Blow the Trumpet in Zion: Study of the Book of Joel | Repentance, Restoration, the Day of the Lord

[0:00] Let's go to the Word of God now, to the book of Joel. Blow the trumpet in Zion. The Word of the Lord came to Joel, the son of Peshuel.

[0:13] ! Blow the trumpet in Zion. We're going to learn about Joel and his book. Joel's name means Jehovah is God.

[0:25] It's a fitting name for one whose ministry really would be to call the nation back to exclusive worship of the Almighty.

[0:35] And his words come forth as like a trumpet blast, a call with a divine urgency to awaken people from spiritual slumber. And he speaks here to a nation in crisis.

[0:47] Get ready! Judgment looms. The day of the Lord is at hand. And God's people in Judah are facing devastation here. First with a locust plague, and then an invading army, prefiguring the day of the Lord.

[1:08] And Joel urges us to examine our hearts. God judges sin, and we need heartfelt repentance. The good news is that God, in his mercy, promises restoration.

[1:23] There's all of these themes. There's a promise that he will come in glory to establish his eternal kingdom. Judah here, though, now is a nation under discipline.

[1:35] Divine discipline. This devastating locust plague stripped the land bare. And then there was a drought, a famine. It was catastrophic.

[1:46] And it wasn't just a natural disaster. It was a wake-up call. A divine judgment for a disobedient people. And we think of what happened.

[1:57] The offerings of the temple ceased. The priests mourned. The farmers wailed. Even the beasts groaned. And the land itself seemed to mourn.

[2:08] You see that in chapter 1, verse 10. And Judah had drifted into their spiritual apathy, complacency, idolatry, and a moral compromise as well.

[2:20] They had neglected their covenant with God. And the locusts then came as God's great army, Joel 2.25, sent to awaken God's people, to call them back to himself.

[2:34] Think of our own world. Can we relate to Joel? The world that we live in is in this spiritual decay, surely. It's ripe for God's judgment.

[2:46] We see Australia's moral decay. It's spiritual apathy. This growing hostility. It's a biblical truth. And like Judah, we face devouring locusts in our own lives, sapping away our spiritual life.

[3:02] We face sin, pride, worldly care, distractions, trials. And sin brings a devastation, doesn't it? But, thank God, heartfelt repentance opens the door to God's mercy and restoration.

[3:18] Are we awake to God's warnings? Joel challenges us to see God's hand in our circumstances and our struggles and to turn unto him with humility and repentance.

[3:31] The book has two main sections, you could say. One of judgment and one of hope. Through the book, we see different themes. God's dominion, his control over creation.

[3:42] Using even natural disasters like locusts to accomplish his purposes. And nothing happens outside of his will. God's dominion. And Joel tells too of the judgment.

[3:55] The day of the Lord. God's decisive judgment for the unrepentant. And his deliverance for the faithful. And there's God's promise too of the Holy Spirit to empower his people.

[4:07] Equipping them for service and witness. We're going to unpack some of these themes. Really, we're just scratching the surface. Picking out some odd key verses here and there. And so it's an overview really.

[4:19] Hopefully we'll be able to see the main things, the main themes. Joel also tells of restoration and of hope. And God's heart to redeem what sin has destroyed.

[4:32] Offering shalom, which means peace, wholeness to those who return unto him. Firstly, we're going to pick it up that Joel pictures God's judgment as a like to a locust plague.

[4:48] The word of the Lord came to Joel. Joel 1 verse 2, it says, The word here implies not just listening, but obeying with intent.

[5:11] It's a call to repent. And we see four kinds of locusts then come that bring this systematic relentless destruction. Stripping away the grain, the wine, the oil, even the bark from off the trees.

[5:27] It tells us in verse 4, Wave after wave of insects came.

[5:50] And they all devoured bit by bit, really leaving nothing. The crops, the vineyards, the orchards. It was devastating. A picture of total devastation and destruction.

[6:03] And the nation faced economic collapse, spiritual famine, and the disruption of the temple worship too. It tells there in verse 9, The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the Lord.

