Rain in Due Season

Contents

Introduction

Acknowledgements

Chapter One:

To Be Blessed with a Blessing

Chapter Two:

The Call to Holiness–

Are you walking in the Spirit?

Chapter Three:

Called Alone

Chapter Four:

Press through Opposition! Get to your Miracle!

Chapter Five:

Endless Praise

Chapter Six:

I will not believe the Enemy’s lies: Take another Look

Chapter Seven:

Shake Loose the Infirmities: Thou art Loosed from the Hindering Syndromes

About The Author

This book is dedicated to my family: the Sawyers,

the Pucketts/Purketts, the Hathaways,

and the Blounts.

To my church family, Plain Truth Ministries, and my friends everywhere.

To the church families of Saint Paul U.M.C., Saint Peter U.M.C., Rockspring U.M.C., Providence Baptist, St. Matthew U.M.C., St. Mark U.M.C., BibleWay Temple, Nicey Grove Baptist, Meredith Temple COGIC, the True COGIC, Greater Emmanuel Pentecostal Temple, the COGIC, and to God’s people everywhere-Grace and Peace!

Special Dedication

To our loved ones who have gone on before: Elder Johnny and Mrs. Martha Sawyer, Mr. William and Mrs. Martha Hathaway, Uncle Thomas Sawyer, Bishop Herbert Purkett, all of my grandparents’ parents and siblings, Wallace Hathaway, Devora Cox, Blennie Blount, Claude Sawyer, Faye Sawyer, Matilda Jones, Samuel Sawyer, Elder Johnny B. Sawyer, Geneva Sawyer, Bishop William Hathaway, Arynethe Rountree, Mr. Luke and Mrs. Daisy C. Alexander, Vernon Blount; Kip Reddick; our brothers and sisters in the Lord: Elder Johnny McCoy, Voice Henigan, Evangelist William Powell, Mr. and Mrs. Patrick and Louise Dempsey, Maxine Nicholson, LaVonia Brace; our friends: Mr. Arthur Brewer, Mrs. Genora Spears, Mr. Ed and Mrs. Emma Hayes, Mr. Luther and Mrs. Judith Belton, Mr. Leroy Williams, Mr. Willie Williams, Mrs. Ann Franks, Mrs. Rena Hayes and so many others, too numerous to name.

And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments, which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul…That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain…

Deuteronomy 11:13-14

"If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;

Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit."

Leviticus 26: 3-4

Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord. His going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.

Hosea 6:3

Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.

Zechariah 10:1

And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Galatians 6:9

Introduction

Throughout the institutionalized church, a spirit likened to that of Athaliah is attempting to annihilate the people of God-His royal seed. Ultimately, he wants to destroy your praises, your relationship and reconciliation to God. But when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah. (II Chronicles 22:10-12) (I Peter 2:9) In the Old Testament, Athaliah had all of the children of the king assassinated. Jehoshabeath and the wife of Jehoiada saved Joash, the rightful heir to the throne. They hid him in the Lord’s house from the treacherous Athaliah. In spite of the enemy’s tactics, Joash gained his rightful inheritance.

Don’t you know the enemy wants to destroy God’s royal seed? But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. (I Peter 2:9) The enemy is throwing many darts. He wants to kill you before you walk into the fullness of God. Also, the enemy desires to destroy the gift God has given you. Therefore, he tries to set up traps, pitfalls, and many cunning devices to delay and ultimately destroy God’s people. Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. (II Corinthians 2: 11)

Furthermore, the devil attempts to destroy God’s people by deceiving them into believing there is an alternate route to Jesus other than obedience and holiness. But we have the victory anyhow! For the Lord has provided a hiding place not only for Joash but also for His people. This hiding place will nurture you and raise you up as the Lord’s spiritual Joash. As the Lord’s spiritual Joash, you will accomplish the following: 1) you will reign in God’s kingdom; 2) turn His people to Him from a backsliding state; 3) repair the Lord’s house from spiritual depravation; and 4) spiritually set the house of God in its proper spiritual state and strengthen it. So the workmen wrought, and the work was perfected by them, and they set the house of God in his state, and strengthened it. (II Chronicles 24: 13) And it came to pass after this, that Joash was minded to repair the house of the Lord. (II Chronicles 24:4; II Kings 11:1, 3, and II Kings 12) God wants a spiritual strengthening to occur among His people. Moreover, He wants to repair your spiritual house so that your body may be the temple of the Lord. (II Chronicles 24: 4 and 13)

Ultimately, God wants to use obedient people that will fulfill His purpose. When you are obedient to God, you need not fear of His promises not coming to pass. If you continue in the Lord’s way, He will send rain in due season!

