WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.879 Well, good morning, church. It's good to be here with you in person and online. 00:00:06.700 --> 00:00:11.300 Before we jump into our sermon text, let me just say at the start, thank you for your prayers 00:00:11.300 --> 00:00:15.540 for me and Beth and the kids as we were on sabbatical this summer. 00:00:16.620 --> 00:00:22.039 You know, we often see in the Gospels how Jesus would pull away during his earthly ministry to 00:00:22.039 --> 00:00:29.480 rest and to pray and then to re-enter into that ministry. So we are very thankful that we had 00:00:29.480 --> 00:00:36.039 the time to do just that this summer, to pull back, to rest, to pray. So we're feeling refreshed by that 00:00:36.039 --> 00:00:41.159 time and we're grateful for it. And this morning, it's good to see you all again. It's good to be back. 00:00:43.659 --> 00:00:48.600 So now I'm excited to open up the Bible this morning and for us to hear God's word together. 00:00:48.840 --> 00:00:56.120 So would you turn with me to the prophet Joel? We're starting a new sermon series today 00:00:56.119 --> 00:01:04.620 in the book of Joel. Joel is a small book toward the end of the Old Testament canon in the section 00:01:04.620 --> 00:01:11.219 of the Bible called the Minor Prophets. Now they're called minor not because they're less important, 00:01:11.640 --> 00:01:18.219 but just because they're shorter in length than, say, Isaiah or Jeremiah or Ezekiel. And there are 00:01:18.219 --> 00:01:25.000 12 of these books in the collection of the Minor Prophets. Joel is the second one right after Hosea. 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:30.280 That's where we're going to be for the next five weeks as we kick off this new sermon series, 00:01:30.340 --> 00:01:37.180 as we begin another fall semester together. Now one of the unique things about the book of Joel 00:01:37.180 --> 00:01:46.079 is that he doesn't give us any direct information about when in Israel's history he was preaching and 00:01:46.079 --> 00:01:53.560 writing. But as we'll see, that doesn't create any major difficulties for understanding and applying 00:01:53.560 --> 00:02:00.359 the book today. Joel's message, as we'll see, is timeless and it's, in a striking way, particularly 00:02:00.359 --> 00:02:08.099 relevant, I think, for our situation right now. So let me pray and then I'll read Joel chapter one 00:02:08.099 --> 00:02:12.759 and then we'll unpack what Joel has to say to us. So let's pray together. 00:02:12.759 --> 00:02:25.620 Our Father in heaven, we are grateful for the fact that you choose not to remain unknown and far off, 00:02:26.060 --> 00:02:33.180 but you have chosen to reveal yourself to us. God, what good news it is that you, the source of life 00:02:33.180 --> 00:02:39.579 and our ultimate happiness, God, what good news it is that you've chosen to make yourself known. 00:02:39.580 --> 00:02:46.360 And thank you for sending your spirit that we might know you. And thank you most of all for 00:02:46.360 --> 00:02:52.800 sending Jesus so that we can know exactly what you're like in him and through him and united to 00:02:52.800 --> 00:02:58.120 him. So help us now as we come to your written word. Help us to understand what your spirit is 00:02:58.120 --> 00:03:03.439 saying to us that we might know you better, trust you more deeply and love you more fully, we pray. 00:03:03.439 --> 00:03:11.819 In Christ's name, amen. So let me begin by reading the first 12 verses of Joel chapter one. 00:03:14.539 --> 00:03:19.439 Joel chapter one, the word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel. 00:03:20.939 --> 00:03:29.060 Hear this, you elders, give ear all inhabitants of the land. Has such a thing happened in your days 00:03:29.060 --> 00:03:36.759 or in the days of your fathers? Tell your children of it and let your children tell their children and 00:03:36.759 --> 00:03:43.900 their children to another generation. What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. 