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Even Now: The Lord Answers
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This morning I wan to talk to you about Even Now: The Lord Answers. Even Now: The Lord Answers. On the 17th day of our recent 21 day journey with God in fasting and prayer, the Lord spoke to me profoundly on that 17th day concerning my own life, concerning our church, and concerning this entrusting responsibility that I have before me in leading this Great Commission Resurgence Task Force of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Have you ever heard the Lord’s Word roar in your heart? That’s what I sensed happened on my life, and in my life on that 17th day recently. From the entire book of Joel, as well as the 10th chapter of the book of Daniel, the Lord roared His Word into my soul.
The Revelation says that when God speaks it’s like the sound of many waters. When God spoke to my heart from His Word, all of a sudden those promises became promises on which I stand. Live or die, sink or swim, win or lose, I stand. What about you today? Do you realize today that when God answers your pleas, your prayers, do you know that all of a sudden your soul is filled with rest and peace, and even courage? Can I declare to you something today that perhaps you have forgotten, or maybe you no longer believe? God answers prayer. When His people return to Him in repentance and selflessness, I’m telling you today He answers prayer.
C.S. Lewis told us that when we come to God we do not need to come to God and offer what we ought to be; we need to come to God and offer what we are! In fact, Lewis goes on to give us some incredible words concerning talking to God. In his letters to Malcolm he writes the following, and I quote, “We cannot all argue, but we can all pray; we cannot all be leaders, but we can all be pleaders; we cannot all be mighty in rhetoric (meaning mighty in words), but we can all be prevailing in prayer.”
The great preacher of the past Charles Haddon Spurgeon of London said that we should all expect God to answer us when we pray. He said, and I quote, “We ought not to tolerate for a minute the ghastly and grievous thought, or the fear and serious thought, that God will not answer prayer.” I mean he says we should not even tolerate that kind of unbelief in life.
Francis Schaeffer, the great thinker, said that “God is there and He is not silent.”
This is why Al Mohler when he quotes Schaeffer says that the Lord answers with His Word. Mohler writes these words, and I quote, he says, “The preacher’s voice is even more powerful than anything music or image can deliver…” Why is that? Because… “He (God) is not silent.” God speaks through His Word. Rest assured my friend we are living in a day when God answers prayer. I’m asking you today, can I get an Amen to that?
In the book of Joel, chapter 1, verse 1 through verse 14 we have read and learned about how the judgment of God is on the land now, the scripture says. But even as devastating as that judgment is, he warns in chapter 1, verse 15, all the way to chapter 2, verse 11 that there is coming an apocalyptic type of judgment that is mighty, and powerful, and that God will judge mightily in what is called The Day of the Lord.
In Joel chapter 2, verse 12 through 17, he writes about how God’s people came back to Him. And he talks about how they come to Him, returning to Him, repenting of their sin, gathering together, petitioning Him together, and now in response God says as they are returning to Me in repentance and prayer, and selflessness, then all of a sudden I begin to answer them.
In Joel chapter 2, verse 18 and 19 notice these words written in the scripture with me today. “Then the Lord became jealous for His land and spared His people.” And then I want you to notice these words. You talk about profound words, notice these words, “The Lord answered His people.” In fact, you know when I’m making notes in the scripture in my quiet time, I always use a pen, and I, I would literally if that were me at this moment sitting here listening to the Word, I would take those words, “The Lord answered His people,” and I would literally box those entire words in, because that is a powerful word for you to remember, and for me to remember.
I want to give you a phrase today to remember, a great phrase. I call it 5 transforming words. And you know what those 5 transforming words are? The Lord answered His people. Those words can transform your life. I’m telling you today when you have not heard from God, and all of a sudden God answers His people it is a moment that is powerful! And it’s like the Lord roars in your heart His Word.
I’m reminded of the 10th chapter of the book of Daniel when Daniel sensed that God wanted to say something to him. And do you remember Daniel went on a 21-day fast, and it seemed like heaven was shut, but while that was going on God wrestled with the evil one for 21 days. And at the end of 21 days, God revealed to Daniel the future and a vision. And God told him in His word, I heard you on the first day, but I had a little business to take care of for a while, and after those 21 days before God, God answered his prayer. God showed him the vision. God moved in a powerful way.
Oh my friend I want to tell you today God answers His people.
