Dreaming Dreams

Have you looked closely at a grasshopper recently?

6 legs, but 2 are BIG, wings, a hard body, and compound eyes on odd-shaped head. They eat plants, but grasshoppers won’t put a dent in # of plants in your yard, pasture, or cornfield.

Locusts are grasshoppers that change during metamorphosis. They develop larger wings and smaller bodies. Instead of eating alone and moving alone, locusts move in swarms and eat everything green thing in their path. In 2020, during Covid, an outbreak in east Africa on a scale last seen 70 yrs ago.

Described as wave after wave: 40-80 M locusts destroyed fields and forests quickly, esp. when traveling 100 mi/d. That plague of locusts ate as much food as 3 M people each day.

OT prophet Joel compares the locusts in his day to an army:

Before them the land is like the garden of Eden,

behind them, a desert waste—nothing escapes them.

They have the appearance of horses;

they gallop along like cavalry.

With a noise like that of chariots

they leap over the mountaintops,

like a crackling fire consuming stubble,

like a mighty army drawn up for battle. Joel 2:3b–5 (NIV)

Listen to Joel’s discouraging description in ch. 1:

What the locust swarm has left

the great locusts have eaten;

what the great locusts have left

the young locusts have eaten;

what the young locusts have left

other locusts have eaten. Joel 1:4 (NIV)

Locusts caused famine among God’s people. It was a disaster.

Natural disasters are a result of the sin and brokenness in the world. With humankind’s disobedience and rebellion against God ‘way back at the dawn of time. Sin shattered the goodness and knocked the world off-kilter. God allows these natural disasters as a wake-up call for humankind’s need for God.

Locusts and forest fires, earthquakes, monsoons, and tornados all arise from the brokenness of the world. Natural disasters remind, even compel, people to pray to God to rescue us from sin, evil, and brokenness. Joel voices God’s invitation:

“Even now,” declares the Lord,

“return to me with all your heart,

with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

Rend your heart and not your garments.

Return to the Lord your God,

for he is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and abounding in love,

and he relents from sending calamity. Joel 2:12–13 (NIV)

That’s not to say people who are close to God are divinely insured against natural disaster; it doesn’t work that way. Natural evil is a result of humankind’s rebellion.

Natural disasters are the consequences of sin that God pronounced after Adam & Eve rebelled:

Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’

“Cursed is the ground because of you;

through painful toil you will eat food from it

all the days of your life. Genesis 3:17 (NIV)

After Adam & Eve rebelled, you, me, and all humankind share in their disobedience and so, we experience this curse daily.

But what we read from Joel’s prophesies comes AFTER the locusts, AFTER the invitation to repent and turn to the Lord, and AFTER the people turned to God in confession. God heard their confession of sin. God received their offerings.

All OT sin offerings all point ahead to Jesus’ one-for-all sacrifice to rescue the world from brokenness and the curse on sin. Just as the OT animals bled & died to cover human guilt, so the gospel tells us that Jesus bled & died to cover our guilt. Joel spoke of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:

The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood

before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Joel 2:31 (NIV)

Do you remember how the sun turned dark on Good Friday?

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. Luke 23:44–45a (NIV)

At the cross, God the Father put all humankind’s shame and guilt from sin on Jesus. Jesus died to rescue you from sin, guilt, and death. Three days later, Jesus rose to life, proving that sin and death have been conquered. Jesus is victorious!

Jesus’ resurrection is the beginning of new life: it’s the start of renewal for all creation. It’s the start of new life for everyone who appeals to the Lordwith fasting and weeping and mourning. It’s an invitation for you to turn to the Lord in faith and confidence, for the Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.

There’s a parallel b/t the restoration in the prophet Joel’s day and the new life offered in Jesus’ resurrection. Joel pointed to the abundant rains that came and proclaimed God’s promise of abundant food after the famine caused by the locusts:

The threshing floors will be filled with grain;

the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.

“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—

the great locust and the young locust,

the other locusts and the locust swarm—

my great army that I sent among you. Joel 2:24–25 (NIV)

But God’s people can count on blessings and gifts beyond food. It’s a verse that the Apostle Peter quotes in his sermon on the day of Pentecost. Standing before the crowd in Jerusalem, Peter explains the sound “like a violent wind” and the “tongues of fire” that rested on each of the disciples. He quoted Joel:

In the last days, God says,

I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your young men will see visions,

your old men will dream dreams.

