What Does National Repentance Look Like (Jonah 3:1-10)

For some time I have been personally praying for there to be a Third Great Awakening in America. Today I am going to give you seven principles that lead to a Great Awakening. They are not original with me. The come straight out of Jonah 3. 

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was [a]an exceedingly great city, a three days’ walk. 4 Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”
5 Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. 6 When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth and sat on the [b]ashes. 7 He issued a proclamation and it said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water. 8 But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let [c]men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in[d]his hands. 9 Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish.”
10 When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would [e]bring upon them. And He did not do it.

Principle # 1 Obedience gives a righteous person’s message power.

Here is the picture: Jonah is laying soaking wet and sick on a beach a long way from Nineveh. God comes to Jonah a second time and says, Jonah go over to Nineveh and tell them what I am going to tell you to say.

So Jonah got up and traveled a long ways to get to Nineveh. The Bible records that it was a 3 day walk across the city. Jonah only walked one day into the city. He stood up in various places as he walked that one day and yelled out message of God. 

Principle # 2 A message proclaimed as God gives it is simple and compelling.

He said that in 40 days that Nineveh would be overthrown. This is a simple message. It is like what you would hear at a sports or political rally. (e.g. Four more years …) The Message says it really well: In 40 days Nineveh will be smashed. (Sounds a little like a football coaches last words to his team before the game.)

Principle # 3 When people hear a true message from God they respond.

Get this picture: Here he was a bedraggled, wild looking, smelly foreign man whom they hated telling them the message that God was about to destroy them in 40 days. But with the multiple times of telling on his one day journey the word got around. They simply believed this simple easy to remember warning. They believed that Jonah was indeed talking for God.

Principle # 4 When the majority of the people in a nation speaks and acts on something, leadership follows.

Look at what happened next. The PEOPLE called a fast and they put on sackcloth. (Sackcloth is like burlap.) EVERYONE from the lowest beggar to the most prosperous merchant started a fast and put on sackcloth.

Leadership did indeed listen. When the king heard about what was happening he understood that this fasting uprising was a real desire for the people. When the king heard the message for himself he got his nobles together and drafted a proclamation. He and his nobles saw this as a real emergency. The king then got up off his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth and sat in ashes.

He then had a proclamation read as law to all the inhabitants of the city and the nation to do the following things:

● You are not to taste a thing.
● You are not to eat or drink.
● You will make sure that you and any animal in your household does not eat or drink and has sackcloth on. Yes even the animals.
● Everyone is to pray earnestly (a highly focused prayer to God over a protracted period of time).
● Everyone is to be on your face before God.
● Every one of you is to repent of your wicked ways and stop being violent.

Principle # 5 Repentance from wicked ways is paramount for salvation.

The king ends his decree with the idea that if we turn and repent maybe God will withdraw His fiery anger at us. 

Principle # 6 Ceasing all forms of violent acts is a prerequisite for forgiveness. 

The king also talked about their habit of solving everything with violence. He tells them to stop them because it might lead to God not punishing them. At this time in Nineveh the littlest slight would get you beat up. The word for violence has more than just physical violence in mind. It refers to violence in all its forms. Here are a few:

He says that we should stop our physical violence. This is when one person injures or kills another person for a real or imagined thing that they didn’t like. This is usually based on personal preference.

It is also talking about verbal violence. This is when with words a person is injured on purpose for the littlest little thing.

It also refers to emotional violence. This is when a person damages another person by actions or words so that they feel they are less of a person. They are God’s creation so let God judge them.

Another violent act is absentee violence. This happens when someone criticizes a leader or another person when they aren’t there. The purpose is to cause them be diminished in front of others.

One more act of violence is creative violence. This is when people plot together to demoralize, demonize, debilitate or defeat another person with their collusion.

Principle # 7 God changes His mind about when He sees genuine repentance and a changed lifestyle. (righteousness)

When God sees national leaders leading in repentance He pays attention. When the leaders and the people turn form their wicked and violent ways God relents.

Today I would like to suggest that instead of criticizing or critiquing leaders or anyone pray for them instead.

Let God do the judging and you pray with desperation on your face before Him about all that you see that hurts the heart of God.

The only way to overcome national shame is national repentance.

Would you purpose in your heart today to pray deeply for the longest time you have ever prayed for there to be a Great Awakening in America? We need it desperately.

What Does National Repentance Look Like (Jonah 3:1-10)

For some time I have been personally praying for there to be a Third Great Awakening in America. Today I am going to give you seven principles that lead to a Great Awakening. They are not original with me. The come straight out of Jonah 3. 

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was [a]an exceedingly great city, a three days’ walk. 4 Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”

5 Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. 6 When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth and sat on the [b]ashes. 7 He issued a proclamation and it said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water. 8 But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let [c]men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in[d]his hands. 9 Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish.”

10 When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would [e]bring upon them. And He did not do it.

Principle # 1  Obedience gives a righteous person’s message power.

Here is the picture: Jonah is laying soaking wet and sick on a beach a long way from Nineveh. God comes to Jonah a second time and says, Jonah go over to Nineveh and tell them what I am going to tell you to say.

So Jonah got up and traveled a long ways to get to Nineveh. The Bible records that it was a 3 day walk across the city. Jonah only walked one day into the city. He stood up in various places as he walked that one day and yelled out message of God. 

Principle # 2  A message proclaimed as God gives it is simple and compelling.

He said that in 40 days that Nineveh would be overthrown. This is a simple message. It is like what you would hear at a sports or political rally. (e.g. Four more years …) The Message says it really well: In 40 days Nineveh will be smashed. (Sounds a little like a football coaches last words to his team before the game.)

Principle # 3  When people hear a true message from God they respond.

Get this picture: Here he was a bedraggled, wild looking, smelly foreign man whom they hated telling them the message that God was about to destroy them in 40 days. But with the multiple times of telling on his one day journey the word got around. They simply believed this simple easy to remember warning. They believed that Jonah was indeed talking for God.

Principle # 4 When the majority of the people in a nation speaks and acts on something, leadership follows.

Look at what happened next. The PEOPLE called a fast and they put on sackcloth. (Sackcloth is like burlap.) EVERYONE from the lowest beggar to the most prosperous merchant started a fast and put on sackcloth.

Leadership did indeed listen. When the king heard about what was happening he understood that this fasting uprising was a real desire for the people. When the king heard the message for himself he got his nobles together and drafted a proclamation. He and his nobles saw this as a real emergency. The king then got up off his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth and sat in ashes.

He then had a proclamation read as law to all the inhabitants of the city and the nation to do the following things:

     ● You are not to taste a thing.
     ● You are not to eat or drink.
     ● You will make sure that you and any animal in your household does not eat or drink and has sackcloth on. Yes   

        even the animals.

     ● Everyone is to pray earnestly (a highly focused prayer to God over a protracted period of time).
     ● Everyone is to be on your face before God.
     ● Every one of you is to repent of your wicked ways and stop being violent.

Principle # 5 Repentance from wicked ways is paramount for salvation.

