An outpouring of the Holy Spirit

One of my favourite books of the Old Testament is Zechariah

Ch 10 Pray to God for rain—it’s time for the spring rain, to God, the rainmaker, Spring thunderstorm maker, maker of grain and barley.

Spring in Israel is the time for rain, yet God asks them to pray for rain. While Zechariah is primarily a message for Israel, it has some valuable lessons for everyone.

• When the Holy Spirit is moving, pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

• When a wave of healing is seen, pray for the ministry of healing.

• When God is bringing people to prayer, ask for a ministry of intercession.

• When the nations are hearing the gospel, many for the first time, ask for the nations.

Psalm 2 6-12 The Living Bible

6 For the Lord declares, “This is the King of my choice, and I have enthroned him in Jerusalem, my holy city." 7 His chosen one replies, “I will reveal the everlasting purposes of God, for the Lord has said to me, ‘You are my Son. This is your Coronation Day. Today I am giving you your glory.’” 8 “Only ask and I will give you all the nations of the world. 9 Rule them with an iron rod; smash them like clay pots!” 10 O kings and rulers of the earth, listen while there is time. 11 Serve the Lord with reverent fear; rejoice with trembling. 12 Fall down before his Son and kiss his feet before his anger is roused and you perish. I am warning you—his wrath will soon begin. But oh, the joys of those who put their trust in him!

At this time we are seeing a world with massive problems and at the same time we are seeing Christians around the world

• given to prayer Australians praying more
• proclaiming the gospel on the internet - search "Sunday service live stream" on Youtube.com to see how many results return
• studying the Bible with online groups or individually

Matthew 24: 14 14 “And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it, and then, finally, the end will come.

We see two significant developments at this time:

1. the gospel is being proclaimed throughout the world
2. Israel is back in her own land; God is about to put some backbone into them to revive their spirit and commitment to God.

God’s Work of Rebuilding Israel

Zechariah 10 The Message

10 Pray to God for rain, it’s time for the spring rain, to God, the rainmaker, Spring thunderstorm maker, maker of grain and barley.

2-3 “Store-bought gods babble gibberish. Religious experts spout rubbish. They pontificate hot air. Their prescriptions are nothing but smoke. And so the people wander like lost sheep, poor lost sheep without a shepherd. I’m furious with the so-called shepherds. They’re worse than billy goats, and I’ll treat them like goats.”

3-5 God-of-the-Angel-Armies will step in and take care of his flock, the people of Judah. He’ll revive their spirits, make them proud to be on God’s side. God will use them in his work of rebuilding, use them as foundations and pillars, Use them as tools and instruments, use them to oversee his work. They’ll be a workforce to be proud of, working as one, their heads held high, striding through swamps and mud, Courageous and vigorous because God is with them, undeterred by the world’s thugs.

6-12 “I’ll put muscle in the people of Judah; I’ll save the people of Joseph. I know their pain and will make them good as new. They’ll get a fresh start, as if nothing had ever happened. And why? Because I am their very own God, I’ll do what needs to be done for them. The people of Ephraim will be famous, their lives brimming with joy. Their children will get in on it, too— oh, let them feel blessed by God! I’ll whistle and they’ll all come running. I’ve set them free—oh, how they’ll flourish! Even though I scattered them to the far corners of earth, they’ll remember me in the faraway places. They’ll keep the story alive in their children, and they will come back. I’ll bring them back from the Egyptian west and round them up from the Assyrian east. I’ll bring them back to sweet Gilead, back to leafy Lebanon. Every square foot of land will be marked by homecoming. They’ll sail through troubled seas, brush aside brash ocean waves. Roaring rivers will turn to a trickle. Gaudy Assyria will be stripped bare, bully Egypt exposed as a fraud. But my people—oh, I’ll make them strong, God-strong! and they’ll live my way.” God says so!

Ezekiel 37 the valley of dry bones

1-2 God grabbed me. God’s Spirit took me up and set me down in the middle of an open plain strewn with bones. He led me around and among them—a lot of bones! There were bones all over the plain—dry bones, bleached by the sun. He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Master God, only you know that.” 4 He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones: ‘Dry bones, listen to the Message of God!’” 5-6 God, the Master, told the dry bones, “Watch this: I’m bringing the breath of life to you and you’ll come to life. I’ll attach sinews to you, put meat on your bones, cover you with skin, and breathe life into you. You’ll come alive and you’ll realize that I am God!” 7-8 I prophesied just as I’d been commanded. As I prophesied, there was a sound and, oh, rustling! The bones moved and came together, bone to bone. I kept watching. Sinews formed, then muscles on the bones, then skin stretched over them. But they had no breath in them. 9 He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man. Tell the breath, ‘God, the Master, says, Come from the four winds. Come, breath. Breathe on these slain bodies. Breathe life!’” 10 So I prophesied, just as he commanded me. The breath entered them and they came alive! They stood up on their feet, a huge army. 11 Then God said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Listen to what they’re saying: ‘Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone, there’s nothing left of us.’

Romans 11 Modern English Version

The Restoration of Israel

25 For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, lest you be wise in your own estimation, for a partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

“The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will remove ungodliness from Jacob”; 27 “for this is My covenant with them, when I shall take away their sins.

This last sentence is a quotation from Isaiah 59:20-21 and Jeremiah 31:31-34

Joel 2 more rain is coming

23 Ye also, sons of Zion, be glad and rejoice in the LORD your God for he has given you the former rain according to righteousness, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain as in the beginning.

24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.

25 And I will restore to you the years that the caterpillar has eaten, the locust, and the cankerworm, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.

26 And ye shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God that has dealt wondrously with you; and my people shall never again be ashamed.

27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel and that I am the LORD your God, and there is none other; and my people shall never be ashamed.

28 And it shall come to pass after this that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

29 and even upon the slaves and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

30 And I will show wonders in the heaven and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

31 The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and the terrible day of the LORD comes.