Words of Warning – Series on Joel
God for Us
Joel 2:18-32
* I begin and end today with one thought- “GOD IS FOR US”! That is, God is for His people. Those who are blood-bought, born-again, & redeemed. God is for us in that He wants the best for all His children.
* Lest I be misunderstood, for those who are not a member of the ‘family of God’, God is for you also. He is so much for you that He allowed Jesus, His one and only Son, to be used and abused to the point of death for you. Jesus died on the cross for your sins which means your penalty of sin has been paid by Jesus’ death. He rose from the grave to give you new life. The incredible part is that; with all of this being done by God, He requires a decision from you. He is for you in that He desires for you to accept His offer of forgiveness through His Son. It is only in that decision you can bourn, bought, and adopted into God’s family! Then there exists an entirely NEW way in which God is for you. He is now not simply your creator, He now becomes your heavenly Father. As such, you become the ‘apple of His eye.’ He desires for you to become all you were created to become.
* Additionally, as we have read in our text, God will then go to the mat for you! I mean, He has already gone to the grave so what more can He do? Here what more He does: He stands for us in the time of His greatest judgment! In reading the prophecy of Joel, we discover that when time draws to a close, God will judge the sin & unbelief found in this world and He will judge them harshly. He will do this because God cannot and will not tolerate sin in His presence now or in the world to come.
* That being said, God goes the extra step to protect His people through the judgment. Last week, God called for repentance from the corrupt ways which His people had embraced and then made a plea for fasting, weeping, and mourning. In other ways, He desired for His people to be sorry enough for their sin that they sincerely wept, prayed, & returned to Him so that the lost culture would know that Jehovah was their God. Now, we are ready to move to verse 18 & discover what He says to us;
1. The Hand of God – In verses 18-28 we find that when God’s people come in brokenness and repentance for their sin that He took & He takes ACTION! The text says, He became jealous (zealous) for His land, spared (showed pity on, commiserated with) His people, & then He promised what He would do with the works of His hands. No matter how far you’ve fallen God will still bring you back to Himself with His hands.
* Now, what does He promise His people?
a. The Provision from God – (v19) One of the reason for studying God’s word in a verse by verse manner is to understand the nuances of what He is telling us. Do you remember verse 4 of Chapter 1? (read) How about after the locust come and ravage the land? Then we read of the havoc brought about by the “Day of the Lord.” It is like the aftermath of a war. To reside in a war torn land is (for me) unimaginable. The best I can offer is that you spend time attempting to make sense from non-sense! To look at the landscape as has been depicted in this text is to get a sense of a war-torn land, with people almost wandering aimlessly, and into this situation comes the Father saying, “Don’t lose hope, I’m still in charge.” So into the midst of the barrenness of the land God sends the essentials to His people. He doesn’t just send just enough; He satiates, satisfies, or give them full to overflowing, in fact, He send so much that they get weary of it. This reminds me of the manna in the wilderness. The applications here are plenty. Practically, in those days, God will provide all that His children need and more. Spiritually, whatever you may need (I.E. help, hope, healing, etc) God will supply. The Bible says, “But my God will supply all your needs according (the best part) to HIS RICHES in GLORY!” He is my provision, but He doesn’t stop at just providing with His hand, next see;
b. The Protection by God – (Read vs 20-22) Admittedly, this passage can be seen in light of history or prophecy, that is what has already happen and/or what is going to happen; but I suggest that the principle we are to grasp is that God protects His people. Now, He doesn’t keep us from anything that might cause us pain because the valley of pain is God’s workshop in our lives. Very little has the power to draw us nearer to God than pain. In the life of a believer, one might detect their maturity level by the amount of pain required to force them to turn to God for help. It’s kind of like parents guiding their children. The less mature the children are the more pressure required to get them to respond, while the more mature the child the less pressure required. So God doesn’t protect us from every little pain, but in the face of the catastrophe found in God’s judgment we can discover God’s protection. When we depend on Him, He will drive out our enemies and banish them out of our sight. This is why scriptures teach, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” When we resist evil, we release God to do battle for us and God can finish any battle in which He is engaged. Not only will He drive them out He will put them to death.