The king ends his decree with the idea that if we turn and repent maybe God will withdraw His fiery anger at us. 

Principle # 6  Ceasing all forms of violent acts is a prerequisite for forgiveness. 

The king also talked about their habit of solving everything with violence. He tells them to stop them because it might lead to God not punishing them. At this time in Nineveh the littlest slight would get you beat up. The word for violence has more than just physical violence in mind. It refers to violence in all its forms. Here are a few:

He says that we should stop our physical violence. This is when one person injures or kills another person for a real or imagined thing that they didn’t like. This is usually based on personal preference.

It is also talking about verbal violence. This is when with words a person is injured on purpose for the littlest little thing.

It also refers to emotional violence. This is when a person damages another person by actions or words so that they feel they are less of a person. They are God’s creation so let God judge them.

Another violent act is absentee violence. This happens when someone criticizes a leader or another person when they aren’t there. The purpose is to cause them be diminished in front of others.

One more act of violence is creative violence. This is when people plot together to demoralize, demonize, debilitate or defeat another person with their collusion.

Principle # 7  God changes His mind about when He sees genuine repentance and a changed lifestyle. (righteousness)

When God sees national leaders leading in repentance He pays attention. When the leaders and the people turn form their wicked and violent ways God relents.

Today I would like to suggest that instead of criticizing or critiquing leaders or anyone pray for them instead.

Let God do the judging and you pray with desperation on your face before Him about all that you see that hurts the heart of God.

The only way to overcome national shame is national repentance.

Would you purpose in your heart today to pray deeply for the longest time you have ever prayed for there to be a Great Awakening in America? We need it desperately.

For a couple of years I have been asking the Father to teach me how to be intimate with Him. In the pursuit of it, I read a few books and all the articles I could find that were sane on the internet about it. Yet when I finished, my soul was still fairly dry. I was with God but not in a relationship that I felt was intimate.

I spent hours sometimes trying to get there with partial success.

I tried several techniques some authors suggested with limited success.

I told the Father I wanted to be intimate and He said come on. He even gave me a few clues along the way.

But with all the gyrations and exercises that were done, none led me to the feet of My Father. That is until today. Today I was reading Psalm 63 and the Father spoke to my spirit and said here it is. It is right there in the first verse.

Before I start reading a new Psalm* I research what the background of the Psalm is. Psalm 63 was written on the east side of the Jordan in the wilderness. This land is arid and has very little water. The land was an exact description of how David felt at the moment. (Most of us would say we are dry in spirit much of the time if we are honest.) Here he was with his household, guards and a few loyal court officials fleeing from Jerusalem. Absalom had made himself king by plot and was heading toward Jerusalem take the throne. David decided to leave rather than have an open battle with his son. In this heavy time of defeat in the areas of the physical, spiritual and mental he reached out to God as was his habit. (NOTE: Read that last word again. It is an elementary clue to intimacy.)

Here is a word picture that I want you to get. Picture David getting up before dawn and going off to a place quite some distance from the camp on the rocky plain and into an outcropping of rocks. Here he finds a place behind a pile of stone big enough for him to lay prostrate before the Father. It is here and in this position that he pours out the words of the first verse. Walk with me through this verse and imitate it in your relationship with God.

♥ “O God, You are my God…” The word here for God is the superlative version of it. It means Almighty God and it is recognition of who he is seeking. Before any intimacy can take place there has to be recognition of how awesome and mighty He is. Then we say that He is our only God. A clue: When anyone wants intimacy with God, they abandon themselves to Him because they know how great He is. You are not your own, you were bought with a price, therefore abandon your dreams, goals, desires to the Father for a far better way of life.

♥ “… I shall seek You earnestly…” The word earnestly has a double meaning. It means both earnestly but also early. Early means at or before dawn. So if intimacy is desired then we have to arise early and deliberately seek Him with everything we have. A clue: To find intimacy we cannot hold anything back.

♥ “My soul thirsts for You…” Thirst is one of the basic human needs, it is also a necessity for us spiritually. When a person thirsts for God, they seek greater knowledge of who He is. A clue: Without knowledge of who He is, we can’t be intimate. So get your salvia running and thirst after God. He will not let you be spiritually thirsty for long.
♥ “…my flesh yearns for You…” The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak is a quote we have all heard. It has some truth to it, but in this case we give that weakness to the Lord and say I am all in here. I am waiting here on the ground with my face on it waiting for you to come and be with me. I am being as humble as I possibly can. I am seeking You and want to come to You and enjoy Your presence. A clue: A person this humble will experience God.

♥ “In a dry and weary land where there is no water.” For David at this moment it is both a physical thirst because there was little water where he was but also a spiritual thirst for more of God in his dry and dirty position. We all live in a dry land spiritually. There are few who earnestly seek the Father to be intimate with Him. Many will discourage intimacy because it is too hard or they are lazy. But those who on a regular basis seek him to be intimate with Him will be given the water of the Spirit that once it is ingested will allow you never to be dry spiritually again. A clue: You won’t be dry ever again because once you experience intimacy with God you will hardly ever want to miss a day without being intimate with Him.

A Thought: Intimacy with God is not easy but when sought early and earnestly it is overwhelmingly worth the effort.

A Question: Are you on your way to intimacy?

But I call to God, and the LORD saves me.

Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.

He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me.

God will hear and answer them – Even the one who sits enthroned forever…

Selah

Psalm 55:16-19a

This Psalm was written on the other side of the Jordan River when David had been betrayed by His son Absalom.  He was fleeing because he did not want to shed the blood of his son and other countrymen.  In this Psalm David has shared his heart with God.  In these three and one-half verses he shares his principles of the sureness of God’s intervention in His life.  Here are those verses in summary form with the principle clearly stated.

Father, here is the first key principle you have shown me about answered prayer: I am confident that I can cry out to You and you will save me.

Father, I have learned another principle and that is that I can call out to you anytime, day or night, and I know that you hear me.

Father, this is the third thing You have taught me about answered prayer: I know that no matter the kind of battle that is being waged against me and there may be many who oppose me that you will rescue me unharmed.

Father, there is one more awesome principle that You have taught me and I know it works.  Here it is: Just as sure as You are on Your throne in heaven, I know that you will hear and answer me.

Principle # 1: I can be confident that when I cry out to God that He will save me!

Principle # 2: I can be sure that no matter when it is that I can call out to You and You will hear me.

Principle # 3: I can stake my life on the fact that You will rescue me from my opponents.

Principle # 4: I can bet the farm on the fact that the Father hears and answers the prayers of those who have great faith.  (This is shown in being sure that He sits on His throne.)

Prayer: Father I am banking all of me on the sureness of these promises.

Final Note: Notice the word SELAH at the end of this section.  It implies a time to stop and reflect, meditate, rest and relax in what has just been said. 

Why not stop right now and have a time of SELAH.

The next day after Jesus had His triumphant entry into Jerusalem and had cleared the temple of those who were gouging the public with their sales and money changing, Jesus was going back to Jerusalem.

