WEBVTT 00:00:00.640 --> 00:00:04.160 Grab your Bibles, open them up with me to the book of Joel. 00:00:04.320 --> 00:00:06.639 The book of Joel, no judgment. 00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:09.839 I'll give you a little bit of time to go and find where that book is. 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:20.320 You may know a Joel, so you may think, oh, uh, that's that's cool, but you probably haven't been spending most of your quality devotional time in the book of Joel, is what I'm guessing. 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:22.559 There is no judgment here whatsoever. 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:23.600 I'll give you some time. 00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:25.679 The book of Joel. 00:00:25.839 --> 00:00:27.519 Thank you guys so much for being here today. 00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:32.880 We are in a series of messages called Have You Read My Book, Looking at the Minor Prophets. 00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:43.439 And we're encouraging you uh to not only read through all of these 12 minor prophets, but for you to realize, even though they may be minor in size, they are major in significance. 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:48.640 This book today is one that contains one of my favorite verses in all of the Bible. 00:00:48.719 --> 00:00:51.679 Uh, this is a book as well that's only three chapters long. 00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:58.159 It's really, really short, uh, but it is one that has a lot of uh info and a lot of help for you today. 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:01.679 Let me ask you the question: what would you die for? 00:01:02.880 --> 00:01:04.480 Like, I'm serious. 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:08.879 Like, what would cause you to lay down your life? 00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:12.079 Is it your favorite sports team? 00:01:12.319 --> 00:01:15.519 I'm guessing yesterday you probably felt like you were gonna die a couple of times. 00:01:15.599 --> 00:01:21.280 If your team was either winning or your team was losing, you're riding the ups and the downs of all of that experience. 00:01:21.359 --> 00:01:22.560 There's no question about that. 00:01:22.719 --> 00:01:30.640 Every week, uh, it may feel like life or death, but let's be honest, in the grand scheme of things, it's not something that you're gonna die for. 00:01:31.120 --> 00:01:32.640 Your political party? 00:01:32.799 --> 00:01:35.359 I mean, things have gotten really weird, all right? 00:01:35.599 --> 00:01:51.359 Uh and let's be honest, politics today are no longer just something that is of not only great interest and of great consequences, but politics have become a god in and of themselves that people worship and that people serve and that people make a big deal out of. 00:01:51.599 --> 00:01:55.680 But honestly, at the end of the day, you're not gonna die for your political party. 00:01:56.400 --> 00:02:00.239 Your preference in coffee shops, now that we're talking, right? 00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:08.479 Like some of you are very opinionated about what kind of coffee and where you're gonna get your coffee, but I mean, come on, at the end of the day, that's not probably gonna be the case. 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:10.400 How about your family? 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:13.520 I love Dallas Cowboys. 00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:16.000 I'm a big uh Doc Prescott fan. 00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:18.080 Uh, always feel like this is gonna be our year. 00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:20.639 Thought it was gonna be our year yet again. 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:31.360 Uh and if you were to come up to me and start debating with me about how the Cowboys haven't won in 30 years and talking to me about how Doc Prescott never shows up in the playoffs, at the end of the day, I would probably agree with you and I'd move on. 00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:34.080 I care, but I don't care that much. 00:02:34.479 --> 00:02:38.400 Like I'm a fan, but I'm not a fanatic. 00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:46.560 But if you talk bad about my wife, you're gonna see a pastor unlike you've ever seen before. 00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:52.319 Ain't nobody gonna disrespect her. 00:02:52.639 --> 00:02:54.560 You're not gonna speak ill of her. 00:02:54.879 --> 00:02:59.360 At the end of the day, what you're gonna see is not a pastor who's putting it all together. 00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:06.000 What you're gonna see is a husband who you have now declared fighting words, and I ain't taking it. 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:13.840 Folks, if there's evil intent towards my kids, it's absolutely on. 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:23.360 I don't care how big you are, I don't care what the consequences are, I promise you you will see a version of me you have never seen in your life. 00:03:25.439 --> 00:03:36.159 There's a line that you cross that at the end of the day, I will stop at nothing to defend, to protect, and to watch over my kids. 00:03:37.120 --> 00:03:43.919 There's certain buttons that I have, there's certain buttons that you have that if you push those buttons, it's on. 