Scripture:
Joel 2:21-32 NKJV
[21] Fear not, O land; Be glad and rejoice, For the Lord has done marvelous things! [22] Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field; For the open pastures are springing up, And the tree bears its fruit; The fig tree and the vine yield their strength. [23] Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the Lord your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you— The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month. [24] The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. [25] “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. [26] You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame. [27] Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the Lord your God And there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame. [28] “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. [29] And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. [30] “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. [31] The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. [32] And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the Lord has said, Among the remnant whom the Lord calls.
Observation:
I honestly had no idea this is where we would land this morning, but as my eyes fell on these verses the Holy Spirit said look no further. This is where I want you to be. As I was reading it over and over a few things came to my mind and I hope to get them across in this SOAP. Joel is not a very long book, only 3 chapters in all, so the entire content can be read in under 10 minutes. Here in the middle of the second chapter we see a transition take place, moving a prophetic statement about the day of the LORD that is coming and how those who are in opposition to HIM should fear that day, to the statement we had the opportunity to read a few short moments ago. Statements that honestly refreshed my spirit. I don’t know where you are today but I hope it did the same for you, so lets see what the Holy Spirit has to say to us this morning. When Joel wrote this book, the kingdom of Judah had been going through it; large swarms of locusts had devastated the kingdom and caused a famine. People were starving, panic had set in and the nation was more than likely confused about how to move forward. As Joel began to write he explained that, but here in verse 21 he begins to shift, reassuring the people that even though it may look horrible right now GOD is not done. A restoration project is about to start. This was not the enemy’s territory and although at this point it looked like nothing but devastation, GOD was about to do what only HE could do… bring beauty from the ashes. Going back over the chapter that we are looking at verse 12 came into my sight again… it’s GOD’S call of love to HIS people, something that HE is consistently doing throughout the Bible. A call to repentance. One of my favorite verses that includes this biblical principle in 2nd Chronicles chapter 7 and verse 14. Ironically it can be tied to this portion of scripture that we are looking at this morning. Please take the time to look it up so that we are all on the same page. It says, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land. Another message of restoration. As we take a quick overview of what’s being said in Joel’s book we see the description of that run substantially deeper, speaking about restoring everything that the enemy has taken. I want to go into a little detail here because I feel like it’s going to make a difference. Let’s look at how the locusts have devastated the land. There was nothing left. What wasn’t eaten by them was destroyed. It couldn’t be brought back, it would have to be made new. New life would have to spring forth from old dead stocks. But GOD made HIS promise. It was HIS land and HIS people, HE would fulfill HIS word. The renewal that would come has a chain reaction tied to it. The Holy Spirit would move, an outpouring would take place, revival would break out, signs and wonders, prophetic words would be spoken, and the Holy Spirit would do what only HE could do. Restoration and revival. Joel’s timely statements are important to take in, the power-packed shot prophetic statement that he made several thousand years ago is something we should look at closely today.
Application:
Are you tired of it? Are you just done? I know I am. The enemy has taken enough from me. He can’t have anymore. A restoration period is at hand. Something that only GOD can do, looking at our lives and seeing where we are is a necessary process. Being sober minded as we do so is also very important. Now we may be thinking that sober minded means without the uses of drugs and alcohol… and it does mean that, but it honestly runs deeper than that. It means to see clearly and correctly, with humility. Taking all pride and self-righteousness out of the picture. Tucking ourselves right up under the wing of the Almighty. It’s easy to think that what we are doing is right. It’s harder to fall into line with the Holy Spirit. The flesh wants what feels good, the Spirit wants what is good… but what feels good isn’t always what is good. I want my life to be in line with what GOD wants for me, because what HE wants for me includes restoration of everything that the enemy has taken. The illusion of feeding the flesh is a lie. It takes from you everything GOD has intended for you to have, HIS desire is to restore, redeem, make new, reshape, and prop-up for all to see HIS handy work. But it begins with returning to him. We live in a world that looks a lot like Sodom and Gomorrah. A world that is quickly getting darker and darker. Pride and self-seeking behavior are the locusts that are destroying everything around us…. As we make a decision to return to GOD an outpouring of HIS Holy Spirit will bring about restoration and revival. I see it happening in my life and others around me. As it begins to take off I don’t want to leave anyone behind. The enemy has no place in this camp, it’s GOD’S. The restoration starts now. You are either going to align yourself with GOD or you are going to feed your flesh the choice is yours. But if you feed your flesh you feed the locust.
Prayer:
Father, we are yours, you have adopted us into the family. We know that we have fallen short and pray for your forgiveness. We ask that you would do exactly what you have said here and restore us, restore what the enemy has taken. Help us to see that you are doing exactly that, put a stop to any more of his schemes. Let us see HIS clearly and hold fast to what you have promised. You are the “I AM” , you are everything we need. Help us to stay fixed on you. We need your protection and provision. We know that you are the GOD of restoration. Fill us with your Holy Spirit, so full that there is room for nothing else. We want to be exactly who you have made us to be…. Bold and courageous warriors who take back everything the enemy has stolen from us and all those around us. You didn’t create us to be cowards, but mighty men of valor. We stand here today ready to fight for your promises…. But you have already won the battle. Let us hear your voice and follow without reservations. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus we pray amen.