Session 14 The Presence of God Releasing Natural Blessing

Transcription

1 FORERUNNER CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP MIKE BICKLE THE BOOK OF JOEL Transcript: 08/09/03 INTRODUCTION We re in session 13 on the book of Joel. Tonight we re focusing on Joel 2: We looked at a few general principles last week, and I have those principles outlined. We re going to review last week very briefly on the handout here. THEIR CRISIS: THE DISPLEASURE OF GOD; THEIR ONLY SOLUTION: HIS FAVOR I ll begin by speed reading through some of this, and skipping some of it to make it go a little more quickly. Joel 2:12 is where I ll start. What s happening is that there s been a great crisis described in Joel 1 and 2. God orchestrated and initiated the crisis, and the only way out of it was the favor of God. They couldn t think their way out of it; they couldn t get a bunch of nations in agreement and make some new peace treaty to get out of it. For although it was an agricultural crisis in Joel 1, it was a military crisis in Joel 2. These were two different crises in two different time frames. The prophet of God speaks to them and says, You know, no matter what human agencies are involved in the crisis, no matter what demonic involvement is involved in the crisis, your problem is that God is the only One who can get you out of it. He s the One who wants you in the midst of the crisis to wake you up. His favor is your only solution. The Lord is allowing the crisis to wake you up. He s even sending the crisis to awaken you out of sleep. That was a very disturbing idea to the Jewish community in those two generations, the generations of Joel 1 and Joel 2. It was a very disturbing idea, that God was their problem at the end of the day. THE BEGINNING OF THE BEGINNING OF A VERY SIGNIFICANT CRISIS Joel then gives the answer here. We ve looked at this passage, beginning in Joel 2:12, several times. I ll give an abbreviated reading. Now therefore in other words, in light of the crisis. This is so relevant for today because the nations of the earth are at the beginning of the beginning of a very significant crisis. Now therefore, says the Lord, turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning (Joel 2:12). That s the very answer most of the Church isn t considering right now. The good news is that millions are, but hundreds of millions are not. The only answer is the issue that the majority of the Church in the earth isn t considering as the answer. It s the only answer that s going to bring the favor of God; the only answer that s going to solve the problem. He says, I want connectedness with your heart; That s what the problem is about. I m the God of the whole earth, I m the God of creation, and I can solve the problem in a moment. I can solve it effortlessly. I want your heart, and I will allow the problem to wake you up. Turn to Me. SO REND YOUR HEART, AND NOT YOUR GARMENTS He goes on to say in verse 13, So rend your heart, and not your garments (Joel 2:13). What an amazing verse. He s saying, Tear your heart, not your clothes. Tear your heart. Deal violently with the issues at the heart level. He isn t talking about tearing it; He s talking about making resolute decisions to distance ourselves and to get free from the things that are hindering us in our walk with God.

2 Transcript: 08/09/03 Page 2 GOD IS THE ONLY ONE WITH THE POWER TO TURN THIS THING AROUND Why should we return to the Lord? Because He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness (Joel 2:14). It s in His heart to relent, or to turn from the crisis. It s in His heart to turn the situation into a place of blessing. That s why. I love this: He s merciful and of great kindness. Who knows if He will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him (v. 14b)? It s in His heart to turn the crisis into blessing. That s why you should turn to Him: He s the only One with the power to turn this thing around. Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and nursing babes (Joel 2:15-16). Then he adds, Let them cry out to God. Let them weep between the porch and the altar. Let them say, Spare Your people O God! Do not give Your heritage up to reproach (v. 17, paraphrased). In other words, Don t give Your inheritance, Your people, over to reproach, so that the nations should rule over them. WHOLEHEARTEDNESS IS THE ONLY WAY OUT OF THE CRISIS Joel says, Why should they say among the peoples, Where is their God (Joel 2:17b, NKJV)? Why should the unbelievers in all the earth say about the people of God, God isn t really in their midst. There s no power of God in their midst. They re just like us? Joel says, This pains me! He says, This isn t OK. Of course the unbelieving people of the earth say, not to the whole Church, but to the vast majority, There s no great power in your midst. Why should we listen to you? God doesn t listen to you, so why should we listen to you? Joel is crying out to the people: Wholeheartedness is the only way to break through. It s the only way out of the crisis. Oh, I love this. Then when the people gather and cry out to God the Lord will be zealous for His land, and have compassion on His people (Joel 2:18, paraphrased). The Lord will answer (Joel 2:19, NKJV). That s a great phrase: The Lord will answer. That s good enough. We could go home with that right there; it s over. The Lord will answer. HIS FOUL ODOR WILL RISE, BECAUSE HE HAS DONE MONSTROUS THINGS Now we re going to give some detail as to how He plans to answer. He says to His people, Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, and you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations. But I will remove far from you the northern army, and I will drive him away into a barren and desolate land, with his face toward the eastern sea and his back toward the western sea (Joel 2:19-20) the Mediterranean. It s a military campaign that he s talking about. His stench will come up because of the slain, the dead bodies and his foul odor will rise, because he has done monstrous things (v. 20b). Joel is actually talking most completely about this world leader in the generation in which the Lord returns. He s going to establish a worldwide political movement that stands against the people of God. This man is commonly known as the Antichrist. But he s going to be defeated. THE OPEN PASTURES ARE SPRINGING UP, AND THE TREE BEARS ITS FRUIT Fear not, O land (Joel 2:21). This is talking about the land of Israel particularly, but it applies to the other lands of the earth as well. Be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done marvelous things (v. 21b). Don t be afraid in the midst of this monstrous man and this monstrous military invasion that s coming against the people