He and the disciples had gone to Bethany for the night and on their way back, Jesus got hungry. He saw a fig tree ahead and since it was a public domain type of tree, He thought He would eat a few figs from it.

When they got there were only leaves on the tree. Jesus looked at the big fig tree and said to it that it would no longer be able to bear fruit and it immediately withered. (By saying this Jesus indicated that the tree could still bear fruit by what He said.)

The disciple’s eyes dropped open like they had millstones attached to their eyelids. They said to Jesus, Whoa back up the fig tree destruction a minute and tell us why the tree withered in an instant.

Ok, He said, gather around the base of this tree and let me teach you a lesson about faith.

When they were all seated He told them that it took great faith to do this. Listen carefully, if you have faith and do not doubt you can also do what I have done to the tree. As a matter of belief you can say to a mountain to be removed from where it is and be deposited in a sea.

I am telling you clearly, that whatever you ask for in prayer and believe without doubt you will receive. For this to happen you will need great faith. This is a faith that forsakes all obstacles in God’s way so the prayer can be answered. When this is being done that the Father will answer.
So today, what is your obstacle to receiving answers to prayer?

Do you have a relationship that has gone bad? Then go to the person and apologize, even if they were almost all at fault and then come and bring your prayer to the Father.

Are you sick? Then set aside unhealthy eating practices and begin to exercise as you are able. Then ask the Father for health again.

Do you have a friend, relative or enemy who needs to come to Jesus? Then spend the time with the Father on a protracted basis for days and weeks and months and years until something happens.

Do you have a lousy work situation? Remove all the barriers and obstacles you can and at the same time pray persistently for Him to work.

Finally, the best way to remove barriers is to spend time in fasting and praying before the Lord on your face. When you are fasting ask Almighty God to show you what to do. As you are sacrificing this way your spirit is more open to His voice and purposes for your life.

How to Deal with Sin in the Church – Matthew 18:15-19

Introduction: In this passage of Scripture Jesus gives us seven principles on how to deal with those who sin in the church.  There is one overarching lesson He gives without saying it: Never let the sin go for any reason.  Not political correctness.  Not for fear of being criticized yourself.  Not because you may lose the person to the church. (If they have sin they aren’t really a part of the church – the Body of Christ.)  Not because it takes too much time to do.  Not because you think it will hurt the church to do this.  (How much is the church hurt when there is sin in the church?)

Principle # 1 Go to them one on one and point out their sin.                                                                                                      When you have verifiable sin in the Body of Christ, Jesus says to go to them personally and ask them to repent.  If they do that you have won a brother.  (They can’t be a true brother without living in a repentant state.)

Principle # 2 If they won’t listen, take one or two other with you to point out the sin lovingly.                                 (Jewish law required two or three witnesses to swear to a certain set of statements for a judgment to be levied.)  When you get to the person lay out the need for repentance again.

Principles # 3 If they still won’t repent take it to the Body of Christ.                                                                                                   Let the whole Body of Christ help you lead them with love back to repentance.

Principle # 4  If they still won’t listen to the plea for repentance than the Body should let them go.                              What Jesus told them to do is to treat them like a pagan (they are if they still refuse to repent.) or a tax collector (the most hated people in Jesus day and ours)  This means that they are shut out of the meaningful parts of church life.  An example would be the sacraments.

Principle # 5  Pray                                                                                                                                                            So many places where discipline is meted out stop at the last principle.  Instead Jesus teaches that we should pray.  He teaches us that whatever we bind on earth is bound in heaven.  Also whatever we loose on earth is loosed in heaven.  The teaching is that whenever the Body of Christ prays and prays for the finding of the evil influence in the one who is unrepentant.  He is also teaching that the Body should pray for the loosing of the evil ones influence on them as well.

Principle # 6  Agree                                                                                                                                                                 Jesus next teaches that we should get one or two others to agree us in prayer.  If they agree in prayer about the binding or loosing of the evil in the unrepentant one’s life, Jesus says that it will be done for them by the Father in heaven.

Principle # 7  Gather together                                                                                                                                        Jesus teaches us one last principle for restoring one who is unrepentant.  We are to gather together as the Body for the purpose of praying for the lost one.  Jesus says that if we do this then the Father will be in their midst and that He will act through the power of His Holy Spirit to convict the unrepentant one of their sin.

Point: Following the correct path for restoration of an unrepentant person is the only way to bring them to repentance.  Any other way is humanist and doesn’t work long range.  God’s way is the only one that works.

Today I had a question burst into my brain when I was reading about Elijah on Mt. Carmel after the Lord had defeated the prophets of Baal.

He had just declared to Ahab (the king) that he should go down to his camp at the base of the mountain and to have something to eat and drink because he, Elijah could hear the sound of a heavy storm coming.

We kno

Any thinking believer who is an observer of culture will have to admit that the nation is going in the wrong direction.  In 1 Kings 18:36, 37 we find one of the greatest prayers in the history of faith.  It is here that Elijah is taking on the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah.  They had been shouting and praying and cutting themselves for almost an entire day.  Likely they were exhausted.  When it came near the time for Evening Sacrifice Elijah called the people of Israel to come near to him.  It is important that he did this at this precise time.  The reason is that he was fulfilling the laws concerning sacrifices so that even the non-believing Jews would not ignore or ridicule him over violation of the laws. 

A Thought: Do things properly so that the message is not distorted by sloppy methods.

Here is the prayer:

“O Lord…”  Elijah recognizes that God is the master and that he is the servant who is owned by the master – Yahweh.

“… the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel (Jacob had his name changed by this time).  This is a reminder of all that the Lord had done in the lives of the greats of their faith.  He was reminding them if God can be actively involved in the lives of the greats than He can be actively involved in our lives.

“… today let it be known that You are God in Israel…”  Here is the big idea in his prayer.  He wanted God again to be the spiritual leader of Israel.  He wanted Jehovah to show Himself in such a way that the people would repent.  He wanted national repentance because that was the heart beat of God. 

A thought:  It is still God’s heart beat for national repentance.

“… and that I am Your servant…” This means that He wanted what God wanted.  He was not in charge but was the “servant – one who acts on behalf of another”.  He was saying that I am at His beck and call.

“… and I have done all these things at Your word…”  The prophet is saying that he is not acting in his own power or desire but in the power and desire of Almighty God.

”Answer me, O Lord…”  This is the second request in the prayer.  He wants God to honor His Words that the servant had stated for Him.  It is not so much that Elijah wanted to be rescued but that the Father would show His power to the disobedient people so that He would be honored and praised again.

“… answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord are God…”  Here is the main request again.  Simply stated it is:  O Lord you are our Savior, show Yourself in a way that the people may know that you are God and repent.

“… and that You have turned their heart back again…” Did you notice that he has not asked for himself to be saved?  He never asks for the fire to fall and burn the sacrifice.  He only asks that God reveal Himself in such a way that it will lead to a national repentance.

You know the results:  Fire fell and consumed the bull, water, wood and altar.

        The people shouted and repented that the Lord is God.

