JOEL 2:28 MINISTRIES

 JOEL 2:28 MINISTRIES

"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I shall pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions."  Joel 2:28

     My husband, Brian Wooster, teaches adult Sunday School in our church.  He does not use a Sunday School quarterly or any set curriculum.  He did for a time, but one day the Lord told him, "I will reveal to you what I want you to teach each week.  And every Saturday night when he goes to bed, he has no idea what he'll be teaching the next day, but in the morning, he knows, because the Lord showed him during the night in dreams the lesson to be taught.

     Joel 2:28 says that in these last days, our old men would dream dreams.  Here's proof my husband, contrary to how he feels, is an old man - because God gives him his lessons through dreams.  Quite often these dreams minister to him personally, and he then shares them with the class, who are also ministered to by what my husband was shown.  JOEL 2:28 MINISTRIES is a compilation of these lessons that we are sharing in the hope that they may minister to some of you too.

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

                       By Brian Wooster

THE DREAM:  I dreamed that God put it on my heart to tell a man about Jesus.  I knew the man was not a believer.  I didn't talk to him about the Lord.  Then the man died.  I missed my opportunity and the man lost salvation because I was not faithful to do what the Lord had shown me to do.  In the dream I felt awful and guilty.  I awoke knowing how vitally important it is not to miss any opportunity we are given to witness Christ to another.

THE LESSON:  The lesson is taken from 2 Corinthians 6:1-10.

V1: "We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain."  Q:  What is the grace of God that you received?  A. Salvation through Christ's sacrifice on the cross.  The word "vain" used here from the Greek means "unemployed" or not put to work. Q: How could the salvation we received be in "vain" (unemployed, or not put to work)?  A: By keeping it to ourselves, by punching our ticket to heaven but never telling another how they can receive this grace of God for themselves.  So, this whole passage we will be reading will be about taking the opportunities we are given to witness to others.

V2: "For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation."  "I heard thee in a time accepted" means, "When the time came that I knew you'd accept me, I heard your cry to be saved."  "And in the day of salvation have I succored (aided, helped) thee."  Q: What is the day of salvation?  A. It's different for every person.  It's the day that they are finally ready to accept Christ as their savior. You can tell a person about Christ until you are blue in the face and if they are not ready, they are not ready.  Only God knows when a person is ready, when it is their day of salvation, and if he tells you to witness to a person, it is likely because it is the time when they will be ready to accept His gift of grace for themselves.

V3: "Giving no offense in anything, that the ministry be not blamed:" This is explained by Ephesians 4:15 which tells us to "Speak the truth in love."  When we witness, we must do it out of love and concern and in a kind and loving manner.  "You're a sinner and you're going to hell," doesn't minister to anyone.  It causes offense and causes the ministry to be blamed as unkind and unloving.

V4, V5: "But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;"  St. Francis of Assisi said, "Preach the gospel, when necessary use words."  We approve ourselves as ministers of God when we witness through our actions, especially when we have patience when we are afflicted, in need, in distress, if we are persecuted for our faith, in stormy circumstances.  These speak of a confidence in Christ to take care of us during such times that others wish they had.  We need to be patient as we watch and wait, in our labors for the Lord if they are not immediately bearing fruit, and we need to fast and pray for those we are trying to minister to.

V6, V7: "By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left." We are approved as ministers of God when we witness to others by pureness (you spoke the pure word and you lived as purely as you could), you study so you have the knowledge necessary to witness, you witness with patience and kindness under the Power of the Holy Ghost, He telling you what and when to say.  You witness out of true love for the soul of the one to whom you are witnessing, and you are protected by the righteousness of God in Christ which has been ascribed to you everywhere you turn.

V8: "By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;" This is explained by Philippians 1:18 which says, "What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice and yea, will rejoice." I'm reminded of the movie Leap of Faith, in which a travelling con-man posing as an evangelist for the offerings he could receive, told a crippled young boy that if he had enough faith to believe he could walk, God would heal him.  That way, when the boy wasn't healed, it would be his own fault not the evangelist's.  But the boy believed and God took him at his faith and healed the crippled boy.  The lesson is this:  It is our responsibility to witness, to tell others of Christ. The result is up to God.  Jesus saves.  We don't.  We witness and that is our part.  The rest is up to God.

V9, V10:  "As unknown, and yet well-known; as dying and behold we live; as chastened and not killed; As sorrowful yet always rejoicing; as poor yet making many rich; as having nothing and yet possessing all things."  We may be no one anyone would recognize, but our reputation for being a child of and minister of God precedes us. Even if our bodies are dying, we are alive in Christ. We get reprimanded by God when we miss the mark, but not to death.  We are sad that those we are ministering to don't know Christ but are rejoicing because they still have a chance to meet him.  We may not have much in this world, but are making others spiritually rich, and we, ourselves possess everything that matters.

