Well, that was a good ending.
Amen, brother.
By the way, we've still got a couple
of...
Thank you.
We've still got a couple of books there
in the stall for sale.
Learning to Resist Temptation, specially written for Christian
workers and ministers.
An important little volume.
The authority of the Bible, easy to read,
helpful and valuable for those who wish to
understand the significance of the Bible for today's
world.
They're there on the other side, and maybe
my wife will be there, and maybe you
can get her to sing the Old Fashioned
Meeting again.
He's run away now.
We read from Joel chapter 2.
It's been great to be with you, friends.
God bless you all, as you continue to
work for him here, and labor in his
vineyard.
We're all busy in various places, aren't we?
And we all need God, and we all
need the power of the Lord to witness
effectively whatever we are.
But we've been speaking about revival these days,
and I came here with one deep message
on my heart, that of soul travail, of
intercessory prayer.
That's the price that has to be paid
for any movement of the Spirit of God.
No shortcut.
That's the way it goes.
And I want to speak to you just
a little bit about that same subject again
here in Joel chapter 2.
We read from verse 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,
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.
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?
Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast,
call a solemn assembly, 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.
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?
Then will the Lord be jealous for his
land, and pity his people.
And the Lord will answer, and say unto
his people, Behold, I will send you corn,
and wine, and oil, and ye shall be
satisfied therewith, and I will no more make
you a reproach among the heathen.
But I will move far off from you
the northern army, and will drive him into
a land barren and desolate, with his face
toward the east sea, and his hind apart
toward the uttermost sea, and his stink shall
come up, and his ill savor shall come
up, because he hath done great things.
Fear not, O land, and be glad, and
rejoice, for the Lord will do great things.
Now, just a moment of prayer.
Blessed Lord, we thank thee for this time
which we have spent together.
Many of us are tired after all the
concentration which we have put into this weekend,
or these couple of days, and we pray
that thou would refresh us, even in thy
presence, as we wait before thee.
We praise thee, Lord, thou art great and
greatly to be praised.
We worship at thy holy hill where thy
dwellings be, and we pray now that thou
wouldst again bring to our notice that which
is needful for the moving of the Spirit
of God here in this place.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Competent literary authorities declare that from the standpoint
of style, and this small book is a
literary gem, the book of Joel, characterized by
smoothness and fluency, strength and tenderness, Joel is
known as the prophet of revival.
And he saw that genuine repentance lay at
the root of real revival, and this he
labored to produce.
A rent heart is followed by a rent
veil, and then a rent heaven.
So Joel's ministry is very important.
He speaks about the locust plague.
There was devastation here in this country, and
the first chapter we read of it.
He says there, hear this, the second verse,
old men give ear, hath there been in
your days, or even in the days of
your father, tell it, tell your children of
it, and let your children tell of their
children, their children and another generation, that which
the palmer worm hath left, hath the locust
eaten, that which the locust hath left hath
the canker worm eaten, that which the canker
worm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten, all
different aspects of one great plague, the locusts,
wake ye drunkards, and weep, they didn't have
anything to drink, because the land had been
devastated.
Verse eight, lament like a virgin girded with
sackcloth, for a husband of a youth, that's
the whole nation.