Godchaser Podcast
Join Evan Evans on The God Chaser Podcast, a weekly exploration of faith, spirituality, and personal growth centered on Jesus Christ. Evan, a devoted believer and captivating host guides listeners through engaging conversations and thought-provoking discussions that deepen their understanding of Christ and His teachings.
We delve into topics such as Christ's teachings, the power of prayer, the role of the Holy Spirit, and the importance of community in spiritual growth. The God Chaser Podcast aims to inspire and challenge listeners, equipping them with the tools and insights needed to live a more fulfilling, Christ-centered life.
Whether you're a seasoned believer or just beginning your faith journey, The God Chaser Podcast with Evan Evans supports and nourishes your spiritual growth. Subscribe to Apple Podcasts and join us each week as we chase after the heart of Jesus, embracing the transformative power of His love and grace.
Godchaser Podcast
Finding Jesus in Joel's Prophecy
The ancient prophet Joel spoke to a devastating crisis—a locust plague that had stripped the land bare. But within this small, often-overlooked biblical book lies a powerful revelation of Jesus Christ centuries before His birth.
When everything has been consumed and hope seems lost, Joel's message speaks directly to our deepest struggles. His famous promise—"I will restore the years the locusts have eaten"—reveals God's heart toward those experiencing devastation. Whether you're facing financial ruin, health challenges, relationship breakdowns, or spiritual dryness that feels beyond recovery, this prophetic vision points to Christ's power to restore what seems irretrievably lost.
Joel's call to "rend your heart, not your garments" anticipates Jesus' emphasis on internal transformation over religious performance. For those trapped in empty ritual or struggling with authenticity in their spiritual walk, this message offers liberation. The prophet's revolutionary vision of the Spirit being poured out on all people—not just select leaders—found its fulfillment at Pentecost through Christ's finished work.
The cosmic signs Joel describes connect both to the darkness at Jesus' crucifixion and His promised return, while the powerful declaration that "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" points directly to salvation through Christ alone. Joel's final scenes of judgment and restoration paint a vivid picture of Jesus as both righteous judge and creator of the new heavens and earth where justice and mercy reign.
Ready to discover how an ancient prophet's message speaks hope into your current situation? Listen now and find Jesus in unexpected places. Share this episode with someone facing their own locust plague who needs to hear about the God who restores.
Keep chasing after God
Welcome to the God Chaser podcast, where we pursue the heart of God and explore the depths of His wisdom. I'm your host, evan Evans. I'm your host, evan Evans, and today we're continuing our journey of discovering Jesus in every story of Scripture. Last week, we explored Hosea's powerful love story and how his marriage to Gomer revealed God's pursuing love despite our unfaithfulness. Today we're turning to the prophet Joel, whose message might seem brief but contains some of Scripture's most significant prophecies about Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit From devastating locusts to the promise of restoration, from the outpouring of the Spirit to the final day of the Lord. Joel's vision spans from immediate crisis to ultimate hope, from immediate crisis to ultimate hope.
Speaker 1:In this episode, we'll discover how God can restore the years the locusts have eaten in our lives. What true heart repentance looks like versus empty religious gestures. Why Joel's prophecy about the Spirit was fulfilled at Pentecost. How the day of the Lord points to Christ's first and second coming. What it means that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord points to Christ's first and second coming. What it means that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Whether you're facing a locust-like devastation in your life, wrestling with religious performance versus heart transformation, seeking the Spirit's power or simply needing hope for your future. Joel's message speaks directly to where you are today.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the God Chaser podcast, the ultimate destination for those yearning to cultivate a passionate, intimate relationship with God. Join your host, Evan Evans, as he explores the depths of scripture, shares inspiring testimonies and provides practical guidance to help you become a true God Chaser, Discover the transformative power of pursuing God's presence and be inspired to reignite your spiritual journey. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts and get ready to embark on an adventure that will change your life forever. Welcome to the God Chaser Podcast. Let the chase begin.