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:58.479 It's not just the casual stuff, it instead is something that is all in commitment between being a fan and being a fighter. 00:03:59.199 --> 00:04:02.319 So here's what should make every one of us sit up straight. 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:04.879 What does God fight about? 00:04:06.560 --> 00:04:20.319 What is the creator of the universe, the one who numbers every star in the sky, the one who knows every thought in your head, the one who holds your life in your hands, what ticks him off and makes him fight? 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:24.480 What are the things that he cares deeply about? 00:04:25.439 --> 00:04:37.759 You see, part of the problem is that whenever we approach God, most of us approach God rather flippantly, like it's a preference, like it's a casual interest, like it's just something that we can scroll up or scroll down on a Sunday morning. 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:42.720 But here's what you need to understand: God, there's nothing casual about him. 00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:46.800 There are things that push his buttons. 00:04:47.519 --> 00:04:51.120 There are things that make his fists clench. 00:04:51.600 --> 00:04:57.279 There are things that cause him to say, enough, the line is crossed, you're messing with me. 00:04:58.639 --> 00:05:00.879 And I'm not gonna take it anymore. 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:05.680 If you don't know what those things are, I would tell you you're gambling with eternity. 00:05:06.800 --> 00:05:08.800 Today you're gonna find out what God fights for. 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:11.519 I promise you, it's gonna change things if you embrace it. 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:13.839 We're looking at the book of Joel. 00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:18.240 Again, the whole series that we're doing here is designed to try to help you avoid an awkward situation. 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:19.839 We don't want you to get to heaven. 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:27.600 You get up there, you're meeting David, you're meeting Moses, you're meeting Paul, you're having these great conversations with them, and then you got these lines of people waiting to greet you. 00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:28.879 They've all got name tags on. 00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:34.560 It's Obadiah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Micah, and they come up to you and they're like, Man, what'd you think about my book? 00:05:34.720 --> 00:05:37.120 And you're like, I never read your book. 00:05:37.279 --> 00:05:38.319 I'm sorry. 00:05:38.639 --> 00:05:40.000 We don't want you to be able to say that. 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:44.879 So we want you to be able to say, ah, actually, in 2025 at my church, we read your book. 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:45.680 You crushed it. 00:05:45.759 --> 00:05:48.399 All right, you did an awesome, awesome job. 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:52.319 I want you to take your phones out, take a picture of this uh QR code that's gonna be on the screen. 00:05:52.399 --> 00:05:59.040 We put a resource together for you to try to help you read through all 12 of the minor prophets. 00:05:59.199 --> 00:06:00.319 12 books of the Bible. 00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:01.600 I promise you, they're not very long. 00:06:01.759 --> 00:06:02.720 It won't take you that long. 00:06:02.879 --> 00:06:09.199 We've got a 21-day plan and a 30-day Bible reading plan that you can walk through and read all of the minor prophets. 00:06:09.360 --> 00:06:10.879 We're gonna preach through four this month. 00:06:10.959 --> 00:06:12.000 We've already preached on two. 00:06:12.079 --> 00:06:14.480 We've preached on Micah and we preached on Habakkuk. 00:06:14.720 --> 00:06:17.279 Today we're gonna be looking at the person of Joel. 00:06:17.439 --> 00:06:24.560 On this website as well, there's some overview videos of the entire book, which are very helpful, put out by the Bible Project. 00:06:24.639 --> 00:06:31.439 I'm telling you, I think anything the Bible Project puts out is extremely, extremely good, helping you understand God's word. 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:34.240 Today we're looking, though, at this book of Joel. 00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:38.560 The word Joel, the name, actually means Yahweh is God. 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:50.879 And here's what we're gonna see is that Joel's message was given to the people of Israel, but it was intended to be passed down from generation to generation to generation, all the way to us. 00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:56.720 Meaning, even though the message was for them, the relevance is for today. 00:06:57.439 --> 00:07:03.920 And the warning that is presented is something we must not overlook. 00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:08.079 Let's begin looking in Joel chapter 1, beginning in verse 1. 