Jesus spoke in Matthew chapter 7:
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into Heaven’s kingdom. It is only those who persist in doing the will of My Heavenly Father. 22 On the day of judgment many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, don’t You remember us? Didn’t we prophesy in your name? Didn’t we cast out demons and do many miracles in Your name?’ 23 But I will have to say to them, ‘Go away from Me, you lawless rebels! I’ve never been joined to you!’
24 “Everyone who hears my teaching and applies it to his life can be compared to a wise man who built his house on an unshakable foundation. 25 When the rains fell and the flood came, with fierce winds beating upon his house, it stood firm because of its strong foundation.
26 “But everyone who hears My teaching and does not apply it to his life can be compared to a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 When it rained and rained and the flood came, with wind and waves beating upon his house, it collapsed and was swept away.”
28 By the time Jesus finished speaking, the crowds were awestruck by His teaching, 29 because His Words carried such great authority, quite unlike the religious scholars.
Jesus taught from an inner knowledge of God and his Word, for His teaching emphasized obedience to God from the heart, not just outwardly keeping laws. If we don’t deal with the inward man, we will not be “joined” with Jesus. You can invoke the Law and produce results, yet if you don’t do it with Agape Love as your motivation, you have not embraced the teachings of Jesus.
The scribes and the Pharisees had no power behind their words for they were “religious” in their teachings. Wisdom wrote in Proverbs chapter 25:
14 Clouds that carry no water
and a wind that brings no refreshing rain—
that’s what you’re like when you boast
of a gift that you don’t have.
When there is no Kingdom power and authority demonstrated, the religious scholars were like clouds without rain.
Peter recorded by The Holy Spirit in 2nd Peter chapter 2:
15 They have wandered off the main road and have gone astray, because they are prophets who love profit—the wages they earn by wrongdoing. They are following the example of Balaam, son of Beor, 16 who was rebuked for evil by a donkey incapable of speech yet that spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.
17 These people are dried-up riverbeds, waterless clouds pushed along by stormy winds—the deepest darkness of gloom has been prepared for them. 18 They spout off with their grandiose, impressive nonsense. Consumed with the lusts of the flesh, they lure back into sin those who recently escaped from their error. 19 They promise others freedom, yet they themselves are slaves to corruption, for people are slaves to whatever overcomes them.
We must be careful to separate ourselves from the false prophets whose fruit turns out to be grandiose, impressive nonsense. We do not want to be overcome by their slavery brought on by their error. When we are empty and false, we too are clouds without rain.
The symbols of clouds, wind, and rain are significant. Clouds are often a metaphor for the people of God filled with glory. Wind is an emblem of the Holy Spirit bringing new life. Rain often points to teaching the revelation-Truths that refresh and water the seeds of spiritual growth.
It is recorded by The Holy Spirit in Isaiah chapter 55:
10 “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from Heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
11 So shall My Word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
God’s anointed people are to be clouds carried by the wind of the Holy Spirit that bring refreshing truths to his people.
And Jude expressed by THE SPIRIT:
12 False teachers are like dangerous hidden reefs at your love feasts, lying in wait to shipwreck the immature. They feast among you without reverence, having no shepherd but themselves. They are clouds with no rain, swept along by the winds. Like fruitless late-autumn trees—twice dead, barren, and plucked up by the roots!
Clouds without rain are fruitless and we are called to be fruit inspectors, especially when it concerns prophecies.