1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,040 I can tell you there's been a lot of things that God has been doing 2 00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:03,360 recently. 3 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,640 And I was reminded this morning with Brother Josiah's song, 4 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:07,520 God's been good. 5 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:11,640 And he has been so, so good to us in the church, and he's been good 6 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:12,880 to us in our lives. 7 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:17,840 Just recently, we're going to be starting a new ministry here at 8 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:18,320 our church. 9 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:21,440 And this, this started back in 2019. 10 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:24,600 We had a dear brother named Sean Tice, who is one of our missionaries, 11 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:25,360 come into our church. 12 00:00:25,750 --> 00:00:28,910 And he presented a heart for the fatherless. 13 00:00:28,910 --> 00:00:31,110 And it's obviously a problem within our country. 14 00:00:31,350 --> 00:00:34,710 You know, so many young people are growing up in homes without fathers, 15 00:00:34,950 --> 00:00:38,030 and the single moms need support and all that kind of stuff. 16 00:00:38,030 --> 00:00:41,390 And he came and presented back in 2019, I think it was. 17 00:00:41,390 --> 00:00:44,110 I'll have to go back in my records, but from that moment on, 18 00:00:44,110 --> 00:00:46,670 I was like, I believe that God is calling us to have a ministry 19 00:00:46,670 --> 00:00:49,790 like that here at our church and prayed over it, brought it up 20 00:00:49,790 --> 00:00:50,390 multiple times. 21 00:00:50,390 --> 00:00:53,550 And then year after year, I'm like, well, maybe, maybe I'm misunderstanding 22 00:00:53,550 --> 00:00:55,830 what the Lord is calling, because I'm not sure if, if this 23 00:00:55,830 --> 00:00:56,670 is going to catch. 24 00:00:56,830 --> 00:01:00,550 And not too long ago, I had two individuals come up to me in 25 00:01:00,550 --> 00:01:03,630 two different times and say, hey, I really want to do that ministry. 26 00:01:03,630 --> 00:01:05,270 So I'm so excited for that ministry starting. 27 00:01:05,270 --> 00:01:08,110 That was an answer to prayer, and that's a testimony I want to 28 00:01:08,110 --> 00:01:09,310 give to the Lord here tonight. 29 00:01:09,550 --> 00:01:13,470 Well, we're going to go ahead and start a new series here on Sunday 30 00:01:13,470 --> 00:01:17,430 nights for the foreseeable future, and we're going to be discussing 31 00:01:17,430 --> 00:01:19,270 some minor prophets. 32 00:01:19,270 --> 00:01:22,990 How many of you don't raise your hand, but are not as familiar 33 00:01:22,990 --> 00:01:25,950 with the minor prophets as maybe the New Testament or the major 34 00:01:25,950 --> 00:01:26,510 prophets? 35 00:01:26,510 --> 00:01:29,750 And when we use the word major and minor, it's not that the major 36 00:01:29,750 --> 00:01:31,910 prophets are more important than the minor prophets. 37 00:01:31,910 --> 00:01:34,990 It's really just all about the length of the book of the Bible. 38 00:01:35,470 --> 00:01:38,830 But in the minor prophets, there's a lot of rich teaching about 39 00:01:39,070 --> 00:01:42,870 what was happening then, and also obviously prophetic teaching 40 00:01:42,870 --> 00:01:43,870 of the day of the Lord. 41 00:01:43,870 --> 00:01:44,750 That is the common. 42 00:01:45,070 --> 00:01:46,670 We're going to start with the book of Joel. 43 00:01:46,670 --> 00:01:48,950 So if you have your Bibles here this evening, turn with me to 44 00:01:48,950 --> 00:01:49,630 the Book of Joel. 45 00:01:50,990 --> 00:01:53,310 For all of you that maybe aren't used to turning to the book 46 00:01:53,310 --> 00:01:56,070 of Joel, it's right after Hosea, and maybe Hosea you're more 47 00:01:56,070 --> 00:01:56,590 familiar with. 48 00:01:56,590 --> 00:02:00,030 That's more of a, a common prophet to be studying. 49 00:02:00,510 --> 00:02:03,870 We're going to look at, in, in this series, we're actually going 50 00:02:03,870 --> 00:02:07,070 to look at Joel, Amos and Obadiah, some really interesting 51 00:02:07,070 --> 00:02:07,470 ones. 52 00:02:07,790 --> 00:02:11,030 And the Book of Joel has really just three chapters. 53 00:02:11,030 --> 00:02:11,870 It's a short book. 54 00:02:12,710 --> 00:02:16,590 It's one of the 12 minor prophets, and it covers enormous 55 00:02:16,590 --> 00:02:18,310 amount of prophetic territory. 56 00:02:18,310 --> 00:02:21,710 Though one of the themes that you're going to see throughout the 57 00:02:21,710 --> 00:02:25,670 Book of Joel is this phrase, the day of the Lord. 58 00:02:25,990 --> 00:02:29,910 And really within this book, you really have two days of the Lord. 59 00:02:29,910 --> 00:02:33,670 And when we say day, we're not talking just about a literal 24 hour 60 00:02:33,670 --> 00:02:33,910 day. 61 00:02:33,910 --> 00:02:37,190 We're talking about a span of time in which God is going to do 62 00:02:37,190 --> 00:02:38,310 his work of judgment. 63 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:43,480 So we're actually in chapter one, going to be seeing a real live 64 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:46,920 day of the Lord happening in Judah during this time. 65 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:49,360 So it's, it's playing kind of two roles here. 66 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:52,920 It's telling us about a historical event and then it's also 67 00:02:52,920 --> 00:02:56,000 portraying what we believe is going to be the day of the Lord in 68 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:59,880 the future of God's judgment upon all of those who are in rebellion 69 00:02:59,880 --> 00:03:00,440 to him. 70 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:04,320 And how many of you, okay, you can raise your hand on this? 71 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:04,840 How many of you? 72 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:07,160 It makes you a little bit squeamish to talk about bugs. 73 00:03:08,450 --> 00:03:12,290 Okay, some of you, okay, well, I'm just going to give you a, a warning. 74 00:03:12,290 --> 00:03:14,850 We're going to be talking about locusts and bugs in this chapter, 75 00:03:14,850 --> 00:03:18,850 because chapter one is all about this huge locust swarm that 76 00:03:18,850 --> 00:03:23,290 comes into Judah and swarms the crops and obviously has huge 77 00:03:23,290 --> 00:03:27,130 implications upon the people there in Israel at the time. 78 00:03:27,130 --> 00:03:30,890 So the historical setting is Joel writing this to the people of 79 00:03:30,890 --> 00:03:31,250 Judah. 80 00:03:31,250 --> 00:03:35,940 We don't know there, there isn't a date that, or even any indication 81 00:03:35,940 --> 00:03:37,060 of when this was written. 82 00:03:37,060 --> 00:03:40,020 There's different commentators writing different things about this 83 00:03:40,020 --> 00:03:44,300 being pre exilic or post exelic, meaning when they were exiled 84 00:03:44,300 --> 00:03:44,860 to Babylon. 85 00:03:44,860 --> 00:03:48,180 But really the timing of the story isn't as important as the message 86 00:03:48,500 --> 00:03:51,940 that's being brought about here through this locust plague. 87 00:03:52,340 --> 00:03:55,620 And so we're going to see in chapter one this locust plague described, 88 00:03:55,620 --> 00:03:58,980 and this is where really Joel is warning the people that it's because 89 00:03:59,060 --> 00:04:02,780 of their rebellion to God that God is bringing this judgment upon 90 00:04:02,780 --> 00:04:03,060 them. 91 00:04:03,350 --> 00:04:06,270 And he talks about how they can be in repentance and turn back 92 00:04:06,270 --> 00:04:09,590 to the Lord and, and find his provision and protection. 93 00:04:10,230 --> 00:04:13,870 So there is a literal locust swarm that's happening here in chapter 94 00:04:13,870 --> 00:04:16,990 one, but also prophetic symbolism that's happening for the 95 00:04:16,990 --> 00:04:17,830 day of the Lord. 96 00:04:17,830 --> 00:04:20,310 So a good way to understand The Book of Joel. 97 00:04:20,310 --> 00:04:22,990 So as we're getting into this book, a good way to understand it 98 00:04:22,990 --> 00:04:27,030 is that there's a literal, historical locust judgment that's 99 00:04:27,030 --> 00:04:31,230 happening here in the book, but also God is using this historical 100 00:04:31,230 --> 00:04:36,190 event as a prophetic picture and a future greater judgment that 101 00:04:36,190 --> 00:04:37,110 is to happen. 