Thank you for listening to Servants for Christ. And all that we do and all that we say, we want to give glory and honor to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you for tuning us in as we get into the wonderful Word of God. For the next few minutes, let's take the beautiful Word of God and share it with each and every one of you as we have a sense of anticipation to take the Word of God and to listen to its truth for each and every one. I'm Darrell Bailey service for Christ take your Bibles over to the little book of Joel the little book of Joel right in between Amos and Hosea I believe it's like the 29th book, the little book of Joel. Joel writes about the current and the future conditions in Israel. And I'm glad that he deals with the current conditions and he deals with the coming conditions. that are going to transpire later on in the second and the third chapter. And so, those current conditions in Joel chapter 1 verses 1 through 20, we see the worst locust plague in Judah's history that is settled upon the land. The devastation and the proclamation and the supplication that being of the devastation of the severity of the locust, the swarm, and how bad that it happened, from the severity to the sorrow, from the proclamation of dressing in sackcloth and declaring a fast, to gathering in the temple, and the supplication, both the people and the animals cry out for divine intervention. As we get in to the book of Joel, chapter one, Here we witness an increasing environment of devastation, economic uncertainty, and social unrest in the world today to relate to the Book of Joel. the images of the wildfires that are consuming vast landscape, crop failures impacting food security in the world, and communities grappling with poverty that echo the desolation described in Joel chapter one. And so we see the fruits of our collective disobedience and the resulting calamities as we recognize the urgency of all of this. Joel chapter one verse two, he cried out, this ye old men and give ear all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days or even in the days of your fathers? And so we look and we see this devastation that is transpiring. And so we asked that as we get into the book of Joel, Maybe it may be hard for you to relate to, but as we reflect on these words, let's be moved to a repentance and seek mercy in the midst of our trials of time, that the Lord will guide us with humbleness and faith in America. And so let's open up with a word of prayer. Father, we come before you. And as we reflect on the words of Joel, chapter 1, we see the devastation described and the call of repentance amidst the great calamity. And we acknowledge our need for your guidance and mercy in the times of crisis in America. Just as Joel called your people to weep and lament, we humbly ask you to open our hearts to recognize our own need for renewal. Lord, your scripture said, hear this ye old men and give ear all ye inhabitants of the land. Lord, that it had been in your days or even in the days of your fathers that we tell it to our children and let our children tell their children and their children another generation. Lord, teach us through these words. Help us to remember your mighty acts and lessons that you wish to impact and guide us to turn back to you with sincerity and faithfulness in the mighty name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. I'm glad when we look at Joel chapter 1, the thing that we see is the devastation of sin. And that's what we'll be talking about in Joel chapter one, the devastation of sin. You know, in a reader's digest story, a once thriving town falls into decay after a series of misfortunes. The community, once lively and prosperous, faces hardships and loss. This mirrors the devastation described in Joel chapter 1, where the land of Judah is afflicted by a series of calamities due to sin and neglect. And so, when we look and realize that we see the devastation, first of all, the devastation of the land, and so, As we look at this and we realize through this devastation, this is a foreshadowing of the coming day of the Lord, His terrifying judgment, because each prophet had his own unique approach to his own special message. Hosea's message was an application of his sad domestic trials, emphasizing God's jealous love. But Joel's message is an interpretation of a national calamity, a plague of locusts, and a drought, and emphasize God's glorious kingdom. Joel may well have been the first of the writing prophets that ministered in Judah during the reign of King Joash from 835 to 796 BC. You find the record in 2 Kings chapters 11 and 12, and 2 Chronicles chapters 22, 23, and 24. Joash came to the throne at the age of seven, and Jehoiada, the priest, was his mentor. This was to explain why Joel says nothing about the king since Joash was learning on the job training. Joel's major theme was the day of the Lord and the need for God's people to be prepared. The day of Lord that is used in scripture to refer to the very different periods when God sent judgment to his people, but the