Joel: Jesus Is The Outpourer of The Holy Spirit
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Joel: Jesus is the Outpourer of the Holy Spirit
Joel 2:28-32
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, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days, I will pour out my Spirit. "And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.
What is one specific day you are looking forward to? A day you think that will come that will forever change your life. For some, maybe it is a promotion you've been striving for. Perhaps it's finishing a special project you've been working on for a long time. Perhaps it's a poem, a painting, or even a song you composed that you cannot wait to share with everyone. Maybe it's the day when you'll finally pay off all your debt. Or maybe, it's when you finally meet someone that you think will change your life. Whatever it looks like, we all long for a day when our lives will change forever. For me, I am looking forward to the day when I finally get married. I'm confident that from that day onwards, everything will change for me.
Now there is a day the prophets in the Old Testament were looking forward to. This day is called the Day of the Lord. People in biblical times couldn't help but talk about it because when the Day of the Lord approaches, all creation and all people will be affected. It will be terrifying and yet amazing. Now, the Day of the Lord is one of the main themes of the book of Joel. In the seventeen times the term was used in the OT, five of them were in this book. So, Joel was prophesying about that coming day that will change everything forever. What is the "Day of the Lord?" It's a time period wherein God's intervention towards His creation is most evident and apparent. It is a time where the Lord will send His judgments fully and His salvation and blessings absolutely.
Before we continue, though, we need to have some background information regarding this book. Joel's name means "Yahweh is God." We don't know much about Joel as a person, except he is the son of Pethuel. And with that, the book of Joel is also a bit perplexing to date. Scholars debated when this book was written, so we're unsure if this book was either before or after Israel's exile. However, it seems that Joel was familiar with the other prophetic writings. He alludes to the other prophets and the book of Exodus. If you have been keeping up with your bible reading or have been with us through this journey of seeing Christ through every book of the Bible, then you should have a better grasp of the principles Joel is writing about. If not, then I hope together we can continue to grow deeper in our knowledge and love for Jesus. So, what can we grasp out of the book of Joel? There are three main things we'll talk about, and hopefully, you will realize how this small book can help us to live in God's light today.
I. The Outpouring
v.28a "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh"
In the first chapter, we see a locust invasion that devoured the crops in the land of Israel. In 1:4, it says, "What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten." We might not be too familiar with locusts but think of grasshoppers just hungrier, scarier, and much more destructive. In 2014, there was a significant locust plague that devastated the farms and crops of Madagascar and left millions of people in scarcity for food and work. They were able to control the damage 37 million dollars’ worth of donation to help that country.
During the time of Joel, we can infer that the locust invasion was much more brutal and more severe. Every part of Israel's life was gravely affected. Joel interprets this locust invasion as a judgment from the Lord. Joel then calls upon the nation of Israel to lament and repent of their sins and come back to God. However, what the locusts did on that day be a symbol for another devastation that will come to Israel and the rest of the world. It will no longer be only regular locusts that will come upon the land and destroy everything in this future time. The Lord sent out the locusts to discipline Israel for their sins. Likewise, there will be a locust-like army to judge the world that has sinned against Him. This is what the Day of the Lord is like. It will be a time of judgment and destruction. It says in Joel 1:15, "Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes." In chapter 2:1-2, it says, "Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations."
Joel prophesies that this army will come during the Day of the Lord. Joel writes in chapter 2 that this army will be present in that time they will execute the judgment God has for His people. Just like the locust invasion was unstoppable in their devastation, so will this army be in that time. The army will be destructive, relentless, and virtually unbeatable. In a way, Joel is terrifying his audience and letting them understand that the Day of the Lord is no joke. There will come a time where an extraordinary and horrific judgment is coming to not just Israel but the whole world. Joel wants his readers to consider this judgment to lament and repent.
So why is this significant for us today? We need to understand that there will come a day of judgment. The day of the Lord will be a day of judgment. God is a just God. One day will come when He pours out His judgment upon the world that rejects His authority and reign. What Joel is describing here is very much in tune with what the Apostle John describes in In Revelations. There will come a time when all the things humanity has placed over God will be put to shame, and there will be no doubt in anyone's mind that God is real, and He is just. This idea should give us a pause and reevaluate our lives. Joel was telling His readers there's still time. There's still time to repent and come back to God. Now, as His judgment is real, so is His mercy. He is not just sending His judgments in apathy. He will send His Spirit even still so His presence will be with His people.