3 Transcript: 08/09/03 Page 3 of God. Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field; for the open pastures are springing up, and the tree bears its fruit (Joel 2:22). In order to understand the context, all you have to do is read Revelation 16: the judgment of God and the rage of Satan are at full steam. There s devastation all over the world. That s why this is a very, very relevant prophecy. Joel is saying, The grounds will be fruitful and the trees will bear fruit and the fig tree and the vine will yield their strength. It doesn t mean that much to us now, because we re not thinking of this passage as God s answer to the calamity in the book of Revelation; but that s the context in which He s speaking. BE GLAD THEN, YOU CHILDREN OF ZION, AND REJOICE IN THE LORD YOUR GOD Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God (Joel 2:23). In other words, Don t be afraid. God will be in your midst. God will be near you. The supernatural activity of God will be manifested. That s the context here. It s a very, very relevant passage for this hour of history. But it doesn t seem relevant yet because the crisis hasn t unfolded. However, the crisis is around the corner. Whether it s five years or fifty years away, I don t know, but there s a crisis coming around the corner, scheduled for the planet, designed to wake up the people to wholeheartedness in God. It s designed to wake up unbelievers we call that evangelism and believers we call that revival. It s designed to wake up human beings to the reality of the love of God that God has been pursuing them and He wants a response of wholeheartedness from them. That s why He s waking them up. Joel adds, 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 in the first month. The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you (Joel 2:23-25). He s referencing Joel 1:6, and calling these destroying locusts His great army. He says, I m the One who sent those locusts to wake you up. It s My army, and I have the power to rebuke them, because they re under My authority. THEN YOU SHALL KNOW THAT I AM IN THE MIDST OF ISRAEL You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you (Joel 2:26). There will be a praise and worship movement breaking out. And My people shall never be put to shame. Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel (v. 27). Then the people won t be able to say, as they said in Joel 2:17, Where is your God? God isn t in your midst; He doesn t listen to you! Why should we listen to you? All of a sudden God will be answering prayer; He will be in their midst, and the unbelievers will be terrified that God is listening to His people and answering in power and demonstration. PHYSICAL DELIVERANCE FROM EVIL IN THE PLACE OF GREATEST CRISIS And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh (Joel 2:28). God willing, we ll look at this more next week. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions (ibid). Signs and wonders will break out, along with mass evangelism and something more: And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved (v. 32). There will be physical deliverance from the crisis and the harm coming on from left and right. The Lord says, For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance physical protection as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls (ibid). In other words, I will be there in their midst with supernatural protection. It s the Psalm 91 reality, where 10,000 fall at the right and 10,000 at the left, and the Lord says, I m still there to protect you. There will be supernatural protection in the midst of this great harvest.

4 Transcript: 08/09/03 Page 4 THE OUTLINE OF THE GENERAL THEMES IN THE BOOK OF JOEL That part, Joel 2:28-32, is for next week. I want to focus in here in Joel 2:18-27 tonight. We re going to look at the notes. Roman numeral 1. The outline of the general themes in the book of Joel. There are two basic sections in the book of Joel. This is very simplistic, because there are many more specific themes that you could talk about. These are general themes. CRISIS AND THE NEED FOR A WHOLEHEARTED RESPONSE The theme of the first half of the book, Joel 1:1-2:17, is, Crisis and the Need for a Wholehearted Response for God s mercy. The coming crisis is the theme, and, in light of that crisis, the need for a wholehearted response, prayer and fasting, so that God will release His mercy. Remember, in Joel 2:14 God says, Perhaps I will relent and give you a blessing if you cry out to Me (Joel 2:14, paraphrased). That s the theme of the first half of the book: a crisis is coming, and wholeheartedness, crying out for mercy, is the only response that s going to get you out of trouble. Those who have been here through the weeks, we know that this crisis happened in Joel s generation, but it was a crisis intended to instruct, not only people all throughout history, but specifically those living in the generation in which the Lord returns. There s no more relevant chapter in the Bible for the coming crisis that s about to hit the globe than Joel 2. It doesn t apply in a secondary way; it was meant by the Holy Spirit specifically for this hour of history. THE CHURCH WILL LAY HOLD OF THIS MANDATE GLOBALLY BEFORE HIS RETURN We re not forcing an application. The application in Joel s day was significant, as was the application on the day of Pentecost; but the highest intention on God s heart was for the hour which the rest of Joel 2 describes, where God s deliverance breaks in, in a global dimension, and saves the people of God. That has never happened. I m pained, really pained over the almost wholesale it would be exaggerated to say wholesale but the almost wholesale neglect and disinterest in the Holy Spirit s calling the Church to prayer and fasting in this hour. I would say that about ten percent worldwide are taking it really seriously. I mean, they re really taking it seriously in places all throughout Asia and Africa. There are tremendous gatherings, stadium events of solemn assemblies where 100,000 are gathering and crying out with such earnestness that it makes the Western world draw back and say, What s going on? It s happening in South America as well, in various places, where they re having all-night stadium meetings of 100,000. There are famous testimonies coming in from around the world. I make it my business, my hobby, and my life security to understand what s happening around the world in this, because the Holy Spirit is clearly awakening it. In America, it s just a trickle, but it s going to come to a full fire before the Lord returns. I m talking about the Church laying hold of this fiery mandate of the Lord to do fasting and prayer. It s the only way out of the crisis. SALVATION AND VINDICATION OF THOSE WHO CRIED OUT IN A WHOLEHEARTED WAY Paragraph B. The second half of the book. We re only going to look at the first part of the second half only a few verses: Joel 2: But instead of Crisis and Response, I would label the second half, Salvation and vindication of the people who cried out in a wholehearted way. God is going to vindicate them before the nations.