[6:17] The priests, the Lord's ministers mourn. This was devastation. A divine wake-up call. A foretaste of the day of the Lord to come.

[6:28] A day of destruction from the Almighty. And Joel speaks to people that are brought to their knees. And the warning reaches everyone in all parts of society.

[6:38] The warning reaches the elders in chapter 1 verse 2, Calling them to take heed of the crisis. It reaches the drunkards. They're stirred to awaken and weep as their wine is cut off.

[6:53] In Joel 1 verse 5, It's time to sober up. The merriment and the feasting have come to an end. The farmers are ashamed too, As their harvests are gone.

[7:06] In chapter 1 verse 11, And the beasts of the field groaned. Chapter 1 verse 18. Now sometimes I come home, If I've been out, And we've got the sheep out in the backyard, And they're just whinging.

[7:19] They're groaning because they're hungry. And that was the picture here, In Joel. And the beasts of the field are groaning. Feed me. But there is no feed.

[7:31] And Joel then caused the priests to mourn, To lament, To lead the people in fasting and prayer. And the word lament is a deep, Heartfelt grief.

[7:44] Not just some ritual mourning. You see that there, As the Lord calls the nation, The whole nation to gather, In a solemn assembly, Crying out to God for mercy.

[8:00] It speaks of a collective turning, Back to God. And that happened at other times, At special times through the Old Testament, This term, Solemn assembly.

[8:13] Maybe we should put a solemn assembly, On our meeting schedule. You can think of the 7th of the 7th. At 7. A solemn assembly.

[8:23] Call a solemn assembly. And it reads there, Sanctify ye a fast. Call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders, And all the inhabitants of the land, Into the house of the Lord your God.

[8:38] And cry unto the Lord. Think of the spiritual apathy of our day. Haven't we that same urgent need, To fast and to pray, To take sin seriously, To seek God's face, And humble ourselves before him.

[8:57] The locust plague, And then a coming military invasion, As foreshadowings, Of the coming tribulation period. A time of severe judgment, That will come.

[9:08] Before Christ's return. Alas for the day, For the day of the Lord, Is at hand, And as a destruction, From the Almighty, Shall it come.

[9:20] It was sudden, And terrifying. The locusts are a metaphor, For a greater judgment. An invading army, That foreshadows, The ultimate day, Of the Lord.

[9:32] Don't we see some, Maybe little signs, In the news lately, Things are ramping up, Aren't they? The day of the Lord, Is at hand.

[9:44] It's just, At hand. A day of destruction. And, Joel says, This, Blow ye, The trumpet, In Zion, And sound an alarm, In my holy mountain, Let all the inhabitants, Of the land, Tramble, For the day of the Lord, Cometh, For it is, Nine, At hand.

[10:15] And that's a shofar, From Jerusalem. And, This was the instrument here, Blow ye the trumpet, In Zion. Now, The shofar, Was a signal for war, A signal of danger, Or, Of assembly, An urgent call, To attention.

[10:34] And, Joel speaks of, Sounding this trumpet, This shofar, This ram's horn, The hill of Jerusalem, Is the place there, Symbolising God's, Holy city, Or the spiritual centre, Of Israel.

[10:50] And the trumpet, Was used in ancient Israel, To signal, Important events, Such as warnings of danger, Cause to assembly, Announcements of divine judgment, Or action.

[11:03] And it signifies here, This trumpet, A prophetic call, To action. It's an urging of the people, To warn of judgment. The trumpet signals, This impending day, Of the Lord, A time of divine judgment, Urging repentance, And spiritual awakening, This gathering, To call the people together, To turn back to God, In preparation, For his intervention.