Verse 18 of chapter 2 of Joel says, “Then, then, then,” the scripture says, “the Lord became jealous…” That word “then” there, circle it because that word is a powerful word. Why does he say then? Why then? What is the big deal about then? Why is that such an important word? Because following the people of God repenting to God, God answered their prayer. Then the Lord moved in a powerful way. Then the Lord became jealous the Bible says. Meaning that His love stirred toward us resulting in Him receiving glory through the lives of the people.
You know what? God never desires for His people to bring, or to have disgrace. God always desires to bring glory through His people. If we’re going to understand jealousy of the Lord, you’ve got to go back and ask yourself well, where do you find that? Well if you’ll go to the book of Exodus in chapter 5, excuse me, chapter 20, and then you read verse 5 and 6 you understand a little bit more about what it means that the Lord is jealous for His people. The Bible says, “You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God; punishing the children for their father’s sin to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me; but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and who keep My commands.” What a great word.
The Tyndale Bible Commentary’s scholar on the book of Joel, his name is David Allan Hubbard. Hubbard, when he talks about the jealousy of God in this passage, it’s an incredible word he writes. He says, “That when we compromise with the uniqueness of who God is,” then what happens? “It arouses the wrath of God towards us, but when we respond to His uniqueness in worship and obedience,” guess what happens?” “It stirs the love of God towards us.”
So what you see here is that when the Lord became jealous for His people, and God decided to move in a great way, His people had finally become obedient. His people had finally given their hearts back to God, and when they did that God was stirred to be jealous for them, and God wanted to bring glory to Himself through the land, as well as through the lives of the people.
Joel chapter 2, verse 18 through 27 is a turning point in the book of Joel. Up until that time you see a lot of things happening; judgment here, judgment in the future, all of a sudden God’s people turn, they repent, but then the miracle comes because the Lord began to answer His people beginning in verse 18 and following.
Listen very carefully. When God answers His people you know what He does? He lifts the judgment. When God answers His people; God lifts the load of your adversity. When God answers the people; God lifts the load of your trials. He doesn’t always lift your trials, did you hear me? But He lifts the load of your trials. How many of you ever wondered how much more can I take? How much more is the sky going to fall on my life before I just crater? What is it going to take? I mean surely you have asked yourself how much more can I take from time to time?
Oh I tell you what, I want to remind you of a great word over in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse number 13, the scripture says, “No temptation has overtaken you what is common to humanity.” Then notice what it says, “God is faithful…” Can I get a witness? “And He will not allow you to be tempted,” listen to this, wow, “…beyond what you are able,” you ever wondered if you were beyond the able? But He said He will never let you get, “…tempted beyond what you are able, but with that same temptation,” are you ready? Listen to what He says, He said, “I will provide a way of escape, so that you are able to bear it.”
In other words, God will make a way when there seems to be no way. And if He doesn’t clear the adversity out, He will lift the burden, the load from you where you will begin to see it in a different way. Oh listen there’ve been many times in life for me, and I’m sure it’s been for you if you’ve walked with God tightly at all in your life, those times when you weren’t sure how much more can I take? What in the world’s going to go on? But all of a sudden the Lord speaks, and when the Lord speaks there’s still trouble, there’s still adversity, there’s still pain, there’s still issues, but you just begin to see it differently. Because God has prevailed. God has spoken. And the peace of the Lord comes in your life and you’re able to walk through the midst of the valley knowing the Lord is with you.
In Joel chapter 1 God removes His protection from His people making them vulnerable to judgment. In Joel chapter 1 He removed their provision, making them full of despair and brokenness. In Joel chapter 1 He removed their joy, making them miserable. But listen to what happens in Joel chapter 2, verse 18 through 27, you know what God does? God reverses the cures of judgment toward His people. Why did He do it? Because of what happens in verse 12 through verse 17 of Joel 2. Because they repented of their sin, they returned to God, and God answered their prayer. And when He answered their prayer, you know what He did? He lifted the judgment. When He answered their prayer, He lifted the load of their trials. When God answered their prayer, He lifted the load of their adversity.