main emphasis is on the future day of the Lord, when the nations will be judged, when Christ shall return to set up his glorious kingdom in the coming future. And so, yes, Joel is not an Old Testament little bitty book that's no good. It is a very, very teachable book. that instructs us what we need to know. And Joel refers to three important events that transpire, each of which he calls a day of the Lord. He sees the plague of the locusts as an immediate day of the Lord in Joel 1 1-20. The invasion of Judah by the Assyrians as an imminent day of the Lord in Joel 2 1-27. And then thirdly, the final judgment of the world as the ultimate day of the Lord. in Joel 2, verse 27, all the way down from Joel 3 to verse 21. Because in the first, the locusts are the metaphorical army. In the second, the locusts symbolize a real army. And in the third, the locusts aren't seen at all. And the armies are very real, and they're very dangerous. And so, what can we look at and see? That disasters happen every day of the week in the world. People across the globe are experiencing one form of disaster or another at any given time. Disasters like tornadoes, traffic accidents, violent crimes, hurricanes, plane crashes, assaults, earthquakes, diseases and wars, floods and bank ruptures, the death of loved ones, mudslides and loss of employment. On and on the list goes, but the point for us to see is this. One day in the future, a barrage of disasters, one right after another, will strike the earth. And I'm telling you, as you listen to this, you might want to tune in to the Doomsday Clock of Revelation series that I'm doing, because these disasters will be the worst catastrophes to ever hit the earth. The barrage that will be launched by God himself, and the calamities that will literally shatter and devastate the whole earth. The Lord even gives a name to this terrifying period of human history. It's called the day. of the Lord. And the Day of the Lord will take place at the end of human history, a period called the Tribulation of the Great Tribulation as another name given by the Lord Himself in Matthew chapter 24 verse 21. But in the present, Scripture There's a large swarm of locusts that had just invaded the nation of Judah, totally ravaged the land. The insects had consumed everything in their path, and the nation was facing economic collapse, massive unemployment, and worst of all, famine and starvation. And the prophet inspired The Lord inspired the prophet Joel to look at the disaster that had struck Judah and to use it as a background for writing of this great book that we have today. While the prophet Joel was thinking through the crisis, the Lord revealed that the disaster was an act of God. It was a judgment that God himself was executing upon the people because of their horrible wickedness. But also, the locust invasion was a sign of foreshadowing of the coming day of the Lord. Sometime in the coming future, God's climatic day of terrifying judgment will fall upon the earth for the very, very final time. Joy encouraged the people to look at the locust invasion and to see it in God's hand of judgment. And in the suffering, they were crying out to the Lord, they were repenting of their sins, and they were begging God to deliver them and their nation. But they must realize that the utter necessity of following the Lord throughout the remaining days of their lives, that they must continually walk with the Lord and obey His holy commandments for one day in the future. the great and climatic day of the Lord will come. And in that day of final judgment, every individual will give an account for his or her behavior on earth, whether good or whether bad. And so we look and we see the devastation of the land. You know, in the movie, The Lion King, the Pride Lands suffer under scarce rule, the evil lion becoming barren and lifeless. This visual metaphor aligns with the devastation described in Joel as a result of sin. And so, when we look and we see the lament of the people and the call to mourning and repentance, here we look at it We begin to see that in Joel chapter 1 verse 1 the Bible says the word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Penuel Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? When we look at the devastation that's wrought by the locusts, hear the word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Penuel, signifies that the prophecy was not originated by Joel. God composed it. God gave it to him. And as to all the prophets as well, the prophecy of Joel was in general that covers the period of the times of the Gentiles that speaks from Nebuchadnezzar to the Antichrist. And it speaks of the temple and its Levitical worship but makes no mention of a king. You see, the name Joel means Jehovah is God. Even though the exact time of Joel's ministry is not known, it's believed that he ministered shortly before Jeremiah. And so, he says, Hear this, ye old men, give ear all your inhabitants of the land. Has this been in your days or even in the days of your fathers? You see, the scripture is that of judgments