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We're in the Book of Joel.

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You can turn there with me.

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We're going through some of
the minor prophets.

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And again, it's not a minor
prophet because it's not important.

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It's a minor prophet in
categorization because it's a smaller

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book here in the Book of Joel,
we only have three chapters.

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And it is somewhat of a
difficult book to deal with because

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if we don't understand the
context of all of this, we might

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miss the important lessons
that are given to us in this book.

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We saw last week, chapter one,
and chapter one's all about a real

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locust devastation that was
happening to the people of Judah

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because of their rebellion,
because of their disobedience.

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And there was a call there in
chapter one for them to turn their

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hearts back to the Lord so
that they could find this level of

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restoration with the Lord.

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So if chapter one was
something that happened that already

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was going about in their.

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In their timeframe, chapter
two is about something even more

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terrible that is coming.

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So chapter one is something
terrible to happen to them because

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of their disobedience.

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But chapter two is about
something that is to come.

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And so the Locust plague was
essentially a preview of a greater

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judgment.

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And really the theme of Joel
is about the day of the Lord.

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What is the day of the Lord?

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Well, it's a day of judgment.

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It's the day that God comes to
all who are in rebellion to him and

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judges them for that
rebellion, judges them for their

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unbelief.

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And we see this progression
happening here in chapter two.

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He says in verse one, blow ye
the trumpet in Zion and sound an

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alarm in my holy mountain.

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What is he saying here?

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He says, hey, this is a warning.

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The blowing of a trumpet was a
symbol for a warning to the people

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that there is something that
will happen if you continue doing

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what you're doing.

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If you continue in this
disobedience, there is going to be

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judgment.

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And so Joel moves from a past
disaster to now, something that's

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going to come in the future
that's much greater.

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And we see at the end of
chapter of verse one, it says, for

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the day of the Lord cometh,
for it is nigh at hand.

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So the promise to the people
of Judah through the prophet Joel

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was that God is going to judge
those that are in rebellion.

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And it's coming.

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You can't get out of the way
of this.

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It's nigh at hand, it's near
to them.

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And so chapter two is all
about this judgment that is to come.

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And we see in verse two, the.

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The darkness and the gloom and
the destruction that's brought about

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in this time of judgment.

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He says, verse two, a day of
darkness and of gloominess, a day

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of clouds and of thick
darkness, as the morning spread upon

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the mountains, a great people
and a strong there hath not been

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ever the like, neither shall
be any more after it, even to the

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years of many generations.

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And so this is a description
of the day of the Lord that is coming.

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And Joel isn't just describing
God's judgment as being something

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that's difficult, even though
obviously there's difficulty in the

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judgment of God.

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But it's more than that, it's terrifying.

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He says there's not been
anything like this before.

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And this is intentional
language that the Lord is using here

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because he's saying that there
is this great judgment that's going

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to be coming and no one can
avoid it.

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It's not something that
anybody wants to face.

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He says in verse three, a fire
devoureth before them, and behind

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them a flame burneth, and the
land is as the Garden of Eden before

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them.

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So this is talking about
complete destruction, and behind

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them a desolate wilderness.

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Yea, and nothing shall escape them.

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The truth is, is that what
Joel is explaining to them is that

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if there is a person found in
rebellion to God, found in unbelief

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at the time of the day of the
Lord, there is no way that they're

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going to be able to escape.

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And when we think about the
day of the Lord, or we think about

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the judgment of God, it's all
about where we are that brings us

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our perspective.

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So if I'm in the Lord, if.

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If my faith is in the Lord,
and I'm trusting in him, the day

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of the Lord is something
that's a good thing, right?

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The Lord is vindicating
everything that has happened in.

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In the evil of this world, in
the destruction and in the rebellion.

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But for someone who is walking
in rebellion to God, the day of the

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Lord is terrifying because the
reality is, is that it says at the

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end of verse three that
nothing shall escape them.

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In verse four, we.

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We see that there is this
army, and he describes it as this

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army.

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Now, there's a lot of debate
on what he's talking about here.

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Some think he's talking about
of the locust being like an army

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of people, but ultimately I
believe this is talking about a real

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army that's coming to judgment.

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And we.

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We could talk about the
interpretations here all day, but

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ultimately I believe that this
is an historical locust.

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Plague that's been described
in chapter one, but now it's become

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a prophetic pattern, while in
chapter two, it's going to be now

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the armies of a greater day of
the Lord that is to come.

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So I believe that what chapter
two is describing has not happened

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yet.

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Even though we can see some
allusions to the Bible in which some

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of these things have happened,
I believe that chapter two is still

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something that is going to
happen in the ultimate day of the

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Lord that we are looking to at
the end of times.

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So he says in verse four, the
appearance of them is as of the appearance

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of horses, and as.

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As horsemen, so shall they
run, meaning they're going to be

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swift.

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Now, this is Joel describing
what God is telling him to describe.

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We ultimately know that this
destruction is going to be swift,

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it's going to be devastating.

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And that's what he's
describing here.

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Verse 5.

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Like the noise of chariots on
the tops of mountains shall they

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leap.

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Like the noise of a flame of
fire that devoureth the stubble.

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And as strong people set in
battle array.

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So what we really see here, it
is a description of this destruction

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that's going to come in God's judgment.

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And then he's going to Talk in
verses 6 through 9 about the fact

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that nothing can stop this
from happening before their face.

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The people shall be much pained.

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All faces shall gather blackness.

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They shall run like mighty men.

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They shall climb the wall like
men of war.

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And they shall march everyone
on his own ways.

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And they shall not break the
ranks, neither shall one thrust another.

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They shall walk everyone in
his path.

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And when they fall upon the
sword, they shall not be wounded.

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And this is a description of
how devastating this army will be.

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Verse 9.

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They shall run to and fro in
the city.

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They shall run up upon the
hill, they shall climb up upon the

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houses, and they shall enter
into the windows like a thief.

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And so Joel describes the
people's trembling, their.

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Their fear of this army.

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And it says that this army
will move with organization.

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It says they'll run like
mighty men.

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They shall climb the wall like
men of war.

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They're not going to break
their ranks.

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And when they fall upon the
sword, they shall not be wounded.

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And this is speaking of the
overwhelming picture of God's judgment.

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And I believe that the
emphasis isn't necessarily on identifying

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every detail of this army, but
really the whole picture is that

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human beings are not going to
be able to stop what God has appointed

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to come to pass in the day of
the Lord.

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Now you would say, why Are we
learning about this?

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Aren't we the ones that are
saved from that?

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Well, first of all, I can't
assume that all of us here are believers

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in Jesus Christ, because by
the way, belief is what's going to

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save us from facing the day of
the Lord.

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But even if tonight we were
all believers in the Lord, this should

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spur us on to share our faith
with people.

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Because if we believe what the
Bible actually says, that there will

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be people that are living on
this earth that live in rebellion,

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that are going to face this punishment.

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And this should bring us
excitement, it should bring us energy,

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it should bring us a passion
to share the word of God around us,

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because there's hope to this.

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We're going to see here in a
few moments that he actually gives

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the remedy to the problem of
the judgment that is to come.

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So we're going to see in verse
10 that there's this cosmic disturbance

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that's going to happen at this time.

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And we know that this is
prophetic because we see this throughout

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the Old Testament and the New
Testament when it's talking about

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the end times.

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The earth shall quake before
them, the heavens shall tremble,

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the sun and the moon shall be
dark, and the stars shall withdraw

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their shining, and the Lord
shall utter his voice before his

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army.

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So lest we think that this is
some evil army coming and God is

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not in control of this, no,
this is God's army that's coming

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to judge those that are in rebellion.

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It says that it is his army,
for his camp is very great, for he

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is strong that executeth his word.

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For the day of the Lord is
great and very terrible.

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And who can abide it?

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Who can live through it?

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And so now we're starting to
see this description of earthquakes,

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a darkened sun, a darkened
moon, stars that are darkened or

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affected, and the heaven and
earth actually physically trembling.

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And this language appears
throughout the Scriptures.

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We see this in Isaiah, we see
this in Ezekiel, we see this in Matthew,

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chapter 24, obviously in the
book of Revelation.

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And this is Joel giving us a
description of the day of the Lord.

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He's describing what the world
is going to be like.

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He's describing what this
judgment will look like.

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And now he asked this question
at the end of verse 11.

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And this is so this is so important.

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The army ultimately belongs to God.

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And so Joel asked this question.

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The day of the Lord is great
and very terrible.

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Who can abide it?

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And that's the point that he's
trying to get across here.

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Who can withstand God's judgment?

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I. I've heard people over the
years say, you know what?

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I'm not afraid of God.

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I don't believe that he's
going to do anything to me.

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You know, I'm not afraid of
going to hell, if there is a hell.

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I'm going to be down there partying.

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I'm going to be down there and
enjoy my life.

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Because you know what?

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I don't want this thing that
God is bringing about.

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Folks, nobody, if they truly
understand the judgment of God, nobody

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wants to face the judgment of God.

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And oftentimes we don't hear
about the judgment of God talk talked

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about within churches because
we do talk about the love of God

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and we should talk about the
love of God.

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But at the same time, just as
God is completely loving, he's completely

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just and he's completely holy.

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And he would be unjust by not
judging those that are in rebellion

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and those that are in sin and
those that are evil.

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We, we know the classic
analogy of the judge who is sitting

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on the bench there.

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And there's this person who
stands before the judge and he's

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guilty, he's committed a grave
crime, he's maybe even killed somebody.

