Download... December 18, 2011. Sunday Morning Service. Bro. Dave Goble.
TEXT: JOEL 1:1-14
1 The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.
2 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?
3 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.
4 That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.
5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.
6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.
7 He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.
8 Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.
9 The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD'S ministers, mourn.
10 The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.
11 Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished.
12 The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.
13 Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God.
14 Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD,
We serve a wonderful God! We need to earnestly petition for those in real need of support, to bring them before God. Lip service will not be successfully sufficient, but only when through a true experience, from the well of Salvation......
The source to understand the problem is to earnestly, sacrificially petition God, and, ..prayerful study. We find the scriptual account for a biblical solution, in the 14 verse of Joel. The description of problems are found in verses 4-7,and 9-13. According to the prophet here, there was a spiritual let down. This account was a type to show how our problems are still as the “palmer worm,” here, ..destroying. What “they” left, the locusts came and gobbled up more, and left for the canker worm to eat, and lastly the caterpiller ate. A succession of plagues, followed by more increased problems. These plagues left “unattended, really wrecked havoc on the land. Verse 5 Those who should have been watching, were asleep. Not on the job!
The prophet here was rightfully critical of their spiritual condition being asleep, and not being vigilant. “Some commenters,” claim that verses 1-4 is a description of the enemy inhabiting the land. In reality, it was literal, but today also, it is for a needed spiritual application. At the “intersection” of the different countries,(Egypt, Syria, Greeks, Persians, etc.) they were “waiting to conquer something,” that just happened to be Israel. Israel was geographically, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. It shows spiritually, that there is always an enemy waiting to devour. Life “can” be full of joy, but it also a place of “oppositions.”
Verses 6-7, So what would have been the benefit of the land, had been “stripped” bare, destroyed, in effect destroying their “offerings.” This is what happens when spiritually asleep, making one not able to prevent the enemy’s destruction. The nutrients are no longer able to be absorbed by the tree, whose bark has been stripped. It no longer allows it to be a fruitful “tree.” Kindness, love, joy, patience, ..those spiritual fruits will all go. That is what took place in the literal sense, here in Israel. These conditions, literal, and now spiritually, repeat themselves. This nation also, is suffering a crisis, at this time. A succession of plagues start with a little "letting down," choosing a lesser way, increasing the plagues, and more plagues feeding on plagues. If you have a spiritual weakness, or illness, it subjects your “brethern” to more of it also. Souls become spiritually“drunk” once they are affected by these spiritual plagues.
Anyone who is found in these spiritual conditions of afflictions, is in need of this message. Spiritual Israel is going through today, ...what literal Israel did here. Obviously and mercifully, in this spiritual context, there are some still conquering against the spiritual plagues. Those who should have been “watching” are the ones who sleep in spiritual drunkeness. Because they do not remove themselves from the reality of plagues around them. “Disconnected”.... from the reality of the plagues all around them. Disconnected with the reality, ...and so consequently not being spared.
Again, ..Joel 1:11 Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished. If the ministry is “drunken” on their own “wine”, ..their plagues spread or increase. The people here are also responsible in the requirement to be watchful, whether they are watching, or not.
One cannot just hear a “good message” then go about their own way as usual, ...as unaccountable. These spiritual plagues are affecting everyone. It isn’t with just what you can “see”, ...we all are affected. We are all in need to pray fervently for each other’s needs. The development of these plagues are continually going to get worse. Yet, there is a solution, ..even yet through December 18th of 2011, ..for all spiritual conditions.
Some criticize if one is older, that they always “think”, their times are bad. While this is somewhat true, that this is an often declared “supposition,” it is also true, that it is based in a frequent reality. It is hard to “see” this, if you were not really around to experience when the "canker worm, locusts, etc.," were, but if you were around, you know these spiritual plagues are a reality. It is not a mere emotional concern. Spiritual “vines,” wheat, etc., are being consumed. Not “made up,” not just an opinion, ….but an evolving reality!
Revelations 9:1-4 1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. 2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. Verse 3 the locust, here, are similar to the ones spoken about in Joel. The seventh seal conditions here, became plagues. Those spoken about here, also were being subjected to this spiritual condition that became the laying waste of souls.
