230514 Joel 2:25-32: "Call Upon Yahweh"

MP“Those who call on Christ will never be put to shame”

Introduction

Please open your Bibles to Isaiah 55. The title of today’s message is “Call Upon Yahweh.” PAUSE

In Isaiah 55 we hear the prophet adjure the people of Judah to seek the Lord, to call upon Him because destruction has been promised multiple times over in previous chapters and so the prophet, speaking for the Lord tells the reader that the time is today to call upon the Lord for forgiveness, for help, for compassion.

Isaiah 55:6–7 “Seek Yahweh while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to Yahweh, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.

The time is today to abandon self - to forsake that which is wicked, worldly and away from the will of God. The time is now to find Yahweh. He is ready and willing and at hand, here, now to forgive.

Oh the blessed forgiveness of Christ is available to all who call upon Him. He is gracious and merciful and sympathetic to our frailty. He knows our weakness because He took on flesh and underwent temptation in all things yet is without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

Today is the day to call upon the Lord, not just for salvation but for daily grace to help in time of need. Oh, how do we desperately need His help day by day! How frail we are and truly needy! We need the grace of God to endure hardship, to withstand trials, to grow and to mature in knowledge to obey that which is commanded. Oh how do we desperately need His help today - He knows it, thus we are commanded to seek Yahweh while He may be found and to call upon Him while He is near.

The main point of this message is this:

Main Point

“Those who call on Christ will never be put to shame” REPEAT

RESTATE: Those who do not rely upon self, do not reject Christ, do not try to muscle their way through life but hang everything upon Christ and His finished cross work will never be ashamed, not in this life nor in the next.

“Those who call on Christ will never be put to shame”

Road Map A

Here is today’s road map. We started in Isaiah seeing the heart of the Lord appealing that He be sought out, called upon because He is compassionate and forgiving. In a moment we are going to transition to the book of Joel where we will see these concepts played out and contrasted with the coming Day of Yahweh in Joel chapter 2. In Joel chapter 2 we will see how all who trust in Yahweh will not be put to shame, we will see all who call upon the Lord will receive deliverance and we will see how the Lord will finally and completely fulfill His promise to pour out His Holy Spirit on the world. Afterward, we will take some application points in how the believer can take advantage of the time now and we will close in Romans or 2 Timothy looking at Paul’s exhortation to Timothy to call upon the Lord and not be ashamed of His Gospel.

But before we go any further let us ask Yahweh to bless this message and this time of worship.

Prayer

Yahweh God, You are truly a great God of love, of mercy, of compassion. You are a God who desires to be called upon. You are a God that desires to save to forgive. You are a God who abundantly pardons. Oh may we take the hint Yahweh, that we forsake wickedness in every form. Oh that we might believe! Oh Yahweh, may it be today that Your Holy Spirit does the work that only He can do - may He apply His Word to our hearts and may Your Christ be glorified. Yahweh, You are worthy of this so we ask in faith, fully believing that You mean what You say and that You will do what You have said. In anticipation we ask this in the Christ’s name, amen. PAUSE

Context

Today’s message is set in the year 835 BC - Last week we looked at Obadiah’s prophecy on Edom which took place at 845 BC. The setting is this: King Joash, who took the throne of Judah at 7 years of age after being saved by Jehoiada and Jehosheba, the High Priest and his wife, appears to have nearly lost his kingdom soon after receiving it (2 Kings 11.1-3). PAUSE

Early on in Joash’s reign there appears to have been a catastrophic plague of locusts. Now we have to remember that 835 BC is not like 2023. This was a day when the people grew their own food and couldn’t import it from surrounding countries. This locust plague was devastating and a picture of the coming desolation of the “Day of Yahweh.”

This took place early on in Joash’s reign and in the book of Joel, God calls on the nation to repent because this would not be the last time hardship came upon them. Each successive wave would point to the coming destruction of the day of Yahweh. That final fulfillment has not yet come but it will. We are to call on the name of Yahweh, and all who call on Christ will not be put to shame.

