JOEL 2 GENERATION PODCAST

KNOW, RESIST, and PURSUE - 3 Principles found in the book of Romans - We must KNOW who we are, our identities, and the truth of what God's Word says we have access to as sons and daughters. We must RESIST sin and the kingdom of darkness in all the ways the enemy seeks to derail us spiritually. And we must PURSUE loving God and loving others. 

If we are doing these 3 things we will be living fruitful, victorious Christian lives. If we are neglecting any of them, we will be experiencing deficit and defeat. 

We also deal with Romans 7 - is this a chapter describing the Christian's current life or a Christian's past? You may be surprised that the Bible teachers you have trusted and been listening to have gotten Romans 7 all wrong!!

hupomoné (Gk) - steadfastness, constancy, endurance (Hebrews 10:36, 12:1)

10:23 Let us hold fast [*unswervingly] the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 

Faithful? 2 Tim. 2:13 – if we are faithless/not steadfast, He remains faithful/steadfast)

Heb 10:36 - For you have need of endurance (hupomoné - Gk), so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.

Heb 12:1 - Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also throw off every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance (hupomoné - Gk) the race that is set before us…

#1 - GATHERING  - HEB 10:24-25 - 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

#2 - Repent / Deal with Sin - HEB 10:26-27, 12:1 - 10:26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment,…

12:1 - Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also throw off every weight, and sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race…

Jn 8:34 - Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin

1 Jn 1:8-10 - 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

#3 – Fear - HEB 11:23, 27, 33-34; 13:5-6 - 11:23 - By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, …and they [his parents] were not afraid of the king's edict.

11:27- By faith he [Moses] left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.

11:33 - who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight

Heb. 13:5-6 - 5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

#4 – FORGIVE - HEB 12:14-15 - 14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled…

Colossians 3:13 – “forgive one another AS GOD IN CHRIST has forgiven you. So, you must also forgive”

Matt. 6:14-15 - 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

#5 – LOVE - HEB 10:24; 13:1

10:24 -And let us consider how to stir up one another to love

13:1 - Let brotherly love continue

#6 – SELF-PITY - HEB 11:35-39, 12:2-4 - 12:2 - looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 

 Definitions - “to have a victim mentality”

“Don’t Feel Sorry for Yourself” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUt5DDYTpbA&t=25s

PART 2 – SOME KEYS TO ENDURANCE 

James 4:6 – But He gives (a) GREATER Grace / MORE grace  

Other Definitions – 1. Being “gracious”/ “grace-oriented” – 2. Saved by Grace” (undeserved favor) 

Grace? charis (gk) - “the power of God to enable Christians to live the new life in Christ”

Divine Enablement - “an influence that produces a result… it is the essence, the energy, the power and working wrought within as HE DOES for us, to us, in us, and through us! God’s grace, divine grace, then, is DIVINE ENABLEMENT!” 

Hebrews 4:16 - Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

****THE KEYS****

1.  ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE

Heb. 10:34 - For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one

Heb. 11:13-16 – 13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.

Heb. 13:13-14 - 13 Therefore let us go to Him outside the camp and bear the reproach He endured. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 

James 4:14 - …What is your life? For you are a mist (a vapor) that appears for a little time and then vanishes 

2.  DEAL WITH FEAR

Heb. 11:23 - By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, …and they [his parents] were not afraid of the king's edict. 

Heb. 11:27- By faith he [Moses] left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. 

Heb. 11:33 - who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight

Heb. 13:5-6 - 5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

Rev. 21:7 (Cowards?) - 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

3.  GATHER IN PERSON

Heb. 10:24-25 - 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. 

John MacArthur - "Look, Zoom church is not church. It’s not church; it’s watching TV. There’s nothing, there’s nothing about that that fulfills the biblical definition of coming together: stimulating one another to love and good works, coming together, singing, speaking to yourselves in psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord, sitting under the Word of God, praying together, being led by those who preach the Word and open the Scripture.

The definition of a church is crystal clear in the New Testament; we see the picture of it. They came together on the first day of the week. They worshiped the Lord. They prayed; we know it was the apostles’ doctrine, prayer. It was fellowship, and it was the breaking of bread in the Lord’s Supper.

So the church is defined clearly, and it’s the communion of the saints, it’s fellowship, it’s partnership. And the term koinōnia means “a coming together,” “a unifying together.” It doesn’t even function unless people are mutually—as we were saying this morning—mutually using their spiritual gifts for one another, and meeting the wonderful fulfillment of all the one anothers.

How many times in the New Testament—edify one another, pray for one another, rebuke one another, build up one another. On and on, one anothers, one anothers. We’re only the church when we are together; and the church is the church when it corporately worships, when it corporately prays, when it corporately hears the preaching of the Word of God. Those are the things that define the church.

