LET THE LEADERS PRAY

Joel 2:17, '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 their God?'

Let us hear this great directive for pastors and leaders.  I have heard much in these last months on the different opinions about 'who' should take the head for a movement to God.  There is no dissension on the fact that God chooses whom He will use for His Own desired purposes.  But we as men, are bound to consider that our lives are fit for Him to use, as He has often turned to prophets and priests for His declarations.  But that does not mean that all prophets and priests are holy.  Let us ask these questions with introspective answers:  Are we able to bear the holy things of God?  Is there that within us that God can trust us with for His desired will?  Or are we simply going through the motions of religious duties and exercises? 

THE REASON - Something has provoked this verse!  Why should the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep and cry out?  What has happened to cause this response? 

We go back to the earlier verses of this chapter.  In verse 1, 'the day of the Lord cometh for it is nigh at hand'.  God is coming, and not for mercy and grace, but wrath and judgment.  In verse 2, 'a day of darkness and of gloominess'.  It is the day that all men should fear; it is the day when the Lord withdraws His lovingkindness and longsuffering.  It is not just the wicked of the earth that receives God's wrath.  But also, God rises up in anger and holy zeal to reprove, rebuke, chastise and correct the sinfulness of His Own people.   It should be expected for both the heathen and His Own people to receive a just reward for their rejection and shameful living in contrariness against His ways. 

The Scripture declares the reality for the church today; 'Let judgment begin at the house of the Lord.'  And when His Own people forsake Him and turn from that which is holy and good to that which is sin and evil, God will make them answer.  There is too much  today of 'being at ease'; too much worldliness; too much apathy; too much sin against being holy.  These are definitely the ways that lead us astray, and God seeks to have us confess, repent and turn back to Him with all our heart. 

So it is today as we draw near to the close of the this year, we see so many of the church has forsaken that good and right way.  We have left, forsaken and forgotten our first love.  Our sins have found us out, and we are weighed in the balances and found wanting in our failure to please Him.  We have allowed for selfish, sinful pleasures to rob us of what God intended.  And because of this attitude, these choices, the statement of truth comes to bear us testimony - 'that which you sow, is that which you reap.'  To reap the wrath, the judgments of God is directly in relationship to a people that have lost their way.  They have forgotten the truths of Scripture; they have sown in sin and now must reap judgment. 

When a person, a group of people acknowledge such truths, it should be alarming.  They know what is happening.  God has enabled them to put 2 + 2 together.  Sometimes God allows for souls to remain blind, or unknowing to the reality at hand.  Moses declared to the children of Israel after 40 years in the wilderness, 'God has not given you a heart to perceive until this day.'  God gives the eyes to see, the mind to understand and the heart to discern.  And there is those that see that the hand of God has gone out against His church, against His Own people just like in Joel.  These that 'have eyes to see' share, they are moved, they are in earnest prayer for the wickedness, knowing that God is moving against them. 

Where we are right now?  We are where it should be alarming to everyone that is able to discern.  Yet, we only hear a few sounding alarms.  Why?  I believe exactly for this very reason just mentioned, that the majority of their eyes and hearts are blind to current revealings.  While a remnant can see and do testify of what the truth of today is;  there is the majority of the church which can't see it, for they are watching the world.  They can't discern it, for they are deaf to the Spirit of truth.  They continue on in life, thinking everything is okay, but in reality, their end is near.  They weren't watchful, they weren't silent before the Lord to know what was coming.  Are you aware of what's going on?  Do you have eyes to see and a heart to perceive?

'It is the day of the Lord'.  There has never been a time in history of this earth like today.  Nations and governments are being positioned; disasters are occurring more readily.  The church is in great need of cleansing across North America.  We see a powerless church to deal with the lostness of mankind.  We see sin abounding in every form that indulges the lust, pride and selfishness of men.  We see few desire holiness.  Many which are limited and restrained and utterly rejected to seek holiness.  We see Satan and hell having their ways with marriages, families, schools, governments, and society in general.  The absence of God is at the heart of all this in the lives of individuals and in the life of the nation and sadly, the absence of God in and among His Own people.

THE RESPONSE - pray, weep and cry out for God's mercy;  this is the needed response. 

A revival of holiness needs to be restored and should be demanded. God shall execute this soon. And this may be a very painful, enduring time for God's people. How many are truly ready and willing to pay the price? And as we read and are made aware of others places around the world, where our brothers and sisters in Christ face death for their faith; we are unwilling to acknowledge that that might be our plight soon.

The children of Judah had their false prophets continuing their 'refuge of lies' during the assault of Babylon, during the siege, and even after they were carried away. Yet, the truth that Jeremiah spoke all came to pass. We must see that without a return unto the Lord; without holiness being restored to the house of God and His children, disaster and judgment is eminent. God has declared, 'Let judgment begin at the house of God.'

The failure of the church house affects the houses of our nation. And if we, in the church, as God's people allow carnality, fleshly lusts, pride, sin then this nation follows suit. And as they indulge more and more evil, God's anger and wrath build. And just as a volcano rises and rises til eruption, so God in His mercy allows for more time and opportunity until that day mercy is cut off. Sodom and Gomorrah had a time to repent; Lot had a set time to escape and flee and then the fire fell. Our continued departure from the Lord only hastens the day the fire falls for destruction, wrath and judgment. Somewhere along the time right now, there must be a urgent response to this wickedness. We as individuals, leaders, churches that recognize the time at hand, the clouds of wrath gathering and must follow the example set forth in this verse.