00:03:44.740 --> 00:03:50.300 What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten. What the hopping locust left, 00:03:50.300 --> 00:04:00.040 the destroying locust has eaten. Awake, you drunkards and weep and wail all you drinkers of wine because 00:04:00.040 --> 00:04:06.460 of the sweet wine for it is cut off from your mouth. For a nation has come up against my land, 00:04:06.580 --> 00:04:11.400 powerful and beyond number. Its teeth are lion's teeth and it has the fangs of a lioness. 00:04:12.060 --> 00:04:17.720 It has laid waste my vine and splintered my fig tree. It has stripped off their bark and thrown it 00:04:17.720 --> 00:04:23.480 down, their branches are made white. Lament like a virgin wearing sackcloth for the bridegroom of her youth. 00:04:24.100 --> 00:04:27.140 The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off from the house of the Lord. 00:04:27.640 --> 00:04:34.100 The priests mourn, the ministers of the Lord. The fields are destroyed, the ground mourns 00:04:34.100 --> 00:04:40.040 because the grain is destroyed, the wine dries up, the oil languishes. 00:04:41.540 --> 00:04:46.560 Be ashamed, O tillers of the soil, wail, O vine dressers, for the wheat and the barley, 00:04:46.560 --> 00:04:52.319 because the harvest of the field is perished. The vine dries up, the fig tree languishes, 00:04:52.959 --> 00:04:59.120 pomegranate, palm and apple, all the trees of the field are dried up and gladness dries up 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:00.840 from the children of man. 00:05:03.939 --> 00:05:08.100 Well, one of the big questions facing the church today, facing everybody today, 00:05:08.100 --> 00:05:16.680 is how do we deal with unprecedented loss? How do we deal with loss? 00:05:18.680 --> 00:05:22.900 Of course, dealing with loss has always been a problem for us, hasn't it? 00:05:23.860 --> 00:05:31.640 The economy takes a turn and we lose a job. A marriage falls on hard times and we lose a spouse. 00:05:31.639 --> 00:05:39.120 Loss. Sickness comes unexpected and we lose a child. We say something careless and we lose our reputation. 00:05:39.699 --> 00:05:45.659 Loss has always been a human problem and a searching and a challenging problem. 00:05:45.660 --> 00:05:52.560 But it feels particularly poignant today, doesn't it? As the pandemic grinds on. 00:05:53.300 --> 00:05:56.200 Just in the last few months, think of all that's been lost. 00:05:56.900 --> 00:06:00.980 Lives have been lost still. Jobs continue to be lost. 00:06:02.260 --> 00:06:06.480 The ease of just connecting with another person goes on being lost. 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:11.379 Even milestones, in a sense, have been lost. 00:06:11.500 --> 00:06:16.600 Think about graduations earlier in the summer, weddings, birth celebrations. 00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:22.300 All these have been significantly and unchangeably altered by the pandemic. 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:28.060 What do we do in the face of all this loss? 00:06:28.540 --> 00:06:30.660 How do we deal with it? How do we handle it? 00:06:33.379 --> 00:06:35.460 Well, that's what Joel chapter 1 is about. 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:44.060 Joel's message comes in the midst of a devastating crisis of unprecedented loss. 00:06:45.240 --> 00:06:51.280 Verse 4 describes a locust invasion where not just one or two or three, 00:06:51.420 --> 00:06:57.340 but four waves come through the land of just grinding desolation. 00:06:58.640 --> 00:07:04.140 Even today, you know, locust swarms in some parts of the world can still cause massive destruction. 00:07:04.139 --> 00:07:07.379 But imagine in the ancient world. 00:07:07.620 --> 00:07:09.879 Imagine the ancient world, a world with no pesticides, 00:07:10.539 --> 00:07:15.399 in an economy, a whole society, completely dependent on agriculture. 