Speaker 1:Last week we explored Hosea's heartbreaking yet beautiful story of faithful love despite unfaithfulness. We saw how his marriage to Gomer revealed God's pursuing love and pointed to Christ's relationship with his bride. Today we're turning to Joel, a prophet whose powerful vision of judgment and restoration paints a vivid picture of Jesus Christ. Joel may be a short book, but it contains some of Scripture's most significant prophecies about the coming Messiah and the Holy Spirit. Let's start with the context. Joel doesn't give us a specific date, but many scholars believe he prophesied around 835 BC, during the reign of King Joash. What triggered his message? A devastating locust plague. Joel, chapter 1, verses 2 to 4. 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 ancestors? 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. This wasn't just a crop failure. This was total devastation. Wave after wave of locusts had stripped the land bare. Nothing was left. The people faced starvation. But Joel sees beyond this present crisis. He recognizes the locusts as divine judgment, a preview of the day of the Lord that was coming. Joel, chapter 1, verse 15,. Alas for that day, for the day of the Lord is near. It will come like destruction from the Almighty. Let's talk about this day of the Lord.
Speaker 1:Throughout the Old Testament, prophets used this term to describe God's decisive intervention, both in judgment and salvation. It's a day when God acts directly in human history. This points straight to Jesus Christ, who declared in Luke, chapter 4, verses 18 to 19, the Spirit of the Lord is on me to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. Jesus was announcing that God's decisive intervention had arrived in His person. But there's more. Joel doesn't just announce judgment. He calls for repentance. Joel, chapter 2, verses 12 to 13. Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Joel calls for heart repentance, not just external rituals. This points directly to what Jesus would teach in the Sermon on the Mount, where he emphasized heart transformation over religious performance. Some of you are facing devastation right now Financial loss that feels like locusts have stripped everything Health challenges that have consumed your strength, rel, relational breakdowns that have left you empty, spiritual dryness that seems beyond recovery. Joel's message speaks to you. He says, even in total devastation, return to God, not with empty rituals, but with your whole heart, because God is gracious and compassionate. Rituals, but with your whole heart, because God is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. This is exactly who Jesus revealed God to be. Remember the father in the prodigal son story Running to embrace his returning child. That's our God.
Speaker 1:After calling for repentance, joel delivers one of scripture's most remarkable promises Joel, chapter 2, verses 25 to 27. I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm, my great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat until you are full and you will praise the name of the Lord, your God. Let's sit with this for a moment. I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten. This isn't just about crops. It's about restoration, recovery, redemption of lost time. This points directly to Jesus's mission. He came to restore what was lost, as he said in Luke, chapter 19, verse 10, for the son of man came to seek and to save the lost. Many of you feel like locusts have eaten your years Addiction that stole your prime years, bad decisions that wasted opportunities, trauma that froze your development, regrets that haunt your memories. Joel's promise points to Jesus, who can restore those years, not by turning back time, but by bringing such healing, purpose and fruitfulness that the pain of loss is swallowed up in new life.
Speaker 1:But Joel's prophecy gets even more specific In the next verses. He delivers one of the Old Testament's clearest prophecies about the Holy Spirit. Joel, chapter 2, verses 28 to 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. This was revolutionary In the Old Testament. The Spirit came upon specific people for specific tasks prophets, priests, kings. But Joel foresaw a time when God would pour out His Spirit on all people, regardless of age, gender or social status.
Speaker 1:Peter quoted this exact passage on the day of Pentecost in Acts, chapter 2, verses 16 to 21. He declared that what people were witnessing? The disciples filled with the Holy Spirit speaking in other languages was the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy. This connects directly to Jesus who promised in John, chapter 16, verse 7,. But I tell you the truth. It is for your good that I. The Spirit's outpouring at Pentecost was the direct result of Jesus' finished work on the cross and His ascension to the Father. What Joel prophesied Jesus fulfilled. Some of you need this promise today. You're trying to serve God in your own strength, through your own wisdom, by your own plans, with your own power. Joel reminds us what Jesus confirmed that God intended to empower his people through his spirit, not just leaders, not just the gifted, but all people who call on his name.