Road map B

Today we are going to be in the book of Joel, chapter 2:25-32. This text is broken into 3 different sections and we are going to go through each one, examining the restoration of blessing Yahweh has in store for Israel, the coming blessing of God’s Holy Spirit and the final fulfillment of the day of Yahweh. Again the main point is this, “Those who call on Christ will never be put to shame” which is also the title of verses 25-27 - Never be put to shame

I). Never Be Put to Shame (v25-27)

Joel 2:25–32 | 25 “Then I (Yahweh) will pay back to you in full for the years That the swarming locust has consumed, The creeping locust, the stripping locust, and the gnawing locust, My great military force which I sent among you. 26 “And you will have plenty to consume and be satisfied And praise the name of Yahweh your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; Then My people will never be put to shame. 27 “Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am Yahweh your God, And there is no other; And My people will never be put to shame.

In the Day of Yahweh, Yahweh will be present with His people (v27) and spare them (v18) and restore them and their days of shame will be over. In fact the term not be put to shame is emphasized by the adverb, “never;” and to make sure that the point is not missed it is repeated.

The sense of בושׁ is Sense: to be ashamed – to be or become characterized by feelings of shame, guilt, embarrassment, or remorse.

Why would they be ashamed? Because the plagues that had fallen on Judah had been promised since the time of Moses in Deut 28.38 - when the people of Israel went astray after idols they were promised this would happen. And it was even confirmed in the time of Solomon 2 Chr 7.13-14.

By forsaking the Lord the nation had come under divine judgment much like we are seeing in the world today. That is a real reason to be ashamed, to defy the warnings of the living God and abandon Him. But interestingly, I just mentioned 2 Chr 7.13-14 God promised not only the judgment but also the way to be restored. ““If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the grasshopper to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their evil ways, then I will listen from heaven, I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land.”

God said that if His people humbled themselves and call upon Him and repent of their ways He will listen, and He will heal. Oh friends is that ever a message we need to hear today. Those that hear and act and do as He commands will never be put to shame. They will have their shame removed far from them. A full reversal of the plague described in Joel 1:4-6 is possible. A restoration of blessing is available - a few weeks ago we were in Job. After the trials, after the hardship, Yahweh in Job 42 restored everything two fold. This has happened and will happen again but Those who call on Christ will never be put to shame.

Moreover this will not be the end of the blessing… Verse 28-29, which is our second point, describes the supernatural blessing of the pouring out of God’s Holy Spirit.

II). The Pouring Out of God’s Holy Spirit (v28-29)

28 “And it will be afterwards That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind (בָּשָׂ֔ר); And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; Your old men will dream dreams; Your young men will see visions. 29 “Even on the male slaves and female slaves I will in those days pour out My Spirit.

This pouring out here that is mentioned has the sense of a lavish and abundant giving out or expending to those who are undeserving. The statement I will pour out My Spirit is repeated - it will happen… but this text leaves many questions especially in light of the New Testament. I believe that the best way to understand this in the most literal sense is to take it as many prophecies are taken: in the sense of “already but not yet.”

The New Testament shows a fulfillment here in the church age, but our text here also makes absolute statements that can and rightfully should be taken in a broader sense as coming after the Day of Yahweh. I want to take a moment with these two verses because it is worthy of examining to see how great the grace of God is toward believers and to the world.

First let’s consider this text as framed by the New Testament.

The Apostle Peter speaks of the fulfillment of this prophetic promise at Pentecost in Acts 2. When the mighty wind filled the house where the Apostles and disciples of Christ were the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them and they were filled with Christ’s Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues - in actual literal human languages that all the people from around the world understood (Acts 2.5) - not the babbling that we hear people doing today.

Peter says what happened at Pentecost was what was spoken of through Joel and then he went on to quote this text - verses 28-32, after which about three thousand Jews from every nation were saved. Later in Acts 10.45 Gentiles received the blessing of God’s Holy Spirit. These together substantiate and form the “already” portion of the text, validating what Peter stated.

It is clear from Acts 2 and 10 that the early church understood this prophecy in Joel as having taken place. But it’s a bit puzzling why, if the Holy Spirit has been poured out we can see such immorality and injustice. The text in Joel states that God’s Holy Spirit will be poured out on all mankind. Yes, this has happened but not in the way we would expect. We expect because of the work of the Holy Spirit in our life that that is what will be experienced globally - and it will after the Day of Yahweh but that is not what Christ said would happen.