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And the judge looks at him
and, and the judge said, well, you

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know what?

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I think he's sorry.

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I don't want to go ahead and
punish him.

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We're just going to go let him go.

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That's not a good judge.

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That's a bad judge.

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That's a judge that is not just.

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So God is a just judge.

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And so as we preach the gospel
to people, as we tell people the

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importance of understanding
God's love, we have to some degree

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explain to them the importance
and the power and the justice of

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God that judgment is coming.

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Now, we're not there to try to
scare someone, but ultimately it

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is a somewhat scary event that
God is going to come about and judge

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those who are in rebellion to him.

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So what's the answer to the
question, who can stand up against

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God's judgment?

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Well, we know the answer to that.

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Nobody can stand against God's
judgment with human strength.

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So what do we do?

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What's the remedy to the
people in the world that are in rebellion

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00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:15,800
to God?

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How if this is what's coming,
everyone better just give up?

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Well, no, he's going to give
an answer to this.

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He's going to give a remedy to this.

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And this is the important part
of the message because we preach

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judgment.

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We, we preach that there's
going to be the, the holy God who

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comes and gives his justice to
the world.

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00:11:34,870 --> 00:11:37,030
But we also preach that
there's grace and mercy.

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Verse 12, therefore, also now
saith the Lord, this is from God,

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turn ye even to me with all
your heart.

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This is what we talked about
this morning, turning to God with

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our heart.

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Joel says here, as a prophet
of God, and ultimately we know that

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God telling his people, the
way to avoid this judgment, the way

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to avoid the day of the Lord,
is to turn our hearts over to him,

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to believe in him, to love
him, to follow him.

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And so he says here, there is
this call to repentance.

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And I believe that starting in
verse 12, really, verse 12 all the

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way down to verse 17, is the.

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Is the spiritual heart of this
whole chapter, because it tells us

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really what we are all called
to do within our own lives and what

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we're calling other people to do.

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It's not about outward signs
or shows of religiosity.

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It's about coming with our heart.

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And so verse 12, he says,
therefore now saith the Lord, turn

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ye even to me with all your
heart, with fasting and with weeping

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and with mourning.

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The idea here is this turn.

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I want you to notice that word
turn there.

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It says, the Lord says, turn
ye even to me.

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This is describing biblical repentance.

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Talked about this a little bit
this morning in our Bible study.

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Biblical repentance is not
just turning away from something.

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Okay?

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So, for example, let's pretend
that this microphone is a temptation

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of sin.

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00:13:09,010 --> 00:13:11,890
And, you know, every time I go
to this microphone, it's a sin.

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Repentance is turning away
from this.

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Okay?

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00:13:15,410 --> 00:13:18,370
By the way, repentance is a
military term that means to retreat,

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00:13:18,370 --> 00:13:20,130
to go away from and go to something.

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00:13:20,880 --> 00:13:23,480
So if I'm going north and I'm
supposed to repent, I'm supposed

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00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:23,960
to go south.

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00:13:23,960 --> 00:13:25,760
I'm not supposed to just stop
going north.

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00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:29,440
And so what we see here is
that if I was to look at this and

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00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:33,560
recognize that this is bad for
me and turn away, but then look back

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00:13:33,560 --> 00:13:35,120
and go, well, I really want that.

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00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:36,920
That that's something that's.

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I wish I could have that.

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00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:39,640
You know what?

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00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:40,480
If I could, I would.

295
00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:41,920
But I know there's a lot of
problems with that.

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00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:43,200
No, that's not repentance.

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00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:48,280
Complete repentance is turning
away from this and turning to something.

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00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:52,040
And biblical repentance is
turning to the Lord, turning our

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00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:54,760
hearts to God, and turning
away from that bad thing.

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00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:57,080
So it's not just about
avoiding the bad thing in our life.

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00:13:57,240 --> 00:13:58,280
It's about turning.

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00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:00,680
And that's the critical point
of biblical repentance.

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00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:05,000
God isn't just calling them to
panic and change what you're doing,

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00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:07,400
have a religious ceremony,
start fasting.

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00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:11,320
He's not giving a list here in
verse 12 of what you do to get saved.

306
00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:13,320
That's kind of what it looks like.

307
00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:17,090
Well, okay, so if I want to
not face the day of the Lord and

308
00:14:17,090 --> 00:14:21,010
the judgment of God, I need to
fast, I need to weep and I need to

309
00:14:21,010 --> 00:14:21,290
mourn.

310
00:14:21,290 --> 00:14:24,290
Okay, so let's start a
fasting, weeping and mourning ministry.

311
00:14:24,290 --> 00:14:25,610
And that's how we're going to
get people saved.

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00:14:25,610 --> 00:14:26,570
That's not what he's saying.

313
00:14:26,810 --> 00:14:30,450
He's saying that the fasting
and the weeping and the mourning

314
00:14:30,450 --> 00:14:32,250
comes from turning our hearts
to God.

315
00:14:32,730 --> 00:14:36,130
But just doing those outward
signs are not going.

316
00:14:36,130 --> 00:14:37,090
That's not going to be enough.

317
00:14:37,090 --> 00:14:38,250
It's not going to save us.

318
00:14:39,380 --> 00:14:42,020
So he says it's not just about
a religious ceremony.

319
00:14:42,020 --> 00:14:43,300
He says, turn to me.

320
00:14:43,300 --> 00:14:44,860
That's biblical repentance.

321
00:14:44,860 --> 00:14:50,300
So he says here, the way to
avoid the judgments of God is by

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00:14:50,300 --> 00:14:53,620
embracing that I cannot save
myself and turning my heart over

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00:14:53,620 --> 00:14:54,340
to the Lord.

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00:14:54,420 --> 00:14:56,980
God wants genuine, inward repentance.

325
00:14:57,060 --> 00:14:59,700
And that repentance is seen in faith.

326
00:14:59,860 --> 00:15:03,060
Now, there's this big argument
in Christian circles.

327
00:15:03,620 --> 00:15:06,540
Is repentance needed for
salvation or can I just have faith?

328
00:15:06,540 --> 00:15:08,860
Doesn't the Bible just say I'm
supposed to have faith?

329
00:15:09,020 --> 00:15:11,820
Well, yes, you are saved by faith.

330
00:15:11,980 --> 00:15:15,660
But that repentance is turning
away from my good works.

331
00:15:15,660 --> 00:15:18,820
It's turning away from
thinking that I can save myself or

332
00:15:18,820 --> 00:15:20,060
that my church can save me.

333
00:15:20,060 --> 00:15:22,940
And it's that repentance of
turning to God in faith.

334
00:15:23,180 --> 00:15:24,700
And so I believe they're.

335
00:15:24,700 --> 00:15:27,220
They're united together to
have faith.

336
00:15:27,220 --> 00:15:31,260
There has to be some level of
repentance to turn away from my wicked

337
00:15:31,260 --> 00:15:32,580
ways and turn to God.

338
00:15:32,580 --> 00:15:35,410
Now, it doesn't mean that I'm
going to be sinless, okay?

339
00:15:35,410 --> 00:15:37,770
Because sometimes I've heard
people say, well, repenting is never

340
00:15:37,770 --> 00:15:38,330
sinning again.

341
00:15:38,330 --> 00:15:41,410
Well, obviously we're going to
still deal with sin in our life.

342
00:15:41,410 --> 00:15:43,770
But he says, here, turn to me.

343
00:15:44,170 --> 00:15:47,450
And that will produce this
fasting and weeping and mourning.

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00:15:47,450 --> 00:15:50,210
Then I want you to see what he
says in verse number 13, because

345
00:15:50,210 --> 00:15:52,890
I believe verse 13 is where
it's all about.

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00:15:52,890 --> 00:15:58,970
In this chapter, he says, and
rend your heart and not your garments.

347
00:15:59,690 --> 00:16:00,650
Now, why is that important?

348
00:16:01,830 --> 00:16:06,110
Because part of the outward
show of repentance, particularly

349
00:16:06,110 --> 00:16:08,550
in Bible times, is that people
would tear their clothing.

350
00:16:08,870 --> 00:16:12,710
You've probably even read that
within certain Bible stories that

351
00:16:12,710 --> 00:16:15,710
there would be an individual
who was repentant and he would tear

352
00:16:15,710 --> 00:16:18,830
his clothing and sometimes
even put on sackcloth and ashes.

353
00:16:18,830 --> 00:16:21,150
And there would be this
outward sign of repentance.

354
00:16:21,150 --> 00:16:24,110
And God's not saying that
that's bad, but he says is don't

355
00:16:24,110 --> 00:16:26,830
just tear your clothes, rend
your heart.

356
00:16:26,830 --> 00:16:28,240
Because he wants our heart
because you.

357
00:16:28,390 --> 00:16:31,470
What can happen is that we
think that maybe some outward sign

358
00:16:31,470 --> 00:16:33,110
can prove that I love God.

359
00:16:33,110 --> 00:16:35,430
But he says, really, here it's
not about tearing your clothes.

360
00:16:35,430 --> 00:16:36,870
It's about giving me your heart.

361
00:16:37,510 --> 00:16:40,670
So like I said, in the ancient
world, tearing one's clothing was

362
00:16:40,670 --> 00:16:44,230
a demonstration of grief or in
some cases, repentance.

363
00:16:44,630 --> 00:16:47,790
And so God is saying here,
don't just tear your clothes.

364
00:16:47,790 --> 00:16:52,070
Don't just do a religious act,
but tear your heart, rend your heart.

365
00:16:52,710 --> 00:16:54,390
In other words, we could say
it this way.

