GRACE BIBLE CHURCH
Pastor Robert R. McLaughlin
Thursday
January 17, 2019
Pastor Rick Bettez
Joe 1:15 Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
In verses 15-20 we have prophetic words, in this distant fulfillment we go from the terrible disasters of the Assyrian invasion to the invasion of the king of the north in the Tribulation.
“the day of the Lord is at hand” — the day of the Lord includes the Tribulation, 2nd Advent, This refers to the last part of the Tribulation — “at hand” meaning it will come in its proper time. Also within this is God’s judgment to befall the occupants of Judah with the future attacks.
Verses 17-18 - As a result of the invasion of the king of the north we have loss of crops in verse 17, we have loss of cattle in verse 18. The breaking of the 7 seals in the book of Revelation brings on similar destruction.
Behind this chapter is a principle which has to do with failure on the part of Bels. Bels are called the ‘salt of the earth’ and in the context where this is used in the Sermon on the Mount, salt was used as a preservative. A nation is preserved by positive Bels.
If the Bels reject Bible doctrine the nation suffers, if the Bels are positive toward Bible doctrine, then the nation is preserved in spite of poor leadership and bad economic activities.
There is no lifestyle (Bel or Unbel) that does not have a direct effect on the world and those all around us in one aspect or another. The Bel can add to the positive pivot and also evangelize to a lost and dying world. The Unbel is added into the satanic minions that cause grief and confusion in the world.
Gen 6:3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”
The nation that promotes lies and lives in doctrines of demons opposed to the word of God will face divine discipline unless the remnant of positive Bels is strong enough and large enough to sustain them.
Gen 6:8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
It sometimes come down to only a few Bels who sustain the nation. God can use just a few to re-boot the whole human race!
Gen 50:19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place?
Gen 50:20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.
Gen 50:22 Now Joseph stayed in Egypt, he and his father’s household, and Joseph lived one hundred and ten years.
2Tim 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,
2Ti 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;
This is a Bel who is content with his life, someone is prepared and ready to face the Lord!
Our study in Joel chapter 1 shows us that when we accept the counterfeit system of satanic lies over the truth of Bible Doctrine we can have a negative effect on not only ourselves but those around us and perhaps even the nation itself!
Following cosmic lies and the worship of false idols is ultimately the Bel’s fault because it displays a lack of wisdom (BD) or apathy toward their relationship with the Lord. Either way it becomes a guarantee of misery for the future which has the potential to spread out to every corner of the Bel’s life.
God’s grace, mercy & forgiveness are always waiting just around the next corner. This will always wash the failure and sins away but it does not always quickly remove the repercussions of negative choices.
Pro 15:13 A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, but when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken.
Pro 15:16 Better is a little with the fear (respect) of the LORD Than great treasure and turmoil with it.
Hebrews 11:24-25 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,
This would be a call for the Unbel’s in the country to come to the knowledge of the Lord and Savior, as well as a time for the Bel’s to rebound & recover. This was a call across the land to recognize the one true God and forsake all false idols.
The Hebrew verb- za`aq (cry) means to make a public display or gathering of people to proclaim and cry out loudly. Calling out as a group for aid or forgiveness.
Psa 32:3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah.
Pro 28:13 He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.
The lesson we can learn from this historic disaster in Judah (Joel 1) is that a lifestyle opposed to the PPOG not only brings personal misery but after a period of time it will bring suffering that touches family, friends, your wealth as well as health (physical & mental).
Once a Bel or a nation has strayed far enough from God to ignite divine discipline it is not a simple rebound technique that puts everything back in order. For the Bel it is a focused, spiritual journey back. For a nation the majority often, have resisted BD and they remain in that mindset.
Pro 14:9 Fools mock at sin, but among the upright there is good will. 10 The heart knows its own bitterness,
and a stranger does not share its joy.
Pro 14:12 There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
Pro 14:14 The backslider in heart will have his fill of his own ways, but a good man will be satisfied with his.