In John 16, Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment and that He would glorify Christ (John 16:8, 13-14). That is happening, globally now. But many still blaspheme God’s Holy Spirit by failing to repent of sin and believe in Jesus Christ.

What is clear is that a final fulfillment will take place after the Day of Yahweh when Yahweh is present among all the surviving people that have come through the Great Tribulation and He will bless them with presence and desire to obey Him. PAUSE

Christian, I am not sure we truly realize the magnitude of the blessing we have received. We have received a foretaste of what will be experienced globally after the Day of Yahweh. We have been sealed in Christ by God’s Holy Spirit. We have received the advanced deposit or pledge that proves that God’s promise is good and our inheritance is sure as confirmed by Ephesians 1. It is Christ’s Holy Spirit that enables us to call out to God, Abba Father (Galatians 4:6). We have not received a spirit of slavery but adoption (Romans 8.15). As children of God we can call on Him and not be ashamed. This is indeed a great blessing! Consider just how great the grace of God is toward you PAUSE

Let’s wrap up our text by considering just what the Day of the Lord will entail and consider the paradox of the call in verse 30-32. Our final section is titled the Call.

III). The Call (v30-32)

30 “And I will put 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 Yahweh comes. 32 “And it will be that everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As Yahweh has said, Even among the survivors whom Yahweh calls.

The Day of Yahweh is explicitly referenced in the Bible 23 times - most frequently in Isaiah, Joel and Zephaniah. It is a time all the inhabitants of the earth will be terrified and face destruction (Zephaniah 1:7-18). It will be a day that the nation of Israel will not want Amos 5.18. Last week we looked at Obadiah 15-16 which says that the Day of Yahweh is “near.” All that is proud and arrogant will be brought low Isa 2:12–17. All sinners will be exterminated Isaiah 13:6-13 and the judgment will extend to cosmic powers and the Leviathan (Isa 24:21–22), (Isa 27:1). It is a day when only the tiniest fragment will be saved (Romans 9.27).

Although the plague of locusts that had destroyed the food supply of Judah was bad it is just a taste of what is to come but as our text tells us there will be some who are delivered… Who is that? When all life will confront the terrifying fury of Yahweh against sin and pride who can be saved? Only those who call on the name of Yahweh and are drawn in by Him.

I would like to briefly dwell on this because it is worthy of our consideration. The call that is mentioned here is paradoxical, seemingly contradictory but simultaneously true. Those who call on Yahweh will be saved but Yahweh calls out certain individuals to be saved.

To be saved, to be delivered from the Day of Yahweh a person must call upon the Name of the Lord - the name of Yahweh being a reference to His divine character. A person must trust that Yahweh is who He claims to be and take Him up on His free offer of deliverance. But that person must also be called or drawn by Yahweh.

Jesus said in John 6:44 ““No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” He repeated Himself in John 6.65 “And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.””

A person cannot be saved unless they are called by God and unless they call on God. Is that you? Have you been called? Yes, right now you have been called but will you call on the name of Yahweh, only you can answer that question. Will you trust in what His Holy Spirit is applying to your heart or will you quench the His testimony? PAUSE

It is clear to me is that no last ditch effort will be successful - everything is to be destroyed except the smallest number of Jews, those who know and love Christ having already been raptured seven years prior. Like all things in life if we wait till the last moment it will be too late. We must call on the name of Christ, today, now. To call on Christ is to make appeal to, or request help from. Failing to call or procrastinating proves that we do not believe the character of God nor His witness. Let’s take a word from Paul in Philippians 2.12b “...work out your salvation with fear and trembling;” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10.31).

Application

Clearly the message of today is to “call on Christ” and to grab onto the life raft not only for salvation but also for sustainment through our times of hardship. May I offer encouragement to believers “Grab the Life Raft.” Turn to Hebrews 4. In the interests of time I will limit us to 3 verses in chapter 4. Verses 14-16.

Hebrews 4.14-16 “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us take hold of our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things like we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

How can we entrust ourselves fully to Christ - we need to grab onto the RAFT. Here is our acrostic.

Receive Mercy - Gratefully receive what is undeserved (λάβωμεν) (Hebrews 4:16)

Ephesians 2:4 “But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us,” His Father is rich in mercy

Approach Confidently - He is sympathetic! Go to the only fountain of life knowing He will never run dry - (παρρησίας) (Hebrews 4:16)

Romans 8.32 “He who indeed did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?”