I was listening to the latest in the podcast that Austin Duncan’s been doing…how the church is this communion of people, this fellowship of people whose lives are all blended together in a profound expression of love and unity. And that does not happen in any kind of video environment. I don’t think it even happens in a “church” where you’re watching a video of a pastor, because it’s very important that that man’s life be exposed and visible and known to everyone." 

James 5:16 - Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed..

4. FORGIVENESS 

Recent Encounter – PhD – Getting, being and remaining offended)

Heb. 12:15 - See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;

Colossians 3:13 – “forgive one another AS GOD IN CHRIST has forgiven you. So, you must also forgive”

Matt. 6:14-15 - 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

5.  REJECT “LAZY RIVER” CHRISTIANITY – No problems, Cheap Grace, Do nothing…

Heb. 10:32-36 - 32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners (companions/associates) with those so treated. … joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, …36 For you have need of endurance (hupomoné - Gk), so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 

Heb. 11:25-26 - 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 

Heb. 11:35b-38 - 35 …Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated - 38 of whom the world was not worthy - wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth

Heb. 12:5-7 - 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives.” 7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 

2 Tim. 3:1, 12 – 1 …in the last days there will come times of difficulty… 12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted

Matt. 10:22 – and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

1 John 3:7 – …make sure no one deceives you…the one who practices righteousness is righteous (obedience)

1 Pet. 1:15-16 - but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

I Tim 4:7-8 …train yourself to be godly. 

6.  REPENTANCE (Dealing with sin in our lives)

Heb. 10:26-31 - 26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.  29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 

Heb. 12:1 - Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside (throw off) every weight, and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race…

Rev. 2:14-16 – Church in Pergamum – “I have a few things against you…practice sexual immorality…therefore repent” (To believers, to the church)

False Grace / Hyper-Grace Message = No need for Christians to repent

7.  BELIEVING GOD’S WORD (AGAIN?) - PRESUPPOSITION

Heb. 12:25 - 25 See that you do not refuse Him who is speaking

2 Tim 3:14-17 – 14…continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed…15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God (God-breathed) and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

John 14:26 - But …the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Daniel Wallace (Dallas Theological Seminary) – “voice of Jesus” 

Mike Licona – Matt 27:52 vs. Early Church Father

PART 1 – GOD’S PERSPECTIVE ON STEADFASTNESS/ENDURANCE

hupomoné (Gk) - steadfastness, constancy, endurance (Hebrews 10:36, 12:1)

In the N. T., the characteristic of a man who is unswerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings. Especially as God enables the believer to "remain (endure) under" the challenges in life.

Hebrews 1:1-10:18 – The Superiority of Christ, the New Covenant, Only Salvation 

“His conclusion is clear: Christ is the ultimate and final plan of God for Salvation…There must be no retreat in the Christian life. Instead, believers must remain steadfast in faith, in perserverance, and in holness in order to inherit the promises of God…Faith is the entryway into Christ and all the spiritual promises embodied in Him.”

Hebrews 10:19-22

19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain, that is, through His flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 

Hebrews 10:23-31

23 Let us hold fast [*unswervingly] the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. *to be firm, stable, steadfast

Faithful? 2 Tim. 2:13 – if we are faithless/not steadfast, He remains faithful/steadfast) 

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. 

New Covid Variant – “End Times-itis” – “The Day…”? A Day? (There are “Days”)

26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 

(1 Pet. 4:17 – “…judgment BEGINS with the household of God”)

Hebrews 10:32-39

32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners (companions/associates) with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance (hupomoné - Gk), so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 

37 For, “Yet a little while, and the Coming One will come and will not delay; 38 but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Hebrews 11 = The Hall of Faith – Old Testament Believers

Hebrews 11:1-5

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. 

Creation ex nihilo – “Historic Christianity has always maintained a belief in Creation ex nihilo (CEN) as expressed in the ancient Nicene Creed: “We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.” Scripture teaches that there was nothing but God, and that God by means of his incalculable wisdom and infinite power alone brought the universe (all matter, energy, time, and space) into existence from nothing. There was no preexistent physical reality; therefore, nothing should not be understood as an actual something.”

4 By faith Abel… 

5 By faith Enoch… 

Hebrews 11:6-8, 10-11, 13-16

6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly] seek Him. 

PRESUPPOSITIONALIST – God exists, His Word is inerrant

7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, 

8 By faith Abraham obeyed…And he went out, not knowing where he was going… 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 

11 By faith Sarah… 

13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.  15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. 