What did He do? I’ll tell you what He did. Listen carefully, when God answers prayer, He:
1. Restores your provision. That’s what He did here. He restored their provision. He talks about that in verse 19, verse 22, verse 23, verse 24, and verse 26a. Now may I remind you, chapter 1 He removed the provision? Chapter 2, He restored the provision? Verse 19 says, “He will restore the crops, and He says I am sending you.” Present tense. Right now. The now tense, “I am sending you…” God is now going to restore the crops. Listen to me very, very carefully. When God sees a people who are willing to return to Him immediately God reverses, and He’s drawn to you when you give yourself back to Him.
Verse 22. It says that He restores the land. Verse 23, He restores the rain. He all of a sudden not only restores the rain, but He restores all the cycles of the rain, which are imperative for the next thing to happen in verse 24, and that is that He restores the harvest to an overflowing abundance. Amen.
And in verse 26, the first part, He restores plenty, and He restores abundantly. I’m telling you ladies and gentlemen God is able to answer your prayer, and restore your provision. But I want to make it clear today, and I need you to get up with me today, are you ready? You better get ready to run baby. We’re not here to play; we’re here to go with God. Are you ready? This is not about you getting your stuff back. It’s not about you getting your toys back you feel like you’ve had to put on the shelf when everything’s been taken away from you due to some matters in your life. It’s not about you living in abundance. Now are you listening? But it’s about God getting your heart back! That’s what it’s about. It’s about God getting your heart back.
Let me give you a life-changing statement today. Don’t ever forget it. When God gets your heart, He opens the windows of heaven. When He gets your heart, He opens the windows of heaven.
The book of Joel talks about this. God got their heart back, guess what He did? He opened the windows of heaven just like God does. Deuteronomy chapter 5, same scenario, they gave their heart to God, guess what God did? God opened the windows of heaven. Malachi chapter 3, we talk about that being about money. Malachi 3’s not about money. You need to grow up and read the Word of God. It’s not about money. You know what it’s about? It’s about God getting your heart back because when God gets your heart back, God’s going to open up the windows of heaven. That’s what it’s about. And we need to understand that God wants our heart back.
Even Jesus talked about it over in Luke 6:38. He talked about how many of you need to learn how to forgive people. A lot of unforgiveness had occurred, and Jesus said if you’ll learn to forgive, guess what happens? It will result in you becoming a giving person, then giving will begin to be overflow to your heart. You know why the overflow happens? I’ll tell you one reason alone, because it’s a heart issue.
You see when we have unforgiveness in us, it’s a heart issue, but when we have a forgiving heart, a forgiving spirit, and we’re willing to treat all people the way God wants them treated, and we’re willing to let it go, are you listening to me? Willing to let it go. Are you listening to me? Willing to let it go. Did you hear me? Willing to let it go! God didn’t appoint you judge of the world; He didn’t even appoint you judge of your family; He didn’t even appoint you to judge your life, He’s the lawgiver, and He is the only judge. The true and the faithful One.
Even Philippians chapter 4:19 goes back when you give your heart to God, then God will see your heart for the propagation of the gospel around the world, and He will do something within you that is powerful. He will open up the windows of Heaven towards you. What are those windows of Heaven? That He will meet your need according to His riches and glory in Jesus Christ our Lord.
So what is God saying to you? I’ll tell you what God is saying to every one of us today, does God have our heart? Have we given Him our heart? Are we loving Him solely? Are we fully devoted to Jesus? Are we being that? Because when God answers prayer He restores your provision. But not only does He restore your provision, He:
2. Restores your protection. He restores your protection. He talks about that in verse number 20, and verse number 25. He talks about the northerner. What is the northerner? The northerner referred to here is referring to two things I believe. It’s referring to the plague of locusts that he referred to in chapter 1 of Joel, but it’s also talking about the enemies of the land of Israel. And he’s speaking both of them, I believe.
Well in verse 20 he talks about now how the enemies have banished as God now is protecting them on every side. You know what? It doesn’t matter if I’m going to go up in a plane. It doesn’t matter whether I’m going to drive down the road in a car. If Jeana and I go on a trip, we’re going to pray. You know what I pray? I pray, “Lord would you please protect the front side? Would you please protect the backside? Would you protect the left side, right side, underneath, top? God protect us all because I’m telling you our God is able to bring protection.
You see you’ve got to decide do I want the protection of God, or do I not? Verse 25 says it was God that sent the judgment upon them. He admits it. He says it was Me, but He said hey when you return to Me, I will lift it, and I will once again put the protection of God upon you. In fact He promised them. He said I’m going to repay you for the years of judgment that occurred. In fact the scripture says, quote, are you looking at it? “I will repay you.” Verse number 25. That means literally, quote, “I will make up for…” I will make up for…this is a legal term, meaning what? I will give you compensation for your damages. In other words the damages that I have caused, God said, I will make up for those damages.