[11:30] Sound an alarm, It says, There's an urgency here, It's emphasising, The need for the, For the people of God, To a spiritual, Awakening, To the threat, Spiritual, Spiritual, And physical, Such as the invasion, Or divine reckoning, And it's symbolic too, Of a spiritual awakening, You know, Blast that trumpet, And it's going to wake, Some people up, It's a call to repent, To faith, To prepare for God's work, Or judgment, And there's a prophetic, Significance too, Speaks of the end times, Of the returning, Of our Lord, Basically the trumpet blast, Inspires us to urgency, Unity, A call, To action, In times of crisis, Or moral challenge, It speaks of revival, Or readiness, For divine action, And then Joel paints, A terrifying picture, In Joel 2 verse 2, Of this day of the Lord, A day of darkness, And of gloominess, A day of clouds, And of thick darkness,

[12:32] The earthquakes, The heavens tremble, The sun, The moon, The stars lose their light, And then verse 11, And the Lord shall utter his voice, Before his army, For his camp is very great, For he is strong, That executeth his word, For the day of the Lord, Is great and very terrible, Who can abide it, Think of it brother, Sister, There's a day, On God's calendar, It's called a great, And a terrible day, Yet even in this moment, Of impending doom, God's mercy still shines through, As we see it reads there, Chapter 2 verses 12 to 13, Therefore also now saith the Lord, Turn ye, Turn ye he says, Even to me, With all your heart, And with fasting, And with weeping, And with mourning, He's urging the people, Turn to me, Rend your heart, And not your garments, And turn unto the Lord your God, For he is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, And of great kindness, And repenteth him of the evil, The words here are telling us,

[13:32] Of God wanting an inward repentance, Not some outward show, He doesn't want something surface level, He wants it heart deep, A deep heart change, And the word for turn, Or repent, Of course for a complete reversal, A complete change of direction, A spiritual U-turn, From sin to God, This was desperate prayer, And the phrase here, Rend your heart, And not your garments, Speaks of a genuine repentance, In ancient Israel, Tearing garments, Was a sign of grief, But God desires more than, Some tearing of garments, He desires a brokenness of heart, We see that in Psalm 51, As David turned in contrition, He says, A broken and a contrite heart, O God, They wilt not despise, God receives that brokenness, And really Joel is saying, If you put it kind of colloquially, He says, Don't tear your shirt, Tear your heart, Don't tear your shirt, Hey, You know we see in times, The high priest saw his garment,

[14:33] Didn't he, At Christ's judgment, And we see this tearing of garments, This sign of grief, Of deep movement of soul, And God is saying, Don't tear your shirt, Tear your heart, Rend your heart, Let that be torn open, Your heart, Broken up, So God can work in you, And so God is gracious, He's merciful, He's slow to anger, And he's great in his loving kindness, And he is willing to change, His course of judgment, As we read back there, He repents of him of the evil, There's times when God repents, He changes his course of judgment, He changes his intent of judgment, And he extends grace, When his people turn unto him, And then Joel 2.15, Further it says again, Blow the trumpet in Zion, Again this call, To a solemn assembly, And verse 17 there,

[15:34] Chapter 2.17, It tells us, Let the priests, The ministers of the Lord, Weep between the porch, And the altar, And let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, This was the cry, Of the ministers, Spare thy people, It was a cry, On behalf of the nation, Of a calling back to God, To intercede, To pray, For revival, And all of this context, We see it, Foreshadows Israel's future, National repentance, During the tribulation, Where it tells us, They shall look upon me, Whom they have pierced, There's going to be a turning back to God, And it's necessary, Before the Messiah, Returns to deliver them, Now we could reflect about this, Picture of these locusts, Are there any locusts, That are devouring, Our spiritual lives, Could it be, Unconfessed sin, Worldly distractions, A neglect of prayer, A neglect of fellowship, Of God's word, Locusts,

[16:35] Those things that kind of eat up, That spiritual life, Like the drunkards, Who lost their wine, May, Some may be, Numbed by the pleasures, Of this world, Unaware of that spiritual famine, That's creeping in, And the locusts, They remind us about sin, Sin if left unchecked, Consumes everything, Doesn't it?