Even on my servants, both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days,

and they will prophesy. Acts 2:17–18 (NIV)

When he preaches on this passage, Peter indicates that he – and we – are living in the last days.

A new age has dawned because of Jesus’ resurrection! It’s an age of renewal of all creation. Beginning with Jesus’ disciples, beginning with the church, God the HS is making all things new.

All people share in the anointing of the HS. It’s not just for rulers and religious officials. It’s not just once-in-a-generation. The Father and the Son pour out the HS on “all people”!

In faith, you can let the HS shape your imagination, shape your attitude, shape your behaviour so you’re transformed by God’s Word and Spirit. If you’ve been adopted into the family of God, the HS reveals the family resemblance. Paul talks about transformation in his letter to Chr. in Rome:

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. Romans 8:29 (NIV)

I think that’s where the promises about prophesying, seeing visions, and dreaming dreams get exciting.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your old men will dream dreams,

your young men will see visions. Joel 2:28 (NIV)

It’s Hebrew poetry. Often Hebrew poetry uses repetition and different words to capture different aspects of the same idea. It seems that Joel – and Peter – are speaking of God’s gifts of insight and glimpses of the future God has in store for his dearly loved people.

· Sons and daughters will prophesy or will act like prophets – they’ll learn from God through dreams or visions or even an audible voice.

· Old men will dream dreams – not nostalgia for some half-remembered good ol’ days – they’ll dream of the future God has in store.

· The visions of the young men – will be goals, aspirations, and what might be possible in God’s kingdom if we follow Jesus and obey the HS’s leading . . .

The NT book of Acts gives at least 6 examples:

Acts 9: One of the fiercest opponents to the early church was on the road to Damascus and in bright light, Paul saw a vision of Jesus

Ananias – was told in a vision to go, lay his hands on Paul and restore his sight b/c Paul was called to suffer for Jesus

Acts 10: Cornelius – had a vision of an angel of God who told him to send for Peter

Peter had a vision of animals, in which he was told: Do not call anything impure that God has made clean. Acts 10:15 (NIV)

Acts 16: Later, on a church-planting trip the HS kept them out of town after town, Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia say, “come over to Macedonia and help us.”

Acts 18: Facing opposition for preaching in Corinth, the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision:

Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.

Acts 18:9–10 (NIV)

Then there’s the whole book of Revelation, John received glimpses of the heavenly reality: Jesus is on heaven’s throne as victorious king. Jesus will return to judge the world and establish his reign on earth. God will live with his people!

In June, Pastor Cody and I plan to preach on Bible passages that give a glimpse of the Kingdom coming.

Prophetic visions and dreams are not just the stuff of Bible times. God the HS remains active in his world, renewing and making things alive and vibrant. Thanks to your generosity, I was able to go to Chicago a week ago, to study Church Renewal. I heard stories of how the HS sparked the imagination of church leaders and church families to dream dreams and see visions of the Kingdom of God.

My colleague Scott VanderPloeg described how God used him and others to lead a small dying church to shine brightly for the Kingdom of God in Port St. Lucie, FL. In 19 years, many people have heard and responded to the gospel, they have planted 3 churches, and led renewal in 3 more dying congregation. God has used them to raise up dozens of church leaders. But don’t covet the success God has brought to Pastor Scott and his congregation.

Look around you: we’re living the dream here at Crosspoint. 8-10 years ago, people wondered if Crosspoint should shut our doors. God the HS has done amazing things right here: through the gospel of Jesus, the HS is bringing life to people through Crosspoint. Dreams are coming true:

This summer, people will profess faith; some baptized

14 people in College & Careers Bible study

Summer programs (10:31 Jr Chef and Kids’ Bible Camp) reaching dozens, maybe 200 kids and their households

Who knows what else God has in store?

Probably the HS will breathe life and hope into his people, life beyond anything we can ask or imagine; not b/c we’re faithful, but b/c God is faithful and delights to bring life!