Steven Furtick - I've Always Wanted To Be a Weatherman
I always wanted to be a weatherman. Let's just play with it for a minute, because since I was a little boy I've wanted to do this. The rain doesn't start off in the sky, does it? The rain starts out on the ground, and then the sun comes. When it gets hot enough, it causes the water on the ground to evaporate. How am I doing so far? This is my first time in meteorology. I'm not even a very good theologian, and now I'm trying to put theology and meteorology together. So y'all pray for me, but it's revival. I figured I might as well try this. When the sun gets hot enough and the water on the ground begins to evaporate, it turns into a vaporous gas, which is lighter than the air so it can rise up into the sky.
When I was thinking about God saying that his word is going to be like the rain that falls from heaven, I started thinking about how many of us, if we hear that, we will wait to receive a blessing from God, but that's not quite how the rhythm of rain operates. The rhythm of the rain is not that it falls down out of the sky magically. The rhythm of the rain is that the sun heats up enough that, eventually, what was on the ground starts to rise. I feel something heating up in our church tonight. I feel something heating up at Code Orange Revival. I feel like something is starting to rise from the ground and change form and lift to the skies. When the rain changes forms from liquid to gas to rise up, those little droplets of rain begin to get together. This is a process known as condensation. It is the opposite of evaporation. Condensation is when the gaseous rain, which is now the vapor, turns back into water, like these little drops.
Now here's what's happening when those gaseous vapors get to a certain place in the sky. They get cold enough that they can turn back into water again, but they're just little tiny drops. However, if enough little tiny drops get together up there in the sky, they form a cloud. If enough of those tiny little drops collide together and bump into one another and stick together it forms a cloud, and if the cloud gets heavy enough it bursts in the sky, and when it bursts in the sky the rain waters the earth, and when the rain waters the earth it buds and flourishes and brings forth. God said in this revival it's not going to be about rain coming down from the sky; it's going to be about praise rising up from the church. If I can get enough drops of rain… So it's release, receive, respond, repeat.
Now here's where that takes faith. Will you release praise before you see the promise come to pass? Will you release a praise today from your heart, from your soul, even though you feel like your life is out of step? God brought you to revival to get you in a rhythm, and if you will release… Some of you cannot receive what God has for you until you release what he is trying to take away from you. Release that heavy burden of shame, that cycle of shame, that rhythm of shame and sin, that rhythm of failure and disappointment and discouragement. Release the disappointment of the last thing that died in your life. For I see a cloud the size of a man's hand starting to swell.
If you will release a praise, you can receive the rain, and the trees of the field will clap their hands. If you can get in rhythm with what God is doing this week… Your life has been struggling because you've been out of rhythm. You've been out of step. Your life is dry because you've been out of rhythm. You've been out of step. But if you can get in the rhythm this week, you can receive the rain. "As the rains fall from the heaven and water the earth, so shall my word be that proceeds from my mouth. It will do what I sent it to do, and when it does, you will go forth with singing and the trees of the field will clap their hands". What does that mean? That means when I release from within, God will revive. When I release what's within me, God will revive what's around me. And the trees of the field will clap their hands.
Release, receive, respond, repeat. That's how we're going to see revival in our lives this week. In fact, let's go ahead and release a praise right now for all God is going to speak, for all he's going to do. Come on, put your notebook down and just begin to fill this place with praise. We worship you, Father. We glorify your name, Jesus. We honor you, Holy Spirit. Release a grateful praise. Don't be embarrassed about it. Do it like your favorite team just won. Do it like something good happened to your kid. Do it like God is alive and on the throne and anything is possible. Release it! The sun is rising over this church. It's revival time. Release a praise to the heavens. Release, receive, respond, repeat. Release, receive, respond, repeat. Release, receive, respond, repeat. This is the rhythm of revival. The rain is falling even now.