Mike Bickle emphasizes the call to wholehearted love in his sermon 'Call to Wholehearted Love,' drawing from the book of Joel. He highlights the dire circumstances faced by Israel during a locust plague, drought, and impending military invasion, urging the people to turn to God with all their hearts in repentance and love. Bickle explains that this call to love is not just about turning away from sin but engaging in a deep relationship with God, which is essential for overcoming crises. He connects the historical context of Joel's message to the end times, asserting that a culture of solemn assembly and love will be crucial for the church as it faces future challenges. Ultimately, he encourages believers to embrace a lifestyle of worship and love as a powerful weapon against darkness.

Receive from you and to give ourselves back to you. We thank you in Jesus name. Amen Well, I guess we'll look at Joel Let's go to Joel chapter 1 to kind of get the feel of what's going on in the book of Joel Many of you are a little bit familiar with it if you've been around for a while and But I want to give just a little bit of the feel of it in Joel chapter 1 what's happening. It's about 600 BC I believe is the Best Dating of the book of Joel and There was a great locust plague in the land of Israel and this locust plague is destroyed I mean is described by Joel as it destroys the the fields the agriculture the food and there's a famine that sets in then drought comes after the locust plague and then after the drought there's fire breaks out because in the Locust plague and then the drought the ground is dry and and then lightning strikes the fields in the forest and in All kinds of fires break out. So there's really it's a threefold Calamity, it's locust drought and fire But it has the basic same impact. It's one big tragedy a famine economic crisis and despair everywhere That's going on in Joel chapter 1 and he tells them Joel the Prophet tells them in verse 5 he says Awake you drunkards weep and wail get before God and cry out to God. There's an answer because what Joel is referring to is 400 years before his time Was Solomon at the dedication of the temple? Described the situation and we'll probably go there in a few minutes and 2nd Chronicles 5 6 & 7. It's very foundational passage 2nd Chronicles 5 6 & 7 is what Joel is is a basing this appeal on Biblically, although he's hearing directly from the Holy Spirit And the Holy Spirit's on him and giving him anointing an unction to give this call, but it is a biblical call It's been in the scripture so to speak for 400 years before his time And the reason I say in the scripture so to speak because the scripture wasn't all formed in its entirety in Joel's day But that he had Solomon's writings And he says in verse 5 weep and wail In other words do what Solomon said because Solomon said in the days in the future If the locust plague comes if the tragedy comes if the invasion of a foreign army comes because of sin Gather in the house of God turn to God with all of your heart cry out for mercy and God will give you mercy And that's what Joel's talking about Verse 11. He tells the farmers to wail Verse 13. He tells the priest Lament come into the temple Says in the middle verse 13 cry out all night lie all night do the night watch The answer to the crisis of Israel was the night watch He says in verse 14 consecrate a fast call a sacred assembly in other words call a time frame in which the people gather It's not optional. It's it's the highest priority in their life before God Now the Lord is called I hop to be a perpetual solemn assembly until the coming of the Lord And that's a glorious calling. It's an unusual calling I don't mean we're the only ones with it I don't mean unusual in that sense, but it's not the common calling in the body of Christ my point The reason I say it's unusual isn't to Make a sound special but it's to let us know it comes with various challenges is there's some Some awkward dimensions to the perpetual solemn assembly lifestyle There's challenges to it. There's there's issues that that that rise up that have to be overcome in this Solemn assembly type lifestyle, but I helps more than and I know that you all know this but it's more than a music ministry It's more than a singing ministry. It literally is a perpetual solemn assembly now. I believe that before the Lord returns before the Lord returns in the great crisis that mounts up before the coming of the Lord as well as the outpouring of revival that increases before the coming of the Lord because both of them Will steadily increase in a dramatic way the crisis and the glory that it's in response to the body of Christ with a spiritual culture a new spiritual culture of a solemn assembly The Lord spoke some years ago To me in a direct way in in September 1982. It was the most dramatic experience. I've ever had awake I've had a experience or two a sleep or in a vision form two or three, but this is the most dramatic experience I've ever had awake in 30 years of ministry September 1982 when the Lord spoke and said he was going to change the understanding an expression of Christianity the earth's in one generation and I believe it foundational to that fundamental to that the Spiritual culture of the body of Christ will be a solemn assembly in the years preceding the second coming of the Lord Right now it's odd and it's particular and it's unique but before the Lord returns it will be universal and perpetual all over the earth I believe that's a part of a Measure of of what we're called to do as forerunners is to just a forerunner Those are people who do just one short step ahead on the divine calendar from what the Holy Spirit's focus is going to be In a few minutes for everybody. It's really what a forerunner is a forerunner They're just a one short step ahead in terms of lifestyle of what the Holy Spirit's going to be emphasizing globally in the body of Christ It's not so much that the forerunners are ahead of people they're ahead of the Universal emphasis of the Holy Spirit what the Holy Spirit says he's not emphasizing it yet He raises up forerunners all over the earth They live it out and then he emphasizes it universally the next step and that's what forerunners do they prepare the people for the next great invasion of the Holy Spirit the universal emphasis on a global dimension and I believe that part of our our forerunner calling is to live in this perpetual Solemn Assembly now the Solemn Assembly doesn't only have in it The elements of repentance it also has the elements of wholehearted love of lovesickness, and that's what I want to point out tonight Tonight I'm not calling us Only certainly you always want to do that, but not only calling us only from the from the dark side of life sin, but to call us to the bright side of life the Lifestyle of the lovesick worshiper that is critical to the Solemn Assembly is the wholeheartedness the turning and engaging and encountering God's heart Well verse 19 and 20 chapter 1 described the drought and the fire and the fire