Apply Within

Bob Davis: Trust God, don't be afraid. God will do great things if we will trust him. There's nothing he cannot do. In a sincere heart cry out then stand and see what the Lord will do. You're going to be and you'll be telling everybody that we go no. Yep, what God did.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Apply within a verse by verse study of the word of God with Pastor Bob Davis of North Country Chapel. We invite you to join with us as we by the power of God's Holy Spirit apply his word within our own hearts as we study line upon line, precept upon precept verse by verse through the Bible. Beginning in Joel chapter 2 verse 15, God promises restoration and the outpouring of his spirit upon his people. Here's Pastor Bob.

Bob Davis: Therefore also saith the Lord, this is Joel chapter 2 verse 12. Therefore also saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart with fasting and weeping and with mourning and tear your heart and not your garments and turn to the Lord your God for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger of great kindness and repent of him of evil. He does not want to judge you but he will. In other words, verse 14, who knoweth if he will repent or return and repent and leave a blessing behind him even food offering and drink offering unto the Lord your God.

Cry out to God now while it's today, now while you have this chance. Yeah, there may be tomorrow, maybe there will be, who knows? Uh, there wasn't a today for some. Will there be a tomorrow for me and you? We don't know. We don't worry about it but there is today. If there's no tomorrow, we not to go to work. 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 are breastfeeding. Uh, 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, cry out to God for thy people. Oh Lord, spare thy people and give not thy inheritance to reproach that the heathen should rule over them. Wherefore should they say among the people, where is their God? Cry out to God for his mercy. Remember verse 1 of chapter 2, blow the trumpet in Zion. Now we just read verse 15, blow the trumpet in Zion. Again the call is to sound the trumpet. In verse 1, it was to alert the people.

More trouble's coming. You know the the trumpet blasts is everybody get together. You've got to hear this news. More trouble's coming. Now he says, blow the trumpet in Zion once again, blow that trumpet to gather the people together for a solemn assembly, a special get together, a holy fast and a sacred assembly. Come with your hearts humble, come ready to hear from the Lord, come ready to cry out to God and ask the Lord for mercy. When you ask for mercy, you're not asking for what you deserve, you're asking for the opposite. Don't give me what I deserve, Lord, have mercy.

Now here's something I like. Although the locusts destroyed everything, there was nothing to offer to the Lord, nothing. They had nothing. They couldn't obey the law. They could they couldn't make the sacrifice. There was nothing available there. But God, the priests were commanded, call the people together to offer to the Lord. Offer what? Offer themselves. There was nothing else they could give. Everything else couldn't bring a wheat offering, it couldn't bring a drink, couldn't bring anything. Empty handed. What is the song, just as I am without one plea. Empty handed, we come to the Lord, we come to He doesn't get a deal when we become his.

We get the deal. He he got nothing when he got me. Well, that's not true, probably headaches. No, he's he's big, he's he's big. It's okay. There was nothing to offer but wait. The Lord calls them to offer their own hearts, offer their own lives. That's all he's ever wanted for me. I remember somebody going through struggles asking the question, maybe you've asked it. What does God want from me? Why didn't he get off my back? Know what he wants from me? Me. He doesn't want your money. We get we have the opportunity to give to the Lord of what we have and he will bless it, multiply it and it will and it will go and feed thousands upon thousands and it will bless and it will minister and the gospel will go forth.

We get to do that but we don't have to. He doesn't need our money. We don't have anything God needs. He blesses us by allowing him allowing us to be a part of what he's doing. The Lord calls them to offer a sacrifice to the Lord. Well, we don't have anything. Yes, you do. Come with broken hearts, surrender your heart to me. Give your heart to me. Give me you. You're the one I love. It's not the sacrifice I'm after. Remember Samuel said that to King Saul. When King Saul disobeyed, he said, well, I did obey and and Samuel said, you didn't obey.

