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| In loving memory of my father Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023 |
The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethuel. Joel 1:1
The fact that nothing is known of Joel signifies that those who will be used by the Lord in these end times are likewise unknowns, a group of "nobodies." The last Joel will be characterized by genuine meekness and humility as a result of a deep work of God within their spirit and soul. Other Spirit-developed qualities of the last Joel will include an understanding of the ways of the Lord, a genuine compassion for the Lord's people, and a holy boldness to speak His word even in places where they are not invited, not welcome, and not wanted. The last Joel will get no applause from men ... only the applause from God.
Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Joel 1:2
"Hear this" is a command! It also carries a sense of urgency. In truth, we live in urgent times! The end of the ages is upon us! God is sovereign. He has His timetable for all things, but we believers have a responsibility also! Our responsibility is to hear that which the Spirit is saying and to obey His voice. Unfortunately, far too few of the Lord's people want to take the time to wait before Him to hear what He is saying. That is why so many thousands flock to "prophetic conferences" and pay their entry fee. It is also much easier and more comfortable just to hear what the Lord is saying through the pastor every Sunday morning.
The old men represent those who have heard and experienced much in the Lord. Although "old men" does not necessarily signify elders, elders would certainly be included. Even those who have been baptized with the Holy Spirit and have been leaders in the Church for many long years need to hear what the Spirit is saying through Joel.
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 caterpillar eaten. Joel 1:4
The four insects mentioned are NOT four different insects but rather four stages of one insect ... the locust. The palmerworm is the gnawer; the locust is the swarmer; the cankerworm is the devourer; and the caterpillar is the consumer. This states a progression in destruction.
Our adversary gradually has been pulling the Church down to the same condition as the world. Many in the Church today have adopted the ways of the world. Many churches look and act like a worldly corporation, with a CEO (senior pastor) at the top of the structure. Rock music and a "be-bop" beat have infiltrated our churches. Far too many pastors, evangelists, and teachers beg for money, which is used to satisfy their own desires to build their church.
2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?3 Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. Judges 2:2-3
The first part of the word of the Lord through Joel is a word of exhortation.
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. Joel 1:5
Awake! If ever there was a word for the Church in this hour it is this word ... AWAKE! The Church in America has been lulled to sleep by our adversary over a period of many years.
24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,25 In meekness instructing those who oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;26 And that they may awake out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. 2 Timothy 2:24-26
Joel 1:5 calls for the drunkards and all drinkers of wine to weep. Although Joel calls for repentance, drunkenness is the only specific sin mentioned in this book. It suggests a self-indulgent lifestyle pursued by those who value material things more than spiritual things of the Lord. The drunkards and drinkers of wine do not have any new wine. They are old wineskins, into which new wine cannot be poured. They live on old manna. There is no fresh revelation. They like to talk about what happened in the past.
We are called to identify with Jesus with His birth, sufferings, death, resurrection, glorification, and intercession. Jesus wept over Lazarus and over Jerusalem. Likewise, we need to weep over the state of the Church today and to pray and intercede that the Church might come forth to His glory.
The Church has been increasingly drawn away from the ways of the Lord because of pride, materialism, an independent and democratic spirit, traditions of men, and on and on. Surely the Church is at a crossroads in this hour. By the "Church" we mean all genuine born-again believers, no matter what type of church they are in. In addition we include all believers whether they go to a "church" building made of bricks and stones, a house church, or no "church" at all. True believers everywhere and at all spiritual levels must decide whether they want "business as usual" or whether they want a fresh, healing touch from the Lord.
Many churches in this hour suffer from a stagnation, a "business as usual" attitude, a "don't rock the boat" attitude, a tendency to "sugar coat" the word of God so as not to offend anyone, a huge tendency to compromise the ways of the Lord with the ways of the world in order to keep people happy and to keep the money coming in. So the Lord is saying:
My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have cause them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting place. Jeremiah 50:6
Please note that the reason the sheep have gone astray is because of the shepherds!
How is the gold become dim! How is the most fine gold changed! The stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street. Lamentations 4:1
The "most fine gold" represents those leaders, ministers, who once had an anointing, but have succumbed to the ways of man. The "stones of the sanctuary" represent the "lost sheep" that Jeremiah speaks of in Jeremiah 50:6, above.
Just as Paul admonished the Church at Corinth many years ago, a multitude of different voices is still causing confusion and uncertainty in the Church today. We see disunity, strife, bitterness, sin, carnality, and division. We have seen, in our own lifetime, a parade of false, out of balance tangents such that literally tens of thousands of genuine believers have been "tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive" (Ephesians 4). This parade of false "movements" and false teachings includes submission, discipleship, faith and prosperity, the apostles and prophets "movement," and "networking" (which is the modern-day version of denominations). The reason that these false teachings have such an appeal is because they all have a measure of truth. In ALL of these out-of-balance tangents, the major, common error is that they are man-directed and controlled rather than being led by the Spirit. Rat poison is 99% pure wheat ... it is the other 1% that gets you!