undoubtedly is related to the lightning strikes in us in a land that's filled with drought and and all the vegetation is destroyed and it's dry because of the locust plague and Probably there's fire breaking out from other sources But it's it's it's a fire related to nature that of course is under the leadership of the Lord Now what happens here is in context of this devastating? Several year period of the locust invasion the drought and the fire and it goes on for several years by the way We know that from Joel chapter 2 verse 25 because the Lord promised to make up for the years that the locust devoured There's several years involved in this and this great national crisis It's it's not over in a month or two doesn't go on for decades, but it goes on several years and now we're at the back end of that several year period and Joel stands up and says the most Terrifying thing imaginable after several years of one crisis after the other because the the locust Was after they thought it was over. Finally, the locusts have gone then drought sets in. Oh No, you know the locusts have gone but there's drought all over the land After the drought sets in then the lightning begins to strike and fires are breaking out rate raging fires everywhere They can't put out and there's famine. I mean very very critical foods shortage And of course in 600 years BC a little bit a little bit later than that, but approximately 600 BC You know you they they they didn't have the trucking industry or trains. They didn't just you know ship in some more food From from the warehouse. I mean whole civilizations I mean whole populations is a better way of saying it could die out when a plague of this level I mean literally Populations national populations were in the balance of crisis like this Absolutely terrifying what is going on here in the book of Joel absolutely terrifying Well the chapter 2 verse 1 You can't hardly believe it in the still in the midst of the crisis while It's still fresh in the memory of everyone. They're still struggling with it. It's not over I mean the the residue of the crisis isn't completely passed He stands up and he tells the the He tells them to blow the trumpet in Zion he's telling actually the actual trumpet players on the wall who sounded the trumpet and the trumpet had several purposes but to very primary purposes it warned of impending disaster and it and Also, the trumpet was God's means of calling the nation to rally together to come to the presence of God The trumpet was a was a rallying call and it was a call of warning There were seven or eight different purposes for the trumpet in the Old Testament, but those would be the two primary ones So anyway, it says blow the trumpet sound the alarm because something worse than the locusts and The drought and the fires coming something worse There's going to be a military invasion from the Babylonians from a very very powerful hostile nation Which was is today modern-day Iraq, so it's about six seven hundred eight of eight hundred miles across the desert Joel says I tell you by the Spirit of the Lord They are mounting up and they are on their way now. They still could been a decade out Because when the Lord says the day the Lord's at hand doesn't mean, you know The the prophetic cry is Monday and it hits by Friday It could still have been as much as five or ten years out or possibly a little bit more who knows because it's a moment he's trying to call the nation while the while the crisis of chapter 1 the national crisis of the locusts and the famine and The drought and the light and the fire is in their mind. He's saying if you think this is bad It's going to multiply it's going to be multiplied in it's gonna the intensity of what's happening because something far worse than starvation From the agriculture from the crops failing the agricultural crisis a nation is coming in to to bring havoc to the whole nation So chapter 2 verse 1 to 9 he's talking about and that an actual army in history. It's the Babylonian army. It's the worst Tragedy to the nation of Israel in the Old Testament as a nation was the Babylonian invasion Which it's it came in three waves over 20 years came in 606 597 and 586 three waves of invasion over 20 years from 606 to 586 and So we're I'm thinking Joel's giving this five or ten years ahead of time because when the Lord says that you know The army's coming again three waves over 20 years I'm sure they thought after the first wave it was over and then there's two more waves that came and of course the third wave His history tells us was by far the most severe in 586 BC So he's telling them Wake up because of the crisis of the locusts and the drought and the fire wake up. It's been several years Wake up because something fought there's there's three more waves coming, but there's three waves of the enemy army It's not gonna be locust drought and fire this next time It's gonna be wave one wave two and wave three of a hostile army That will do far worse Calamity now chapter 2 verse 12 Tells us how they're supposed to wake up chapter 2 verse 12 gives us The clarity from God's heart. This is what God wants a nation to do having experienced three waves of crisis in chapter 1 and You know you could even say it's more than three waves of crisis because the The in chapter 1 verse 4 just for accuracy sake the the locust came in four waves There were four waves of locust plague breaking in and then after the locust is over call that one big wave Oh, you know in four stages. I mean my goodness after the fourth You know after the fourth stage of the locust breaking it over the land and that now the locusts are gone wave to the drought wave free the fire And you could call it wave for the famine that came as a result of it wave five the economic crisis The breakdown of the infrastructure. I mean there I don't know how many waves you want to count but there's lots of trouble going on for three four years in Israel And the reason God gives us the book of Joel because it's going to be repeated on a global dimension. It's gonna repeat it in Israel Specifically this will be repeated in Israel crisis. I don't know about exactly this But crisis of which this is a parallel to it's gonna happen to Israel before the Lord returns But it's more than Israel. It's gonna happen to all the nations of the world. It's gonna happen in America crisis of which is by the hand of God Western Christianity does not have a theology for God doing this the Bible has a theology for but Western Christians don't and and the startling statement of Joel is The offense of this book of the book of Joel is chapter 1 verse 15. It's coming as a destruction from God It was one thing that it was a natural disaster and that's kind of what how they were taking it You know Israel saying man, we're down on our luck Aggregate away, you know stage one of the locusts stage two of the locusts stage three locusts, you know wave for locusts Okay, and they're not getting it's from God. They're getting it as well You know the temperature and the climate's just right for