Find Grace - He desires to help! Gladly reach out to God and gather His undeserved favor (εὕρωμεν) (Hebrews 4:16)

Nehemiah 9:17 ““They refused to listen, And did not remember Your wondrous deeds which You did among them; So they became stiff-necked and gave themselves a chief to return to their slavery in Egypt. But You are a God of lavish forgiveness, Gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness; And You did not forsake them.” says that Yahweh is a God of lavish forgiveness

Take hold of your confession of Christ as Master and Redeemer, Savior and Lord - adhere to it like super glue (κρατῶμεν) (Hebrews 4.14) - Our grip is to be firm and steadfast

Matthew 16.16 “And Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.””

How can we receive blessing, resting in the great and gracious gift of God’s Holy Spirit? How can we find not only salvation but sustainment through hardship and trial… we must reach for the only authorized life raft - that is Christ. He cares for us, He desires that we receive mercy, approach confidently, find the freely offered grace and take hold of the confession that He is who He claims to be.

Conclusion

What a whirlwind of concepts and texts… through different contexts. We have looked at ancient Judah and the plague of locusts that foreshadowed the coming Day of Yahweh. We have heard the call to avoid shame by receiving God’s Holy Spirit and His testimony of Christ. We have learned how to cling to Christ, our life RAFT, who has promised to provide everything that is necessary for the furtherance of His kingdom. I want to close by having us turn to 2 Timothy chapter 1....

In Paul’s final letter we hear in chapter 1 how Paul dearly remembers not only Timothy but also remembers his faith which he learned from his mother and grandmother. He says in verse 3

2 Timothy 1:3–12 | 3 I am grateful to God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I unceasingly remember you in my prayers night and day, 4 longing to see you, having remembered your tears, so that I may be filled with joy, 5 being reminded of the unhypocritical faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am convinced that it is in you as well.

The testimony received from Lois and Eunice was believed by Timothy. Mothers, the living out of your faith, your calling on the Lord impacts not only you but future generations. Paul writes that he gives thanks to God for the faith that Timothy has and in verse 6 he spurs him on to renew and develop that faith, not to be ashamed of Jesus or what He is doing in their life.

6 For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and self-discipline. 8 Therefore do not be ashamed of either the witness about our Lord or me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, 10 but now has been manifested by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher.

Oh, Christian, do not be timid, do not be ashamed of Jesus. Readily offer yourself up wholly, entirely to Christ for service. He has called us, He has saved us. Not by works, not by our own fleshly righteousness but with something better. By His grace.

It is His grace that I commend to us all at this time. He will graciously receive all who call upon Him and those who call on Christ will never be put to shame. It is His freely offered undeserved favor that saves, and like Paul we can say verse 12 For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.

Let us stand and I will pray

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Joel 2:25–32 | 25 “Then I will pay back to you in full for the years That the swarming locust has consumed, The creeping locust, the stripping locust, and the gnawing locust, My great military force which I sent among you. 26 “And you will have plenty to consume and be satisfied And praise the name of Yahweh your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; Then My people will never be put to shame. 27 “Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am Yahweh your God, And there is no other; And My people will never be put to shame. 28 “And it will be afterwards That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; Your old men will dream dreams; Your young men will see visions. 29 “Even on the male slaves and female slaves I will in those days pour out My Spirit. 30 “And I will put 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 Yahweh comes. 32 “And it will be that everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As Yahweh has said, Even among the survivors whom Yahweh calls.

Romans 10.12-13 “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him, for “WHOEVER CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.””

So what?

Rough Outline 1 Echoes in Advance (Judgment, Promise, Deliverance)

The Promise Inaugurated in the giving of God’s Holy Spirit - Acts 2:1-12.

The Promise made Joel 2.25-32 .

The Promise finally and fully fulfilled Revelation TBD

Rough Outline 2 Believing

Romans 10:5–13 | 5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of law: “THE MAN WHO DOES THESE THINGS SHALL LIVE BY THEM.” 6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way: “DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, ‘WHO WILL GO UP INTO HEAVEN?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), 7 or ‘WHO WILL GO DOWN INTO THE ABYSS?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).” 8 But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, leading to righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, leading to salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES UPON HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him, 13 for “WHOEVER CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

Joel 2:28-32 ““And it will be afterwards That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; Your old men will dream dreams; Your young men will see visions. “Even on the male slaves and female slaves I will in those days pour out My Spirit. “And I will put wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire, and columns of smoke. “The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of Yahweh comes. “And it will be that everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As Yahweh has said, Even among the survivors whom Yahweh calls.”