To what degree? Well we see indicated a double compensation is likewise. How do we know that? Isaiah chapter 40, verse 2 says that Israel’s sin has now been forgiven, and now she will receive from the Lord double for all of her sins. Isaiah 61, verse 7 says that Israel will possess double in their land, and eternal joys, joy will be theirs. Zechariah chapter 9, verse number 12 says that God will restore double to you. But guess what? None of that should surprise us one bit because of what we know the book of Romans says. Do you know what chapter 5, verse 20 says? It says, “…But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”
You show me a place where we think sin is abounding in America, or across the world, and I’m telling you somewhere in that place there is grace that even is beyond the sin that abounds. Our God is able. We must understand He is able to restore our protection.
Let me ask you this morning. Have you ever felt like you are under attack? Have you ever felt like you are under attack? Under the attack of the enemy? Under the assault of the evil one, known as Satan? Well I’m telling you there will come those times in your life when you will be under attack. Sometimes it’s because you’re doing things right. Now, it’s not always because you’re doing things right, but sometime when you’re doing things right, that doesn’t mean everything’s going to be rosy and wonderful. This is not the prosperity gospel, there’s no such thing. Those boys on TV, they ain’t got it. They’re wrong. There’s no such thing. That thing doesn’t fly in India, it doesn’t fly in Haiti. You understand?
The gospel’s universal. And the gospel’s not about prosperity. The gospel’s about Jesus Christ changing a man’s life, giving a man hope and power, and that’s what the gospel is. [APPLAUSE] And what I want us to understand today is that sometimes when you do right, guess what? There is adversity.
I will never forget one night I was a teenager preacher. I was a junior in high school, I believe, and I’d been invited to preach at an all black church on Saturday night. And I mean the place was filled. I was the only white boy there. It was a great moment. And I’ll never forget one of those old black preachers stood up and said after I preached, he said these words, and I’ve never forgotten them. He said, “You know Brother Ronnie, if you’re not having a head-on collision with the devil every day of your life it simply means you’re going in His same direction.” How profound and how true that really, really is.
I thought about that numerous times because many times when you’re doing right, adversity does come, and the enemy will attack you, but you understand me clearly. There are times when you do not do right, and you get what you need. And the judgment comes. And the protection is lifted. And the adversity presses down upon you. You’ve got to decide what it is that God is saying to you. I believe that through circumstances many times God speaks powerfully, and we need to listen to what He is saying in the midst of our circumstances. But what is it that God wants more than anything from us? He wants a heart sold out to Jesus period, because when God answers prayer, He restores your provision, and He restores your protection. But also, remember, I told you in chapter 1, or chapter 2, He’s going to reverse the entire chapter 1, and then all of a sudden He:
3. Restores your joy. He restores your joy. The present generation in America could be known for a lot of things, but you know what? This could be joyless generation. The joyless generation. We have more than any generation before in the history of the world, but we have limited to no joy. Verse 21 says, “Rejoice for God has done great things by restoring His provision and by restoring His protection.” Verse 23, the first part says, “Rejoice and be glad in the Lord your God…” Why? Because He is raining blessing upon you again seasonally in your life.
Oh listen, we need to have the joy of the Lord when the blessing of God is raining seasonally upon our lives. If we don’t have it when we get it, Lord help us when we don’t have it at all. Verse 26 and 27 says why did the joy come back? I’ll tell you why the joy came back. The joy came back because the people of God returned to God. That’s why! In Him, the Bible says, there is fullness of joy and God answered their prayers, resulting in God restoring their provision, and their protection.
These verses teach us these things when the joy returns, you will praise His name; when you do not want to praise the Lord’s name, it’s because there is limited to no joy in your life. There are many of us all in this room today, we’re joyless. I mean we don’t have a lot of joy. I mean think about that, why in the world would we not have joy when we know how good God has been? And how miraculous God moves? But I’m telling you we have limited to no joy in our lives.