        The nation was restored.

We as a nation have been warned that the Lord is not pleased with us.  Now it is time for a prophet led by God Almighty to rise up from the dust heap that we have become and say to country that it needs to repent.

Prayer:  Lord, would you rise up this person and show them what You plan to do.  Would you plan “the” event that will lead to national repentance to that person?  Even so Father would you make it quickly, the mess is getting greater in scope.  In Your Name, i pray.

The Cost of Restoration – Hosea 3

Introduction:  In this chapter Hosea compares his own marriage to the marriage of Israel (any nation) to the harlot known as idolatry (secularism, etc.)

God tells Hosea the following things that will be the cost of seeing the land restored.

First, you are to love her again even though she has lived in adultery.  In fact she has worshipped the idols of the nation and eaten the raisin cakes.  (Raisin cakes were used in temple prostitution.)  This means that she (the nation) has loved the ways of the world and has tasted the fruit of materialism.  She has been drawn to the desire to have more.  (v. 1)  Restoration of a nation will be done by a people who love the nation unconditionally.

Second, you are to redeem her for whatever the price is.  Hosea had to pay 15 shekels (about 6 ounces) in silver and a homer and a half (about 430 pounds) to redeem (pay the price of taking her out of the life of prostitution).  To Hosea this was a heavy price and likely took all that he had to redeem her.  This is the same kind of price that a nation will have to pay for the redemption of the nation.  (v. 2)  Restoration of a nation will exact a heavy price for those wanting to see it restored.

Third, after she has been redeemed Hosea told her that she could not be a harlot anymore and that he would not have sex with her.  After redemption the participants will have to give up the very thing that they love most for a time.  This is fasting.  (v. 3)  Restoration comes when His people give up what they love best by fasting it.

Fourth, when the restoration process is going on, the nation will be without leadership.  (King or prince)  This will be a most difficult time for the nation.  Yet it is necessary.  (v. 4a)  Restoration of a nation comes after a time of leaderlessness because God wants to rise up the leaders.

Fifth, in the restoration process there will be no formal religious things.  (Hosea says there will be no sacrifice or sacred pillar or ephod or household gods.)  In other words all objects of religion will be gone.  This is so that God can start with a fresh slate.  (v. 4b)  Restoration comes with a time of the lack of formalized and centralized religion.   A take on this will be that the house church will become prominent and that there will be limited or no central church structure.  (A prophet friend of mine told me this.)

Sixth, after this time of no national leadership or religious leadership the people of the nation will return to God.  Not in a half-baked way but with a deepness.  The will seek Him.  Seeking God means that they will have an active and continuous pursuit of God until they find Him.  (v. 5a)  Restoration will come when there is national repentance.

Seventh, the people of the nation will come to God with trembling (quaking, fear, guilt, etc.).  Then God will supply them with His goodness until the end of days.  This implies a great revival in the land.  That would be a third great awakening.  (v. 5b)  Restoration comes after a national repentance and revival.

This is a powerful passage of Scripture that tells us what will happen to a nation that repents and returns to the Lord.

A Flow of Events:

First, He will draw the nation into a wilderness experience. He will allow the desolation (see chapter 1:2-11 to see what the desolation will be) of what has happened to draw to a place where He can speak His love to 

This past weekend I had the privilege to go to Lowville, NY where I conducted a prayer experience.  It was an awesome time of the outpouring of the Spirit of God.

While I was there the name Daniel Nash came up, so along with a great friend we went to view his grave and memorial.  The experience left me a little staggered as I realized what his life was about.  In brief he was one of the two or three men who went into a town or city 3 or 4 weeks before Charles Finney was to come.

Daniel and Abel Clary would often go to the place and fall on their faces before God and pray with groans too deep for words.  In other words they bombarded heaven for the needs and sins of the location.  When Charles Finney showed up the town was ripe for a revival.  Finney stated that he could not preach repentance without the prayers of these men.  This was the lead in to the Second Great Awakening.

When I got home I read in 1 Kings (14) about three of the kings of Israel (northern kingdom).  Each of them did evil in the sight of the Lord.  Each of them had God’s justice meted out on them.  The nation of Israel in each case followed the model of the king and did evil in the sight of the Lord.

Then, as is my habit, I went over to one of the prophets; in this case it was Hosea (2) and read what he said about the nation of Israel.  He told the nation that they were like prostitutes with their flirty and sexual innuendo way of life.  In an easy to understand symbolism he told Israel that they had set up a society where no one was sure who the father of the children being born was.  He also said that the fathers were not taking their responsibilities as fathers.  He concludes with the concept that when a nation has the practice of no sexual boundaries that that nation is in decline and judgment can’t be far behind.

Finally, I read in Matthew 14 where Jesus heard that his cousin, John had been beheaded because of an overtly sexual dance that was spawned by jealousy because John had called Herod out because he had taken his brother’s wife.

Jesus took this opportunity to go to a private solitary place where He prayed.  It is likely that He prayed all night for comfort.  He also likely prayed for the people of Israel because the next day when they showed up after walking all night He had compassion on them and healed the sick. 

What do these last three things have to do with each other?  They all describe a nation that has heavy cultural issues.  They are all about the decline of morality in the area of sexuality.  When a nation or culture loses its purity in this area the nation will face the judgment of God.

This is all drawn together in the life of Daniel Nash.  He had been voted out of his church after leading them in two revivals that brought many people into the kingdom.  Then he contracted a serious eye infection.  He could not stand light.  For 3 or 4 months he did nothing but stay in a dark room so that he could recover.  During this time he could not read or write.  It was in this time that he learned how to pray.  It totally transformed his Christian life.  For the next 7+ years he did nothing but travel ahead of Charles Finney and prayed and fasted for a month for a spiritual breakthrough.

He was serious about seeing his culture recover.  He said about his prayer life: “Considering the souls being saved and the very culture of the area being changed in such a revival, it should be no surprise that persecution came to these laborers.”

Did you see that, he prayed for the culture of the area to be changed? 

It is now time for those who call themselves by the name of Christ (Christians) to rise up and pray for our culture to change.  Without this prayer the culture will continue to decline and can the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah be far behind?

Daniel Nash’s final words were: “Say, if you please, that I die in the faith of the Son of God.  Of myself I am nothing.  I trust alone in the merit and death of a crucified savior for pardon and acceptance.”

So will you join me in prayer and fasting for our nation and ask the Lord to revive our Christian culture?  It’s time for the Third Great Awakening.

This past weekend I had the privilege to go to Lowville, NY where I conducted a prayer experience.  It was an awesome time of the outpouring of the Spirit of God.

While I was there the name Daniel Nash came up, so along with a great friend we went to view his grave and memorial.  The experience left me a little staggered as I realized what his life was about.  In brief he was one of the two or three men who went into a town or city 3 or 4 weeks before Charles Finney was to come.

Daniel and Abel Clary would often go to the place and fall on their faces before God and pray with groans too deep for words.  In other words they bombarded heaven for the needs and sins of the location.  When Charles Finney showed up the town was ripe for a revival.  Finney stated that he could not preach repentance without the prayers of these men.  This was the lead in to the Second Great Awakening.