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:12.240 It says the word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel. 00:07:12.720 --> 00:07:15.920 Hear this, you elders, give ear all inhabitants of the land. 00:07:16.079 --> 00:07:20.000 Has such a thing happened in your days or in the days of your fathers? 00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:29.759 Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children to another generation, and on and on and on to come to us. 00:07:30.879 --> 00:07:36.079 What the cutting locusts left, the swarming locust has eaten. 00:07:36.319 --> 00:07:40.560 What the swarming locusts left, the hopping locust has eaten. 00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:45.199 And what the hopping locusts left, the destroying locust has eaten. 00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:47.759 Picture this locust everywhere. 00:07:47.839 --> 00:07:53.680 I know what some of you are thinking, oh, this is a Houston night at about 8:30 when the mosquitoes come out. 00:07:53.839 --> 00:07:54.319 All right. 00:07:54.560 --> 00:07:56.639 It's a lot worse than that. 00:07:57.279 --> 00:08:01.279 We're talking locust of biblical proportions. 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:06.560 They are literally taking over and destroying everything. 00:08:06.800 --> 00:08:12.319 Verse 5 goes on to say that the wine is gone, meaning this, even the alcoholics didn't have anything to drink. 00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:15.120 Verse 7, the trees are destroyed. 00:08:15.279 --> 00:08:21.199 Verse 9, there's not even enough grain to be able to offer an offering at the temple. 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:22.639 I want you to picture this. 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:32.879 It's like from here all the way to Austin, every grocery store is empty because everything that's inside has been destroyed by locusts. 00:08:33.360 --> 00:08:36.960 That's the level of destruction that we're referring to. 00:08:37.279 --> 00:08:39.039 Skip down to verse 13. 00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:43.840 Put on sackcloth and lament, O priest, wail, O ministers of the altar. 00:08:44.080 --> 00:08:47.519 Go in, pass the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God. 00:08:47.679 --> 00:08:51.919 Because grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God. 00:08:52.159 --> 00:09:01.440 Consecrate a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord. 00:09:01.759 --> 00:09:07.759 Alas for the day, for the day of the Lord is near, and dish and as destruction from the Almighty it comes. 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:10.080 Joel looks at all of this devastation. 00:09:10.240 --> 00:09:18.399 He looks at all of this locusts and what they have done, and he says to the people, Wake up! Don't miss this. 00:09:19.519 --> 00:09:24.799 I am doing this as a form of judgment so that you will wake up. 00:09:25.519 --> 00:09:30.159 You won't keep living like you've been living, you won't keep doing what you've been doing. 00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:36.399 But instead, you will see that this is God's judgment, and the day of the Lord is at hand. 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:41.360 Joel chapter three, he has the same type of intensity, but it shifts. 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:45.840 Joel chapter one is all about God's judgment on the people of Israel. 00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:56.639 Joel chapter three is about all the surrounding nations because all the surrounding nations are watching Israel get punished and they're like, ha ha ha, and then here's what God says, now it's your turn. 00:09:57.279 --> 00:10:03.120 So if you're here today and you're a believer in Jesus, you're one of God's chosen people, you need to wake up. 00:10:03.440 --> 00:10:10.000 And if you're here today as a guest of somebody and you're hearing, oh, they need to hear this, they need to hear it, you need to know something else. 00:10:10.159 --> 00:10:11.919 God wants to talk to you too. 00:10:12.799 --> 00:10:16.480 The word of judgment is for all people. 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:23.759 What this shows us and what the question that's worth asking is this what's making God so upset? 00:10:24.559 --> 00:10:26.559 Why is God so worked up? 00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:32.960 What button got pushed that's causing him to respond and to react this way? 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:37.120 Joel reveals Joel reveals three things that God will fight for. 00:10:37.919 --> 00:10:41.039 And when you understand these things, it's gonna change how you view God. 00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:44.559 And my prayer is that it changes how you live your life. 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:47.919 First thing that pushes God's buttons, write this down. 00:10:49.279 --> 00:10:52.159 God fights for his glory. 00:10:54.080 --> 00:10:57.840 God fights for his glory, his button has been pushed. 00:10:58.159 --> 00:11:02.799 He sends these locusts one after another, after another, after another. 00:11:02.960 --> 00:11:10.159 And the reason is because he wants everyone to know him and to give him glory. 00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:13.279 Look at Joel chapter 2, verse 27. 00:11:13.919 --> 00:11:21.440 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and there is none else. 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:25.200 And my people shall never again be put to shame. 