
2 Peter 3:2-4 (NIV®)
2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. 3 First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”
B. Responsible to Recognize “The Seasons”
Matthew 16:2-3 (NIV®)
2 He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ 3 and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.
Luke 12:54-56 (NIV®)
54 He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. 55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?
C. Seasonal Changes
2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NIV®)
1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God– 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
We must see beyond the difficulties & see the hope of what God is bringing forth!
D. Israel Flourishing
Amos 9:11-15 (NIV®)
11 “In that day I will restore David’s fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be, 12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name,” declares the LORD, who will do these things. 13 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills. 14 I will bring back my exiled people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. 15 I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the LORD your God.
- Restore, Repair & Build, v.11
- Abundance, v.13
- Bring Back My Exiled People, v.14
- Never Again Uprooted, v.15 — A Terminal Position
E. Church: Purified & Alert
Matthew 24:42 (NIV®)
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
Matthew 25:13 (NIV®) (parable of 10 virgins)
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
Ephesians 1:4 (NIV®)
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
Ephesians 5:25-27 (NIV®)
… Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
Psalm 23:3 (NIV®)
He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
II. Rain of Righteousness & The Harvest
A. Rain of Righteousness
Hosea 10:12 (NIV®)
Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.
Isaiah 45:8 (NIV®)
“You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the LORD, have created it.
B. Rain & the Holy Spirit (Purpose of the Rain, is the Harvest)
Jeremiah 5:23-25 (NIV®)
23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away. 24 They do not say to themselves, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’ 25 Your wrongdoings have kept these away; your sins have deprived you of good.
Proverbs 10:5 (NIV®)
He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.
© 2020 Allen Jackson Ministries
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