You see, the Day of the Lord isn't just about judgment; it's also about blessings. Part of the blessings during the day of the Lord is the promise of God pouring out His Spirit. You see, amid a future judgment and destruction, the fact that God poured out His Spirit is a means of mercy and grace. Joel writes that the Spirit will be poured upon all flesh. One reason that the Spirit is sent to us is so God's people can realize the presence of God. His Spirit is a promise that He will be with His people even still. The Spirit is a seal that we are God's, and He is ours. In Eph 1:13, it says, "In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit" The Holy Spirit differentiates His people from those that don't know Him yet. If we are God's people, His Holy Spirit is in us, and that makes a world of difference.
If you have believed in Jesus Christ, you are now indwelt by the Holy Spirit. God, Himself is in you. How? You see, this promise of the Holy Spirit is now realized in us. We will discuss this on our second point, but we need to recognize that God sent His Spirit down to us is a huge deal. Whoever has the Spirit of God in them will be spared from judgment on the Lord's Day because they accepted and received God's presence in their lives. If this is real, then there should be a change in the way we view our lives.
So, how then should we live in God's Spirit is in us? I hope we see that we are much different because of His Spirit living in us. Look at the experience of the Spirit that Ezekiel prophesies. "And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God." (Ezekiel 36:27-28). We will be living in obedience with the Lord because through God's Spirit; we realize that we are God's people, and He is our God. Is this true in our lives? Or are we struggling to live by and through the Holy Spirit in us?
II. The Empowering
V 28b-29 "Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
Joel goes on to describe what this outpouring on God's people looks like. This pouring will be for every one of God's people. It will not matter if they're old or young, man or woman. Even servants will be affected by this outpouring. It doesn't matter what economic class they were in. The Spirit of God will be upon them, and they will be able to do things that the Spirit's power can only explain. This is the prophecy that Joel was proclaiming, and it was to give hope for the Israelites that God will move in them in ways they've never seen before. This prophecy is incredible because back then, not everyone was filled by the Spirit.
In the Old Testament, only certain men were filled with the Spirit in certain times and only for certain tasks. It was rather selective: Moses, Joseph, the craftsmen who built the tabernacle, Joshua, some of the judges, and David were some men filled with the Spirit of God. But there will come a day is when the Spirit will move and be within God's people with no restrictions. What is incredible is this prophecy was partially fulfilled, or the commencement of this prophecy occurred during the birth of the church in Acts 2. During this time, the Holy Spirit fell onto the disciples in the upper room as they were waiting for Him. After that, they spoke in tongues and proclaimed the Gospel to people from different nations. Some religious leaders accused the disciples of being drunk, but Peter realized what was happening was exactly what Joel prophesied about. Acts 2:15-16 "For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel."
From that point on, the disciples were changed forever. It didn't matter what their age, gender, or class was. The Holy Spirit was upon them; nothing would ever be the same. As they were leading, preaching, serving, working, and living their lives, they were in sync with how the Holy Spirit led them. Nothing could stop them up to the point that people back then were saying that these believers in Acts 16 that they "turned the world upside down." The Holy Spirit empowered them to live out the calling God has for them. It was an exciting time for the church, proclaimed the Gospel, served the vulnerable, and brought so many into a loving relationship with God. Because you see they had God's Spirit flowing through them. This promise of the Holy Spirit is true in Acts, but it still holds true for us today. If you are a believer, the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you are empowered by God for something greater than yourself. We are now part of the promise and prophecy of Joel being fulfilled in real-time.
Now let me ask some questions to everyone. Do we feel like our Christianity is boring? Do we feel no joy being in the presence of God and His people? Do we not enjoy reading God's Word and talking to Him in prayer? Maybe it's because we have failed to realize the Holy Spirit in us and that we should let Him lead us in more significant ways.
Have you ever wondered about a butterfly? It's lived most of its life crawling all over branches, being slow and vulnerable to every attack of predators. Then one day, it covers itself as it turns into a cocoon. Give it a little more time, and it becomes a butterfly. It shows so much beauty and grace as it flies anywhere it wants to. Imagine if that butterfly still lived like a caterpillar because it rejected the magnificent change that occurred within. It would be miserable for that butterfly, right? Many times, this is how we live our Christian lives. We are often content with crawling and being vulnerable to this world's attacks if we are not in tune with the Spirit in us. The Holy Spirit meant for us to fly and experience the life that God has for us. We were told to display the beauty of the changed life as we are empowered to show the grace of God to everyone. Do you feel this way in your Christianity?