     If we take every opportunity to witness that comes our way, we can say like Paul in 2 Timothy 4:6,7, "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.  I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith."  If we do not, we can feel the shame and guilt I experienced in my dream. Let's be faithful to witness when the Lord puts an opportunity before us.  We never know if it is that person's day of salvation.  We don't want them to miss it because we missed an opportunity.

FOCUS ON OTHERS

                                  By Brian Wooster

THE DREAM:  In my dream, scenes of my real life were playing out. I saw myself showing everyone I saw the new bench I built in my work van.  "Do you like it?"  "Isn't it great?"  I asked over and over again, even after they'd said it was.  I saw myself showing photos to the receptionist in the Chiropractor office, and the Chiropractor and everyone else I saw of the bathroom I'd recently renovated, looking for their praise of the good job I'd done, praising the quality of my work.  I saw myself inviting others over for my "famous" smoked pulled pork and asking time and time again if it wasn't the best pork they'd ever eaten and telling them how my wife won't eat anyone else's pulled pork because mine was the best.  When I woke up, I realized that I actually do these things all the time.  And the Lord showed me why.  When I was a child, everyone was quick to tell me when I screwed up, or missed the mark, did it wrong or didn't measure up, but no one ever told me when I'd done something good.  I didn't get pats on the back and words of affirmation, and I grew up craving it so much that I went out of my way to make sure I got it.  The Lord told me that my worth needs to come from Him, not from the praise of others.  My focus needs to be more on others and a whole lot less on me.

THE LESSON:  The lesson is taken from I Thessalonians 5:12-22

V12: "And we beseech you brethren to know them which labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you;"   Beseech means to beg.  Paul was begging us to get to know those who labor among us, our brothers and sisters, co-laborers for Christ.  It's hard to get to know others when our focus is on ourselves.  But Paul is begging us to do this.  He also wants us to know those who are over us in the Lord - teachers, pastors, mentors.  Those who warn and caution us (admonish) in our Christian walk. They should not be up on a pedestal out of our reach, but we should know them and have relationships with them as well.

V13:  "And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves."    People clash.  Personalities clash.  We don't have to like everyone, but we need to respect their position over us in the Lord regardless of personalities. We can't let little differences cause strife.  We are all on the same side.  The Lord's side.

V14:  "Now we exhort you brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men."  Exhort is that same strong Greek word as beseech.  It means to strongly encourage.  Paul is strongly encouraging us to warn them that are unruly.  We see this same exhortation in Ezekiel 33:7-9.  It says, " So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel, therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, thou shalt surely die, if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thine hand.  Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked off his way to turn from it, if he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity but thou hast delivered thy soul.'" We have an obligation to correct those or warn those we see in error, at our own peril if we don't.  That is hard to do when your focus is all centered upon yourself.  We are to comfort the feebleminded.  These are those who are ready to give up.  Do we even know who these are when we are focused on me, myself, and I? We are to support the weak. Even leaders get weak and weary and need our support.  We see an example of this in Exodus 17:11-13, when Aaron and Hur needed to hold up Moses' hands when he got weary so the Israelites would prevail against their enemy.  Do we pray for our Pastor's daily?  We need to.  But that's hard to do when we are out seeking praise for ourselves.  Finally, in this verse we are encouraged to be patient toward all men.  Patience is a fruit of the spirit, not a gift.  God can't give you patience.  It needs to grow and develop in your life.  Just like a muscle, patience grows as we use it.  

V15: "See that none render evil for evil unto any man, but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves and to all men."  Render evil for evil means getting even.  It reminds me of the feud between the Hatfields and McCoys.  Their disagreement started in 1865, and the families did not sign a truce until 2003.  How many lives were ended prematurely and how much hatred was perpetuated by rendering evil for evil?  Follow that which is good, means to forgive.  All men.  And verse 16 through the end of our teaching shows us how to get over offenses.

V16: "Rejoice evermore".  What do you have to rejoice over?  Focus on these things.

V17: "Pray without ceasing."  This doesn't mean you are on your knees 24/7.  It means you converse with God throughout your day.  Thank Him for waking you up in the morning, dedicate your day to him.  Ask him to use you throughout your day in ways that please Him.  Pray for those you encounter or think of who are in need of help or any other thing.  Ask His help when you need it.  Thank Him when things go right.  Bless your food.  End your day thanking Him for being with you throughout it and for all his help, grace, love and provision.  One sure way to keep our focus off ourselves is to keep that focus on God.  We do that by praying without ceasing.