to come. that would be exceptional as to be without any previous experiences because it says in verse 3, tell your children of it and let your children tell their children and their children another generation. In other words, the announcement that is given using the phraseology in the second verse, is hear this and give ear. It's meant to impress upon the hearers the significance of a message that's delivered, the coming judgment that is proclaimed, with the sin that caused it, together with the plea He says, that which the palmer worm has left has the locust eaten, and that which the locust has left has the canker worm eaten, and that which the canker worm has left has the canker pillar eaten. And so the prophecy was given by God to Joel, to Judah, was ultimately a devastation ruined by a plague of locusts that was used to illustrate the divine judgments that were about to be inflicted upon the land that would have their climactic and the dread day of the Lord and at the close of Judah's history that these judgments would be so exceptional as to without the previous experiences because of sin itself. America you're gonna pay the price for sin. Every one of us in every part of the United States of America and everyone in the world are gonna pay their part for sin. He says that we're to call to be awake in verse five. He says, awake you drunkards and sweep and howl all you drinkers of wine because of the new wine for it is cut off from your mouth. You know what? You need to wake up drunkards and weep And it has to do with the spiritual state of Judah. Instead of crying to God from a position of spiritual strength, they were instead faced with the problem of awakening of the drunkards from their stooped faction. In other words, there was no spiritual base upon which to build. And because of the new wine, for it was to be cut off from their mouth, it meant to impress upon the drunkards of the nation of Judah, that shortly the enemy was going to come into their country with all the vineyards being destroyed, with either killed or taken captive, and there would be no more wine for any of them in the nation. He says in verse 6, for a nation has come up upon my land, strong and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the cheek teeth of a great lion. A nation that has come up upon my land is a two-fold meaning. First of all, to the soon-to-come Babylonian invasion of Judah, actually Babylon was symbolized by a lion in Daniel chapter 7 verse 4. And secondly, the phrase, and he has the sheep. teeth of a great lion and is referring to the coming Antichrist himself who will come from Syria and Babylon according to Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 and Daniel chapter 11 verses 41 through 45, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verses 3 and 4 and Revelation chapter 13 verse 2 and Revelation chapter 16 verses 13 through 16 Revelation chapter 19 verses 11 through 21. He goes on, he says in verse 7, He has laid my vine waste and barked my fig tree. He has made it clean bare and cast it away. The branches thereof are made white. And so the destruction of the vine and the fig tree denotes the devastation of the land of Judah which would take place upon the advent of the Babylonian invasion. And so, we see the devastation wrought by the locusts in verses 1 through 4. And there was a call to wake, to wake up in verses 5 through 7. And so, When we look at this devastation that we see, Joel's message was based upon that locust invasion that had been given to him by God himself, an evasion that had wreaked havoc on the entire land of Israel. Amen. And could it be that the plague of locusts was an act of God? Yes. The judgment from the hand of God due to their weakness? Yes. And so, Like Joel, every believer has been commissioned by God to bear strong witness for Christ. Once we are saved, we're to share the message of salvation. Through Christ, we receive not only forgiveness of sins, but also the strength to become triumphant over all the hardships, the misfortunes of life, the wonderful message of salvation, even in an Old Testament book like Joel. is the message of salvation in Christ that we are to share with our families, our friends, our neighbors, and our fellow workers, and everyone else in the world. God overlooks no one, and therefore we're to take the gospel to every individual of every generation in every nation of the world. And I'm glad that when we do that, that we can be able to see what needs to be done of this devastation of the land that is taking place. Here, as I talk about the devastation of sin in Joel chapter 1, we see the lament of the people. You know what? And the great Gatsby, the lavish parties and the indulgence that led to profound sense of emptiness and loss. This reflects the people's lament in Joel, recognizing the emptiness that's left by their neglect. And so, I'm glad that we see the purpose of the locust invasion was to arouse the people to turn and seek the Lord and standing before his audience, Joel's heart reached out to them. His message had come from