5 Transcript: 08/09/03 Page 5 We say, Well, we don t really care. The Lord says, Well, I do, because when I vindicate My people, I vindicate the truthfulness of My name and My covenant-keeping nature. I want to show the nations that I keep My covenant. I will answer wholeheartedness. He is going to cause triumph in four specific areas here in Joel 2 and 3. In four specific areas, triumph will occur that the whole world will witness. THE JUDGMENT THAT S COMING TO ISRAEL WILL TOUCH THE WHOLE EARTH There s a principle that we looked at last week that I call, Like kind, but in lesser measure. What I mean by that principle is that this whole book is describing God s activity in the nation of Israel God s activity of judgment and God s activity of salvation and revival, which is the same thing: God s negative activity of judgment, and God s positive activity of deliverance and revival and salvation; call it what you want. But He s only describing the nation of Israel, and so we might look at this and say, What does this have to do with us? It s talking about Israel. But when you read the major and minor prophets in the Old Testament, this principle is a very, very important one. The point is, what God does in Israel, both negative and positive, will happen in like manner; the like activity will happen all over the earth, but in a lesser measure. The judgment that s coming to the nation of Israel will touch the rest of the earth. It will touch your city, but in a lesser measure than it touches Israel. And the revival that touches Israel will touch your city; and though it comes in a lesser measure, it will be very significant regardless. The judgment and the revival will be beyond anything that your city has ever seen in history. It will be unprecedented in the history of your city or your nation. Yet it will still be of lesser measure than what happens in Israel. As He addressed Israel, God could have said, Oh yes, by the way Kansas City, you re in there too, and Berlin, and London. South Africa, you re there, and Australia, I didn t forget you, you re there, too. But He didn t go through every nation. He describes the negative and the positive activity that s going to be released at the end of the age, and He says, Nations of the earth, know this: I never change, and what I do is what I do. What I do in one place, I do everywhere. I m describing the nation of Israel, but the like activity will happen in your geographic area, though in a lesser measure. That s the principle; that s why this description of judgment and Holy Spirit deliverance in Israel is really relevant to your city and to your life: because God never changes; His personality is the same, and what He does in Israel, He will do in your city, both negative and positive, just in lesser measure. Still it will be unprecedented in the history of your city. Though it s less than Israel, it will be unprecedented in the history of your city or nation, wherever you re from. ESCHATOLOGY AND INTIMACY ARE FUEL FOR THE PRAYER MOVEMENT Roman numeral II. Why study end-time prophecy? We looked at this last week. End-time prophecy is really important to strengthening the prayer movement. I say to this to people all the time when I travel: intimacy with God and eschatology which means study of the end times intimacy and eschatology are seriously important subjects to motivate and strengthen the world prayer movement. Wherever the prayer movement is