Hebrews 11:17, 20-25,27,29-31

17 By faith Abraham…

20 By faith Isaac… 

21 By faith Jacob… 

22 By faith Joseph… 

23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, …and they were not afraid of the king's edict. 

24 By faith Moses, …refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. 

29 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. (A “Day” of the Lord)

30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down…

31 By faith Rahab the prostitute... 

Hebrews 11:32-40

32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, 

Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets – 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 

35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated - 38 of whom the world was not worthy - wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

Hebrews 12:1-11

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance (hupomoné - Gk)  the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 

5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives.” 7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 

Hebrews 12:12-16, 22-24

12 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. 

14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 

15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 

16 that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, …

22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 

Hebrews 12:25-29

25 See that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject Him who warns from heaven. 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.

Hebrews 13:1-6,9

1 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. 4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. 5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”…

9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, … 

Hebrews 13:12-16,20-21

12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. 13 Therefore let us go to Him outside the camp and bear the reproach He endured. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 15 Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God…

20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

**JOEL 2:1-2, 11 – Judgment Announced

1 - Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near, (LXX – “for the day of the Lord is PRESENT”) 2 - a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations.

11 - The LORD utters his voice before His army, for His camp is exceedingly great; he who executes His word is powerful. For the day of the LORD is great and very awesome; who can endure it?

* Past - 587/6BC – Babylonians = “His army” (Joel 2:1-11) – Judgment

* Future - anti-Christ Army at the end of the age against Israel

**JOEL 2:12-14 – Remnant Response

12 - “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 13 - and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and He relents over disaster.

14 - Who knows whether He will not turn and relent, and leave behind His blessing, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God?

**JOEL 2:15-17 – Remnant Response (cont.)

15 - Blow the trumpet in Zion; consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly;

16 - gather the people. Consecrate the congregation; assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber.

17 - Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep and say, “Spare your people, O Lord, and make not your heritage a reproach, for the nations to rule them, in order that they not say among the nations, ‘Where is their God?’”

**JOEL 2:18-27 – God’s Response to Remnant 18 - Then the Lord became jealous for His land and had pity on His people.

19 - The Lord answered and said to His people “Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.

20 - “I will remove the northerner far from you, and drive him into a parched and desolate land, his vanguard into the eastern sea, and his rear guard into the western sea; the stench and foul smell of him will rise, for he has done great things.

21 - “Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things!

22 - Fear not, you beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are green; the tree bears its fruit; the fig tree and vine give their full yield.

23 - “Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for He has given the early rain for your vindication; He has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before.

24 - “The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.

25 - I will restore (LXX – repay) to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you.

26 – “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.

27 – You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame. (LXX – disgraced)

**JOEL 2:28-32 (Acts 2:17-21) – God’s Response to Remnant (cont.)

28 - “And it will be after these things, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.

Acts 2:17 – ‘And in the last days it will be, God says, - The phrase in the last days is not quoted from Joel, but represents Peter’s interpretive explanation of the current events as falling “in the last days.”

29 - Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out My Spirit. Acts 2:18 adds – “…and they wil prophesy”

30 - “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.

31 - The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome Day of the Lord comes.

32 - And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.

**Joel 2:28-32 – location?

• Peter quotes the LXX in Acts 2

• Earlier Hebrew Bible / Early Church – Septuagint/LXX – Joel 2

• Hebrew Bible/Masoretic Text (Rabbis) – Joel 3

• Prophetic Significance??

**Joel 3:1-3, 14 – Deliverance of Remnant & Punishment of Enemies 1 - “For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, (LXX – when I turned around the captives…)

2 - I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage (LXX – inheritance) Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land, 3 - and have cast lots for my people, and have traded a boy for a prostitute, and have sold a girl for wine and have drunk it. (Justice for human trafficking!!)

14 - Sounds have sounded forth in the valley of justice (LXX), because the Day of the Lord is near in the valley of justice. (Masoretic – valley of decision)

**God’s Judgment

• Mike Bickle – “At the heart of God’s judgment is Jesus, intervening to deliver the oppressed and to stop oppressors. Think of the implications of a God who would not intervene to stop oppressors. What would you think of a father who would not intervene to prevent a man kidnapping his children? God’s judgments are an expression of His love for His children. Furthermore, in the midst of those very judgments, God offers mercy to the oppressors if

they will only repent and receive it.”

**Joel 3:16-21 - Deliverance of Remnant & Punishment of Enemies (cont.) 

16 - The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earthquake. But the Lord is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel.

17 - “So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through it.

18 - “And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streambeds of Judah shall flow with water; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord and water the Valley of Shittim.

19 - “Egypt shall become a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness, for the violence (LXX – injustices) done to the people of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.

20 - But Judah shall be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem to all generations.

