Hope for the Repentant

Welcome

Good morning, I want to thank you who are here and also those online for deciding to join us this morning as we worship our God, who created us, loves us, and saves us. For those you may not know me, my name is Kent Hinrichsen and I am the Youth and College Pastor here at Crosspoint.

Transition statement: To start off this message I want to take you back in time in history, over 26 years ago.

Introduction

On April 19, 1995 one of the deadliest domestic terrorist attacks happened in the United States. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols parked a rental truck full of explosives next to the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The bombing killed 168 people and injured more than 680 others. Both bombers were caught, tried, and convicted in court. Terry Nichols was sentenced to life in prison while Timothy McVeigh recieved the death penalty. On June 11, 2001 McVeigh was executed by lethal injection. When it was time to have any final words, McVeigh chose not to speak but rather distributed a portion of the poem titled, “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley. I will read the entire poem to give context.

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate,

I am the captain of my soul.

What this poem conveys and what Timothy McVeigh was trying to communicate is this attitude stubbornness, this thought that I am unbeatable. No one will be able to make me bow. I am in control. I’m always right. At the core of this attitude is the sin of pride.

One commentator puts it this way, “Pride keeps the sinner from acknowledging he is wrong.”

I & II Peter, I, II & III John, Jude (IV. Life Application: The Art of Being a Big Shot)

C. S. Lewis once said, “Pride is the mother hen under which all other sins are hatched.”

another commentator adds this.

I & II Peter, I, II & III John, Jude (IV. Life Application: The Art of Being a Big Shot)

Satan sees to it that we are constantly tempted by selfishness and pride. It is not a problem we can get over; rather, it is a condition that must be monitored at all times.

This sin of pride is one that we find the Jews saturated in during the Old Testament. Pride had led the Jews to trust in themselves. Pride led the Jews to turn away from God’s perfect law. Pride led Jews to a point where God had to punish or discipline them to turn them back to Him. This is where we see the Jews when we read the book of Joel. If you haven’t been here the past few weeks, we have been surveying some of the minor prophets and we’ve seen this theme of a call for turning away from sin and returning to God. A call for turning away from sin and returning to God. This theme continues in the book of Joel.

Transition Statement:

So if you have your bibles with you please meet me in Joel chapter 1.

Outline of Joel

This morning as we survey Joel, I want you to take note of this basic outline of the book of Joel

Outline of Joel

I. Discipline of Judah (1:1-14)

II. Warning of Judgement on Judah (1:15-2:11)

III. God’s Call for Repentance (2:12-17)

IV. God’s Restoration of the Jews (2:18-32)

V. God’s Judgement on the Nations (3:1-21)

Transition Statement:

As we go through Joel, if we pay attention, I believe that we can find timeless truths that are relevant for our day and context. Let’s start in Joel 1. If we refer back to our outline we see that God is disciplining Judah.

I. Discipline of Judah (1:1-14)

In in the first 14 verses we see that a plague of locusts have come into the land of Judah and have eaten and destroyed all crops and produce.

Read Joel 1:1-4

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 1

1 The word of the LORD that came to Joel son of Pethuel:

A PLAGUE OF LOCUSTS

2 Hear this, you elders;

listen, all you inhabitants of the land.

Has anything like this ever happened in your days

or in the days of your ancestors?

3 Tell your children about it,

and let your children tell their children,

and their children the next generation.

4 What the devouring locust has left,

the swarming locust has eaten;

what the swarming locust has left,

the young locust has eaten;

and what the young locust has left,

the destroying locust has eaten.

The ten verses that follow this describe a call to mourn their losses and in doing so, see their need for God.

Read Joel 1:5

Joel 1:5 CSB

Wake up, you drunkards, and weep; wail, all you wine drinkers, because of the sweet wine, for it has been taken from your mouth.

Joel 1:11 CSB

Be ashamed, you farmers, wail, you vinedressers, over the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished.

Joel 1:13 CSB

Dress in sackcloth and lament, you priests; wail, you ministers of the altar. Come and spend the night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God, because grain and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God.

Now this call for mourning is not calling people to turn inward in their distress but rather to turn upward.

Joel 1:14 CSB

Announce a sacred fast; proclaim a solemn assembly! Gather the elders and all the residents of the land at the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.

This is where we find our first timeless truth in Joel.