locust breeding to be multiplied and it's really bad That's how our culture interprets the crisis and Joel comes along and says it's from God chapter 1 verse 15 We says it's a number of times in the book of Joel. That's the offense of Joel's ministry. It's from God And he said the droughts from God Then he said the fires from God the famine is from God He goes you're in a corner. You can't get out of except for the favor of God. You don't need better economic systems You don't need better agricultural systems. You need God's favor. There's no way out of this crisis and Then the military three waves of the military crisis break in three different invasions. I mean it was horrifying We just can't hardly imagine well, I guess we've seen war a bit just in our modern media just you know history documentaries and things but the whole point of this multilayer waves of crisis of locusts and drought and Military invasion is so in chapter 2 verse 12. We could understand God is boxing the people into a corner He wants Israel in a corner. He wants the church in a corner. He wants the nation's in a corner He wants everybody in a dilemma. They cannot deliver themselves from and the Lord typically will start it on a smaller level and and and build with intensity until people are Increasingly convinced they cannot deliver themselves Of course the ultimate of the crescendo the end time Plagues if you will is the great military invasion from heaven called the Battle of Armageddon That's the ultimate military invasion into the earth and Jesus is the one leading the army. I Mean that but but it's more than just a kind of an interesting doctrine It's it's the end of a long series of plagues in the book of Revelation of which God had one main desire To get the nation's to do chapter 2 verse 12 To turn to him with all of their heart. He wanted love He wanted a love relationship established It wasn't just It wasn't in verse 12 just turn away from darkness. That is important We God wants us to break all of our alliances with darkness But breaking our alliances with darkness is not enough. It's not turning from it's turning to We're not just turning away from the dark darkness of sin. We're turning to a man a person. He's fully God He's fully man and the point of the book of Joel is that the pressure? Continued to increase it mounted wave after wave in Increasing intensity what you know locust wave 1 locust wave 2 locust wave 3 locust wave 4 chapter 1 verse 4 drought the next wave Fire the next wave. I mean when is this thing gonna quit economic crisis military crisis? The Lord says I want you to turn to me With all of your heart. That's what I'm after. I want love established The most I think one of the most dynamic realities of how the universe is ran under God's leadership is the place of love of Love for him, of course You know Some people say love love for him or love from him or love to him or love to one another It's love is one reality in I mean in truth When we receive the love of God, it's only a small a short amount of time when our hearts become tenderized We love God and there's an inevitable overflow to people. It is an impossible Dichotomy, I mean it's a dichotomy people have that is not true You cannot receive an inner into that love flow without loving God back and loving people if you don't love God back and love people In the overflow you haven't really received the love That love tenderizes that love makes our heart flow like a river that love makes us very different in our emotional chemistry and so when I say love It's it's unnecessary to separate love for God and love for people because Maybe in our maturity level It's a it's a moment away But it's only a moment after we begin to love God that our hearts are tenderized to begin to love one another if not at the exact same time, but it's to me it's it's it's a Dynamic I was gonna say remarkable. That's that's not the right word It's a very dynamic reality the place that love has in the end time drama The place that loving God therefore loving one another loving the lost The place that love has in the spirit in the in spiritual warfare If we it says here in verse 12 turn to me with all of your heart with fasting Rind your heart not your garment return to the Lord because he's gracious. He's merciful He's slow to anger and he has great kindness. He has great kindness. I love the word great. He has great kindness First let's talk about his heart of love for us and then verse 14 who knows If God will turn and relent if we turn he will turn If we turn to him he'll turn away from the judgment if we turn he will turn He won't turn towards us. He has already done that He's already turning towards the nations of the earth to the church and more than the church He's telling the earth. I want you all the nations. I he's already turned his face towards his people He says now turn to me And if you do that if you turn to me, I'll turn away judgment and at the essence of this the very core of this It's that God's judgment is turned back and the work of Satan The work of Satan is frustrated and cut short by love Love is the greatest weapon in the spirit and the whole spiritual warfare theology in the Word of God We turn to God we we break our alliance with darkness and God says I've only even let allowed darkness to to come in in this Exaggerated way. I've given darkness more liberty to strike you only to wake up love in your heart You say yes to love you receive my love answer back and wholeheartedness and overflow to others in it He goes there I draw back Even the liberty of which I've let darkness Have the Lord the answer might be something I guess I'll put I will put Satan on a tighter leash Because Satan has a has liberty to operate not only it's too simplistic to say only according to this But it is related to God's desire to wake up the people Because it's like this idea if they want darkness God lets them have darkness then Darkness will always bring them death and pain always I Want to live in sin, I want darkness and the Lord gives a little bit that gives Satan a little more liberty He goes. Okay, you can have the darkness you want. I Hate this is this pain and the Lord's answer something like no, this is where darkness goes This is what darkness is about you want the kingdom of darkness you get the God of darkness He hates you. He will destroy your body with sickness and torment you with Nightmares and dreams and break everything he can touch he comes to kill still and destroy so it's not just that God does it it all directly but he gives more liberty to the realm of darkness to Exercise its dominion over the people who choose it. That's why repentance is breaking our alliance with darkness and in doing that the Boundary lines of darkness to encroach upon our lives. They are shortened there they God causes the boundary lines to be more strict Because the reason he lets well I mean one of the primary reasons even lets the happen the whole the whole battle is to cause love to increase in our hearts Not because God enjoys people in pain Is