When I got home I read in 1 Kings (14) about three of the kings of Israel (northern kingdom).  Each of them did evil in the sight of the Lord.  Each of them had God’s justice meted out on them.  The nation of Israel in each case followed the model of the king and did evil in the sight of the Lord.

Then, as is my habit, I went over to one of the prophets; in this case it was Hosea (2) and read what he said about the nation of Israel.  He told the nation that they were like prostitutes with their flirty and sexual innuendo way of life.  In an easy to understand symbolism he told Israel that they had set up a society where no one was sure who the father of the children being born was.  He also said that the fathers were not taking their responsibilities as fathers.  He concludes with the concept that when a nation has the practice of no sexual boundaries that that nation is in decline and judgment can’t be far behind.

Finally, I read in Matthew 14 where Jesus heard that his cousin, John had been beheaded because of an overtly sexual dance that was spawned by jealousy because John had called Herod out because he had taken his brother’s wife.

Jesus took this opportunity to go to a private solitary place where He prayed.  It is likely that He prayed all night for comfort.  He also likely prayed for the people of Israel because the next day when they showed up after walking all night He had compassion on them and healed the sick. 

What do these last three things have to do with each other?  They all describe a nation that has heavy cultural issues.  They are all about the decline of morality in the area of sexuality.  When a nation or culture loses its purity in this area the nation will face the judgment of God.

This is all drawn together in the life of Daniel Nash.  He had been voted out of his church after leading them in two revivals that brought many people into the kingdom.  Then he contracted a serious eye infection.  He could not stand light.  For 3 or 4 months he did nothing but stay in a dark room so that he could recover.  During this time he could not read or write.  It was in this time that he learned how to pray.  It totally transformed his Christian life.  For the next 7+ years he did nothing but travel ahead of Charles Finney and prayed and fasted for a month for a spiritual breakthrough.

He was serious about seeing his culture recover.  He said about his prayer life: “Considering the souls being saved and the very culture of the area being changed in such a revival, it should be no surprise that persecution came to these laborers.”

Did you see that, he prayed for the culture of the area to be changed? 

It is now time for those who call themselves by the name of Christ (Christians) to rise up and pray for our culture to change.  Without this prayer the culture will continue to decline and can the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah be far behind?

Daniel Nash’s final words were: “Say, if you please, that I die in the faith of the Son of God.  Of myself I am nothing.  I trust alone in the merit and death of a crucified savior for pardon and acceptance.”

So will you join me in prayer and fasting for our nation and ask the Lord to revive our Christian culture?  It’s time for the Third Great Awakening.

Psalm 36:8

Introduction: In Psalm 36 David gives equal time to good and bad people.  In verses 1-4 and 11, 12 He tells us about those who do evil and what they face.  In verses 5-10 He gives us an incredible list of God’s magnificent love for His own.  Today the focus is on the second half of verse 8: “And You give them to drink of the river of Your delights.”  NASB

When I first read this, my mind wandered to the wicked witch in the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe.  She promised Edmund all the Turkish Delight that he wanted if he would only follow her.  If you read the book or saw any of the movies you will know that following her didn’t work out too well for him.

The second thought was a question.  What are the delights of the Lord?  The Holy Spirit taught me at that moment.  Here is what He showed me that the delights in the Lord are.

We can bask in His LOVE.  His love is unconditional.  His love will direct our hearts.  In other words what people say to us, what they do to us, etc. is consumed in His love if we let it!  His love will make us complete as we live in His Word.  His love keeps us until the Lord comes back for us.  This is so good that I can almost taste the sweetness of His love as I surrender to it.  (2 Thessalonians 3:5; 1 John 2:5 and Jude 21)

The JOY of the Lord is my strength.  The Words of His mouth (The Word) cause joy to those who repent.  His joy gives us strength.  To be joyful before Him causes us to sing a new song for Him in our heart.  (Note it does not have to be verbal.  The song just leaps in our heart when we realize how much He loves us.)  We will be joyful in His protection.  Don’t be sad because joy comes in the morning as you meditate on His Word day and night.  (Nehemiah 8:10; Psalm 5:11:19:8; 28:7; 33:3; 66:1 and 1 Chronicles 16:33)

There is a PEACE that transcends all understanding.  It can’t be defined by logic or a tick list.  It is best just experienced.  The Father says that we are blessed with peace as an atoned person.  He says that a person who is experiencing His peace has found a place of safety.  He says that peace comes to the meek.  (They inherit it because they have in their meekness given themselves over to the ownership of the Father.)  Philippians 4:7; Psalm 4:8; 29:11; 37:11

Simply being in the PRESENCE OF HE LORD is a great delight.  His presence is with us always.  When he is present he will teach us how to live and speak.  This is obedience.  The great need here is repentance.  The Word clearly states that without repentance there is no presence of the Lord.  (Matthew 28:19; 2 Chronicles 34:31 & 1 Thessalonians 1:9)

Taste and see that the Lord is good.  His delights are with both day and night. 

♥ His presence is sweeter than honey from the honeycomb.

♥ His presence is more precious that gold, yes much pure gold. 

♥ His presence is perfect because it revives the soul.

♥ His presence is always there and will make His ways simple.

♥ His presence will always be right and this gives us joy.

♥ His presence brings light to our ways so we will know where we are going.

♥ His presence lasts forever and is without fault.

♥ His presence has no error it and can be depended upon completely.

♥ His presence is a constant warning so that our paths will lead us to great reward.

I dare you to repent and partake in the delights of the Lord.  What have you got to lose except your depression, thoughts of suicide, anger, hatred, jealousy, getting even, wanting harm to others and yourself, etc? 

Come on repent and enjoy His delights.  They taste so good.

Note: This is for my friends (many) who are in the midst of some of the most horrific events at the hands of “God’s” people.  To you I send you the love of the Father and the peace that passes understanding.

Introduction: Today in the middle of my devotions, The Father led me to pray for some friends.  It was not a subtle request.  It was a swamping of urgency.  For several minutes nothing was visible but their pain.  Even now more than an hour later the residue lingers in the tears at the edge of my eyes.  The following devotional is for you.

Psalm 35:4-8 contains David’s prayer for help in the time of need.  He was beat down and surrounded by those who wished him ill.  In these verses he specifically asks for Help from the Lord.

He asks: Father, there are those who wish to kill me.  They want me to come to harm.  Father I am asking You to cause them to be ashamed and disgraced.  David is showing us an awesome principle.  He is showing that the battle is not his, but the Lord’s.  It is clear from the context and the incident that causes David to pray this that he is overwhelmed with the people who have betrayed him and were actively plotting against him.  He is so under the gun (maybe spear might be a better metaphor for David) that he didn’t have anything left to fight within himself.  This is one key to overcoming those who wish us harm. 

In the same verse he asks the Father to cause those who have been planning him harm to turn away and run away.  The key here is that we ask the Father to bring them down. 