Acknowledgements

I give my sincere appreciation to my friends and family, especially my parents, Elder and Mrs. Sawyer. I thank God for you because you taught me His statutes precept by precept and line by line. (Isaiah 28: 13) You will never know how much you have poured into my spirit knowledge and understanding through your lifestyles, teachings, exhortations, and corrections! In Jeremiah 3: 15, it reads: And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. Thank you for imparting knowledge and understanding! Thank you for showing and directing me to Him!

Moreover, many thanks to my faithful family, friends and proofreaders: my sisters, Yolanda, Amanda, and Sybil; my father and mother, Elder and Mrs. Sawyer; D. Johnson, B. Rogers, Rev. S. Wingate, D. Delsol, L. Hackney, S. Smith, J. Smith, P. Smith, R. Boatright, P. Cobb, C. Henderson, and S. Gaillard. Special thanks to Clifton and Tawana Tobias for the beautiful cover.

Chapter One:

To Be Blessed with a Blessing

Have you ever wondered how you can unlock the doors to God’s abundant blessings? The pathway to happiness, joy, and abundance in life are only through the door of obedience. Repentance, justification, sanctification are the keys that open the door of obedience to God’s abundant blessings. …I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him… (Deuteronomy 30: 19-20) In other words, your success is linked with your spiritual well being. (Payne, 1985) Moreover, your response to God affects your altitude in prosperity-spiritual and natural.

A spirit of deception has crept into the church; and it has caused people to believe that there is an alternate route to Jesus Christ other than obedience. The key to success in God is not in positions or genealogy. The key to prosperity in God is in obedience to His Word. In Deuteronomy 28:1, God bids His people, the Israelites to hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: If you obey diligently, God will set you above all people. In Deuteronomy 11: 1, the Lord charges his people to love the Lord thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, always. Perpetually, God is calling for a lifestyle of obedience from His people all the time. God’s Word cannot be ignored; in I Peter 1:25, Peter writes But the Word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. His Word is settled forever and ever in heaven. Man must transform his ways to meet God’s Word; God will not make a deal or bargain with you, because His Word is settled forever in heaven.

Invariably, God wants His people to hear His Word. In Mark 12:29, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord. Proverbs 8:32-33 states: Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction, and be Wise, and refuse it not. God requires us to diligently and faithfully work, or take great effort and care, toward following Him fully. Proverbs 16:3 tells us to: Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established. When we walk in Him and do His Will, our thought patterns become anew in Christ Jesus. To be diligent with God’s Word takes commitment, for God wants our whole being. Mark 13:30 states: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. With urgency, you must be in a press to obey God. Diligence requires perseverance and commitment. Apostle Paul writes, I press toward the mark for the prize of to the high calling of God in Christ Jesus! (Philippians 3: 14) You must continue in obedience until you obtain results: your miracles! In the Old Testament, King Uzziah did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. More importantly, King Uzziah sought God and the Lord made him to prosper. And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper. (II Chronicles 26: 5) King Uzziah diligently sought the ways of the Lord through God’s servant Zechariah. In other words, King Uzziah ran or chased after God’s way. As a result, God blessed him and gave him victory over his enemies. God will do the same for you! But you must seek him through studying the Word and by the directions of divine leadership. Are you diligently seeking the Lord? Chase the anointing! Are you following after Christ? Are you continuing to follow after Christ? Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. (I Corinthians 11:1)

