Joel 3:4b-5 (KJV) Accountability in Worship

Joel 3:4b-5 (KJV)

.. swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;

Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:

 

These are the words of the Lord against the nations—Tyre, Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine; the Gentiles. Notice God’s word against them:

Swiftly and speedily will I return your recompense.

The Gentile people, heathens, are not necessarily against God. The problem is that they think they are equal to God. They believe they can choose, as Cain did, to give God what they please. But God will not accept gifts, offerings, and worship except that which He has prescribed.

 

Ye have taken My silver and My gold.

The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. The heathen, lost man has no more claim on the treasures of this world than does the Christian. It is not just the believer who robs God when we refuse to tithe. The lost person is as guilty and will be held as responsible for robbing God.

 

Into your temples.

All the earth belongs to God, but He does not claim every form of religious edifice. It’s not okay to worship God any way you please so long as you are sincere. While every man has a right to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, he’s going to be held accountable if he hasn’t done so according to God’s Word.

 

#DivineJustice #GodsRecompense #RobbingGod #Accountability #TrueWorship

Accountability in Worship: Following God's Prescriptions

 

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 6300 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

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Joel 3:4b-5 (KJV) Accountability in Worship

Joel 1:7 (KJV) From Despair to Hope

Joel 1:7 (KJV)

He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.

 

I understand that the fig tree was a symbol of satisfaction, comfort, and peace in Israel. Smith's Dictionary says, “Mount Olivet was famous for its fig trees in ancient times, and they are still found there. To 'sit under one's own vine and one's own fig tree' became a proverbial expression among the Jews to denote peace and prosperity.”

 

God calls Israel “my land.” God claims that it is “my vine,” and further, God calls this “my fig tree.”

 

The prophecy of the passage is of Babylon’s destruction of Jerusalem. It would be so destructive that the minister of God, the average drunkard, and it may be assumed everyone in between would mourn the devastation. It is common among pastors today to focus on joyfulness, gladness in the ministry, and victories. I can’t help but wonder if that isn’t the same spirit of the prophets and priests who tried to comfort the people in opposition to the message of Jeremiah.

 

One thing of hope I read - the fig tree is supposed to be able sometimes to bud and spring back to life even after its bark is stripped.[1] Left for dead, the fig tree can sometimes still return.

 

Israel may look spiritually dead, but God promises that He is not through with them.

 

And you, who may today feel like you’ve been stripped of life, value, and wholeness. You who believe you are past God’s mercy and His grace; God is not yet through with you.

 

·       Turn to Him.

·       Trust in Him.

·       Give what remains of your life to Him.

 

You may bring forth fruit unto righteousness yet!

 

#FigTreeOfHope #DivineRestoration #GodsPromises #TurnToHim #FruitfulInFaith

From Despair to Hope: God’s Promise of Renewal

 

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[1] From John Gill’s commentary, “Pliny speaks of fig trees in Boeotia gnawn by locusts, which budded again; and mentions it as something wonderful and miraculous that they should...”

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 6300 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Joel 1:7 (KJV) From Despair to Hope

Joel 3:12 (KJV) Multitudes in the Valley

Joel 3:12 (KJV)

Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.

I understand this passage to refer to the judgment at the end of the Tribulation when Jesus divides the sheep from the goats. Multitudes of people who have survived will come face to face with the Lord.

I see the symbolism of beating pruning hooks into spears to represent the uselessness of their contest against the judge. There is no contest. It is the mere voice of Christ that defeats them.

• They will assemble
• They will gather around mighty leaders
• They will come with whatever weapons they may devise

But in the end every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.

There is only one way to win in the valley of decision. 

This is to surrender to Jesus Christ.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
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Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
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Joel 3:12 (KJV) Multitudes in the Valley

Joel 1:3 (KJV) Tell Your Children

Joel 1:3 (KJV)
Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.