102 00:04:37,350 --> 00:04:40,430 So we have to see this through some level of a prophetic viewpoint 103 00:04:40,430 --> 00:04:44,830 as we look into the Book of Joel, but also with the viewpoint 104 00:04:44,830 --> 00:04:46,230 of the day of the Lord and judgment. 105 00:04:46,230 --> 00:04:49,990 There's also in chapter two, a lot of allusions to salvation, about 106 00:04:50,070 --> 00:04:52,310 having a heart turned over to God. 107 00:04:52,710 --> 00:04:56,180 He talks about in chapter two, not just one, rending their clothes, 108 00:04:56,180 --> 00:04:57,380 but rending their heart. 109 00:04:57,380 --> 00:04:59,660 And you'll know what that means as we get into it. 110 00:04:59,660 --> 00:05:03,100 But really, the call for the people there in Israel was to come 111 00:05:03,100 --> 00:05:04,260 to a place of repentance. 112 00:05:04,500 --> 00:05:07,940 And one of the ways that they would have shown their repentance 113 00:05:07,940 --> 00:05:10,740 to God was by rending their clothes, tearing their clothes. 114 00:05:11,460 --> 00:05:14,220 But what he's going to talk about here is it's more than just 115 00:05:14,220 --> 00:05:18,140 an outward act of rending our clothes or putting sackcloth and 116 00:05:18,140 --> 00:05:22,120 ashes on, but it's also about our heart being broken over the sins 117 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:22,960 that we commit. 118 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:25,920 And so here in the Book of Joel, we're going to see a lot about 119 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:27,040 that as well. 120 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:30,920 And I hope that it'll be a blessing for you as we look at things 121 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:34,000 that happened in the past, things that are happening now, and 122 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:37,440 ultimately what we believe is things that are to come in the judgment 123 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:39,600 of God that's coming to the world. 124 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:44,320 So let's go ahead and go to Joel, Chapter one, and we're going 125 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:47,080 to just go through the first section here tonight, and we're going 126 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:50,670 to look at Joel's writings here and his warning to the people 127 00:05:50,670 --> 00:05:53,550 of why they're going through, what they're going through. 128 00:05:53,870 --> 00:05:57,390 And I think for all of us that are living in the world today, and 129 00:05:57,390 --> 00:06:00,750 if we are aware of what's going on around us, there's certainly 130 00:06:00,750 --> 00:06:04,350 a lot of things that our country, our, our own, you know, 131 00:06:04,350 --> 00:06:07,630 Christian Fellowship should be aware of that's happening around 132 00:06:07,630 --> 00:06:07,870 us. 133 00:06:07,870 --> 00:06:10,350 And we, we are calling for revival. 134 00:06:10,350 --> 00:06:12,030 Obviously, I think that all of us would agree. 135 00:06:12,030 --> 00:06:16,100 We want revival in our country, we want revival in our churches, 136 00:06:16,100 --> 00:06:19,860 we want revival in our homes, we want revival in our hearts. 137 00:06:20,500 --> 00:06:22,740 But where revival is, so is repentance. 138 00:06:22,740 --> 00:06:25,700 Repentance is always married to revival because we can't have 139 00:06:25,700 --> 00:06:29,220 revival, we can't have that renewed focus unless we turn away 140 00:06:29,220 --> 00:06:31,220 from the things that are pulling us away from that Focus. 141 00:06:31,700 --> 00:06:35,100 So here in the book of Joel, he is going to emphasize repentance 142 00:06:35,100 --> 00:06:39,180 and the need for repentance to come to a place of restoration before 143 00:06:39,180 --> 00:06:39,700 the Lord. 144 00:06:39,700 --> 00:06:44,030 So really, the first four verses is him calling to the people 145 00:06:44,030 --> 00:06:48,190 to remember the devastation of what's happened here in this locust 146 00:06:48,750 --> 00:06:49,310 swarm. 147 00:06:49,550 --> 00:06:52,550 And really what the call for us in our own life is to do is to 148 00:06:52,550 --> 00:06:55,070 remember the devastation that sin brings in our life. 149 00:06:55,470 --> 00:07:01,030 So often we forget about the devastating elements of sin sometimes 150 00:07:01,030 --> 00:07:04,790 when we're in that punishment, when we're in that difficulty, when 151 00:07:04,790 --> 00:07:08,800 we're in that trial, we're not tempted to think about how sin is 152 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:09,000 good. 153 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:11,920 But when we're kind of out of that and we've received forgiveness 154 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:14,360 and we've walked a little bit farther on in our Christian walk, 155 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:16,440 we've sometimes forgotten about the. 156 00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:19,320 The difficulty and the devastation that we faced with that 157 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:19,680 sin. 158 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:21,720 So the first step here is devastation. 159 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:25,640 He says the word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel. 160 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:26,200 So. 161 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:26,680 So don't. 162 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:28,440 Joel doesn't begin with his opinion. 163 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:30,120 He says that this is the word of the Lord. 164 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:32,160 And that's how the prophets start out as well. 165 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:35,160 I think you understand that the prophets aren't just talking 166 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:36,120 about their opinions. 167 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:38,000 They're not just talking about their experiences. 168 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:41,800 But really, we believe that the Old Testament prophets are speaking 169 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:42,880 forth the word of God. 170 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:45,360 They are the ones that are the mouthpiece for God at that time. 171 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:49,080 And so this is an important approach as we look at this book, 172 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:52,080 because we have to understand this isn't just Joel's interpretation 173 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:53,120 of what he sees. 174 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:56,520 This is God speaking through him, and this is the message that 175 00:07:56,520 --> 00:07:57,040 he's bringing. 176 00:07:57,040 --> 00:07:59,440 So the authority of the message doesn't come from Joel. 177 00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:00,920 It comes from God. 178 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:03,240 And that's really, in any sense, when anyone's bringing forth 179 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:06,390 the word of God, the authority and the. 180 00:08:06,390 --> 00:08:10,350 The power of that message is not in the person delivering the 181 00:08:10,350 --> 00:08:10,710 message. 182 00:08:10,710 --> 00:08:14,110 It's in the message that God is bringing and the source of that 183 00:08:14,110 --> 00:08:14,550 message. 184 00:08:14,790 --> 00:08:16,870 So in verse two, he says, hear this. 185 00:08:17,270 --> 00:08:19,270 I love that phrase there. 