[16:55] Our families, Our peace, Our church, God wants our repentance, To be heartfelt, And real, That we do business with God, That's the challenge of Joel, And so we see, The first theme of the book, The locust plague, And the call to repentance, Moving on then, We next read of Joel's theme, That God's promise, Is restoration, God promises restoration, It tells us there, Then will the Lord be jealous for his land, And pity his people, It shows God here, In his mercy, Restoring his people, And his mercy overflows, In chapter 2, 21, It reads in part, The Lord will do great things, God is jealous, It tells us here, It tells of his passionate love, Have you ever been jealous?

[17:52] God is jealous, God is jealous for you, It's his passionate love, It's, The truth that he's not willing, To share his people with idols, And we ought to have a faithfulness, In exchange, Shouldn't we?

[18:07] God is jealous, We should be faithful, And he promises, To remove the enemy, To restore abundance, Here's the promise of restoration, In Joel 2 verse 19, Behold I will send you, Corn and wine and oil, And you shall be satisfied therewith, And I will no more make you a reproach, Among the heathen, There's a promise here, The great restoring work of God, And it tells us, Chapter 2, 23, Be glad and rejoice, In the Lord your God, Be glad and rejoice, He promised us to restore, We see that, In Joel 2, 25, It reads, And I will restore to you, The years that the locusts, Have eaten, The canker worm, And the caterpillar, And the palmer worm, My great army, Which I sent among you, Notice this promise here, Brother, sister, This morning, He promises to restore, It's a great, Blessed promise from God, Isn't it?

[19:06] And here's hope, For the backslider, You might say, Preacher, I'm not where I used to be, I'm not where I should be, I'm a backslider, There's hope here, If you slipped, There's hope, There's restoration with God, And the word restore, Is the word shalom, Shalom, In the Hebrew, I'm not much of a Hebrew scholar here, But, Apparently it's God's, Wonderful promise of restoration, Restore, Shalom, It's both material, The grain, The oil, The wine, And it's spiritual, And the shalom, And the shalom, Brings shalom, It's interesting, Isn't it?

[19:46] The restoring, The shalom, Brings the shalom, The great peace, The wholeness, The completeness of God, And so think of it, How God restores, In us, Brother, Sister, If you're a family, Like, Hey, I've slipped, I've slacked, I've slipped, As a backslider, I've slipped away, God restores, It's God's word, He restores, In us, And God is our redeemer, Think of it, He cares for the broken, It speaks of His power to heal, Past wounds, Our shame, Our loss, Our foul ups, Regularly so, With me, And He brings renewal, Doesn't He?

[20:29] He brings hope, For the future, No matter how bleak, Things may seem, And of course, It was a bleak time, In Judah, No matter how hard, Things might feel, In our lives, In the world around us, We serve a God, Of restoration, He's patient, Isn't He?

[20:50] Isn't He persevering? Isn't He long suffering? A God of restoration, He holds out hope, That we can shift course, He's the God of restoration, He can turn ashes, Into beauty, He can turn mourning, Into joy, It can turn despair, Into hope, A glad hope, A blessed hope, Our ultimate hope, Is not in this world, But the blessed hope, Of our Saviour to come, Isn't it?

[21:23] Of His coming, And of our eternal dwelling with Him, And brother, Sister, This God, The restorer, He brings provision, And wholeness, Doesn't He?

[21:34] Think of our wonderful, Shepherd, The Lord, Our shepherd, He restoreth, My soul, He leadeth me, In the paths of righteousness, For His name's sake, David knew all about that, He restoreth, My soul, There's a great hope here, For those, Who feel they've wasted years, The years that the locusts have eaten, Years wasted, In sin, Brokenness, Bitterness, Apathy, He restoreth, My soul, He restores the years, He redeems my life, God can redeem time, And bring restoration, It's a great declaration here, Brother, Sister, If you're feeling like you're a backslider, He restoreth my soul, You can confess that, You can realise that, And, There's encouragement here, In these great words of hope,

