The prophet Joel. Three pages in the whole of the Bible. We don't know much about Joel. We kind of presume that he preached to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, because he mentions Jerusalem several times. And Joel, his names mean the Lord is God. And his father's name, Pethuel. But that's all we know about Joel. And yet he has a very important message, a very important, a current message, applicable to our days. He's referring to the necessity of repentance. He gives here an urgent call to the people of Judah to repentance, to the covenant people of Judah. This repentance is necessary. Because what's the background? He's describing a huge army coming into the land, but we know this army consists not of men, but of locusts, grasshoppers, big grasshoppers who devour everything. And people are powerless to resist them. I know in the prairies it used to happen in the 19th century, the first settlers, and then suddenly it would come this huge cloud full of grasshoppers coming from the Rockies, and they would devour everything. They could try to hit them and wave, but it was terrible. Later on, that all subsided because we were able to kill the breeding grounds in the mountains of the grasshoppers. That's why we don't have them anymore now. In the Middle East you still have them. It must be terrible to see that your crops ruined, eaten bare in a couple of minutes. That's what verse three also says, the land is as the garden of Eden before them and behind them a desolate wilderness. And so they come into the land. And before their face, verse six, the people shall be much pained. They're shocked, they're fearful. These grasshoppers, these locusts come into the land and they run like mighty men, verse seven. They shall climb the wall, the wall like men of war. They shall march everyone. They won't be perturbed. They won't turn around. They shall run to and fro in the city, verse 9. They shall run upon the wall, climb up upon the houses, entering at the windows like a thief. And the whole land is darkened because a cloud of locusts had caused indeed darkness to fall upon the land. It's a judgment, a judgment of the Lord, because the Lord had said in Deuteronomy 28, that if Israel would turn away from the Lord, there would be locust plagues. And that's what's happening here, because they have turned away from the Lord. But then Joel also looks ahead. He speaks here of the Yom Yavah, the day of the Lord, and it's coming, this day of the locusts. But we can draw the line further. the day of the Lord of judgment. The day of judgment is coming upon America, upon Canada, upon the whole world. Because of all the iniquity that's abounding, we think the Lord does nothing. But the Lord is coming to judgment. And great that day will be. And therefore, there's a call to repentance. an urgent call to repentance. It's necessary, for it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment." How often do we think of these things, of the judgment of the Lord? And you know, we have the propensity to think that, you know, it won't really matter to us, Because we are covenant children. We go to church and we serve the Lord. We are still righteous. We speak about others who will be in judgment. The world, the drug dealers, the pushers, the pimps, and so on. They are in judgment. But Joel is speaking here to the covenant people of God. He's not speaking to the Ammonites or the Amorites or the Moabites. He's speaking to the people of Judah. We shall be judged. Why is it to be judged? Why is repentance necessary? Because I'm a child of Adam. That's why. The fact that I may, by God's grace, be included in the covenant of Abraham doesn't annul the reality. that I am still a child of Adam. And that's something we must learn to see, and to know, and to realize, and to envision. And that should be the greatest burden in our lives, that we have old Adam in us, that we are sinners. Sin should be our greatest problem. Not the economy, not our future, Not the climate, but our sin. Because I have a heart that goes by nature against the Lord God, and I'm even blind to that reality. I need to be uncovered to that reality. That's a work of the Holy Spirit, who shows us who we really are. You see, then I become the sinner. I have sinned. Have we confessed that? Has that become a burden for us? Paul refers to him as a wretched man, because the good that I will, I don't do that. And David says, I am poor and needy. Have we become poor and needy? Have we become dependent? Have we seen that we can do nothing without the Lord Jesus? You know, that involves repentance, confessing who we are, turning away from what we've been doing, from our attitudes. By God's grace, we have been kept from crimes, but we still have a heart inclined to unbelief. And unbelief is the greatest sin, because then we consider God to be a liar. It's not murder that keeps us out of God's kingdom. It's not adultery that keeps us out of the kingdom, although we will bear the consequences of that, but it is unbelief. Not listening to God, not bowing to God, not having a complete unconditional surrender to God that keeps us out of the kingdom. Covenant children, but they need to come to this activity of repentance, a turning to the Living God. Have we seen these things in our life? Have we seen the reality that we must turn to Him. Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God." It's the heart. Have we ever been undone and pained because of the inclinations of our heart? Has that led us to humility? My heart, that's a problem. The publican in the temple smote his heart, because that was the problem. And the apostle, not the apostle, the prophet Joel says, he turned even to me, in verse 12, with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning. Mourning, yes. Because I've done injustice to God, and I hardly even see it. I'm hardly even aware of it, of the reality that I've offended God. And I think that God owes me things. He owes me nothing. And to see that, that's essential, that's necessary. Have we seen these realities? That I have nothing to bring forward to the Lord. that it is grace, grace alone, for by grace are ye saved by faith, and that not of yourself, it is the gift of God. It's the almighty grace, power of God. And then when you see that you cannot really turn yourself, you cannot really repent, But the Lord Jesus is ascended on high. And from the right hand of God, he gives repentance and remission of sins. He takes a life and renews it. He changes it. He opens the eyes. He causes you to experience the loving kindness of God. And then your heart melts. And in order to be ministers of the gospel, we need to have hearts that are melted by the love of God shed abroad. Because then we realize this is it. This is what it's all about. That sinners would experience this love. And there's an encouragement here. Verse 13, for he is gracious, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of evil." You see, the Lord has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. It's repeatedly recorded in Scripture. In Exodus 34, verse 6, the Lord Himself proclaimed this name to Moses, And later on Moses in Numbers 14 pleads upon that self-revelation. Moses pleads upon that self-revelation of the Lord. David does the same in Psalm 86. And Nehemiah 9, verse 17, the same thing. It's pleading upon the revelation of God. That's the only pleading ground we have. Nothing in us. It's all in him, of him, to him. And still it's not automatic. It's not automatic. It's not something that we then may calmly presume that it will happen. No. Why not? Because the text says that here. Because on the one hand, the offer of the rich encouragement, but on the other hand, verse 14, who knoweth? Who knoweth if he will return and repent and leave a blessing behind him? Who knoweth? You see, it's not, and then he will come, so that we can just manipulate the Lord God by pleading upon his word and then God has to do. No, God has to do nothing. He is sovereign. Who knoweth? We've deserved punishment. But it's grace. And you know, it's not revealed what God will do to those who wait for him. He can do far more in your life than you are aware of, because He's Almighty God. And you see it here. He will leave a blessing behind of a meat offering and a drink offering, verse 14. A meat offering, a drink offering, while the locusts have just come in the land and there's nothing left. But there still will be abundance because of His grace. His grace is more than sufficient. And so we need this repentance, not just once, but continually. We need this awareness of His sovereignty and of our utter dependence upon God. Who knows if He will return and repent, or turn around, and leave a blessing behind him. May I lead you in prayer? Most blessed Lord, we thank thee for thy precious word. What would we do without thy word? We will be in a jungle without any way or path to walk on. We will be on the ocean without any inclination where to go. But thy word is a clear light for our path and a lamp for our feet. And we thank thee and worship thee for this glorious revelation of thine infallible word. We pray, Lord, will thou lead us into the treasures of thy word. May we be students of thy word our lifelong. May we live in utter dependence upon thee. And may our hopes be upon thee. Will thou be our refuge? Will thou teach us to be faithful ministers of the New Testament? Will thou lead us and mold us and try us and purge us? Lord, we need thee. Grant us thy light and thy truth, and may they lead us to thy holy hill. but Thou bless the seminary, bless all the professors, all the administrative personnel, those who labor here, be with the student body, and Lord, may Thy Spirit bless the conversations and the instructions. May Thy name be honored here for Jesus' sake, amen.