6 Transcript: 08/09/03 Page 6 breaking out across the world, you can always find that the people are being fed by intimacy and by eschatology: a knowledge of what the Holy Spirit s doing in the earth. THE DEVELOPMENT OF EVIL AND THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT TO COMBAT IT Let s look at the eschatology. What does it do? I ll be brief, because I went over it last week. You can get the tape if you re interested in it. Study of the end times does this. Number one: it produces urgency in intercession. When we study the endtimes, we see that evil is rising, but it can be minimized in your geographic area by prayer and fasting. Evil is rising. It s not here for a moment only to fade away. We won t say, Wow, that was a really intense season; I m glad that we re back to normal. No, evil is on the rise towards full wickedness in the earth, but your geographic area can find mercy. It can be minimized. When you study this, you see it everywhere and you say, This thing is real. If you don t ever study end-time prophecy, it might have never occurred to you that evil is rising or that there s an answer to it. But not only is evil rising; there s going to be supernatural victory, inevitable, supernatural Holy Spirit victory released in your geographic area. The point is that when you study end-time prophecy, you understand that the victory can be increased and even sped up by the release of the Holy Spirit s power in your midst. A FREIGHT TRAIN COMING TO THE PLANET OF JUDGMENT AND GLORY The more I study end-time prophecy, the more I say, Wow, this thing is happening everywhere. This isn t going to stop. It s a freight train coming to the planet of judgment and glory, and it won t be stopped by any coalition of demons or leaders of nations. It won t be stopped; it s coming. Yet the Church, by and large, is almost totally unaware of what awaits us just around the corner. CONFIDENCE IN THE SOVEREIGNTY AND MAJESTY OF GOD Number two. When you study end-time prophecy, it creates confidence in God s sovereignty. God is fully in control, and never surprised. He s fully in control. Studying this really causes your heart to be at peace, because the nations will be in this frenzied panic of fear, and God says, No, I want your heart stabilized in love. I want you secure. I don t want you in panic and frenzy; I want you to know what s going on and prepared for it. I m totally in control. Number three. When we study end-time prophecy, we marvel at the majesty of God, at the unfolding drama. I have here all the different elements combined in the drama: God s judgment, God s revival, man s sin, Satan s rage, the groans of creation. Creation is groaning, and earthquakes and hurricanes are all things that the Scriptures are very clear about; when we see the drama and the combination of all these things together, we watch it unfold and marvel at the majesty of God. THE UNIQUENESS OF THE DYNAMICS OF THE GENERATION OF THE LORD S RETURN Turn the page. The uniqueness of the end times. Why is there so much in the Bible about the end-times? Jesus spoke more about this generation than He did His own generation. I m talking about God: Why would He speak so much from Genesis to Revelation about one forty-year time frame, one generation? Why? Because there are such unique dynamics happening in that time frame.

7 Transcript: 08/09/03 Page 7 This isn t by any means comprehensive. I ve given several messages, three or four in a row, just on the unique dynamics of the end times. It s a very interesting, fascinating tapestry of events happening around the world that God is orchestrating. It s absolutely magnificent in its wisdom and drama. Unique dynamic number one: the unique demographics. There are more people alive in the generation in which the Lord returns, in that entire generation, in the span of one life time, than in all human history added together. This time frame is very important to God. I m thinking of a generation being seventy years, the whole life span of a person. I mean, more people are alive in that window of time than in all human history combined from Adam in the garden on down. He says, I don t want that generation unprepared. I really don t want you unprepared. THE UNPRECEDENTED GLOBAL EVENTS OF THIS ONE GENERATION Number two. There are unique events globally. He s going to destroy evil in the planet. This has never happened before. Evil will be eradicated from the planet. He s preparing for this. You think, Oh, maybe this is important. Every evil government is going to be removed from the planet for a short season called 1,000 years. That s a short season, because there will be billions of years after that. The Lord wants to prove many points by doing this. My point tonight is not to explain why He s going to do it, but He is going to do it. He will have a Bride prepared in voluntary love. He will have several billion people around the earth who say yes, and who come to a place of glorious preparation. The Bride will be prepared. She has never been prepared in history. Only one time will this happen. Jesus will return physically and set up an earthly reign upon the earth. The Scriptures are absolutely full of revelation on this, from Genesis to Revelation. They re absolutely full of revelation. They re not quiet about this at all. They shout it! I would guess about fifty different chapters in the Word of God focus upon this reality. I haven t counted them, but I ve studied them and it s at least fifty. A huge portion of the Bible is focused upon this reality. A man who is fully God is coming to the earth. He s going to reign over it politically, spiritually, and economically. The generation before this occurs is preparing the way for the eradication of evil, a prepared victorious Church, and for the coming of a man to govern the earth. It s a really important thing to God, this generation of time. And I m totally convinced it s this time in history. So many things are happening, and yet the Church, by and large, is almost totally uninterested in end-time prophecy. SEVERAL COMMON LIES RELATED TO END-TIME PROPHECY Common lies related to end-time prophecy. It s not relevant. It s only for the curious. Then why did God spend so much time in the Bible laying it out? It s not just for the curious; it s absolutely a matter of life and death, physically and spiritually, for you and your family. End-time prophecy isn t just for the curious; it s an area that s of utmost urgency to God s heart, and revealed in the Word of God. That s lie number one: It s irrelevant. Lie number two: It s impossible to understand. Only the scholars can understand it. I talked about that last week. The Bible was written for the majority of the people whom God knew would read it throughout history: the poor and the uneducated. End-time prophecy isn t confusing, as so many have claimed. The reason it seems so confusing is because it s been spiritualized instead of taken literally. When it s spiritualized, it can mean anything. Then all the scholars