V18: "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."  We are to give thanks IN everything, not FOR everything.  You don't thank God for Cancer.  He didn't give it to you, and He doesn't want you to have it.  But you can thank Him IN it.  Thank Him that it was discovered and for available treatment.  Thank Him for the time you've had with loved ones and each additional day He may yet give you.  See the difference?  Everyone wants to know God's will for their lives.  It's spelled out here.  In everything give thanks.

V19: "Quench not the Spirit."  Quench means to extinguish, put out.  One way to quench the Spirit is to cause distractions in church: Talking during the preaching, cell phones going off during worship, anything that takes the focus off of God.  The Spirit is also quenched when we discourage others who are sharing what God has told them or has done in their lives by stating that God doesn't speak that way or do things like that.  Just because He hasn't worked in that way in your life, doesn't mean He hasn't in theirs.

V20, V21: "Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things, hold fast that which is good."  There are many false prophets in the world today, the Bible tells us.  And there are those God has shown things to come to benefit us. It's easy to despise all prophecy, then we don't have to discern the difference, but here we are instructed not to.  We need to prove it instead.  We learn how to do this in Acts 5:38, 39.  Here Nicodemus was talking to the San Hedren about those who were prophesying in Jesus' name.  He said, "And now I say unto you, refrain from these men and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men it will come to naught: but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God."  So to prove all prophesying, we wait and see if anything comes of it.  If it doesn't, it was from man, if it does, it was from God.  We hold fast to that which is good and disregard the rest.

V22:  "Abstain from every appearance of evil."  Simply put, if it looks evil, stay away from it.  And the Lord showed me that my constant need for approval, attention and affirmation was giving glory that belonged to God and attention that belonged to others to myself.  That has an appearance of evil and I needed to abstain from it.

     The purpose of the dream and lesson is this: It is God who gives us worth and value.  We don't need to seek it from others.  Our time and attention should be used to know and minister to others and give all praise and glory to God.

BEING A JUST MAN

                                    By Brian Wooster

THE DREAM:  I dreamt I was in Walmart in the produce section, and I was going to taste a grape before purchasing a bag and I heard God say, "Be a just man."  He told me that grapes are sold by the pound and if I eat one without paying for it, I am decreasing the weight and stealing from the store.  "How much does one grape weigh?" I justified.  "How many people are in this store?  What if each one "tasted" one grape?  How many pounds of produce is being stolen then?"  I hadn't thought of that.  He went on to say, "Do you test eggs or bread or chips or bananas or any other food before purchasing them?"  I don't.  "Be a just man", he repeated.  Then I decided while in a different aisle that I changed my mind about purchasing something I'd picked up in the other part of the store and was going to set it on a shelf and the Lord said, "Be a just man.  Don't cause another extra work because you are too lazy to return it to its proper place."  He told me the same thing when I went out to the parking lot in my dream and was going to leave the cart near my car instead of taking it to the cart corral. Finally, I noticed as I was getting in my car that the cashier hadn't charged me for one of my items.  "God blessed me," I thought.  "Be a just man," he said.  I had to go back in and bring the error to the cashier's attention and pay for the item.  The last thing I heard before waking was "Be a just man."

THE LESSON:  The lesson is taken from Micah 6:8, "He hath shewed thee O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"

He hath shewed thee O man what is good:  You are without excuse.  You have been shown.  God has shown you what is good.

And what does the Lord require of thee:  This is not a suggestion.  This is a requirement of the Lord.

Do justly:  This is integrity.  Integrity is doing the right thing for the right reason even when no one is looking.  Proverbs 20:7 says the just man walketh in his integrity.  His children are blessed after him. Genesis 6:9 says that Noah was a just man and because of this his children were saved in the ark along with him.  An example of a just man's children being blessed after him.  Luke 16:10 says "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least, is unjust also in much."  That quashes the justification of "it's just one grape; how much can it weigh?" With integrity, little counts as much as a lot does.