that he's trying to wake up people to break their alliance with darkness? Satan is the God of darkness and wherever darkness dwells Satan has Liberty and when darkness dwells in our heart we give him Liberty to operate in that domain and So the answer I I'm just I marvel at this at the very core response in the book of Joel, which is a picture of the response God wants to the end-time Church and Increasing calamity that's striking the nation's they are to love God. Isn't that amazing? I mean, it's not just that it's simple. It gives us profound insight to the to the king of the universe I mean when a king typically wants the attention of another group of people not under his domain not a Walk his domain normally he wants honor. He wants money He wants service this King wants love it gives us incredible insight About what kind of man he is what kind of God he is He says in verse 12 turn to me love me Of course, we know from the Bible. We can only love him fully by receiving his love We only love because we we were first loved we received it He goes turn to me in verse 12 in verse 14 I will turn from the judgment it says who knows feel turn to relent But I have this idea the Lord's up in heaven with a smile on his face going I pretty well sure already decided if they turn what I'm gonna do It's not a he's doesn't say every time because you never know how far the people have gone in corporate wickedness in a nation I There's times where a nation corporately goes so far. It's like he told up Ezekiel the prophet in Ezekiel chapter 14 verse 14. He says even if Daniel and Job were here Their prayers would save them, but it wouldn't save the nation. The nation's gone too far. So there there's that kind of Unusual qualifier he says who knows because you never know at corporately if a nation's gone too far Because even even Job and I think it's Job and Noah and Daniel He said even that they appeared and prayed right if something they were there right now and prayed I would not save the nation. I would save them but not the nation and that's Ezekiel 14 14 and Ezekiel's a Contemporary is Jeremiah They're prophesying the same time in the great Babylonian invasion actually that Joel's trying to warn them about Joel's a decade or two before them. He's saying it's coming. It's coming turn turn And they won't do it. They won't do it The nation didn't do it and the Babylonian armies came of Joel chapter 2 verse 1 to 9 they came and they devoured the nation Jeremiah 15 verse 1 Jeremiah Jeremiah and Ezekiel again, they're maybe a decade or two later The Babylonian armies coming in the Lord tells Ezekiel even if Job Noah and Daniel prayed I wouldn't save the nation I'd save them he tells Jeremiah even if Samuel and Moses I think I mean, I can't remember if I'm saying them All right. I know those are the right names, but I might mix them up But he tells he goes in Jeremiah 51 he goes even if Samuel and Moses showed up He goes I wouldn't turn I wouldn't set the nation free But beloved we're in the hour and we know from the scriptures The God is gonna save nations in a day but it's so awesome that What that the balance of the end time warfare is turning with all the heart in love Again that's a That's a great insight into the personality of the king of the universe It's great insight and to the nature of the spiritual conflict love destroys darkness Turning with all heartedness, so it's not just a matter of God Being nice to us and saying you know what I'd tell you what I'm gonna do I'm gonna let you continue in darkness, but I'm not gonna let the God of darkness touch you Now the Lord says if you continue in darkness because of my the way I run my kingdom you get voluntary You get to choose your own way the free will of man I'm gonna let you then incur the weight and the pain of the God of darkness But if you'll turn to me in love It's significantly Minimizes his ability to strike. I mean they'll still be martyrs Satan will still strike, but it will be in a whole different way He says this in verse 13 verse 13 rend your heart the word rend here in the New King James is tear tear with violence What what a violent word you know Jesus said about John the Baptist that He said the kingdom of God suffers violence Violent take it by force. He was actually talking about John and the violence isn't military. It's not political It's spiritual meaning. It's a moral of I mean it's moral to in spiritual. It's a it's a radical Violent giving of ourself to God while all the powers that go against the will of God who are flesh you know the Sin flesh and the devil are screaming at us. It's a violent take no prisoners approach to say no to darkness It's violent and the word rend Has the element of violence in it? It's tearing with violence. That's what the word rend means What a strong word he sees his rend your heart tear your heart The guy says I'm stuck You know, I I'm just I'm just so entrenched in my pornography and in my bitterness and in my alcohol and in my greed and Pride I I'm stuck. God says be violent rend your heart be serious about it Not that we can free ourselves by the power of our own Decision-making our decision-making without divine help won't get us free but the the violent decision to walk in love before God the decision to fear God is an Absolute must that nobody can do for you and God won't do it for you God won't do it for me and the the play on words here as you rend your heart and Isaiah 64 God will rend the heavens and come down God will tear open the heavens and come in power So there's a tearing of the heart that we do and then God tears open the heavens Isaiah 64 1 he goes I will run the heavens and I will break in upon you in power. That's revival That's an awesome thing when the Lord rends the heavens because I will cause every Opposing power to shake and tremble in my presence He goes you rend your heart and I'll run the heavens You don't tear your heart The God of darkness will tear your heart Satan will tear your heart And it's more it's it's it's not only that God will tear your heart I'm talking about with pain in order to keep us from a greater judgment in the kingdom of darkness The Lord will even allow a temporary Heightened pain in order to awaken us to break our alliances with darkness This is not just that's if we tear our heart then So that Satan does and there is even a place amongst God's people where God where God will tear our hearts in the negative sense It's called judgment. It's called get our attention and That's what's gonna happen in all the nations of the earth globally there is a there is a divine getting attention of the planet earth and but the the Answer the way out of the dilemma is right here It's the returning in love the whole heartedness that is the place of immunity That is the place of immunity. I don't mean that Satan won't be able to touch any of the Saints Because the great glory of the end time church is its martyrs It's not the the only glory of the end time church But one of the great glories of the end time church is the fact that martyrs will