FLOODS UPON DRY GROUND, CHAPTER 12: SOUNDING THE TRUMPET IN ZION

(Shofar Horn)

     The sound you just heard is a shofar, It’s a ram’s horn, or a trumpet, that Jewish people blow each Jewish New Year and on the Sabbath Day.
     We are in the final section of the book “Floods Upon Dry Ground”, written by Pastors Bobby Duncan and James Jones. The last three chapters are under the heading "Final Challenge"
     In essence, it describes how to make a last-ditch effort to bring about the floods upon dry ground to a dying world before it’s too late.
     In Chapter 12, “Blowing the Trumpet in Zion”, Bobby Duncan talked about a sermon he preached in the ’80s entitled “Two Zions”. He was comparing the real Zion, which was the Israel of the Old Testament—with America, a newer Zion, which has a rich Christian faith history. Duncan said that he struggled with writing and preaching the sermon about the judgment that Israel faced, and the judgment that America is about to face without God’s divine intervention. The authors again used the Old Testament book of Joel, Chapter 2:1. Here it is:

“Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the Day of the Lord is coming, for it is at hand.”

     I’m sure that many of you have heard the song, “Blow the Trumpet in Zion”. Following is a snippet:

Blow the Trumpet in Zion, Zion.
Sound the alarm on My holy mountain,
Blow the Trumpet in Zion, Zion,
Sound the alarm.

     The song is very familiar and upbeat. It depicts men going into battle in which they use the horn or horns to unsettle the enemy enough to lead Israel to victory. This, however, doesn't exactly depict what Joel was talking about in Joel 2. Joel's trumpet blowing was a warning for the Israelites, and America—that the time is short before the Lord intervenes, perhaps In a way that we don’t want. We need to, therefore, sound the alarm and cry out to God, in repentance of our sins—before it’s too late.
     Pastor Duncan wrote that after one sermon on Joel 2:1, a young woman gave him the book entitled “Set the Trumpet to Thy Mouth”, written by David Wilkerson. He finally got around to reading the book, and he said he is not one prone to many tears. But after reading the book he couldn’t hold his tears back. He said he realized after reading Wilkerson’s book, “I had not yet plunged the depths of what God was saying to His people.”
     Pastor Duncan said that he and his wife Sandra were both moved to increase their prayer life and devotional time with their two sons. And that revival in his church “became more of a priority.”

     At the end of Chapter 12, he wrote the following:

“Let us fervently do as the prophet Joel declared: “Blow the trumpet . . . sound an alarm . . .[and] tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming.”

     Duncan continued:

“How true these words are! Jesus is coming, and surely soon. The signs of His return are being fulfilled at a most rapid pace. As the people of God, we must prepare, we must pray once again for God to “pour floods on the dry ground”, we must humble ourselves under His mighty hand, and we must put the trumpet to our mouth and sound the alarm that time is short.”

     Lastly, Duncan punctuated with capital letters the extreme urgency of blowing the trumpet in Zion!

“JESUS IS COMING; PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD!”

(Shofar Horn)

FLOODS UPON DRY GROUND, CHAPTER 11: PROVISION OF POWER

     The last time we discussed Pastors Bobby Duncan’s and James Jones's book “Floods Upon Dry Ground, Chapter 10, titled “Promise of Recovery”. The authors detailed that there is a tried and true formula, a “prescription for a cure” if you will, to begin the process of restoration, revival, and awakening. The formula they wrote, is based on 2 Chronicles 7:14.

“If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

     While I am not a formula guy, when the formula comes directly from the Bible you can “bank” it, a term the TV game show contestants use repeatedly on “The Weakest Link” to bank the winnings that make the money banked a done deal that can’t be undone.
     In this post, “Chapter 11: Provision of Power”, authors Duncan and Jones wrote that now that the prescription of the proper medication has been procured, and the “promise of recovery” has been enacted:

“What remains is for the church once again to be freshly empowered to engage in Kingdom service in a Biblical manner. The power to be God’s witnesses is not human in nature; it is none other than the Holy Spirit,”

     Joel explained the wonderful experience of Holy Spirit power in Joel 2:28—and Peter reiterated Joel’s same prophecy on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2:16:

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy; your old men shall dream dreams; your young men shall see visions.”

     Duncan and Jones wrote the following about how the Holy Spirit’s great power can bring about revival in ourselves and others:

“The power to live godly in this present world, to live an overcoming life, and to influence a people for the sake of Christ’s kingdom will only come through a fresh anointing, or infusion of the Holy Spirit.”

     We need to, according to Duncan and Jones, be “shaken and stirred”, to be "awakened to Biblical reality”, and "awakened to the truth of Christ’s soon return.”
     At the end of the chapter Duncan and Jones left us with solid hope for true revival. They wrote:

“Surely revival will come, and once again, God will provide Holy Spirit power to His church, His people, if we sincerely turn to Him without strings attached—passionately, wholeheartedly, and completely surrendering to the Savior.”