Why is that? What is the problem? I’m telling you today when the joy returns; you will praise Him for what He is doing. Why? Because verse 26 says you will praise Him for doing great things in our midst. Verse 27 says you will praise Him because He is with you always. Verse 27 says that you will praise Him because He is sovereign over all affairs in the world! You will praise Him for all of those things.
The Bible tells us in the book of Psalms a great word. Chapter 16, verse 11. “In your presence, there is fullness of joy.” I’m telling you today, are you listening? You need to give Jesus a shout-out today, and give Him praise because in His presence there is fullness of joy. Everything is realized when you are in His presence. You are never more complete than when you are in His presence. In Him there is fullness of joy.
Hey can I ask you a personal question today? Are you joyless? Are you lacking joy in your life? Are you lacking gladness in your life? Return to God. A heart that dwells in the presence of the Lord is full of joy. Overflowing with joy. Our prayer today needs to be Lord give me joy again in my life! Give me joy in our church! Give us joy that is overflowing kind of joy!
But you see we have an issue, and that’s why Psalm 51; verse 12 needs to be determined in our lives today. Restore the joy of your salvation to me, and give me a willing spirit. How many of you today need your joy restored to your salvation? How many of us today need to have our joy restored to our salvation? When we return to God in repentance, and we surrender 100% of ourselves to God, and we abide in His presence, guess what happens? His joy will return! There’s a principle here, and here is the principle. Are you ready? Return your heart to God and He will return His joy to you.
Will you return your heart to God? When you’ve returned your heart to God, His joy will come again in your life, because you see, when God gets your heart, everything changes. It happened in Joel chapter 2, verse 12 through 17, and then 18 through 27, Then the Lord answered His people and then the Lord became jealous for His people, and then God began to restore their provision, restore their protection, and He restored their joy.
I want to tell you today if you do not know it, if God can restore your protection, and God can restore your provision, and God can restore your joy, God can restore anyone, anytime, anywhere from anything. God can do that. Do you believe that today? You may feel like today you are a thousand miles from God, and there is no hope even though you know there was a time in your life when you gave your heart to Jesus, and you surrendered your all to Him, but you may feel like He’s so far from you. I want to tell you today God can restore you to Himself! Do you believe it? He can do it. He can take any one of your children and restore them to God.
He can restore your marriage. There are people all over this room today man you think your marriage is over. Love, and the fire of your love has dwindled, dead, watered, drenched with nothing, but I’m telling you, when God gets your heart back, He can restore your marriage. Yes sir, He can do it. You can go to a thousand marriage counselors, and you need help, go get help, but go to the right one. But the ultimate counselor you need is the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. The One who can recounsel you back to Himself quicker than anyone else can ever get you. I’m telling you today God can restore your marriage!
God can restore your family. It might be fragmented. It might be so screwed up you can’t even define what kind of condition it’s in, but you hear me today, God can take the most broken, most fragmented, most screwed, more weird, dysfunctional family and He can get it back with Him. He can do it! Not anybody else can. You can have all the little kum by ya sessions you want with your family, but I’m telling you today Jesus can do more in a moment than you could ever do in a lifetime. Yes, He can restore your family.
And He can restore your job. And He can restore your finances. Some of you wonder, is there any hope for me? My lord I used to have this, I used to be here, I used to do this, and now it just seems like it’s so heavy on me. It just seems so difficult, can God do that? You listen to me friend, yes He can, but may I remind you, it’s not about you getting your stuff back, and it’s not about you getting your toys back, it’s about one thing, you giving your heart back to God. Solely, completely, and whatever He decides to give you, you’re going to rejoice, and you’re going to go forth, and you’re going to honor Him all the days of your life!
God can take your reputation that is distant, fragmented, and in trouble, and God can even restore your reputation. God can take any relationship, it might seem lost, it might seem hopeless, it might seem there is no way, there is no way, there is no way, but I’m telling you our God can restore any relationship! One that was once filled with sweetness and joy and love, ah yes, the fallen nature of a man messes relationships up, but oh I thank you today Lord, because you are a God of grace, and you can cover all that, and you can restore the most distant, broken relationship anywhere in the world today.
Why? Because when you get your heart back to God, the windows of restoration will be plentiful in your life, and the grace of God will flow towards you in an unprecedented manner. What’s the secret? Joel 2:12 through 17. You return to God, and you return your heart to Him, every part of it, holding nothing back, yielding completely to the lordship of Jesus Christ.
Let’s pray together…
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