(Note to reader: I am heavily indebted to Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. in my preparation of this sermon. It is largely based on a chapter in his book "When God Comes To Church" called "We Return to God"
Also, at any place where verse numbers are given with no other information, it is understood that they will be read aloud by the preacher from Joel chapter 2.)
INTRO: Since 1947, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has depicted on its cover a Doomsday Clock
-The clock registers how close the world is to nuclear apocalypse, in the opinion of the editors
-They estimate it by placing the hands of the clock in relation to midnight
-On June 11, 1998 when India and Pakistan were menacing each other with nuclear tests, and the rest of the world failed to stop the spread of the weapons, the clock was moved forward 5 minutes, making it 9 minutes until 12.
-Only once since 1968 had the clock been moved so many minutes at once.
-There have been many books, movies, and TV shows that deal with the end of the world
-During the time that my parents were growing up, along with fire drills at school, they had to practice what they would do in the even of a nuclear attack from the Soviet Union.
-At different times, such as September 11th, or the recent Tsunamis we have worried about our physical safety, and the threat of destruction.
-These threats are possibilities that might or might not happen in our lifetime, and might or might not happen at all.
-As Christians, though, we should be much more concerned about a day that God has promised is coming. It’s not a matter of “If”, it’s a matter of “when”.
(Open Bibles to Joel 2, our primary text for today)
-Joel describes the day of the Lord
2:1-2 – Darkness, gloom, clouds, and blackness.
When we see the inevitability of the day of the Lord, we have to ask ourselves, “What does this mean for me?”
-The Bible is unambiguous in that all people can be put into one of two categories: either I am for God or against God.
Most of us know Revelation 3:15 , “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”
-Last week we talked about the dangers of pride, and we spoke some about this situation regarding the Pharisees.
-No matter what, someone is sitting on the throne of your life. You can’t serve two masters, if God isn’t sitting on the throne in your life, someone else is
-most often, we put ourselves there. That’s what the Pharisees did.
-They made God a high priority, but their first priority was themselves, and as a result, when Jesus came, they made sure he was put to death.
-In trying to be lukewarm towards God, the result is hostility towards God.
Revelation 3 continues: “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.”
This morning, I want to speak to you about repentance; not as a one-time activity, but a lifestyle and daily necessity for Christians.
Colossians 1:10 gives a good picture of repentance, “live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God”
Repentance is a total commitment.
-A person who has really repented won’t ever ask certain kinds of questions
For example, “Now that I’ve been baptized and have my “Fire Insurance” against Hell, how can I sin to the fullest extent possible without discrediting myself as a Christian.”
-That is not repentance; that is hypocrisy.
Repentance echoes the words of the prodigal son, “Father, I have sinned….against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.”
-God embraces true repentance.
In talking about repentance, we must be aware of the urgency of repentance
-Joel 2:1 starts off, “Blow the trumpet in Zion, sound the alarm!”
-When an alarm goes off, it is expected that people would respond swiftly.
-If you’re at home and your fire alarm goes off, you can’t wait until after you’re done watching this TV show, you need to act right now!
Jesus spoke of repentance with a great sense of urgency
In Luke 13, some people spoke to Jesus and said,
“Jesus, have you heard about the Galileans whose blood Pilate mixed in with their sacrifices! Isn’t that terrible punishment! Isn’t that awful”
-Jesus turns this around and replies,
“DO you think these people were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they died this way? No! But unless you repent, you, too, will all perish.
“Or what about those 18 people who died when the tower of Siloam fell on them? Were they any worse than the other people in Jerusalem? No! But unless you REPENT, you too will all perish!”
What would Jesus say to us in our time?
-I believe his words would be the same
We might say “Jesus! The Tsunami that hit last month killed over 160,000 people! Millions more were affected! There are orphans and widows everywhere with no one to take care of them. Many more will probably die of diseases from what happened."
Jesus might say, “Do you think those Tsunami victims were any worse than you are? Did they do something especially bad to deserve this? I tell you no! But unless you repent, you too are going to perish
“And what about when the two towers came crashing down on September 11th? Were those 3,000 people any worse than the rest of the people in New York? No! But if you don’t repent, you’re also going to perish!
-Your day is coming, and you don’t know when…have you been preparing for it?
Joel continues in chapter 2 and describes what God wants from us in repentance
12-13a
God says return to me with all your heart, rend me your heart.
-God doesn’t demand that a person never make a mistake again, only that they give him their whole heart.