Revelations 8:5-9 5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; 9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed. The third part of the trees, and all the green grass here is being plagued, by a palmer worm here also in Revelations. Attacking the hearts of humanity. The lands, trees, grass, seas, etc., are drawing a comparison again to spiritual conditions found in Joel, ..plaguing humanity. A successive number of plagues, and not a mere parrellal of them. All of humanity, and creation also, are affected. Unless God intervenes, evil will consume more and more. Evil is not satisfied to stop where it starts, but continues to consume. Consumes... until there is hardly if anything left.
Where are we today spiritually? Not just how is the ministry doing, but of each individual, of the people. This is not just for the account of those in Joel here, but to the Church today. For also here, there is a spiritual “letting down.” In our present times, in this world, there have been many “plagues,” of hardships, diseases or illnesses, grief, etc. Although some are just processes of life, we also need to see the problems of these successions, in the increased “plagues” of it. If you were to tell, after, that things are getting worse, you might hear, “Oh you are as a 'Chicken Little' procaliming that the sky is falling.” The sky is Not Always Falling...but we do need to wake up to the encroachment of evil! There have been times in God’s mercy, that there have been great revivals, affecting a spiritual awakening for many years. so there have been some times that became better, ...than before. For those dark evil times, it has always been the result of a spiritual drunken condition!
Conversely when the times spiritually were better, it has been because they stopped “drinking themselves spiritually to sleep and death.” This is not speaking here of the literal wine, drugs, etc., but those are “types” of the today spiritual conditions. If one does not want “the message,” ...our efforts for them are in vain. Whenever you find it difficult to accept the confidence of the messenger, if sincere, you need to do a honest openminded study in Joel for yourself ...with much prayer. Again, there have been times, that after, became better, ...but it has not predominately been so, ..in this day.
Again,....Joel 1:13 Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God. “Howling” needs to continue for our times. Some need to get busy, and concerned about their spiritual problems. Otherwise you no longer have an offering to give God. There needs to be an ‘all night’ in “sack clothes and ashes” with fasting. Fasting is not just about food. There is a need to fast from your own ideas. Fasting from everyday temporal diversions from God’s pure and sacrificial ways of His servants. If you want a “different” outcome, ...you must ‘do’ something different! This particular exhortation has often been used by Bro Dukes for our benefit in messages while here.
Solutions don’t seem to be evident? Again, there is a need then for a real fast, first from my own ideas. Saints need to have a fast, ...a need of erasing any personal human interferences, from the “blackboard” of their own lives. All the assembly/inhabitants of “the land” (or congregation) collectively, need to fast, to truly “empty themselves” of their ‘own’ strength, ….to be filled soley with God’s strength alone. Fasting, ....by crying unto the Lord earnestly, individually, and collectively for His intervention and strength. For in reality, we as saints are sometimes affected by the conditions of the world.
It will be increasingly challenging to raise children in this dark world for God. Not though, impossible, ...but difficult. Unless you see in life, the atmosphere of the public schools affect on our children, you will lack a source of reality to spiritually conquer. The children don’t have a source of record (past generations) to awaken them to the increasing of evil. So there still needs to be a fast, for the “cankerworm” ect., is successive in their plagues of “waxing worse and worse.”
Again... Joel 1:14 Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD, Sanctifiy a fast, and don’t equate your spiritual leader with God! If you do, you’ll be mad at God, while mad at the leader. You’ll have an attitude, the “palmer worm” will began to “chew” on you. If you keep your vision clear, you won’t give up on God! If the leader has a problem, God, (not people), will arrange for that leader to not be in that position. These scriptures show people who have lost their way. A fast was needed, as still today, to be declared in sanctification to restore to a revival or reformation. We are “here” due to those before, who declared “a fast.” The only answer to a solution! If you don’t want this, then that is your own choice. We still hope you come back to honestly seek truth. But you will need to be honest, in your seeking truth, and not of any person’s way, ...nor wanting your own way.
Get away from subscribing to human creeds (even if in the COG) but be only a seeker of truth..not copping out of truth only being a man’s idea. God's truth is the only truthful solution, to any real problem.
God, (the solution), will deliver all those, who in honesty seek through fasting, the escape from their own ways, (the problem).