The prophet Joel had some devastating news from the Lord. It’s going to be harder than anything that they had ever seen. Harder even than anything their fathers had seen. In light of this, Joel urged the people to tell their children and teach their children to tell their children. And their children’s children.

Sometimes we shy away from bad news. We all like to hear positive, encouraging, helpful supportive types of things. We’re even warned to stay away from those who tend to always be negative. I am reminded that the Bible says much more about sin than it does righteousness and much more about hell than it does heaven. Our world today is not nearly desperate enough to appreciate heaven. We haven’t heard enough on sin and hell. We have to return to telling our children, their children and their children’s children the consequences of sin.

Having said that, let us remember to tell them of salvation. Let us tell our children, their children and their children’s children of Jesus Christ, of a promise of eternal life, of the blessed hope of Jesus’ return, of the book that tells us this good news, of the churches where people of like faith assemble to be equipped to spread this news. 

Let us tell them in such a manner that they are able to tell one generation after another generation until Jesus comes again. 

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and more than 5100 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Joel 1:3 (KJV) Tell Your Children

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Joel 3:14 (KJV) Decision Today

Joel 3:14 (KJV)
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.

My understanding of prophecy, and of this chapter, place it at the end of the Tribulation and just prior to the Millennial Kingdom. Jesus has defeated the armies of Antichrist and set down at the Mount of Olives. He has established His throne in Jerusalem and is preparing for His reign. But first, He must ensure that only a saved people enter into the kingdom. 

The passage corresponds to Matthew 25:31-33 (KJV) 
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left

And to Matthew 13:47-50 (KJV) 
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 

There are multitudes in the valley of decision, and it is Jesus doing the deciding. Some to everlasting condemnation and some to the joys of His kingdom.

Those in the valley will be subject to the decision of Christ. But each of one has the right of decision today. You may come to Christ now and know your eternity is secure. If you reject Christ or choose to ignore the call to come to Him, He will decide for you. And He will decide against you. 

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and more than 4500 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

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Joel 3:14 (KJV) Decision Today

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Joel 2:28-29 (KJV) God’s Spirit

Joel 2:28-29 (KJV)
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

The Charismatics and Pentecostals have hijacked many passages of Scripture and often left those of sound faith hesitant to claim them as their own. This passage is one of them. 

In Acts 2:16-21 Peter clearly applies Joel’s prophecy to the events of the day of Pentecost. The Charismatics claim it has to do with ecstatic tongues. They are mistaken. 

I see in the passage:

An equality of faith

• Young and old, male and female
• Masters and servants

All having the same Spirit.

A work of faith
All of them “shall prophesy.” 

This is forthtelling and not foretelling. Every believer can tell others what they have learned from the Word of God and have the assurance of the Holy Spirit’s enablement in doing it. 

A result of this faith
“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” It is not everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord, but everyone who does is saved. 

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and more than 4500 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
My author spotlight at Lulu.com:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/marvinmckenzie

My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/author/marvinmckenzie

Joel 2:28-29 (KJV) God’s Spirit

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Please consider helping our church’s teen department by signing up for cash back shopping at http://www.dubli.com/M04VB. This program has three levels of participation, the first being completely free.

Keep On Giving

Joel 1:3

Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.

There are, I think, five generations here. The experience of the original (which in this case is the message of the book) ought to be passed down at least to the fifth generation. In my family's case that is almost exactly 100 years.  I think a case can be made that it shouldn't end after the fifth generation, but should, by that time become a custom forever.

The Jews did not do this entirely successfully. Scores upon scores of them departed from the message. Millions of them today are completely alienated from every part of the message except that they are Jewish. 

That doesn't mean, however, that the message was lost. God recorded and preserved it so that any Jew who desires to do so may look into the Word of God and restore the heritage of passing down the message of The Bible.

The New Testament teaches the same lesson - take what we have been given and faithfully give it to others who will faithfully give it to still more. We need not fret if that chain has been broken because God has given and preserved His Word without error. All we need do is return to the book and restore proclaiming of the original message.