8 Transcript: 08/09/03 Page 8 argue with each other, and it s so confusing, and they all argue because they spiritualize it. Israel doesn t really mean Israel. The north doesn t really mean the north. The south doesn t mean the south. Streams of water don t really mean, streams of water; they mean something else. They all argue. I have hundreds of books on the end times, and if you take it symbolically instead of literally, there s no end to the confusion. What happens then is that it becomes neglected, because the people say, We can t understand it anyway. Who cares! We have to take end-time prophecy literally. It was meant to be taken literally and it was meant to be read by people throughout history. The poor and uneducated people of the earth were meant to read the Bible and understand it by the Holy Spirit. You don t have to get a degree at a seminary to understand end-time prophecy. You have to have a heart of devotion and you have to be able to read, or listen to someone who reads. That s all you need to understand it and to go after it. We re now going to focus in on the four different themes that are emphasized in the last half of the book of Joel. They re by no means all the themes of end-time prophecy. To me, it s a mystery why God emphasizes these four and not other themes. As a matter of fact, on page one I put seven different themes in Ezekiel 36-39, because that s a really key end-time prophecy passage. I put seven different themes that Joel doesn t even mention. He doesn t even emphasize them at all. I don t know why these four; that s a great question to ask: Why these four, and not the others, in the book of Joel? I don t know, but these are the four themes that He lays out related to the call of global prayer and fasting. Roman numeral V. Paragraph B. Agricultural, livestock, and economic blessing. God is going to release blessing in that area. Paragraph C. Political and military blessing in the nation of Israel and the nations lined up with what God is doing in Israel. That s a big subject which we won t get into tonight. Paragraph D. Spiritual blessings. Paragraph E. Physical protection. Those are the four themes laid out here in the last half of the book of Joel. He clusters together agriculture, livestock, and economic blessings. C. Political and spiritual blessing. This is actually for the nation of Israel. Like I said earlier, it s the principle of like kind, lesser measure. He s describing what He s going to do in Israel, and He says, I will do this all over the earth. I m only describing what I ll do in Israel, but I ll do it in like kind and in lesser measure all over the earth. Those are four different areas where God s salvation and vindication will occur. I m telling them to you before we go through it. We re going to look at just a small portion tonight, but I m sharing some of the rest of the book of Joel so that when we get there you can know that it s is laid out according to four different prophetic themes that will manifest in the last generation. THE LORD IS ZEALOUS TOWARDS THE LAND OF ISRAEL WITH BURNING ZEAL Roman numeral IV. Let s look at Joel 2:18. We re going to look at a few verses there, line upon line, as we go through it. Then the Lord will be zealous for His land, and He will have compassion on His people (Joel 2:18, paraphrased).

9 Transcript: 08/09/03 Page 9 God describes Himself as zealous for the land of Israel. He s zealous, particularly for the land of Israel. We talked last week a little about why He s zealous. It doesn t really matter why, though I find it interesting. He tells us why a little in the Bible. The important part is that He is. The Lord may say, I don t even have to tell you why I m zealous. I care about that piece of geography especially. We talked on that for about ten minutes last week. He is so jealous for the land of Israel that when the Israelis sin in the land, God judges them; and when the Gentiles attack Israel in sin, they get judged. He is so zealous for the land that the Israelis who dwell in the land aren t immune. If they don t line up with Him, they re in big trouble with Him in that land. That s their history. If the nations of the world come and touch that land in a negative way, which they have through the centuries, and they re going to do it much more in the generation in which the Lord returns, He will be zealous to remove everyone that touches that land with sinful intention or sinful ways. God is zealous for the land of Israel. That s a new idea to many Christians, but it s a profoundly biblical idea. Millions and millions of believers have no idea that Yeshua, who died on the cross, whom they love in their hearts, has a fiery zeal for a piece of real estate on the earth. That s a completely new idea to them. They say, Are you kidding? But it s all throughout the Word of God. It s not my point to develop the reasoning and all the verses, but to state it. If you know that, it helps you understand what s coming afterwards. ISRAEL IS AND WILL BE THE STRATEGIC CENTER OF THE WHOLE EARTH He isn t just zealous for the land to protect it, and to identify with it, and to establish His rule and His kingdom and His office. Jesus is coming back as a real Man fully God, fully Man. He s going to have a worship center. He s going to have a big conference center. He s going to have His office, His administration there. We think, Hmm, I never thought about that. He s really going to do it in one place of the earth. He picked that place long before Genesis 1; before it even existed He picked it out. It s the strategic place of the earth. In Ezekiel 5:5, God calls it the center of the whole earth. He chose it before there were ever nations on the earth. He says, I want it. I went after that land. I built world history around it for a reason. I ll be born there; I ll return to it; and I ll rule from it. I care about that piece of geography. The Lord could say, So, there! to all the nations of the earth, if He wants to say that. He has great compassion. He has tremendous compassion. He s going to undo all the curses on the land. We describe the four different ways in which He does that. GOD WILL MAKE THE WEAKEST OF ALL NATIONS THE RULER OF THE EARTH Look at Roman numeral V again. There s a supernatural reversal going on in these four areas of divine activity. There s a supernatural reversal going on. It s important to understand that. In the land of Israel, Israel is going to go from judgment to blessing. It s going to go from human and divine judgment to blessing. There s no nation in the earth that has experienced more divine judgment, or more human judgment, than the nation of Israel. It has been the most traumatized nation in history. Since Abraham, in Genesis 12, for 4,000 years it has existed, yet it has been so fragile; it has been the weakest nation. The majority of the time, it s been on the brink of extinction. There s no nation that has been on the brink of extinction for probably about ninety-seven percent of its history. That may be a little off, though it would be fun to do the math. There are only a few times where Israel has been in prosperity since Abraham. Yet the Lord says, I will take this weak nation, that has had the most severe history of judgment from God and from men, and I will make it the leader of all the nations of the earth. I will display My power by doing this.