give their lives for the gospel and for the Lord Himself, so I'm not saying that the immunity means there won't be people that will be martyred But there's an immunity from God's judgments in wholeheartedness the place of love wars against the trouble Something that the nations of the earth will spend billions of dollars and have all the global summits of all the nations and the scientists and the Economists and the agriculture guys and the you know everything to try to figure out how we can make sure there's enough water enough food enough money enough peace to go around And yet if they would turn to God with all their hearts Lord says that I am I am your biggest problem the biggest problem America has America in sin our biggest adversary is God. It's not AIDS It's not you know, the bad guys over somewhere who are gonna invade us one day It's not that the biggest adversary a nation and sin has is God and there is no solution to God Except for the people of God turn to him and if the people turn he gives grace on the whole land I mean, it's amazing relationship the people of God in wholeheartedness can bring blessing to large spheres of the population But it comes to the place of the first commandment turn to me with all your heart here in verse 12 Jesus said it It's the great commandment. It's the first commandment turn to me with all of your heart Well, I'm not getting very far to Joel 3 am I but I'm just enjoying myself up here I'm on my way to Joe 3 to go to my room. This is just the introduction. So I Won't go on and on but That's what he's telling them to do that He's telling Israel how to get through the judgments of the generation of Joel's day But it's also the clear model of how to get through the judgments at the end of the age That's the reason the book of Joel the book of Joel wasn't only written for Joel's generation Certainly it was and you know Maybe a million or two million people or so a couple million people got the benefit of it But billions of people will have the benefit of the book of Joel. This is absolutely the divine model For the nations whether the nation of Israel the nation of the earth to relate to God in increasing crisis It's in the realm of love. We war with love We war according to love in our hearts when our hearts break through in love with God And I tell you it is a war. There's a rending. There's a violence Jesus had cut off your right hand if it makes you send pluck out your eye now, I obviously didn't say It didn't mean you actually really cut off your right hand because you can sit with your left hand he was really saying Be strong about it. Not not kind of casual but go after this thing with a violence. It's what he was really saying Well in Joel chapter 3 Joel chapter 3 is kind of where I was aiming for is That what happens is now we find the situation very different in Joel chapter 2 the nations were coming against Israel to destroy them and they did they destroyed the nation I don't mean completely but nearly God saved a remnant Joel 3 it's reversed. It's God's judgment now on the nations and Israel broke through in our experience in the salvation of God so we we we we know the the Intended message of Joel 3 is because Joel 3 is clearly about the generation the Lord returns the intended message of Joel chapter 3 is That the nation of Israel a remnant of it, but a substantial remnant it says in Zechariah 13 a third of the nation I mean a third of them. That's a substantial remnant a remnant is more than a tenth It's a in this case. It's a third often. It's a remnant is like a tenth Isaiah 6 they spoke of the remnant is a tenth of the population here. It's triple. It's more than triple the remnant But anyway the intended understanding of Joel 3 is That Israel did the Joel 2 lifestyle Israel was surrounded by the nations They look to the book of Joel they turn to God with all their heart and God actually saved them He came himself and saved them now the nations are in trouble Because the Babylonian army of chapter 2 that was God's scourge God's instrument of judgment on the nation It says in the scripture in Jeremiah 25 and in Jeremiah 29 Tells Jeremiah because Jeremiah is prophesying nearly the same time as Joel maybe a decade or two after He says, you know Babylon who I'm gonna raise up. That's gonna absolutely Cause trauma to the nation of Israel He goes just so you know in Jeremiah 25 and Jeremiah 29 for those of you that Like to write down the verses look him up later He says I'm gonna after I you raise up Babylon Iraq in the old day I mean it was Babylon of the days of old its modern-day Iraq after I raised them up to discipline Israel I will turn my wrath against that nation and I will destroy them And so now things of it's the reverse situation. We understand in Joel chapter 3. We understand Israel followed Joel 2 That's the intended message of Joel chapter 3 because Israel look at verse 16 and 17. They're in a place of safety. They made it They turned with all their heart it worked. It's gonna work on a global Eschatological what I mean that in time and in time eschatological global way Nation of Israel will turn and so will the body of Christ Though we don't See a reference to the body of Christ in that term here We know in the book of Revelation chapter 22 verse 17 It's the spirit of the bride crying come the bride the church is in a bridal identity crying out come The church is in a bridal identity doing Joel chapter 2 verse 12 at the end of the age So so we know the church in Israel We know they said yes to Joel chapter 2 they we know they they said yes to love and intimacy with God Became the great weapon of the end-time church and it came with a great weapon to the remnant of Israel of which incidentally Israel can't be the remnant except they say yes to Jesus. Therefore. They're part of the church as well Saved Israel you can say as part of the church or you can say the church is Part of the root system of the tree of Abraham. That's even a more accurate way from Romans chapter 11 Didn't expect you all to follow that one every one of you but some of you did but here in Joel chapter 3 Look at this It's very very Dynamic truth here says in Joel chapter 3 verse 1 He says behold in those days talk about it at the last days in the generation Lord returns He he went way to the end to the end of the age from Joel's generation 600 years BC to the end of the age He said in those days Joel 3 verse 1 at that time When when is that time? When are those days? It's when I bring back the captives of Judah in Jerusalem Okay, so we know that's that's characteristic number one when God brings back the captives of Jerusalem, okay Jerusalem is gonna be in captivity and they're gonna be brought back It's also the time when God gathers all the nations of the world down to the valley of Jehoshaphat that didn't happen yet God is gonna gather all of the valley all of the nations to the valley of Jehoshaphat And when he does that He's gonna deliver the captives of Israel when he brings all the nations to the valley of Jehoshaphat Just to fast-forward