366
00:16:54,910 --> 00:16:59,390
God is saying, don't give me
an external performance when he is

367
00:16:59,390 --> 00:17:01,550
desiring our inward transformation.

368
00:17:03,310 --> 00:17:08,630
I know that for me, and it's
probably because of who I am, but

369
00:17:08,630 --> 00:17:11,790
I always saw the Christian
life as something that was performative.

370
00:17:12,270 --> 00:17:14,070
And I'm just being transparent
with you here.

371
00:17:14,070 --> 00:17:17,870
This evening, it was all about
what I can do, what can I accomplish?

372
00:17:18,430 --> 00:17:21,640
How can people see the way
that I'm living and say, wow, that

373
00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:23,040
person is a really good person.

374
00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:27,320
And what Jesus tells us in the
New Testament and what we see here

375
00:17:27,320 --> 00:17:30,880
in the Book of Joel is that
the Christian life, the life of love

376
00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:34,360
for the Lord is not about
performance outwardly so that other

377
00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:35,360
people can see us.

378
00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:38,520
It's about an inward
transformation that does produce

379
00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:39,600
outward works.

380
00:17:39,600 --> 00:17:42,000
But the outward works is not
what change our heart.

381
00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:46,440
What changes our heart is the
devotion and the repentance and the

382
00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:48,040
love and the faith that we
have in the Lord.

383
00:17:48,040 --> 00:17:50,160
And so he says, rend your
heart and not your garments.

384
00:17:51,790 --> 00:17:53,390
We could say, well, hey, you
know what?

385
00:17:53,390 --> 00:17:54,270
Just go to church.

386
00:17:55,390 --> 00:17:56,110
Make sure you.

387
00:17:56,110 --> 00:17:57,230
You say all the right words.

388
00:17:57,790 --> 00:17:59,950
Make sure everyone on the
outside thinks that you're a good

389
00:17:59,950 --> 00:18:00,270
person.

390
00:18:00,510 --> 00:18:03,070
Show your public displays of
sorrow, weep.

391
00:18:03,070 --> 00:18:06,389
But the fact is, is that all
those things could be empty without

392
00:18:06,389 --> 00:18:07,550
an inward heart change.

393
00:18:08,110 --> 00:18:12,510
God always wants our heart,
and all those other things will follow.

394
00:18:13,390 --> 00:18:13,910
You know what?

395
00:18:13,910 --> 00:18:18,760
I. I believe that we will have
the proper mindset, the proper humility,

396
00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:23,200
the proper sorrow, the proper
weeping, the proper fasting, as it

397
00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:26,360
says here, with a heart that
is turned over to God.

398
00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:27,000
So.

399
00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:31,840
So he says Here in verse 12,
it's about turning our heart to the

400
00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:32,280
lord.

401
00:18:32,360 --> 00:18:35,920
In verse 13, he said, it's all
about allowing our heart to be broken

402
00:18:35,920 --> 00:18:36,680
before the Lord.

403
00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:39,320
Turn unto the Lord your God again.

404
00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:43,480
This is a second mention of
this turning unto the Lord.

405
00:18:44,100 --> 00:18:44,980
So let's say we have.

406
00:18:45,700 --> 00:18:47,100
We want revival at our church.

407
00:18:47,100 --> 00:18:48,420
And I agree with that.

408
00:18:48,500 --> 00:18:50,260
I think revival is vital.

409
00:18:50,260 --> 00:18:52,340
I think revival is vital in
our churches.

410
00:18:52,500 --> 00:18:53,860
I think it starts in our churches.

411
00:18:53,860 --> 00:18:54,260
I think.

412
00:18:54,260 --> 00:18:56,580
Actually, let me take a step
back a little bit further before

413
00:18:56,580 --> 00:18:57,540
it starts in our churches.

414
00:18:57,540 --> 00:19:00,100
It starts with the individual
hearts, and then it goes to the home

415
00:19:00,100 --> 00:19:03,060
and then it goes to the church oftentimes.

416
00:19:03,060 --> 00:19:07,420
And I'm not downplaying
revival weeks, but what happens sometimes

417
00:19:07,420 --> 00:19:10,780
with the revival weeks is we
get into a scenario where we're all

418
00:19:10,780 --> 00:19:15,520
coming to a service and we're
all getting riled up with our emotions.

419
00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:19,040
We're all kind of hearing all
the things that God wants us to hear,

420
00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:22,360
and we make a decision that's
based on maybe emotions or maybe

421
00:19:22,360 --> 00:19:23,360
it's based on truth.

422
00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:26,360
But at the end of that week,
it kind of is like we're back to

423
00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:26,960
square one.

424
00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:29,520
We're back to where we were
before, folks.

425
00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:33,280
Revival is not about doing
something performative.

426
00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:36,880
Revival is about a broken
heart that starts with repentance.

427
00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:39,440
And then with that repentance
comes renewal.

428
00:19:39,650 --> 00:19:42,210
And in that renewal comes that
sense of revival.

429
00:19:42,690 --> 00:19:43,010
So.

430
00:19:43,010 --> 00:19:44,210
So God wants our heart.

431
00:19:44,210 --> 00:19:48,410
And so he says there twice,
turn, turn your heart, turn unto

432
00:19:48,410 --> 00:19:49,770
me, the Lord, your God.

433
00:19:49,770 --> 00:19:53,770
So if we want revival in our
lives, it's turning our hearts back

434
00:19:53,770 --> 00:19:54,210
to Him.

435
00:19:55,010 --> 00:19:55,970
And what does that mean?

436
00:19:55,970 --> 00:19:57,450
What does it mean to turn my
heart to Him?

437
00:19:57,450 --> 00:20:01,730
It means that I'm giving over
to his wants for my life.

438
00:20:01,810 --> 00:20:02,130
That.

439
00:20:02,130 --> 00:20:04,530
That my desires become his desires.

440
00:20:05,180 --> 00:20:06,260
That it's no longer about me.

441
00:20:06,260 --> 00:20:09,780
It's no longer about my
feelings, it's no longer about my

442
00:20:09,780 --> 00:20:10,100
will.

443
00:20:10,100 --> 00:20:11,940
It's no longer about my agenda.

444
00:20:11,940 --> 00:20:14,860
It's about turning my life
over to him and giving him everything.

445
00:20:14,860 --> 00:20:20,980
And then he gives us, in verse
13, why we should do this revival

446
00:20:20,980 --> 00:20:23,100
is not me coming up here.

447
00:20:23,100 --> 00:20:23,860
Because let's.

448
00:20:23,860 --> 00:20:24,540
Let's be honest.

449
00:20:25,420 --> 00:20:29,580
I could come up here tonight
and tell you, and I won't pick on

450
00:20:29,580 --> 00:20:30,180
anyone specific.

451
00:20:30,180 --> 00:20:31,940
I was about to pick on Pastor
Ethan, but I'm not going to do it.

452
00:20:31,940 --> 00:20:32,300
Okay?

453
00:20:32,690 --> 00:20:33,730
I'll pick up myself.

454
00:20:34,850 --> 00:20:38,010
If I was sitting there, I
could preach to myself and say, here's

455
00:20:38,010 --> 00:20:39,570
all the things you have wrong
in your life.

456
00:20:40,050 --> 00:20:42,050
I guarantee you're not reading
your Bible enough.

457
00:20:42,370 --> 00:20:44,290
I guarantee you you're not
praying enough.

458
00:20:44,690 --> 00:20:46,890
And all of us can kind of be
like, well, yeah, I guess I'm not

459
00:20:46,890 --> 00:20:49,090
reading my Bible enough, you know?

460
00:20:49,650 --> 00:20:53,490
Well, the truth is, okay, for
example, let's say you're like, I'm

461
00:20:53,490 --> 00:20:55,210
really reading my Bible a lot,
Pastor Josh.

462
00:20:55,210 --> 00:20:56,250
I think I'm right where I need
to be.

463
00:20:56,250 --> 00:20:56,810
Well, how long.

464
00:20:56,810 --> 00:20:58,570
How long are you reading your
Bible for?

465
00:20:58,570 --> 00:21:00,970
Every day I read my Bible for
one hour a day.

466
00:21:01,690 --> 00:21:03,610
I think all of us would say
that's pretty impressive.

467
00:21:03,610 --> 00:21:04,090
That's good.

468
00:21:04,490 --> 00:21:06,250
Why aren't you reading it two
hours a day?

469
00:21:07,050 --> 00:21:08,250
Well, because I got this.

470
00:21:08,250 --> 00:21:08,970
Well, you know what?

471
00:21:08,970 --> 00:21:10,050
I think you should be reading it.

472
00:21:10,050 --> 00:21:14,170
See, you see how that guilt
can be placed upon our life?

473
00:21:14,170 --> 00:21:16,249
And we could say, well, yeah,
just not a good person.

474
00:21:16,410 --> 00:21:20,610
Revival is not about being
beat up about our failures, because

475
00:21:20,610 --> 00:21:25,210
the reality is, is that all of
us fall short of what we should be

476
00:21:25,210 --> 00:21:27,550
in our life because we're
humans we struggle with.

477
00:21:28,260 --> 00:21:32,260
So what revival is, is not
just feeling sorrowful about how

478
00:21:32,260 --> 00:21:34,940
bad we are, even though
there's a level of repentance in

479
00:21:34,940 --> 00:21:39,940
our life, but it's recognizing
who we are in the sight of God's

480
00:21:39,940 --> 00:21:40,380
holiness.