Discipline Exposes our Need for God

Discipline Exposes our Need for God (Say it twice)

How does this happen? When are living in a pattern of intentional sin and without a repented heart. Which is where we see the Jewish people in the context of Joel. When this happens, we are saying that particular sin is more important that obeying God. We are saying that I think I know what is better. We are ultimately saying that we are unwilling to let down our pride and humble ourselves before God. When we are in that kind of a situation, when we are living for self, one way that God can turn us away from sin and toward Him is to discipline us.

Godly discipline is meant to show us that sin only leads to pain and destruction. In doing so godly discipline shows us that God is the source our joy, the source of peace, and the source of life.

Transition Statement:

As we continue our survey of Joel, we come to our next section in our outline.

II. Warning of Judgement on Judah (1:15-2:11)

in this section of Joel we see a phrase “The Day of the Lord” appear multiple times.

Joel 1:15 CSB

Woe because of that day! For the day of the Lord is near and will come as devastation from the Almighty.

Joel 2:1 CSB

Blow the ram’s horn in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the residents of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; in fact, it is near—

This phrase “The Day of the Lord” can refer to multiple things.

The Day of the Lord

God’s judgement on Israel, Judah , Jewish people, foreign nations

God’s deliverance or blessing for Israel, Judah, other Nations

Return of Jesus Christ

Since there is evidence for the book of Joel being written before the exile of Judah, then In the context this section in Joel, “The Day of the Lord” can be read as referring to God’s judgement on Judah and the Jewish people. That judgement being exiled from their land to Babylon.

God’s judgement on Israel and Judah in the Old Testament is a foreshadowing event of when God will judge the entire world in the end times described in book of Revelation.

Transition statement:

We will come back to this as Joel references God’s judgement on the world at the end of Joel. For now let’s move to the next section of our outline of Joel.

III. God’s Call for Repentance (2:12-17)

In this part of our survey of Joel we come to the turning point of the book. Just like how any good story has an rising actions that lead to a climax then falling actions afterward, we see in Joel that God’s discipline and warning of future judgement lead us to the climax where the book takes a change in direction.

Read Joel 2:12-14

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 2

12 Even now—

this is the LORD’s declaration—

turn to me with all your heart,

with fasting, weeping, and mourning.

13 Tear your hearts,

not just your clothes,

and return to the LORD your God.

For he is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger, abounding in faithful love,

and he relents from sending disaster.

14 Who knows? He may turn and relent

and leave a blessing behind him,

so you can offer a grain offering and a drink offering

to the LORD your God.

Here we see the mood of Joel shift. Before we’ve been reading about the despair Judah is in and will be in because of their sin. Now we see hope. Hope that if Judah repents God would show them grace and compassion.

Here we see a second timeless truth.

There Is Hope For Those Who Repent

There is hope for those who repent (say twice)

What is it that we are hoping for? That God wouldn’t treat us as we deserve. Because the reality is that we are sinners. We are just like the people of Judah. We throughout our lives have chosen our sin over choosing God.

But, we can have this hope that God won’t treat us as we deserve because God is gracious, He is compassionate, slow to anger, He is abounding in faithful love.

The only thing God asks from us, is that we repent and return to Him. What does it mean to repent for our sin? What does it look like?

We get a really good description in verses 12-13.

Show slide with verses.

Verse 12 says, Turn to me with all you heart. Not just some of it. But all of it. Not most of it. But all of it. Not all of it but except this one part. Turn to me with all your heart God says. Confess it and bring your sin to God. Your lust, your pride, your self-dependency, your addiction, your gluttony, your selfishness, your laziness, your gossiping, your slandering, your outbursts of anger, your bitterness. Bring it all to God and repent and turn with all your heart.

Verse 13 adds the picture that we should tear our hearts not just your clothes. The image of tearing clothes is how people in biblical times would react to something that was repulsive or contrary to God’s commands. What this picture of tearing our hearts is getting at is that repentance not just an outward act, like the Jewish people would have seen when someone tears their clothes. But rather, repentance also needs to happen in our hearts. We need to find our sin so repulsive that in our hearts we are disgusted by it.

This is what it means to repent and to return to God when our sin is exposed. The amazing thing is that when we do this, we are not met with judgement but rather grace, compassion, and love. This is because our God desires to be in a relationship with you. The creator of the universe desires you. So come to him as you are, broken with your sin. Our God is faithful to forgive us and to meet us with grace, compassion, and love.

Transition statement: As we finish up Joel chapter 2, we see our fourth point in our outline.