186 00:08:19,670 --> 00:08:21,190 He's basically saying, listen up. 187 00:08:21,510 --> 00:08:23,350 I don't know of any of you that have had kids. 188 00:08:24,150 --> 00:08:27,430 You talk to them and you wonder if they're actually listening 189 00:08:27,430 --> 00:08:27,830 to you. 190 00:08:28,390 --> 00:08:29,550 I'm always like, look at me. 191 00:08:29,550 --> 00:08:30,550 I want to see your eyes. 192 00:08:31,110 --> 00:08:31,310 That's. 193 00:08:31,310 --> 00:08:32,630 That's what Joel is saying here. 194 00:08:32,630 --> 00:08:33,750 He's like, listen up. 195 00:08:33,750 --> 00:08:39,190 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear all ye inhabitants of the 196 00:08:39,190 --> 00:08:39,510 land. 197 00:08:40,550 --> 00:08:42,750 I want to stop there because I want you to see something. 198 00:08:42,750 --> 00:08:46,670 He calls for everyone to pay attention, the old men, all the inhabitants 199 00:08:46,670 --> 00:08:50,550 of the land, and as we're going to see here, the future generations. 200 00:08:51,110 --> 00:08:55,390 He, he says, hath this been in your days or even in the days of 201 00:08:55,390 --> 00:08:56,230 your fathers? 202 00:08:56,640 --> 00:08:59,880 Tell ye your children of it and let your children tell their 203 00:08:59,880 --> 00:09:02,960 children and their children another generation. 204 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:03,880 What is he saying here? 205 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:07,120 Well, there's a, I believe, a discipleship connection here. 206 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:11,160 He says, hey, you need to not only remember yourselves what's happened 207 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:14,120 before you and what's happening now, but you need to pass 208 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:15,680 this on to the next generation. 209 00:09:15,680 --> 00:09:18,400 You need to pass this on to your children, your children's children, 210 00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:19,920 your children's children's children. 211 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:20,280 Right? 212 00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:22,240 And all the generations that come before. 213 00:09:23,090 --> 00:09:26,410 And so this was something very important for Joel and ultimately 214 00:09:26,410 --> 00:09:28,010 for the Lord to get across to these people. 215 00:09:28,010 --> 00:09:29,330 And it's important for us today. 216 00:09:29,890 --> 00:09:32,490 This isn't just an inconvenience that they're facing. 217 00:09:32,490 --> 00:09:35,850 This is an impact that not only should affect them and their 218 00:09:35,850 --> 00:09:38,450 own life, but it should affect generations to come. 219 00:09:38,450 --> 00:09:42,450 And I want to stop here and talk about the importance of us telling 220 00:09:42,690 --> 00:09:46,850 the next generation what it means to follow God and then the 221 00:09:46,850 --> 00:09:48,610 dangers of not following God. 222 00:09:49,670 --> 00:09:53,550 I think that so many times we want to sugarcoat our mistakes, and 223 00:09:53,550 --> 00:09:54,870 I understand why we do that. 224 00:09:55,430 --> 00:09:57,590 You know, I don't want to get up here and tell you all the problems 225 00:09:57,590 --> 00:09:58,550 that I've had in my life. 226 00:09:58,550 --> 00:10:01,270 My parents are here, so if you really want to know all that, just 227 00:10:01,270 --> 00:10:02,470 talk to them after the service. 228 00:10:02,710 --> 00:10:05,510 And please don't tell too many bad stories about me. 229 00:10:05,830 --> 00:10:09,550 But, you know, I get, I get we have to be careful, right? 230 00:10:09,550 --> 00:10:11,950 Because we don't want to tell everyone and glorify the sin that 231 00:10:11,950 --> 00:10:14,070 we've had in our past and the devastation thereof. 232 00:10:14,350 --> 00:10:17,830 But also I do believe that there is an importance to warn the 233 00:10:17,830 --> 00:10:21,710 next generation of the devastation of a sin filled fleshly 234 00:10:21,710 --> 00:10:22,030 life. 235 00:10:22,430 --> 00:10:24,550 And I think that so many times, at least when I was growing 236 00:10:24,550 --> 00:10:26,990 up, my parents would tell me, you know, don't do that. 237 00:10:26,990 --> 00:10:29,070 And I would say, they just don't want me to have fun. 238 00:10:29,630 --> 00:10:29,910 Right? 239 00:10:29,910 --> 00:10:30,229 I would. 240 00:10:30,229 --> 00:10:32,310 Then I'd hear the preacher preach the same thing at chapel, 241 00:10:32,310 --> 00:10:32,750 at school. 242 00:10:32,830 --> 00:10:34,470 Well, you know, you need to stay away from that thing. 243 00:10:34,470 --> 00:10:35,950 Well, they just, they don't understand. 244 00:10:36,110 --> 00:10:38,150 They, they, they, they don't care about me. 245 00:10:38,150 --> 00:10:39,550 They just want me not to have fun. 246 00:10:39,910 --> 00:10:43,710 No, there was a real warning behind those things that they were 247 00:10:43,710 --> 00:10:45,830 sharing that, hey, you don't want to have to go through this. 248 00:10:46,630 --> 00:10:48,510 I've shared this analogy with you guys before. 249 00:10:48,510 --> 00:10:50,630 But in Florida, there's. 250 00:10:50,630 --> 00:10:52,910 What we have is venomous snakes, okay? 251 00:10:52,910 --> 00:10:54,150 There's venomous snakes everywhere. 252 00:10:54,310 --> 00:10:57,390 We live by a lake, and so there's water moccasins, there's 253 00:10:57,390 --> 00:10:59,510 coral snakes, there's rattlesnakes, there's all these different 254 00:10:59,510 --> 00:11:03,950 snakes around and other scaly creatures that, you know, get into 255 00:11:03,950 --> 00:11:04,870 your house sometimes. 256 00:11:05,270 --> 00:11:06,870 And so you had to be careful, right? 257 00:11:07,100 --> 00:11:08,100 But I didn't have to go up. 258 00:11:08,100 --> 00:11:09,740 Let's say a rattlesnake was right there, okay? 259 00:11:09,740 --> 00:11:10,780 And it's got a rattle on it. 260 00:11:10,780 --> 00:11:13,180 And my dad said, hey, that snake that has a rattle on it, if 261 00:11:13,180 --> 00:11:15,780 it bites you, you're going to be in big, big trouble, okay? 262 00:11:15,780 --> 00:11:17,420 You're going to have to go to the hospital, you're going to have 263 00:11:17,420 --> 00:11:19,620 to get anti venom and, you know, get taken care of. 264 00:11:19,620 --> 00:11:20,700 It might even take your life. 265 00:11:20,940 --> 00:11:24,100 I didn't have to go and say, okay, well, Dad, I, I believe you, 266 00:11:24,100 --> 00:11:27,340 but I got to really experience this bite before I can really understand 267 00:11:27,340 --> 00:11:27,660 it. 268 00:11:27,660 --> 00:11:30,660 No, I can learn from the warnings that someone has come before 269 00:11:30,660 --> 00:11:32,780 me to know that I need to stay away from that. 270 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:34,440 That's what Joel is talking about here. 271 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:38,480 He says, guys, you need to pass on to the next generation the 272 00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:41,520 implication of a life that is away from God. 273 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:45,040 This wasn't just like, hey, warn them or you're going to lose 274 00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:45,360 your food. 275 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:48,839 He says, no, this is a day of the Lord that you need to warn against. 276 00:11:48,839 --> 00:11:50,720 And so there's a discipleship principle here. 277 00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:54,760 God's people are supposed to remember and teach what God has done 278 00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:58,880 in ways of blessing, also in ways of discipline. 279 00:11:59,970 --> 00:12:02,650 God shows that he loves his family by discipline them. 280 00:12:02,650 --> 00:12:05,450 I show that I love my children because I discipline them. 281 00:12:05,450 --> 00:12:06,850 That's part of the love process. 282 00:12:07,650 --> 00:12:11,250 But also we should explain to the next generation that there are 283 00:12:11,250 --> 00:12:14,250 things that we can learn that we can build upon that, you know, 284 00:12:14,250 --> 00:12:17,210 fit beautifully into this message that Joel is talking about 285 00:12:17,210 --> 00:12:21,010 here, that you don't have to fall into the trap of this, of this 286 00:12:21,010 --> 00:12:21,410 sin. 287 00:12:22,130 --> 00:12:25,010 So what God teaches one generation should be intentionally 288 00:12:25,420 --> 00:12:26,540 passed down to the next. 289 00:12:26,780 --> 00:12:28,220 I think that's so, so important. 290 00:12:28,220 --> 00:12:31,020 I'm thankful for people that shared the truth with me. 291 00:12:31,020 --> 00:12:33,820 I'm thankful for my dad and my mom. 292 00:12:33,820 --> 00:12:36,380 I'm thankful for my grandparents who were a testimony 293 00:12:36,380 --> 00:12:36,900 before me. 294 00:12:36,900 --> 00:12:39,260 I'm thankful for people that shared the faith with them. 295 00:12:39,260 --> 00:12:40,780 I'm thankful for my Sunday school teachers. 296 00:12:40,780 --> 00:12:43,340 And by the way, if you're a Sunday school teacher to a child, 297 00:12:43,340 --> 00:12:47,060 you might not understand that that child is learning something. 298 00:12:47,060 --> 00:12:48,820 And maybe they're not indicating that they're learning 299 00:12:48,820 --> 00:12:51,300 something, but that is being implanted in their minds and in their 300 00:12:51,300 --> 00:12:51,660 hearts. 301 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:55,560 If you're teaching a class or if you have a ministry, those are 302 00:12:55,560 --> 00:12:58,600 important ministries because it's the cumulative effect that's 303 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:01,640 building into the life of these people that are learning and 304 00:13:01,640 --> 00:13:03,520 formulating the way to think and the way to live. 305 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:07,080 So he says here in verses two and three, warn the next generation 306 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:08,400 about what has happened. 307 00:13:08,640 --> 00:13:11,680 Then we see here in verse number four, he starts to describe 308 00:13:11,680 --> 00:13:13,080 this devastation. 309 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:17,120 He says, that which the Palmer worm hath left half the locusts eaten. 310 00:13:17,770 --> 00:13:21,290 And that which the locusts have left hath the canker worm eaten. 311 00:13:21,690 --> 00:13:25,050 And that which the canker worm hath left half the caterpillar eaten. 312 00:13:25,130 --> 00:13:27,530 So if one thing left another thing, the other thing ate it. 313 00:13:28,410 --> 00:13:28,770 And. 314 00:13:28,770 --> 00:13:31,130 And so what he's saying here is that there is nothing left. 315 00:13:32,330 --> 00:13:35,370 These, these things that were eating the. 316 00:13:35,370 --> 00:13:37,530 The crops were just devastating. 317 00:13:37,770 --> 00:13:41,690 One wave consumed the part, and then the next wave consumed what 318 00:13:41,690 --> 00:13:42,170 was left. 319 00:13:42,330 --> 00:13:44,930 And so we saw that happening there four different times. 320 00:13:44,930 --> 00:13:48,970 And we see really that this is a picture and of God's overall judgment 321 00:13:48,970 --> 00:13:50,010 upon the wicked. 322 00:13:50,570 --> 00:13:54,290 And if this is what the locusts could do, imagine what the 323 00:13:54,290 --> 00:13:57,450 true day of the Lord is going to be when God comes in judgment. 324 00:13:57,930 --> 00:14:01,290 By the way, I think that's part of also a need for us within 325 00:14:01,290 --> 00:14:04,530 our evangelistic outreach at our church, right? 326 00:14:04,530 --> 00:14:07,970 If we don't truly believe that there is a judgment that truly is 327 00:14:07,970 --> 00:14:10,290 coming to those who are unsaved, we're not going to have 328 00:14:10,290 --> 00:14:12,090 a passion to share our faith with other people. 329 00:14:12,330 --> 00:14:15,010 But if we truly understand that there is going to be a day of 330 00:14:15,010 --> 00:14:18,070 the Lord and there is going to be a judgment upon all those that 331 00:14:18,070 --> 00:14:21,190 are in rebellion to him, that should give us a passion and a fervor 332 00:14:21,190 --> 00:14:21,870 to say, you know what? 333 00:14:21,870 --> 00:14:23,910 I don't want to get distracted from the things in this world. 334 00:14:23,910 --> 00:14:26,670 I don't want to look at all these things that really don't matter 335 00:14:26,670 --> 00:14:30,430 and take up all of my time and miss the message of the hope of the 336 00:14:30,430 --> 00:14:32,070 gospel to all those around us. 337 00:14:32,070 --> 00:14:32,510 And he's. 338 00:14:32,510 --> 00:14:33,710 So basically, he says, wake up. 339 00:14:33,710 --> 00:14:36,350 Verse five, awake ye drunkards. 340 00:14:36,910 --> 00:14:39,550 Using some strong words here, he says, you guys are intoxicated. 341 00:14:39,950 --> 00:14:42,270 He says, awake, ye drunkards, and weep. 342 00:14:43,390 --> 00:14:44,310 There's a time to weep. 343 00:14:44,310 --> 00:14:45,750 There's a time to be broken. 344 00:14:45,750 --> 00:14:47,670 They need to be broken over their sin. 345 00:14:47,670 --> 00:14:49,670 They need to be broken over their apathy. 346 00:14:49,670 --> 00:14:53,830 And he says, and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the 347 00:14:53,830 --> 00:14:56,510 new wine, for it is cut off from your mouth. 348 00:14:56,750 --> 00:15:00,670 For a nation has come up upon my land and strong and without number, 349 00:15:00,830 --> 00:15:05,390 whose teeth are like teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth 350 00:15:05,390 --> 00:15:06,430 of a great lion. 351 00:15:06,910 --> 00:15:07,750 So what is he. 352 00:15:07,750 --> 00:15:08,830 What are you talking about here? 353 00:15:09,180 --> 00:15:11,900 What we say, number one, that the people that are living in this 354 00:15:11,900 --> 00:15:14,140 sin need to break away from this. 355 00:15:15,260 --> 00:15:19,260 They need to understand that their self indulgence has led them 356 00:15:19,260 --> 00:15:20,980 to a place of judgment. 357 00:15:20,980 --> 00:15:23,620 And then he says, hey, you guys are spiritually asleep. 358 00:15:23,620 --> 00:15:25,900 So he says, wake up, wake up. 359 00:15:27,660 --> 00:15:31,220 You know, there's times in my life that I think all of you have 360 00:15:31,220 --> 00:15:33,900 probably had where you see somebody, they're not paying attention 361 00:15:33,900 --> 00:15:34,700 to what they're doing. 362 00:15:35,740 --> 00:15:38,220 And we know that sometimes people have to hit what we call rock 363 00:15:38,220 --> 00:15:39,820 bottom before them for them to understand. 364 00:15:40,300 --> 00:15:42,980 But a lot of times in our life, we love someone so much that 365 00:15:42,980 --> 00:15:46,100 we want to say, wake up to what you're doing in your life or 366 00:15:46,100 --> 00:15:47,220 what you're not doing in your life. 367 00:15:47,220 --> 00:15:48,460 And you're missing the point. 368 00:15:48,460 --> 00:15:49,660 And so he says, wake up. 369 00:15:49,980 --> 00:15:51,100 Wake up to this. 370 00:15:51,179 --> 00:15:54,140 This what you think is comfort, but really it's apathy. 371 00:15:55,020 --> 00:15:58,420 Spiritual comfort is different than just laying back and saying, 372 00:15:58,420 --> 00:16:01,020 well, what I'm going to do whatever I want to do to make myself 373 00:16:01,020 --> 00:16:01,500 feel good. 374 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:07,040 And sometimes that desire for comfort above conformity to the Lord 375 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:09,360 brings us to a place of spiritual danger. 376 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:13,640 Sometimes God is going to allow circumstances to disrupt our 377 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:15,520 comfort so that we will wake up. 378 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:16,320 I don't want. 379 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:18,920 I personally don't want to get to that point in my life where God 380 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:19,840 has to wake me up. 381 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:22,960 I think all of you probably don't want that either. 382 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:25,960 But there is a time and a place in our life to actually pray 383 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:29,520 for people, to have God wake them up because it's gotten so bad. 384 00:16:30,020 --> 00:16:34,060 And we're in a place here in the book of Joel that Joel is telling 385 00:16:34,060 --> 00:16:38,020 these people from God to wake up and be aware of what is coming. 386 00:16:38,020 --> 00:16:40,660 And he says, hey, there is a nation that is come up. 387 00:16:42,260 --> 00:16:46,340 Joel describes the locust almost like a military invasion. 388 00:16:46,740 --> 00:16:49,980 And he describes them as having teeth like in a lion, a destructive 389 00:16:49,980 --> 00:16:50,340 power. 390 00:16:50,820 --> 00:16:55,020 He says in verse seven, he have laid my vine waist and barked 391 00:16:55,020 --> 00:16:58,020 my fig tree, and he hath made it clean bare and cast it away in 392 00:16:58,020 --> 00:17:00,820 the branches and thereof are made white. 393 00:17:01,940 --> 00:17:04,260 He says, it's like a lion that comes and consumes us. 394 00:17:04,260 --> 00:17:07,380 And we even know that there's going to be times in our life that 395 00:17:07,460 --> 00:17:11,380 we, we need to understand the obviously the danger of the enemy. 396 00:17:11,700 --> 00:17:12,020 Right? 397 00:17:12,020 --> 00:17:12,340 I think. 398 00:17:12,340 --> 00:17:14,660 I think we all need to understand that Satan is like a lion 399 00:17:15,140 --> 00:17:17,060 walking about seeking whom he may devour. 400 00:17:17,540 --> 00:17:20,540 But also at the same time, we need to have a healthy respect and 401 00:17:20,540 --> 00:17:23,460 fear for God and his righteousness in our own life. 402 00:17:23,540 --> 00:17:25,820 And if we walk around just saying, well, God doesn't care, he 403 00:17:25,820 --> 00:17:27,960 loves us, we can just go do what we want to do. 404 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:31,320 That is obviously not what God wants us to be doing. 405 00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:34,400 He wants us to live in a healthy fear and respect for his 406 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:35,000 judgment. 407 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:40,400 Now, obviously, as believers, we have no more condemnation, but 408 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:43,560 there is going to be a time in our life where we have to come to 409 00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:46,080 grips with what we're doing and what we believe about God. 410 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:49,680 And so he says in verse number seven that he gives this vine and 411 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:54,430 fig tree analogy, and this vine and fig tree analogy can symbolize 412 00:17:54,430 --> 00:17:58,550 probably Israel's prosperity and blessing going away because of 413 00:17:58,550 --> 00:17:59,390 this judgment. 414 00:17:59,390 --> 00:18:02,190 Now, I don't think it only has to deal with economic blessings, 415 00:18:02,510 --> 00:18:05,310 but I do believe it's the blessings of God being pulled away 416 00:18:05,310 --> 00:18:09,910 because of their rebellion, because of their disobedience to 417 00:18:09,910 --> 00:18:10,270 God. 418 00:18:10,670 --> 00:18:11,310 You know what? 419 00:18:11,390 --> 00:18:13,470 I'm again talking about it this morning. 420 00:18:13,470 --> 00:18:14,630 I'm thankful to be an American. 421 00:18:14,630 --> 00:18:18,510 I'm thankful to live in a country that to some degree is still 422 00:18:19,220 --> 00:18:22,700 focused on the things of God, even though obviously we're not what 423 00:18:22,700 --> 00:18:23,340 we used to be. 424 00:18:23,340 --> 00:18:24,980 And there's a lot of concern with that. 425 00:18:25,220 --> 00:18:29,260 But at the same time, many of the freedoms that we have religiously 426 00:18:29,260 --> 00:18:32,620 and across the board when it comes to the government, those are 427 00:18:32,620 --> 00:18:33,540 not guaranteed. 428 00:18:33,620 --> 00:18:35,260 We know that people gave their life for that. 429 00:18:35,260 --> 00:18:37,140 There was sacrifice for these freedoms. 430 00:18:37,460 --> 00:18:40,100 In the same time, as a Christian, we just sometimes take 431 00:18:40,100 --> 00:18:42,820 for granted what we have in our life as freedom. 432 00:18:42,820 --> 00:18:45,810 And what he's saying here is he says, wake up, because these things 433 00:18:45,810 --> 00:18:47,290 can be taken away from us. 434 00:18:47,850 --> 00:18:50,170 These, these are not guaranteed in our life. 435 00:18:50,970 --> 00:18:54,850 Verse 8, he says, lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for 436 00:18:54,850 --> 00:18:56,250 the husband of her youth. 437 00:18:57,370 --> 00:19:01,250 Joel uses an imagery of a young lady mourning the death of 438 00:19:01,250 --> 00:19:03,330 her husband in an early place in her life. 439 00:19:03,330 --> 00:19:07,290 And the grief should be, rightfully, should be deep, personal, 440 00:19:08,810 --> 00:19:09,610 devastating. 441 00:19:10,420 --> 00:19:12,620 He says, that's the kind of sorrow that you should have because 442 00:19:12,620 --> 00:19:14,340 of the sin that you guys are living in. 443 00:19:15,060 --> 00:19:17,340 And, you know, I, I, I struggle with this sometimes. 444 00:19:17,340 --> 00:19:21,780 I struggle over not necessarily celebrating sin, but 445 00:19:21,780 --> 00:19:25,300 not being so broken hearted over sin because we get so used to 446 00:19:25,300 --> 00:19:25,380 it. 447 00:19:25,380 --> 00:19:26,420 We're around it so much. 448 00:19:27,140 --> 00:19:31,180 It's, it's in our workplaces, we turn on the tv, it's everywhere 449 00:19:31,180 --> 00:19:31,540 we go. 450 00:19:31,540 --> 00:19:34,060 It's right in front of us, and we just get to a place in our life 451 00:19:34,060 --> 00:19:37,100 where we become numb to the things that are against the things 452 00:19:37,100 --> 00:19:37,620 of God. 453 00:19:38,570 --> 00:19:41,450 And I'm not saying that we have to walk around all day weeping 454 00:19:41,450 --> 00:19:44,650 and crying, but there is a healthy time and a place to identify 455 00:19:44,650 --> 00:19:47,650 the dangers and the pain of sin in our life. 456 00:19:47,650 --> 00:19:51,210 And so he says in verse number eight to lament. 457 00:19:51,690 --> 00:19:57,410 But then he goes on in verses nine and ten, and he says that the 458 00:19:57,410 --> 00:20:00,370 meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house 459 00:20:00,370 --> 00:20:00,850 of the Lord. 460 00:20:00,850 --> 00:20:05,060 The priests, the Lord's ministers, mourn, the field is wasted, 461 00:20:05,220 --> 00:20:09,580 the land mourneth for the corn is wasted, the new wine is dried 462 00:20:09,580 --> 00:20:11,060 up, and the oil languished. 463 00:20:11,380 --> 00:20:12,460 What's he talking about here? 464 00:20:12,460 --> 00:20:15,460 Well, this is, I believe, one of the most important parts of this 465 00:20:15,460 --> 00:20:15,940 chapter. 466 00:20:16,500 --> 00:20:17,620 Why is this significant? 467 00:20:17,940 --> 00:20:23,380 Because Israel's agriculture, their devastation of these locusts, 468 00:20:23,540 --> 00:20:28,980 have now affected not only their food supply and their material 469 00:20:29,060 --> 00:20:31,300 life, but it's also affected their worship. 470 00:20:31,860 --> 00:20:34,100 Right, you see that there, Their meat offering and their drink 471 00:20:34,100 --> 00:20:36,020 offering are cut off from the house of the Lord. 472 00:20:36,100 --> 00:20:40,580 They've now allowed this physical, tangible issue of the locust 473 00:20:40,740 --> 00:20:43,620 affect their worship and their submission to God. 474 00:20:44,420 --> 00:20:48,260 And so it's more than just them being hungry or thirsty. 475 00:20:48,500 --> 00:20:50,340 This has now reached the temple. 476 00:20:50,340 --> 00:20:53,900 This has now come to a place where their relationship with God 477 00:20:53,900 --> 00:20:56,420 and their worship to God is being affected. 478 00:20:57,150 --> 00:21:00,910 How often do we not even notice how the sin in our life is 479 00:21:00,910 --> 00:21:04,910 affecting our worship to God, affecting our hearts? 480 00:21:05,870 --> 00:21:06,350 How many? 481 00:21:06,350 --> 00:21:06,830 How many? 482 00:21:06,990 --> 00:21:09,950 And again, don't raise your hand, but how many times have we 483 00:21:10,110 --> 00:21:13,109 possibly been in a place where we shouldn't be in our flesh? 484 00:21:13,109 --> 00:21:16,630 And we come into a church service and we should have a heart 485 00:21:16,630 --> 00:21:17,030 for God. 486 00:21:17,030 --> 00:21:18,150 We should have a heart for worship. 487 00:21:18,150 --> 00:21:19,270 We should have a heart of thanksgiving. 488 00:21:19,270 --> 00:21:22,150 But instead, we're thinking about something that someone did 489 00:21:22,150 --> 00:21:24,190 to us yesterday and how we can get back at them. 490 00:21:24,190 --> 00:21:26,920 Or maybe we're just thinking about all the different things that 491 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:27,600 I could be doing. 