for those of you. This is a new tax. That's the Battle of Armageddon. That's what he's talking about But the term the valley of Jehoshaphat is a critical term And that's really was the burden on my heart and when we started which I'm running out of time So I got to get really get with it here Is that I'll just do the the fast version of telling you about the valley of Jehoshaphat, but I I Want you to understand there's three qualifiers here. There's a time frame called in those days in verse 1 There's a time frame called in that at that time and when is the time that is in those days at that time? When is the time frame described by those two phrases? number one The captive of Israel are going to be brought back the captives of Jerusalem Number two all the nations of the earth. We find it a dozen other verses. We know it's all the nations of the earth and Certainly, it's representative of all the nations. It's not like all you know, six to ten billion people However, many there will be when the Lord returns they all go there But it means they they're there they're a military presence representing all the nations of the earth. It's a military invasion on Israel I'm gonna bring them all down that hasn't happened yet. That's going to Zechariah 12 and Zechariah 14 are the clearest passages in the Bible on it in the Old Testament Of course Revelation 19 in the New Testament But all the nations of the world gathered together in this military invasion of the nation of Israel It's gonna be a replay of Joel 2 now. It's Joel 3. It's at the end of the age What is Israel gonna do? They're gonna do the solemn assembly from the book of Joel. What's the body of Christ gonna do? They're gonna do the solemn assembly from the book of Joel So first he's gonna Bring the captives of Jerusalem. It's gonna gather all the nations but look at it. Look at number three He's gonna enter into judgment with all the nations right there in the Valley of Jehoshaphat So he's not just gonna gather the nations to Israel. He's going to judge them there See when they're being gathered there. They think they're gonna win in the gathering. There's a certain euphoria when all the nations are assembling in their You know their military staging area around Jerusalem They're kind of excited because they think it's gonna be awesome that they're gonna win They're being gathered by God Interestingly that they're gathered by God here and a dozen other places in the scripture that God gathers the nations around Israel in the last days Revelation chapter 16 verse 13. It says that three frogs He Johnson I saw three frogs Go out of the mouth of the Antichrist the false prophet and Satan himself And they are deceiving spirits that gathered all the nations of the world to Tarmageddon So it's interesting because God's doing the gathering here in a bunch of other places as well But in Revelation 16 3 the devil is also working in the gathering as well, and they're all gathered but that gathering There's a certain euphoria There's a certain euphoria in that gathering they're all excited these evil wicked nations They are gonna go and destroy Israel once and for all Glory to God they say to their false God and here we go But God says oh no at the end of verse 2 I'm gonna bring them into judgment and absolutely wipe them out when I bring them there Okay now this sounds like Saturday night that's when I do in times teaching tonight's Friday night I know I'm slipping over there a little bit But this is intimacy with God but Because the whole the whole end time battle is in the balance of the bridal Paradigm of the church with a heart of a bride in love Wholeheartedness crying out come doing the Joel to solemn assemblies as the spiritual culture of the end time church Look at it look what it says here in Joel chapter 3 verse 9 Proclaim this among the nations God's sending out the trumpet blast. I mean this is a this is a disaster for the nations. They don't know I mean they're they're pride They're so blinded by pride that when they're called to gather. There's a compelling supernatural activity calling them to Israel God's working and the devil's working and they can't figure out the two they have no discernment all they know is their supernatural activity working And they're going to Jerusalem. They're gonna go have a party as far as they're concerned. It's a sure victory You know, it's a it's the it's the great Super Bowl. That's gonna be a hundred to nothing I mean the chances of them losing are impossible according to military Numbers they're gathering for the great celebration and victory of all times Verse 9 proclaiming among the nations tell them to all prepare for war. They're going hot dog. This is gonna be good We are going to have a party in Jerusalem's gonna be the easiest quickest military victory in history It's all the nation's against an unequipped unarmed military unarmed nation Israel Just how God wants it but but Israel's doing something else though Israel's doing something they don't have guns They they they they're not a or they're certainly not armed in a any kind of competent way, but they're armed with solemn assemblies They're armed with love. There's a remnant in the land crying out to God Joel to they don't have weapons We find that and again a half dozen places Ezekiel 38. They're unwalled villages. They don't have a military defense All the nations are gathered The nation's look at them and they think you have no weapons because they don't have any Revelation as to the weapon of a wholehearted lovesick heart before God, which is the great weapon in the end time battle They end up in the favor of God Because of wholeheartedness and they have all the power of the supernatural dimension at their disposal But the nation's do not know this is going to happen They have looked at all the natural weapons, but they have not understood what Paul the Apostle said in 2nd Corinthians 10 verse 4 He said that the weapons of the flesh that's not what we do but our weapons are mighty for the destruction of strongholds and our weapons are Operating in the spirit in the love of God declaring the decrees of the Lord That's our weapons the speaking the Word of God with a heart filled with love and the nation's cannot see any of this, of course Look what he says Oh the verse 9 is Terrifying to me because it's the nation's that are drunk in their pride and they have no discernment They can't tell their right hand from their left as one of the prophets said about the wicked nations They cannot tell their right from their left hand They're so drunk with their own pride and they have no discernment God says to them prepare for war they go. Yes It's gonna be the the first hundred to nothing Super Bowl victory is they know since the other team's showing up Israel has no army God tells the nation's let the men of war draw near let him come up They go. Yes, let him beat their plow shares into swords. In other words take their military I mean their agricultural factories turn them into military armaments take instead of plowshares instead