For our Scripture reading tonight, I ask that you turn to a couple of different places. First of all, we will read together Numbers 11, verses 24 through 30. Numbers 11, 24 through 30. And from the New Testament, Acts chapter 2, the verses 14 through 16. And then finally, the text for tonight, Joel 2, 28-32. We'll take them in that order. Numbers 11, Acts 2, and Joel 2. In Numbers 11, we begin at verse 24, but before this we have the episode of the people in the wilderness grumbling. They wanted meat. Moses appears to be getting weary and worn out, saying, how can I deal with all this? There's so many people. And God tells him to choose 70 upon whom he will pour out the Spirit of God, even the same Spirit that is upon Moses. We pick it up at verse 24 through 30. Hear now the Word of God. So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. He brought together 70 of their elders and had them stand around the tent. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with them. And he took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on the 70 elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not do so again. However, two men whose names were Eldad and Medad had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. A young man ran and told Moses, Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp. Joshua, son of Nun, who had been Moses' aide since youth, spoke up and said, Moses, my Lord, stop them. But Moses replied, Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit on them. Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp. And then in Acts chapter 2, you recall that chapter as the chapter where the Holy Spirit is poured out on Pentecost. The people that are observing are laughing, some of them making fun, saying that they've had too much wine. Then in verse 14 through 16, Then Peter stood up with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd, Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, Let me explain this to you. Listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning. No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel. And then we turn back to Joel 2.28-32 to find these words which Peter quotes. And afterward I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions. Even on My servants, both men and women, I will pour out My Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the survivors whom the Lord calls. Dear people of God, God's people live in the crucible of the world. You recall that as a congregation we have considered this together with our study of Habakkuk, which Pastor Donovan is leading us through. And boys and girls, just to refresh your memory a little bit, a crucible is a bowl or a pot that is heated up to boiling for the purpose of purifying whatever is inside of that bowl or pot. For example, gold that is just mined is put into the crucible and as it is heated to very high temperatures, through a process, the intense heat separates the impurities from the gold. Those impurities are called dross. That's the garbage or the waste part that is taken away from the pure gold and then thrown away. God's people live in the crucible of the world. And in the crucible of the world, something is happening. Through heat and pressure and difficult times and whatever else might be in the mix, God prepares His people for the salvation earned for them by Jesus Christ. And as well, in that very same crucible, He prepares the world for eternal destruction. God purifies His people. And He removes our impurities through the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit and that purification process of all things when there will be a new heaven and a new earth will be complete on the day of judgment. You recall that Joel issues the call to prepare for the coming day of the Lord. Now this text before us, verses 28 through 32 of Joel chapter 2, is probably the most famous part of Joel's message. And whether you realize that Joel was the one who spoke these words or not, most likely you have all heard this message before as we've already made reference to. Peter quoted this passage in his Pentecost sermon after the awesome wonder of the outpouring of the coming of the Holy Spirit. But Pentecost, you see, was not the complete fulfillment of Joel's prophecy, but it was definitely the beginning of that fulfillment which still continues today. Beloved, Joel prophesies of the coming of the new age. And as we consider this Word of God, notice, first of all, the gift of the Holy Spirit. Secondly, the signs of the judgment. And then finally, the promise of victory. This morning we consider together the incarnation of our Lord, as Isaiah foretold, Emmanuel, God with us. God with man is now abiding, we sometimes sing. And this Old Testament prophet Joel now foretells of God in us. God in man is now abiding, we could sing. And now at the outset, let me say that we're not talking about the New Age as we hear of it so often today. Indeed, Pentecost with the coming of the Holy Spirit was the dawning of the new age of the believer. The new age of the Holy Spirit. But it has nothing in common with and in fact is completely opposite to what is called New Age today. A little bit about the New Age movement. That which we hear about today is one that teaches self-enlightenment. One strives for self-realization and believes that you and I can determine and our own fate. Also, the New Age movement teaches that everything that exists is one. And the concept of God is that God is everything. One New Ager says, in a sense, there is no such thing as God. That is, in the sense that we believe. He says, God does not exist. And in another sense, there is nothing else but God. Only God exists. Boys and girls, this man would say that this pulpit is God. The communion table is God. These microphones are God. The carpet is God. The trees are God. Man is God. You and I are God, they would say. In the New Age movement, sin and Satan are a moot point. They don't matter. There's no moral standard governed by the God of the Bible or His eternal law. Man decides himself what is right or wrong. There is no one to hold you accountable for anything. There is no judgment. And therefore, there is no need for salvation to be saved, as we talked about this morning, that this Jesus, both God and man, is the one we need. You see, all are saved, if you can say that, as one finally reaches the state of perfection. And that same New Ager, which we just