Turn with me, if you would, to another of the minor prophets, the prophecy of Joel. The prophecy of Joel. Tonight we read together the first chapter, considering only as an introduction to a series on the book of Joel, the first three verses of chapter 1. It's fitting that we make a few introductory comments. As you recall, last week, Pastor Donovan introduced us as a congregation to the short prophecy of Habakkuk. Just three short chapters. And tonight, we are introduced to another short prophecy, the book of Joel, with another three chapters. They're called minor prophets, but not because of the content of the message. The size of the book does not in any way suggest that the content of the book is unimportant, not at all. And Lord willing, we will see with our consideration of Joel and I trust with our consideration of Habakkuk that the messages found there are very big. In fact, a matter of life and death, big. And boys and girls, you also remember, I trust that Pastor Donovan introduced us to the idea of the crucible. that bowl or pot which is heated up so that something happens to whatever is inside. Now, with Joel's prophecy, he begins by calling the attention of his audience to an immediate disaster that was upon them, something that had already taken place, which we will read about in the first chapter. And then in chapter 2, he alerts them to another disaster that was coming. And then finally, he talks about the actions of God toward those who repent, as well as for those who reject Him. Now, the covenant which God had established with His people, complete with blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience, this covenant is in view throughout this prophecy. But there's one common thread that runs throughout Joel's book, throughout Joel's prophecy, a very, very necessary thread, something so necessary for us in order to understand this book. And that thread is the day of the Lord. Very briefly, the day of the Lord, which is also referred to in Scripture at times as simply the day or in that day, that day is when the Lord actively intervenes to punish sin, but also to rescue His people. It's the day of God's judgment. Now, of course, there were historical events recorded in the Bible, whether that be an invasion from a foreign army or a natural disaster as we have in the first chapter of Joel. And these things were considered to be a prelude to the day of the Lord, which will be when Jesus Christ comes again in judgment for the eternal punishment of the wicked, but also the eternal salvation of His people. You see, congregation, God delivers His people through the crucible of the world. What I mean is, in that crucible which is heated up, He prepares His people for the salvation which has been earned for them, but He also prepares the world of wickedness for destruction. Now think about gold. When gold is heated up in the crucible, there are really two things that are taking place. On the one hand, the impurities are removed from the gold in order to be thrown away and destroyed. But at the same time, as the impurities are being removed from that gold, that gold is being purified. The same is true in the crucible of the world. The impurities of the wicked are being prepared to be removed and thrown away while the gold of God's people are being prepared for eternal life. The crucible of the world is preparation for the day of the Lord. And therefore, the message of the book of Joel as I have given this series, the title is The Call to Prepare for the Coming Day of the Lord. That is the title that we will work from as we work through this book. The message you see is the call to be ready for Christ's return. But tonight again I want to consider with you simply the first three verses of the first chapter which is the which deals with the urgency of the message. The urgency of that call. We read together chapter 1 of Joel's prophecy as we give our attention to the Word of God. The Word of the Lord that came to Joel son of Pethuel. Hear this, you elders. Listen, all who live in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your forefathers? Tell it to your children. And let your children tell it to their children and their children to the next generation. What the locust swarm has left, the great locusts have eaten. What the great locusts have left, the young locusts have eaten. What the young locusts have left, other locusts have eaten. Wake up, you drunkards, and weep. Wail, all you drinkers of wine. Wail because of the new wine, for it has been snatched from your lips. A nation has invaded my land, powerful and without number. It has the teeth of a lion, the fangs of a lioness. It has laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees. It has stripped off their bark and thrown it away, leaving their branches white. Mourn like a virgin in sackcloth, grieving for the husband of her youth. Grain offerings and drink offerings are cut off from the house of the Lord. The priests are in mourning, those who minister before the Lord. The fields are ruined, the ground is dried up, the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, the oil fails. Despair, you farmers. Wail, you vine growers. Grieve for the wheat and the barley because the harvest of the field is destroyed. The vine is dried up and the fig tree is withered. The pomegranate, the palm and the apple tree, all the trees of the field are dried up. Surely the joy of