Joel 1: 5 says that the new wine is cut off from our mouth. This is a day of a lack of prophetic revelation, a lack of anointing, and a lack of manifestation of apostolic authority and power, just as in the days of Samuel. The description of the state of spiritual Judah continues,
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 meal offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the Lord; the priests, the Lord's ministers, mourn.
The meal offering and the drink offering are not some natural food and drink. The meal offering and drink offering represent that small percentage of believers who have identified with Jesus in becoming a meal offering and a drink offering unto the Lord.
10 The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.
The ingredients for the meal offering and the drink offering have wasted away. The Holy Spirit is no longer in control of our assemblies. New wine, which also speaks of fresh revelation, is dried up. Too many pastors today preach and teach 40-year-old manna.
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.
Husbandmen and vinedressers represent the pastors and teachers, who should be ashamed because of what they teach. Wheat is for the more affluent; barley is for the poor. Rich and poor alike suffer. The harvest of the field (world) is perished, which signifies that very few new believers are being added to the Church daily. There are many in the Church today who seem to focus on evangelism ... obtaining new converts; but they are using the best methods of the world to try to evangelize, resulting in what might be called "breech births," i.e., the Head does not come first. The Lord will never allow His fruit to spring from man's best efforts. Jesus said that He will build His Church. He never said that man will build His Church.
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.
Trees represent members of the body of Christ, all of whom are withered away. The joy that is expressed in charismatic meetings is primarily emotional fervor, not the joy of the Lord, for the Lord is not joyous over the current state of His body.
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 is withholden from the house of your God.
Verse 13 speaks of true intercession along the same level as Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. That intercession is for the meal offering and drink offering (a remnant) to be restored.
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.
Verses 16-20 of Joel 1 continue with a description of the state of those Christians who are baptized with the Holy Spirit.
Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God? Joel 1:16
Note that Joel says OUR God. Like so many of God's anointed prophets, Joel not only identifies with the Lord and His ways but also with the Lord's people! We must have a sincere compassion for His people worked within us. Jesus came to earth and identified with man in every respect so that we can identify with Him in every respect. This can happen ONLY by the inwrought work of God.
Joel clearly states the call of the Lord in this hour for all those who have eyes to see and ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church today. The action required of His priests, the ministers of the Lord, in this hour is very clear and very timely. There are FOUR specific calls to repentance in the book of Joel. These four calls correspond to the four stages of falling away in Joel 1:4. The first call is in Joel 1:2-20 and begins with the priests. The second call is in Joel 2:1 which states that it is time to sound an alarm in Zion, an alarm which those in Israel cannot hear because they are too far removed. The trumpet was used to signal approaching danger. This alarm trumpets the growing apostasy within the Church. "Let all of the inhabitants of the land tremble" speaks of the fear of God, which is sadly lacking within the Church today.
Joel 2:1-3 speaks of the judgment of God. No one can seriously doubt that the judgment of God must come to America. This nation has strayed too far from the ways of the Lord and has slowly been moving from darkness to gross darkness. In 2009 President Obama told an audience in Turkey that we are no longer a Christian nation.
The plea of God to His people through Joel is for action, not a passive waiting for the Lord to do something. Let us see what this action includes in the third call to repentance.
12 Therefore, also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God; for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth Him of the evil.14 Who knoweth if He will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meal offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?Joel 2:12-14
Repentance must be genuine, not simply a form or a routine, and must be "with all of our heart." Verse 13 says "rend your heart, not your garments." Garments are external; the heart is at the core of our very being. Next, the Lord requires fasting, not feasting. Another requirement is for weeping, which must be born of the Spirit.
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.6 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God. Psalm 84:5-7
The valley of Baca is the valley of weeping. The road to the fullness of the kingdom of God sooner or later will lead you through the valley of weeping. The prerequisite for passing through the valley of weeping is given in Verse 5: "in whose heart are the ways" of the Lord ... those who understand His ways, not simply His acts. Anyone who identifies with the heart of God MUST weep over the state of Jerusalem, just as did Jeremiah and Jesus.
The fourth call to repentance is to all of the Church.
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:16 Gather the People, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.17 Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, "Spare Thy People, O Lord, and give not Thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?" Joel 2:15-17
From Verse 16, no segment of the Christian community is exempt from this assembly. The "children and those that suck the breasts" speaks of those who have not yet matured spiritually in Christ. Even the newly married, who normally would have been exempt, are called forth.
The order is to blow the trumpet in Zion, not in Jerusalem or Judah or Israel. Why? because only those in spiritual Zion are able to hear the call of the Spirit with their spiritual ears.
The result of a genuine repentance on the part of the Lord's people is a new and abundant blessing, a time of great restoration, and a great harvest of souls. But the promise of refreshing is conditioned upon our repentance - no genuine repentance, no blessing. God's blessings and prosperity wait for those who hear and obey His word.
18 Then will the Lord be jealous for His land, and pity His People.21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things.Joel 2:18, 21
"Then" means "after we repent." Verses 2:18 through the end of Joel have not yet been fulfilled and are prophetic of the end times in which we live.
The only question is, Who will be a partaker of the last Joel? Who will allow the Holy Spirit to make us into a meal offering and a drink offering unto the Lord? That requires a decision on our part. Yes, multitudes, multitudes are in the valley of decision. Amen!
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