[22:35] It reads there, Chapter 2, 26 through 27, The promise of the restorer, And you shall eat in plenty, And be satisfied, And praise the name of the Lord, Your God, And have dealt wondrously with you, And my people shall never be ashamed, And you shall know that I am, In the midst of Israel, And that I am the Lord, Your God, And none else, And my people shall never be ashamed, God can turn the years of shame, The barrenness, Into fruitfulness, Can't He, And His mercy towards us, It prompts our glad praise, We're going to praise the name of the Lord, Our God, And God, He's dealt wondrously with us, Hasn't He, My people shall never be ashamed, There's reason for glad praise, Only God can bring, This true restoration, And God gives peace, Shalom,

[23:36] It's not just peace, It's a complete restoration, It's, Of body, Of soul, Of spirit, And we can find a hope here, No matter how far we've strayed, The years that the locusts have eaten, Well I can think of some years when, Whoa, Wasn't much fruit there, No matter how far we've strayed, Whether through years of rebellion, Of neglect, Of failure, God's grace is greater, Than all my sin, We can find hope here, No matter how far, We've strayed, The locusts may have devoured relationships, Opportunities, Or spiritual zeal, But God can, Restore, Think of the restoring power, Of God, He can restore broken relationships, He can bring back wayward children, He can renew our faltering faith, God is able to restore, To make all things new, Trust Him,

[24:37] Trust Him, Have we guilt or regret, My people shall never be ashamed, He takes that shame doesn't he, Trust His promise to restore, And there's things we can do too, Take steps to rebuild, Maybe we can do our part, With those broken relationships, Those fractured things, We can do our bit, Take some steps to rebuild, To reconcile, To re-engage, To re-commit, To communicate the gospel hope, With other souls, And pointing people to God's promise, Shalom, His promise, That we can be a part of helping others, Find God's shalom, That wholeness, That completeness, To encourage those, Others, That we can reach, Tell them, Joel's message, The ones who are broken, So lay hold, Brother, Sister, Of God's promise, Restoration, He promises it, And so, The book of Joel then, Goes on thirdly, Like the third theme of the book,

[25:38] You could say, To, The day of the Lord, So more specifically, The day of the Lord, And the future blessings, To come, And the coming day of the Lord, Is a time both of judgment, And a blessing, For those who have caught upon the name of the Lord, It's a day of deliverance, And joy, Yet for those who have rejected God's grace, It's a day of terror, And of judgment, But there's a promise here, Of a glorious outpouring, We see that in Joel 2, 28, And it shall come to pass, Afterward, That I will pour out my spirit, Upon all flesh, And your sons and your daughters, Shall prophesy, Your old man shall dream dreams, Your young man shall see visions, And also upon the servants, And upon the handmaids in those days, Will I pour out my spirit, Now the word pour out here, It tells of an abundant, Overflowing measure, As was fulfilled in part, In Acts 2, At Pentecost, And it points further,

[26:40] To the future, Messianic age, Notice there it says, Afterward, It says afterward, Which also suggests, The time following, The immediate context of judgment, And restoration, In Joel's narrative, Particularly after God's promised, Renewal of the land, There's a further outpouring, So there's a Pentecost outpouring, And then afterward, After this time of judgment, There's a restoration, There's a truth here, That God by his spirit, Empowers his people, And that's for us today, God equips all believers, Spiritually, For ministry, And life today, We're not talking about, The charismatic excesses, That get it all wrong, And skew with, And take things, Out of context, And make claims, That are not true, But there is the reality, Of the pouring out, Of God's spirit, That you as a believer, You've got access, To God's guidance, His strength, And his truth, Through the spirit of God, And thank God, We can know, God's poured out spirit, His poured out blessing,

