GRACE BIBLE CHURCH
Pastor Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Thursday
February 28, 2019
Pastor Rick Bettez
Joe 2:17 Let the priests, the Lords’ ministers, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, “Spare Your people, O LORD, and do not make Your inheritance a reproach, a byword among the nations. Why should they among the peoples say, ‘Where is their God?’”
Prayer is needed, and out of this comes a principle which applies to us: Positive Bels, effective prayer warriors, can actually pray their country right out of disaster.
Joel 2:17 – spare = chuwc, Hebrew verb speaks to compassion and to hold in deep regard for pity or great concern. This would be a serious group prayer held in a sanctified place (Solomon’s temple) porch & alter.
The positive Bels who gain momentum and maintain unity can harness great power and with proper application in their daily lives and focused prayer they can change a nation!
Gen 18:26 So the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.”
Gen 18:32 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.”
Noah’s Ark, Joseph’s governing position in Egypt and the conversation we see between the Lord and Abraham (Gen 18) is a clear indicator that positive Bels can have a profound effect on a nation. Even the Apostles are great examples of what a few positive Bels can do!
Joe 2:17 Let the priests, the Lords’ ministers, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, “Spare Your people, O LORD, and do not make Your inheritance a reproach, a byword among the nations. Why should they among the peoples say, ‘Where is their God?’”
This prayer is for the deliverance of the nation. There are still a few confirmed Bels in the country who have remained positive toward the Father’s plan. This plan is connected with the nation not just a chosen few.
God delivers on the basis of His character, not on the basis of human history or national heritage or any other factor of human merit. If we survive, we survive because God intervenes to deliver us.
On the basis of His character, on the basis of who and what He is, on the basis of the fact that we as Bels passed the legal, propitiation standard, therefore, God is free to love us without being inconsistent with His own holiness.
Heb 4:16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Heb 10:19 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
Isa 55:11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
Mat 24:35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
It has been there since the beginning and it will be there in eternity!
Joe 2:18 Then the LORD will be zealous (qana') for His land and will have pity (chamalon) His people.
Verse 19 — “the Lord will answer and say to His people.” This answer has a twofold meaning; The land was ravaged by locust (economic disaster), then Assyrian attacks later but also toward the end of the 7 year Tribulation economic disaster and plagues are dominant factors across the world, until the 2nd Advent.
Joel 2:19 The LORD will answer and say to His people, “Behold, I am going to send you grain, new wine and oil, and you will be satisfied in full with them; And I will never again make you a reproach among the nations.
It is one thing to have prosperity, it is another thing to be happy under prosperity. It is only a Bel who truly has grown up within the plan of God who respects & enjoys prosperity, having no other expectations except what God has already done for them.
Joe 2:20 “But I will remove the northern army far from you, and I
will drive it into a parched and desolate land, and its vanguard into the eastern sea, and its rear guard into the western sea. And its stench will arise and its foul smell will come up, for it has done great things.”