481
00:21:40,380 --> 00:21:43,540
And that's what we see here in
this passage, folks.

482
00:21:43,860 --> 00:21:47,060
You want to know what it means
to be holy?

483
00:21:47,300 --> 00:21:48,220
Well, look at the Lord.

484
00:21:48,220 --> 00:21:52,540
He says here in verse 13, turn
unto the Lord your God, for he is

485
00:21:52,540 --> 00:21:58,990
gracious and merciful, slow to
anger and of great kindness, and

486
00:21:58,990 --> 00:22:01,390
repenteth him of the evil.

487
00:22:02,270 --> 00:22:02,590
So.

488
00:22:02,590 --> 00:22:03,070
So what do.

489
00:22:03,070 --> 00:22:03,950
What do we see here?

490
00:22:04,830 --> 00:22:09,390
We see that the way that we
can properly understand the change

491
00:22:09,390 --> 00:22:12,870
in our life is by looking to
the Lord, looking at his standard,

492
00:22:12,870 --> 00:22:14,670
and saying, I have not met that.

493
00:22:14,750 --> 00:22:17,390
So my heart wants to be more
and more like Him.

494
00:22:17,390 --> 00:22:18,390
That's what he's saying here.

495
00:22:18,390 --> 00:22:18,670
So.

496
00:22:18,670 --> 00:22:21,160
So it's not about coming up
and saying, got to be like Pastor

497
00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:27,000
Josh, because no one should
match their Christianity off me right

498
00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:27,320
there.

499
00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:30,280
I can live as an example
before you, but at the end of the

500
00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:32,720
day, I'm not the ultimate
standard of righteousness.

501
00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:34,880
God's the ultimate standard of righteousness.

502
00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:36,520
So what does he say here?

503
00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:38,480
He says, look at who the Lord is.

504
00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:42,320
Look at who you are in your
rebellion and fall down before him

505
00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:46,600
in great need of his grace and
his mercy and his patience and his

506
00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:47,410
kindness and his.

507
00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:49,640
And repenteth him of the evil.

508
00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:50,520
Turn to him.

509
00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:53,800
I don't need any of you coming
to me and saying, pastor Josh, I

510
00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:55,840
need to confess to you all of
my sins, okay?

511
00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:58,960
Now, if you sinned against me
and you want to confess that, hey,

512
00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:01,760
the door is always open, but
you don't have to come to me, okay?

513
00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:03,400
Because I'm not the judge.

514
00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:08,240
What it says here is that we
have to go before the Lord, it's

515
00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:09,480
getting our life right with him.

516
00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:12,680
And so we notice the reason
why God calls us to repent here.

517
00:23:13,890 --> 00:23:17,610
It's not that maybe God will
be merciful, it's that God is merciful.

518
00:23:17,610 --> 00:23:19,730
It's not maybe God is gracious.

519
00:23:19,730 --> 00:23:21,170
No, he is completely gracious.

520
00:23:21,250 --> 00:23:22,730
He's completely slow to anger.

521
00:23:22,730 --> 00:23:25,570
He's completely in this loving kindness.

522
00:23:25,570 --> 00:23:29,250
And therefore repentance is
possible because of God's character,

523
00:23:29,410 --> 00:23:30,690
because we look to Him.

524
00:23:30,850 --> 00:23:34,610
He's the one that enables us
to come back to him in repentance.

525
00:23:35,490 --> 00:23:38,810
And so that's really the idea
that God is calling these people

526
00:23:38,810 --> 00:23:40,370
here in this passage to do.

527
00:23:40,580 --> 00:23:43,100
And I believe that's what God
is calling us to do within our own

528
00:23:43,100 --> 00:23:43,380
lives.

529
00:23:44,500 --> 00:23:46,060
I think that there is.

530
00:23:46,060 --> 00:23:48,460
Obviously, there's a lot of
manipulation that can happen within

531
00:23:48,460 --> 00:23:49,380
Christian circles.

532
00:23:50,420 --> 00:23:50,780
So.

533
00:23:50,780 --> 00:23:51,980
So what can we do?

534
00:23:51,980 --> 00:23:55,380
What we can do is we can look
at the Scriptures and we can say,

535
00:23:55,380 --> 00:23:58,020
look, it's not about performing.

536
00:23:58,900 --> 00:24:02,060
All of us here tonight can
somewhat put up a performance to

537
00:24:02,060 --> 00:24:02,900
look a certain way.

538
00:24:03,540 --> 00:24:07,090
Like, I've been around church
long enough to know what to say,

539
00:24:07,490 --> 00:24:11,210
when to say it, how to look to
make sure that everyone thinks that

540
00:24:11,210 --> 00:24:11,890
I'm okay.

541
00:24:12,130 --> 00:24:14,290
But what I'm going to say to
you here this evening is, you can

542
00:24:14,290 --> 00:24:17,610
act in front of me, you can
act in front of the church, you can

543
00:24:17,610 --> 00:24:18,930
even act in front of your family.

544
00:24:19,170 --> 00:24:22,850
But really, God knows your
heart and you can't fool him.

545
00:24:23,410 --> 00:24:26,370
You can't avoid what he sees
in your life.

546
00:24:27,090 --> 00:24:28,450
And that used to scare me.

547
00:24:28,850 --> 00:24:31,610
I used to have a preacher come
up in our chapel, and he's like,

548
00:24:31,610 --> 00:24:34,010
God sees you in every moment
of your life.

549
00:24:34,010 --> 00:24:35,250
He sees what you're doing.

550
00:24:35,250 --> 00:24:36,610
He knows what you're thinking.

551
00:24:36,970 --> 00:24:40,490
And I used to sit there and
going, oh, man, it was terrifying

552
00:24:40,490 --> 00:24:42,810
for me that God would know
what I was thinking yesterday.

553
00:24:43,450 --> 00:24:44,210
That's the same thing.

554
00:24:44,210 --> 00:24:45,650
When it goes back to the day
of the Lord.

555
00:24:45,650 --> 00:24:48,450
Those that are in rebellion to
God, that's a fearful thing, that

556
00:24:48,450 --> 00:24:49,290
God sees everything.

557
00:24:49,850 --> 00:24:53,450
The fact that God sees all of
my sin, that's like a painful, like

558
00:24:53,450 --> 00:24:54,330
burdensome thing.

559
00:24:54,410 --> 00:24:57,210
But if I'm walking in the Lord
and I've turned it all over to him,

560
00:24:57,210 --> 00:24:59,810
it's a beautiful thing to know
that God sees everything because

561
00:24:59,810 --> 00:25:01,090
he sees me in my brokenness.

562
00:25:01,090 --> 00:25:02,570
He sees me in my need.

563
00:25:02,570 --> 00:25:03,460
He sees me as.

564
00:25:03,530 --> 00:25:03,970
And guess what?

565
00:25:03,970 --> 00:25:05,210
He still loves me.

566
00:25:07,050 --> 00:25:08,890
I love my family for many reasons.

567
00:25:09,530 --> 00:25:10,890
One, because they are my family.

568
00:25:11,370 --> 00:25:13,930
But another reason why I love
my family is they've seen me at my

569
00:25:13,930 --> 00:25:14,090
best.

570
00:25:14,090 --> 00:25:16,250
And they see me at my worst
and they still love me.

571
00:25:16,330 --> 00:25:17,090
They're still there.

572
00:25:17,090 --> 00:25:18,850
And I'm like, I can't believe
that they're still there and they

573
00:25:18,850 --> 00:25:19,530
still love me.

574
00:25:20,010 --> 00:25:23,130
That's the beautiful thing,
that God, in a most perfect way,

575
00:25:23,210 --> 00:25:26,250
knows everything that we've
ever done, but yet he still loves

576
00:25:26,250 --> 00:25:26,570
us.

577
00:25:27,610 --> 00:25:33,170
And the truth is that if many
of us were honest, the fact that

578
00:25:33,170 --> 00:25:35,530
God has seen everything makes
us pretty unlovable.

579
00:25:35,930 --> 00:25:39,010
But at the end of the day,
that God loves us is such a reason

580
00:25:39,010 --> 00:25:41,570
why we must turn to him for
this salvation.

581
00:25:41,570 --> 00:25:43,650
We must turn to him in repentance.

582
00:25:43,650 --> 00:25:45,450
We must turn to him for revival.

583
00:25:46,170 --> 00:25:49,290
So verse 13, I want you to
think about that verse this week.

584
00:25:50,090 --> 00:25:55,050
I truly want you to identify
ways in your life, and I'm going

585
00:25:55,050 --> 00:26:00,250
to do this in my own way that
I can rend my heart before God.

586
00:26:01,290 --> 00:26:05,850
How can I allow my heart to be
broken in such a way that God can

587
00:26:05,850 --> 00:26:06,410
use that?

588
00:26:07,210 --> 00:26:10,130
If I'm hard hearted against
the things of God, if I'm hard hearted

589
00:26:10,130 --> 00:26:13,050
against loving my neighbor, if
I'm hard hearted against the word

590
00:26:13,050 --> 00:26:15,010
of God, then I'm never going
to turn to Him.

591
00:26:15,010 --> 00:26:18,490
But he says, rend your heart
and not your garments.

592
00:26:18,730 --> 00:26:24,300
Now he's not saying, hey,
don't do outward signs of repentance.

593
00:26:24,620 --> 00:26:27,380
What he's saying is, don't do
outward signs of repentance and not

594
00:26:27,380 --> 00:26:28,220
have a changed heart.

595
00:26:29,180 --> 00:26:31,620
And that's really the
challenge that he gives us.