[27:41] That empowers us, Equips us as believers, For service, And for witness, And it tells us there, And it shall come to pass, That whosoever shall call on, The name of the Lord, Shall be delivered, What a promise here, And of course we know it, In Romans 10, 13, As we might, Touch on in the, Romans road, Approach of witnessing, Whosoever shall call, On the name of the Lord, Shall be delivered, Or shall be saved, Don't you just love that word, Whosoever, And the word call, Here it implies, An earnest cry, For salvation, The day of the Lord, Is also a day, That will bring judgment, And it tells us that, God will show wonders, In the heavens, And the earth, Blood and fire, Pillars of smoke,

[28:42] We see judgment here, Verse 31, The sun shall be turned, Into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the great, And terrible day, Of the Lord, Come, Think of it, The wonders in the heaven, And in the earth, The cosmic signs, It corresponds with, Revelation 6, Matthew 24, Pointing to events, Immediately before Christ's return, The apocalyptic imagery, It points us to the tribulation, And Christ's return, And then in chapter 3, Joel describes the coming, Final judgment, In the valley of Jehoshaphat, Now, Shaphat means to judge, This is the valley of judgment, The valley of Jehoshaphat, Where God gathers the nations, For judgment, For their treatment, Of Israel, We see that in Joel 3, Verse 2, God says, I will also gather, All the nations, And will bring them down, Into the valley, Of Jehoshaphat, And will plead with them there, For my people, And for my heritage, Israel, Whom they have scattered,

[29:43] Among the nations, And parted my land, So here, This context here, It's associated with the battle, Of Armageddon, When Christ returns, To defeat, The gathered armies of the world, You see that there, In Revelation 19, We see this context, Of great conflict, And chapter 3, Verse 9 of Joel, It says, Prepare war, Wake up the mighty man, Now I hope some mighty men, Are going to wake up, Saturday morning, And come to the men's breakfast, Now prepare war, Wake up the mighty men, And you know, We need the men of God, To rise up don't we, Prepare war, There's a lot of talk, About war right now, A lot of talk about war right now, Of course we know, We're not quite there yet, But it's almost, Leading up isn't it, We see, Things are falling into place, We see the ramping up, The ramping up, Prepare war, We've got to get ready, Soldiers of Christ, Soldiers of Christ arise, And we see in Joel 3 verse 13,

[30:44] It says the harvest is ripe, Uses this imagery, Of a harvest, Of a wine press, A light to Revelation 14, Depicting God's final reckoning, And what are we to do, With all of these things, Brother, Sister, Sound an alarm, Sound an alarm, Prepare war, Rise up, Wake up, Wake up the mighty man, And the context here, Is urging us, To the urgency, Of decision, Think of it, In the light of all of these truths, That you've heard here today, Are you going to take it seriously, Your faith, Joel says, Chapter 3, 14, Multitudes, Multitudes, In the valley, Of decision, For the day of the Lord, Is near, Surely the day of the Lord,

[31:45] Is nearer now, Than it was then, The day of the Lord, Doesn't it demand for us, A decision, A readiness, Will you flee to Christ, Before the day of the Lord, And know him, As your Lord and saviour, People stand at a crossroads, In the valley, Of decision, Which way are you going to go, In this valley, Judgment is coming, Brother, Sister, In all of this time, God's people can yet know, A sure, And certain hope, It tells us there, Joel 3, 16, The Lord also shall roar, Out of Zion, And utter his voice, From Jerusalem, And the heavens, And the earth, Shall shake, But the Lord will be the hope, Of his people, And the strength, Of the children, Of Israel, Don't you just love this one, The Lord will be the hope, Of his people, Amen, Do you have that hope, That glad hope, That living hope, That Jesus is the hope,

[32:45] Of his people, You can know the sure hope, In Christ, And chapter 3, 17, It says, So shall you know, That I am the Lord, Your God, Do you know him, Is he your God, Are you still in that, Valley of decision, Oh I am still making up my mind, Pretty quick, The Lord shall roar, Out of Zion, And so the book closes, With this vision, Of eternal restoration, See that there, In Joel 3, Verse 20, To 21, But Judah shall dwell, Forever, And Jerusalem, From generation, To generation, For the Lord, Dwelleth, In Zion, Zion, And, After judgment, Blessing flows, From Jerusalem, He's coming back, Isn't he, Where's he coming back to, Jerusalem, To the Mount of Olives, Blessing's going to flow, From that holy city,