A.W. Tozer has a profound observation regarding modern Christianity. He says, "We may as well face it: the whole level of spirituality among us is low. We have measured ourselves by ourselves until the incentive to seek higher plateaus in the things of the Spirit is all but gone…. [We] have imitated the world, sought popular favor, manufactured delights to substitute for the joy of the Lord and produced a cheap and synthetic power to substitute for the power of the Holy Ghost."
We were meant for something more. Then we were meant to fly. The Holy Spirit filled us to do more extraordinary things for God and His glory. The Holy Spirit also moves for our good. Are we listening to Him? Are we letting Him move freely in our lives? Are we submitting ourselves to His will? Or are we still going through the motions of our religion and crawl into life just like everyone else?
III. The Calling
v. 32 “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.”
With this last section, we will see clearly why the Spirit was ultimately sent. According to Joel, the Day of the Lord will also be a time of salvation. The Lord will show signs and wonders, and it will be crystal clear what the Lord is doing on that day. His intervention will be so clear that it will be undeniable that He is working throughout the world. In the end, the Holy Spirit was sent so that everyone who will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. However, for Joel, he sees a double-sided calling wherein whoever the Lord calls are saved in that day.
In these verses, we see God is not just twiddling his fingers, waiting to judge everyone; He is active. He is initiating. He is calling. God is doing all that He can so that everyone might call on the Lord and be saved. Now, this is where Jesus comes in. Through Him, all these things were made possible. We can see that it was Jesus that poured out the Holy Spirit onto God's people. Before Jesus died, and before the scene at Pentecost in Acts 2, he told his disciples to wait in the upper room. He explains to them that after he goes away, then he would be the one to send the Holy Spirit to them. In John 16:7, Jesus said, "Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you."
Paul quotes Joel and interprets v.32 that it is ultimately Jesus who people need to call out to and through His name shall be saved. In Romans 10:9; 13, Paul wrote, "9because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved… 13For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." So, to try and piece everything together, we understand that God the Father gave Jesus to the world, and Jesus sent out the Holy Spirit to God's people so that they can proclaim Jesus, and through Him, many might be saved.
Because the Holy Spirit dwells within us, we can do things that we can never do just by ourselves. Have you ever talked to someone about Jesus and said to yourself, "how was I able to say those things?" You felt that "Someone" else was leading that conversation? That's the Spirit empowering you. Have you ever preached, led worship, headed a ministry, and asked yourself, "how was I able to do that?" That's the Holy Spirit guiding you. Have you ever avoided a temptation at work and were able to stick to your godly convictions, and people were just surprised with your actions? Or at school when you were able to be there and encourage someone who needed a real friend? That could be the Holy Spirit moving through you. Therefore, we need to continue to be constantly growing in our relationship with the Lord. In doing so, the Holy Spirit can move freer in us and through us and enjoy this life God has for us. We can also be more of an impact on the world around us.
Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit because there is a world around us that will experience the full judgment of God. I believe the Spirit empowers His people because we are a sign of God's mercy and grace for all the world to see that we have a God who has not given up on them. God works through His people so that more will come to know Him. When the Spirit moves through His people, the results are amazing. Just imagine if we as a church moved, led, served, loved, and witnessed to our friends, neighbors, and community through the Holy Spirit's empowering in us? Francis Chan writes in His book the Forgotten God, "The world is not moved by love or actions that are of human creation. And the church is not empowered to live differently from any other gathering of people without the Holy Spirit. But when believers live in the power of the Spirit, the evidence in their lives is supernatural. The church cannot help but be different, and the world cannot help but notice."
As a church, let's continue to live by the Spirit. There is a world that is headed for the full judgment of God during that fateful Day of the Lord. Now we are indwelt, filled, and empowered with the Holy Spirit to help people realize a God is calling them. God is calling them that they might call out to Jesus. God has prepared salvation and blessings upon those who will call Him. But who is going to tell them? Only us, His Spirit-filled people. Let's grow in Him, and let's help everyone realize their need for God and of a Savior in Jesus Christ. We need to continue to pray that BCI will live according to the Spirit and lead more people out of judgment and into the marvelous grace of Jesus.
-Rev. Jerusalem Ona