mankind is withered away. Put on sackcloth, O priests, and mourn. Wail, you who minister before the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you who minister before my God, for the grain offerings and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. Declare a holy fast. Call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land into the house of the Lord your God and cry out to the Lord. Alas, for that day, for the day of the Lord is near, it will come like destruction from the Almighty. Has not the food been cut off before our very eyes? Joy and gladness from the house of our God? The seeds are shriveled beneath the clods. The storehouses are in ruins. The granaries have been broken down for the grain has dried up. How the cattle moan, the herds mill about because they have no pasture, even the flocks of sheep are suffering. To you, O Lord, I call, for fire has devoured the open pastures, the flames have burned up all the trees of the field, even the wild animals pant for you. The streams of water have dried up, and fire has devoured the open pastures. Beloved of the Lord Jesus Christ, now this may seem to you like a strange text to consider. After all, it's just an introduction to the meat or the heart of Joel's prophecy. But as I studied this book, as I continued to read through the book of Joel, trying to figure out how to preach this book, my attention was always brought back to these introductory verses, especially by way of introduction to the series. Indeed, these verses are meant to be an introduction to introduce the important message that is to follow throughout the rest of Joel's prophecy. Yet on a broader level, I believe there is important instruction for us in coming, yes, to Joel's prophecy, but also to God's Word as a whole. You see, with this particular text, with this introduction, Joel is working to get the undivided attention of his audience. Indeed, because what he has to say is a matter of life or death, this introduction, as I said a moment ago, alerts his audience and us to the urgency of the message. And as we consider the urgency of the message, we notice, first of all, that this urgency is defined by the one who speaks. Secondly, it is visible in its recipients. And finally, as we will consider, it is explained in its worthiness to be remembered. Now, at first glance, it might seem quite simple that the speaker here is Joel. The word of the Lord that came to Joel, son of Pethua. Who else can the speaker be? And indeed, Joel was the physical speaker of these words, but his message, the message that he brought, wasn't urgent simply because he was the one who said the words. Now, Joel was a man just like we are. The only thing we know about him is that he had a father. It shows that indeed he was a real person. His father was pethy. Well, beyond that, we know absolutely nothing about this particular Joel. Even the situation in which he ministered is not easy, in fact, almost impossible to figure out. When was it? Unlike some other prophets, for example, Isaiah, we're not told which kings were in office, if any, when Joel ministered. There are no particular historical details that tell us when this prophecy took place. As far as locust invasions, they really were quite common. Of course, it is agreed that Joel ministered to the southern kingdom of Judah, but again, some say that it was before they were exiled to Babylon. Others say it was after, and both sides claim to have better support for their dating of the book, and they claim their support from the internal evidence of the text. But at the same time, they both tried to prove the other side wrong. You see, there aren't very many specifics in Joel to tell us exactly when Joel lived and when he ministered. The book of Joel, in that sense, is very general, with a general but extremely important message. General, I believe, so that it makes it even easier to apply it to every generation. That we don't just conveniently stick it to that generation in which he lived. But beyond that, we know nothing of Joel except that what he had to say was important and urgent because of the one for whom he spoke. The real speaker here was the Lord, is the Lord Himself who then defined the urgency of the message. Joel was a prophet, a true prophet because he came with the Word of the Lord which was given to him. It came to Him, the text says. We know it came to Him then by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God. In 2 Peter 1, verses 20 and 21, we read, Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. So then again, what was the duty of a prophet? Well, very simply, a prophet ministered on behalf of God to the people. The flow, the direction was manward, from God down to man. A priest, on the other hand, ministered on behalf of man to God. He came before God on behalf of man. The flow was Godward with a priest. And it's okay that we don't know much about Joel, because he didn't come with his own message. He didn't come with, thus says Joel, but he came with, thus says the Lord. You see, a prophet came with a message that had been given to him. And he came with the authority of the One who gave him that message. Now, boys and girls, if you go to your brother or sister and say, well, you have to vacuum the living room or you have to clean the garage, most likely, and that's all you say, most likely, they're going to look at you and say, right. Who says? You're