We all like to know the reason
for things, perhaps because we're naturally
inquisitive, perhaps because we want someone or something
to blame for things that we don't like. But we like to know why
things happen. Through the ages of men, men
everywhere have endeavored to discover the principle upon which
history turned. Since the dawn of history, men
have tried to figure out what determines history. Philosophers
and those who think they are philosophers continually debate
what controls history. Is it fate or free will? Is it
man or nature, the laws of nature, or some higher being that we
don't understand or know? Aristotle and the ancient Greeks
were convinced that history moves in cycles, somehow sort of preordained
cycles without anyone to do the preordaining, but history moves
in cycles. And it's just inevitable what
has happened will happen again, sort of like the planets orbit
in the various orbits around the sun. Thomas Jefferson and
many of our founding fathers were convinced that That which
really determines history is political. The governing of nations
can determine how things turn out in history around the world. The more moral and good a government
is, then the better they will affect history in time to come. In the late 1800s, Karl Marx
dipped his pen in acid and wrote the Communist Manifesto, and
he came up with a new philosophy. At least he thought it was new.
He called it dialectical materialism. That's a fancy word for saying
that everything is determined by man's desire for this world,
by economics. Control economics and you can
control history. Most everybody today is convinced
that evolution is the controlling force of the universe, the brilliant
minds of our day. brilliant as an ostrich burying
his head in sand, are convinced that man is constantly engaged
in an upward spiral of self-improvement, socially, mentally, spiritually. He's constantly improving himself.
constantly improves himself, he constantly improves society,
and constantly improves the force of history and the evolution
of mankind. Of course, the Word of God gives
another revelation. The Word of God teaches us something
that no man will ever figure out on his own. It teaches us
something that no man will ever submit to. unless God Almighty
graciously forces him to acknowledge it. And that fact is that God
rules the universe. That which determines history
is the will of God. That which brings it to pass
is the hand of God. Now that's what the book of Joel
is all about. Let's turn and look. The hinge
upon which all history turns is the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the sacrifice of Christ as the sinner's substitute. That
is the purpose for which the world was made. That is the hinge
upon which history turns, and the hand which works the machinery
of time is the hand of God. He who rules the universe is
God. God alone rules and rules it
absolutely. And of course in these days to
say that God rules is to say in the minds of some that this
man's God rules, or that man's God rules, or the other man's
God rules. I heard what is supposed to be
a conservative preacher one time talking to Anwar Sadat, who was
at that time the head of the nation of Egypt, a Muslim, and
this conservative religious leader, said, of course, when you say
Allah, you mean the same thing as we mean when we say God, don't
you? Oh, yes, yes, it's the same. That's the same. The God who
rules the universe is Jehovah, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who died at Calvary. The name Jehovah means Jehovah
is God. Jehovah is God, the Lord. Not just any God is God, the
Lord. The redeeming, saving God, He is God. Joel's name means
the Lord is God. He was the son of Pethuel, and
his father's name simply means the open-heartedness of God,
or the loving kindness and sincerity of God. And that's about all
we know about Joel. Let's begin tonight in Joel 1,
and I want you to see that the Prophet's message is a message
not only to the people to whom he spoke in his day, but clearly
God's message to you and I in this day. It is God's message
to his people in every age and in every day, and that's the
case with the whole Word of God. As the book of Hosea showed us
the heart of God in redemption, the book of Joel shows us the
hand of God ruling the universe to save his people. Verse 1 of
chapter 1. The word of the Lord that came
to Joel, the son of Pethuel, hear this, ye old men, and give
ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Has this been in your days,
or even in the days of your fathers? Tell ye your children of it,
and let your children tell their children, and their children
another generation." In other words, Joel says, this word that
I have from God for you is God's word for you, whoever you are
who hear it. whoever you are who read it.
We know nothing at all about when Joel prophesied. We know
nothing at all about the history of this man, or the history of
the nation during the time when he gave his prophecy. Those who
would tell you in order to understand the scriptures, you've got to
be acquainted with the historical setting, would have a tough time
here. This prophecy is given to us
with no dating of any kind in any portion of the prophecy.
