The Rain from God

Written by: John Sernaque

Call to Worship

Deuteronomy 28: 12-14

28:12 The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.

28:13 And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do [them]:

28:14 And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, [to] the right hand, or [to] the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

28:15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee.

Still the great leader was filled with fear that the people would depart from God. In a sublime and thrilling address, he set before them the blessings that would be theirs on condition of obedience, and the curses that would follow upon transgression: {PP 466.1}

That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your corn, and your wine, and your oil. The ancient and honorable He is the head; and the prophet that teaches lies, he is the tail. You shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God has commanded you: you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and you turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them. If you will not hear, and if you will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, says the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yes, I have cursed them already, because you do not lay it to heart. And all these blessings shall come on you, and overtake you, if you shall not hearken unto the voice of the LORD your God.

The Lord wants nothing more than to shower us with His blessings. However, there is a condition, and that is obedience. We cannot follow mammon or do as we will. It is God’s Word that we are to abide by and lead others in the same path. Not to the left or to the right but on the strait path that leads to God’s Heavenly kingdom. Do not make the things of this world your idol, for that path is broad and leads to curses and destruction. Hearken unto the commandments of God and receive the blessings He has set before us. Not our will but led Thy will be done.

Our Father, which art in heaven,

We come to You this day in thanksgiving, praise, and prayer. You have set before us all Your blessings and promises on the condition that we obey Your Word. We want to do what is right, and favorable, and well pleasing in Your sight. We pray You give us the rain of your land in Your due season, the first rain and the latter rain. We thank You for opening unto us Your good treasure, and the heaven to give the rain unto us, and to bless all the work of our hands. We pray that You will pour out Your Holy Spirit upon us to give us power to continue in Your Word and not the ways of man. We pray for Your help to not go to the left or to the right but on the strait path that leads to Your Heavenly kingdom. Speak to us, dear Lord, lead us and guide us that we may follow wherever You lead. Anoint us with Your heavenly oil, let our cup run over unto those who do not see their need of a Savior. Make us the head and not the tail. We pray for all Your children to hearken unto Your voice, take Your Word to heart and rid themselves of all the idols of this world and receive the blessings You have set before us. We are sorry and humbly repent of all our sins and pray that You will forgive us of our sins, that we may be washed clean in the blood of Christ and cleansed from all unrighteousness. Continue to be with us and do not let go of us as we will not let go of You. We thank You for all You have done for us, continue to do and will do, and we thank You in advance for all the blessings You have in store for us. We pray we may honor and glorify Your name and let not our will but led Thy will be done. We thank You and praise You for hearing and answering our prayers, in the name of Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen.