Joel

Joel 2:13 -  May 17^th 2009 – Joel the Man who saw the Spirit of God.

Bible Verse.  Joel 2:28:  I will pour out my Spirit on all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, and you young men will see visions.

Intro:  Today I have so much to share in such a brief time period.  This message is so applicable today and especially in two weeks we will be celebrating Pentecost.

1.  Joel was a prophet who lived during the reign of Joash.  He was a priest in the temple

     Of Solomon and he lived around 800 B.C.  Joel’s named means, “The Lord is God.”

     He was the son of Penuel.  Both he and Joash were strongly influenced by a Godly

     High Priest named Jehoaida.  We all need godly mentors, right.  Someone we can be

     Accountable, real and open with.  Someone who can help, guide and influence our

     Lives. 

a.  Joel some 800 years before Christ, saw the coming of Pentecost and saw some 2700

     Years ago the coming of today’s Pentecostal movement.  The Bible is more current

     Than tomorrow’s newspaper. 

b.  Joel is reflecting on a natural disaster where a locust plague that had devastated the

     Land.  Joel saw a parallel between this plague and a human condition.  He says a

     Human army leaves behind a scorched earth.  Joel saw the Lord behind the insect

     Invasion.  He tells the people to repent and the Lord will relent. 

c.  Joel believes in whole hearted repentance leading to the promise of the outpouring of

     The Holy Spirit.  God emphasized this message to Solomon in 2 Chron 7:14.  Church

     We need to Humble ourselves, pray, seek His face and turn from our wicked way. 

     Then God will hear from heaven, forgive our sins and heal our land. 

d.  Joel writes a lofty, elegant but very forceful book.  Joel in these three chapters asks 7

     Powerful questions, He reveals 50 commands, 1 direct message from God and states

    10 promises.

2.  Joel in our passage this morning reveals six things.

a.  Rend your hearts not your garments.  Joel says true repentance is not outward but

     Inward.  Repentance is being genuinely sorry for your sins.  Godly sorrow is truly

     Being sorry, and changing your life.  Worldly sorrow is being sorry that you were

     Caught but if you had a chance you would do it again. 

 

1.  Joel in this book reminds his readers, “The day of God’s judgment is coming upon

     Sinful man and there is judgment for those who fail to acknowledge God and His

    Ways.  Paul reminds us in Gal 6:8, God is not mock what a man sows he will reap. 

2.  Joel wants his audience to whole heartedly repent.  This brings God’s favour and

     Blessing.  Joel wants his audience to stop the outward sign which in his day were

     More for show and really repent and show it through their speech and actions

b.  Return to the Lord your God.  Joel’s Judah was like today.  A small number of the 

      People were serving the Lord while the vast majority were into doing what they 

     Wanted.  It is so human nature to follow ones own wishes instead of the Lord and so

     Easy to do.  It takes real hard work to stay on track and close to the Lord. 

1.  You need to pray and read the word everyday.  You need to attend church every week

      Or as often as you can. 

2.  Returning to the Lord means you will become a disciple.  A native of the Congo

     prayed  thus.  “Dear Lord, you be the needle and I will be the thread.  You go first and

     I will follow wherever you lead.

3.  Joel was aware God is sovereign in this world and His will shall be done on earth in

    Heaven and earth.  A true believer is aware of that and so they want to be thoroughly

    A Christian.  A Christian is a mind through which Christ thinks, a heart through Christ

    Loves, a voice through which Christ speaks, a hand through which Christ helps.

c.  For the Lord is gracious and compassionate.  This is the first of five attributes of

    God revealed by Joel.  God is gracious. He gives undeserved mercy and favour.  We

    Don’t get what we deserve.  He sent Jesus to die for us.  Jesus gave his body and blood

    For us.  He died, was buried and rose again for us.  That is gracious. 

1.  God is compassionate.  God loves us.  The whole gospel shows us this love.  God’s

     Love is patient, kind, not envious, boastful or proud.  It is not rude, self seeking or

     Easily angered, keeps no record of wrong, never delights in evil, rejoices in truth,

     Protects, trusts, hope, perseveres and never fails.

2.  God is compassionate.  He is love as John tells in 1 John 4:8.  Because of His love

     God is going to graciously give His Spirit to mankind.  In Joel 2:18-27, God

     Promises relief.

d.  Slow to anger.  As I mentioned a moment ago God is not easily angered.  It takes

     Generations but when He does, the gentile nations will be punished and God’s people

     Will be delivered.  It took God 450 years to punish Israel for its sin.  He sent

     Numerous prophets to warn them.  God has this same attitude towards us but I suggest

     you do not take advantage of this slowness to anger. 

e.  Abounding in Love.  God is overflowing and abundant in love.  His love is complete

     & it makes us whole.  In St. Paul’s Cathedral, London is a life sized marble statue of

     Christ writhing in anguish on the cross.  The statue is subscribed, “This is how God

    Loved the world. 

1.  In Ephesians 3:17-18, Paul describes the four dimensions of love.  The breadth, For

     God so loved the world, The length, that He gave His only begotten son, The depth,

     That whosoever believes in Him shall not perish and the height, but shall have ever-

     Lasting love. 

2.  God’s love is beyond description, it is only to be valued and enjoyed.

f.  And He relents from sending calamity.  God wants to forgive, heal and bring life.

    Joel tells his audience that the nation of Israel will be blessed in the presence of the

    Lord forever.  It is God’s desire to with hold judgment.  It is the last thing He wants

    To do.  Salvation is God’s expression of this desire.  He does change His mind in the

    Face of true repentance.   

Conclusion.

1.  So today we have learned that if we rend our hearts and not our garments, return to

     The Lord, we discover He is gracious and compassionate.  The Lord is slow to anger

     And abounding in love.  He will relent on sending calamity.

2.  Joel one direct message from God is that in the last days a great move of the Spirit

     Coming and has come.  Some 800 years before Pentecost, Joel saw the falling of the

     Holy Spirit in the upper room.  Over 2750 years ago he saw the days in which we live.

     My cry is Holy Spirit come now, come in your strength and your power and in your

     Own gentle way.  We need to hear the words of God again, have visions and dreams.