Speaker 1:Now let's look at the next part of Joel's prophecy. Joel, chapter 2, verses 30 to 31. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth blood and fire and billows of smoke. These cosmic signs recall what happened at Jesus' crucifixion. Matthew, chapter 27, verse 45, tells us From noon until three in the afternoon, darkness came over all the land, tells us. But Joel isn't just describing past events. He's pointing to Christ's return, when these signs will appear in their fullness. Jesus himself referenced these signs in Matthew, chapter 24, verses 29 to 30, when describing his second coming.
Speaker 1:Joel's prophecy reaches its climax with a powerful promise of salvation. Joel, chapter 2, 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. This verse is quoted directly in Romans, chapter 10, verse 13, and applied to Jesus Christ. Paul makes it clear that calling on the name of the Lord means putting faith in Jesus. The phrase will be saved encompasses complete deliverance from sin, from judgment, from death itself. This is exactly what Jesus provides. Some of you need to hear this simple but profound truth today. Salvation doesn't come through religious performance, moral achievement, spiritual knowledge, family heritage. It comes through calling on Jesus. As Peter declared in Acts, chapter 4, verse 12,. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
Speaker 1:Now Joel shifts to a vision of final judgment in chapter 3. He sees the nations gathered in the valley of Jehoshaphat for judgment. Joel, chapter 3, verses 12 to 14. Let the nations be roused, let them advance into the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side. Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow, so great is their wickedness. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision, for the day of the Lord is near. In the valley of decision, this pictures Jesus Christ as the final judge. Jesus spoke of this role in John, chapter 5, verse 22. The imagery of the harvest and winepress appears again in Revelation, chapter 14, verses 14 to 20, where Jesus is pictured as the one who swings the sickle and treads the winepress of God's wrath.
Speaker 1:But notice something crucial In Joel's vision, judgment isn't the final word. After judgment comes restoration. Joel, chapter 3, verses 17 to 18. Then you will know that I, the Lord, your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy. Never again will foreigners invade her. In that day, the mountains will drip new wine and the hills will flow with milk. All the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the Lord's house and will water the valley of Acacias. This picture is the new creation Jesus will establish. The fountain flowing out of the Lord's house recalls Ezekiel's vision of the river flowing from the temple and Jesus's words in John, chapter 7, verse 38,.
Speaker 1:Let's talk about what this means for us today. Some of you are living in Spiritual drought, needing that living water. Emptiness, needing the mountains of new wine. Barrenness, needing the hills flowing with milk. Judgment, fear, needing the promise of restoration. The good news is that, through Jesus Christ, we get a foretaste of Joel's vision now, while awaiting its complete fulfillment when he returns. Joel's final promise is beautiful.
Speaker 1:Joel, chapter 3, verse 21. Shall I leave their innocent blood unavenged? No, I will not. The Lord dwells in Zion. This speaks to everyone who has suffered injustice, everyone who has cried out how long, o Lord? The answer is God will not leave innocent blood unavenged. Justice will come. This points to Jesus on the cross, where both justice and mercy met as Romans. Chapter 3, verses 25 to 26, tells us God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Speaker 1:Let me bring these themes together and show how they speak to our lives today. First, joel teaches us about God's response to devastation. The locust plague had destroyed everything Food, economy, security, hope. The people faced a crisis beyond their control or solution. Many of you know exactly what this feels like You're facing your own locust plague A medical diagnosis that changed everything, A financial collapse that wiped out your security, a relationship breakdown that devastated your heart, a loss that left you empty and hopeless. Joel shows us that God's response to devastation is restoration. I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten.
Speaker 1:Jesus demonstrated this same heart when he saw the widow of Nain grieving her only son. He didn't just offer sympathy. When he saw the widow of Nain grieving her only son, he didn't just offer sympathy. Luke, chapter 7, verse 15, tells us the dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. This is what Jesus still does. He gives back what death, sin and devastation have taken, not always in the ways we expect, not always immediately, but his heart is always to restore. Second, joel teaches us about true repentance. His call wasn't for external gestures, but heart change. Rend your heart and not your garments. This points directly to Jesus' image.