the Lord and therefore the people had to do exactly what the Lord said or else they would face the judgment of God, the terrifying day of the Lord. That Joel singled out five groups of people and he issued a strong charge to each of those groups, amen. And so When we look at those charges, number one, the first thing that we saw was the charge to the leaders and the citizens that were powerful because he began to tell us, he says, hear and listen. Because what did we read in verse two? hear this you old men and give ear all your inhabitants of the land has this been in your days or even in the days of your fathers he said hear and listen everyone that lived in the land must hear exactly what god had to say for the severity of the catastrophic that was unequal no one could recall what the nation had had been so devastated, the destruction caused by the locusts was unprecedented, causing the nation's economy to collapse, resulting in massive unemployment, and the very survival of the nation was being threatened as so many faced the crisis of starvation. And so the prophet charged the leaders and the citizens to remember this disaster and its lesson. They were to remember how devastating the evasion of the insects had been coming in the series of attack led to the destruction of the nation. But also, when we look at how the charge to the leaders and citizens was powerful to hear, to listen in verses 2 and 3, and also in verse 4, We see also that there was a charge to all the drunkards, the indulgent, and the pleasure seekers that was awakening reproof. And that was not only hear and listen, but the second of the five, he says, wake up and weep. They had every reason to weep. for the disaster had ruined the wine snatched from their lips that which they craved." And in Jewish society, wine was usually served at meals. All the adults of the nation were affected by the loss of the grape harvest. Joel was not addressing all the adults in this point, but rather the drunkards, those who represented the self-indulgent and pleasure seekers of life. And so I thank God that when we look and realize that each of us through the life that we're going through. And we look and realize that of that devastation that we see. that not only that as we look and realize that it was to hear and listen in verse two of those five different people that we were to go back and challenge a man. and also the charge to the drunkards to wake up and weep, amen. But we also see that as in the Jewish society that wine was usually served at meals and therefore all the adults of the nation were affected by the loss of it. These locusts had teeth as sharp as those of a lion and so they had stripped the bark off the tree and the bushes and all of the things. And the charge to the young and old throughout the nation was forceful. The third thing, and that was of the young and the old to the drunkards that were there. And also to those ones across the nation, amen, that as we look and realize that what God was doing in each of their lives, amen. that we see through this devastation that he said hear and listen leaders and citizens that he started out with then he said oh so you drunkards wake up and weep but oh so he had a charge to the young and old throughout the nation and he said mourn mourn like a virgin over the loss of her fiance a wedding that would have a time of joy and rejoicing, that the locusts had snatched away all the growth of the land and caused economic devastation, aid man. And so that brings us down to where we pick up in verse 8 and begin to read again, because as we do this, we know that the second the next two types of tragedies of the people that he's talking to. As he started out, he talked about the leaders and the citizens, hear and listen. He talked about the charge to the drunkards to wake up and weep. And then he talked about the charge to the young and the old throughout the nation that was forceful to mourn, mourn like a virgin over the loss of fiancee in verses 8 through 10. But also, the fourth thing that he talked about, amen, is the charge to the farmers that was strong. He said, despair, be ashamed and wail, because they were to experience utter despair from the harvest of their fields that were ruined by the attack of the locusts, and the vineyards and trees were withered completely, dried up by the drought. And the fifth thing, the charge to the priest, that was a compelling admonition. He says, wail, Joe encouraged the priest to take the lead in seeking and crying out to the Lord. and he gave two strong exhortations to the priests. First, he charged them to dress in sackcloth, and to begin mourning and wailing before the Lord. And so, when we look at this, he tells us, amen, in verse 8, Lament like a virgin. girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. Amen. And I'm glad he goes on in verse 9. The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the Lord. The priest and the Lord's ministers, they mourn. In verse 10, the field is wasted. The land mourns for the corn is wasted. The new wine is dried up. The oil