The Day of the Lord Joel 2:24-32
Joel 2:27-32New American Standard Bible (NASB)
27 “Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel,
And that I am the LORD your God,
And there is no other;
And My people will never be put to shame.
The Promise of the Spirit
28 “[a]It will come about after this
That I will pour out My Spirit on all [b]mankind;
And your sons and daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream dreams,
Your young men will see visions.
29 “Even on the male and female servants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
The Day of the LORD
30 “I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth,
Blood, fire and columns of smoke.
31 “The sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood
Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.
32 “And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD
Will be delivered;
For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
There will be those who escape,
As the LORD has said,
Even among the survivors whom the LORD calls.
You have heard the maxim “Right Now Counts Forever”. It is a great reminder for us to lay up treasures as our master has instructed us. And I have to say this, I hope all of us will use our time left here on earth doing just that, Laying Up Treasures. And I hope we all will see each other there. You see, just like the character Christian in John Bunyan’s "Pilgrim’s Progress", we are all pilgrims trying to stay on the straight and narrow path as we journey to heaven. I am reminded of the words to Ed Sheeran’s "Wayfaring Stranger"
I am a poor, wayfaring stranger
Traveling through this world alone
And there's no sickness, toil or danger
In that bright land to which I go
And I'm going there to see my mother
And I'm going there no more to roam
And I'm only going over Jordan
And I'm only going over home
And I know dark clouds will gather me
And I know my way is rough and steep
And the beautiful fields that lie just beyond me
And I know my needs are rough and steep
And I'm going there to see my mother
And I'm going there no more to roam
And I'm only going over Jordan
And I'm only going over home
Friends, the Day of the Lord is coming. This is one topic that modern preachers shy away from. They don’t want to scare the people. They don’t want the people to feel uncomfortable.
But no preacher can ignore God’s call to prepare his flock for The Day of the Lord. I am talking about The End of Time, the day when all will be destroyed, and the Lord will come back to judge the earth. Some will go to the eternal bliss of heaven, and some will find themselves in the never-ending misery of hell. I want you to listen to me! This day has been already scheduled . You can bet everything you have one it. The Lord will destroy this world and everything in it. Why? Because of our inequities. Now what inequities?
They are our sins against God wishes. Lying, cheating, stealing, adultery, coveting, murdering, dishonoring our parents, you know the Ten Commandments. But the greatest of these sins are the first two commandments. I believe that God put these first because they were the most important:
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
If you read the Old Testament, you will see that from the beginning, man has broken these two laws. From the Garden of Eden though all the kings of Israel and Judah, the people of God were enticed by the devil to worship other Gods. To turn away from the Father.
Even the Israelites after God had freed them from slavery and was leading them to the Promised Land, made graven images and worshiped other gods. Even as Moses came down from the mountain with the tablets they had built for themselves a golden calf to worship. And as Moses led them through the wilderness, they revolted time and time again. Think about this, our Father himself went with them, He dwelt in the Holy Tabernacle they took with them. And He performed miracle after miracle for them, yet they grumble and complained and turn away from him.
This is why the world will end. It will end because we have broken our Father’s heart time and time again. He made this world, and he has the right to destroy it. He has given us everything and yet we turn to other gods, much like the Israelites. Just look in our society today, people have stopped worshiping our Father. The churches are almost empty.
Why, because instead of looking and depending on God’s help, we look to others especially the government. People today think it is their right to have the government provide for their every need. Housing, food, health care and education. And the more we look to the government the more the Church is diminished.
And look at the Churches, the church has become so humanized that they usurp the authority of God. They are fooled by thinking they are wiser than God. The church today is more interested in social justice that God’s justice. The church is turning more worldly trying its best to justify sin. And God’s heart is broken. That’s why the world will end!
The Day of the Lord is a day of pain and destruction. This day will be so terrible that people will pray that the mountains will fall on them so that they can to escape God’s wrath. But they can’t hide and they will find themselves in the worst misery imaginable…..in the worst place….for eternity.
Isaiah 13:9
"Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light. Thus I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless."
Yes, it will be the worst day in history but for Christians it is a day that we look can forward to. And that is what JOEL the prophet is telling us in his delivery of our Father’s message to the people. Verse 21-23:
21 “Fear not, O land;
be glad and rejoice,
for the Lord has done great things!
22 Fear not, you beasts of the field,
for the pastures of the wilderness are green;
the tree bears its fruit;
the fig tree and vine give their full yield.
23 “Be glad, O children of Zion,
and rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given the early rain for your vindication;"
and in verse 27:
"Then you will know that I am in Israel,
that I am the LORD your God,
and that there is no other;
never again will my people be shamed.
That is the first part. Our Father will restore his people. They will no longer be in exile. They will return to Israel and be blessed and then the second part happens, the day finally comes, The Day of the Lord. Here is what Joel Prophesied:
“And afterward,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
30 I will show wonders in the heavens
and on the earth,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD."
Our Father will come and destroy all his enemies and wipe the face of the earth of all evil. This is truly Good News for God’s People! Because for his chosen this will be a day of Salvation. Hear the Good News.
32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now what does that mean? Well, let’s face it, everyone is not going to heaven. Some people are going to have to suffer hell with Satan. How do we know that? The bible tells us. God’s own word. Some people believe that everyone will go to heaven, but that is not true. You see our Father has his elect or chosen. He causes them to believe. We can’t make ourselves to believe because we want to. No, we are saved by the grace of God. As it is stated in
Ephesians 2:8-9 New International Version (NIV) " For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no man can boast".
Or in Romans 9
"What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy." (Romans 9:13-16, ESV)
Our lesson ends by stating:” For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.”
Let us pray like the tax collector and not the Pharisee in Luke 18
‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
Let us pray that at the Day of the Lord, we will be found in our Father’s favor and doing his work bringing others to Christ, for we all are Wayfaring Strangers, let us keep our sights on heaven, let us all keep our faith and travel on.
Matthew 24:30-31
"And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. "And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