God said, kill everything and I hear sheep in the background. You didn't kill everything. Well, I did but when we brought the sheep to give them to the Lord, we are going to sacrifice them and Samuel said it out loud. To obey the Lord is better than sacrifice. You think God wants dead animals? You're missing the point. He wants me, he wants you. Well, verse 18. Then God says, then will the Lord be jealous for his land and pity his people. You come to God with a broken heart and God hears everything you're saying. Right?

Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto his people, behold, I will send corn and wine and oil and you shall be satisfied therewith and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen. But I will remove far off from you the northern army and will drive him into a land barren and desolate and his face toward the East Sea and his hinder parts, his rear toward the utmost Sea and his stink shall come up and his ill savor shall come up because he had done great things. The Lord, I know you've seen this before but the way Joel says it is is so cool.

The Lord then will the Lord be jealous for his land and pity his people. When? When we cry out from our hearts, the Lord moves. It's from our hearts. When you cry, Lord, uh help me on this test. Lord, help me get through this. Lord, could you make the light green? You know, there's no real heart in those prayer requests. You know that, don't you? And that's a lot of times how we catch ourselves praying. Oh Lord, and Aunt Martha or whatever her name is and oh that guy that needs shoes. There's there's is there a heart there?

Listen to the language. Let me let me say it this way cuz this is what Joel is saying here. The Lord God has a passion for the things that belong to him. He has a passionate if I could use the word, I guess, loyalty for the things that belong to him. God is so in love with you, so faithful. He is not going to let anybody have you. He has pity on his people. Psalm 103, like a father pities the little children. The Lord sees each one of us that way. Now we see ourselves as mature, getting better, we can handle it but God watches us try and walk and we're like a I've said it before, we're like a year old and we're stumbling and falling all over and and it's good that we're flexible.

Or do we be all broken all the time? Think about it. He has pity on his people. Even in their disobedience, did you hear it? Tell my people, blow the trumpet and tell them bring their hearts. I want the hearts. I want you. Come to me. Come to me. I want your hearts. Bring your hearts. We got nothing we can give you. I want you. Bring your heart to me. And you know what God says? As the people cry out in true sincerity of heart, the Lord promises he's going to deliver them from weight. Remember we've been talking about the locust but we are talking about the day of the Lord.

You haven't forgotten that, right? We still the future, the day of the Lord is still future even to us and God says this. He promises if the people will turn in sincerity of heart, he will deliver them from the army that is coming. Now you can zoom us out to the end times where you've got the Antichrist and the false prophet and you've got all of that going on. This is a prophecy about the great and terrible day of the Lord. There may be a suggestion about the Assyrians, there may be a suggestion about the Babylonians but the final fulfillment of the prophecy itself is the day of the Lord which you read about starting in the book of Revelation chapter 6.

And now keep this in mind, it's a future prophecy when he talks about getting that getting rid of that army, delivering from that army. Now I can tell you but you should already know. He's not talking about the locusts. The locusts have come through, damage is done. It's gone, it's wasted. He's not talking about that army. He's talking about the army that is still to come and it will be in the last days and Jesus said in Matthew 24, remember there's never been anything like it in the history of the world and there will never be anything like it again.

What's coming on this planet very soon is something that humans have never ever seen or experienced. He's not talking about the locusts. They've already gone through devastating. It's still future fulfillment in other words. The two seas you have his his front parts headed toward one sea and his rear facing the other sea. The two seas that you're talking about probably you already know but it refers to the Sea of Galilee as some would suggest the Dead Sea. So you're still talking about the board the border, the boundary, the Sea of Galilee, the Dead Sea and and the sea on the other side to the west would be of course the Mediterranean.

In between the Mediterranean, Sea of Galilee, Dead Sea, but Sea of Galilee especially in between those two is a valley, har for valley, Megiddo. Har Megiddo which is where we get our Americanized word Armageddon. It's it's valley of Megiddo, the valley of decision. We won't get there tonight but that's in Joel in the next chapter you'll be talking about it. That's where Jesus, I'm sorry, God right here makes a reference to. I believe just me. You can believe what you want. I believe that there is a reference here coming up in the last days of the I think this may a cross reference would be Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 where the armies come and surround the nation of Israel and they attack from all sides to include the ocean from from the naval vessels and Israel will be completely surrounded and no one will come to their aid and God himself will do it.