00:07:17.000 --> 00:07:23.120 And you have a situation where a tiny little bug can bring a whole world to its knees. 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:31.780 One tiny organism bringing a whole world to its knees in desolation and loss. 00:07:33.340 --> 00:07:35.600 Well, that sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it? 00:07:35.600 --> 00:07:43.180 So what is God's word to us when we experience this sort of loss? 00:07:44.780 --> 00:07:48.020 Well, there are two things God will say through Joel here in chapter 1. 00:07:48.520 --> 00:07:51.900 And the first thing is found in the first 12 verses that we just read. 00:07:53.040 --> 00:07:54.180 And Joel says here, 00:07:54.180 --> 00:08:04.920 Look at verse 2 again. 00:08:05.620 --> 00:08:05.939 Joel says, 00:08:05.939 --> 00:08:07.439 Hear this, you elders. 00:08:07.819 --> 00:08:09.660 Give ear, all inhabitants of the land. 00:08:10.120 --> 00:08:10.759 Verse 5, he says, 00:08:10.939 --> 00:08:12.319 Wake up, drunkards. 00:08:13.519 --> 00:08:15.040 Joel will go on to say in these 12 verses, 00:08:15.220 --> 00:08:15.600 Lament. 00:08:15.980 --> 00:08:16.540 Be ashamed. 00:08:16.740 --> 00:08:17.379 Pay attention. 00:08:17.780 --> 00:08:18.699 Tell it to your children. 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:21.639 Don't deny what's happening right before your faces. 00:08:22.060 --> 00:08:22.860 Acknowledge it. 00:08:24.180 --> 00:08:31.519 On the one hand, acknowledge how wide the loss is. 00:08:32.860 --> 00:08:35.519 Notice the different groups of people that Joel mentions in these verses. 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:37.740 He mentions elders and children. 00:08:39.100 --> 00:08:41.879 And then he mentions drunkards and priests. 00:08:42.860 --> 00:08:45.539 And he mentions priests and he mentions farmers. 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:48.740 In other words, Joel's saying, 00:08:49.220 --> 00:08:50.659 Young and old. 00:08:51.440 --> 00:08:52.980 Religious and irreligious. 00:08:52.980 --> 00:08:56.060 The professional class and the working class. 00:08:56.180 --> 00:08:59.899 In other words, everybody is impacted by this loss. 00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:04.980 We need to acknowledge how wide the loss is. 00:09:04.980 --> 00:09:10.240 And at the same time, we need to acknowledge how deep the loss is. 00:09:11.420 --> 00:09:15.560 Joel just piles up the language of loss in this section, doesn't he? 00:09:16.019 --> 00:09:17.960 Verse 4, he talks about things being eaten. 00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:21.279 In verse 7, things are laid waste. 00:09:21.379 --> 00:09:22.300 They're stripped bare. 00:09:23.100 --> 00:09:24.639 In verse 10, they're destroyed. 00:09:24.820 --> 00:09:26.480 In verse 12, they're dried up. 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:31.420 And notice how deep the loss goes. 00:09:31.420 --> 00:09:35.700 It's, you know, it's not just sort of a social inconvenience, right? 00:09:35.820 --> 00:09:38.820 As the drunkards and the party goers have no more wine to drink. 00:09:38.879 --> 00:09:40.000 Well, that's kind of inconvenient. 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:42.580 It's not just that. 00:09:42.580 --> 00:09:45.600 And it's not just an economic loss. 00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:50.100 As the farmers have seemingly lost every crop that they could have harvested. 00:09:50.100 --> 00:09:54.060 But it's not just an economic loss. 00:09:54.259 --> 00:09:57.060 It's, it's, it's, and it's not just an ecological loss. 00:09:57.139 --> 00:10:01.600 You know, the ground here, Joel says, is just mourning and languishing. 00:10:04.519 --> 00:10:05.560 It's not just social. 00:10:05.740 --> 00:10:06.600 It's not just economic. 00:10:06.800 --> 00:10:07.700 It's not just ecological. 