Love mercy: This means to extend kindness, compassion and forgiveness to others, recognizing that everyone is in need of grace.  "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God", Romans 3:23 tells us.  I Samuel 16:7 tells us that man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.  When I was a young man, a group of friends and myself called ourselves the "misfits".  We were treated differently because we did not fit into any specific social group.  We weren't seen as smart, athletic, didn't do drugs, weren't considered particularly good looking, or particularly talented and weren't popular.  We were not extended mercy, kindness or were even regarded at all because of our outward appearance.  How many of us have judged others based upon outward appearances alone?  In doing this, we are deciding who is worthy of mercy and grace, kindness, compassion and forgiveness and who is not.  My wife has shared in her teachings that our outward appearance is our costume. It can be put on, taken off and changed.  Our height, weight, looks, job title, credit score, IQ, marital status, etc. are not who we are.  They are elements of our costume.  Who we are are children of God made in the image of God and of such worth that Christ would die for each one of us.  As such, every human being is worthy of mercy, kindness, compassion, forgiveness and grace.

Walking humbly with thy God:  This is recognizing that He is God and we are not. Jesus said in John 15:5, "I am the vine, ye are the branches.  He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."  Without him, we can do nothing.  We can't even draw our next breath unless he provides it. The same sentiment is repeated in 2 Corinthians 3:5, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God."   Humility is not the same as self-deprecation.  We are made in the image of God.  Saying we are nothing, or we are the scum of the earth, or we are lower than another is a slap in the face to God.  Walking humbly with our God is simply recognizing our need for him. 

     If we can do the things found in this one verse: Micah 6:8, we will be just men, living to please God and fulfilling that which is good and required of us.  It's not difficult.  He has already shown us what to do.

PENTECOST, PASSOVER AND THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER

                                                  By Brian Wooster

THE DREAM: In my dream I saw Jews sitting around a table eating bitter herbs, hearing screaming outside as the death angel passed through Egypt.  I heard Pharoah's voice say, "Get your people and go." Then suddenly, I'm standing at the base of Mt. Sinai and I see Moses coming down the mountain with the tablets and people worshipping a golden calf.  Then I was in Israel standing before a tomb with the rock rolled away. Roman soldiers were laying around it as if dead.  I walk into the tomb and it is dark, cold and empty. Then I'm standing in a room and there was a loud noise and the men in the room began speaking in languages I didn't understand.  Then I saw myself in another room explaining to people about this dream and what God revealed to me about it.

THE LESSON:  It starts with the Passover.  The first part of my dream with the death angel passing over the Israelite's houses because the blood of the Passover lamb was on their doors. Let's read about this in Exodus chapter 12:21-24, and Exodus 12:29-32.  "Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said unto them, 'Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families and kill the Passover.  And ye shall take a bunch of hyssops, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until morning.  For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians, and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.  And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons forever."  "And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.  And Pharoah rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.  And he called for Moses and Aaron by night and said, 'Rise up and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD as ye have said.  Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone, and bless me also."  When in my dream, Pharaoh says, "Get your people and go," this shows the freedom of being delivered by salvation.

     The next part of my dream was Moses coming down from Sinai with the law.  We read about this in Exodus 32, verses 7, 8, 15,16.  "And the LORD said unto Moses, 'Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I have commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." "And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.  And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables."  Moses came down from the mountain with the "promise of the Father" written on the tablets with God's own hand. If the Israelites obeyed these laws, He would be with them.  It was the first covenant, or testament.

     The third part of my dream had to do with Jesus' death and resurrection.  When Jesus was crucified, He became our Passover lamb, as evidenced in 1 Corinthians 5:7. "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened.  For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us."  In this act, Jesus fulfilled the original Passover. 

     The final part of the dream depicted the Day of Pentecost. We will read about this in Acts 1:4-8, and Acts 2:1-14, and 37-41.  "And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he, ye have heard of me.  For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?  And he said unto them, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."  "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord and in one place.  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled all the house where they were sitting.  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." (I'm only quoting Acts 2:1-4. You can read the   whole occurrence in verses 1-14)  When the Holy Ghost fell at Pentecost in Acts chapter 2, it was the promise of the Father (the second or new covenant, the new testament) that fulfilled the first "promise of the Father" that Moses brought down from Sinai. 

       Now let's read Acts 2:37-41.  "Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren what shall we do?  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.  For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.  And with many other words did he testify and exhort saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.  Then they that gladly received his word were baptized; and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls."  The word Pentecost comes from the Greek Pentecoste meaning 50th. Pentecost originated as Shavout, an ancient Jewish harvest festival celebrated 50 days after Passover. When 3,000 souls were added to the church, that was the harvest. It was the celebration of Shavout celebrated 50 days after the original Passover.  That is why Pentecost is celebrated 50 days after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, our Passover lamb. The day of Pentecost is our Shavout. It is a celebration of our Passover lamb providing salvation, bringing freedom and deliverance, bringing the Promise of the Father, a new covenant, and reaping a harvest as more souls are added to the kingdom.