10 Transcript: 08/09/03 Page 10 The existence of Israel for 4,000 years is a supernatural reality. When you think, How many nations have existed for 4,000 thousand years? there are only a few them. THE NATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN UNDER BLESSING WILL COME UNDER JUDGMENT There s going to be another reversal. The nations of the earth that have been under blessing are going to come under judgment. There will be a reversal in the nations that have resisted God s will and God s purpose. There s going to be a grand, global reversal when this Man comes to set up His kingdom on the earth. He s going to rule for 1,000 literal years upon the earth. Adolf Hitler had a dream of a thousand-year reign. I have no doubt that men like Julius Caesar, and Napoleon, and Attila the Hun, and Nebuchadnezzar, all of whom conquered vast amounts of territory, had the dream of global dominion for a long period of time. Of course, Hitler s actual stated plan for a thousand-year reign was an absolute counterfeit of what the Lord has intended for His Son. It was very, very demonic a very specific demonic vision that was given to him. The Lord is going to come and set up His kingdom to do this. Now, in these four different areas of activity, some of them only happen after He returns. The Scriptures are really clear on which are which. So when you read this, you may say, How will I know? When you read the fifty chapters that are dedicated to end-time prophecy, it s really clear which ones. This is explained over and over and over again. The first one, the agricultural blessing, only happens in fullness after He returns. You can t make any sense of it if you don t know that it s talking about when He comes and sets up a literal government. What begins to happen is that the fruit of His righteous government impacts the agriculture and the atmosphere and the livestock. The animals, the atmosphere, and the agriculture are all impacted by the righteous rule of a man in a city called Jerusalem. The land is significantly impacted after His actual coming. WE WILL PLAY A ROLE IN THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WICKED NATIONS The political and military blessing, victory over Israel s enemies, occurs at His coming. His coming has several dimensions, and one of the most unusual dimensions it s not unusual biblically, because it s very clear in the Bible in many passages, but it s unusual to our western mindset because we don t spend much time studying end-time prophecy is that the destruction of these nations will happen in various stages. There s an actual human dimension to the destruction of these nations. You think that He s going to come and appear and then it s all over in one moment. No, He s going to cause them to be subdued, trained, and refashioned over a period of time with natural dimensions to it. He s going to subdue the earth like Adolf Hitler tried to do. Hitler tried to conquer Europe first, and then he was going to take this group and that group next. It didn t work. Several groups have tried to do that. But Jesus is going to subdue the whole earth, and He s going to cause His leadership and His ways to go forth, and agriculture, the atmosphere, the animals, will all be affected by this righteous leadership. THE OUTPOURING OF THE SPIRIT BEGINS BEFORE HE COMES The political and military blessing begins at His appearing, and then it s fully developed after His appearing. The spiritual blessing that s talked about here, the outpouring of the Spirit, begins before He comes. We ll show you this next week it s really clear but the outpouring of the Spirit begins before His appearing. When God

11 Transcript: 08/09/03 Page 11 says in Joel 2:28, Afterward, He s talking about after the prayer and fasting of Joel 2: He s talking about what occurs after the wholehearted response. Then, at the very end of Joel 2:31, He says very clearly that the outpouring will happen before the second coming. The book of Joel gives us very clear time framing. The outpouring will happen before the second coming of Christ. There s a global outpouring that s already scheduled. It s already beginning. Again, when you look around Asia and Africa and different parts of the earth, there s a new dimension of miracles happening, a new fervor going on in prayer and worship and fasting. There s a new zeal that s breaking out, a new activity of the Holy Spirit. It s happening all over the earth in an embryonic way, but it s very noticeable to those who study trends in the Body of Christ. It s going to explode globally before the second coming, before the great and terrible day of the Lord (Joel 2:31). SUPERNATURAL PROTECTION IN THE HOUR OF GLOBAL CRISIS E. The physical protection will occur before the Lord returns. With all this tremendous shaking that s going to happen alongside a Holy Spirit revival, the Lord will supernaturally protect His people. It s a fantastic subject in the Bible. There are so many verses in the Bible talking about the supernatural protection in the hour of the global crisis just preceding His coming. But you have to study end-time prophecy even to know that they exist. I don t know if I have them all, and though I m sure that I ve missed a few, I ve tried to get all them laid out. I said, Wow, this is a phenomenal reality! I m in! Lord, I m going all the way for this stuff! I want to be a part of this supernatural protection. Not just personally I want to be a part of helping others see it and believe God for it and enter into His heart in cooperation with it. THE MEEK SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH, AND DELIGHT THEMSELVES IN ABUNDANCE Joel 2:19. The Lord gives a very general agricultural promise. This promise is only going to happen after His coming, although there are tokens of it beforehand for sure. Someone might say, Why do I care about what the earth is going to be like after He comes back? Well, you may be here, because the saints will be ruling the earth. The saints will inherit the earth. That s what that verse means: The meek shall inherit the earth (Ps. 37:11; c. f. Mt. 5:5). It s literal. They will inherit the earth and reign over it with the Lord at His appearing. Apart from that, you say, Well, that s going to take care of itself. I ll just do things between now and then. I ll worry about that when it gets there. That s not really the response you want, because whatever the Lord does, even in that hour of full blessing across the earth, He will show us tokens, dimensions of, in like kind but lesser measure, all over the earth even before He comes. Whatever He does after He comes, you can be sure because He never changes that He will be doing that same kind of thing beforehand. So I want to know what He s planning when He has His way, because if it s going to happen after He returns, it will happen in part before He returns; I assure you of that. It will happen in Kansas City. That s what we re saying as a house of prayer: We re taking our stand to believe You for what Your Word says is going to happen. SUPERNATURAL POWER WITH THE ANIMALS, THE AGRICULTURE, AND THE ATMOSPHERE There will be supernatural activity in the agricultural dimension. Of course, that s already happening in places around the world. I love to talk about George Otis, Jr. He s been here a few times to visit. He has a video series