00:10:08.120 --> 00:10:11.240 It's also even, Joel says, with a lot of insight. 00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:12.580 It's a spiritual loss. 00:10:12.580 --> 00:10:14.920 There's a spiritual loss happening. 00:10:15.580 --> 00:10:18.759 Verse 9, the regular offerings of the temple are cut off. 00:10:19.980 --> 00:10:27.620 That kind of regular fellowship with God that the people were meant to have through the practices of the temple are being shut down. 00:10:29.060 --> 00:10:30.639 Because of what they've experienced. 00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:36.620 So Joel says, acknowledge in the face of loss. 00:10:36.780 --> 00:10:39.300 Acknowledge how wide it is and acknowledge how deep it is. 00:10:39.720 --> 00:10:40.520 Don't deny it. 00:10:42.580 --> 00:10:49.080 But why is it so important that we don't live in denial, but we acknowledge our losses? 00:10:51.280 --> 00:10:53.259 Now, there are lots of things we could say, maybe. 00:10:54.740 --> 00:10:59.720 Living in denial, of course, creates all sorts of emotional and social problems and exacerbates them. 00:11:00.220 --> 00:11:01.879 No one wants to live in denial, right? 00:11:03.960 --> 00:11:06.740 But I think perhaps the most important thing we could say is this. 00:11:07.860 --> 00:11:11.520 If we live in denial of what's happening before us, 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:19.019 we remain closed off from what God is doing in the midst of the loss. 00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:25.220 If we don't wake up and acknowledge what's happening, 00:11:25.480 --> 00:11:28.840 we are missing what God is doing right in our midst. 00:11:28.919 --> 00:11:33.220 If we shut it down and push it away, we're also pushing away the work of God. 00:11:33.220 --> 00:11:39.879 You see, friends, the reality is the sovereignty of God doesn't end where our losses begin. 00:11:40.980 --> 00:11:45.560 Even in loss, God is sovereign and God is working out his purposes. 00:11:45.740 --> 00:11:50.360 But if we deny the loss, if we turn away from it, if we try to stuff it or ignore it, 00:11:50.440 --> 00:11:54.560 or what most of us are trying to do today, if we try to just entertain ourselves through it, 00:11:54.559 --> 00:11:58.639 watching whatever happens to be streaming, 00:11:59.439 --> 00:12:03.519 if we just try to entertain ourselves until it goes away, 00:12:03.579 --> 00:12:06.539 we're going to miss what God is doing in the midst of it 00:12:06.539 --> 00:12:09.079 and the change he's bringing about. 00:12:09.080 --> 00:12:17.879 Now that, of course, is a very vulnerable thing to do, isn't it? 00:12:19.100 --> 00:12:20.100 Acknowledging our loss. 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:25.920 Because when we acknowledge our loss, when we stop denying it and we start acknowledging it, 00:12:27.379 --> 00:12:33.000 that's very vulnerable because we have to admit at that moment that we're not in control. 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:40.340 And we have to admit that we're not as strong and we're not as self-sufficient as we imagine ourselves to be. 00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:44.480 We have to confess that we're weak and that we're needy. 00:12:45.159 --> 00:12:48.600 And that is all very, very hard for us to do. 00:12:51.860 --> 00:12:57.840 But you see, friends, there, in that very place, Jesus reminds us, 00:12:57.840 --> 00:13:04.840 in that place of weakness and vulnerability, that's where the kingdom of God starts to break through. 00:13:06.560 --> 00:13:12.019 Blessed are the poor in spirit, Jesus said, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:21.080 So we must not deny, but we must acknowledge our losses. 00:13:22.160 --> 00:13:24.300 That's the first point here in chapter one. 00:13:24.299 --> 00:13:28.379 But you know, here another danger starts to present itself, doesn't it? 00:13:29.139 --> 00:13:33.479 Having overcome our denial, having acknowledged how wide and how deep our losses are, 00:13:33.740 --> 00:13:39.399 we may slip from denial only to go headlong into despair. 