quoted, says, the path to God, remember, everything is God, is broad enough to take in all men. Of course, this is just a very, very general sketch of the New Age movement which really has many different facets and goes in many different directions. But I trust that already from our consideration of the book of Joel that you can distinguish the truth of God from the error of the New Age movement. As Joel here prophesied of the coming of the New Age of the believer or of the Spirit, He first foretold of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Himself said that He would send the promised Comforter who would lead His people into all truth. Who would continue to carry on the testimony and the ministry that Christ began. And the Holy Spirit of God came on Pentecost to apply the saving work which Christ accomplished. You remember from our reminder last week that Joel in his book presented two threats. The first was an immediate threat which was the locust invasion of chapter 1 and the second was the coming disaster pointing forward to the day of the Lord. And last week we considered together the Lord's answer to the immediate threat of the locust destruction which included the restoration of the land and the restoration of the worship of the people. And now before us is the Lord's answer to the threat of the coming judgment. And the Lord's answer begins in verses 28 and 29. And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions. Even on My servants, both men and women, I will pour out My Spirit in those days. And afterward, it begins. You remember from last week that God promised to restore the land and supply such a bounty that His people would be full, they would be satisfied. He promised as well to restore His people to fellowship with Himself. We can expect that that was to take place physically in Joel's day, but ultimately we know that it pointed forward to Jesus Christ, the living water and the bread of life and His securing eternal life for His people by His perfect obedience, His death, and His resurrection. And afterward, after Christ accomplished all of that, He poured out His Holy Spirit then to apply all of that. You see, not only would God pour out the autumn and the spring rains upon the land once again, a sign of complete covenant renewal, but He would pour out His Spirit and bring His people into greater intimacy and fellowship with Himself. Now, pouring is a sign of giving in rich abundance. Boys and girls, you know what it means to pour? When you're at the beach with your beach bucket, you fill it full of water. You don't just sprinkle the water out drop by drop over the sand. You tip the bucket over. Maybe upon your mom or upon your dad, the water pours out heavily. It comes in great quantities. You can't stop it. It's kind of overwhelming. The idea of pouring is giving without measure. That's what we are to understand. And the only limit is the capacity to receive. When you have a gallon of milk and you have a glass, you cannot fit that full gallon into the glass. The glass only has a certain capacity. God's people have a certain capacity for the Spirit of God, but He pours out His Spirit until His people are full. Now we need to understand and remember that God's people have always had the Holy Spirit even in the Old Testament. No one, not even the saints of old, could believe apart from having a heart transformation of the Holy Spirit, apart from being born again. But we could say that in a special way, the Holy Spirit came in drops, meaning it was dropped here, dropped there, upon certain Old Testament saints who were filled with the Spirit, who were equipped for a time for a special work. Indeed, we read of many who were filled with the Spirit of God. That included, for example, the craftsmen who helped build the tabernacle, which we read about in Exodus chapter 31. It included Joshua in Numbers 27. It included the judges like Gideon and Samson, especially with Samson. Every time we read about Samson using his great strength, He only uses it when? After the Holy Spirit came upon him. This also included King Saul and King David and many others, as well as the 70, that Moses, that we read about in Numbers chapter 11. But Joel is prophesying that the people of God would enjoy something greater by God's grace than what they enjoyed under the law. In the Old Testament, the prophets represented God to the people. And the priests represented the people to God. But because of the work of Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, God speaks directly to His people through His Word and His Spirit. And we as His people can enter His courts with praise as He hears the very prayers of our hearts and our lips. Joel prophesies here the very wish of Moses. Again, as we read in Numbers chapter 11. Jeremiah and Ezekiel talked about the meaning of the Spirit being poured out. In Jeremiah 31, verses 33 and 34, we read, I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be My people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor or a man his brother saying, Know the Lord, because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest. And Ezekiel speaks of the Holy Spirit replacing the heart of stone with the heart of flesh. And then the Lord says through Ezekiel, I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws. And as even Peter wouldn't realize until the Holy Spirit came upon that Gentile named Cornelius, this would be a universal outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Not that the Spirit indwells every single person that has lived or ever will live, but universal in the sense that men and women of every nation, race, tongue, even beyond the limitations of sex and age and rank and intellect and social standing or any other man-made way of dividing people. Joel speaks of all people, sons and daughters, old men and young men, servants, both men and women. And all of God's people would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Really, this would have been uneasy news to the Jews of Peter's day. The ancient early morning prayer of a devout Jewish man was, I thank You, God, that I was not born a Gentile, a slave, or a woman. But God is no respecter of persons. Peter says in Acts 10, verse 34, I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism, but accepts men from every nation who fear Him and do what is right. Beloved, the effect of the poured out Holy Spirit would be an amazing transformation, including prophecy, dreams, and visions. Means by which God communicated Himself, communicated to those who were chosen special in the Old Testament. And we know, of course, that certain special gifts of the Spirit, like speaking in tongues and prophecy, we believe, ended with the apostolic age and were given to authenticate the apostles as true apostles of Jesus Christ as well to prove the power of the risen Christ as the early New Testament church began to grow. Of course, we're not used to this kind of language today that we prophesy and have spiritual dreams and visions. And I believe that we are to understand here that Joel is talking about the Spirit of God being given with all of His gifts poured out upon His church indiscriminately to all. Whereby the Holy Spirit of God equips all for ministry in some way, shape, or form. The gift of the Holy Spirit is demonstrated by the fruit of the Spirit, which the young ladies have sung about. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And I believe Joel is teaching us that by prophecy, dreams, and visions again, we are to learn that God would communicate Himself to all of His people. He would be the teacher of His people. And then just as prophecy, dreams, and visions were tools of witness, we as believers are given the responsibility to bear witness and testimony to the generation in which we live. God's people, each and every one, are filled with the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit takes up His dwelling within your heart and my heart. The Holy Spirit of God leads us, guides us, protects us, equips us. And therefore, even the least thing that we may do for the kingdom of God is done in the power of the Holy Spirit. We are given the responsibility to bear witness and testimony. To what? To Jesus Christ and His saving love. To tell about Jesus Christ. To teach others about His saving sacrifice. That He is the Savior we needed. The God-Man. Two natures, one person who came to bear our sins upon Himself that there is no other. But also to issue a warning about the day of the Lord. As the text makes clear, that new age would include in the second place the signs of the judgment. Notice verses 30 and 31. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Now in Scripture, these kind of cosmic events are signs of God's judgment or of His coming judgment. We consider this in part already earlier in chapter 2 when Joel speaks of a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness in verse 2. And then in verse 10 he says, Before them the earth shakes, the sky trembles, the sun and moon are darkened and the stars no longer shine. Isaiah speaks of judgment in this way in Isaiah 13, verse 10, the stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. But the words of this text also reminded Joel's audience as well it reminds us of past events in Israel's history. For example, blood and fire bring back to our minds two of the plagues against Egypt. Judgment against Egypt. Water turned to blood and hail mixed with fire. Smoke reminds us of our Lord's coming down upon Mount Zion and especially His burning anger against the people. As well, blood, fire, and smoke are also a sign of bloodshed and war. It's interesting, I think, Joel speaks of billows of smoke. Some Bible versions translate this as pillars or columns of smoke. And the idea has to do with a palm-like spreading at the top of the cloud. Kind of like a mushroom cloud of smoke. Maybe some of you know already where I'm going with this. Probably the most vivid picture of this for us would be the pictures that we've seen of the mushroom cloud from an atomic bomb. But the idea here is that this cloud rises up in the distance and mushrooms out and points to some great disaster, some dreadful disaster that had taken place. And again, Joel speaks in verse 31, of the sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. The sun and the moon we know govern the earth by day and by night, and the darkened sun and the darkened moon also point to judgment. Again, reminding us on the one hand of the plague of darkness in Egypt. And also the darkness that shrouded the cross of our Lord as He suffered the judgment of God upon our sin. But ultimately, as we consider Joel's prophecy of the signs of judgment, we know that Jesus Himself repeated what Joel says when He spoke of the signs of the times. In Matthew chapter 24, Jesus speaks of wars and rumors of wars. He speaks of famines and earthquakes. He also speaks of false prophets and those who will try to deceive God's elect. And of course, we can see that today, can't we? With many false religions around us, especially the New Age movement. And then Jesus says that right before He returns as the righteous judge, that this will take place. He says in Matthew 24, verse 29, The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light. The stars will fall from the sky and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. Beloved, these signs of the coming judgment signal doom and eternal destruction to come upon God's enemies. A most dreadful day that no one can bear. But these same signs, the very same signs, are to be interpreted as the coming of eternal deliverance for God's people from all that is wicked. The Holy Spirit of God was poured out filling God's people completely and as long as our Lord can tarry, He will continue to be poured out upon God's people as Jesus Christ continues to gather His church through His Spirit. The poured out Spirit means blessing upon God's people. But for the world of wickedness, there is not even one drop of the Holy Spirit, Therefore, no blessing, but only judgment unto death. Yet, this is the believer's comfort and assurance. Because as Joel prophesied of the coming of the new age of the Spirit, he includes the promise of victory. Verse 32, And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the survivors whom the Lord calls. Mount Zion and Jerusalem point to God dwelling with His people as well. It points to the whole of God's people, the church. This promise is only for those who dwell with God. Yet it's a promise so wonderful. Notice, there's no mincing of words here. There are no if clauses included here. Simply, and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. This is an unconditional promise conditioned only by Jesus Christ. You say, what are you talking about? That sounds strange. But the point is, there are no conditions that we can