Intro to the End Times Seminar

Session 8: The Joel Two Lifestyle

I.God’s Promise about Mankind & the Physical Cities of the Earth.

“See, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants…The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered…The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers…The earth is defiled by its people…Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left (Is. 24:1-6).”

“The ruined city lies desolate…all gaiety is banished from the earth. The city is left in ruins…So will it be on the earth and among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest (Is. 24:10-13).”

“I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD. “I will sweep away both men and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. The wicked will have only heaps of rubble when I cut off man from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD (Zph. 1:2-3).”

“That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified citiesand against the corner towers. I will bring distress on the people…because they have sinned…Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like filth…on the day of the LORD’s wrath. In the fire of his jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth (Zph. 1:15-18).”

“No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake…and the cities of the nations collapsed (Re. 16:18-19).”

II.God’s Promise to Shake Everything:

When looking at the above devastations the question arises of how will things practically get to that point? A lot of really negative things would have to transpire for the Earth to look that way. God has made a promise to shake everything that can be shaken, and when God rises to shake the Earth all that is currently called stable will tumble and all that has been relied upon will fail. This is His strategic way of dealing with everything that hinders love at the end of this age; the result is the state of the planet will look as the above verses described.

“At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain (He. 12:26-27).”

“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry lad. I will shake all nations and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord Almighty. The silver is mine and the gold is mine, declares the Lord Almighty. The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty (Hg. 2:6-9).”

A.God will Shake the Heavens:

This refers to signs in the atmosphere, astrological disasters, and weather patterns.

B.God will Shake the Earth:

Here God will bring about famines, pestilences, plagues, and various diseases.

C.God will Shake the Sea:

Meaning tsunamis, massive death tolls in marine life and other ecological devastations, possibly alluding to oil spills as well.

D.God will Shake the Dry Land:

Referring to earthquakes, sink holes, volcanic eruptions and potentially a slew of other geological events.

E.God will Shake All Nations:

He will use economics, war, riots, and general upheaval to shake up all the nations before the return of His Son.

F.God will Shake the Financial Institutions:

The Lord will bring about the greatest shaking of economics the world has ever seen in order to bring about a great transfer of wealth to fund His global prayer movement (God’s house of prayer). This is a power move on God’s part showing the nations that He is in charge of the economy of the planet. This will be perhaps the most surprising aspect of the shaking.

G.God will Shake the Church:

God’s plan is for the prayer movement in the Earth (the houses of prayer) to reach the greatest heights ever known. Great peace will rest on the various houses of prayer even in the middle of all this shaking (see also Ps. 27:4-5, 91:1-16). This will mean a major restructure for the Church in the earth as the Bride of Christ transitions into practically becoming a House of Prayer for all nations (Is. 56:7; Mt. 21:13).

III.Who Can Endure the Day of the Lord?:

“The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? Rend Your Heart “Even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”…Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing…declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring (everyone) together…Let the priests, who minister before the LORD, weep between the temple porch and the altar. Let them say, “Spare your people, O LORD (Jo. 2:11-17).”

  1. The Question of the Day:

In the Last Days the primary question that needs to be addressed is “what manner of person can endure these trials?” Who can survive, even thrive, in these conditions? Undoubtedly many will actually utter these phrases but this is a far more important reality than simply knowing ahead of time something that people will be talking about.

  1. What It Means to Endure:

The answer to this question will mean life and death; it will mean Heaven and Hell, what we do with this question will define the way we live. The truth is that to be amongst the company of those who “can endure” is to find yourself in the midst of those who will thrive, who have answers, protection, power and life in the middle of the most terrible hour the world has ever known. God has set it up this way to gain the maximum amount of glory and make the boldest draw on human hearts that circumstances have ever presented.

  1. It Assumes that Crisis is in the Land:

The context is the unfolding of the Haggai 2 shaking and the Joel 2 call to prayer are the same. Both of these passages (and dozens of others) assume that there will be massive disruption in daily life. These passages describe crisis on every level and paint a world very different from the calm and normal life we have known.

  1. Business as Usual is Over:

Life is described in terms of a complete global shaking, world terror, unprecedented pain, devastation and disorder of every type. Life as we know it is about to be over, our futures hold little semblance of what we know now. Business as usual is over, it is time to raise up in biblical proportionate response to the biblical events that are about to ensue. God requires a wholehearted measure of radical devotion. There is no end date set for when this required response can halt because we are given no clarity of what it takes to alleviate the judgments that are promised; most notably “who can endure?”

IV.God is Preparing the Earth for the Last Days:

  1. We are Seeing an Increase in Creation’s Groans:
  1. Tsunamisare intensifying (Japan and Miramar).
  2. Earthquakes are becoming more devastating.
  3. Millions of fish dead in California harbor.
  4. 2010 BP Oil Spill believed to be worst ever.
  5. In 2011 Japan saw the worst nuclear energy fallout in history (surpassing Chernobyl).
  1. In the Political Realm we see Increased Upheaval:
  1. Instability is causing the governments of many nations to be challenged.
  2. Riots are breaking forth across the nations (Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street).
  3. Terrorist acts span the globe striking Asia, Europe, Africa, and America.
  1. International Economics are in Turmoil:
  1. America’s national and state debt is still worsening.
  2. The stability of the dollar is being challenged for the first real time since global economics began.
  3. Oil prices are in the record highs.
  4. The global market is shifting which will soon cause life to look very different than it has in the past.
  1. Wickedness is Rising in Every Area of Life:

We are seeing wickedness take new ground, wicked trends gain speed rapidly and with less opposition and an increasingly bold agenda.