00:11:25.360 --> 00:11:28.320 Look at chapter 3 in verse 17. 00:11:29.279 --> 00:11:36.480 He says, So you shall know that I am the Lord your God who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain. 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:41.360 And Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through it. 00:11:41.519 --> 00:11:42.720 You see that phrase twice. 00:11:42.879 --> 00:11:46.320 You shall know that I am the Lord your God. 00:11:46.480 --> 00:11:48.080 This is what it's all about. 00:11:49.360 --> 00:11:56.240 God wants people to know him, not know about him, but to know him. 00:11:56.559 --> 00:12:00.799 And when they know him, they will give him glory. 00:12:01.840 --> 00:12:10.720 Isaiah chapter 42, verse 8 says, I am the Lord, that is my name, my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. 00:12:10.960 --> 00:12:12.720 Make no mistake about it, church. 00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:15.519 God doesn't share the spotlight with anybody. 00:12:16.480 --> 00:12:19.840 He is not interested in being one of many options. 00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:22.000 He is the option. 00:12:23.600 --> 00:12:25.919 And here's where this gets uncomfortable for us. 00:12:26.159 --> 00:12:33.600 We live in a consumer society where it's all about choices and it's all about what my preferences are and it's all about what I like. 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:44.240 And the problem is, whenever we think about shopping for cars and we think about shopping for clothes, or we think about shopping for coffee, we bring that same concept into shopping at the church. 00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:47.200 Look, and I get it, I meet people all the time. 00:12:47.279 --> 00:12:50.879 I meet guests in the lobby and they'll tell me, hey, we're here to what brought you here to the United States Church? 00:12:50.960 --> 00:12:52.639 Oh, we're church shopping. 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:55.600 Now I understand that to some degree. 00:12:55.679 --> 00:13:02.960 I mean, you want to make sure that the children's ministry is safe, you want to make sure that the worship's not so loud it hurts your ears, you want to make sure that the preacher actually is preaching the Bible. 00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:06.080 I understand the basic concept of church shopping. 00:13:06.720 --> 00:13:17.440 The problem is when we take this idea of shopping for a church and we make it then apply to I'm shopping for what parts of God I like and what parts of God I don't. 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:21.840 As though somehow he asked your opinion. 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:25.759 I want you to hear me with love. 00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:39.279 God is not doing market research to see what you think about his holiness, he instead is calling you to a standard where you adjust to him, not the other way around. 00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:52.960 And his glory and his goodness and his fame is what he's calling you to know and worship and adore. 00:13:55.440 --> 00:14:08.960 The question becomes are we gonna adjust our standards based upon what he says about himself, or are we gonna try to change God into a version of God that looks like us with a halo on? 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:12.320 Don't miss this. 00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:15.440 Joel chapter 1 describes destruction. 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:26.559 God will many times allow difficulties and trials in your life in order to fight for his glory. 00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:34.480 I'm not saying that anytime you have something that goes bad, it means that God is judging you because you have done something wrong. 00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:37.120 But what I am saying is you should ask. 00:14:38.240 --> 00:14:39.759 You should ask the questions, God. 00:14:39.840 --> 00:14:41.440 What are you trying to teal me here? 00:14:42.559 --> 00:14:45.440 What do you want me to learn in the midst of this? 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:55.840 Because God uses trials and God uses difficulties to wake us up, to get our attention, to shake us out of our spiritual sleepwalking. 00:14:56.320 --> 00:15:01.600 He wants you serving him, not some customized version of him that you've created. 00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:06.080 And before you think that sounds selfish, God wants me to give him glory. 00:15:06.240 --> 00:15:08.080 Like how that just seems so self-serving. 00:15:08.240 --> 00:15:12.480 John Piper so eloquently and expertly says these words. 00:15:12.559 --> 00:15:14.159 He's a pastor from the Minnesota area. 00:15:14.320 --> 00:15:19.039 He says this God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. 00:15:21.840 --> 00:15:27.600 When we find our joy in God, that's the best life that we could live. 00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:41.120 So when you hear that God fights for his glory, and that sometimes he will use judgment in order to shake you to also see his glory, realize he's got your best interest at heart. 