There's no dating of any kind. We don't have any idea when Joel
spoke this word, or what the circumstances were immediately
when he spoke the word. As I was preparing this message
and reading the various commentaries, A lot of fellows suppose it was
this and suppose it was that, but the Word of God gives us
no indication at all. The reason for that is very clear. The Lord God would have us to
understand that his Word is his Word for us, and while it is
a Word of God that arose from specific circumstances and specific
times, it is God's constant, new, living Word for you. So what is written here is written
for you men and women here at Grace Baptist Church in Danville,
Kentucky, just as surely as it was for the children of Judah
when Joel lived. The theme of the book is the
day of the Lord. It's mentioned five times. There
is a short statement made back in Genesis 6. It is perhaps the
most profound. and the most instructive and
the most terrifying single sentence ever written by man. The Lord
God calls his servant Moses to declare, My spirit shall not
always strive with man. What an instructive word. What
a solemn word. What a terrifying word for those
who know not our gospel. The book of Joel, in my opinion,
drives that fact home, and hammers it out more forcefully than any
of the other prophetic books. The theme of the prophecy is
this day, called the day of the Lord. Now, Joel speaks of it,
look at it if you will, you might want to just put a checkmark
by it. Chapter 1, verse 15. Chapter 2, verse 1. Verse 11,
verse 31. And again in chapter 3, verse
14. He speaks of the day of the Lord. But if you read this prophecy,
these three short chapters at one setting, you've got to recognize
that when Joel speaks of the day of the Lord, he's not talking
about any specific day. He's not talking about any specific
day at all. As a matter of fact, if you read these chapters at
one setting, you'll see that Joel uses this in three different
ways in these three chapters. First, in chapter 1, he speaks
of the day of the Lord as that which was immediate. That is,
it was the day right then and there, referred to in the day
in which he lived. And Joel says, this is the day
of the Lord, in chapter 2. He uses the same phrase, the
day of the Lord. And he speaks of it not as that
which was immediate, but rather of that which was imminent, that
which was coming at any time, that which may dawn at any time.
He's talking about judgment that was immediately coming upon men.
And then in chapter 3, in verse 14, he speaks of the day of the
Lord as something that's future, something that's future altogether.
So Joel uses it to refer to judgment presently experienced, he uses
it to refer to judgment that is imminent, that which was about
to come at any time, and he uses it to refer to judgment that
is yet to come. So the day of the Lord, and this
is important, so very important as you read the scriptures, the
day of the Lord is not to be looked upon as one historic time. But rather the day of the Lord
is any day in which the Lord God Almighty displays his hand
in such a way as to make men know, I am God, I am the Lord,
and manifest his power over all things. In other words, yesterday
was the day of the Lord. And today is the day of the Lord. And tomorrow is the day of the
Lord. O children of God, learn this
and rejoice. Learn this and rest. This is
God's day. This is God's day. This is the day which the Lord
hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. This is God's
day, and everything in this day is God's work, and all that he
does, he does for us. This is the day of the Lord. Yesterday was the day of the
Lord, and tomorrow shall be the day of the Lord, and there is
a day coming. when God shall bring all things
to their final end, and every creature in heaven, earth, and
hell will acknowledge that the Lord God Almighty, he is indeed
God indeed, that Jehovah is God. Before Christ Jesus, our risen
Savior, our exalted Redeemer, our sovereign King, every knee
shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ, that
man who died for us 2,000 years ago, Calvary, that man who by
the sacrifice of himself put away our sin, he is Lord. He really is. He's the one who's
in charge. He's the one who's in control. All right? Now, let's look briefly
at the instruction given in this passage. First the day of the
Lord when God sends judgment upon a people, is a day of warning. Joel speaks in chapter 1 of the
day of the Lord as a day of warning, because God had sent judgment
in the land. Look at verse 50. Alas for the
day! For the day of the Lord is at
hand, is right here on us, and as a destruction from the Almighty
shall it come. The Lord had sent a plague of
locusts in the land of Judah. A plague of locusts that he had
sent because of their sin, their ungodliness, their departure
from him, their refusal to worship him, their refusal to acknowledge
him. But this plague of locusts was
a locust that he used by which he would call his people to repentance.
And the locusts are used, not only the literal locust that
he speaks of here, but if you read through the scriptures,
especially the book of Revelation, you'll see locusts representative
of something else. The locusts are representative
of destructive, evil power. They're representative of an
army of locusts. that destroy more than vegetation.