Rough Outline 3 Joel 2.12-14 .

Make friends quickly with your opponent at law

Joel 2.12-14 .

The blessings on those who fear the name of the Lord and do His bidding -

L‌ocust eggs can hatch after 20 years, they can become flight capable after 1 month and under certain circumstances they become gregarious: colorful, faster and attracted to one another. An outbreak of locusts come together that is called and upsurge and when upsurges meet they become plagues and can move 100 miles in a day. Wind travels to areas of low pressure and often carries with it rain. Rain causes growth of plants and plants are what locusts eat - we have a trouble understanding this but that would be the equivalent of locusts eating 15,000 bales of hay - per day. Locusts eat their body weight every day and a plague level locust swarm can be 40 miles or more wide.

Word Study “Shame” - וְלֹא־יֵבֹ֥שׁוּ - VaI3MP - Repeated (!)

Sense: to be ashamed – to be or become characterized by feelings of shame, guilt, embarrassment, or remorse.

Usage in the Bible is most commonly translated “ashamed” also includes “Dry”

Expectations

The plagues were promised Deut 28.38 ““You shall bring out much seed to the field, but you will gather in little, for the locust will consume it.”

But the solution was also granted too 2 Chr 7.13-14 ““If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the grasshopper to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their evil ways, then I will listen from heaven, I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land.”

Reversal of Joel 1:4-6 that described the horrible denuding of the land. No, in this case the blessings will return and all people will have enough to eat.

This is very similar to what happened in Job 42:10-13. Do you remember Job? He had all of his earthly riches and blessings stripped away. His health, his wealth and his family and God restored all that Job had twofold.

This is what is Promised Revelation 7.16-17 ““THEY WILL HUNGER NO LONGER, NOR THIRST ANYMORE; NOR WILL THE SUN BEAT DOWN ON THEM, NOR ANY HEAT; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will shepherd them and will guide them to springs of the water of life. And God WILL WIPE EVERY TEAR FROM THEIR EYES.””

Hebrews 2.11 “For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of One; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brothers,”

Hebrews 11.16 “But now, they aspire to a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He prepared a city for them.”

Principle

Delineating between shame / guilt and remorse / repentance

But even if we were to limit it to just the Jews as might be proper by the repeated 2 person plural, “you,” we can see that truly the Jewish nation has not received God’s Holy Spirit. They still cling to a works righteousness based upon wrangling the Law… So how should we look at this text?

In times when the text is unclear it helps if we can pull in another text. The prophet Ezekiel says in chapter 36

Ezekiel 36:22–28 | 22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations, to which you have come. 23 “I will prove the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am Yahweh,” declares Lord Yahweh, “when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. 24 “And I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land. 25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness and from all your idols. 26 “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to do My judgments. 28 “And you will inhabit the land that I gave to your fathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.

If we take this sequentially, after God re-consolidates the nation of Israel, God will prove Himself holy, He will prove Israel’s unworthiness and it is then that God will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh and bless them with His own Holy Spirit. No longer will they have to wrangle about God’s Law they will want to obey and God will finally be their God. This has not yet happened!

Romans 11:25 says “For I do not want you, brothers, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;”

Until the church is completed, Israel will be hardened against God. When the church is completed it will be raptured and the great tribulation will begin.

Cross References

Amos 8.11 | Ezekiel 36.26-27 | Numbers 11.29 | Acts 10.45 | Galatians 3.8

Major Takeaways

All mankind - expansive, your sons, your daughters, old men, young men, male and female slaves - EVERYONE

Word Study “Pour Out” - אֶשְׁפּ֤וֹךְ

Sense: to pour out lavish – to expend profusely, being understood in terms of pouring something out

verb, verb, Qal, yiqtōl (imperfect), first person, singular, prefix conjugation, Ø, ground (G), first person, Ø, singular, other or Ø, active, common - SAME FOR BOTH OCCURENCES

Always translated in the NASB95 as pour out

Why is the pouring out of God’s Holy Special? Because it is associated with acceptance and distribution of divine revelation. Those who have God’s Holy Spirit in that dispensation will prophesy, dream, see visions. In the church age those who have God’s Holy Spirit will believe what His word says about Christ. Jesus said in John 16:13–14 ““But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak from Himself, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.”