00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:49.200 Because you are best off whenever you fight with him instead of against him. 00:15:50.240 --> 00:15:51.759 Here's what this looks like in real life. 00:15:51.919 --> 00:15:59.759 Tomorrow morning, when you wake up, before you check your phone, before you start your day, ask yourself one question, God, how do you want to be glorified in me today? 00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:13.039 When your boss criticizes you at work this week and they will, your first instinct's gonna be to defend yourself, to make yourself look good, instead, take a breath and think, how can I respond in a way that shows God's character? 00:16:14.080 --> 00:16:16.480 Maybe that's accepting feedback gracefully. 00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:19.120 Maybe that's working harder without complaining. 00:16:20.399 --> 00:16:23.200 When your spouse disagrees with you and they will, don't fight to win. 00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:24.799 Fight for God's glory. 00:16:25.840 --> 00:16:29.440 Ask, how can I love my spouse in a way that reflects God's love? 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:35.759 Sometimes that means apologizing first, and sometimes that means listening instead of talking. 00:16:39.440 --> 00:16:45.200 But here's what's beautiful about our God his fight for his glory isn't cold and distant. 00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:47.519 It's deeply personal. 00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:51.519 I want you to look at the middle of the book, Joel chapter 2, to see what else he's fighting for. 00:16:51.759 --> 00:16:52.879 I want you to look with me. 00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:55.759 These are powerful verses in verses 12 and 13. 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:05.440 He says, yet, even now, declares the Lord. 00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:12.160 Return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. 00:17:12.720 --> 00:17:16.079 And rend your hearts and not your garments. 00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:26.799 Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and he relents over disaster. 00:17:27.279 --> 00:17:31.440 The second thing Joel shows us is that God fights for something much closer to home. 00:17:31.519 --> 00:17:32.480 He fights for his glory. 00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:36.160 Number two, God fights for your heart. 00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:40.160 God fights for your heart. 00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:43.279 Look at what the word says in verse 12. 00:17:43.359 --> 00:17:46.480 He says, Return to me with all your heart. 00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:50.880 Verse 13, rend your hearts and not your garments. 00:17:50.960 --> 00:17:55.759 Look, when you read the Old Testament prophets, like you kind of read it and you're like, man, God is just mad. 00:17:56.799 --> 00:17:57.920 Like he is angry. 00:17:58.000 --> 00:17:59.839 It almost comes like he's vindictive. 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:02.799 Like he's just kind of throwing out judgment upon everybody. 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:08.960 But here's what's really happening: when God fights against us, he's actually fighting for us. 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:10.799 Let me show you what I mean. 00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:16.160 Hebrews chapter 12, verse 6 says, The Lord disciplines those he loves. 00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:27.039 I'm not sure where this parenting philosophy came around, which I see so often these days, which basically suggests we're gonna let the kid do whatever we want to, and I'm not gonna say anything whenever that need to be corrected. 00:18:28.079 --> 00:18:37.039 Because I would tell you the pattern of God Himself and the instruction of Scripture is this if I love my children, then I'm gonna tell them, don't do that. 00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:42.240 If I love my kids, then I'm going to discipline them. 00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:48.400 Discipline is not punishment, discipline is protection. 00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:59.119 So we must embrace that when God disciplines us, it doesn't mean he's mad at us, it means he actually cares about us. 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:02.000 He means he actually loves us. 00:19:02.240 --> 00:19:07.759 In fact, Romans chapter 1 says that here's how you know that the hand of God has left you. 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:12.319 He stops correcting you and he just lets you do whatever it is that you think you want to do in the first place. 00:19:13.519 --> 00:19:20.559 The wrath of God is not striking you down with a lightning bolt, the wrath of God is being like, You don't want to deal with me? 00:19:20.880 --> 00:19:22.640 Okay, good luck with that. 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:30.240 And the Bible says he turns them over to their worldly flesh. 00:19:32.319 --> 00:19:40.480 Folks, I know that discipline can be hard, but if we realize what God is doing, then it can also be purifying. 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:46.799 I know there's times and seasons in my life, I'm sure it's been the case for you, where you're going through the motions as a believer. 