  1. God is Raising Up a New Breed of Christianity:

In the midst of all the difficulties listed above God is simultaneously preparing His people. Perhaps it’s not as visible, at least not yet, but in the Church God’s preparation is no less real. He has begun to raise up a new form of Christianity that will have the power to stand in the midst of all this shaking. He is raising up a people across the Earth who will become a great prayer movement embodying the principles found in Joel chapter two.

V.Commitment to the Solemn Assembly:

The solemn assembly described in Joel 2 is prescribed for the purpose of minimizing or removing God’s judgment on a region, city or nation. The major premise we want to understand regarding the solemn assembly is that when God is the one bringing about judgment business as usual is over until that crisis is averted. It is insanity to stop the solemn assembly short of either the completion of the promised judgment or the crystal clear, God spoken, Holy Spirit confirmed word that the crisis is in fact averted. Massive crisis is coming to the nations of the Earth and God’s people are being called to embody the solemn assembly until this crisis has passed; this could even take decades.

“…The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning…Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing – grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God (Jo. 2:11-14).”

  1. The Solemn Assembly is a Commitment to Wholeheartedness:

“Even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God (Jo. 2:12-12).”

  1. The Solemn Assembly is a Commitment to Prayer:

“Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing – grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God (Jo. 2:14).”

“Let them say, “spare your people O Lord. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God (Jo. 2:17)?’”

  1. The Solemn Assembly is a Commitment to Fasting:

“return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. (Jo. 2:12).”

“Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly (Jo. 2:15).”

  1. The Solemn Assembly is a Commitment to Prayer:

“return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments (Jo. 2:12-13).”

“Let them say, “Spare your people, O LORD. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations (Jo. 2:17).”

  1. The Solemn Assembly is a Commitment to the Corporate Gathering:

“Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly (Jo. 2:15).”

“Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders…the children, those nursing at the breast…the bridegroom…the bride…the priests, who minister before the LORD (Jo. 2:16-17)…”

  1. The Solemn Assembly Appealsto God’s Affections:

“…he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love and he relents from sending calamity (Jo. 2:13).”

  1. The Solemn Assembly is a Commitment Until…:
  1. The solemn assembly is not an event. Events don’t change God’s mind, life’s of godly men and women do. It is crucial that we understand all that is meant in “Who knows whether He will not turn and relent (Jo. 2: 14 NASB).” If we do anything imbalanced let us error on the side of too much rather than not enough. Because we are not given a way to measure our fasting and seeking and prayer measured against the wrath and judgment that is due the only safe place is in the corporate, wholehearted, continual, solemn assembly.
  2. The above commitments are what we mean when we talk about saying yes. To implement radical changes in our lives of fasting and prayer and to corporately seek Him with all our heart.
  3. Mike Bickle, director of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, had an encounter with God regarding this very topic. The issue in discussion was that of saying yes to a lifestyle of prayer and a corporate and wholehearted pursuit. After Mike genuinely committed himself to do this the Lord responded; “Others have said yes but did not do it.” God was making it clear to him that to say “yes” was not the same as doing it, and further to begin to do it is not the same as maintaining it long term.
  4. As we come to realize the severity of the situation we have a responsibility to sign up for these standards. But not for a season, as people enlightened to what God is doing we are on the hook until… To sign up in some other way doesn’t take into account what is going on, it’s like we would try doing the wholehearted for God thing for a while because it’s good for us. It is good for us, but something bigger is going on that a season of devotion doesn’t resolve.

IV.Power in Their Midst:

In due season God will anoint these communities of prayer and fasting with unprecedented power. Just as their expression of Christianity is unprecedented so will the measure in which the Spirit is poured out upon them beunprecedented. Look at the promises that are interlaced within the Joel two text.

  1. Joel Two People will be Anointed in Prophecy:

“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days (Jo. 2:28-29).”

  1. Joel Two People will be Anointed with Signs & Wonders in Creation:

“I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord (Jo. 2:30-31).”

  1. Joel Two People will be Operate in Anointed Preaching:

“And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said among the survivors whom the Lord calls (Jo. 2:32).”

  1. Joel Two People will be Anointed with Healings & Miracles:

“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father (Jn. 14:12).”

V.The Perpetual Solemn Assembly:

The coming revival will not just mysteriously happen. Nor will the judgments described just magically be averted. There are real consequences and real blessings at stake. The promises are specifically tied to those who are found embodying the lifestyle and message of the solemn assembly of Joel chapter two. The message of Joel two is not an isolated concept; God said the same thing all over the Bible prescribing these same elements that Joel gives us. The solemn assembly isn’t just a command; it’s wisdom to live this way.

  1. Importance of Corporate Intercession:

The scriptures are full of passages describing the impact that sustained corporate prayer plays (2Ch. 7:14; Je. 29:7; Ez. 22:30-32; Jo. 2:11-18; Zph. 2:1-3; Lk. 18:1, 7-8). A very interesting dynamic is how God continually exhorts us to prayer as “His People” with far less of a focus on us as individuals. It is absolutely true that God loves each individual and desires relationship with us in a personal and unique way; so let us not dismiss that reality as we broaden the concept of His love to us corporately. God’s primary directives are to “His Church” as a whole, or to “His People” as in the case of the Old Testament instructions, and I believe we have much lost this foundation in practice. He calls us “His Bride, His Church, His Body, His People, His Inheritance, His Kingdom,” all of which speak of our life and destiny together not individually. This is foundational information for us to understand with regard to prayer.