The next part is fuel for our soul.  It gives me a great sense of who God is and how He responds to us.  David gives God some suggestions to God on how he wishes the Him to deal with the people who wish him harm.  This is awesome because in the proper way it gives us permission to suggest to God what punishments you wish on those oppose you.  Note:  These are suggestions.

1. God, would you let them be like the chaff that the wind blows away.  In those days you separated the grain from that which wasn’t any good by tossing it together into the air.  The wind would blow and the grain would fall.  Whatever was blown away was useless.  David suggests that He send an angel to do this to his opponents. 

1. God, he says, would you make their road dark and slippery as one of your angels chases them.  This is what the Father showed me here.  When you are opposed and oppressed, you are fearful and have feelings of being alone.  What we ask for is for those in opposition to us experience this same fear and depression.

The third thing that David says about these people is that they have set out ways to trap us and dug pits for us to fall into.  The traps are aimed at us in such a way that they would discredit us.  The purpose is that whoever is being focused on would become impotent.  It is always based in personal preference and not from a focus on the Father. 

The pits are scenarios that are set up so as to cause the focus of their evil to fall.  It has several ways that it is done. 

□ It can be done by accusing a person of sexual sin.  (It usually doesn’t matter if it is true or not, because when it becomes public it damages almost irreversible harm.) 

□ Many times it is aimed at financial misdeeds. 

□ Others it is aimed at your personality. 

□ Other times it is aimed at your method of doing things. 

□ Sometimes it is based in truth but the criticism is not done in a Biblical manner.

1. David reserves a special set of suggestions for this last group of people.  He asks the Father to cause them to come to ruin suddenly.  (The author has seen this happen.)  He also asks that the Father allow them to be caught in their own traps and pits.  The key here is seeking wisdom in the raging battle.  Then your response (not reaction) would be to challenge them with the Word.  The Word is powerful and able to divide between the human spirit and the human soul.  In other words the Word when spoken to the spirit of those who are trying to sabotage us will cause them to have to respond to God, even when they react to you.

Calling on God with clarity, even brutal clarity, is acceptable to Him.  He already knows the state of our heart, so why not be honest with Him and tell him that life stinks!

Father, I am praying that You would go to the wall for those whose lives are being sabotaged.  Would You allow the traps and pits which are intent on their harm to be used against them instead?  I am blasting heaven today for these people who are having a tough season.  Would you come by their side and give them Your comfort.

BTW: If you have a friend who is going through this kind of time, forward this to them.

Introduction: The scripture is full of places where God asserts His ownership of His people.  (2 Chronicles 7:14; Psalm 28:9; 31:23 and 34:9, etc.)  Ownership means that the person has given themselves to the Father.  Ownership brings with it great promises.  In Psalm 34:15-17 we find a passage where His promises are given for the benefit of His people.

David writes here of His love for His people.  Here are the ways that He shows His love for us and His disdain for those who are not His.

The first one is enough to convince me that He is to be trusted as my owner.  He, the Father, sees good people and listens to their prayer.  He listens!  The Master and Creator of the universe listens to us individually.  All he asks for in return is to show two of the characteristics of giving Him ownership.  He asks you to obey what He shows in prayer.  Then He asks you to trust Him with what He shows you.  He has a purpose for what happens to us in life.  He asks you to spend time with Him in the Word and in Prayer.  Could you not tarry with me for one hour?

The second point is against those who do evil.  He says that He will cause them not to be remembered.  He is speaking to those who do not show the ownership characteristics of submission to and reliance on God.  When we depend on ourselves, are egotistical, selfish, fomenters of dissension, etc. we are opposed to God.

The next one is incredible.  He says that He hears the cries of good people and saves them from their trouble.  Yes He does save His people.  When His people cry out in humility and faith they hear from God.  In this way we show two more characteristics of ownership.

The final point is almost beyond belief.  He says that He is close to the brokenhearted.  He also saves those who have had their spirits crushed.  In this world everyone I know has fit into one or both of these two categories at least once in their life.  Some have been literally crushed by what the world handed them.  If you talk to the abused, addicted, alienated, etc. you will soon find that “crushed” is an accurate description.

But what if God has a purpose for this brokenness?  What if He has a way for you to recover from this brokenness that brings you recovery and Him glory at the same time?  I know full well that when I write this that some are going to write me off as simplistic.  That’s ok, because I know what the Spirit of the Lord is showing me in this verse.

Like many of you I have had my life and spirit crushed by life’s worst and people’s insensitivity and actions.  Because I have experienced the horrid crushing that threatens to blow up the pieces of life, I can say that it is not simplistic, just short and practical.

When I was in the throes of the pain of being crushed in nearly every aspect of life the words of my most important mentor came to me.  The voice said, “Dale don’t be like most people who face tough times and run from God, instead run to God.”

This is totally opposite of what the world teaches and what we would do naturally.  So as a challenge, try this method.  Instead of just tossing God on the garbage heap of disdain, ask Him what he wants you to learn.  Ask Him what His purpose for this “crap” is.  Tell him in an angry (shout) voice what your difficulty is.  (David did this many times as he sang his songs/psalms to God.)  Call Him to fulfill His promise to always be with us. I dare you to shout at God that you need help.   

Then submit to His will and wait.  Be still and know that He is God.  You are more receptive to the thoughts of God when you are you get quiet instead of focusing on what has beaten you up. When we focus on Him instead of our brokenness we are more prone to hear His answer.  When you are at your weakest, God is at His strongest. 

Now go take a nap, sleep the whole night through and then get up and do it again.  Follow this pattern until you get relief.  It works.  It sometimes takes a long time.  But the end result is awesome. 

Your brokenness can be a tool for great good in the Kingdom.  You will become a wounded healer.  The wounded and broken and crushed are the best witnesses of recovery.

Point: As you develop the characteristics of being owned by God in your life you will become more intimate with Him.  Then you will see some tremendous promises fulfilled.

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This psalm/prayer was written by David after he left the palace of the king of the Amalekites.

Here is the story in brief:  This event happened in the middle of the 8 years when Saul was chasing David all around that part of the world to eliminate what he thought was threat to his kingship.  David thought that he could offer his military services to the Amalekites in exchange for a place to live.  He had not been in the palace for long when he realized that the king was terrified of him and was going to look for a reason to kill him.

So when David was brought before him, David acted crazy.  He had spittle and drool all over his beard, face and clothes.  He also talked with great fervency about strange things.

The king listened for few minutes that said to his guards to throw him out of the city because he had enough crazy people in his kingdom without adding a crazy Jew to the mix.

You have to admit for a little while David was facing the junkiest thing possible – death.  In this life we all have junk that weighs us down.  It sometimes mounts up to a huge pile that seems to overwhelm us and often leads to depression.  In these three verses David gives us a very useful tool to use when faced with all the junk that naturally comes our way.  He says:

I will praise the Lord all the time.  That’s pretty much all-inclusive.

His praises will be the dominant thing that I say.  That covers just about all of life.