If this verse says what? He's going to take them out of there. He's going to drive them into a a land barren and desolate etc. with the in between the two seas. It's not only Ezekiel 38 and 39 I think it's also final fulfillment in Revelation chapter 19, what we call the final battle of Armageddon. Okay, well, verse 21. Fear not, oh land, be glad and rejoice for the Lord will do great things. Be not afraid, you beasts of the field for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree bears her fruit, the fig tree and the and the vine do yield their strength.

Be glad then, children of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God for he hath given you the former rain moderately and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain in the first month. And the floors shall be full of wheat and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil and I will restore to you the years the locust has eaten, the canker worm, the caterpillar and the palmer worm, my great army which I sent among you. And you shall eat plenty and be satisfied and praise the name of the Lord your God that it dwelt wondrously with you and my people shall never be ashamed.

Hear what God says. A a locust plague has come through. Everything is gone. Everything is gone. The land looks the description Joel gives looks like fire went through and burned everything down. Trees are gone. Those locusts took it all. There's nothing to offer the Lord. Well, I want your hearts, bring those. And God says, don't be afraid. I mean, something worse than what you just went through is coming. You've never seen anything like it. It's coming but don't you fear. Don't be afraid. I love what he says. Don't fear. The Lord will do great things.

Is that good enough for us? I wonder, is it good enough or should we go ahead and panic anyway? And then God talks about sending them the former rain and the latter rain. Now some people make a whole uh doctrine out of this. Uh they even call you know there's some people that have a doctrine of the former rain, the latter rain and and how you should never be sick and never be poor and never be ugly and never be whatever. I hate to break it to you but there's you you're not going to pull out all kinds of major doctrines out of this.

What what the the former rains happen in October in the in the fall when in the later fall when it rains and the latter rains um are the April springtime rains. Sorry. I know it sounded you wanted it to be holy but God just promises I'll make sure it rains. Oh that's a cool promise. If you're standing there and not only has as it been a locust but the drought has killed everything along with it. Animals are dying. It's just it's a mess and God says, I'll see to it. You get the former rains, the latter rains.

We'll we'll do it. I'll do it. God will do great things. Will you let him? Will they let him? He's promising to do what? Listen, I 'll say it. Water the land and make it like it was when they first came in, a land flowing with milk and honey. He's going to bless his people. Let me put it this way agriculturally. Things will grow and economically. They can sell them in and buy and trade in in their they're going to be good. Not because they're good, they're not even good right now. He's calling them to him now, not because they're good cuz he is good.

He's going to bless them and continue to bless them. Why? He promised that he would. When they disobey, he'll discipline but you notice there's still his. You can pick your friends but you are stuck with your family. They're his. That's what he's chosen and he calls them the children of Zion. That would just mainly that the part Zion is the southern kingdom called Judah, the area of Judah or Judea. And here's what he says. Hear this, Christian, because the principle applies to you and to me as well as the promise to these people right here ushering me.

He says, I will restore to you the years that the locusts have eaten. You're going through a hard time right now. He says, there's nothing. I'll make it up. I'll take care of you. I'll restore it to you. The canker worm, the caterpillar and the palmer worm. God promises what? I'll say it again, great things, big things, big. To all that belong to him, not just the Jewish people right here but to everyone that belongs to him. God promised to you and to me big things, good things. He will restore. The idea is rebuild. He will see to everything that concerns you and me and the children of Israel.

Not only does God promise to carry us from our lowest point of pain, heartache and devastation. He also promises to make up some of that lost time, doesn't he? Isn't that amazing? That's incredible. There's a complete fulfillment in restoring the years the locusts have eaten and I think it's in Revelation chapter 21. When Jesus Christ rules on this earth, let me read just a few verses, verses 4 through 6. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall be any more pain for the former things are passed away.