meet in order to be saved. Only Jesus Christ can meet the requirements, which include perfect obedience to the law of God as well, taking the punishment for violating that law away from His people. And He did both. And therefore, not only are our sins forgiven, every single one of them, But Christ's perfect righteousness is freely given to His people so that we may enter the very presence of God. Congregation, this calling upon God includes both worship on the inside from the heart as well on the outside with our hands and our feet with our mouth with our very existence and calling on the name of the Lord presupposes that one has knowledge of Him. Faith in Him. A desire towards Him. Dependence upon Him. And evidence of all of this being sincere includes a conscious obedience to Him. And only those who have been born again desire to and will call upon the name of the Lord. Do you know what that means? Who are those who will call upon the name of the Lord? Those upon whom the Holy Spirit is poured out. Only they will call upon the name of the Lord. Well, who then are they upon whom the Holy Spirit is poured? Verse 32 ends, Whom the Lord calls. Whom the Lord calls. You see, beloved, this is all the work of God from beginning to end. Those whom God has chosen from before the foundation of the world. they are the ones called they are the ones upon whom the Holy Spirit is poured those whom the Lord calls receive his Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit works effectually in their hearts the word of God not only reaches their ears but it also penetrates their hearts by the Holy Spirit who removes the heart of flesh or stone replaces it with the heart of flesh he writes the law of God on their hearts He brings them from spiritual death to spiritual life. He dwells in them. Only these, beloved, understand their sin and misery and will cry out for a Savior. And Paul confirms this when he says in 1 Corinthians 12, Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, Jesus, be cursed. Notice, it's impossible. If one is speaking by the Spirit of God, he cannot, he will not say Jesus be cursed. But then Paul goes on, and no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. Now this blows the New Age movement right out of the water, doesn't it? We are not and cannot be self-enlightened. Only the Spirit of God is able to lead us into all truth. Only the Spirit of God is enabled to enlighten us with regard to the Gospel message. All things are not God, including us. There is only one God, distinct from man and His creation, who alone is able to save and indeed does save those He calls. All are not saved as they reach perfection by their own doing. God saves those He calls, those upon whom He pours out His Holy Spirit. That same Spirit who applies Christ's salvation to them and sanctifies them for their bridegroom. That bridegroom who will present his bride, the church, spotless to his father. The rest, for them there will be judgment. It will take them by surprise because of their ignorance. Yet it will be far from perfect oneness and completeness they ignorantly believe they are achieving on their own. It will be hell. The path to God is not broad enough to take in all men. Jesus said the gate is narrow and there are few who find it. What will take place on that coming day of the Lord? One commentator says this, Christ with all His angels will come down and sit on His throne. All who have ever lived or shall live shall be placed before Him to be judged. All thoughts, words, and deeds shall be weighed most exactly. On all a sentence will be passed, absolute, irrevocable throughout eternity. The saints shall be assigned to heaven, the ungodly to hell. That day shall be great to the faithful, terrible to the unbelieving, Great to those who said, truly this is the Son of God. Terrible to those who said, His blood be upon us and upon our children. In Romans 10, you may know that Paul quotes and reaffirms Joel's promise when he says, For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile. The same Lord is Lord over all and richly blesses all who call on Him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. And beloved, this calling on the Lord is not simply a one-time thing. It's not a one-time exercise. Yes, there is that initial conversion. All of God's people are born again once. Saved once. But you see, this is also talking about continual calling on His name. Never tiring of calling on His name. a habit of life, of calling on His name through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joel said in chapter 2, verse 11, The Lord thunders at the head of His army. His forces are beyond number, and mighty are those who obey His command. The day of the Lord is great. It is dreadful. Who can endure it? Who can endure it? Joel answers that question in verse 32. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord. The day of the Lord with final judgment is coming. Will you escape it? Upon whom do you depend for your salvation? Amen. Shall we pray? Father, we stand in awe as we consider that which is to come. We can speak about the coming day of the Lord, that day of judgment, that Jesus Christ will come again and all will be gathered before Him. And even as He has said, He will separate His people from the world as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And Father, we know that all things will be laid out before You. But it is still hard for us to imagine, O Lord, that all of our sins are covered in the sight of God. As we consider this morning, all of our sin from the very beginning is removed from the sight of God as You will stand there on our behalf as our advocate, the advocate of those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And Father, we cannot even fathom what that day will be like for the wicked. But our prayer, O Lord, is that You would continue to work powerfully by Your Holy Spirit even through Your people. That the testimony and the witness of Jesus Christ and His saving love may go forth from Your people. That we might demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit. And through that, that others may see the light of Jesus Christ in us. And they too might glorify our Father in heaven. We pray that you would strengthen our faith. We pray that you would strengthen our walk with you. We pray that you would increase our service for you. We ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Thank you.