languishes. In verse 11, Be you ashamed, O you husbandmen, how, O you vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley, because the harvest of the field is perished." In verse 12, the vine is dried up, the fig tree languishes, the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, the apple tree, even all the trees of the field are withered, because joy is withered away from the sons of men. In verse 13, gird yourselves and lament, you priests, how you ministers of the altar come lie all night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God, for the meat offering, for the drink offering is withheld from the house of your God. And so the idea is unless repentance is enjoined. that the sacrifices will be no more because the temple will be no more, as well as the priests were to take the lead if the nation was to follow suit. And then verse 14, sanctify you a fast, call a 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. Step by step, the Holy Spirit, through the prophet Joel, tells Judah what she must do, which, if done, would avoid destruction. But sadly, it was of no avail. And so, all of the disasters should arouse us to turn to the Lord, and seek His holy face, and to beg Him for help. But no matter who we are, if we truly turn away from sin and seek the Lord, He will hear our prayer and He will meet our needs. If leaders and citizens will hear the word of God and listen to His holy commandments, the Lord will answer their cries for help. Even the drunkards, the indulgent, the pleasure seekers of this world will receive God's help if they would sincerely turn to Him and seek His faith. Both young and old alike can know the power of God in facing crisis if they truly turn to the Lord. When farmers give their lives wholly to the Lord, generally seek Him in prayer, the Lord will meet their needs. If priests and ministers of the world will truly humble themselves and continually seek God's face, He'll meet their needs when facing the crisis and the disasters of life. And so, I'm glad that when we pick up in the 15th, And we begin to realize that the lament of the people, the call of mourning and repentance, every one of us, when we look and we realize what the Lord is doing across the land, amen, we'll be able to see that he says to us that here in verse 15, the intercession for sinners, the lesson of the locust invasion was a picture to picture the day of the Lord, the day of his terrifying judgment that was soon coming upon the nation of Judah. But keep in mind that the day of the Lord refers to the judgment of God, but it also refers to his wonderful salvation and deliverance for us today. And that part of the scripture refers to the locust disaster. as a present-day judgment that was a foreshadowing sign of a greater judgment soon to come upon all the nations of the world. The plague of insects, a contemporary day of the Lord, a light out in the future. That's far more terrifying as Joel clearly said that the future day of the Lord was near and imminent. That when the future day came, it would be a time of catastrophic destruction from the Almighty himself. It would be shattering destructive force flowing out from the Lord's holy nature. Joel was using the locust invasions to point to the future invasions by the Assyrian and Babylonian armies. and to the invasion by the nations of the world in the end times of human history. And so in verse 15, Joel said that the day of the Lord was near and that it would come in the form of destruction from the Lord. And I'm glad that we read in verse 15, at last for the day, for the day of the Lord is at hand and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. In verse 16, it's not the meat cut off before our eyes. Yes, joy and gladness from the house of our God. He says, is not the meat cut off before our eyes? Yes, joy and gladness from the house of our God. If it was true that the locusts had already devoured the land, then the prophecy concerns something already at least fulfilled, but it refers to the coming great tribulation of revelation in the following days of the future, when Israel will experience suffering as they never have before, according to Matthew 24, verse 21. But in verse 17, the seed is rotten under their clods, the gardeners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down, for the corn is withered. In verse 18, how do the beasts groan? The herds of cattle are perplexed because they have no pastor. Yes, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. In verse 19, O Lord, to you will I cry for the fire has devoured the pastors of the wilderness and the flame has burned all the trees of the field. And lastly, verse 20, the beast of the field cry also unto you for the rivers of waters are dried up and the fire has devoured the pastors of the wilderness. All this happened not too many years from Joel's day. But you know what? In verse 16, the prophet used the demonstration by the locust to foreshadow what would take place in the future day of the Lord. Amen. And the day of the Lord would be a time of horrible suffering