These locusts not only destroyed vegetation, but these locusts
described here in chapter one, took away the sacrifice from
the altar of God in the house of God. These locusts didn't
just take away corn and wine from the drunkard, and corn from
the farmer, and grapes from the vine dresser. These locusts took
away the very sacrifice of God, took away the worship of God
in his own house. Judgment had come. You see, Joel
lived in a day much like our day. A day when God's manifest
judgment was upon his visible church, upon those who professed
to be his people, upon those who were called by his name.
Hold your hands here and turn over to 1 Peter, I want you to
see something. 1 Peter 1. God's going to judge the world,
there's no question about that. He's going to show his disapproval
of all And he's going to begin by showing his disapproval of
all that opposes him as God. And it says here in 1 Peter 4,
verse 17, For the time is come that judgment, watch it now,
must begin at the house of God. That's where judgment begins,
where men and women profess to be God's people, where men and
women call God their Father. where men and women say they
are the people blessed of the Lord. And if it first began at
us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel?
And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly
and the sinner appear?' Back here in Joel. When the Lord God visits us in
providential judgment, Pastor, what do you mean by providential
judgment? I mean when God brings his heavy hand upon our backs. Whether you talk about an individual,
or whether you talk about a nation, or whether you talk about a local
church, or whether you talk about a generation. When God visits
us in providential judgment, It is always, it is always, as
far as his people are concerned, it is always a reminder of our
sin, of his redemption, and the call for you and I to
worship him. The Lord God would have us to
be mindful that we are a people who deserve his wrath. And by making us mindful of that
fact, calls us to be grateful to him that we are not under
his wrath, but the objects of his love, redeemed by the sacrifice
of his Son. And being grateful to him, let
us turn and worship him. Turn and worship him. Children of God, when you find yourself suffering by God's hand, that you are tried in your faith. I don't mean just tried like
the world talks about trial. How do I explain When God Almighty comes to prove
your faith, you want so much to honor him, and it's so difficult to do it. You want to honor him by faith,
by submission, by gratitude, with thanksgiving. You want to
honor him not murmuring against him, and yet there's a warfare
in your members, and your flesh despises God's dominion, and
you want to be God so bad you could choke him at the same time.
That's our lust, corrupt, vile nature. What do you do? You turn to the Lord. He's calling
us to Him. Look here in verse 13. Gird yourselves and lament. Ye
priests, howl, ye ministers of the altar! Come, lie all night
in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God! For the meat-offering
and the drink-offering is withholden from the house of your God. Sanctify
ye a fast call of solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the
inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God,
and cry unto the Lord. Alas, for the day, for the day
of the Lord's at hand!" Destruction from the Almighty has come, and
it shall come. Is not the meat cut off before
our eyes? Yea, joy and gladness from the
house of our God. O Lord, to thee will I cry, for
the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame
hath burned all the trees of the field. Chapter 2, verse 1. Blow ye the trumpet in Zion,
and sound an alarm in my holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants
of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord cometh. for it
is nigh at hand. But to return to this prophet's
lamentation, and to the lamentation of the hour, we live in a day
when God has sent locusts. And in the place where Christ
ought to be worshiped and honored, his name is blasphemed. For the
sacrifice of our God ought to be upheld The sacrifice is taken
away. Before the army of locusts came,
Joel says the land was like the garden of Eden. Oh, how blessed
it was. Third verse of chapter 2. But
when they left, it was desolate, empty. How many of you have ever
seen what we used to call 17-year locusts at work? Anybody ever
seen it at work? I never will forget the first
time I was around it. Shelby and I had been married
any time we were at her dad's farm. And as we drove up on the
mountain right off Blue Ridge Parkway, you couldn't hear the
tractor run right beside you. I'm not exaggerating. You couldn't
hear it run right beside you because of the noise of the locusts.
In a matter of a few hours, not days, in a matter of a few hours,
the locusts literally stripped the green off the trees. Gone. Gone. They moved and darkened
the sky. Just hordes of those huge ugly
locusts. And that was a light case. In
other lands where the locusts prevail far more strongly, after
they stripped the green off the vegetation. Another garrison
of locusts, like an army, would come and strip the bark from
trees. And when they've taken all that's
edible to them outside, then they go over the wall into the
house and take the vegetation inside. They just keep moving
and moving and moving like an army through the land, destroying
everything. And that's the way religion without
Christ is. That's the way religion without
God's sacrifice is. A lot of movement, a lot of noise,
but it's all darkness and desolation and death. But hear me, nothing
is out of control. This is just as much the day
of the Lord as was the day when God called you by his grace.