492 00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:29,960 Or maybe we're thinking about all the different things in our life 493 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:32,320 that are going wrong and there's no joy in our life. 494 00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:37,120 There is a real way in which sin in our life can steal our joy. 495 00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:41,040 The Bible says that in, in the book of Nehemiah that the joy of 496 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:42,240 the Lord is our strength. 497 00:21:43,360 --> 00:21:47,120 And so as Joel is explaining this to them, he says, hey, it's 498 00:21:47,120 --> 00:21:48,800 gone deeper than just your fields. 499 00:21:49,360 --> 00:21:51,320 It's gone deeper than your vineyards. 500 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:52,640 It's gone deeper than your. 501 00:21:52,970 --> 00:21:53,810 Your pocketbooks. 502 00:21:53,810 --> 00:21:57,250 It's now affected your worship it's affected your relationship with 503 00:21:57,250 --> 00:21:57,690 God. 504 00:21:58,170 --> 00:21:59,050 And so now he. 505 00:21:59,050 --> 00:22:00,170 He even goes a further. 506 00:22:00,170 --> 00:22:02,410 And he talks about, in verse 10, that. 507 00:22:02,410 --> 00:22:03,450 That the ground is. 508 00:22:03,450 --> 00:22:04,730 Is mourning itself. 509 00:22:05,450 --> 00:22:06,970 He personifies the land. 510 00:22:06,970 --> 00:22:08,450 And he says, hey, look, every. 511 00:22:08,450 --> 00:22:08,930 This is. 512 00:22:08,930 --> 00:22:09,690 This is everyone. 513 00:22:09,690 --> 00:22:12,570 The whole nation is experiencing the consequences of 514 00:22:12,730 --> 00:22:13,330 this sin. 515 00:22:13,330 --> 00:22:16,490 And then he talks about verses number 11 and 12. 516 00:22:17,130 --> 00:22:20,600 He says, Be ashamed, O ye husbandmen. 517 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:22,280 Howl, O ye vinedressers. 518 00:22:22,360 --> 00:22:25,760 For the wheat and for the barley, because the harvest of the 519 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:29,000 field is perished, the vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth, 520 00:22:29,160 --> 00:22:32,880 the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree. 521 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:35,279 Even all the trees of the field are withered because their 522 00:22:35,279 --> 00:22:37,400 joy is withered away from the sons of men. 523 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:39,880 So the crops are failing. 524 00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:43,560 And verse 12 concludes with the. 525 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:46,200 The joy is withered away from the sons of men. 526 00:22:46,370 --> 00:22:51,250 And so the picture here is just as these fig trees and these 527 00:22:51,650 --> 00:22:54,690 apple trees and these palm trees and these pomegranate trees. 528 00:22:54,690 --> 00:22:57,330 By the way, that when I was reading that pomegranate tree, I 529 00:22:57,330 --> 00:22:59,610 was just thinking back when we were in Israel, the pomegranate juice, 530 00:22:59,610 --> 00:23:00,370 that's everywhere. 531 00:23:00,450 --> 00:23:01,530 It's freshly squeezed. 532 00:23:01,530 --> 00:23:02,249 I was like, I just. 533 00:23:02,249 --> 00:23:03,090 I thought about that. 534 00:23:03,330 --> 00:23:05,410 They have a lot of pomegranates and date trees and, 535 00:23:05,410 --> 00:23:05,690 And. 536 00:23:05,690 --> 00:23:06,850 And palm trees there. 537 00:23:07,170 --> 00:23:10,330 But what he says is, just as those fruits are withering on the 538 00:23:10,330 --> 00:23:13,890 vine, so is the joy withering away from the sons of men. 539 00:23:14,870 --> 00:23:16,710 Their joy is being taken away. 540 00:23:16,790 --> 00:23:20,870 And this connection between the physical blessings and the human 541 00:23:21,350 --> 00:23:24,070 complacency throughout the Old Testament is connected. 542 00:23:24,070 --> 00:23:26,670 And so what we're seeing here is that God removes something that 543 00:23:26,670 --> 00:23:27,590 they depended on. 544 00:23:28,070 --> 00:23:33,110 And so he says in verse 13, 14, gird yourselves and lament. 545 00:23:33,670 --> 00:23:35,910 So this is his challenge to them. 546 00:23:35,990 --> 00:23:37,990 Now he's actually going to direct this to the priests. 547 00:23:37,990 --> 00:23:38,790 These are the leaders. 548 00:23:39,110 --> 00:23:40,470 The priests were the spiritual leaders. 549 00:23:40,470 --> 00:23:42,070 And so he says it starts with leadership. 550 00:23:42,230 --> 00:23:43,990 He says, this is what you need to do. 551 00:23:43,990 --> 00:23:44,910 Gird yourselves. 552 00:23:44,910 --> 00:23:45,990 Pull yourselves together. 553 00:23:46,870 --> 00:23:50,230 I mean, there's been times in my life where I've just been a blubbering 554 00:23:50,230 --> 00:23:50,470 mess. 555 00:23:50,470 --> 00:23:52,270 And someone said, like, hey, pull yourself together. 556 00:23:52,270 --> 00:23:52,510 Get. 557 00:23:52,510 --> 00:23:53,270 Get yourself together. 558 00:23:53,350 --> 00:23:54,190 That's what he says here. 559 00:23:54,190 --> 00:23:58,149 Get yourself together and lament, ye priest, how ye ministers 560 00:23:58,149 --> 00:24:02,270 of the altar come lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers 561 00:24:02,270 --> 00:24:03,110 of my God. 562 00:24:03,270 --> 00:24:06,510 For the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from 563 00:24:06,510 --> 00:24:07,630 the house of your God. 564 00:24:07,630 --> 00:24:09,570 He says, you guys need to wake up too. 565 00:24:09,970 --> 00:24:10,290 He. 566 00:24:10,290 --> 00:24:12,210 He says, gather yourselves together. 567 00:24:12,370 --> 00:24:13,890 Cry unto the Lord. 568 00:24:14,050 --> 00:24:14,770 Verse 14. 569 00:24:14,770 --> 00:24:18,290 Sanctify ye a fast, says you guys need to get serious about this. 570 00:24:18,290 --> 00:24:18,650 You, you. 571 00:24:18,650 --> 00:24:21,250 You need to take desperate measures, so to speak. 572 00:24:21,330 --> 00:24:23,970 Start to get to a place in your life where you are in complete 573 00:24:24,130 --> 00:24:25,010 need of God. 574 00:24:25,090 --> 00:24:26,450 Sanctify ye a fast. 575 00:24:26,450 --> 00:24:27,730 Call a solemn assembly. 576 00:24:27,890 --> 00:24:30,850 Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the 577 00:24:30,850 --> 00:24:33,650 house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord. 578 00:24:34,100 --> 00:24:34,260 He. 579 00:24:34,260 --> 00:24:37,180 He ends it there with this thing that I think all of us should 580 00:24:37,180 --> 00:24:38,100 get to in our life. 581 00:24:38,260 --> 00:24:42,780 And it's a point where we're in so much desperation that we realize 582 00:24:42,780 --> 00:24:45,540 that God is the only answer for anything that we're facing in 583 00:24:45,540 --> 00:24:45,940 our life. 584 00:24:46,180 --> 00:24:49,300 And we have to get down and cry out to the Lord. 585 00:24:49,460 --> 00:24:51,220 He says, sanctify a fast. 586 00:24:52,260 --> 00:24:54,620 Biblical fasting isn't like, hey, I'm going to stop eating for 587 00:24:54,620 --> 00:24:56,540 a while to lose some weight. 588 00:24:56,540 --> 00:24:57,500 That's not that. 589 00:24:57,500 --> 00:24:59,660 I mean, nowadays they have this, like, intermittent fasting. 590 00:24:59,660 --> 00:24:59,900 That's. 591 00:24:59,900 --> 00:25:01,540 That's not necessarily what he's talking about here. 592 00:25:01,700 --> 00:25:01,860 He. 593 00:25:01,860 --> 00:25:05,380 He's talking about fasting being connected with humility, repentance, 594 00:25:05,620 --> 00:25:07,700 prayer, seeking unto God. 595 00:25:07,780 --> 00:25:10,980 And he's calling the whole community, but particularly the leaders, 596 00:25:11,300 --> 00:25:14,580 to lead all the people to a place of corporate repentance. 597 00:25:16,020 --> 00:25:16,660 You know, I. 598 00:25:16,820 --> 00:25:21,940 Growing up, you know, revival week at our church, I love revival 599 00:25:21,940 --> 00:25:22,140 week. 600 00:25:22,140 --> 00:25:22,620 It was fun. 601 00:25:22,620 --> 00:25:24,700 One of the reasons why I liked revival week is I didn't have any 602 00:25:24,700 --> 00:25:27,340 homework because they're like, expecting you to be in church every 603 00:25:27,340 --> 00:25:27,700 single night. 604 00:25:27,700 --> 00:25:29,060 So there was no homework on revival week. 605 00:25:29,060 --> 00:25:29,700 And I'm like, great. 