As a matter of fact my whole life will be praise to the Lord.  I will do it so much that even those who are poor (in spiritual matters and economic matters) will also praise Him.

Then David talks to you and me when he says: Come on glorify the Lord with me and let’s praise His name together.

If you are being overwhelmed with the JUNK of life, let me suggest to you with David to praise the Lord. 

In my father’s latter years he and I used to play golf.  Every time as we were on the first tee, he would say: “What a beautiful day the Lord has given us.  It’s so good to be alive in it.”  I could never understand his unabashed optimism because some of those days were lousy, cold, rainy, sleety and miserable days.  Yet there he was praising God for the great day.  Now many years later I understand why he was praising God for everything.  It was because he knew that without that praise the biggest piece of junk in life was staring at him would overwhelm him.  He was in the last half of the stages of terminal cancer.

As I was writing these words to the song Praise the Lord by Russ Taff flooded over my mind:

When you’re up against a struggle, that shatters all your dreams

And your hopes have been cruelly crushed by Satan’s manifested schemes

And you feel the urge within you to submit to earthly fear

Don’t let the faith you’re standing in seem to disappear

Praise the Lord, He will work through those who praise Him

Praise the Lord, for our God inhabits praise

Praise the Lord, for the chains that seem to bind you

Serve only to remind you that they drop powerless behind you

When you praise Him

Would you join me in prayer and praise to the Lord.  He lives in our praise.  If that praise in coming from us as a lifestyle then the Living God moves in and inhabits us even more.  That means that something is forced out and that is the JUNK of life.

Praise the LORD!

This psalm/prayer was written by David after he left the palace of the king of the Amalekites.

Here is the story in brief:  This event happened in the middle of the 8 years when Saul was chasing David all around that part of the world to eliminate what he thought was threat to his kingship.  David thought that he could offer his military services to the Amalekites in exchange for a place to live.  He had not been in the palace for long when he realized that the king was terrified of him and was going to look for a reason to kill him.

So when David was brought before him, David acted crazy.  He had spittle and drool all over his beard, face and clothes.  He also talked with great fervency about strange things.

The king listened for few minutes that said to his guards to throw him out of the city because he had enough crazy people in his kingdom without adding a crazy Jew to the mix.

You have to admit for a little while David was facing the junkiest thing possible – death.  In this life we all have junk that weighs us down.  It sometimes mounts up to a huge pile that seems to overwhelm us and often leads to depression.  In these three verses David gives us a very useful tool to use when faced with all the junk that naturally comes our way.  He says:

I will praise the Lord all the time.  That’s pretty much all-inclusive.

His praises will be the dominant thing that I say.  That covers just about all of life.

As a matter of fact my whole life will be praise to the Lord.  I will do it so much that even those who are poor (in spiritual matters and economic matters) will also praise Him.

Then David talks to you and me when he says: Come on glorify the Lord with me and let’s praise His name together.

If you are being overwhelmed with the JUNK of life, let me suggest to you with David to praise the Lord. 

In my father’s latter years he and I used to play golf.  Every time as we were on the first tee, he would say: “What a beautiful day the Lord has given us.  It’s so good to be alive in it.”  I could never understand his unabashed optimism because some of those days were lousy, cold, rainy, sleety and miserable days.  Yet there he was praising God for the great day.  Now many years later I understand why he was praising God for everything.  It was because he knew that without that praise the biggest piece of junk in life was staring at him would overwhelm him.  He was in the last half of the stages of terminal cancer.

As I was writing these words to the song Praise the Lord by Russ Taff flooded over my mind:

When you’re up against a struggle, that shatters all your dreams

And your hopes have been cruelly crushed by Satan’s manifested schemes

And you feel the urge within you to submit to earthly fear

Don’t let the faith you’re standing in seem to disappear

Praise the Lord, He will work through those who praise Him

Praise the Lord, for our God inhabits praise

Praise the Lord, for the chains that seem to bind you

Serve only to remind you that they drop powerless behind you

When you praise Him

Would you join me in prayer and praise to the Lord.  He lives in our praise.  If that praise in coming from us as a lifestyle then the Living God moves in and inhabits us even more.  That means that something is forced out and that is the JUNK of life.

Praise the LORD!

Introduction:  Hannibal Smith (of the A-Team) used to say that he loved it when a plan comes together.  Today I would like to report that a plan has come together.  Not my human plan, but one that God has been working on for some time.

In 2 Chronicles 7:14 Solomon reports that in order to hear from heaven that one of the criteria is to humble yourself before the Lord.  Humility is not an easy thing to define and even harder to do.  To accomplish a definition of humility and to become humble has been a massive struggle for me.  (I would rather be large and in charge – it’s my way or the highway – you get the point.)

Just recently I was reading in Psalm 25 and the Lord lifted out some questions for me to answer.  Here are those four questions:

1.  Do you think that the Lord is good and right all the time?  A humble person says yes.  One not so humble has a few reservations and can cite time and place where it doesn’t appear that the Lord was good and right.
2. Do you think the Lord can show you the right way to go in life?  A humble person says yes on the spot.  The one who has not arrived at this place yet says, Um, I’d like to make my own choice about what to do with my life.
3. Do you think the Lord can show you how to do what’s right?  A humble person says yes without a doubt.  One who struggles with humility gets uncomfortable, not wanting to give up the right to make their own decision about what is right and wrong.
4. Do you believe that the Lord can teach you His ways?  A humble person has faith that whatever the Lord brings is the right thing and responds absolutely.  Those who wish to be self-determinant say I think I’ll look for a new way or a deeper or hidden meaning to what the Lord is saying there.  

Here are five statements that a humble person would make to lead to the healing of their spirits:

1. I believe the Lord’s ways are loving and true.  They humbly follow whatever He leads you to do.
2. I repent of my sin for the sake of Your name.  The humble know that a sinning follower is besmirching the name of Christ.
3. I respect the Lord God because I know that He will lead me in the very best way.  The humble do this is faith.
4. I will keep my eyes on the Lord.  The humble know that He will keep them from traps.
5. I will turn my ways to Him.  The humble know that He will have mercy on us.  When a humble person does this the Lord comes along side them and helps them with their loneliness and hurting.  The humble know that the only source for real help is in the Lord.  He will help with the suffering and trouble that comes our way.

A thought: Being humble is hard.  Being self-sufficient is harder.  Giving up is deadly.

Prayer:  Lord, lead me to be more humble today.  Show me the way to do this.  I desire healing from you for the stuff of life.

A Call to Repentance

Five Signs

Joel concludes his first chapter with four things that he strongly suggests that should be done if the nation wanted to see recovery.  The same is true in our culture today.  We need to see a major recovery and yes a genuine Spirit-led revival.  Joel’s thoughts are exactly what needs to happen in today’s world.  If these things were to happen then a revival would follow.