Emphatically, God instructed Joshua to tell the people to never let the Word depart…mediate therein day and night …then you will be prosperous and have good success. (Joshua 1:8) In Deuteronomy 11: 13-14, God promises to give His people the rain of your land in his due season, the first and the latter rain… In His own time, you will reap the promises that God has for you, if you continue to walk in obedience. Not under any circumstances can you deter from God’s command. You must live out the life of Christ within you. (I John 4:17) For example, JoAnn is a young lady that desires to be married. For years, she has remained celibate. She has become angry because she has observed other women in her church that have gotten married. She knows all the women personally. Before they were married, they did not maintain a virtuous relationship. JoAnn now listens to the enemy that tells her to compromise her standards to get a husband, boyfriend, or just a date! Sin is not as bad as you think it is! Everybody else is doing it and getting away with it. Why do you have to be so holy? Everybody makes mistakes. It is God’s grace and mercy that makes the world go round! She ponders over giving up her celibacy; participating in intimate acts. Why not try? What do you have to lose? But you can not be deterred from God’s commands. Do not even think that you are exempt from God’s commandments. Be not entangled in the yoke of bondage! Don’t give up your birthright! Unfortunately, this happened to the very same King Uzziah! Continue in obedience and you will reap in due season. When you are obedient, you are as a sweet savour to God. (II Corinthians 2: 15) When you are saved, you are a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God. Only at this point, you can open the door to God to supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4: 18-19) I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. (Jeremiah 17: 10) My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. (I John 3: 18, 19, 22-23) God keeps His promises; He is not a man that would lie. If He said it, it shall be done!

God’s Formula to Prosperity

Cleaving to the Word + Thinking on the Word + Obedience = Prosperity

In II Kings 18: 6-7, the Lord prospered King Hezekiah because he cleaved unto Him. King Hezekiah walked in righteousness and led Israel to spiritual reforms. For he clave to the Lord, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses. And the Lord was with him: and he prospered whitheresoever he went forth… (II Kings 18: 6-7) Prosperity can be God’s favor, spiritually or naturally. By any means, I am not inferring that if you are not affluent, God does not love you. This is another misconception that has crept into the church that your bank accounts reflect God’s approval. Not necessarily so! Pervese disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. (I Timothy 6: 5-8)

When you cleave to Jesus, you hold onto Him, because He is endearing to you! Cleaving to Jesus, reflects your faithfulness to Him (Acts 11: 23)! In other words, you are stuck on God! Have you truly considered what you are stuck to? Are you clinging to Christ? Are you clinging to truth or your own ways? As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? (Psalm 42: 1-2) How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. (Psalm 84: 1-2) In other words, without God, I wander aimlessly. The prophet Isaiah writes: He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil. He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. (Isaiah 33: 15-16)

Purpose in Your Heart!

In these times, be like Daniel, who purposed in his heart that even in the midst of his exile from his home, he would remain faithful to God. Daniel refused to be defiled either by the heathen or by his oppressor King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. (Daniel 1:8) In Acts 11: 23, it states, Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. Brothers and sisters, purpose in your heart to obey God and to be holy in spite of the devil’s temporal oppression. Have a made up mind! Cleave unto the Lord in the midst of peace and controversy! Continue in obedience to God even when you do not see results. When you purpose in your heart to follow holiness, you can remain steadfast even in the midst of wickedness. A determination comes out of the believer to walk in righteousness no matter the trials or circumstances. For example, Tiffany works at a large company. Everyday her boss, who is married, makes improper advances towards her. Tiffany is lonely. Does she succumb to his advances? Or does she continue to walk in integrity?

True evidence for loving God is seen through obedience, for Jesus said, If ye love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15) In the book of John 14:23, Jesus said, If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him. Obedience brings communion and fellowship with God. Obedience is the sweet savor that makes and beckons Christ to make an abode with you. God wants to dwell in, with, and all around you. He wants a permanent embrace. He wants His Word to become real within you. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (Ezekiel 37: 27) From the depths of your soul, God wants obedience and holiness to come forth. Are you willing to obey God even when it hurts? To illustrate, Anna dated Davon for six years. However, Davon married someone else. Several months later he is calling Anna again. I know this has been true for me; the man I believed that I was going to marry always married someone else. What does Anna do? Will she disassociate herself with Davon? Should she activate her call block? Change her number? What price are you willing to pay to maintain your integrity in God?

Furthermore, obedience is the true and only evidence that you know Christ. Church