596
00:26:31,620 --> 00:26:38,460
In this chapter, verse 14, he
says, who knoweth if he will return

597
00:26:38,460 --> 00:26:41,380
and repent and leave a
blessing behind him, even a meat

598
00:26:41,380 --> 00:26:44,940
offering and a drink offering
unto the Lord your God?

599
00:26:46,380 --> 00:26:47,260
Jo Joel.

600
00:26:47,260 --> 00:26:50,620
Joel isn't suggesting that God
is fickle and he's back and forth,

601
00:26:51,130 --> 00:26:52,890
but he's emphasizing humility.

602
00:26:53,930 --> 00:27:00,210
Judah cannot just take for
granted the blessings that God is

603
00:27:00,210 --> 00:27:00,810
giving them.

604
00:27:01,450 --> 00:27:05,450
They have to come before him
dependent upon his mercy.

605
00:27:06,410 --> 00:27:09,930
And we see that over and over
again in Scripture, that we must

606
00:27:09,930 --> 00:27:15,490
understand the desperation
that we have for his blessings in

607
00:27:15,490 --> 00:27:17,130
our life, his grace in our life.

608
00:27:17,130 --> 00:27:19,050
And that's where we come to a
place of revival.

609
00:27:19,710 --> 00:27:24,590
So again in verse 15, he says,
blow the trumpet in Zion, warn them,

610
00:27:24,670 --> 00:27:27,630
sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly.

611
00:27:27,950 --> 00:27:30,550
So there's nothing wrong with
coming together and identifying these

612
00:27:30,550 --> 00:27:30,750
things.

613
00:27:30,750 --> 00:27:31,870
So, so don't get me wrong.

614
00:27:31,950 --> 00:27:34,270
I'm not saying that we
shouldn't come together and corporately

615
00:27:34,270 --> 00:27:37,470
call for revival, because
that's exactly what's happening here.

616
00:27:37,550 --> 00:27:40,350
But we have to understand that
revival doesn't start with somebody

617
00:27:40,350 --> 00:27:40,630
else.

618
00:27:40,630 --> 00:27:42,830
And we just hope that we catch
on with it.

619
00:27:42,830 --> 00:27:44,510
It's revival starts with me.

620
00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:47,640
And that's exactly what we see
happening here.

621
00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:51,600
Joel starts to go about this,
and he says that we need to come

622
00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:53,240
together and have this assembly.

623
00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:57,760
And we see in verse 15:16
says, Gather the people, sanctify

624
00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:02,040
the congregation, assemble the
elders, gather the children and those

625
00:28:02,120 --> 00:28:07,520
that suck the breast, and let
the bridegroom go forth of his chamber

626
00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:09,480
and the bride out of her closet.

627
00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:11,000
So he says, call everyone.

628
00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:14,630
Let the priests and the
ministers of the Lord weep between

629
00:28:14,630 --> 00:28:17,830
the porch and the altar, and
let them say, spare thy people, O

630
00:28:17,830 --> 00:28:22,270
Lord, and give not thine
heritage to reproach, that the heathen

631
00:28:22,270 --> 00:28:23,230
should rule over them.

632
00:28:23,230 --> 00:28:26,550
Wherefore should they say
among the people, where is their

633
00:28:26,550 --> 00:28:26,950
God?

634
00:28:27,510 --> 00:28:28,190
You say, what is.

635
00:28:28,190 --> 00:28:29,350
What is he talking about here?

636
00:28:29,350 --> 00:28:30,470
Well, he's saying, you.

637
00:28:30,470 --> 00:28:34,750
You need to bring everyone
together in this community to be

638
00:28:34,750 --> 00:28:36,950
unified before the Lord in
this decision.

639
00:28:36,950 --> 00:28:38,950
This is a decision that we
have to make.

640
00:28:39,110 --> 00:28:41,350
This isn't just going to
happen on accident.

641
00:28:41,700 --> 00:28:44,940
This isn't going to just
happen in a day where we go, oh,

642
00:28:44,940 --> 00:28:46,820
we're accidentally all on the
same page.

643
00:28:46,820 --> 00:28:48,860
We're accidentally all on fire
for God.

644
00:28:48,860 --> 00:28:50,420
No, this is a conscious decision.

645
00:28:50,660 --> 00:28:54,540
This is an intentional
decision for individuals and the

646
00:28:54,540 --> 00:28:57,140
community and the church to
come together to make a decision,

647
00:28:57,300 --> 00:28:58,260
to say, you know what?

648
00:28:58,260 --> 00:28:59,420
We need this.

649
00:28:59,420 --> 00:29:00,900
We need this revival.

650
00:29:01,060 --> 00:29:03,860
So he says, call everyone,
call the children, call the babies,

651
00:29:04,020 --> 00:29:06,500
call the bridegroom, call the
bride out of what they're doing.

652
00:29:06,740 --> 00:29:09,340
Wake up where you're at right
now, wherever you are right now,

653
00:29:09,340 --> 00:29:10,360
come together and.

654
00:29:10,430 --> 00:29:12,030
And make a decision to follow God.

655
00:29:12,030 --> 00:29:14,430
Make a decision to submit
yourselves to him.

656
00:29:15,230 --> 00:29:17,950
Verse 17, he talks about the
priest interceding.

657
00:29:18,190 --> 00:29:19,830
He says, you know, the leaders
have to do this.

658
00:29:19,830 --> 00:29:22,870
The priests are told to stand
between the porch and the altar and

659
00:29:22,870 --> 00:29:24,030
pray, pray for the people.

660
00:29:24,590 --> 00:29:28,510
Their prayers were all about
sparing the people from the judgment.

661
00:29:28,990 --> 00:29:31,590
And I think that's an
important thing to understand, is

662
00:29:31,590 --> 00:29:33,790
that it starts with
leadership, but it goes everywhere.

663
00:29:33,950 --> 00:29:37,070
Israel's condition isn't just
about Israel.

664
00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:39,720
It affects the reputation of
the Lord.

665
00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:41,160
That's what we see at the end
of verse 17.

666
00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:44,880
The whole culmination of this
is not just so that they could avoid

667
00:29:44,880 --> 00:29:45,400
judgment.

668
00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:49,440
The whole culmination of us
leading people to Christ is not just

669
00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:52,360
so that they all go to heaven,
even though that's a result of it.

670
00:29:52,360 --> 00:29:54,800
So if we went out to the
Middletown community and preached

671
00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:58,720
the gospel and a thousand
people got saved, that's a great

672
00:29:58,720 --> 00:29:59,040
day.

673
00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:00,280
That's an exciting day.

674
00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:02,440
That's a day that we should
all celebrate.

675
00:30:03,330 --> 00:30:04,970
And we would say, why are we
so excited?

676
00:30:04,970 --> 00:30:07,970
Well, a thousand people are
going to be going to heaven today.

677
00:30:08,210 --> 00:30:09,050
We know that now.

678
00:30:09,050 --> 00:30:10,970
We know that because they've
stamped their.

679
00:30:10,970 --> 00:30:12,930
Their sealed with the Holy Spirit.

680
00:30:12,930 --> 00:30:13,330
They're.

681
00:30:13,330 --> 00:30:15,090
They're good and we're excited.

682
00:30:15,170 --> 00:30:17,250
And I'm not downplaying that
part of it.

683
00:30:17,250 --> 00:30:18,690
I'm saying that that's a good thing.

684
00:30:18,769 --> 00:30:20,930
We should be excited when
other people are going to heaven,

685
00:30:21,010 --> 00:30:24,410
but we also should be excited
that God is going to get the glory

686
00:30:24,410 --> 00:30:25,730
for doing this right?

687
00:30:25,730 --> 00:30:27,730
It always points back to the
work of God.

688
00:30:28,460 --> 00:30:31,060
Because if I go out and I say,
hey, look, and I know sometimes you'll

689
00:30:31,060 --> 00:30:32,980
hear people say this, and I
know what they mean, but like, hey,

690
00:30:32,980 --> 00:30:35,860
look, brother, so and so went
out and saved 20 people today as

691
00:30:35,860 --> 00:30:36,500
he was visiting.

692
00:30:36,500 --> 00:30:38,300
You know, that person saved nobody.

693
00:30:38,460 --> 00:30:43,220
That was just a message that
was brought about as a vessel, as

694
00:30:43,220 --> 00:30:44,380
a messenger of God.

695
00:30:44,459 --> 00:30:45,980
It is God who does the saving.

696
00:30:46,300 --> 00:30:47,180
That's his business.

697
00:30:47,580 --> 00:30:50,980
So at the end of verse 17, he
says, wherefore should they say among

698
00:30:50,980 --> 00:30:52,540
the people, where is their God?

699
00:30:52,620 --> 00:30:58,780
The whole theme of this is
that the way that Israel reacts or

700
00:30:58,780 --> 00:31:04,260
repents or disobeys is
indicating the reputation of God's

701
00:31:04,260 --> 00:31:06,060
name among all the other nations.

702
00:31:06,700 --> 00:31:10,499
So the way that we respond to
the preaching of God's word is a

703
00:31:10,499 --> 00:31:12,060
testimony to people around us.

704
00:31:12,060 --> 00:31:13,060
That's what this is saying.

705
00:31:13,060 --> 00:31:16,780
So the world is looking at the
church and they have a lot of opinions.

706
00:31:17,580 --> 00:31:22,070
You know, all you got to do is
get on the Internet and see what

707
00:31:22,070 --> 00:31:23,470
people think about people at church.

