" A Call to Repentence"

Change is Hard? Repentance

Zeph. 1:14-16; Joel 2:1-2; 13-17

Introduction. We continue our series on God according to God, as God tell His story through His spirit. we are using exodus 34:6-7 and God describes His character to us. Merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abounding in goodness” Last time we spoke about confession and we realized that “ Confession is to speak what you know is true about yourself and God”

we also learned that Confession is a brutal and beautiful mix of honesty, responsibility and the fear of the lord.

The more we respect God and His abilities to deliver us, provide us more than what we need and help us through our situation. the more we learn and become honest with who we are.

Introduction: What if you experienced a breakup between two friends? and then was asked to choose a side? What if you where friends with a couple and grew found both, but they ended in a messy breakup? or better yet, what would happen if asked to change your faith or religion? Or better yet a church split? As you are asked, whose side are you on?

How hard would that change be? How would you feel about this? Would you think it was fair? Would you think that your spouse/friend would really do it? Would you make the change? Would you be glad to have the chance to make a change? How long do you think would be reasonable for your spouse/friend to give you to change? A week? A month? A year? I actually experienced all of the above.

The point is that “change is hard.” We might not want the consequences above (i.e., a relationship ending, feelings being hurt), but it would be hard to change the above things. Some people get the picture and understand that change is needed, while others will go down fighting and lose so much before changing and still won't fully commit to the change. I counseled with a lady a few weeks back and is going through this very issue in her marriage. Her husband sees no reason for change.

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an unknown author wrote”

When you remember how hard it is to change yourself, you begin to understand what little chance we have of changing others.

Unknown

This is the story that we see before us and the Word that God has given to Joel is “ A Call to “Repentance”

It requires a change of heart. Joel is speaking to Corrupt leaders, during a Famine War, Invasion, and captivity. Sounds like the leading stories on the evening news, but this story took place long ago in the days of “Kings of Judah”

let me make this clear, Change of heart to do God’s will is always good, a change of the method of how we do things can be good but the doctrine will never change. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

There are some things that are going to change and there is nothing you or I can do about it, NO control. But the heart, you have a choice. In our High School Bible Study they were asked the questions “Think of something that is timeless besides God (who exists outside of time) and the book of the Bible (Jesus who was at the beginning of the Bible and at the End). Everything has been modified, upgraded and made to suit mankind in the 21st century. You like ac in cars who would of thought cellphones would become walking computers. Amazon would become. Even down to how we read the Bible.

Preview of our Wednesday Bible study on “Autopsy of a Deceased Church.” There is a chapter called “The Past is a Hero.” and it quotes “The most common thread of the autopsies was that the deceased churches lived a long time with the past as hero. They held on more tightly with each progressive year. They often clung to things of the past with desperation and fear. And when any internal or external force tried to change the past, they responded with anger and resolution: and these are the words they said “We will die before we change.”

Well, that is the course that Israel and Judah are headed in the Book of Joel. But first let me take you back to a major cross road that starts this demise. The message of the book of Joel applies to us today. Joel calls for the people to hear and listen. Here in the book of Joel, the prophet warns disobedient and sinful people of the coming of the day. Let’s talk about the days of kings. Let’s pause here for a minute and speak about the “Kings of Judah”. If you are new to the church there are two books in the Old Testament called 1st and 2nd Kings. We read it a few weeks ago in my sermon. Those two books provide us the history of when the children of Israel asked Samuel the prophet in Samuel chapter 8, because his sons did not follow his ways that they wanted a king like all the other nations. So in your spare time this week, you can learn more about how things went because of the request of the people. Read 1st and 2nd Kings. A key point in Samuel 8 is verse 7 as the Lord told Samuel to do what the people want, because it's not you they reject but Me. Appointing the kings started the demise and hearts turned away from the Lord. Now there were a few righteous people searching for God’s Wisdom, like King David, King Solomon, and Queen of Sheba (Hezekiah), but on the other hand, Ahab and his wife Jezebel are two notorious examples of wicked people discarding God’s law.

There was Unity as we see in 2 Samuel 5:1-5. All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and all the elders of Israel had come to King David and made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.

But during Solomon’s reign, Jeroboam, who was from the tribe of Ephraim, and a servant of King Solomon’s. He later became the first king of the divided northern kingdom of Israel.

Read 1 Kings 11:29-33

1 Kings 11:29–33 (NKJV)

Now it happened at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the way; and he had clothed himself with a new garment, and the two were alone in the field. Then Ahijah took hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces. And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you (but he shall have one tribe for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), because they have forsaken Me, and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the people of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways to do what is right in My eyes and keep My statutes and My judgments, as did his father David.

The idol worship of the Israelites caused God to divide the kingdom (verse 33). another word for divide is what? Split

Following Solomon’s death, Solomon’s son Rehoboam became king and foolishly threatened to make life more difficult for the people of the land by accepting the advice of the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him but rejecting the advice the elders gave him to be favorable toward the people (1 Kings 12:14). This led to a rebellion against Rehoboam, and the ten northern tribes crowned Jeroboam as their king (1 Kings 12:20). The division predicted by Ahijah came to pass (1 Kings 12:15).