21 - I will avenge their blood, blood I have not avenged, for the Lord dwells in Zion.”

**Final thoughts

• NOT the End – not the “perilous times” (2 Tim 3), greater works?

• Remnant Rising – PREPARED, over-prepared?, pre-Trib rapture?

• Judgment

• Deliverance – “shall be saved”

• Vindication

• Believing the prophets, “Will the Son of Man find faith…”

• If it is the end? If Jesus is about to Return?

Joel 2 & 3 - “The Day of the Lord” - Judgment & Deliverance

Past, Present and Future

**Initial Thoughts for ROCK

1. Joel 2 Generation Blog & Podcast –

Mike Bickle – “Explanation: The term Joel’s army has been used to signify the people who walk out the principles of prayer with fasting as taught in Joel 2:12–17.

The term has been used much like “Joseph Company,” “Gideon Band,” or “David Company” to signify the people who embraced the godly qualities that Joel taught about prayer, fasting, and wholehearted obedience. Paul Cain had a prophetic word about a “Joel’s army in training,” referring to a group of people who would give themselves to prayer and fasting according to Joel 2:12–17. When used like this,

“Joel’s army” does not refer specifically to the destroying army mentioned in Joel 2:1–11, but to people who walk out the lifestyle portrayed in Joel 2:12–17. The misunderstanding comes from giving the title “Joel’s army” to both the destroying army (Joel 2:1–11) and the group of people who give themselves to fasting and prayer (Joel 2:12–17).”

2. Johnny Enlow – Red Sea moment – Judgment & Deliverance

**Why study the Book of Joel?

The reason is because it was meant to be received as a prophetic book to equip end-time forerunners to prepare the unprepared for the unique dynamics that will occur in the generation in which Jesus returns. We study this three-chapter prophecy because God has uniquely designed its message to prepare the end-time Church for glory and crisis in the Day of the Lord. Joel is a dynamic instruction manual to prepare the Bride of Christ for such a time as this.

In the Lord’s kindness, He has given this book as a preparatory tool to equip the generation living at the Lord’s return for the heightened scope of glory and crisis they will encounter. (Mike Bickle)

**Context / Background – Joel 2 & 3

931BC – Kingdom Divides (Northern = 10 tribes / Southern = 2 tribes

?? Joel written (800s)??

722BC – Assyrians (Judgment)

?? Joel written (from 606-586) – Mike Bickle??

586BC – Babylonians/Nebuchadnezzar – (Judgment) - 70-year exile (586BC-516BC) 516BC - Persians conquer Babylon - Cyrus decrees Jews can return to Jerusalem 516BC – Begin to Rebuild Temple

??Joel written (400s-300s)??

175BC – Antiochus IV Epiphanes conquered Israel – Seleucid Dynasty. Deposed rightful High Priest (Zadok Priesthood ended) – outlawed Jewish religious rituals (i.e. circumcision), desecrated the Temple (slaughtered a pig), ordered Jews to worship Zeus 166BC – Maccabean Revolt – successful, cleansed Temple, Hanukkah established! Hasmonean Dynasty began ruling.

153BC – High Priest, Jonathan the Hasmonean – NOT a Zadokite! Hasmoneans had NO TIES to the line of David – so illegitimate priesthood and rulership (kingship)! Later – King Herod 110BC – Got Rome to recognize the Hasmonean Kingdom – start conquering surrounding peoples, forcing them (Gentiles) to convert to Judaism (especially Gentiles)

**Prophetic Fulfillment(s)?

Day of the Lord = Judgment, Justice, Vindication

“Within Joel, the “day” refers not only to the final day of judgment upon the nations (3:2) but also to God’s ongoing judgment of Israel, both past and future (1:15, 2:2, 11), and instances of His intervention between Israel and the nations (3:1-2, 12, 14, 16). In each case, the “day of the Lord” indicates a time when the presence of the Lord brings judgment and/or deliverance and blessing, depending upon the circumstances.

Therefore, although the “day” heralds destruction for the nations, it also functions as a time of salvation for God’s people: the Lord remains a refuge amid the chaos of judgment (3:15-16).”