708
00:31:23,870 --> 00:31:25,510
Well, they're a bunch of hypocrites.

709
00:31:25,510 --> 00:31:27,070
They're a bunch of, you know, thieves.

710
00:31:27,070 --> 00:31:28,230
They're a bunch of manipulators.

711
00:31:28,230 --> 00:31:31,470
And let me tell you, there are
hypocrites, thieves and manipulators

712
00:31:31,470 --> 00:31:32,310
within churches.

713
00:31:32,310 --> 00:31:32,790
We get that.

714
00:31:32,790 --> 00:31:33,790
We understand that.

715
00:31:33,790 --> 00:31:36,070
And I don't blame them for
thinking that, because that might

716
00:31:36,070 --> 00:31:36,910
be all they know.

717
00:31:36,990 --> 00:31:41,270
But the way that we respond to
the preaching of God's word is a

718
00:31:41,270 --> 00:31:43,070
testimony to those that are in
the world.

719
00:31:43,070 --> 00:31:46,820
Because if we say that God is
loving, but we're not loving, if

720
00:31:46,820 --> 00:31:51,220
we say, hey, we should trust
in God, he's trustworthy, but we're

721
00:31:51,220 --> 00:31:51,980
not trusting.

722
00:31:52,220 --> 00:31:54,380
That shows people that we're
not serious.

723
00:31:54,700 --> 00:31:58,460
God is not something real to
us, that it would change us.

724
00:31:59,020 --> 00:32:02,060
So the way that we affect the
people of this world as a testimony

725
00:32:02,060 --> 00:32:04,900
for God is that we point
everything back to him and we say,

726
00:32:04,900 --> 00:32:05,420
you know what?

727
00:32:05,500 --> 00:32:07,380
What we say, we believe.

728
00:32:07,380 --> 00:32:09,100
And what we believe we do.

729
00:32:09,420 --> 00:32:13,030
And that's the understanding
here in verse 17, that the way that

730
00:32:13,030 --> 00:32:16,470
they respond to this is going
to be an indication to the heathen

731
00:32:16,470 --> 00:32:19,110
out there in the world who God
truly is.

732
00:32:19,430 --> 00:32:21,510
Is he real, is he powerful?

733
00:32:22,070 --> 00:32:27,110
And we're going to see that,
that God is a God who is concerned

734
00:32:27,350 --> 00:32:30,230
about the way that we respond
to His Word.

735
00:32:30,870 --> 00:32:33,790
And so the Levites are
supposed to pray for the sparing

736
00:32:33,790 --> 00:32:35,150
of the people for judgment.

737
00:32:35,150 --> 00:32:37,590
And I think that we should
pray for the people in our community

738
00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:38,240
better.

739
00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:40,640
And rebellion to God, that's a
hard thing to do.

740
00:32:41,440 --> 00:32:47,200
For me, it's easy for me to
pray for people that I love, people

741
00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:49,840
that are in my family, people
that are within my church.

742
00:32:49,920 --> 00:32:52,360
But you give me someone who
doesn't believe what I believe, it's

743
00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:55,400
very hard for me to have
compassion on them because I'm like,

744
00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:55,840
well, you know what?

745
00:32:55,840 --> 00:32:58,400
It's their decision, it's
their rebellion.

746
00:32:58,480 --> 00:32:59,720
God's going to judge them.

747
00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:02,680
But really the biblical
response should be, yes, God will

748
00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:05,770
judge them, but, but I should
have enough compassion to share the

749
00:33:05,770 --> 00:33:08,970
word with them and pray for
their soul, to pray for the fact

750
00:33:08,970 --> 00:33:10,570
that they will come to Christ.

751
00:33:10,970 --> 00:33:13,690
You know, we talked about
Romans 13, about how we deal with

752
00:33:13,690 --> 00:33:14,010
government.

753
00:33:14,410 --> 00:33:18,530
And I'm, I, so I listen to all
my sermons, I go back and listen

754
00:33:18,530 --> 00:33:22,010
to my sermons and for good or
for bad, and then sometimes it's

755
00:33:22,010 --> 00:33:24,530
painful to go back and listen
to all the sermons, but I was listening

756
00:33:24,530 --> 00:33:26,730
to the sermon about Romans 13
and about the government.

757
00:33:26,730 --> 00:33:29,370
I'm like, man, there's
probably some government official

758
00:33:29,370 --> 00:33:31,970
that's watching this video and
they're very upset about me preaching

759
00:33:31,970 --> 00:33:33,890
that we shouldn't worship
government, that we should worship

760
00:33:33,890 --> 00:33:34,250
God.

761
00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:37,880
But, but one of the things
that I thought about is maybe I should

762
00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:38,640
have said this more.

763
00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:45,280
But I think personally, now if
you guys don't like this, you can,

764
00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:46,960
you can take it up with me later.

765
00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:50,239
I think we should be praying
for government officials who are

766
00:33:50,239 --> 00:33:51,360
against our policies.

767
00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:55,400
You know, I, I, we look at
people and I know that I, I know

768
00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:58,080
it probably riled some people
up, but there are people that I don't

769
00:33:58,080 --> 00:34:01,120
agree with politically and I
actually don't agree with morally.

770
00:34:01,640 --> 00:34:04,120
And I think that they're very
much in rebellion to God.

771
00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:08,320
But what would be right for me
to do is pray that God gets a hold

772
00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:11,120
of their heart and maybe pray
that someone can bring the gospel

773
00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:11,400
to them.

774
00:34:11,400 --> 00:34:15,600
There's actually a ministry in
Washington, D.C. that churches can

775
00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:20,640
support to have people go into
the offices of congressmen and congresswomen.

776
00:34:20,640 --> 00:34:24,600
And senators and give them the
gospel on both sides of the aisle.

777
00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:27,400
And folks, I'm going to tell
you that there are a lot of people

778
00:34:27,879 --> 00:34:30,919
in, in Washington, D.C. that
need Jesus Christ, okay?

779
00:34:30,999 --> 00:34:31,359
And.

780
00:34:31,359 --> 00:34:33,559
And I think we can all at
least say Amen to that.

781
00:34:33,959 --> 00:34:36,199
So this isn't a political
message, okay?

782
00:34:36,359 --> 00:34:37,679
It never should be.

783
00:34:37,679 --> 00:34:41,079
But what it is is that I think
we should be praying for those in

784
00:34:41,079 --> 00:34:44,799
this world that need Jesus
instead of saying, I hope that God

785
00:34:44,799 --> 00:34:46,559
brings down all the judgment
upon them.

786
00:34:46,559 --> 00:34:48,679
The reality is, is we should
be praying for them now.

787
00:34:48,759 --> 00:34:51,719
We should understand that
there's vindication in the fact that

788
00:34:51,719 --> 00:34:52,759
the day of the Lord is coming.

789
00:34:53,570 --> 00:34:56,210
I think that there are some
people, maybe you struggle with this,

790
00:34:56,450 --> 00:34:59,170
that it looks like that
person's getting away with this evil.

791
00:34:59,810 --> 00:35:00,330
No, they're.

792
00:35:00,330 --> 00:35:02,370
They're not believers in the
Lord, and it looks like they're getting

793
00:35:02,370 --> 00:35:03,010
away with it.

794
00:35:03,010 --> 00:35:06,090
I'm going to tell you that
there's no one, no one that's ever

795
00:35:06,090 --> 00:35:09,529
walked this earth that has
lived in rebellion to God that will

796
00:35:09,529 --> 00:35:10,290
get away with it.

797
00:35:10,850 --> 00:35:12,210
And that's something that we
have to understand.

798
00:35:12,290 --> 00:35:13,530
We know that our God is just.

799
00:35:13,530 --> 00:35:16,810
We know that one day God is
going to make all things right as

800
00:35:16,810 --> 00:35:18,130
he is making all things right now.

801
00:35:18,210 --> 00:35:20,890
And that's what Joel Chapter
two is all about, that this day of

802
00:35:20,890 --> 00:35:21,730
the Lord is coming.

803
00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:24,880
But instead of looking out and
saying, well, when is this day of

804
00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:25,480
the Lord coming?

805
00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:27,960
Is it coming next year?

806
00:35:28,040 --> 00:35:29,320
Is it coming tomorrow?

807
00:35:29,720 --> 00:35:30,960
What are we supposed to do?

808
00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:34,160
He very clearly tells us it's
not just about worrying about the

809
00:35:34,160 --> 00:35:36,400
darkness and worrying about
the earthquakes and worrying about

810
00:35:36,400 --> 00:35:38,840
this army and worrying about
all the judgment.

811
00:35:38,840 --> 00:35:42,560
He says the very simple way to
deal with all of this that is to

812
00:35:42,560 --> 00:35:47,120
come is come in verses 12 and
13 with a heart of repentance to

813
00:35:47,120 --> 00:35:48,520
get right with God right now.

814
00:35:49,060 --> 00:35:50,100
It's not about tomorrow.

815
00:35:50,500 --> 00:35:51,420
I'll get it right tomorrow.

816
00:35:51,420 --> 00:35:55,900
I remember as a teenager, I
would be sitting in these church

817
00:35:55,900 --> 00:35:59,300
services and I would hear the
preacher preaching.

818
00:35:59,300 --> 00:36:01,860
And I'm going to confess to
you something that I would say, okay?

819
00:36:02,100 --> 00:36:04,779
I would say, and I don't have
to confess this to you, but I'm going

820
00:36:04,779 --> 00:36:05,380
to tell you this.

821
00:36:05,460 --> 00:36:07,300
I would say when I'm.