But we have pause to consider whether or not this is the final and complete fulfillment because a greater fulfillment is pointed to than what is seen in Acts 2.

Consider this, in verse 28 God says He will pour out His Spirit on “all mankind”, or literally “all flesh.” Additionally, He says that after the Day of Yahweh this will take place. How do we look at all of this correctly? Again, it is a matter of “already and not yet.”

In verse 28-29 we read that God will pour out His Holy Spirit on “all flesh.” The Apostle Peter in Acts 2:16 validates this prophecy through Joel by confirming that the message they preached at Pentecost was attested to by God’s Holy Spirit and truly this impacted not only Jews but Gentiles too… (Acts 10.45). When Peter preached and quoted this text after the Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost approximately 3000 people were saved but some mocked (Acts 2:13).

But to do so we will need to break this text down piece by piece - God says first in verse 28 that, “afterwards,” after what? After He restores blessing to Israel, after the Day of Yahweh, He will pour out His Holy Spirit on all flesh. Regardless of demographic, regardless of sex or status all mankind will have His Holy Spirit poured out on them.

Where’s the Final Fulfillment?

But in looking closely at the text we notice that verse 28 says that God will pour out His Spirit on “all mankind” or more literally “all flesh.” That gives me pause… Although we who believe have received a foretaste of God’s abundant generosity - clearly Acts 2 and even Acts 10.45 state this, that both Jews and Gentiles were blessed with God’s Holy Spirit - we cannot say that “all flesh” has yet received God’s Holy Spirit, can we? Yes and No. Christian’s have received the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit compelling them to repentance and belief in Jesus Christ but also the world has received the ministry of God’s Holy Spirit - but not in the same capacity. Jesus says in John 16.8 “And He (God’s Holy Spirit), when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;” That is happening now.

Is today, the final and complete fulfillment? Peter seemed to say so in Acts 2.

Because the Day of Yahweh has not yet taken place. That is when this gift is set to be finally and fully distributed.

III). The Call (v30-32) A Sign and Survivors | Yahweh Delivers | Deliverance in the Day of Yahweh

Cross References

Ex 7.15-17 | Rev 8.7 | Romans 10.12-13 |

Major Takeaways on “The Day of Yahweh”

Signs point to the reality

Not exclusively about judgment or salvation but the arrival of the Self-Existent God

παρουσία - Presence, Arrival, Advent

Judgment 2 Thes 2.8 | 2 Peter 3.11-12 | Amos 5.18

Believers are to wait expectantly patiently 1 Thess 2.19 | 1 Thes 3.13 | 1 Thes 4.15 | James 5.7-8 | 2 Peter 3.4 |

To call upon the Name of the Lord is a consistent pattern not a last ditch effort(?)

Confess Him before the nations Is 12.4 | Ps 105.1 | Zech 13.9 |

PARADOX John 6.44 ““No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Philippians 2.12 “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;”

Word Study - Whoever Calls - אֲשֶׁר־יִקְרָ֛א

Sense: to call on – to have recourse to or make an appeal or request for help or information to

verb, verb, Qal, yiqtōl (imperfect), third person, masculine, singular, prefix conjugation, Ø, ground (G), third person, masculine, singular, other or Ø, active

Word Study - Calls - קֹרֵֽא

Sense: to summon – to authoritatively communicate a demand for the presence or participation of

verb, verbal noun, Qal, participle, masculine, singular, absolute, participle, ground (G), absolute, masculine, singular, other or Ø, active

Application

For those who will not be raptured (NOT A VERY GOOD MOTHERS DAY MESSAGE)

Maintain the Word of God

Prepare to be martyred

Keep the faithful testimony until you are martyred Revelation 6.9 “And when He opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the witness which they had maintained;”

Today is the day of repentance

Hebrews 3.13 “But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “TODAY,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

Warning against unbelief and encouragement to believers

Hebrews 3.12-4:11 |