00:13:41.500 --> 00:13:50.139 Seeing all that we've lost, we can lose ourselves in hopelessness, in self-pity, in feelings that all is lost. 00:13:50.139 --> 00:13:54.379 Having turned away from denial, we end up headlong into despair. 00:13:55.960 --> 00:13:57.860 And what does God say to us at that point? 00:14:00.539 --> 00:14:02.840 Well, the rest of Joel chapter one tells us. 00:14:04.199 --> 00:14:14.000 He says, in the face of loss, we must not despair, but rather, we must lament. 00:14:15.580 --> 00:14:15.939 Lament. 00:14:15.940 --> 00:14:21.380 Now, maybe that's a little counterintuitive, what you thought I was going to say. 00:14:22.580 --> 00:14:25.880 Maybe you thought Joel would say, have hope, people of God, it's going to be okay. 00:14:26.020 --> 00:14:32.280 But actually, the first thing Joel tells them to do is to engage in the practice of lament. 00:14:34.040 --> 00:14:36.000 Look at verses 13 and 14 with me. 00:14:36.160 --> 00:14:37.520 We'll pick up where we left off. 00:14:38.460 --> 00:14:39.000 Verse 13. 00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:40.299 Put on sackcloth. 00:14:40.899 --> 00:14:42.759 Those were clothes for mourning. 00:14:44.039 --> 00:14:46.159 Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests. 00:14:46.899 --> 00:14:48.120 Wail, O ministers of the altar. 00:14:48.779 --> 00:14:51.639 Go in, pass the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God. 00:14:52.440 --> 00:14:55.659 Because grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God. 00:14:56.779 --> 00:14:57.779 Consecrate a fast. 00:14:58.419 --> 00:14:59.720 Call a solemn assembly. 00:15:00.340 --> 00:15:04.100 Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God. 00:15:04.100 --> 00:15:06.460 And cry out to the Lord. 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:17.340 Now, one way to think about this practice of lamenting is that it's the act of grieving in a direction. 00:15:18.539 --> 00:15:20.740 Of grieving in a direction. 00:15:21.500 --> 00:15:26.299 It's bundling up all our losses, all our pains, all our discouragements, all our disappointments, 00:15:26.419 --> 00:15:30.159 and taking them honestly, without reserve, to God. 00:15:30.340 --> 00:15:32.200 It's grieving in a direction. 00:15:32.200 --> 00:15:39.900 And it's the psalmist who paved the way for God's people to pray prayers of lament. 00:15:42.100 --> 00:15:44.220 Think about Psalm 10, verse 1. 00:15:44.340 --> 00:15:47.060 Why, Lord, do you stand far off? 00:15:47.340 --> 00:15:49.400 Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? 00:15:52.100 --> 00:15:53.820 Or think about Psalm 13, verse 1. 00:15:53.879 --> 00:15:54.900 How long, Lord? 00:15:55.500 --> 00:15:56.940 Will you forget me forever? 00:15:56.940 --> 00:15:59.720 How long will you hide your face from me? 00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:03.480 Or Psalm 6, verse 3. 00:16:03.580 --> 00:16:05.220 My soul is in deep anguish. 00:16:05.280 --> 00:16:06.300 How long, O Lord? 00:16:06.380 --> 00:16:07.600 How long? 00:16:09.800 --> 00:16:14.980 Now, I think we have to admit that we are not accustomed to this sort of praying, right? 00:16:16.640 --> 00:16:19.020 If one of the elders were to get up in the middle of the service and say, 00:16:19.100 --> 00:16:21.180 God, why do you keep forgetting us? 00:16:21.939 --> 00:16:24.399 You've turned your face away and we're alone down here. 00:16:24.459 --> 00:16:25.279 You would think, whoa. 00:16:26.099 --> 00:16:28.779 I don't know if he's qualified for the office of the elder. 00:16:30.219 --> 00:16:32.359 That can feel kind of improper, can't it? 00:16:32.379 --> 00:16:33.799 To get up and pray a prayer like that. 00:16:33.819 --> 00:16:35.179 It can feel a little disrespectful. 