822
00:36:07,780 --> 00:36:09,300
When I'm out of high school, okay?

823
00:36:09,300 --> 00:36:11,300
I just want to enjoy my high
school years.

824
00:36:11,460 --> 00:36:14,180
When I graduate, that's when
I'll turn my life over to Christ

825
00:36:14,740 --> 00:36:16,580
and I'll completely give it
all over to Him.

826
00:36:16,580 --> 00:36:18,020
And I always had an excuse.

827
00:36:18,020 --> 00:36:19,460
Next year, next year, next year.

828
00:36:19,860 --> 00:36:21,580
And then I got to Be in college.

829
00:36:21,580 --> 00:36:25,020
And then it was like, well,
when I get married, you know, there

830
00:36:25,020 --> 00:36:28,500
was always an excuse to put
off what God was calling me to do.

831
00:36:28,500 --> 00:36:29,540
Folks, there's.

832
00:36:29,540 --> 00:36:32,540
Oh, you could always find an
excuse to put off what God is speaking

833
00:36:32,540 --> 00:36:33,460
to you about right now.

834
00:36:33,860 --> 00:36:34,740
Don't put it off.

835
00:36:34,900 --> 00:36:36,220
Tomorrow's not guaranteed.

836
00:36:36,220 --> 00:36:37,140
And what does he say here?

837
00:36:37,140 --> 00:36:39,860
He starts out with chapter
two, with a blow the trumpet.

838
00:36:39,860 --> 00:36:43,510
Now, I. I think a while back,
we had the shofar that I got from

839
00:36:43,510 --> 00:36:45,990
Israel, and Nora blew it up
here in front of the church, or maybe

840
00:36:45,990 --> 00:36:46,390
she didn't.

841
00:36:46,390 --> 00:36:47,070
I can't remember.

842
00:36:47,310 --> 00:36:47,910
But there.

843
00:36:47,910 --> 00:36:48,270
There.

844
00:36:48,430 --> 00:36:49,430
There's the shofar.

845
00:36:49,430 --> 00:36:52,070
And I think about that shofar,
you know, being blown, warning the

846
00:36:52,070 --> 00:36:53,630
people, judgment is coming.

847
00:36:53,710 --> 00:36:54,430
Be ready.

848
00:36:54,830 --> 00:36:57,990
And I think that that's what
we have to do within our own circle.

849
00:36:57,990 --> 00:37:00,990
We have to say, hey, guys, the
time is at hand to get busy about

850
00:37:00,990 --> 00:37:01,870
the things of God.

851
00:37:02,910 --> 00:37:06,110
I think all of us know what it
means to play church.

852
00:37:07,130 --> 00:37:08,370
You know what I mean by
playing church.

853
00:37:08,370 --> 00:37:10,170
You know, I can come in, I can
do my thing.

854
00:37:10,250 --> 00:37:12,850
I can make sure all the
appearances are good, and I can just

855
00:37:12,850 --> 00:37:13,890
sit and play church.

856
00:37:13,890 --> 00:37:17,490
Folks, I think that we all can
look out in the world and see that

857
00:37:17,490 --> 00:37:19,050
it's time to stop playing church.

858
00:37:19,050 --> 00:37:21,370
We need to get busy about
things because things are getting

859
00:37:21,370 --> 00:37:22,330
real around us.

860
00:37:23,290 --> 00:37:26,050
The freedoms that we have
within our country, the religious

861
00:37:26,050 --> 00:37:28,730
liberties that we have in our
country are not guaranteed.

862
00:37:29,290 --> 00:37:31,970
And, folks, think about all
the freedoms that we have right now

863
00:37:31,970 --> 00:37:33,370
to go out and preach the word.

864
00:37:33,940 --> 00:37:35,860
There's no one coming and
trying to stop us here.

865
00:37:35,860 --> 00:37:39,220
Let's be busy about it now,
because tomorrow it might not be

866
00:37:39,220 --> 00:37:39,780
so free.

867
00:37:40,020 --> 00:37:42,740
And I'm not saying that means
we stop preaching, but I just mean

868
00:37:42,740 --> 00:37:45,380
that we need to take advantage
of the opportunities that we have

869
00:37:45,380 --> 00:37:45,940
right now.

870
00:37:46,500 --> 00:37:46,900
Let's.

871
00:37:46,900 --> 00:37:48,420
Let's be vigilant.

872
00:37:48,420 --> 00:37:50,940
Let's be stewards of the
blessings that God has given us.

873
00:37:50,940 --> 00:37:51,740
And so let's wake up.

874
00:37:51,740 --> 00:37:54,180
Let's revive our hearts to the Lord.

875
00:37:54,660 --> 00:37:56,740
So if you can take anything
with you here this evening.

876
00:37:56,980 --> 00:37:59,060
And starts out with verse one,
blow the trumpet.

877
00:37:59,210 --> 00:38:00,930
And then verse 15, he says,
blow the trumpet.

878
00:38:00,930 --> 00:38:02,010
There's a warning here.

879
00:38:02,250 --> 00:38:03,610
Verses 12 and 13.

880
00:38:04,170 --> 00:38:08,970
Turn your heart to the Lord
with fasting, with weeping, with

881
00:38:08,970 --> 00:38:09,450
mourning.

882
00:38:09,530 --> 00:38:13,130
Rend your hearts and not your
garments, and turn unto the Lord

883
00:38:13,130 --> 00:38:13,770
your God.

884
00:38:14,730 --> 00:38:18,210
This isn't a message for
people that are living in open rebellion

885
00:38:18,210 --> 00:38:20,770
to God, you know, struggling
with drugs and alcohol, even though

886
00:38:20,770 --> 00:38:23,650
this could be a message for
those types of people.

887
00:38:23,650 --> 00:38:26,980
I know I'm speaking to a
Sunday night church who is in some

888
00:38:26,980 --> 00:38:29,820
way desiring the Lord, who
would be considered to be faithful

889
00:38:29,820 --> 00:38:30,540
church people.

890
00:38:31,420 --> 00:38:33,300
So you say, well, what do you
think of us, Pastor?

891
00:38:33,300 --> 00:38:33,900
You think we're turn?

892
00:38:33,900 --> 00:38:37,140
No, I think all of us to some
degree need to turn our hearts to

893
00:38:37,140 --> 00:38:37,660
the Lord.

894
00:38:38,460 --> 00:38:41,220
All of us have to come to a
place and say, you know what, I was

895
00:38:41,220 --> 00:38:43,180
good today, but maybe I'm not
good tomorrow.

896
00:38:43,820 --> 00:38:46,700
Maybe I was committed to God
today, but I'm not committed to him

897
00:38:46,860 --> 00:38:47,500
in this.

898
00:38:48,140 --> 00:38:51,140
I don't know about you guys,
but for me I just think that we need

899
00:38:51,140 --> 00:38:53,020
to redeem the time because the
days are evil.

900
00:38:53,560 --> 00:38:57,040
And Joel, chapter two is all
about using the opportunity now to

901
00:38:57,040 --> 00:39:00,080
get right with God so that we
can affect as many people as we possibly

902
00:39:00,080 --> 00:39:01,240
can in the time that we have.

903
00:39:02,200 --> 00:39:03,880
You know, we never know how
much time we have.

904
00:39:04,440 --> 00:39:06,600
Tomorrow is not guaranteed for
any of us.

905
00:39:07,080 --> 00:39:09,559
I look around and I see a lot
of young people in the church.

906
00:39:09,640 --> 00:39:13,200
I see a lot of people in that
middle aged area.

907
00:39:13,200 --> 00:39:17,080
I see a lot of people that, as
the Bible calls it, are, well, mature

908
00:39:17,080 --> 00:39:17,720
in their years.

909
00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:19,240
It's a good thing, okay?

910
00:39:19,240 --> 00:39:21,240
It's a good thing that we have variety.

911
00:39:21,840 --> 00:39:24,120
And so sometimes we'll look at
someone who's been in a church for

912
00:39:24,120 --> 00:39:27,360
50, 60 years and say, well,
you know what, you know, maybe, maybe

913
00:39:27,360 --> 00:39:30,920
they've done most of their
ministry, you know, in the past.

914
00:39:30,920 --> 00:39:33,840
But I'm going to tell you that
if you have tomorrow, you have breath,

915
00:39:33,840 --> 00:39:34,880
there's an opportunity.

916
00:39:35,040 --> 00:39:37,200
And that's the same thing goes
for the young people.

917
00:39:37,360 --> 00:39:40,080
Young people, we look at a
young person's life and we assume

918
00:39:40,080 --> 00:39:41,640
they're going to have all
these years ahead of them.

919
00:39:41,640 --> 00:39:42,400
But we never know.

920
00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:43,760
We never know what's going to happen.

921
00:39:43,760 --> 00:39:45,520
We never know what God's
timetable is.

922
00:39:45,680 --> 00:39:48,040
So what I would encourage us
all to do is think about what can

923
00:39:48,040 --> 00:39:52,090
I do now to have my heart rend
before God, torn before God, open

924
00:39:52,090 --> 00:39:56,690
before God so that he can use
me to see these great things come

925
00:39:56,690 --> 00:39:57,090
to pass.

926
00:39:57,090 --> 00:40:00,330
And we'll come back next week
and we'll finish chapter two.

927
00:40:00,890 --> 00:40:03,330
There's these great things
from the Lord that he is going to

928
00:40:03,330 --> 00:40:05,130
bring about in this day of judgment.