606 00:25:29,870 --> 00:25:32,870 We go to revival week and we have a preacher who is a strong preacher. 607 00:25:32,870 --> 00:25:33,990 He was getting up and he was. 608 00:25:33,990 --> 00:25:35,710 He was loud, he was fiery. 609 00:25:35,950 --> 00:25:36,830 There was a lot of music. 610 00:25:36,830 --> 00:25:38,750 There was a lot of coming forward, and. 611 00:25:38,750 --> 00:25:39,350 And that was great. 612 00:25:39,350 --> 00:25:39,590 I'm. 613 00:25:39,590 --> 00:25:40,790 I'm not condemning any of that. 614 00:25:40,790 --> 00:25:46,510 But what I am saying is that revival and repentance is more than 615 00:25:46,510 --> 00:25:47,910 just, hey, you know what? 616 00:25:47,910 --> 00:25:50,630 I'm going to make someone feel guilty about their life, because 617 00:25:50,630 --> 00:25:53,270 I could sit here tonight and guilt you into something that maybe 618 00:25:53,270 --> 00:25:55,310 isn't something that God's really working on in your life. 619 00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:58,920 What, what true biblical revival is, is that we come to a 620 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:03,600 place where we recognize the holiness of God, then we recognize 621 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:06,080 where we are in our life, and we realize how. 622 00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:09,920 How much we've fallen short of God's holiness, as we always will. 623 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:12,360 But then we get to a place in our life where we look to the grace 624 00:26:12,360 --> 00:26:15,600 of God and are we embracing the grace of God and the mercy of 625 00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:18,440 God and the forgiveness of God, or are we walking in our flesh 626 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:19,920 and doing what we want to do. 627 00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:23,750 He says it starts with the leaders, but it ultimately drips 628 00:26:23,750 --> 00:26:27,550 down, falls down to all the people that are there, that, that 629 00:26:27,550 --> 00:26:29,670 are in the land of Judah at this time. 630 00:26:29,990 --> 00:26:34,430 And so I believe, personally, verse 15 is the key to this whole 631 00:26:34,430 --> 00:26:36,790 chapter, to understanding this whole thing. 632 00:26:37,350 --> 00:26:40,510 And, and, and let's read it and then we'll, we'll talk about 633 00:26:40,510 --> 00:26:40,670 it. 634 00:26:40,670 --> 00:26:44,830 It says, alas, for the day, for the day of the Lord is at hand. 635 00:26:44,830 --> 00:26:48,230 So for them, this, this particular time was the day of the 636 00:26:48,230 --> 00:26:48,670 Lord for them. 637 00:26:48,670 --> 00:26:51,450 Now we know that this isn't the final day of the Lord, but for 638 00:26:51,450 --> 00:26:54,370 them, he says, the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction 639 00:26:54,370 --> 00:26:55,930 from the Almighty shall it come. 640 00:26:56,570 --> 00:26:59,170 And so really, I believe that this is the turning point of all 641 00:26:59,170 --> 00:26:59,530 of this. 642 00:26:59,530 --> 00:27:02,570 Up to this point, Joel has been describing what has happened. 643 00:27:03,770 --> 00:27:08,890 But, but now what has happened should make us think about what should 644 00:27:09,050 --> 00:27:10,690 and what will be coming in the future. 645 00:27:10,690 --> 00:27:14,850 The locust plague was just a warning sign that was immediate judgment 646 00:27:14,850 --> 00:27:15,490 and it was real. 647 00:27:15,490 --> 00:27:18,710 But what he's really pointing to is, is a greater picture of the 648 00:27:18,710 --> 00:27:20,710 greater day of the Lord that is to come. 649 00:27:20,790 --> 00:27:23,990 The day of the Lord is, is not just simply a 24 hour period. 650 00:27:23,990 --> 00:27:24,870 And now it's over. 651 00:27:25,670 --> 00:27:28,590 The biblical expression of this day, of the salvation in the, 652 00:27:28,590 --> 00:27:32,670 in the context of that, Joel's immediate circumstances provide a 653 00:27:32,670 --> 00:27:35,430 picture for what is inevitably going to come. 654 00:27:35,430 --> 00:27:38,190 And then we're going to get to chapter two and we're going to see 655 00:27:38,190 --> 00:27:42,230 him describe a future day of the Lord that is to come. 656 00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:46,960 And so from our perspective that we have, he is coming to a place 657 00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:49,960 of now warning them that, hey, this is what you're dealing with, 658 00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:54,240 but this is also what is to come if we continue in this rebellion. 659 00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:59,320 So, so Joel returns to the the, the here and now, verse 16, 660 00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:02,200 he says, or here now for them, not the here now for us, he says, 661 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:05,920 is not the meat cut off before our eyes, Yea, the joy and gladness 662 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:06,920 from the house of our God. 663 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:10,380 The seed is rotten under their clods, and, and the garners are laid 664 00:28:10,380 --> 00:28:10,820 desolate. 665 00:28:10,820 --> 00:28:13,420 The barns are broken down, for the corn is withered. 666 00:28:13,420 --> 00:28:14,860 How do the beasts groan? 667 00:28:15,340 --> 00:28:18,700 The herds of cattle are perplexed because they have no pasture, 668 00:28:18,780 --> 00:28:21,180 yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. 669 00:28:21,660 --> 00:28:25,820 Then he really concludes this, this chapter with verses 19 and 20. 670 00:28:25,820 --> 00:28:29,580 This is, this is Joel's personal response to all of this 671 00:28:29,580 --> 00:28:31,420 thing that he's bringing to the people. 672 00:28:32,460 --> 00:28:36,880 It says, oh Lord, to thee will I cry for the Fire hath devoured 673 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:38,160 the pastures of the wilderness. 674 00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:41,040 So now Joel has made this a personal thing for him. 675 00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:43,400 He's witnessing all the destruction around him. 676 00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:46,320 But now this is stirred in his heart a way to respond. 677 00:28:46,320 --> 00:28:48,160 He says, lord, it was to you I will cry. 678 00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:52,160 The fire has consumed the pastures. 679 00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:55,320 And he says, and the flame have burned all the trees of the 680 00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:55,600 field. 681 00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:59,840 The beasts of the field cry also unto thee, for the rivers of 682 00:28:59,840 --> 00:29:03,180 water are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of 683 00:29:03,180 --> 00:29:03,780 the wilderness. 684 00:29:03,780 --> 00:29:08,900 And so we see obviously some apocalyptic illusion here to the 685 00:29:08,900 --> 00:29:11,460 fact that there's just this complete destruction that's happening. 686 00:29:11,860 --> 00:29:15,940 And Joel ends the chapter basically crying out to God for help. 687 00:29:16,580 --> 00:29:19,780 So Joel is the messenger, you know, sometimes being the messenger, 688 00:29:19,940 --> 00:29:20,940 you know, what's the phrase? 689 00:29:20,940 --> 00:29:22,140 Don't, don't kill the messenger. 690 00:29:22,140 --> 00:29:23,020 Don't hate the messenger. 691 00:29:23,020 --> 00:29:23,260 Right. 692 00:29:23,260 --> 00:29:25,820 Joel is just the messenger, but ultimately in this case, he's 693 00:29:25,820 --> 00:29:26,340 part of it. 694 00:29:26,780 --> 00:29:31,340 And so he is in his own mind remembering what God has done. 695 00:29:31,740 --> 00:29:35,500 And so the way that you could break down this chapter is to remember 696 00:29:35,820 --> 00:29:41,340 what God has done in his judgment, recognize, wake up to what 697 00:29:41,340 --> 00:29:46,100 he is doing and how one could get out of this place, repent, and 698 00:29:46,100 --> 00:29:48,700 to realize that the day of the Lord is coming. 