[33:47] God's presence, Will be our ultimate security, We can see, How this points, To the millennial kingdom, Where Christ will reign, From Jerusalem, Revelation 20, The reality, The reality of the day of the Lord, Is, A comfort, For us that are saved, To live with eternity, In view, And to share the gospel, Urgently, In a world headed for judgment, Think of it, We're talking about forever, Forever stuff here, And our brother Neil touched on it, Don't we, Our little time span, Of our life, Is, Our little time span, Of this little dust, Of this life, That we live, Whether it be a long life, As the world would reckon it, But eternity, Forever, Forever, The reality of the day of the Lord, Urges us to live with eternity, In view, Are you ready, Are you still in the valley, Of decision, We ought to share the gospel, With our world, Shouldn't we,

[34:48] And the locust plague, The day of the Lord, It warns us, It's a trumpet blast, It's a call to awaken, To warn us of sin, Of its consequences, May the Lord examine our hearts, For areas of compromise, Christ is coming, And every day brings, His returning, Closer, We're closer today, Than we were yesterday, You know I can say that, As a definite, Alright, I can say all kinds of things, That are not definite, But I can say for sure, That Jesus is coming, And his coming is closer today, Than it was yesterday, Alright, And, We don't know how long, How many more days, Have we got, To examine our hearts, We have need, Of preparedness, Don't we, In the light, Of these truths, Are we living ready, For Christ's returning, Are we making choices, Based on an eternal perspective, Can we live as watchmen,

[35:50] Faithful, Warning the lost, Living right, The outpouring of his spirit, Enables us, Equips us, Believers, For service, May we yield, To his leading daily, And, Job's prophecy, Reminds us, To rely upon the Holy Spirit, For that boldness, That we need, And God's promise, Gives us an eternal, Unshakeable hope, As we see, The increasing moral decay, We see the signs, Of the end times, Okay, We don't see the stars falling, And such, We don't see some of those, Heavy signs, Of the actual day of the Lord, But we see, Glimpses of, What will lead to, Those times, And, Can we be ready, Are we living ready, In the light, Of our Lord's returning, And, We can know, An unshakable hope, We can know, God's grace avails, Hey, I'm broken, I'm backslidden, I am the restorer, He says to you,

[36:51] He can restore our joy, The joy of our salvation, He can restore, Our life, Our spiritual life, If we've slipped, God's grace is greater, And God can redeem, What the locusts have eaten, So we can find hope, And, Even in the struggles we have, With guilt, Or failure, Or brokenness, The promise is, The Lord dwelleth, In Zion, There's an eternal fellowship, This is forever, The Lord dwelleth in Zion, There's an eternal fellowship, With our Lord, An ultimate security, Amidst all the chaos, Of at times, This chaotic world, And Joel calls us, He says, Blow the trumpet, In Zion, A call to repent, To pray, To render hearts, To have that humility, That dependence upon our Lord, And Joel gives a command too, Tell your children of it, Let your children, Tell their children, And their children, Another generation, There's a duty here,

[37:51] For parents, Mums and dads, Pass down that biblical truth, To the next generation, By God's grace, They'll pass it on too, Amen, Teach your children, The fear of the Lord, The reality of judgment, The hope, Of salvation, Are there locusts, Eating away, Munch, Munch, Crunch, Crunch, Are we living carelessly, Spiritually, Or are we walking, In the power of the Holy Spirit, Examine your life, Other locusts, Sins, Distractions, Devouring your fruitfulness, For your saviour, May we repent, And seek restoration, And live with urgency, The promise, Is, That whosoever, Shall call, On the name of the Lord, Shall be, Delivered, All you've got to do, Is make that call, That's all you've got to do, There's deliverance for you, It's our gospel mandate too, This is our message, And may we catch the urgency of it,