This is just as much the day of the Lord as was the day when
he poured out his Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and three thousand
believed." The army is God's army. Look at it. In verse 11,
he calls them, My army. My army. In the 2 Thessalonians,
the Lord speaks of this horrible, horrible thing called Antichrist,
and the spirit of Antichrist, and the religion of Antichrist,
and he says, For this call shall God send them a strong delusion,
that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned
who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
God sends judgment, and when God sends judgment He sends judgment
upon the world, upon the earth, upon those who profess to be
his own, calling us to repentance. Now, at the end of verse 11,
in the 2nd chapter, the question is raised concerning this terrible
day. Who can abide it? Who can abide
the day of God's fierce Yes, the Lord God will punish
sin. He must punish sin. Hell is real. Judgment is sure. Eternity is
forever. But he delights in mercy. And now, right now, there's hope. Look at chapter 2 and verse 12. Therefore also now." Isn't that
a marvelous way of putting that? Therefore, because I've sent
this army. Therefore, because I've brought
you to utter helplessness to recognize that there's no hope
in you and no hope in all the things that you invent. Therefore
also right now, saith the Lord, turn ye even unto me with all
your heart. and with fasting and with weeping
and with mourning. Turn to me, and turn to me with
all your heart, so that you turn to me as a dying
to the physician for help, because you've got nothing else to help.
You've got nowhere else to go, because without me, you've got
to perish. Turn to me with all your heart. Mend your heart, not your garments. Quit acting religious. Mend your
heart. Turn unto the Lord your God,
for he is gracious. and merciful, and slow to anger,
and of great kindness, and repented him of evil." What an encouragement
to turn to God! He is, he is, he is! Who knows
if he will return and repent and leave a blessing behind him? I'm so vile, so corrupt, so evil. God might save other folks without
me. Him might have put it this way,
I can but perish if I go. I am resolved to try. For if
I stay away, I know I must forever die. But if I die with mercy sought,
when I, the Lord, have tried, this were to die a delightful
thought, a sinner never died. Who knows? Who knows? He might
just have mercy on me. He might just take away his wrath
from me. He might just leave his blessing
with me. But there's more than that. There's
a promise here. In verses 15, 16, and 17, God's
prophet pleads with his people, with the fathers and the ministers
and the priests, all the people, to heed the Lord's call and to
plead with God for mercy. I love the way he speaks here,
look at it. Blow the trumpet inside, sanctify a fast, call
a solemn assembly, gather the people, sanctify the congregation,
assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck
the breast, bring everybody. Let the bridegroom go forth out
of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet, everybody.
Let the priest, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the
porch and the altar. weep in the place of sacrifice,
and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage
to reproach." And what an argument, that the heathen should rule
over them. Wherefore should the heathen
say among the people, Where is their God? Joel says you pray
to God for his people, like Moses prayed to God for his people,
earnestly pleading his covenant in God's honor. And he promises
grace. In the last part of chapter 2,
beginning of verse 18, then will the Lord be jealous for his land,
and pity his people. Yea, the Lord will answer and
say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine,
and oil, and you shall be satisfied therewith, and I will no more
make you a reproach among the heathen. Fear not, O land, be glad and
rejoice, for the Lord will do great things." Oh, what's that talking about?
Great things. Great things. He will do great things for you.