Mourning Ministry

The first half of verse 13 tells the priests to put on sackcloth and mourn and wail before the altar.  This is a call for humility.  It calls for the clergy to spend time before the altar until the Spirit of the Lord comes to them.  Implied is a time of repentance.  It would be repentance for personal sin.  It is also repentance for the lack of passion for God.  Also it is repentance for the sin of thinking one church or denomination can bring the land back to the Lord.  It would be repentance for focusing on the external things and not the internal Spirit-led things.  It would be repentance that puts program over purity, method over mission, personal preferences over passionate prayer and possessions over people.  This mourning would lead to humility.  Without humility there is no revival.

Sacrificing Saints

In the second half of verse 13 he tells the saints (priests) to spend the night in sackcloth.  The offering that used to be given to the Lord were gone because of the locust invasion.  The only thing left for the priests to give was themselves.  There it is if our culture is to recover it will take a large group of people giving themselves to the Father for His purpose.  This is sacrifice of personal goals, ideas and direction and taking up what He wants to give.  Sacrifice involves allowing God to own all of your material possessions and to use them for what he would like to use them for.  Sacrifice will likely involve suffering.  Without sacrifice there is no remission for sin or any recovery.

Sacred Summoning

Joel makes it very clear that the nation is to call a holy fast.  Fasting has all but lost in the modern culture.  Fasting is too difficult.  It takes too much time (huh).  You mean I can’t eat or eat a restricted diet. What part of what Jesus, said, when He said when you fast.  (Matthew 6:16, 17)

Ladies and Gentlemen, if we are serious about our culture recovering then we will have to in droves begin to fast as a regular spiritual discipline and while we are at in sit (symbolical sacrifice of self) in sackcloth and ashes and mourn for the country.

Not only are we to begin a holy fast (which could last from 3-21 days*) but we are to summon those who are mature in the faith to a Sacred Assembly.  A Sacred Assembly is a daylong affair centered on knowing who God is. I believe that now is the time for the nation to call for this event to take place.  To those who dare to, gather your friends together on a day and spend it in prayer, fasting, reading scripture and learning who God is on an intimate level. #   This is a sign of obedience.

Prepare for the Power

In verse 15 Joel says that the day of the Lord is near and it will come with destruction from the Almighty God.  In Joel’s case the destruction had already come in the form of locusts destroying their way of life.  In the first blog post of this series it was spelled clearly that Joel’s locusts have come back.  The locusts have returned to America and we have been warned that they are here.  (It can be found on this page by scrolling down.  It is called An Invasion of Locusts) Do we really want to wait for the total destruction of our way of life like Joel’s day experienced before God judges us as well?  It is coming with swiftness and power.  Personally I would rather sacrifice now and get on my face before the Lord and pray for a change.  This is the sign of judgment.  We can either have the words of Joel 1:16, 17 as our fate or seek God desperately.

Finally

I really want to talk about this, but in prayer, the Lord showed me to post the verses and let the reader draw their own conclusion. 

To you, O LORD, I call, for fire has devoured the open pastures and flames have burned up all the trees of the field.  Even the wild animals pant for you; the streams of water have dried up and fire has devoured the open pastures.  Joel 1:19, 20  NIV

That is very clear, don’t you think?

* You can ask for a paper on fasting in my message box and I will send it to you.

# You can google Sacred Assembly for a suggested format.

Last week this blog was about the locusts of the book Joel returning.  This time we will be looking at a church that is so asleep that they don’t even know it.  Today we will be looking at the next part of the first chapter of Joel.  In these 3 verses we will look at why the church in Israel and the west have fallen asleep. 

The church is the one entity that should be alert to the happenings around them.  In the last essay you read that the church have been too unaware and missed the signs of the locusts.  Today you will see some reasons why the church has chosen to slumber. 

Symbols of Slumber

In verse 15 Joel says for the drunkards to wake up and weep.  He goes on to say to the wine bibbers to wail because the wine has been taken away from their lips.  They had been so caught up in their habits that they were blindsided by the locusts and the message they were giving.

Alcohol dulls the senses and those who drink too much lose their inhabitations.  They do things they would not normally do.  In our world, Christians have had their senses dulled by the world.  We have bought into the idea that we need to have the next best and newest thing.  It could be that 72” big screen TV, the bigger car, house, latest technology, etc.   These all go toward a dulling of our spiritual senses.  These things in of themselves are not evil.  When they, however, take a lot of time in the planning and acquiring of them, it takes away from developing any spiritual depth.  The average Christian spends about 5 minutes a week in reading the Word and virtually zero time in being intimate with God in prayer.

Without a prophetic intent at all, it is easy to see that we in the church have indeed fallen asleep.  We are not aware that the enemy has invaded us and is in the process of destroying us.  If you have any doubts about that, ask yourself how fast the church growing.   The church is actually declining.  We are not even keeping up with the rate of population growth.  Why - because we have fallen for the lie of the evil one that the dream for more is our dream.  So let me ask you to put aside your dullness and wake up to the reality that we in Christ are not making much difference.  (I know, some of you will say, but I know people who are – but as a whole we aren’t.  We are called to be a holy priesthood, but many are drunk on the wine of self-indulgence.)

In the 16^th verse of Joel 1 it tells us that we have fallen into drowsiness because we have missed the invasion of the locusts that was without number.  He uses the symbol of the teeth of a lion and the fangs of a lioness to demonstrate his point.  The message here is that the followers of YHWH had been so preoccupied by their own self-absorption that they were shredded spiritually and didn’t even know it.  He was telling them that they were taking a nap when the horrible stuff happened in their country.  The reason, they had started to worship themselves or any god that seemed convenient at the time.

In the western church we are not only taking a nap but are snoring in our slumber.  Recently a test was given to a group of 5^th and 6^th graders that was based on a test the Puritans gave to their children of the same age.  The Puritan children had to get 26 out the 30 questions correct in order to go on to the next grade.  These weren’t really tough questions, just basic Bible knowledge.  The highest score was 12 which were below the minimal standard.  When given to their parents, the results were the similar.  Point: In the west we do not know the Word of God.  We are Biblically illiterate.  Barna says that we are the most Biblically illiterate generation in history.

Key question: How in the world can the church claim to follow the Trinity when we don’t even know Him in more than a cursory way?

In the 17^th verse Joel tells the people that the vines are wasted and the fig trees are ruined.  As a matter of fact every living thing has had its bark stripped so bare that the branches are white.  The people were devastated and depressed.  They couldn’t see any way out of the mess.

We in the western church are slowly be stripped white of our selfish ways by the suffering and persecuted third world church.  Southern Sudan has had its 1 year anniversary as a country.  The primary reason they split from the north is so that they could worship God Almighty.  North Sudan has responded by bombing the people consistently and killing 100’s of them.  Many of them have to live in the mountains eating bark and leaves.  Yet what is happening?  The church of Jesus Christ grows.  They aren’t depressed.  They are hungry, but they have a great faith in Jesus Christ who says that if the Son sets you free that you are free indeed.  Not free to do what you want to do, but free to worship Him with every fiber of your being.

I have only one message to all my rowdy believing friends: Let’s get more intimate with the Creator of the universe and see what it is that He would have us do. 

Next Time:  Solutions for our Slumber

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