1. Past fulfillments (Red Sea, Assyrians, Babylonians, Acts 2, Romans 10, AD70, Islam) 

2. Current Application / Ongoing fulfillment

3. Future fulfillment (Return of Christ, Final Judgment)

**AN OVERVIEW OF JOEL’S MESSAGE

A. Joel 1 – a natural disaster (agricultural crisis)

B. Joel 2:1-11 – a military crisis (Babylonian invasion of Israel as a type of the Antichrist’s empire)

C. Joel 2:12-17 – the response that God requires in order to release protection and blessing

D. Joel 2:18-31 – the breakthrough of God’s blessing (agriculturally, militarily, spiritually)

E. Joel 3 – God’s punishment of His enemies (end-time Gentile nations attacking Israel)

**JOEL 2:1 

• DEFINING THE TERMS

Canon – a set of texts (also called "books") which a particular Jewish or

Christian religious community regards as part of the Bible. Greek – “rule”,

“measuring stick”

Urtext - In Biblical studies, the Urtext is the theorized original, uniform text of

the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), preceding both the Septuagint (LXX) and

the Masoretic Text (MT). An original or the earliest version of a text.
Vorlage - A Vorlage (from the German for prototype or template) is a prior

version or manifestation of a text under consideration.

Inspiration – All Scripture is “God-breathed”… (2 Tim 3:16)
Inerrancy – The Bible is without error in its original manuscripts

• Our Protestant “Tradition” - 66 Books in the Bile

39 Old Testament Books

27 New Testament Books

• JEWISH CANONS

Masoretic Text (MT) – Rabbis (descendants of the Pharisees) - the Hebrew Bible numbers the

same books as 24. The Hebrew Bible counts Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles as one book

each, and the 12 minor prophets are one book, and also Ezra and Nehemiah form a single

book. This is the same Canon as the 39 Books in Protestant OTs. No Apocrypha

When? AD110-125 – Rabbinic/Talmudic Judaism

Septuagint (LXX) – 52 OT Books (13 more that the MS), OT Apocrypha, Psalms of Solomon –

When? 250BC – 2nd Temple Judaism

Ethiopian Jews (Beta Israel) – Testaments of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

Essenes/Qumran Community/Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) - Testaments of the 12 Patriarchs (affirm

Enoch!) – DSS contain fragments of 5 of them (Levi, Judah, Naphtali, Joseph, and Benjamin).

• WHAT ABOUT "THE TESTAMENTS OF THE PATRIARCHS"?

ALL Jews believed that all the patriarchs from Adam to Aaron (37+) were prophets that wrote “Testaments ”.

2nd Century - Rabbis believed they were lost. REJECTED – Why??

1600s – Found in an Armenian Orthodox Bible – REJECTED as “too Christian” (see below)

Essenes / Dead Sea Scrolls - Testaments of the 12 Patriarchs – DSS contain fragments of 5 of them (Levi,

Judah, Naphtali, Joseph, and Benjamin).

**Quoted/referenced by Paul in the NT (1 Thes 2:16, Rom 12:18, 21, 2 Cor 7:10 and Eph 5:6)**

Fragments from 8 other “Testaments” of these were found in the DSS. (Enosh, Enoch, Lamech, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Kohath, Amram)

-Messiah = Son of God 

-Messiah is God incarnate

-Levi’s Priesthood ONLY until Messiah comes

-Levi’s ordinances and sacrifices ONLY until Messiah comes

-Messiah born of a virgin

-Messiah will be worshipped

-Messiah will be sinless 
-Messiah would die for our sins to reconcile us to God

-The Levites would crucify Messiah 

-Messiah would be resurrected

-Messiah would ascend

-Messiah would create a new priesthood

-Veil of Temple would be torn 

-Apostle Paul – called from Jews to Gentiles, his writings = inspired

• CHRISTIAN CANONS

-Muratorian Canon (AD 170) – The Apocalypse of Peter

-Codex Sinaiticus (AD 330) – LXX OT – includes OT Apocrypa & Shepherd of Hermas, Epistle of Barnabas (29 NT Books)

-Codex Alexandrinus (AD 400) – 1st and 2nd Clement

-Protestants - 39 OT Books / 27 NT Books = 66 Books / Martin Luther

-Ethiopian Orthodox – OT Apocrypha + 2 Edras, **Book of Enoch** (only one) – 81 books total (35NT, LXX and Enoch) also “Didache - Teaching of the 12 Apostles”, Book of Jubilees

-Armenian Orthodox – Testaments of the 12 Patriarchs

-Catholics & Orthodox – OT Apocrypha (Tobit, Judith, 1 & 2 Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Baruch, Letter of Jeremiah, Additions to Daniel & Esther)
-Orthodox – add 1 Edras, 3 Maccabees, Prayer of Manasseh (Russian Orthodox – 2 Edras)

• DISPUTED TEXTS (DISAGREEMENTS)

6 Disputed New Testament Books 

1. The Didache (or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles)

2. The Shepherd of Hermas

3. The Apocalypse of Peter,

4. The Epistle of Barnabas and 

5. The First Epistle(s) of Clement.

6. The Second Epistle of Clement

* EVERY BOOK THAT HAS EVER BEEN CONSIDERED SCRIPTURAL CANON HAS BEEN LISTED ON THE PAST FEW SLIDES 

* NEVER the Gnostic Texts!!! (Gospels, Epistles) - i.e. Gospel of Thomas (2nd Century)

*No Roman Catholic Conspiracies! 

