Weeping Between The Porch And The Altar - Part 2 – Joel 2:17 Series

INTRODUCTION... JOEL 2:17 says... “Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare Thy people O Lord, and give not Thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them. Wherefore should they say among the people, Where is your God?" LET'S PRAY!

I am reading a book about Leonard Ravenhill, a great outdoor Revivalist, and he tells a story of REVIVAL that came to the city of Leeds in England in the early 1900's. Now just what do I mean when I say REVIVAL...I am not talking about a planned event, a planned revival...but a Biblical Event.

REVIVAL in a Biblical sense is a tremendous infusion of the Holy Ghost into a body of people.

This REVIVAL in Leads came because there was this little man there, he was not seminary trained...had no bible degree...but boy, did he have a burning heart and a burning vision for an old time HOLY GHOST REVIVAL.

And through that VISION he labored and yet he had three breakdowns, not mental, but physical breakdowns because he fasted so much...and he had authority and that authority came from God by way of the Holy Ghost.

Paul says in EPHESIANS 6:19... "Pray for me, that utterance may be given me." A prayer we all need to pray!

In other words he means... “Let the Word be glorified and endued (endowed) with that mysterious thing that you can't define and no human can give. The thing that we call unction.”

Now what does unction mean...It is... “The act of anointing as part of a religious or healing ritual.”

And Paul's and this man from Leads authority was an anointing of God through the Holy Ghost...it was the baptism from God through the counsel, teachings, and spirit filled guidance of the Holy Ghost.

Now if money could buy that some of you would sell your house to get it, but you can't get it with money and you can't get it through an education at a university or seminary either.

It can only come through God's Holy Ghost...because it is only within the Sovereignty of the ALMIGHTY GOD.

We have to first sell out to God wholly and then let God through His Spirit possess us wholly...completely!!!

In the world today...we are trying to marry Christianity to all the wrong things...we are trying to marry it to prosperity...popularity...personalities...politics...and beloved...it ain't working 'cause it's broken!

And yet many ministers preach a PROSPERITY DOCTRINE today because it feeds our carnality.

They preach worship God, follow God…and prosperity will come your way…and maybe it will…maybe.

But we forget what Jesus said in MATTHEW 6:30... "Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?"

So hear me...working for God so wealth will find you is all wrong...let God choose what he wants for you.

Look, why don't these same Preachers who preach that PROSPERITY DOCTRINE go to poor and impoverished 3rd world countries and preach it where they need it?

You know why...because God may bless the righteous...but He don't make them wealthy.

That comes through hard work...good business practices...and many more things like that.

And there are a lot of Satan loving ...Satan worshiping people out there that are wealthy too.

Yet...I do know wealthy people and many of them are lovely, fine Christians and I believe God lets them have a ministry in supplying needs through their wealth...but that is not why they are wealthy.

When the Body of Christ is rich and prosperous...she very seldom...I want say never...but very seldom has Biblical REVIVAL...but she often does when she's poor...many times the Children of Israel found this out.

But this truth does exist beloved...PRAYER IS THE LANGUAGE OF THE POOR.

PSALMS 86:1 says... "Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.”

And this does not always mean poor and needy financially although that does help to humble us.

Yet while it may mean financially...it definitely does mean spiritually poor. Why?

The self-satisfied don't need to pray...the self-sufficient don't want to...and the self-righteous cannot.

But the man who realizes... "I need something outside of anything that's human at all"... then that man is the one who wants to bathe his soul in prayer...and he just may be wealthiest person of all.

But today...the weakest meeting in almost any church without exception is the PRAYER MEETING.

And when we are not strong in prayer we are saying to God... "We can manage by ourselves...God."

But let us get caught up in a war or a depression or a famine or a drought and we pray and we pray...see, for many of us...we have a great "utility" God...bad times come and God gonna hear from us! AMEN!!!