[38:53] Sound an alarm, Hey, This is a wake up call, The day of the Lord is near, Get the urgency of it, May we prepare our hearts, For the Lord's returning, To be ready, To be alert, May we share Christ, With its lost world, Knowing that time is short, May the Lord convict us of sin, And lead us to rend, Not our clothes, Don't tell your shirt, Tell your heart, Let your heart be open, For the spirit of God, To do that work, On the inside of you, Amen, Don't tell your shirt, Tell your heart, That God would do that, Heavenly work, That God would render hearts, And fill us with his spirit, May we rely upon the spirit, That his spirit will give us, The boldness, To be fruitful, And effective, The book of Joel, It's a trumpet blast, It reveals the devastation of sin, The urgency, Of repentance, The glory of God's restoration, If we'll but trust him, And make that call, And it's a timeless call,

[39:54] Of repentance, Of restoration, Of readiness, Like Judah, We face locusts, In our lives, Sometimes those locusts, Might be munching away, We don't even realise it, Could it be, Those things, We need to get right, With God, Spiritual apathy, Oh, I'm not where I was, I need to get back, He can restore, And we can face locusts, Those things that, We need to yield to the Lord, And seek his forgiveness, Trust his restoration, If you feel broken, By past failures, Those lost years, Hey, Don't worry about that, He's going to restore the years, That the locusts have eaten, The wasted years, What the locusts have eaten, In our lives, Our families, Our hearts, And God can restore, What sin and sorrow, Or Satan has stolen,

[40:55] No one is too far gone, The years that the locusts have eaten, Don't get caught up with that, In the valley of decision, Say I'm going to follow the Lord, He's going to restore, What the locusts have eaten, Okay, Revival begins with repentance, And he can restore, Spiritual fruitfulness, Joy and purpose, Rend your hearts, And trust his grace, To be a people living ready, For the day of your Lord, And may we as God's people, Head, Head that trumpet blast, And return to God, With all of our hearts, To live in the power, Of the Holy Spirit, These are, Desperate days, The day of the Lord is, Days away, Who knows, May we live in the power, Of his spirit, And the promise here, For all of us today, Is if we will call, On the name of the Lord, We can be delivered,

[41:56] Whew, Phew, All of those things, Of the great day of the Lord, We're going to be delivered, We're going to be taken out, Taken up, If you call on the name of the Lord, You shall be delivered, And that's still true for you today, Think of it, God promises restoration, In the book it talks about, The vines and the fig trees, Are going to bear fruit again, Jerusalem will dwell safely, There'll be, No more enemies, No more war, Wouldn't that be something, Turn on the news, And no more war, Wouldn't that be something, One day, One day, And God will dwell, In Zion, Forever, Forever, And we can trust, That the Lord dwelleth in Zion, It symbolises, His eternal, Presence with his people, He is present, God dwells in Zion, What's more, He dwells in the heart, By faith, Doesn't he, If you trusted Christ, If you're caught on the name, Of the Lord, It says that, Christ dwells in your hearts, By faith, God dwells,

[42:58] In Zion, And, We have his eternal presence, With his people, And by faith, We can know, His shalom, And look forward, To his return, As a prepared people, Let us pray, Our Lord God, We thank you that, This, Tiny book, This so-called, Minor prophet, Is, Full of some major things, As we think of, Our days, Of this time, That we live, And we see Lord, The escalating signs, Of, The Middle East, The, Trouble, That's brewing, Of war, Rumors, Of war, Lord we thank, Are we ready, Lord we pray, Each one might be, As it were, As in the valley, Of decision, We'll say, I trust Christ, I call on the name, Of the Lord, Lord we pray, That each one might have,

[43:58] That heart's trust, To know, The saviour has paid, For our very sin, And, Extends grace, To whosoever will, Call, Upon his name, Lord we thank you, For that great promise, That you will dwell, With your people, And there is a gladness, That we will praise, The name, Of the Lord, We thank you for these things, In Jesus name, Amen, Praise God, Amen, Thank you.