• PART 2 – BEWARE OF THE LEAVEN

Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Matthew 16:6)

• BACKGROUND of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Essenes

-175BC – Antiochus IV Epiphanes conquered Israel – Seleucid Dynasty. Deposed rightful High Priest (Zadok Priesthood ended) – outlawed Jewish religious rituals (i.e. circumcision), desecrated the Temple (slaughtered a pig), ordered Jews to worship Zeus

-166BC – Maccabean Revolt – successful, cleansed Temple, Hanukkah established! Hasmonean Dynasty began ruling.

-153BC – High Priest, Jonathan the Hasmonean – NOT a Zadokite! Hasmoneans had NO TIES to the line of David – so illegitimate priesthood and rulership (kingship)! Later – King Herod

-110BC – Got Rome to recognize the Hasmonean Kingdom – start conquering surrounding peoples, forcing them (Gentiles) to convert to Judaism (especially Gentiles)

• TWO GROUPS FORMED

1. Pharisees - against this forced practice (Oral Torah – Talmud)
2. Sadducees – Hellenized Jews (follow the government) & Sons of Zadok 

• THIRD GROUP - THE ESSENES / QUMRAN COMMUNITY

Beliefs/Practices of the Qumran Community / Essenes

- Separated themselves (1st Century “Remnant”)
- Broader Canon - Dead Sea Scrolls - LXX – Apocrypha, Enoch, Testaments
- Temple leadership corrupt (not from the Sons of Zadok/non-Levitical)
- Government corrupt – not from the line of David (i.e. King Herod). 
- Change in the calendar – Pharisees and Sadducees followed the pagan lunar calendar. All Jewish rituals were therefore corrupt/unacceptable.
- Solar Calendar predicted the coming of Messiah between 10BC and 4BC. 

- Messiah would be God in the flesh 

- Two Comings of ONE Messiah – once to die as an atoning sacrifice for sins, 2nd time to judge the world (Melchizedek Document)

- Messiah would “make the dead live” (Messianic Apocalypse)/Matt. 11:5

-Prophecy continued…(No “Cessationism”) - Matthew 11:13 – “For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied UNTIL JOHN”

- Were waiting and ready for the Messiah when He came

• WHAT WAS "THE LEAVEN OF THE PHARISEES"?

Beliefs of the Pharisees
- TWO Messiahs – first one only a man to liberate Israel – NOT for the Gentiles!!!
- Accepted both the Pagan Lunar Calendar and the non-Davidic Priesthood (Feasts? Temple?)
- Cessationists – Prophecy ended  (400 silent years – from Malachi?)
- Rejected “Testaments of the Patriarchs”
- Oral Torah (“Tradition”) over and against God’s written word (Talmud)
- 2nd Century Rabbis – Narrowed the Canon, Tampered with the OT Text, radically ANTI-CHRIST

• WHAT WAS "THE LEAVEN OF THE SADDUCEES"?

- Stopped believing in the supernatural (angels, afterlife) – Theological liberals

- Accepted the Pagan Lunar Calendar - Capitulation to culture / compromise
- “Romans 13ers”  of the 1st Century - Romans 13:1-2 - Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
- Disappeared in history 

• MATTHEW 16:1-12

And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So, he left them and departed. 5 When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” 8 But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? 9 Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 11 How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

• APPLICATION for the Remnant today

What is today’s “teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees”? 

  1. Believe the prophets!  

  2. Don’t capitulate to the political – Critical Race Theory (CRT), Cultural Marxism, "Safe & Effective", "Free & Fair Elections"

  3. RE-think your idea of Canon – especially in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS)

  4. Essenes (1st Century “Remnant”) = the only ones able to discern the “fake news”

  5. Essenes recognized and accepted Jesus as the Messiah

  6. The Remnant will be “ready and waiting” for the Messiah when He returns

This is our 3rd and final message of this important teaching that tragically is so neglected in the teaching/preaching of the Church today.

Somehow, where we are going at this junction in history will require a renewed emphasis on dying to ourselves, on humbling ourselves, and utterly rejecting the culture of self-promotion that is so prevalent in much of the  Body of Christ today. This isn't an extreme teaching - this is the basis of the Christian life!

Here are the notes for the teaching:

DEATH TO SELF – 2022 – PART 3 - IS HUMILITY THE GREATEST NEED IN GOD’S KINGDOM?

Scene from Indiana Jones - “ONLY THE PENITENT MAN SHALL PASS. THE PENITENT MAN IS HUMBLE  BEFORE GOD. THE PENITENT. PENITENT. ..WHAT DOES A PENITENT MAN DO? KNEEL!” 