that Joel This verbally describes four areas that I read in verses 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20. In verse 16, the people would suffer due to famine because their food supply would be cut off before their very eyes. And so secondly, the people would suffer because of a joyful worship would be cut off and that when God's terrifying judgment came, there'd be no more rejoicing, no more praising coming from the house of God. Thirdly, people would suffer because of all the storage and grain facilities throughout the nation would be empty and ruined when the day of the Lord came in verse 17. The economy would collapse. The businesses would shut down. There'd be no products to buy or sell, no money to purchase anything. People so objective was just to survive from one day to the next. And then fourthly, the livestock would suffer because there'd be nothing for them to eat. Cattle and sheep would groan from a lack of pasture to graze on in verse 18. And then, And we see under verse 18 that the livestock would suffer, that the day for true believers that they would cry out to the Lord for help. And I'm glad this was exactly what the prophet Joel did. He realized the people's desperate situation and their need to repent and turn back to the Lord. And Joel cried out to the Lord for help. And he cried out for God to have mercy upon the people and the nation. And Joel stood in the gap between the Lord and the people. He stood as an example of intercessory prayer. The prophet was a true prayer warrior. one who passionately interceded for others. And that day of the Lord would be a day when wild animals would cry out to God for relief and help of what we just read in verse 20. Because when God's judgment falls upon a nation, even the animals are affected. And in this case, Scripture says the beast would long for water and pastor and God's judgment would dry up the streams and the ground itself allowing fire to more easily ignite and burn up all of the vegetation that provides food for the wild animals. Listen to me as I get ready to close because the lesson for us to see is the certainty of the day of the Lord, the coming day of God's terrifying judgment. Just when the climatic day will begin on earth, no one will know, not even the angels in heaven. No person knows the day or the hour when Christ will return to earth to execute judgment, but The day of judgment is near for every one of us. All of us will one day leave this earth and stand before the Lord to hear His verdict upon our lives. And if we have truly placed our faith in Christ and are obeying His holy word and commandments, the Lord will accept us. But if we have rebelled against the Lord, rejecting, cursing, and denying Him, we're going to suffer the judgment of God. Because the Lord will take vengeance upon all who rebel against Him. All who curse, deny, and reject Him. And so, what does the Bible tell us? For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the son of man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his father with the holy angels. And so, every one of us, as we close out, you know what? What areas of your life might be experiencing spiritual desolation? We need to reflect on where you feel disconnected from God or that lack of spiritual vitality, such as prayer life, such as worship, such as community involvement in your local church assembly. How can you actively participate in the repentance and the renewal for your family? We all need to engage in our time of prayer. We need to support the church activities. we need to encourage others in their spiritual growth. And there, we look at what steps that we can take to address and remedy the areas of sin that is in our life. Well, we need to identify specific areas of sin and seek accountability. and commit to daily practices of repentance and spiritual discipline. And when we do that, I'm glad, then we can make a change. Because when we look and realize that what we're talking about when we look at Joel chapter 1 and how what it tells us, amen, of the devastation of sin that it has caused us, every one of us as we go through life today, we're all going to have to face the judgment of the Lord one of these days. But if you know Jesus Christ as a personal savior, I'm glad the book of Joel is calling out a call to revival. here when it deals with the devastation of sin. Let's close out and ask the Lord for His help. Father, thank you for the message of Joel chapter one and the reminder of the severity of judgment when your people stray from your path. As we close our reflection on the chapter, we seek your forgiveness and renewal. Your word in Joel 117 said, the seed is rotten under their clods and the gardeners are laid desolate and the barns are broken down for the corn is withered. Lord, we lay before you the dry and barren areas of our lives. And may your spirit revive us and restore what is lost and lead us to a deeper relationship with you. And may we heed the call to repentance and emerge from desolation into your abundant grace. In Jesus's marvelous mighty name. you