THE RAIN IS COMING

THE RAIN IS COMING

Our weekly Sermon Recap is designed to help you build on the Sunday morning sermon. Each session includes thought-provoking questions, personal reflections, and daily scriptures for practical application in your life.  

It's all too easy to let the lessons from Sunday slip away as the week goes on. This study is a valuable tool to ensure you carry the message with you, integrating it into your daily routine and keeping the teachings alive throughout the week.  
Join us in turning Sunday's inspiration into a daily journey of growth and reflection.


In this week's message, "THE RAIN IS COMING," we explored what it means to keep our hearts set on God while navigating life's driest and most difficult seasons. Across empires and centuries, world systems have tried and failed to stop the advancement of the Gospel. Yet as individuals, we often find ourselves stuck in the "Valley of Baca"—a place of weeping, weariness, emotional drainage, and spiritual warfare.
The core truth of Sunday’s message is simple but transformative: The valley is a place you pass through, not your final destination. God doesn't leave us stranded in barren places; He uses seasons of pressing to prepare the soil of our hearts, allure us into greater intimacy, and awaken our hunger for Him. When we set our souls on pilgrimage, worship in the midst of trouble, and dig wells in dry places, God turns our brokenness into springs of refreshing. The former and latter rains are coming—Jesus is our well, and out of our hearts will flow rivers of living water.

Scriptures from the Sermon

Psalm 84:5–7 (NKJV / NLT)

"Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a spring; the rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion."

Hosea 2:14–15 (NKJV)

"Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her. I will give her her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope..."

Joel 2:23 & Hosea 6:3 (NKJV)

"Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God; for He has given you the former rain faithfully, and He will cause the rain to come down for you—the former rain, and the latter rain..."

"Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord... He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth."

John 4:13–14 & John 7:37–38 (NKJV)

"...whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

"If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me... out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."

Personal Reflection

Where is your heart currently anchored?

• Are you placing your ultimate hope in external circumstances—like elections, career stability, or earthly comfort—or in the unchanging power of Jesus Christ?

Identifying Your Valley:

• Are you currently walking through a "Valley of Baca" (a season of weary emotions, waiting, or spiritual warfare)? Have you unintentionally "built a house" there and accepted dryness as your new normal, instead of remembering that you are just passing through?

Soil Inspection:

• Could the dryness or friction you are experiencing be God’s way of exposing areas in your heart that need to be surrendered, softened, or cleansed before He pours out fresh rain?

The Power of Praise:

• Has weariness or disappointment silenced your worship recently? How can you begin praising God for who He is, even before you see the physical circumstances change?

Practical Application (How Do I Apply This?)

Here is how you can put Sunday's message into action throughout your daily routine:

• Trim Your Lamp Daily: Set aside dedicated, unhurried time every morning for prayer, repentance, and reading the Scriptures. You cannot praise or trust a God you do not intimately know through His Word.

• Turn Weeping into Wells: Whenever feelings of depression, anxiety, or emotional fatigue hit this week, immediately use that moment as a trigger to worship. Put on praise music, speak Scripture aloud, and build a "spring" right in the middle of your dry place.

• Practice Wholehearted Consecration: Identify one distraction or habit that has dimmed your spiritual hunger. Intentionally fast from it this week to cultivate greater expectancy and readiness for Holy Spirit's movement in your life.

• Guard Your Perspective: When wrestling between what God has promised and what your eyes currently see, declare aloud: "This valley is NOT my destination; I am walking from strength to strength!"

Sharing the Message with Unsaved Friends & Family

The world is full of people walking through their own valleys of weeping, desperately looking for hope. Here are practical ways to leverage this sermon's truth to share your faith:

• Show Joy in the Dry Places: Unsaved family and friends notice how you respond to hardship. Moping around in a valley looks no different than the rest of the world. But when you exhibit genuine faith, peace, and joy in the middle of a trial, it becomes a powerful witness that draws them to Jesus.

• Offer to Pray for Their "Valleys": Ask a struggling coworker or family member: "I know things have been really heavy for you lately. Can I pray for you right now?" Simple, genuine prayer opens doors for God’s presence to touch them.

• Share Your "Before and After" Story: Tell someone how God turned a broken, dry season in your past into a place of hope and refreshing. Testify that Jesus is the only water that permanently satisfies soul-thirst.

• Extend an Invitation: Invite a friend who is feeling dry, burnt out, or overwhelmed to come to church with you next Sunday, introducing them to the place where living water flows.

Final Recap

The Gospel cannot be stopped, and neither can God's plan for your life. Do not let current warfare, weariness, or dryness steal your expectancy. The God who brought you into the valley is the exact same God who is bringing the rain. Stop living in Baca; lift your eyes, dig your wells, trim your lamps, and draw water with joy from the wells of salvation!

Closing Prayer

Thank You Father that my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ. Forgive me for the times I have allowed weariness, trouble, or world events to dim my spiritual hunger and silence my praise.

Lord, I declare today that I am only passing through this valley—it is not my final destination. I set my heart on pilgrimage toward You. Soften the soil of my heart, wash away all dryness, and fill me afresh with the Holy Spirit. Open my eyes to see the doors of hope You are placing in dry places, and grant me the grace to praise You even in the wilderness.

In Jesus' powerful and holy name,

Amen.