of you know trucks and fat, you know and plows and and military agriculture agricultural equipment tournament of Military armament plants turn them into weapons of war Let your pruning hooks be turned into spears Your agricultural tools turn them into tools of war let the weak say I'm strong now now This is a negative statement, by the way He's telling let the feeble man the man that doesn't have a stomach for war the ungodly man that says, you know I don't really like war. I pass out when I go to the doctor's office if somebody gets a shot I have a weak stomach. I he says you know what even you even you weak man Rise up be bolstered in your pride and know that the victory is so assured Go to that battle because I have appointed you for destruction. Thus says the Lord I mean, this is a terrifying statement when he tells the weak to be strong here normally, you know We know the other Psalms where he tells the weak to be strong. It's powerful But here it's he is alluring them in their pride and deception into a trap of destruction If they turn and repent they won't they'll know what's going on But in their darkness The Lord lures them. Oh, this is terrifying Joel 3 verse 9 and 10. I just tremble. He says assemble now Israel is doing solemn assemblies Joel 2 verse 12. They're doing wicked military assemblies They're probably having their pagan right, you know rights before and celebrating in the realm of darkness They've assembled all of you. They're having their evil assemblies So it's so interesting that how many Military campaigns in history were preceded by religious supernatural You know gatherings were they the the day before they dedicated them afresh to their false gods undoubtedly this is going on as well Assemblies talking military, but he's playing off of the word all through the book of Joel assemble assemble assemble before God now It's a symbol before darkness gather Now this the right here in the middle of verse 11 Joel now Most almost all commentators agree with this point it's a it's a strange construction in the sentence here, but Joel now pauses on his kind of a Satire is prophetic satire against the nations as he's really mocking them As he because they're gonna be lured into their own destruction by their own pride now Pauses and he cries out for God to loose the angels of God. He pauses here verse There's a period in verse 11 Joel says cause your mighty ones. Oh God to break in let the angels break in because that's what happened at the Valley of Joseph at Do again what you did in Jehoshaphat's day the great king of Israel Now he goes back to verse 12. He goes back to his satire his dirge over the blinded nations All let the nations be awakened and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There it is again verse 2 We had the Valley Valley of Joseph at in verse 12 It's the Valley of Jehoshaphat the dog Battle of Armageddon, but it's cast in another light by this term the Valley of Jehoshaphat because the nations Don't know what the Valley of Jehoshaphat does but devout Israel knows what the Valley of Jehoshaphat is When you say Valley of Jehoshaphat to a devout Israeli who loves God who's living a life of prayer and fasting they're going this is gonna be awesome awesome I'm gonna tell you about the Valley of Joseph at in just a second. Well, I'll just tell you right now And then I was gonna go there but we're just too late you can go on your own I'll just give you a couple verses real quick. And and what happens? Oh, it's so so dramatic in 2nd Chronicles chapter 20 2nd Chronicles chapter 20 is that? Israel is Surrounded by three enemy nations Which boils down to the to the Edomites It boils down to the Edomites, which is the nation of Jordan today Which is really interesting because I'm getting a little bit out of line out of my sequence here because in verse 19 It's the Edomites that are going to be destroyed here in this great drama in Joel chapter 3 It's the same nations that Jehoshaphat fought against the Edomites It's three. It's a three nation wicked coalition that gathered against Israel and surrounded them and Jehoshaphat had his back against the wall so to speak or he was surrounded. He had no answer He had no answer he was outnumbered and surrounded and taken by surprise and he was Absolutely in sure defeat Absolutely in sure defeat Jehoshaphat does not know what to do and one of the prophetic singers. Oh, I love it This Jehoshaphat a prophetic singer under the unction of the prophetic word sang the word to him Spoke the word to him one of the Levite singers He said in essence have a solemn assembly do the Joel to thing Jehoshaphat and God will send the mighty angels like here in chapter 3 verse 11 He will send the mighty ones that help you. That's the essence of what that prophetic singer told him Jehoshaphat was pretty blown away by that Jehoshaphat said okay, I'll do it He called the whole nation to fasting and prayer the whole nation touched the Joel to verse 12 They're in crisis and they and the end they touch this reality It isn't really like pointing to the book of Joel because technically Joel's written about 200 years later But you know, I'm just speeding up the story here. But well, I guess let's be more accurate about it Let's be more accurate about it a couple hundred years before Jehoshaphat King Solomon is the one that said if you pray and fast and the locusts come and the in the Evil armies gather around you if you pray and fast God will break in and help you. So So actually the prophetic singers pointing them back to that the promise of Solomon if you fast and pray and Are your whole hearted? It's the same call to whole heartedness if you break your alliance with darkness God will then release his favor and then he'll release the this power of warfare will break in on in your behalf Through love is what's going to happen whole heartedness will release Weapons that are mighty to the pulling down of strongholds So what happens Jehoshaphat this prophetic singer sings the song to him the whole nation prays and fast like Solomon said to do in 2nd Chronicles 5 6 & 7 you can study it on your own. It's brilliant 2nd Chronicles 5 6 & 7 It's where the theology of fasting and praying was really solidified in national crisis I mean really really I mean Moses talked about in Deuteronomy 28 But but some years before but Solomon really made it a foundation stone of how to face crisis So Jehoshaphat does it and you know the story you all know the story, you know You might not recognize the Jehoshaphat part of it. It's he put the singers went out first. Remember at the front of the battle He gets the choir Jehoshaphat says the choir goes first Here's the prophetic singers are out there and the army's behind them as singers are going Whoa, this is the I mean, you know preachers have had fun with this story because there's a there's a humorous dimension Picturing putting the choir out in their robes where all the guns are behind and the choir is freaking out and but I don't think it Really exactly work that way, but it's it's a fun story