Sermon Tone Analysis

Fresh Start

Judy Viorst wrote a wonderful children’s story about a little boy named Alexander and his terrible, horrible, no good, terrible day.

I really love that story, it’s just a short read, but I can relate to him at times.

The story opens with these words:

I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there’s gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning, I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

At breakfast Anthony found a Corvette Sting Ray car kit in his breakfast cereal box and Nick found a Junior Undercover Agent code ring in his breakfast cereal box, but in my breakfast cereal box all I found was breakfast cereal.

I think I’ll move to Australia.

[1]

Poor Alexander, his day did not get any better, it seemed to go from bad to worse.

When he finally gets in bed he says “It has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

My mom says some days are like that.

Even in Australia” [1]

I bet Alexander would like to have had a fresh start to that day.

Have you ever had one of those days?

It’s ok to raise your hands!

Have you ever felt like you were at the end of the rope?

Feeling like there was no more hope, that you couldn’t go on?

If there ever were a group of people were at the end of their rope and that hope seemed to be lost it would have been Israel.

They needed a fresh start with God.

A majority of theologians believe that Joel was the last to prophesy before that period of silence before the birth of Jesus.

If that is the case, the people are back in Judah and Jerusalem.

The temple has been rebuilt and worship is happening.

The problem is that they have been living during a time of drought and a locust invasion.

Life seemed hopeless as the people struggled to feed their families and livestock.

I was really excited as I thought about this passage for today.

These verses are a hope filled message of what God is going to do.

I agree that these verses were for Isreal but also for us today.

These verses speak about the abundance of of God’s blessings.

Look at verse 23

Joel 2:23 (CEB)

23 Children of Zion, rejoice and be glad in the Lord your God, because he will give you the early rain as a sign of righteousness; he will pour down abundant rain for you, the early and the late rain, as before.

Earlier in this chapter is a call for repentance and returning to God.

I don’t know if you ever noticed this before, but throughout the Bible there are scenes of God calling people to relationship with Him.

From Genesis to Revelation, God is calling.

When sin first entered the world, God was there calling Adam back into a relationship with him.

Where are you?

I remember when I had walked away from God and hearing God calling me with very similar words.

Have you experienced that?

All the way to the very end of the Bible God has been calling people into relationship with Him.

There are only 4 more verses after this next until the final punctuation mark is made in Revelation.

Even when the end comes, God will still be calling to people to come to Him.

The people of Israel needed the intervention of God.

It had been tough going due to the lack of rain and God says there in verse 23

he will give you the early rain as a sign of righteousness; he will pour down abundant rain for you, the early and the late rain, as before.

The early rain is that spring time rain when the crops are planted.

The rain is needed for that germination process.

Joel wrote that it would be a sign of righteousness.

That word used there from the Hebrew language means “right-relatedness” or “proper order.”

The Egyptian language had a similar word and that word means “right order in nature and society, as established by the act of creation, and hence means, according to the context, what is right, what is correct, law, order, justice and truth.”

[2]

This righteousness is covenant language.

This righteousness is a sign of the covenant of God and to His people.

There are blessings associated with this righteousness, of this covenant relationship with God.

Joel prophesied that there would be early rain and late rain.

That is the entire growing season.

Spring-time and harvest time.

There would be abundant rain.

Look at verse 24

That was only going to be possible because of what God is doing and is going to do for them.

I don’t believe that this is only to be interpreted in a real physical sense, I believe there is a spiritual application as well.

Our threshing floors, meaning our lives, can be covered with dirt and waste, the meager crumbs of life.

The vats of our lives can be full of vinegar or empty rather than filled with the choicest wines.

God has not meant for us to live with meager supplies.

God has promised us blessings upon blessings

There is a hymn in our hymn book that has this verse:

There shall be showers of blessing,

Precious reviving again;

Over the hills and the valleys,

Sound of abundance of rain.

- D.W. Whittle

The scriptural inspiration for this song is found in Ezekiel 34:26

Those blessings were not just a one time event.

God said there that He would send down showers in season.

God in Joel wasn’t going to just bless them one time and be done.

He said there in the later part of verse 26 said

Joel 2:26 (CEB)

26 my people will never again be put to shame.

This again is a demonstration of covenant language.

Again God is calling them His people.

What was the purpose of this blessing of rain?

Was it just so that the people would have full stomachs, storage barns, and wine vats?

To often we think that God’s blessings are in a materialistic sense.

That is not the truth.

God’s goal is something greater.

Dr Lloyd Ogilvie wrote:

The picture is one of restoration to health as whole people and as a healthy community, which depends on a righteous relationship with the Lord.

It is a complete orientation around the Lord who is in their midst

Jesus brought this idea when talking about worry.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:33

This is a radical reorientation of our lives.

Out of the abundance of God we will praise for the wonders He has done for us.

All to often we forget to praise God.

We forget to give Him the praise He deserves.

Are you alive and doing well today?

Praise the Lord!

Do you have enough to pay to fill your fuel oil tanks?

Praise the Lord!

Do you have enough food for today?

Praise the Lord!

Do you have enough to pay your bills?

Praise the Lord!

Did you get a deer?