Many prayers are being said today.  Many churches pray every church service.  It is not the issue of praying that is the point here.  It is the intensity of praying that is the issue at hand.  'Weep'; when is the last time you was in prayer and wept?  When was the last time you was in a prayer meeting with weeping?  When was the last prayer meeting you was in at all?  This should be the revealing factor of our state of praying.  It should reveal the depths of our heart desire to pray and prevail with God.  No tears, no weeping, no reaping. 

The absence of prayer is at the heart of this judgment of God.  Silence from God's people is the great sin that makes hell rejoice and heaven lament.  God is calling, God is moving and yes, God is working to change that.  An invitation to one and all of His body to pray rightly and seek Him in prayer.  But specifically here in this verse is the call for the leaders to lead the way and set the example. 

When was the last time your church, your staff, your family saw you weep over their souls, their spiritual life?  'Weep and cry out' is your mandate.  Are you doing it?  Have you done it?  I'm not talking about emotional manipulation.  I know people can turn tears off and on, I'm talking about real tears, real compassion and real earnest affection for their eternity.  The product of tears and weeping comes from the fact of knowing that God is getting ready and even now is, setting Himself against the people.  Is that not enough to move us to agonize for His mercy?

The soul that understands this knows the reality, that God is angry at the wicked.  He will judge both the wicked and His Own.  We should also know that God is merciful and gracious, and longsuffering.  And with those attributes of God in our heart and mind we know that we can step in front of God and cry out to Him for mercy, 'Spare Thy people, O Lord.' 

If you knew that harm was going to come to your loved ones tonight, and you was able to prevent it, would you not stand guard for their protection?  And thus is it with leaders today that in recognizing that we have the ability to stand in the gap to stay the wrath of God.  A study of Moses and how many times he stood before the Lord for their deliverance from God's anger and judgments would help us to see our role today.  Here in Joel we are told,'let the leaders stand and weep and cry out to God, 'Stay Thy hand and spare these souls from Thy wrath.'  No intercession, no deliverance; intercession, deliverance. 

Deliverance from what?  From our enemies and from reproach.  Which is the worse?  Neither is desired, but both is our pre-determined future without God's mercy.  The failure to pray allows for these tings to hasten on toward us.  Satan takes full advantage of causing the people of God to perish and be afflicted when they leave off prayer.  He is able to raise up an assault from all directions when prayer is at its lowest.  When prayer is at its lowest, God protection and mercy is has also been compromised due to this failure.  To pray stops the works of allowing for Satan to afflict us and our enemies to prevail against us. 

It is so vital for us to understand this truth about the relationship praying rightly and God's hand of protection, deliverance and blessing.  It is a scenario of cause and effect.  More prayer, greater mercies; less prayer, less mercy.  Directly related to our obedience and faithfulness or the exact opposite.  And when leaders fail to pray, so goes the people.  'I sought for a man and wondered that there was none.'  This condemnation on the leadership is what we must confess and repent of.  Let the leaders pray, weep and seek God's mercy for sparing and deliverance. 

'Where is thy God?'  How did we ever get to this place that they would doubt God?  Did not the men of Noah's day do it?  Did not the men of Sodom, do it?  Did not the children of Israel and Judah, do it?  And what shall we say of England and Europe?  Who have had some of the greatest names among Christian service:  Luther, Calvin, Knox, Spurgeon, Wesley, Moravians, Whitefield, Evan Roberts, and on and on the names could go.   But what now of these places that these men had preached, served and agonized over.  They wept, they cried, they served, they bleed, they sweated, and all in His service for the souls of men and nations.  And yet now, such dismissal numbers across those lands that most say to the chruch, 'Where is thy God?'  Or even worse, 'Is there a God?'  What happened?  why has this come to pass?  Because God sought for a man, and He could not find one.

Shall we not look at the United States?  Could I not do the same thing in illustration of our own history?  Yea, it is not as long as Europe's and England; but our plight is still the same.  God has given us men that stood and proclaimed and led the nation to fear and adore His great Name.  But what now?  What is coming?  Is there any that stands in the gap and pleads for the mercy of God on a sinful, heathen nation as the United States?  DO YOUR DUTY MEN OF GOD!!  Weep, cry, howl, lament, preach, proclaim and PRAY WITH FERVENCY for the hand of the Lord has gone out against us. 

And God said, 'I looked for a man, and wondered that I could not find one'.  Let that not be said of us, may your reply be, 'Here I am O Lord, use me, fill me, send me and hear me.'
GOD'S RESPONSE:
I cannot speak for God.  Nor do I have a prophetic voice for the future.  But this much I can say, that whatever God does, it is right. 

If God chooses to demonstrate His mercy and restore us, then I will praise Him.  I will rejoice in the extended time of His blessings to promote His great Name and seek His face for a deeper passion in His kingdom. 

If God chooses to send judgement upon us and bring us to the place of destruction or utter destruction then I will praise Him.  For truly, 'Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?'  Yes, He shall! 

If God chooses to send revival, then I will rejoice and praise Him.  However, He will do it, may it be all for His glory and honor!   But this much is certain upon my heart and shoulders and you that read these words, is this directive:

'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 their God?'