THE "NEW" HUMILITY PRAYER

” IN LIGHT OF MY IDENTITY IN CHRIST…

"O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, 

hear me, Deliver me, Jesus,

from the desire of being loved (BY OTHERS),

from the desire of being extolled,

from the desire of being honored,

from the desire of being praised,

from the desire of being preferred to others,

from the desire of being consulted,

from the desire of being approved,

from the fear of being humiliated,

from the fear of being despised,

from the fear of being forgotten,

from the fear of being wronged,

from the fear of being suspected,

And, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire 

that others might be loved more than I, 

that others might be esteemed more than I,

that in the opinion of the world 

others may increase and I may decrease,

that others may be chosen, and I set aside,

that others may be praised and I unnoticed,

that others may be preferred to me in everything,

that others may become holier than I, 

provided that I become as holy as I should."

QUOTE: A.B. SIMPSON – THE SELF LIFE & THE CHRIST LIFE

"It is one thing to be little in our own eyes, it is another thing to be out of our own sight altogether. True 

humility is not thinking meanly of ourselves, it is not thinking of ourselves at all". 

HUMILITY/DEATH TO SELF – KEY VERSES/PASSAGES

Matt.16:24-25 - Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and fol ow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 

John 3:30 - “He [Jesus] must become greater, I must become less” 

John 15:5 – “…apart from me you can do nothing” 

I Peter 5:5 - Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 

James 4:6, 10 - “…God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble…Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.” 

JOHN THE BAPTIST CRUCIFIES “SELF PROMOTION” 

Luke 7:28 - I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” 

John 3:30 – “He [Jesus] must become greater(increase), I must become less(decrease)” 

”Jesus must become more important, while I become less important” 

“On Social Media, Jesus must get more fol owers, likes and partners on His greater platform, while I lose fol owers and donors as my reputation fades into obscurity” (DIV - Dave’s International Version)

THINGS WE WOULD HAVE NEVER SEEN!!! (and SHOULD NOT see today!!) 

John the Baptist Fivefold Prophetic Ministries 

www.johnthebaptist.com

www.noneisgreaterthanme.com

LUKE 14:7-11 – PARABLE OF THE GUESTS

7 When Jesus noticed that all who had come to the dinner were trying to sit in the seats of honor near the head of the table, he gave them this advice: 8 “When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of honor. What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been invited? 9 The host will come and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you will be embarrassed, and you will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table! 

10 “Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better place for you!’ Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests. 11 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” 

LUKE 14:12-14 – PARABLE OF THE GUESTS (CONTINUED) 12 He also said to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite your friends, your brothers, your relatives, or your rich neighbors, lest/because they might invite you back, and you would be repaid. 13 On the contrary, when you host a banquet, invite those who are poor, maimed, lame, or blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” 

Definition: …so that it refers to the preceding verb and indicates the purpose of the designated action

LUKE 14:16-24 – PARABLE OF THE LARGE BANQUET (DINNER PARTY) 16 Then He told him: “A man was giving a large banquet and invited many. 17 At the time of the banquet, he sent his slave to tell those who were invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’ 18 “But without exception, they all began to make excuses. 

The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. I ask you to excuse me.’ 19 “Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m going to try them out. I ask you to excuse me.’ 20 “And another said, ‘I just got married, and therefore I’m unable to come.’ 21 “So the slave came back and reported these things to his master. Then in anger, the master of the house told his slave, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and al eys of the city, and bring in here the poor, maimed, blind, and lame!’ 

22 “‘Master,’ the slave said, ‘what you ordered has been done, and there’s still room.’ 

23 “Then the master told the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and lanes and make them come in, so that my house may be fil ed. 24 For I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will enjoy my banquet!’” 

LUKE 14:25-33 – COST OF DISCIPLESHIP

25 Now large crowds were going along with Him, and He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who are watching it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build, and was not able to finish!’ 31 Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to face the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 Otherwise, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and requests terms of peace. 33 So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. 

LUKE 14:34-35 / MATT 5:13 – SALT OF THE WORLD

LUKE 14:34-35 - “Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? 35 It is useless either for the soil or the manure pile, so it is thrown out. The one who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 

MATTHEW 5:13 - “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 

REVIEWING OUR “ROCK OC” DNA / OUR VALUES

* NO SELF-PROMOTION / PLATFORMS? / TITLES? – BEING LIKE JOHN THE BAPTIST
* THE WAY WE WANT TO MINISTER TO OTHERS 
* THE WAY WE WANT TO TESTIFY / HOW WE TELL STORIES (IF…)
* NO REBUKE FOR BEING “TOO HUMBLE” – “HUMILITY ATTRACTS HEAVEN” 
* MOTIVES MATTER – God SEES ALL! 