00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:51.119 Prayer feels like checking a box, reading your Bible feels like homework. 00:19:51.440 --> 00:19:52.720 Let me just go ahead and prepare you. 00:19:52.799 --> 00:19:58.319 You need to be prepared that God's probably gonna allow some things to fall apart, not to punish you, but to wake you up. 00:19:59.440 --> 00:20:03.680 He loves you too much to allow you to sleepwalk through a relationship with him. 00:20:04.720 --> 00:20:06.640 Some of you are thinking, Pastor, you don't understand though. 00:20:06.720 --> 00:20:07.599 I've messed up pretty bad. 00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:08.559 I've gone too far. 00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:09.839 There's no way back for me. 00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:11.119 Look at verse 11. 00:20:12.720 --> 00:20:14.400 Yeah, verse 12, sorry. 00:20:14.880 --> 00:20:19.599 Yet, even now, says the Lord. 00:20:21.119 --> 00:20:23.839 Yet, even now. 00:20:26.079 --> 00:20:34.799 After everything that you've done, after all the ways that you've failed, after all the promises that you've broken, yet, even now. 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:40.000 Isaiah 55, verse 7 says, God will abundantly pardon. 00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:45.200 Psalm 103, verse 12, He removes our sins as far as the east is from the West. 00:20:45.599 --> 00:20:48.319 You cannot outsend God's grace. 00:20:49.119 --> 00:20:52.720 But make no mistake about it, he will not be mocked. 00:20:53.920 --> 00:21:03.119 So hear this as the wake-up call to you to turn from your sins and go back to a God who's waiting for you, who loves you. 00:21:03.359 --> 00:21:06.880 Others of you are like, Well, I've tried this Jesus thing before, it didn't stick. 00:21:06.960 --> 00:21:07.359 Hold up. 00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:10.480 You tried the motions before, you tried the external stuff. 00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:13.839 You went to church, you said prayers, you tried to clean up your act. 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:17.680 Verse 13, though, is talking about garments versus a heart. 00:21:17.839 --> 00:21:18.960 Garments means this. 00:21:19.119 --> 00:21:22.400 I wore this this Sunday, I'm gonna wear something else a different Sunday. 00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:25.759 I'm gonna put on different clothes and I'm gonna trade those things out. 00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:35.680 The heart is something that's inside of me, so that that transformation that God does is something that no matter what I wear on the outside, I've been changed regardless. 00:21:36.319 --> 00:21:43.599 Too often what happens is that we try to do external things and think that we're doing garment type work. 00:21:43.680 --> 00:21:50.880 And God says, Don't rend me your garments, He says, Rend me your heart, which is so much deeper. 00:21:51.119 --> 00:21:54.799 It's not transactional, and it leads to lasting change. 00:21:55.519 --> 00:21:58.079 And then look at his heart in verse 13. 00:21:58.240 --> 00:21:59.519 He is gracious and merciful. 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:00.960 He's slow to anger. 00:22:01.039 --> 00:22:02.640 He's abounding in steadfast love. 00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:03.920 He's like the prodigal son. 00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:06.240 Story of the prodigal son of the father. 00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:12.000 The story goes that the dad, his son squandered all of his wealth and ran away and acted like he was dead. 00:22:12.079 --> 00:22:18.000 And it says the dad every single day stood on that porch, looked out, and thought today might be the day my boy comes home. 00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:23.519 Today could be the moment whenever he finally comes home. 00:22:25.920 --> 00:22:42.400 I'm sure you, like I did this week, couldn't get over watching so many of the videos of the reunion of the Israeli hostages who got reunited with their family after over two years of being in captivity. 00:22:43.039 --> 00:22:49.440 We praise the work of our president for brokering that deal, and we pray that peace would last in the Middle East in every way. 00:22:49.519 --> 00:22:50.640 There's no question about that. 00:22:50.799 --> 00:22:56.960 We know there's so much tension in that region, and we know that it is far from over, but we do celebrate answer to prayer. 00:22:57.599 --> 00:23:03.759 That God allowed those ones that were alive in captivity to be reunited with their families. 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:06.880 And I know that like I thought about it a lot. 00:23:06.960 --> 00:23:14.000 I prayed for it a lot, but at the end of the day, it wasn't top of mind like I know it was for those family members who actually experienced it. 00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:24.319 Even though people weren't marching in the streets, and even though there wasn't activity, and even though they never forgot, every day they woke up and thought, today could be the day that my child comes home. 00:23:24.480 --> 00:23:26.480 Today could be the day that my mom comes home. 00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:33.359 Today could be the day that I'm going to get reunited with the one who I pray is still alive and I pray is doing well. 00:23:33.759 --> 00:23:37.279 Take a look at the images from in the video of this week. 00:24:25.119 --> 00:24:27.279 And you feel the emotion, can't you? 00:24:30.079 --> 00:24:34.160 There's family members who thought today could be the day. 00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:37.039 Today could be the day. 00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:40.640 And then to see that reunion. 