12 Transcript: 08/09/03 Page 12 in two parts called Transformation. It s probably the most seen video in history, certainly in the Christian world. Maybe there are other secular videos that are seen more I don t know but it s estimated that it has been seen by a hundred million people around the world. They ve shown it on whole national programs. It s been given unbelievable exposure! What he s done with these videos is, he s gone to various parts of the earth where the Spirit of God is moving in a unique way. He brings along scientists, research people, and documents what he finds there. The agriculture is mind-blowing. They have numerous cases of fruits and vegetables that are enormous. I ve seen them; I ve touched them. There are carrots that are this big. They re all over that part of the earth where the Holy Spirit is moving in power. The idea that God affects the agriculture and the atmosphere when the power of God is moving might be a strange idea to Westerners, but it s happening in a number of places in the earth, even right now. And these researchers and critical eyes are scrutinizing it and criticizing it and finding it to be true. This is happening in little out-of-the-way places where revival is breaking out. He has made it his life passion to go to those places and bring camera crews and film it all. I ve seen them. I thought, What an interesting lifestyle, to go and do that. HE S SHOWING OFF HIS POWER IN ORDER TO SUBDUE THE NATIONS WITH HIS BEAUTY Something else is going to happen, though. In Joel 2:19-20, He s telling the nation of Israel, I ll do something else for you: I m not only going to revive the agriculture, the animals, and the atmosphere supernaturally. He says in the middle of Joel 2:19, No longer shall you be a reproach among the nations (Joel 2:19, paraphrased). No longer are you going to have military and political reproach; never again after My appearing. Israel is the most reproached nation in history. There s coming a time where they will be the leader of the nations of the earth, because the Lord chose it that way. He set up their 4,000 years of weakness to prove His power when He comes. The whole thing is a setup; He did it on purpose. It s going to cause all the nations of the earth to go, Unbelievable! That s part of His regime of dominating the earth. It s really not fair if You can determine history, and You can set everything up ahead of time. I mean, You re going to win the game for sure, because You re using all the power at Your disposal. God plays ten-dimensional chess; we play onedimensional. He plays ten-dimensional chess and He s state champion. He wins every time. There s no way He loses. He says, OK, I ll take this nation that s the weakest, most traumatized nation, the most reproached, harassed nation in history, and they will dominate the earth. Wait and see. I ll do that which is impossible! I will stun the earth when it happens! Watch! He s showing off His power in order to subdue the nations with His beauty (Is. 4:2). THE ANTICHRIST AND HIS NORTHERN ARMIES WILL BE ISRAEL S ULTIMATE FOE Look at this; it s really interesting, and I know that we re coming to the end here. In Joel 2:20, Joel talks about this very important dimension of end-time prophecy. I will remove far from you the northern army, and will drive him away into a barren and desolate land (Joel 2:20). That s talking about a literal army that s coming from the north. I have this in the notes: a prominent theme of end-time prophecy, particularly in Jeremiah 6, Ezekiel 38-39, Zechariah 9:1-8, and Zechariah 11:1-3, is God s portrayal of the northern army as Israel s ultimate foe in the generation in which the Lord returns. It s a coalition of many, many nations coming after her with the biggest army, the biggest military arsenal, the greatest number of weapons, and the most money. At no other time in history has an army been bigger than this, and it s under an evil world leader commonly known as the Antichrist. He won t be known by that name by most of the world; he will be known as a brilliant military strategist, a political leader who brings a kind of peace, but it will be a counterfeit peace. He will then turn all his power to come and destroy the nation of Israel.