And he that sat upon the throne said, behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, write for these words are true and faithful and he said unto me, it is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. We're going to rule and reign with Jesus Christ. We can't go back and fix yesterday. We can't even get to it from here. And we said, Lord, did I did I lose another day? Did I waste another thing?

Did I did I blow it so big that I and God says, turn to me in repentance, doing a about face. Bring your heart and I'll do great things. Think about that. You you're it's not too late. um uh the old pastor friend of mine, I called him old now. I think he entered into the ministry when he was 66. And he said, oh, I wasted all those years. And he entered into the ministry at 66. God called him out of his business. And I said, you didn't waste those years. You've been sitting with me for years.

I've been learning all kinds of stuff. And he didn't start till he was 66 and you think, man, oh my goodness, I'm in my middle 30s. I'm missing it. I don't think so. God will do great things if we'll bring our hearts to him. Don't you worry about the time, let him worry about it. Okay, verse 27, almost done here. You shall know that I'm in the midst of Israel, that I am the Lord your God and none else. My people shall never be ashamed. The idea is ever ever again. And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.

Your old men shall dream dreams. I think old men sleep a little more than sons and daughters. Your young men shall see visions. And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days I will pour out my spirit. His spirit is going to be upon everyone willing. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke and the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon into blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord come or before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.

And it shall come to pass that who soever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved, shall be delivered. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance as the Lord has said and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. Man, that chapter ends with good news so we'll stop there because it starts with bad news from the expert. Anyway, remember remember this as we talk about this. God calls them to sincerely repent in the military about face. Repent, turn around, turn back, turn to God. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord.

And God promises to do what? Fill them with his Holy Spirit. And he promises to dwell, God, in the very midst of them. Do you know that that God Jesus Christ, God's Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ lives in your heart? Do you know that when we gather together corporately, he's always with us but when we gather together corporately, there is a special presence of Jesus Christ right there. People say, I can be just as close to God on the golf course. Of course you can but there is a special presence. Uh yeah, he's always with me but when two or three of us gather together, he's right there in the dead center.

Man, you can get some stuff done. So that's why in in in the end days that the writer of Hebrews says, don't forsake the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some is. It's the practice of some that love the Lord that don't even go to church. More and more stay home and watch it on TV and that's all right if you're sick or all right if you're exhausted, tired but it's not right if you just don't want to get out of your bunny jammies. Bring wear them down here. Come on. Because be where God's people are cuz that's where Jesus will be.

Where? He says, I'll be right in the midst of them and I'll pour out my Holy Spirit upon them. The younger are going to see visions, the old of us will dream. Dream dreams. This prophecy was partially, not fully but partially fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. And Peter said, you've seen part of that now. No, sun hasn't gone dark, moon hasn't turned to blood but everybody is coming soon. I believe that the judgment of God is coming very I don't know the day or the hour but it's coming soon and you are seeing it everything ramp up toward it.

It's ramping up. It is it is like a snowball. It's going a little faster, getting bigger, a little faster, getting bigger and I believe the Lord will take his church out of and away from the scene of his judgment. I do not believe according to his promises he will pour out his judgment on the church.

Guest (Male): Thank you for listening to Apply within with Pastor Bob Davis. Apply within is a radio outreach ministry of North Country Chapel. Our Sunday morning Bible studies are at 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. We also have a Friday evening Bible study at 7:00 p.m. and a Monday evening Bible study at 7:00 p.m. You can download today's message in its entirety at northcountrychapel.com/studies. That's northcountrychapel.com/studies. If you would like a copy of today's message, write to us and ask for the message with today's date. The address is Apply within 2281 West Seltee, Post Falls, Idaho 83854 or call us at 1-800-572-8851.

That number again, 1-800-572-8851. Our mobile app is available for iPhone and Android. Download it to listen to full length studies, watch the live stream of our services or to find out more about church events. If you have been blessed by the teaching or have prayer requests that you would like to share with us, write, email or call us as well. Please join with us every Monday through Friday as we study together verse by verse on Apply within sponsored by North Country Chapel. God bless you.