699 00:29:49,420 --> 00:29:51,820 So what are some takeaways that we could take from chapter one? 700 00:29:51,820 --> 00:29:54,270 Well, number one, God's judgment is real. 701 00:29:55,390 --> 00:30:01,230 A lot of times people downplay the judgment of God, but just know 702 00:30:01,390 --> 00:30:04,750 that just as much as we preach the forgiveness of God and the grace 703 00:30:04,750 --> 00:30:08,230 of God, we also have to preach the holiness and the judgment of 704 00:30:08,230 --> 00:30:08,589 God. 705 00:30:08,590 --> 00:30:12,070 Because if I just come to someone and say, well, God loves 706 00:30:12,070 --> 00:30:14,190 you the way that you are, keep living the way that you want to live, 707 00:30:14,190 --> 00:30:16,630 it doesn't matter what you believe, eventually we'll all make 708 00:30:16,630 --> 00:30:17,390 it to the right place. 709 00:30:17,630 --> 00:30:20,960 I, um, Pastor Ethan and I had a. 710 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:23,480 A lady drop a book off to us. 711 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:27,760 And I was looking through that book last night, and essentially 712 00:30:27,760 --> 00:30:29,240 the book summarized it this way. 713 00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:32,600 All of the holy books in the world are basically the same message. 714 00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:37,320 All, you know, the Quran, the Bible, the Torah, whatever, whatever 715 00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:40,240 these books are, you know, it's all coming from the same source. 716 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:44,650 And so if we're all just genuine about, know, being a better 717 00:30:44,650 --> 00:30:47,690 person, finding a state of peace, being kind to one another, 718 00:30:47,690 --> 00:30:49,890 you know, everything's going to be okay. 719 00:30:50,210 --> 00:30:52,570 And that's a message that the world just eats up. 720 00:30:52,570 --> 00:30:52,850 Why? 721 00:30:52,850 --> 00:30:54,050 Because I can do what I want. 722 00:30:54,370 --> 00:30:56,130 Like, I can find my own way. 723 00:30:56,450 --> 00:30:58,530 I can essentially be my own God. 724 00:30:58,850 --> 00:31:01,890 But that in and of itself is not a Biblical message. 725 00:31:01,890 --> 00:31:04,890 Because the biblical message is, yes, God is gracious and God 726 00:31:04,890 --> 00:31:08,250 will forgive, but there's also a place of repentance and faith that 727 00:31:08,250 --> 00:31:11,780 must come to us to be part of the family of God, to accept, escape 728 00:31:11,780 --> 00:31:12,460 the day of the Lord. 729 00:31:12,460 --> 00:31:13,740 And so God's judgment is real. 730 00:31:15,100 --> 00:31:16,620 And we have to be aware of that. 731 00:31:16,700 --> 00:31:19,980 We have to understand not just only what God has done in the past, 732 00:31:19,980 --> 00:31:22,140 but what he's doing now and what he's going to do in the future. 733 00:31:23,340 --> 00:31:28,380 God sometimes uses difficulties and disruptions to get 734 00:31:28,700 --> 00:31:30,780 a hold of his people, to wake them up. 735 00:31:31,420 --> 00:31:33,620 Sometimes things, I mean, we can look at Scripture and see that. 736 00:31:33,620 --> 00:31:35,740 We can look in Scripture and see that God is getting. 737 00:31:35,740 --> 00:31:40,500 He goes even as far as allowing his people to go into exile 738 00:31:40,500 --> 00:31:42,380 from a pagan nation, right? 739 00:31:42,380 --> 00:31:44,980 He allows Babylon to come in and take them away. 740 00:31:44,980 --> 00:31:48,380 There was times in which he allowed his people to go through 741 00:31:48,380 --> 00:31:51,660 dire struggles and trials so that they could awake themselves 742 00:31:51,820 --> 00:31:54,140 to their disobedience to God. 743 00:31:54,780 --> 00:31:59,300 We also have to understand that sin and spirituality in, in 744 00:31:59,300 --> 00:32:02,300 the, in the case of our spiritual complacency have serious 745 00:32:02,300 --> 00:32:03,020 consequences. 746 00:32:03,260 --> 00:32:05,920 Though, though we know that there's no condemnation to those 747 00:32:05,920 --> 00:32:09,400 who are in Christ Jesus, our spiritual complacency can bring us 748 00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:12,400 to difficulties in our own life and actually bring us to a place 749 00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:14,600 of ineffective Christianity. 750 00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:18,000 You know, I, I think about this from the perspective of how 751 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:20,680 much new life do we have within the church. 752 00:32:21,080 --> 00:32:22,960 I love when babies are born in the church. 753 00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:24,200 That's one way to grow the church. 754 00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:27,680 Obviously, you know, we're, we're trying to contribute to that 755 00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:30,320 and, and Ms. Alicia is expecting and we're excited for that 756 00:32:30,320 --> 00:32:30,600 thing. 757 00:32:31,020 --> 00:32:35,460 But at the same time, what we have to understand is that within 758 00:32:35,460 --> 00:32:38,140 the church, if we're not seeing new life in the church, there's 759 00:32:38,140 --> 00:32:38,540 a problem. 760 00:32:38,700 --> 00:32:41,060 We have to be seen new folks saved. 761 00:32:41,060 --> 00:32:44,100 We have to be seeing new individuals turning their lives over 762 00:32:44,100 --> 00:32:46,460 to Christ because that's a part of a healthy body. 763 00:32:46,540 --> 00:32:49,140 And sometimes spiritual complacency can lead us to a place 764 00:32:49,140 --> 00:32:51,780 of spiritual ineffective nature. 765 00:32:51,780 --> 00:32:54,620 And ultimately we're going to see that we're going to be shriveled 766 00:32:54,620 --> 00:32:56,980 up, as the Bible says here, like the, like the palm tree that 767 00:32:56,980 --> 00:32:57,540 shrivels up. 768 00:32:57,540 --> 00:33:00,380 It could be the family of God that it's not effective. 769 00:33:00,380 --> 00:33:04,260 And obviously we conclude the thought with genuine repentance involves 770 00:33:04,260 --> 00:33:04,940 the whole person. 771 00:33:04,940 --> 00:33:06,740 We're going to look at this next week. 772 00:33:06,740 --> 00:33:09,060 But in Joel, chapter two, he talks about the heart. 773 00:33:09,300 --> 00:33:09,660 God. 774 00:33:09,660 --> 00:33:11,460 God wants our heart, not just our garments. 775 00:33:11,860 --> 00:33:13,540 God wants our everything. 776 00:33:13,540 --> 00:33:15,780 As Romans, chapter 12 describes. 777 00:33:15,780 --> 00:33:18,780 And so I hope that this study in the Book of Joel will help us 778 00:33:18,780 --> 00:33:22,540 understand not only what's happened in the past, but also what 779 00:33:22,540 --> 00:33:23,700 is to happen in the future. 780 00:33:24,070 --> 00:33:26,230 Now, I don't know when that day of the Lord will be, but we believe 781 00:33:26,230 --> 00:33:27,270 that that day is coming. 782 00:33:27,270 --> 00:33:31,350 We believe that God will enact his righteous judgment upon all those 783 00:33:31,350 --> 00:33:32,470 who are in unbelief. 784 00:33:33,110 --> 00:33:36,790 That should bring us not just a sense of comfort because we're 785 00:33:36,790 --> 00:33:40,630 not part of that, but it also should bring us a place of urgency 786 00:33:40,710 --> 00:33:44,390 to share with people around us the great need of their salvation, 787 00:33:44,390 --> 00:33:48,150 the great need of forgiveness, the great need of walking in a relationship 788 00:33:48,150 --> 00:33:49,230 with Jesus Christ. 789 00:33:49,230 --> 00:33:52,660 And so I hope that this is a study that can help us as we study 790 00:33:53,300 --> 00:33:55,220 the day of the Lord. 791 00:33:55,300 --> 00:33:57,940 And then we'll get to the Book of Amos and talk more about that. 792 00:33:57,940 --> 00:34:01,300 And then we'll get to Obadiah, which is a very difficult passage 793 00:34:01,300 --> 00:34:02,820 of Scripture, but we'll get there. 794 00:34:02,820 --> 00:34:04,900 And I hope that you'll enjoy this time. 795 00:34:04,900 --> 00:34:07,780 And maybe it's something that you've never heard preached in church. 796 00:34:07,940 --> 00:34:08,820 Oftentimes the. 797 00:34:08,900 --> 00:34:10,620 The minor prophets get overlooked. 798 00:34:10,620 --> 00:34:11,780 But I definitely wanted to. 799 00:34:11,780 --> 00:34:14,900 To do a study in this in the near future. 800 00:34:14,980 --> 00:34:16,940 So that's where we're at there.