great things. He has done great things for
you, hasn't he? Hasn't he? He's doing great things
for you. He will do great things for you. Verse 23, Be glad, ye children
of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he hath given you
the former reign moderately, And he will cause to come down
for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, in
the first month." Now, fellows, try to make all kinds of stuff
out of that. Oh, and that's that talking about. When you go out here in the springtime
and plant your fields, you sow the seed, put it in the ground,
and if all of a sudden you'd get a fog choking gully washer
rain. It's gone. It's just gone. Ah, but if God sends a little
rain. and a little more rain, and a little more rain, and a
little more rain. Mixes in a little sunshine and
a little more rain, a little more rain. Oh, just exactly as
it's needed. And then the crops begin to form
And God sends the latter rain, a little more rain, a little
more rain, a little more rain. Makes a little sunshine, a little
more rain. What a bountiful harvest. What's that talking about? The
former rain, the latter rain? My grace, he says, is sufficient
for you. As your days shall demand, shall
your strength ever be. I'll give you my spirit and my
grace exactly as you need it. Exactly as you need it. I don't
know whether I've got the grace to do that or not. Well, God
hasn't called you to do it yet. I've had a lot of times folks
ask me, they say, I don't believe I'm saint because I don't have
dying grace. And my response is, are you about to die? Well,
no, but I'll have dying grace. You don't get it until you need
it. You don't get it until you need it. God doesn't give anything
for you to waste. He gives his grace as you need
it, day by day, to meet every trial as it comes, day by day. Now, look on, verse 25. And I will restore to you everything
the locust took away. You're not going to lose a thing. And he says in verse 26, the
last line, he said, My people, my people shall never be ashamed. No wonder Paul said, let us therefore
come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy
and find grace to help in time of need. And then the Lord gives
a promise. Look at verse 28, chapter 2. and it shall come to pass afterward,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh." Now, in this
promise that runs from verse 28 down through chapter 2 and
verse 32, there is clearly a prediction, a promise, a prophecy of the
coming of Christ and the accomplishment of redemption by him. You get
that here in Joel 2. I'd never find it in Joel chapter
2. Couldn't find it if my life depended on it. I'm not sure
Joel knew it was in chapter 2. But the Holy Spirit knew what
he wrote. And if you turn to Acts chapter 2, the Apostle Peter
tells us that what happened on the day of Pentecost as a result
of Christ being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge
of God, crucified and slain by the hands of wicked men, and
seated on the throne in heaven, God poured out his Spirit upon
people." Poured out his Spirit upon a covenant people, upon
all flesh. Now does that mean that he's
going to cause everybody in the world to be saved? No. Your sons and daughters shall
prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men
shall see visions." Does that mean that everybody that he saves
is going to be prophesied? No. What happened is this. Prior to this time, the Lord
God would call his Spirit to fill a man, and he would prophesy.
He calls his Spirit to fill another, and he would prophesy. He calls
his Spirit to fill another, and he would prophesy. Sometimes
the man in whom the Spirit of God had flooded his soul and
made him to prophesy might be a priest, and sometimes he might
be a king, and sometimes he might be a prophet, but here and there
he would fill him with his Spirit. But never, prior to the accomplishment
of redemption by our Redeemer, and his being enthroned on high
as the king of glory, had all God's people, who had been called
by his Spirit and born again by his grace, been filled with
his Spirit. Now every believer every child
of God, taught and instructed by the Spirit of God, to understand
the things of God directly from the Word of God, so that they're
taught and have an anointing, an unction from the Holy One,
the Holy One, so that you know all things, and you need no longer
to run here and there and say, know the Lord. They all know
him from the least to the greatest. Now, how do you know that all
this of Joel applies to these things spiritually. Look in chapter
3. The Lord promises that he will
save, that he will save his people whom he has scattered among the
heathens, whithersoever he has scattered them in his judgment.
And he speaks about this This valley of decision, down in chapter
3, verse 14. What's that valley of decision? Oh, that's the valley where God
comes and his Spirit strives with man, and you've got to make
your decision for Jesus now. No. Back in chapter 3, verse
2, you read it a little bit ago, he calls this valley of decision
the valley of Jehoshaphat, which you read about in 2 Chronicles
chapter 20. What was significant about that?
That's the place where God gave a word to his servant Jehoshaphat
as he led his people into battle. And he said, This battle is not
yours, it's God's. And the Lord God has made a decision,
a decision before the world was concerning your soul. And he's
here going to display his decision, his determination. He's going
to save his people. And when he has done his work
in the valley of decision, he says, so shall ye know that I
am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion you're gonna know that
though you forsaken me I've never forsaken you and I've never turned from you
and I brought you to this place to be gracious to you and then
the day shall come when I'll gather you by the power of my
omnipotent hand and grace, and you're going to know me." And
when that happens, these children of Israel, God's elect, like
the children of Israel under Jehoshaphat, gather up spoils
from an enemy they didn't conquer. and gather up the spoils more
than they can carry and gather up the spoils freely because
of what God Almighty has done for us and we shall forever gather
the spoils of Christ's mighty conquest ruling the universe
for us had an accomplished redemption for us. And we're going to spend eternity
counting the spoils, spoils we can't begin to fathom, spoils
of his free grace. And you will know, you will know
that the Lord dwells He always has, he does now, and
he shall forever. And this is the day of the Lord. Amen. All right, let's sing a
hymn.