Sermon Tone Analysis

Series Summary

God has spoken through dream, visions, foreigners, prophets.

God has spoken through relationships.

We have seen God speak to his people, foreign nations, kings and temple leaders.

Today as we look at the prophet Joel, we will see God use natural events to declare a message to the entire nation of Judah.

To be honest, it was difficult studying this message because it’s Christmas season… our minds are trained to think of the birth of Jesus this time of year and I continually found myself trying to get Joel to Christmas… but it wouldn’t work.

Christmas is a season of happiness and joy.

A season when everyone is a Christian…at least till the presents are unwrapped.

And that’s the way we normally live… as though everyone is a Christian.

Our culture is christianized, meaning we use the language of the Christian faith, Christmas - Easter -Thanksgiving… But the reality is, our culture is far from being grounded in faith.

We can celebrate Jesus’s birthday, but that doesn’t make one a Christian and I think we will see that in Joel

So there is no real “Christmas-sy” message in Joel; but there is an advent message.

Advent is the season of preparing - yes for the birth of Jesus - but also for his return.

And Joel is all about this, day of the Lord.

Only the way Joel describes it doesn’t fit well with our idea of Christmas.

Some background for Joel… we don’t have many specifics, but the message of Joel isn’t restricted.

Joel is believed to have been written after the Persian exile of Israel between 500 BC and 350 BC.

When Priests and prophets were in place as leadership and the Temple had been reconstructed.

Joel uses a recent calamity as the background for his writing.

Judah had recently been invaded by a swarm of locusts.

These aren’t he locusts we have, but more like a very aggressive grasshopper.

An experience that led Joel to begin his book:

And after the swarm, a drought had followed.

Joel uses these real events as indicators of a real invasion… a real time of destruction.

What Joel refers to as the Day of the Lord

Real Attack is coming

“Yet even now”

Judgement is real.... but no matter how bad things are we can find salvation.

Problems are often God’s way, not to destroy, but to turn us to Him.

We don’t need to be saved from our “problems” we need to be saved from sin.

You see how seriously God takes our sin… it leads to our destruction… but let me ask you, how seriously do we take our sin?

The way to salvation isn’t to admit I’m a sinner.... it’s to repent.

Repentence is the way to experience this salvation… not just admitting - well no one is perfect… but owning my sin.

Illustration:

Weekend in prison for a crime he had committed years ago.... but his real prison was for the sin of hate he had for his brothers and sisters who had abandoned him.

He understood his sin and he could see the effects of this sin on his life.

You need to be saved from sin

My friend found freedom last weekend in prison… freedom from the hate he had for his family

But this ability to see and repent comes as a work of God’s grace.

This isn’t a New Testament idea; this isn’t a Christmas thing; This is the theme of all of the Bible.

That’s how we find this salvation… calling on the name of the Lord.

We have been gifted with the ability to call on God and we are to use it.

It’s grace.

We can’t do it on our own, but with God’s grace, we can.

Just because we can doesn’t mean we will.

Muslims for they weekend.

Heard it all, experienced his love and acceptance.

Treated with respect and compassion…

Their response though was up to them.

Many of us have prayed that prayer, many here today are Christians.

I want to give you a different look at the salvation you enjoy.

Look at the last line in verse 32.

Who is going to be saved… yes those who call on the name of the Lord… but who will be saved?

Those who the Lord calls.

This salvation is a gift and a work of God in you.

You didn’t earn it, you don’t keep it.

God does for you… that’s saving Love.

What is your response to that sort of Love?

That sort of Love changes the way you live.

that sort of love moves you to take on the character of Goodness, Kindness, Justice, Peace, Love, Forgiveness, Righteousness.

Knowing … rather experiencing Saving Love leads us there.

Joe’s letter… a Nazarite barber… can cut hair to show his gift and to share his love.

How does your salvation transform you living on this side of eternity?

Joel goes on in chapter 3 to tell of God calling out all the nations of the world… taunting the armies to come out and be measured by him.

To bring all their weapons, bring all their warriors and see if they have enough.

It’s a joke though, because they will not be enough, they won’t have enough to defeat sin, or death.

Eventually we will all be judged and the only way to be spared is as a child of God, one he seeks to save.

It comes down to just like the Muslim guys who attended the weekend, will we be offended by our sin or look to justify our sin… will we come with broken hearts before God and lay down our weapons … weapons of anger, revenge, unforgiveness, or will we come before God prepared to argue our way into heaven because we were good person.

There is still time