-It’s hard for us to know what it means to do anything with “all our heart”
ILLUS:
In reflecting on our culture, one person said this, “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased”
-In a time when superficiality, band-aids, and quick fixes are the way to go, God demands something us to return to him with “all our heart”.
-Do you make time to stop and think about your life…what you need to do better…what you need to stop doing…what you need to be making time for?
-If we examine ourselves and realize we need to make changes, we need to repent, we often will find ourselves scared to death. How can I approach God, whom I have offended?
-We can’t help but ask “What is the risk of repentance? What is repentance going to cost me?” What is going to happen if I repent?
ILLUS: C.S. Lewis Chronicles of Narnia…great series of fantasy books…full of deep Christian imagery. In “The Silver Chair” Lewis depicts exactly the struggle we’re talking about. In Narnia, there is a great lion named Aslan who Lewis portrays in the role of Jesus in Narnia.
-A girl named Jill bursts into an opening in the forest. She is very thirsty, and she sees a running stream close by. Even though she’s dying of thirst, she doesn’t rush into the stream and put her face in its refreshing current. Instead, she stands there in fear, because there is a large lion sitting on the ground just this side of the stream. It speaks to her:
“Are you not thirsty?” said the Lion.
“I’m Dying of thirst” said Jill.
“Then drink” said the lion.
“May I—Could I—would you mind going away while I do?” said Jill.
The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience. The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic.
“Will you promise not to—do anything to me, if I do come?” said Jill.
“I make no promise,” said the Lion.
Jill was so thirsty now, that she had come a step closer without noticing it.
“Do you eat girls?” she said.
“I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms,” said the Lion. It didn’t say this as if it were boasting, not as if it were sorry, nor as if it were hungry. It just said it.
“I dare not come and drink,” said Jill.
“Then you will die of thirst,” said the Lion.
“Oh dear!” said Jill, coming another step nearer. “I suppose I must go and look for another stream then.”
“There is no other stream.” Said the Lion.
There are people who spend days and months and years of their lives absolutely dying to have the mercy of God; to drink at the stream of his love, the only place where there is real healing, but what holds them back is a great fear of what will happen.
-What guarantees do I have that repenting and turning to God is going to be to my advantage?
If you haven’t come to Christ because of a fear of what will happen, Joel offers a lot of encouragement.
2:13-
Joel is actually preaching a sermon from Exodus 34, when God gave the commandments to Moses for the second time on new tablets. God came down, stood beside Moses, and proclaimed, “The Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness”
-If we repent, we have hope because forgiveness and mercy are in the very nature of God.
Joel tells us that if we turn to God, he is waiting there to accept us.
-There’s something very interesting we also see in Joel.
-After returning to God, and experiencing his love and forgiveness, look what Joel mentions as an added bonus
14 – When we return to God, we know he is anxious to forgive us, just as the father of the prodigal son. We know he loves us and has been waiting for us, but what he wants to give us in return for repentance is what we need to continue living in his presence.
-Joel says of God’s mercy, “Who knows? Who knows the depths of his mercy?”
He may have pity and provide us with offerings so we can continue worshipping him.
I have seen people do some awful things in life, and when questioned about it, the quick response is “God wants me to be happy”
Why did you leave your family? “God wants me to be happy”
Why did you lie to your boss? “God wants me to be happy”
Why did you steal from that person? “God would want me to be happy”
One of the fruits of the spirit is Joy, and God wants our lives to be full of joy and happiness, but not “happiness by any means necessary”
-God wants our joy and pleasure to come from a relationship with him. If we return to God, he will continually supply our needs, so we can stay in a right relationship with him.
Why is God so desperate to have a relationship with me? I’m a sinner…I’ve botched everything up…What can God possibly use me for?
Statement to think about: “We are the currency with which God buys credibility in the eyes of the world.”
-God has given us the greatest compliment, and the greatest responsibility.
-He has chosen us as his people, and his representatives, so that through us, the world can see what God is like.
In a group of people this size, I am certain there are some of you here today who really need to repent, to turn to God, and to be baptized into Christ so that you can experience God’s mercy, and have relief from the burden you are carrying.
Do you feel guilt and regret about how you’ve been living. Do you wonder what God will think about you if you come to him for forgiveness?
To answer that, I want to read you the words of Jesus in Luke 15
“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninetynine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninetynine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
If you come to Christ this morning, we know that the angels in heaven will celebrate, and we would love to celebrate your new life with you. Please come as we stand and sing.
