7 - Return: Pouring out of the Spirit

Return: Pouring Out the Spirit

Joel 2:28–32 ESV

28 “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 29 Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. 30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 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.

1. Introduction – The passage we come to today is one that is quoted by the Apostle Peter verbatim on the day of Pentecost.

a. Whenever we study Pentecost, or Pentecost Sunday comes around on the church calendar year…we hear the words of Joel 2:28-32.

i. But having spent the last 6 weeks studying the book of Joel…we now have some context to these verses – we know the historical context they were spoken to.

1. The tempting thing for us to do is abandon the original context of these verses and jump straight to Acts 2 and look at how Peter used them at Pentecost.

ii. But this is a study through the book of Joel…not Acts.

1. So this morning we are going to resist the urge to jump straight to Acts 2 and Pentecost.

a. Today we are first going to try and understand how Joel’s original audience heard these words.

i. What did this paragraph do to their psyche? How did this passage benefit their spiritual well-being?

2. And only after we have established these words in their original context…only after we hear these words through the ears of Joel’s audience…only then will we jump to how we are supposed to hear and understand these words in light of the Holy Spirit’s coming on the day of Pentecost.

b. Keep in mind, what we are reading this morning is a continuation of what we looked at last week.

i. How does God respond to his repentant people?

1. Last time we saw that God responded to his people by restoring to them what was lost.

a. He undid the destruction that had previously been caused by the locusts.

i. He responded by pouring out rain on the parched land.

ii. How else did God respond to his repentant people? By pouring out part of himself on them.

1. Hear God’s Word – Joel 2:28-32.

c. Aren’t those incredible words? God responds by pouring out his Spirit on his repentant people.

i. Before we explore how Joel’s original audience would have heard these words…I want to put this section in its context.

1. Last time we studied God’s first 2 responses. Those are what I’m going to call immediate responses.

a. After years of a locust plague…after a drought because of their unfaithfulness…

i. God was going to immediately restore the cycle of rain…God was going to immediately restore their crops.

1. And he was going to do so abundantly.

ii. But this response…the promise we just read was going to happen in the future.

1. Look at the opening phrase, “And it shall come to pass…”

a. Or some other translations say, “After all these things…”

i. As we move into v.28 of chapter 2, it has this feeling that we are moving away from the immediate…and God is now speaking about a future response.

2. So, how would Joel’s original audience have heard and understood this passage?

a. To them, this is a message of assurance or maybe reassurance is a better term…

i. And it is a message of deliverance.

2. Reassurance – So how would this be a reassuring message for Joel’s generation?

a. Well, the very fact that God says, “I will pour out my Spirit…” should bring them reassurance.

i. The fact that God didn’t say, “I will turn away from them…” Or “I will leave them to their own devices…” should be of great encouragement to them.

1. Remember God is speaking to a wayward people…newly repentant…but they had spent years wandering…and the fact that God didn’t leave them and instead is choosing to pour his Spirit out on them should give them great reassurance about the status of their relationship with God.

a. This would have been a vulnerable and fragile nation.

i. They had felt God’s discipline first had…but God didn’t abandon them.

1. God wasn’t going to give up o them…in fact he was going to increase the intimacy of their relationship.

b. After disciplining his people, after his people responded by repenting and returning to God…God will not continue to dole out the punishment, he wasn’t going to leave Israel and find a new covenant partner…

i. NO – just the opposite really – far from abandoning his called people – God was going to deepen their relationship by pouring out his Spirit…part of himself on his people.

1. And if we look at and dissect the words of this passage – particularly vv.28-29, every single word…every phrase recorded would be reassuring to Joel’s generation.

c. Quickly look at vv.28-29.

i. I will pour out my Spirit…God isn’t an absentee God. But he gets personally involved in his peoples’ lives…even to the point of pouring himself out on them.

1. For Joel’s original audience the words ‘all flesh’ or ‘all people’ would be particularly comforting and reassuring.

a. And if we are going to understand this passage in its original context first…we have to realize that for them ‘all flesh’ meant all of Israel in particular.

d. But this is an important phrase because throughout Israel’s history – the Spirit wasn’t something that was universally poured out.

i. It was given to certain individuals to perform certain tasks.

1. David was given a special anointing of the Spirit in order to perform his kingly duties.

a. Prophets and priests were given the Spirit in order to lead the people or proclaim God’s messages to the people.

i. In the book of Exodus, we’re told that the Spirit of the Lord came upon Bezalel in order to help him craft objects for the tabernacle and clothing for the priests.

1. The Spirit was given to certain people in order to perform certain tasks.

ii. But look at these words…God will pour out his Spirit on…only a select few…

1. Nope…on ALL Israel…with a caveat at the end about calling on his name.

e. And here’s where this prophecy really gets interesting.

i. Look at the groups that are mentioned. What God is saying here is that there will be no distinction between who gets the Spirit and who doesn’t…expect for those who call on his name and those who don’t.

1. But look…no difference between boys and girls…the Spirit will be poured out on them equally if they call on God’s name.

a. No distinction between young and old – they will receive the Spirit if they call on God.

i. No distinction made between servants and slaves and owners.

ii. Here’s why these statements are so important. Ancient Israel was a patriarchal society.

1. It was a country ruled by old men who owned land and servants.

a. One would expect – when God was pouring out his Spirit – that only the rich, old men would get it.

i. one would expect only the old, rich men to prophesy, to dream and have visions.

1. But not so…The Spirit falls on all…without distinction…regardless of gender, age or socio-economic position.

f. And when the Spirit comes – those things that were once reserved for the select few – will be readily available to all.

i. They will prophesy…now, remember what I’ve said about prophecy and prophesying.