929
00:40:05,530 --> 00:40:08,170
And then we see a famous
passage of the Holy Spirit.

930
00:40:08,170 --> 00:40:10,450
There's a prophecy of the Holy
Spirit that's going to be poured

931
00:40:10,450 --> 00:40:11,890
out upon God's people.

932
00:40:11,890 --> 00:40:15,290
And we know that in the book
of Acts, Peter alludes to this very

933
00:40:15,610 --> 00:40:17,930
chapter about the Holy Spirit
being poured out.

934
00:40:18,220 --> 00:40:19,900
And that's exciting to see.

935
00:40:19,900 --> 00:40:22,860
And we'll study that a little
bit more next week and then we'll

936
00:40:22,860 --> 00:40:25,540
look at chapter three,
judgment on Israel's Enemies.

937
00:40:25,540 --> 00:40:29,380
Because this, this book does
talk about a restoration of, of the

938
00:40:29,380 --> 00:40:30,300
nation of Israel.

939
00:40:30,460 --> 00:40:33,300
And we'll talk a little bit
more about how that fits into the

940
00:40:33,300 --> 00:40:37,260
end time perspective within
our, our belief system.

941
00:40:37,660 --> 00:40:39,580
But, but Joel is an important book.

942
00:40:39,580 --> 00:40:42,500
And if you want to take a
couple themes with it, just take

943
00:40:42,500 --> 00:40:45,970
the theme of, number one, the
day of the Lord, the certainty and

944
00:40:45,970 --> 00:40:51,170
the, and the complete and
utter destruction that comes with

945
00:40:51,170 --> 00:40:52,930
the day of the Lord, the
judgment of God.

946
00:40:53,010 --> 00:40:55,730
And then number two, the fact
that there's hope, the fact that

947
00:40:55,730 --> 00:40:57,090
there's salvation offered.

948
00:40:57,170 --> 00:41:02,570
And that's Joel 2:12 and 13,
that there is this hope that we can

949
00:41:02,570 --> 00:41:04,290
turn to him and find salvation.

950
00:41:04,770 --> 00:41:08,410
And I hope that's something
that you can celebrate in your own

951
00:41:08,410 --> 00:41:12,730
life, but then also use as a
fuel to share with other people around

952
00:41:12,730 --> 00:41:13,090
you.

953
00:41:13,940 --> 00:41:18,260
You know, I, I was so excited
this morning to hear, and I don't

954
00:41:18,260 --> 00:41:21,660
want to share too much, but
there was one individual that got

955
00:41:21,660 --> 00:41:26,100
up this morning and a while
ago I had a conversation with, with

956
00:41:26,100 --> 00:41:28,500
them and you know, it was
like, I'm not sure if this is something

957
00:41:28,500 --> 00:41:29,339
that I want in my life.

958
00:41:29,339 --> 00:41:30,820
I'm not 100% given over.

959
00:41:30,900 --> 00:41:35,580
And just to see that God can
take the, the insecurities and the

960
00:41:35,580 --> 00:41:36,980
doubts and just remove them.

961
00:41:37,540 --> 00:41:41,060
And that's an amazing thing to
see like that God is a God of clarity.

962
00:41:41,060 --> 00:41:42,420
He's a God of understanding.

963
00:41:42,800 --> 00:41:44,640
And if you're struggling with
some things in your life, you're

964
00:41:44,640 --> 00:41:45,120
not sure.

965
00:41:46,160 --> 00:41:47,920
Don't, don't, don't doubt him.

966
00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:48,640
Go to him.

967
00:41:48,640 --> 00:41:51,120
He's the one thing that we can
trust in in our life.

968
00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:55,720
A person might fail you, a
church might fail you, but at the

969
00:41:55,720 --> 00:41:57,440
end of the day, God never fails.

970
00:41:57,680 --> 00:42:00,480
And I encourage you to think
about that because I'm, I'm excited

971
00:42:00,480 --> 00:42:01,240
about God's work.

972
00:42:01,240 --> 00:42:03,800
What if, let's say, let's be,
let's dream right now.

973
00:42:03,800 --> 00:42:04,960
Let's just, let's dream.

974
00:42:05,120 --> 00:42:07,920
What if every single Sunday we
had people getting baptized?

975
00:42:08,330 --> 00:42:10,730
What if every single Sunday we
had people joining the church?

976
00:42:10,730 --> 00:42:12,090
You say that's impossible.

977
00:42:12,650 --> 00:42:15,450
Well, look back at the time of
the Book of Acts, okay?

978
00:42:15,530 --> 00:42:17,850
They were adding people daily
to the church.

979
00:42:18,090 --> 00:42:20,970
5000 one day say that's a mega church.

980
00:42:21,290 --> 00:42:22,410
Well, praise God.

981
00:42:22,410 --> 00:42:24,449
If we had 5,000 come up, we're
not going to turn them down.

982
00:42:24,449 --> 00:42:26,730
We're going to have to build a
new building or have multiple services.

983
00:42:27,130 --> 00:42:30,250
Folks that the same God that
was working in the Book of Acts is

984
00:42:30,250 --> 00:42:31,450
the same God that's working today.

985
00:42:31,690 --> 00:42:35,330
The same Gospel that changed
hearts back 2000 years ago is the

986
00:42:35,330 --> 00:42:36,570
same God that changes hearts today.

987
00:42:36,570 --> 00:42:37,170
He's the.

988
00:42:37,170 --> 00:42:39,330
It's the same power that
changed your heart.

989
00:42:39,810 --> 00:42:42,490
You might have gotten saved
when you were 5 years old or 50 years

990
00:42:42,490 --> 00:42:44,210
old, but it changed your heart.

991
00:42:44,610 --> 00:42:48,050
And think about that same
power that rose Jesus from the dead

992
00:42:48,050 --> 00:42:49,810
is the same power that's
living within us.

993
00:42:50,129 --> 00:42:51,450
And that's exciting for me.

994
00:42:51,450 --> 00:42:53,890
And I think that we should get
excited about the things of God.

995
00:42:54,130 --> 00:42:57,930
And so the end, the Judgment
day, the day of the Lord's not something

996
00:42:57,930 --> 00:42:58,770
that we should fear.

997
00:42:59,250 --> 00:43:02,390
It's something that should
spur us to serve God in the time

998
00:43:02,390 --> 00:43:03,030
that we have.

999
00:43:03,270 --> 00:43:05,590
Some people ask, how long do
you think we have?

1000
00:43:06,950 --> 00:43:08,070
I have no idea.

1001
00:43:08,070 --> 00:43:09,110
But I can tell you one thing.

1002
00:43:09,110 --> 00:43:11,030
I can tell you one thing for
sure, okay?

1003
00:43:11,030 --> 00:43:12,310
And I can stand on this.

1004
00:43:12,470 --> 00:43:15,990
We are closer today than we
were yesterday, Okay?

1005
00:43:15,990 --> 00:43:18,550
I can tell you that now, and I
can be confident in that.

1006
00:43:19,030 --> 00:43:21,550
But what I would say is that
let's not waste our time.

1007
00:43:21,550 --> 00:43:23,430
Let's be busy about the things
of God.

1008
00:43:23,590 --> 00:43:25,110
And so come on back.

1009
00:43:25,190 --> 00:43:26,590
We're going to study the Book
of Joel.

1010
00:43:26,590 --> 00:43:29,620
We're going to finish the Book
of Joel, Lord willing, if.

1011
00:43:29,620 --> 00:43:30,900
Unless the Lord stops us.

1012
00:43:31,060 --> 00:43:33,940
And then we're going to get to
a book called the Book of Amos.

1013
00:43:34,420 --> 00:43:37,780
Now, the, the minor prophets are.

1014
00:43:37,780 --> 00:43:38,620
It's a big chunk.

1015
00:43:38,620 --> 00:43:39,300
It's a big bite.

1016
00:43:39,300 --> 00:43:40,300
We got to get into it.

1017
00:43:40,300 --> 00:43:41,700
And I don't want to rush
through these things.

1018
00:43:41,940 --> 00:43:45,780
I want us to understand these
to the best of our ability because

1019
00:43:45,780 --> 00:43:48,100
I know sometimes it's easy to
go through the New Testament and

1020
00:43:48,100 --> 00:43:49,580
we need to go through the New Testament.

1021
00:43:49,580 --> 00:43:53,180
But these Bible says all
scripture is given by the inspiration

1022
00:43:53,180 --> 00:43:53,620
of God.

1023
00:43:53,620 --> 00:43:54,900
And we need these passages.

1024
00:43:54,900 --> 00:43:56,300
This, this strengthens us.

1025
00:43:56,300 --> 00:43:57,860
This bolsters our faith.

1026
00:43:57,940 --> 00:44:01,380
When we understand the Old
Testament perspective, the New Testament

1027
00:44:01,380 --> 00:44:02,500
perspective, we.

1028
00:44:02,500 --> 00:44:05,980
It helps us understand when,
when Peter says he quotes the Book

1029
00:44:05,980 --> 00:44:08,740
of Joel, you would never know
that he was quoting the Book of Joel

1030
00:44:08,740 --> 00:44:10,980
unless you understood that
it's there in the Book of Joel.

1031
00:44:11,140 --> 00:44:13,820
So it's not a matter of one's
more important than the other.

1032
00:44:13,820 --> 00:44:14,980
They strengthen each other.

1033
00:44:15,060 --> 00:44:17,660
And we're going to see that as
we go through these minor prophets.

1034
00:44:17,660 --> 00:44:20,820
And I hope it'll be
encouraging for you as we do it.