not my boss. Have you ever said that to your brother or sister? But, if you come with, Mom says you have to vacuum the living room. Dad says you have to clean the garage. That, hopefully, will have a little more weight. Because you come with the authority of your parents. And, hopefully, your brother or sister will take that a little more serious. You come as the mouthpiece of your parents. The prophet was the mouthpiece of God. With regard to Jeremiah, we read in chapter 1, verse 9, Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. In Deuteronomy 18, verses 18 and 19, we read about a new prophet like Moses. Of course, it's talking, it's pointing forward to Jesus Christ. He is the new prophet. And all the prophets of God, like Christ, were to communicate the mind and will of God to man. That passage says, I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words which he speaks in My name, I will require it of him. You see, there was also a stern warning for false prophets. Exodus 18, verse 20 says, But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die. And virtually that same warning is given in Jeremiah 14 against those who prophesy that which God has not given to them. There was only one word a prophet was to speak, and that was the word God had entrusted to him. That God had given to him. And that Word was then to be guarded by God's prophets as well as His ministers. Even today, as Paul says to Timothy, guard what was committed to your trust. But also, Paul reminds us that God has deposited the treasure of His Word in earthen vessels or jars of clay. But then that Word is not to stay with the mouthpiece. Though God gave us a mouth to speak, to proclaim. That Word is to be passed on. Paul says in connection with the institution of the Lord's Supper, For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you. A prophet of God was called to take the Word from the mouth of God and bring it to the ears of the people. He was an instrument of God to bring only the Word of God. And as the Word of God, then what the prophet said, came with the authority of God Himself. And that's why we must consider this, especially in connection with Joel. Because indeed, as we have read this first chapter already, the message, at least the beginning message, is not so delightful. But it is the Word of God that His people must hear. But all of this is true as well with faithful ministers today. When they come with a faithful message of Scripture, it is the Word of God. And even though it may step on our toes, even though it may hurt our pride, even though we might not always agree with it, we are to listen and obey. And by the very fact that the prophet came with the Word of God given to him, that message was urgent. Urgent. You may remember the advertisement that when E.F. Hutton speaks, people listen. It's been a while since I heard that I had to take a poll during coffee one day this past week to be reminded of exactly which commercial that was. But when E.F. Hutton speaks, people listen. You may remember the commercials. There are two people having a conversation in the midst of, let's say, a restaurant, and there's all kinds of noise going on around them, all kinds of busyness, and they can barely hear each other speak, but the one says, well, my broker is E.F. Hutton, and E.F. Hutton says, and silence. Every ear comes over. when E.F. Hutton speaks, people listen. Unfortunately, when God speaks, not all people listen. All should. And all of God's people must listen. Why? Because there is nothing as important or more important than what God has to say to you and me. Absolutely nothing we can think of is more important than that. We were reminded by Pastor Camigo on Wednesday night at the Reformation rally that the foundation of the Reformation was and remains sola scriptura. Scripture alone has authority over us. The Word of God guards, guides, and directs His people. Now indeed, the phrase of verse 1, the Word of the Lord came, was not unique to Joel to show us again that in and of himself, There was nothing important about Joel. The very same thing is said, for example, about Hosea, Jonah, Micah, Zephaniah, Zechariah, and Jeremiah. As well as similar phrases were used with other prophets. For example, again, Habakkuk 1, verse 1. The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet received. In those days, we could say, the prophets were the Bible. Of course, the writings of Moses, the Pentateuch, in written form was sparingly available to the people. You may recall that when Josiah was king, the book of the law was found. It was dusty. It had to be dusted off. It hadn't been read for many, many years, but it was sparingly available. But the prophets themselves brought the Word of God with their mouths. And by the grace of God, today we have the very Word of God. The same Word. The complete, closed canon of Scripture. The very Word of God inscripturated. And as Article 7 of Belgic Confession says, we believe that those holy Scriptures fully contain the will of God and that whatsoever man ought to believe unto salvation is sufficiently taught therein. We have it right here in our hand. The complete will of God. All that we need to know for salvation is sufficiently taught right here in Scripture. We need to go nowhere else. And beloved, God Himself defines how urgent His Word is because there is no greater authority that exists than God Himself. But