13 Transcript: 08/09/03 Page 13 If the Lord has allowed the nations for 4,000 years to be against Israel, He s going to allow their enmity to crescendo to a culmination, and there will probably be more strength in this one coalition than in all the armies of history put together. The Lord says, I will let it mount on to a fullness beyond anything history has ever allowed at one moment in history. I will let you do this. It s called the northern army. It s described in the Bible in a number of places. He says, Here is what I ll do when they come: I will drive them into a barren and desolate land. I will drive them into the desert regions around Israel. I, specifically, will do it. Israel will have no military; it will be a land of un-walled villages and towns. They will have no protection; they will have no military; they will have no help whatsoever. And it will be the biggest army in history, with the best weapons, the largest numbers, the most money, the best agreement around the nations of everyone in unity, and they re coming. But the Lord says, I have a surprise: Israel is going to triumph. I will stun the nations with it, and I will drive this army against their will into a desolate land. That description is in a number of places in the Bible with other dimensions added. It s fascinating, though it s not for our purpose tonight. It s a fascinating part of God s revelation of end-time prophecy, why He s doing that. HIS STENCH WILL COME UP, AND HIS FOUL ODOR WILL RISE His face will be towards the eastern sea that s the Dead Sea and his back will be towards the western sea the Mediterranean. And I will drive him into the desert (Joel 2:20b, paraphrased). That s probably the region today called Jordan. I will so destroy him that his stench will come up (Joel 2:20c, paraphrased). Ezekiel 39:12 tells us that it will literally take Israel seven months to bury the multitudes of the slain soldiers from all the nations of the world who march against Israel. It will take them seven months to bury them, and the stench will pollute the land for a season. That s described in Isaiah 34:2-3 and in Ezekiel 39:12 and it s described right here. It will literally happen. This isn t a figurative prophecy. It s really amazing, what some scholars will try and do with this: Well, you know, when you compromise, it really does stink. The western seas means the ways of the West, because they have movies. It s completely ridiculous. This passage means what it says. His foul odor will arise (Joel 2:20d, NKJV). The Lord wants that known. I think that part of it is going to be a provocation against these nations. They ll read these verses and, in part, it will embolden them. The Lord is actually setting them up by putting this in Scripture. I have no doubt that they ll read this and say, I doubt it. That s another part of the story, but, the reason that this is going to happen is because he has done monstrous things before God (Joel 2:20e) this evil leader. GOD WANTS US TO SING AND REJOICE IN EXPECTATION OF THE COMING TRIUMPH Then the Lord says, I will turn the whole thing around. I will take this monstrous man and his nations and wipe them out. And You know that if He s going to do that, then He s had power the whole time, and so we understand Joel 2:21, where the Lord tells the people of Israel, Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice (Joel 2:21). They re thinking, Yeah, right! There s Great Tribulation breaking out. The judgments of God are all over the earth. We re being invaded by a northern coalition of armies trying to destroy all of us. You re telling us to be glad?

14 Transcript: 08/09/03 Page 14 The Lord says, I m totally in control, I promise you. I will make an international, global, historical reversal; I will break in so suddenly and you have reason ahead of time to be glad before it even happens. You know the passage in Isaiah 54, where Isaiah says, Rejoice, barren woman, and sing for joy; for you will have more children then the married woman (Is. 54:1, paraphrased). He s talking to Israel: Sing before it happens! Here they re supposed to be singing ahead of time. The Lord says, Trust Me, nothing is surprising to Me. It s all laid out in Scripture. You ve seen it all. Now here we all are in America, in our little towns and cities, and the Lord is saying to us, The same applies to you. Whatever is happening in Israel in great intensity, there will be a token of it wherever you live. I assure you, this evil world dominion will touch your life. The Lord is saying to you as well, If I m in control in Israel, guess what? I m in control in the south end of your town. I know what s going on. He says, Here is what I ll do: I ll so reverse everything. Fear not O land! Be glad and rejoice! The Lord has done marvelous things. Don t even be afraid. Get involved in the prayer and worship movement before it happens, because here is what I ll do. He says, Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field, for the open pastures are springing up (Joel 2:22). In the midst of Satan s rage and God s judgment, there s going to be a worldwide famine. It s described several times in the Word of God. There will be drought and earthquakes; there will be all kinds of disturbance in the weather patterns. There will be famine going on all over the land. There will be military invasions. These are described in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, in the minor prophets, and in the book of Revelation, Jesus said it very clearly a number of times Himself about the generation in which the Lord returns. We re in the beginning of that hour of history. THIS ISN T GOING AWAY BECAUSE IT DISRUPTS YOUR AGENDA But there s a prevalence of what I call, ostrich Christianity, putting our heads in the ground because we don t like it. I talked to one lady and she said, I don t like this! I said, And therefore it will go away, right? Is that the idea? It s not going away because it disrupts your agenda. God has an agenda that s bigger than yours. It s called the glory of God in the earth. That s actually a much bigger agenda than any one of our agendas. This isn t going away. Let s go into it. Let s throw ourselves fully into God s heart. Let s get in the middle of what He s doing. Let s get into the middle of the flow of the Holy Spirit and into the understanding of where the protection lies, where the power lies, what He s saying, how we bring mercy to the unbelievers, and how we re a vessel of mercy to those who don t understand. Let s get in the middle of God s heart in this thing. THE MOST EXCITING AND TERRIFYING HOUR IN HISTORY It s the most important time of history. It s terrifying and totally exciting. Actually, it s more exciting than terrifying. Here He tells them right there that the two prominent emotions will be fear and gladness in the earth. Jesus said in Luke 21:26, The hearts of the nations of the earth will faint from fear (Lk. 21:26, paraphrased). Fear will be the dominant emotion outside of the grace of God; but there will be gladness and rejoicing in the worship and prayer movement which will fill the whole Body of Christ.