1. It isn’t primarily predicting the future…it’s not prognostication…

a. Prophecy is about ‘thus says the Lord.” Prophecy is speaking the word of God to the people of God.

i. It is speaking God’s word into the hearts and lives of God’s people in the present…in order to effect their future.

2. In Joel – land is restored and rain will fall. The Spirit will be poured out – because they heeded the prophet’s words in the present…and that repentance positively affected their future.

a. I have a book on my shelf called “The Art of Prophesying” and it is a preaching book…not a book on predicting the future.

i. It’s a book about how to rightly proclaim God’s Word to God’s people.

3. Look at what Joel writes here…No longer will prophecy be reserved for only a select few…but all will have the opportunity to be prophets.

a. This actually fulfills a hope of Moses that all God’s people would be prophets…see Numbers 11:29.

g. Not only prophecy, but people will dream dreams and have visions.

i. We can’t underestimate how important dreams are in the Bible.

1. Jacob dreamt, Joseph and Pharaoh, Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar, the angel spoke to both Joseph and Mary in a dream…

a. God communicates important information to his people through dreams.

i. Visions are much the same, but the recipient is awake.

1. Isaiah had a vision of God’s throne room.

ii. Peter had a vision about taking the Gospel message to Gentiles.

1. The book of Revelation was a vision given to John while he was in the Spirit on the Island of Patmos.

h. How reassuring this passage must have been for Joel’s generation.

i. Far from God abandoning his people – he was going to pour himself out on his people – it was to be an outward sign that would be the evidence of that close relationship.

3. Deliverance – But the passage is also one of deliverance.

a. Look at v.32 – all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.

i. What I want us to take note of is that word call. What does it mean to call on God’s name?

1. Here’s what it doesn’t mean…Its not a calling in the midst of crisis.

a. It is NOT a one time call for help when you are in trouble.

ii. But here’s what it does mean to call on God’s name.

1. Calling on God’s name is a lifelong commitment to worship, to service, and fellowship with God.

a. And those who call on God’s name – who walk with him daily, who worship him constantly and fellowship with him intimately will be delivered on the day of the Lord.

iii. and here’s where it ties together – the Spirit – who is poured out on those who call on God’s name, will be the distinguishing mark of those who have called on God’s name.

4. For us Today – So that’s how Joel’s original audience hear this passage…how are we to interpret and understand it?

a. Well, we understand Joel 2 in light of Acts 2. Because in Acts 2 this prophecy was fulfilled.

i. While Jesus’ followers were hold up in an upper room, the Holy Spirit descended on them like tongues of fire.

1. It emboldened them to take to the streets and preach the gospel – in many different languages so the people who were gathered in Jerusalem for a feast would be able to understand what was being said.

a. We aren’t looking for the Holy to be poured out…that already happened at Pentecost.

b. We should also interpret the word ‘all’ in Joel 2:28 differently.

i. The original audience would have understood it to mean all Israel…but we know that the whole world has been blessed through the death and resurrection of Jesus…

1. And Paul writes the Gentiles have been grafted into Israel.

a. So we interpret ‘all’ as meaning all people…all who call on the name of the Lord will have the Spirit poured out on them.

c. However, in keeping with Joel 2 – and what the NT writes affirm is that there’s no distinction on whom the Spirit falls.

i. All who come to God through faith in Jesus’ saving death and resurrection will be saved and will receive the Holy Spirit.

1. Paul writes something similar to Joel 2 in Galatians 3 where he writes that in Christ…all are on equal footing….there’s no hierarchy based nationality, gender or occupation.

a. In Christ there is no Jew or Greek, male of female, slave or free.

i. And what Paul writes in Galatians 3 was first expressed here in Joel where when no distinction is made about the Spirit’s out pouring.

d. We also see the same experiences happening with the pouring out the Spirit.

i. Today we call them spiritual gifts or grace gifts.

1. It’s really beyond the scope of this sermon to talk about spiritual gifts, but I will say this…

a. Paul writes that the Holy Spirit equips God’s people with gifts and abilities in order to serve the body of Christ.

ii. Also – much like it was for the original audience…

1. For us today, the Holy Spirit is a mark that sets us apart form the rest of the world.

a. On the day of Pentecost…after his sermon, Peter was asked what people must do in order to be saved…and he responded…

i. Repent, be baptized and receive the Holy spirit…

1. So baptism and the Holy Spirit become the identifying marks of a Christian.

5. Hope and Judgment – And as we close today, I want us to try and make sense of vv.3-32…

a. This is such a hopeful and encouraging passage…why the doomsday talk?

i. Here’s why – the Bible always holds these two things in tension…blessing and judgment.

1. Yes, God will bless those who follow him, but he will punish those who don’t.

a. So the Bible always describes the day of the Lord both in terms of blessing and judgment.

i. And it depends on how you respond to or didn’t respond to God that dictates your experience on that day.

b. Call on God’s name – worship him, serve him, fellowship with him and the day of the Lord will be a day of blessing for you.

i. However, if you reject God, don’t call on his name, worship other things, serve yourself…the day of the Lord will be a terrible experience for you.

1. We studied the concept when we studied Revelation…and also when we studied 2 Corinthians.

a. We are the aroma of Christ to God…a fragrance of life to those who are being saved…but the stench of death to others.

i. A fragrance from death to death and to others a fragrance of life to life.

ii. How you receive the aroma of Christ depends on the status of your relationship to God.

6. Conclusion – So how does God respond to his repentant people?

a. By pouring out his Spirit on them. By equipping them with gifts, but breaking down barriers…by saving them at the end.

i. It’s really a reminder of which side of this we need to be on.

1. We must be calling on God’s name…daily walking with him, worshipping him, serving God and fellowship with him.

a. And when we do that, we can rest assured that we will be saved.