00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:45.039 Two arms, two legs, you're alive. 00:24:46.319 --> 00:24:47.920 Today could be the day. 00:24:49.119 --> 00:24:53.440 Folks, I want you to hear in the midst of a book that has a lot of judgment. 00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:57.759 A God who wants to say to you, today could be the day. 00:25:00.160 --> 00:25:09.039 I know it may look like everybody's forgotten you, it may look like everybody's discarded you, and it may look like no one thinks that you've got a chance to come back, but I want you to know this. 00:25:09.200 --> 00:25:14.400 I'm a God who looks at you and I'm fighting for your heart saying, Today could be the day. 00:25:14.720 --> 00:25:16.400 Today could be the day. 00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:35.200 And what the Bible tells us in verse 14 and in verse 19 of Joel chapter 2, he begins to outline when we come back to God with our whole heart, he doesn't just show us mercy, which is not giving us what we deserve, but he instead shows us grace, which is giving us what we don't deserve. 00:25:35.359 --> 00:25:35.680 Why? 00:25:35.839 --> 00:25:39.680 Because when God fights, he fights for the heart of his kids. 00:25:41.920 --> 00:25:43.200 And he wants to fight for you. 00:25:45.599 --> 00:25:48.000 So here's what giving God your whole heart actually looks like. 00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:49.839 Stop compartmentalizing God. 00:25:50.720 --> 00:25:54.559 Stop treating him like he only gets Sunday mornings and dinner prayers. 00:25:55.680 --> 00:25:58.319 When you're making that business decision, ask him. 00:25:59.599 --> 00:26:06.880 When you're parenting your kids, include him when you're choosing who to watch, what to watch, and what to read and who to date. 00:26:07.039 --> 00:26:08.079 He cares about all of that. 00:26:08.240 --> 00:26:12.720 What this means is enter into a relationship with your God where you're very specific. 00:26:12.880 --> 00:26:14.720 You're confessing things that are legit. 00:26:14.799 --> 00:26:18.799 You're not just saying, God, I've been looking at things, or God, I would you forgive me for being a sinner? 00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:20.319 That's garment type stuff. 00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:21.839 That's just changing clothes. 00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:27.440 You instead need heart transformation, which says, God, I've been looking at things that I shouldn't be looking at. 00:26:27.680 --> 00:26:29.119 I've been lying to my spouse. 00:26:29.279 --> 00:26:31.359 I've been gossiping about my coworkers. 00:26:31.519 --> 00:26:32.240 Get specific. 00:26:32.319 --> 00:26:37.839 You're thinking, man, Pastor, if I get this specific, then God's gonna ask me to change specific things. 00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:38.720 Yes. 00:26:40.640 --> 00:26:44.000 That's how you know whether you're doing garment change or heart change. 00:26:44.160 --> 00:26:45.440 Garment change says this. 00:26:45.680 --> 00:26:46.640 God made me better. 00:26:46.799 --> 00:26:49.839 Heart change says this, God, whatever you reveal, I'm in. 00:26:52.079 --> 00:26:59.519 I'm willing to respond to whatever it is that you see, whatever it is that you expose, whatever it is that you reveal. 00:27:01.119 --> 00:27:08.960 When we finally surrender to God's fight for a heart, something incredible happens described in Joel chapter 2, verse 25 and 26. 00:27:09.119 --> 00:27:11.200 This is my favorite verse, probably in all of the Bible. 00:27:11.279 --> 00:27:12.559 I've said that a lot. 00:27:12.880 --> 00:27:14.319 This is up there though. 00:27:16.400 --> 00:27:20.079 Memorize it, underline it, highlight it. 00:27:21.759 --> 00:27:27.680 I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten. 00:27:32.400 --> 00:27:48.319 He clarifies the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you, 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 again be put to shame. 00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:52.799 The third thing that God fights for, God fights for your future. 00:27:54.400 --> 00:27:56.880 God fights for your future. 00:27:57.920 --> 00:27:59.759 Listen carefully to verse 25. 00:27:59.839 --> 00:28:03.599 It may be the most hope-filled promise in all of Scripture. 00:28:03.839 --> 00:28:08.480 I will restore to you the years the locusts have eaten. 00:28:08.640 --> 00:28:09.359 Did you catch that? 00:28:09.519 --> 00:28:13.039 Not I'm gonna give you new stuff, not I'm gonna help you start over. 00:28:13.279 --> 00:28:15.599 He says, I will restore the years. 00:28:15.920 --> 00:28:18.960 God is in the restoration business. 00:28:20.240 --> 00:28:21.519 I love watching those shows. 