Jeroboam had been promised great blessings and a continuing dynasty if he would follow the Lord (1 Kings 11:38). However, Jeroboam did not obey the Lord. Instead, Jeroboam further consolidated his power by instituting a form of calf worship unique to his kingdom and declaring that journeys to Jerusalem were unnecessary. Thus, the people of the northern tribes would have no contact with the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.This idolatry is often referred to as “the sins of Jeroboam” in later chapters of 1 and 2 Kings.

“So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day” (1 Kings 12:19). The northern kingdom is called “Israel” (or sometimes “Ephraim”) in Scripture, and the southern kingdom is called “Judah.” From the divine viewpoint, the division was a judgment on not keeping God’s commands, specifically the commands prohibiting idolatry.

a human viewpoint, the division was the result of tribal discord and political unrest. The principle is that sin brings division (1 Corinthians 1:13, 11:18; James 4:1).

so when you see a split or division, “A Split never produces two rights”

The book of Joel recounts the prophet Joel’s warning to God’s people about their impending doom. God is asking them to change. There were two major invasions of Israel: the Assyrians invaded and conquered the northern section (Israel) in about 722 B.C. The Babylonians invaded and conquered the southern section (Judah) in about 587 B.C.Joel is warning God’s people about their wicked ways, and he is promising destruction if God’s people do not repent. An invading army and devastating judgment were coming (Joel 2:1-11).In the first 11 verses of chapter 2. It was so certain that it was spoken of in Chapter 1 as a past event, indicating that it was inevitable. Even so, Joel urges Judah to repent. The prophet urged the people to react quickly and genuinely. Look at Verse 13” Now therefore, “ says the LordTo add more weight to the truth, Joel began quoting the “ LORD’s statements with the phrase, ‘Yet even now’, but suddenly stopped the quote to add declares the LORD. Some translations of “ Says the Lord”

Adding the parenthetical phrase declares the LORD carries much weight in the prophetic books. It is an affirmation that the prophets speak on God’s behalf. A prophet is someone who receives a message from God and has the responsibility to deliver that message to God’s people. When the prophet Joel said, declared the LORD, he added weight and emphasis to his message, indicating that it did not come from him. Instead, the message came from the LORD.

This phrase is two-fold: (1) it made clear that Joel’s message came from God and (2) it served to remind Judah that God still loved them and cared for them, despite their unfaithfulness.

After adding declares the LORD to the opening statement Yet even now, the prophet resumed his speech, admonishing Israel to Return to Me with all your heart. Even now, at this late date, the LORD invites the people to hear, believe the message repent, and avoid the looming judgment. God takes no pleasure in judging His people.There is a saying you can’t teach a old dog new tricks . My name can only help you maybe at Millwood, but there is a name that can carry and make more change that we can ever imagine

Ezekiel 33:11 (He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked)But it will be their choice. With this prophecy, God is making the choice clear. The judgment is certain, but repentance might still deliver them.

Now let’s break down wicked ways. When you derive wicked ways we think of evil. Wicked has several meanings in this context. To return to God means to turn from their wicked ways and be devoted to Him, to follow His covenant law. Wicked Ways included ensuring the powerless receive justice, and the widow and orphan are not exploited (Exodus 23:1-9). It implies a wholehearted turning from an orientation toward exploiting others to a firm resting on and obedience to the covenant promises of God. It is a turning away from the path of sin and self-reliance and a subsequent return to a place of restored fellowship and peace with God, and therefore a restoration practicing loving one’s neighbor. That is why the LORD asked His covenant people to return to Him with all their hearts. It means It’s time to change our game

Most often the word translated heart is used in the Bible to refer to the totality of man’s inner nature. For instance, thought functions are often attributed to the heart. As such, it is appropriate for God to ask His people to return to Him with all their hearts, to choose to follow His ways, and to believe that God’s ways are for our best. Here God is making the consequences clear, but God will not choose for them. God has gifted us with the amazing stewardship to make the choice of who or what to trust, how to look at things (perspective), and what actions to take. God admonishes us to see reality and make a good choice, a choice that will be for their benefit, rather than a choice that leads to destruction.

Matthew 11:20-21- Jesus pronounced a direct judgment on Israel. Chorazin was a village about 2 1/2 miles north of Capernaum. Bethsaida was about 3 miles east. Both of these cities were in Galilee and both had witnessed Jesus' ministry firsthand. They would be judged for seeing the Messiah, and then rejecting him.

Daniel 9:1-5 The first year of Darius was 539 BC, the year he was appointed by Cyrus as administrator of Babylon. The books refer to scripture, specifically, the book of Jeremiah, which states the desolation of Jerusalem will be fulfilled in 70 years. (Jeremiah 25:11,12 ;29:10–14) Daniel's own captivity occurred in 605 BC. It was now 538 BC some 67 years after the conquest. The period of captivity was almost over. Zachariah refers to the 70-year period as beginning with the destruction of the temple, which took place in 586 BC (Zech., 7:5) The temple was rebuilt and 515 B.C (see Ezra 6:15) Therefore, the 70 years have several beginnings and endings.

"Change is hard because people overestimate the value of what they have and underestimate the value of what they may gain by giving that up." — James Belasco and Ralph Stayer.

Joel is trying to convince the people about change but the urgency is to help people get ready for change. Change occurs whether a person is ready or not. We all had to change when COVID Hit. His principles are to anticipate change, let go of the old, and do what you would do if you were not afraid.

I’m so Glad that Jesus did not underestimate His value and that He gave up everything so that I can also have everything. Let’s not be afraid to change. It’s time to change your game