Matt.16: 24-25 - denying ourselves and losing our lives? (Luke 14 reaffirms) 
John 3:30 – becoming less? MUST…

John 15:5 – how much can we do apart from Him? WHY do people think it’s them!!! 

I Peter 5:5 - Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” – HOW TO FAIL IN LIFE & MINISTRY

James 4:6, 10 - “…OUR JOB - Humble ourselves / HIS JOB - He will exalt us.” 

Luke 14:11- Exalt ourselves? Humble ourselves?

THE HOLY SPIRIT MAKES US HOLY – A MESSAGE TO HISTORY’S MOST DEFILED GENERATION

James 1:26-27 – If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. 27 – Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. 

PURPOSE OF PENTECOST?

1.     POWER - Acts 1:8 - 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

2.     REVELATION - Acts 2:17-18 -17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
 that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
 and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

3.     HOLINESS - Acts 2:37-38, 40 - “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit…“Save yourselves from this perverse/wicked generation.”

GOAL = A NEW VISION for Holiness and the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives

A.W. Tozer – Holy Spirit makes us holy

Name? Power Spirit?? NO – The HOLY SPIRIT

Porn Stats

1978 vs. 1985 – 5% vs. 55% Viewed hardcore porn video / 2022??

John Bevere – 2/3 of men IN CHURCH are watching porn regularly 
1/3 of women

50% of the pastors

POWERLESS – Kryptonite – Defiled Church

Billy Graham – “If we lose THIS BATTLE, we lose the battle of the Christian life”

20th Century = Explosion of Perversion – the occult (sex magick), film, video, the internet, (technology), abortion, homosexuality, human trafficking, pedophilia, freedom=bondage

Matthew 27:37 - 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Sinfulness Stage 1 - Genesis 3 – Fall of Adam/Eve (Satan)

Sinfulness Stage 2 - Genesis 6 – Fall of the Watchers – effect?? Many

EFFECTS - Sexual perversion/lust/gross immorality/homosexuality/beastiality/abortion

•       Quote: “We were sinners because of the Fall of Adam, but the Fallen Watchers taught mankind to be even better sinners” – Heiser

Genesis 6:1-8 - 1 When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. 5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Two Views about WHO the “Sons of God” were:

1.     Angels – Who? 2nd Temple Judaism, the Apostles, Early Church

2.    Humans – Who? (called the “Sethite View”) - 1st suggested by Julius Africanus (3rd Century), Augustine (5th century)

It really wasn’t until the 5th century that the so-called “Sethite View” (i.e. that the ’sons of God’ were humans and not angels) was INVENTED.

The evidence from history is insurmountable that the Sethite view is wrong.  That the Sethite interpretation was a late innovation and not the Apostolic understanding (or the historic Jewish one).

A. New Testament writers who refer to these angels in Genesis 6:1-4

B. Early Church leaders who affirm that the Sons of God were in fact angels and whose offspring were the Nephilim/giants.  

C. Well-known Evangelicals who affirm w/ the Early Church that the Sons of God were angelic beings. 

I Corinthians 6:9-13, 18-20 (3 out of 9 in the list!)

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteouswill not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body….  18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sina person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So, glorify God in your body.

 WHAT SHALL WE NOW DO? (Acts 2:37)

1.     AGREE w/ God’s assessment = Defiled

Matthew 24:9-13 - 9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness (wickedness/iniquity) will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 

Sin will be rampant everywhere/multiplication of wickedness/abundance of evil

2.     SIN = SLAVERY (John 8:34 – everyone who sins…) – Message of FREEDOM!!

3.     Reject False Grace teaching (Titus 2:11-12 – Grace teaches us to turn from ungodliness and sinful pleasures/worldly lusts) 

Titus 2:11-12, 14 – “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 – TEACHING US TO RENOUNCE UNGODLINESS and WORLDLY PASSIONS (immoral desires/lusts), and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age...14 – who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people…”

4.     REPENT - Acts 2:38, 40 – REPENT, SAVE YOURSELVES from perverse generation

5.     Get rid of whatever is needed / No Moderation (“Porn on Tuesdays”)

Matthew 5:30 – “And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.”

6.     Confess – James 5:16 – To each other, MAY be healed

7.     FLEE - 1 Cor 6:18 (Tolerate?)

8.     Believe holiness is possible (1 Pet 1:16 – “Be holy…”)

I Peter 1:15-16 – “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 For it is written, “Be holy even as I am holy”

Ephesian 5:3 - But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual 

immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people

9.     Get the Holy Spirit working more in your life (“eagerly pursue…”) for HOLINESS