00:28:21.599 --> 00:28:22.640 I'm guessing you do as well. 00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:41.039 Whenever somebody walks in, probably because it's not the way that I'm wired, but they walk in and they see a discarded piece of furniture, or they see a house that has been abandoned, or they see a thing that looks like just a total mixed match mess, and they see it and they have a vision from what it is and what it was to what it could be. 00:28:41.200 --> 00:28:55.680 And you, the whole show is showing how they take this discarded thing over here, this forgotten thing over here, with a little bit of vision and a little bit of attention, it turns into something that you could have never possibly imagined it could have looked so beautiful. 00:28:55.839 --> 00:28:58.160 That's what God does with you. 00:28:59.599 --> 00:29:02.640 He looks at you and he's like, God, what a mess. 00:29:03.839 --> 00:29:04.160 What? 00:29:04.319 --> 00:29:05.519 Like, what in the world? 00:29:05.680 --> 00:29:06.799 And he's like, you know what? 00:29:06.880 --> 00:29:10.319 But I'm not gonna see him as this, I'm gonna see him as what I'm gonna make them. 00:29:11.279 --> 00:29:16.000 I'm not gonna talk about what they were, I'm gonna talk about what I'm gonna make them to be. 00:29:17.440 --> 00:29:18.079 I love it. 00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:19.119 Look at what he says. 00:29:19.359 --> 00:29:23.599 I will restore to you the years. 00:29:27.599 --> 00:29:31.200 I want you to think about the time that has been wasted in your life. 00:29:33.200 --> 00:29:36.240 I want you to think about the opportunities that you think are gone forever. 00:29:36.400 --> 00:29:37.519 What's been destroyed in your life? 00:29:37.680 --> 00:29:38.720 Is it your reputation? 00:29:38.960 --> 00:29:40.160 Is it your marriage? 00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:42.240 Is it your relationship with your kids? 00:29:42.400 --> 00:29:43.200 Is it your health? 00:29:43.359 --> 00:29:44.160 Is it your dreams? 00:29:44.319 --> 00:29:45.119 Is it your faith? 00:29:45.440 --> 00:29:49.119 God specializes in putting broken things back together. 00:29:51.119 --> 00:29:55.759 And God longs to do the same thing to you. 00:29:55.920 --> 00:29:56.880 Here's what he's wanting to know. 00:29:57.039 --> 00:29:58.240 Is today gonna be the day? 00:29:59.279 --> 00:30:00.799 Is today gonna be the day? 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:05.759 He doesn't just stop there though. 00:30:05.839 --> 00:30:07.599 Look at verse 28 and 29. 00:30:09.279 --> 00:30:13.920 And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. 00:30:14.559 --> 00:30:20.799 Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 00:30:20.960 --> 00:30:25.519 Even on the male and the female servants, in those days I will pour out my spirit. 00:30:25.680 --> 00:30:26.640 You may recognize this. 00:30:26.799 --> 00:30:30.400 Peter quoted it in Acts chapter 2 on the day of Pentecost. 00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:33.759 We're living right now in the fulfillment of this prophecy. 00:30:33.920 --> 00:30:38.319 The Holy Spirit isn't just something that's supposed to make you have goosebumps when you worship. 00:30:38.480 --> 00:30:46.559 The Holy Spirit is living inside of us, and because he's living inside of us, it allows us to be able to give God glory. 00:30:46.720 --> 00:30:50.880 But Acts chapter 1, verse 8 also tells us what the Holy Spirit does. 00:30:51.039 --> 00:30:55.119 It says this, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. 00:30:55.519 --> 00:31:03.519 And here's what you're gonna do: you're gonna be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. 00:31:03.759 --> 00:31:07.759 He's here to give you power, power to be his witnesses. 00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:12.880 How do you know the difference between a casual fan and someone who is all in? 00:31:13.039 --> 00:31:14.480 What do they fight for? 00:31:15.759 --> 00:31:20.480 And when someone's really passionate about something, they can't stop talking about it. 00:31:21.519 --> 00:31:24.000 Cowboys fans never stop talking about the Cowboys. 00:31:24.079 --> 00:31:25.680 This is gonna be our year. 00:31:27.119 --> 00:31:30.400 All these new parents, you know what they haven't stopped talking about? 00:31:30.559 --> 00:31:32.799 Hey, have you seen the news update picture of my baby? 00:31:32.960 --> 00:31:33.680 Have you seen it, right? 00:31:33.759 --> 00:31:34.880 They send it to all the family, right? 00:31:34.960 --> 00:31:36.079 And praise God that you do that. 00:31:36.160 --> 00:31:36.799 You want to know why? 00:31:36.960 --> 00:31:38.319 Because everybody in the family wants to see it. 00:31:38.400 --> 00:31:39.200 You wanna know why? 00:31:39.359 --> 00:31:40.880 Because no one else cares about the rest of the family. 00:31:40.960 --> 00:31:41.759 They care about that baby. 00:31:41.920 --> 00:31:43.119 That's all they care about. 00:31:44.480 --> 00:31:46.640 They're the greatest thing that's ever happened, right? 00:31:46.880 --> 00:31:48.319 And we all feel that. 00:31:48.480 --> 00:31:50.799 And we all celebrate that, and we all love that. 00:31:50.960 --> 00:31:51.279 Why? 00:31:51.440 --> 00:31:55.759 Because whenever you're passionate and excited about something, you can't stop talking about it. 00:31:56.160 --> 00:31:57.599 Did you see what they just did? 00:31:57.759 --> 00:32:01.920 They pulled up, they crawled, they made a noise. 00:32:02.079 --> 00:32:03.920 You video it and you're so excited about it. 00:32:04.079 --> 00:32:10.880 Can I also tell you this that if you're a believer in Jesus Christ and you're sold out for him, you can't stop talking about his goodness. 00:32:11.200 --> 00:32:18.240