in the second place then, the urgency of the message is visible in its recipients. It's defined by the very character of God and He makes it visible in those for whom it was intended. The text says, Hear this, you elders. Listen, all who live in the land. Now, first of all, we must notice that the call to pay attention here is not optional. It's not up for grabs. Hear and listen are commands. Beloved, the message of God is not simply there if you feel like listening to it. It's not just there if you agree with it. It's not just there if it happens to catch your attention. It is to be given full consideration. Boys and girls and young people, that means that you can't just take it or leave it. That's not an option for you, especially you who have heard the Word of God. You must receive it. You must obey it. Because the Word of God is for our good. And it's for everyone. It's not just for a particular social class of people. God's Word goes out to rich and poor, black or white, healthy or sick, or any other distinction you can think of. and it goes out to each one alike. Remember what Paul says in Romans 10, for whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. But Joel does make one distinction here, doesn't he? And that is by calling special attention to the elders. Now this can mean two different things. It can mean elders as they were the leaders of the people. And therefore the elders are called to lead by example. They are to lead the people in how to take the word of the Lord seriously. And I think this is a legitimate understanding here, especially as we read later on along with the priests, the elders are called to lead the people in mourning. But even more so, I believe that in light of the questions of verse 2, in light of the context, the questions in the second half of verse 2, has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your forefathers? In the light of that context, the elders are considered here also to be the oldest members of the community. Those whose memories go back the farthest because the elders, the elderly, knew history better and more vividly than their sons and daughters. And they especially knew that something unusual such as the locust devastation of this magnitude meant something out of the ordinary. Here the elders and all who live in the land are called to hear and listen and to receive necessary instruction from the very Word of God. A message that was urgent. It was for every member of God's people because the locust devastation that they were experiencing touched each life of every person. And in the light of Joel's call to prepare for the coming day of the Lord, this call to remember, To think back was an indictment against God's people. Indeed, we hope to consider this more later, but locust invasions were not necessarily uncommon, but evidently this one was out of the ordinary. This one was worse than any other in history because this one was the instrument in the hand of God to discipline His people for their sin. Indeed, beloved, we are called to take the Gospel. Jesus Christ says, Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel. But here in this context, Joel is talking about the covenant community. God's people, all of those who claimed to be a part of the covenant community were to be woke up and to pay attention to this life or death message. And beloved, as we consider the Word of God from week to week here in corporate worship and daily in our homes, we must constantly be reminded that not one of us is exempt from God's Word. Not one of us is exempt from God's Word. Not one of us can do without the Word of God. And we are not to busy ourselves applying it to others. Oh, I hope so-and-so heard that message. You know, they've been living this way, and they really needed to hear that. I ought to be sure we are to pray for each other. We are to pray for the salvation of one another. We are to pray that each would be instructed in the Word of God and by God's grace and the power of the Spirit grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But we must never, ever overlook our own need for the Word of God and the instruction that He has for each and every one of us. Congregation, is this Word a lamp to your feet and a light unto your path? You see, not one of us can live, can survive apart from the Word of God. Again, all that is taught unto salvation is sufficiently included herein. All that we need to know. Not one of us can survive apart from the living incarnate Word, Jesus Christ, and His salvation, whom we are introduced to in the Word of God, applied by the Holy Spirit. And our Lord Jesus Christ continually guides His people through this life, increasing our knowledge, teaching us in the way that we should go by the counsel of His Word, again applied to our hearts and lives by His Holy Spirit. Beloved, this message is urgent because without a doubt, the day of the Lord is coming. And therefore, the urgency of the message is finally explained in its worthiness to be remembered. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your forefathers? Tell it to your children. And let your children tell it to their children and their children to the next generation. Now, I take this to mean that not only is the one-of-a-kind locust devastation to be remembered and passed on from generation to generation, but Joel's entire message, which includes what the devastation means and what God's people are called to do and what God will do for His people. You see, congregation, forgetting causes one to let his guard down. If you've been involved in a bad situation and it's been some time ago and you forget about it, you may let your guard down and stumble into that again. How quickly the Israelites forgot about how poorly they had it in Egypt and they grumbled and complained in the wilderness, wanting to go back to the bondage of Egypt instead of being in the wilderness with the Lord. Now, there are certain historical events, especially those things that happen in our lifetimes, that we will retell to our children and grandchildren without a doubt. We tend to remember where we were and what we were doing when news of certain events broke. For example, Pearl Harbor and D-Day for some of you. When President Kennedy was assassinated. Or when President Reagan was shot. Or when the space shuttle Challenger exploded. No doubt we will relive and retell of the events of September 11, 2001, as long as we live. But more important than all of these historical events is remembering and passing down from generation to generation of the Word of God, of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, of the greatest historical event, the cross of Christ, Him crucified, who died for our sins, rose again and ascended into heaven. To tell here in the text means so much more than just a casual or conversational retelling like, oh, by the way, have you heard? No, it has the idea of a formal gathering where a story is told in detail, where instruction is given and lessons are learned. No detail is to be left out because every word is significant and the message is just as urgent today as when these words were first spoken. Beloved, the day of the Lord is coming. We are called to be ready. No one can escape that. Not one. Therefore, we must pass the message down from generation to generation. It's interesting, I think, that a scriptural survey shows us that usually the memory of Jehovah's deliverance of His people and His wondrous deeds on behalf of His people, those were the things that were called to be passed on from generation to generation. Deuteronomy 6 is a clear example of this. As we recall that in Deuteronomy 5, Moses had given the second telling of the law. And then in chapter 6, as we read there, that he says, tell it to your children. Speak of it when you lie down, when you get up, when you're on the way. Tie it on your forehead. But also there were times when the leaders were instructed to set up memorial stones because of a great event crossing the sea on dry ground. So that when the children asked the fathers, what do these stones mean? The fathers would tell their children about the awesome deeds of God. But here in Joel, the memory of this terrible disaster is to be remembered. Something that they would soon like to forget, but no, they have to remember it. You see, as God's people remembered His wondrous deeds on their behalf, they were to be moved to gratitude, to give thanks to God for good is He. But the memory of God's judgment upon His people was to bring them to the end of their sin and repentance. Beloved, we are called tonight, we are called to remember God's judgment for our sin laid upon the shoulders of Jesus Christ. We are called to remember and tell that He suffered the full eternal wrath of God in the place of all those who would believe on Him by grace through faith. These are the things we are to remember and celebrate with joy-filled lives of thanksgiving. And this is the urgent message that we are not to keep locked up inside if we teach our children and grandchildren and nieces and nephews and students and friends and neighbors, nothing else. If we pass on to them no other knowledge, this message of Jesus and His love must be passed along. They must be taught that the day of the Lord is coming. Jesus Christ will come again. And when He does, it will be too late. God uses us to call others to be ready. Those who don't hear this message or don't heed this message will be caught by surprise on the day of the Lord when a greater destruction awaits them than they could ever have imagined. But those who cherish this message will endure the day of the Lord safely protected in the cleft of that rock of ages. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, as we come before You to give You thanksgiving and praise for Your Word, Your Word which is an urgent message to our ears, we thank You, Father, that indeed You have spoken to us. And Father, we thank You again that You have seen fit from before the foundation of the world to call the people for Yourself to save a church for Your glory to save a church by the blood of Jesus Christ. But we know, Father, that wickedness will be punished everlastingly. We know that Jesus Christ is coming again to judge the living and the dead. And as God's people, we have the comfort of knowing that we will stand in the judgment by the grace of God because Jesus Christ is for us and remains for us. Oh, Father, may this urgent message continue to go forth. And we pray that You would be pleased to use us as instruments of proclaiming that message whenever You give to us that precious opportunity. Oh, Lord, equip us for the week ahead. Prepare us for the day of tomorrow, if it be Your pleasure to give to us another day of life. And hear our prayer for Jesus' sake and in His name. Amen. Thank you.