c. The Plan of God –(v23-27) In the New Testament, Jesus lends His support to planning by His teaching in Luke 14. He said, “Who of you would build a town without first calculating to see if you have enough money and materials to complete it?” In other words, before you begin something, make sure you have a good plan. Within God’s judgment of sin, God has a plan for HIS PEOPLE. With the works of His hands and the words of His mouth God says, “Rejoice and be Glad.” Even in the midst of persecution and struggle, the word is “Rejoice.” Nehemiah tells us the “Joy of the Lord is our strength”, in Paul’s writing the second fruit of the spirit listed is joy, the angels sang to the shepherds that they brought news of great ‘joy’, and in the upper room Jesus told the disciple that your sorrow will turn to ‘joy.’ The plan of God form by His own hand is for His people to be a people of joy! It’s not simply joy about being joyful, rather it is the joy found IN THE LORD! (text) Here is what we need to get our minds & hearts around; God’s people should be the rejoicing folks. Next week, we celebrate “RESURRECTION DAY”, our Lord is alive! When someone dies and then rises from the dead for me, everything else should become a snap. Sadly, when a preacher says something like this in the Americanized church, people roll their eyes and say something like, “yea, but you don’t understand my situation.” May I don’t, but He does and it’s not a surprise to Him. If God had the crucifixion under control and how that would work out, I submit that whatever you have going on, God has a handle on it. In God’s hands lay the plans for your life. Trust Him. He is for you.
2. The Heart of God – In verses 27-32, we can grasp what God desires for us as His ‘Crown Creation.’ His heart is for us to become as we once were. When God created the first man & woman, they were perfect, walking in perfect harmony with their creator. This is where He is leading us, where His heart desires to take us, and where His people will one day abide. In verse 27, we see that His heart is for us to be clear in our knowledge & commitment to Him. He wants us to be ‘with Him.’ How does He help? Verse 28ff is the text that Peter quotes in Acts 2 at Pentecost.
a. The Raining of the Spirit of God – After the judgment of God falls, He will respond by pouring out His Spirit. We could take the approach of total prophecy to say that God will pour out His Spirit on the earth after the Battle of Gog and Magog or that Peter had it totally right at Pentecost, but I submit in the heart of God rests the desire to always reach to His people with His Spirit to bring about spiritual renewal.
* In those times after God’s judgment, whether in the days of Israel and Judah’s rebellion or in the times known as the Second Coming or even today, in the aftermath of Spiritual and moral devastation which decimates the land, our God is ready to pour out His Spirit on us. There are many clues today that God is pouring out His Spirit on this culture. In third world countries people are hungry for the Word of God. In Haiti, instead of seeing the earthquake in human terms, it appears this culture has chosen to view it as “God’s Judgment” and have made a decided turn toward Jehovah God (including canceling the Mardi Gras and replacing it with 3 days of fasting & praying). The examples are numerous including a report by Dr. Mark Foley to our minister’s conference that “Spiritual Revival was breaking out in Mobile, Alabama.” Here is the interesting thing: It is not beginning in the churches, it’s starting among the business leaders and moving into the churches. Also, the churches most difficult to impact are the Baptist churches. It seems to this preacher that God is raining down His Spirit today and we may be missing it. The heart of God is to commune with us daily, but He does stiff-arm a proud people.
b. The Revelation of the Strength of God – Never doubt the strength and even the resolve of God. He designed this world, including you & me, as HIS OWN. From the garden when man fell until today, man & land remains in rebellion to God. In the last days (which by definition we are living in) He will display His strength in the heavens. At another time, we may consider the end-time prophecies as the Bible lays them out, but hear this, “At His word both Heaven & earth will pass away & everything you and I count as important on this earth will be gone.” He will do it but He has made a way out for fallen mankind.
c. The Reclaiming of the Salvation of God – I have said ‘reclaiming of God’s salvation’ because the first man & woman knew God’s salvation only to walk away from it in their selfish rebellion. Jesus came that we might regain and reclaim what God intended for us in the beginning of time. Don’t take this to mean that God, in His sovereignty, was caught off guard by the disobedience in the garden, but rather, to that first couple was paradise, perfection, and a choice. Today, you are given a choice. God calls and you respond. He is for you. He has proven this on many occasions and in many ways. But in His being for you, He will not overlook your sin. Your sin cost Jesus his earthly life. Now, God working in your spirit, is drawing you to call on Him. Will you do so?