IV. God’s Restoration of the Jews (2:18-32)

In this part of the book, we see Joel prophesying that even though judgement will come, God will one day restore the Jewish people back to their land.

Read Joel 2:18-20

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 2

18 Then the LORD became jealous for his land and spared his people. 19 The LORD answered his people:

Look, I am about to send you

grain, new wine, and fresh oil.

You will be satiated with them,

and I will no longer make you

a disgrace among the nations.

20 I will drive the northerner far from you

and banish him to a dry and desolate land,

his front ranks into the Dead Sea,

and his rear guard into the Mediterranean Sea.

His stench will rise;

yes, his rotten smell will rise,

for he has done astonishing things.

In this first section of God’s restoration, we see a physical restoring of the Jewish people. We see that God spare his people. He will not completely erase the Jewish people from the earth. Then we see God restore their food supply and restore peace to their land.

God doesn’t stop with a physical restoration of the Jewish people, He continues with a spiritual restoration.

Read Joel 2:28-32

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 2

28 After this

I will pour out my Spirit on all humanity;

then your sons and your daughters will prophesy,

your old men will have dreams,

and your young men will see visions.

29 I will even pour out my Spirit

on the male and female slaves in those days.

30 I will display wonders

in the heavens and on the earth:

blood, fire, and columns of smoke.

31 The sun will be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood

before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes.

32 Then everyone who calls

on the name of the LORD will be saved,

for there will be an escape

for those on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,

as the LORD promised,

among the survivors the LORD calls.

Now up until this point in Joel’s prophecy we have seen his prophecy fulfilled later on in history. We know that the Jewish people experienced God’s judgement because they didn’t repent. They were exiled to Babylon and afterwards God granted them to return to their homeland. These are all things we see at the end of the Old Testament.

Here in the passage we just read, we see a prophecy that has been partially fulled but not yet fully. This prophecy has been partially fulfilled on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. In fact on the day of Pentecost during his sermon Peter quotes this vary passage from Joel.

Please turn in your bible to Acts 2:14. To give some context of this passage, the believers have just recieved the Holy Spirit and the crowd is confused by all the signs that they are being done and they start to accuse the disciples of being drunk. In response to their accusations Peter says this.

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 2

14 Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “Fellow Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it’s only nine in the morning. 16 On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

17 And it will be in the last days, says God,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all people;

then your sons and your daughters will prophesy,

your young men will see visions,

and your old men will dream dreams.

18 I will even pour out my Spirit

on my servants in those days, both men and women

and they will prophesy.

19 I will display wonders in the heaven above

and signs on the earth below:

blood and fire and a cloud of smoke.

20 The sun will be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood

before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.

21 Then everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord will be saved.,

Before I continue, I must add that what we are about to talk about next is highly debatable among bible scholars and I realize people have differing views on prophecy that has yet to happen. WIth that said, what I’m about say is my humble opinion on certain end times prophecy that the book of Joel talks about. If you find it within yourself that you disagree with me, that’s completely fine. In fact, I would love to talk to you about it over coffee sometime if you would like. With that said let’s continue.

This prophecy about God’s outpouring of His Spirit has yet to be fully fulfilled because this passage indicates that God will also pour out His Spirit among the Jewish people during the time of tribulation. Which according to how I and many other bible scholar’s interpretation of scripture, the church will be raptured before the tribulation. Therefore when Joel talks about “the great and terrible day of the LORD” in verse 31. I am understanding this text to refer to when God will restore the Jewish people to himself fully and completely during the end times after the rapture has taken place.

Transition statement: Partly why I this prophecy this way is because of Joel 3 which takes us to our last point in our survey of Joel.

V. God’s Judgement on the Nations (3:1-21)

Read Joel 3:1-2

Joel 3:1–2 CSB

Yes, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and take them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. I will enter into judgment with them there because of my people, my inheritance Israel. The nations have scattered the Israelites in foreign countries and divided up my land.

Joel then further describes what seems to be the battle of Armageddon that is also described in Revatlation.

Then at the very end we see God blessing Israel.

This last section gives us our final timeless truth

Those Who Do Not Repent Are Guilty For Their Sin

Just as those who repent have hope, the other side of the same coin is that those who do not repent are declared guilty and sentenced accordingly as they are destroyed and spend eternity separated from God.

In the end it will be people’s pride, an unwillingness to submit to God, that will cause their downfall.

Reference the opening poem and Timothy McVeigh

Pray.