to you know, play around with a little bit But this is the ultimate statement that these singers are gonna sing praise We love you. Oh God, the Lord is good. His mercy endures forever. Of course, that's the key song You'll find the second Chronicles 20. They're singing. The Lord is good. His mercy endures. We love you And they're wholehearted they're fasting and praying and they're singing and the angels of God were loosed Against the enemy It doesn't say the angels of God in the direct sense. If you read the text real careful. It says it's suddenly a Confusion and it's clear. The commentators are all quite agreed on it that there was a Supernatural influence from heaven and all the armies turned on each other and started stabbing each other with their swords each other They turn each other cut each other and all of them died and Israel stood there. They didn't do anything like Moses the Red Sea They just stood there The singers are still singing their eyes are undoubtedly still closed. Oh, they don't even know everything's going good I'm sure they did but took my little joke there but I mean It's the point being the love songs of God are going forth for the whole heartedness with this with this Whole culture this culture of the solemn assembly of the end-day Church beloved It's gonna happen here in Joel chapter 3 and what's happening is Jehoshaphat is the most remarkable story because it was a nation in trouble They turned to God in the solemn assembly. They sang the love songs the prophetic singers went forth the angels came down They had no chance to win. They totally won through love songs Every ball the enemy was routed in the end and the enemy was sure they were gonna win and that's why Joel Calls the Battle of Armageddon here the valley of Jehoshaphat and they go it's right next to Jerusalem It's a valley of Beruka It's in in a second Chronicles 20. It's where the battle was won That's where they all celebrated in the valley of Beruka Then it was called the valley the valley of Jehoshaphat because of that's when the angels came down Confusion rout the enemy the singer sang and the army did nothing but stand there They didn't fight for themselves what God's telling Joel here you pray and fast Joel to people of God The army of God will be loose through the love songs of God the the the spiritual warfare of which the weapons are mighty to the pulling down of strongholds will be released and though the odds are a thousand to one They will not the enemy will not have calculated they will not have calculated the fact there's angels being loosed It was Elisha that when the king of Syria was surrounding Elisha The servant came in said Elisha. We're dead. The king of Syria is around us and Elisha said there's no problem son He goes no. No the whole armies around us Lord open his eyes so he can see that there are more for us than are against us no sudden the slave servants eyes opened up and they did the Mountains were filled with the chariots of fire there. They all were and the servant of Elisha went whoa You know, there's a million of the soldiers there's a billion of the chariot whoa And Elijah said sit down enjoy your meal we're in good shape We're warring in the right way Elisha. And of course the the chariots of God went forward That's what's happening at the Valley of Jehoshaphat and my big point wasn't so much to go into the end time drama though I love the end time drama my point my real point was it's through the wholeheartedness of Jehoshaphat experience with the singers that Joel points to this is that same Jehoshaphat model of Loving God and singing the love songs that is going to rout the enemy again and loose the chariots of God filled with fire with the angels of God and the safety of God's people is In the balance in the prayer movement But don't just say the prayer movement say the worship movement the way the people love God because beloved when we love God When we love God we come into full unity and the love of God. There is a destruction against darkness in the lives our own lives there's a tearing down of the works of darkness in the lives of our children and the lives of our city and nation the Most powerful weapon in the kingdom of God is wholeheartedness It looses the forces of the king of righteousness who is the great lover of all the ages And that's what the Lord's calling us to and I'll just end with this verse 14 Julie come on up I'm in in verse 14. It says here they are. It says Well, let's look at verse 12. Let the nations be awakened. Let them come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat again the nations They don't know what the valley of Jehoshaphat is. That's just of course. They're not reading Joel Anyway, they think it's all fables But the righteous we know the jolly the valley of Jehoshaphat means the place where the people are outnumbered surrounded have no weapons, but they have love songs and That's where the battle turns suddenly from heaven. Whoo. I love it. Okay. He says for there verse 12 I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations verse 14 multitudes multitudes in the valley of decision for the day of the Lord is Near the valley of decision right now. The church is in the valley of decision the church in the West I'm sure the whole church in the world is right now The church in the West is not choosing the Jehoshaphat the Jehoshaphat model of warring The Jehoshaphat model of warring is prayer fasting wholeheartedness and love songs That's the that's not the only type of warring, but it's the primary core. It's wholeheartedness The church is in the valley of decisions in the valley of decision says multitudes multitudes in the valley This is the nations of the earth are in the valley of decisions. All the nations of the earth are in the valley decision The unbelievers I'm talking about the political entities the nations the governments of the earth the the individuals the unbelievers The whole world is in the valley of decision right now because if they choose light in love It will go one way for them if they choose darkness, then they will get the God of darkness he will do he will torment them and Then he goes on and he says in verse 16 that God will be a shelter for his people Here there will be immunity for the people of God from the judgments of God again Not necessarily for martyrdom although there will be many supernatural deliverances even in that But there will be immunity in terms of the there will be a shelter in the strength in terms of God's judgments in the book of Revelation breaking out in the land But look at verse 19 I just have to read verse 19 Egypt shall be a desolation at that time and Edom a desolate wilderness Edom or that is the three nation coalition in Jehoshaphat's day We're all from Edom from the area of Eden, which is the Jordan area right now the you know in contemporary language that the valley of Jehoshaphat Fighting the same surrounding nations is going to happen again, and it's going to end in the same way just in a far more intense way Amen well, let's stand There are