00:16:37.059 --> 00:16:38.059 Where are you, God? 00:16:38.120 --> 00:16:39.120 Why aren't you answering? 00:16:39.719 --> 00:16:41.379 Don't you see how bad it is down here? 00:16:43.759 --> 00:16:44.459 And yet, 00:16:44.939 --> 00:16:49.259 that is where laments in the Bible begin. 00:16:49.259 --> 00:16:56.439 With the raw honesty of grief and loss taken straight to God. 00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:05.339 And I want to point out three things about lament that we see here in the second half of Joel 1. 00:17:07.720 --> 00:17:10.420 First, we see that it happens in gathered worship. 00:17:11.819 --> 00:17:16.759 In the verses we just read, God doesn't tell the priests to lament by themselves only. 00:17:16.759 --> 00:17:21.180 He tells them to consecrate a fast and call a solemn assembly. 00:17:22.259 --> 00:17:27.839 He says, make a holiday, get everybody out of work, bring them all to the temple, 00:17:28.039 --> 00:17:31.400 and then we're going to lament together as one. 00:17:32.460 --> 00:17:38.059 The house of God is going to become the location where the people cry out to the Lord in lament. 00:17:38.059 --> 00:17:45.940 And so it should be for us today. 00:17:47.639 --> 00:17:52.779 Church gatherings are not only a place to express joy, but also sadness. 00:17:55.700 --> 00:18:00.059 Church gatherings are a place and a time not just to celebrate successes, but to mourn losses. 00:18:00.859 --> 00:18:04.659 Church gatherings are a place and a time not only where we rejoice with those who rejoice, 00:18:04.660 --> 00:18:06.279 but where we weep with those who weep. 00:18:09.420 --> 00:18:14.240 And historically, we've not been very good at this as the church. 00:18:18.519 --> 00:18:23.600 You know, we think we have to put on a happy face and lead happy services with a happy message 00:18:23.600 --> 00:18:24.980 so everybody will leave happy. 00:18:24.980 --> 00:18:33.480 But that is not actually biblical spirituality and is not biblical worship only. 00:18:36.500 --> 00:18:40.579 In Romans 12, Paul says, offer your bodies as a living sacrifice to God. 00:18:40.660 --> 00:18:41.880 That's real genuine worship. 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:45.400 In other words, Paul says, you have to give everything to God. 00:18:45.779 --> 00:18:47.880 And that means your joys and your sorrows. 00:18:48.319 --> 00:18:50.440 And that means your triumphs and your failures. 00:18:50.440 --> 00:18:54.279 And that means your peace and your deep-seated sense of unrest. 00:18:56.120 --> 00:18:58.100 Everything goes on the altar before God. 00:18:58.200 --> 00:18:59.539 Your whole life. 00:18:59.660 --> 00:19:01.000 Your whole body. 00:19:01.720 --> 00:19:05.600 And in times of loss, that means we do what Joel says here. 00:19:05.680 --> 00:19:06.140 We lament. 00:19:06.140 --> 00:19:14.220 Now, initially, we might feel that lamenting, whether in private prayer or especially in public worship, 00:19:14.420 --> 00:19:18.180 is kind of offsetting or unsettling or sort of off-putting. 00:19:18.560 --> 00:19:21.120 Or maybe it even displays kind of a lack of faith in God. 00:19:21.120 --> 00:19:30.060 But the reality is, praying prayers of lament are actually liberating. 00:19:30.059 --> 00:19:41.259 Grieving in the direction of God means that we don't have to have all of the answers or the solutions. 00:19:42.399 --> 00:19:46.019 It means we don't have to have all of the inner strength to tough it out. 00:19:47.679 --> 00:19:54.220 When we pray prayers of lament together, we're actually liberating ourselves from trying to be our own saviors. 00:19:54.220 --> 00:20:04.200 Because if we're not grieving in the direction of God, we're going to try to figure it out ourselves or end up in despair. 00:20:04.200 --> 00:20:09.319 So when we pray prayers of lament and we liberate ourselves from trying to be our own saviors, 00:20:10.039 --> 00:20:13.259 we're liberating ourselves from what ultimately leads to despair in the first place. 00:20:13.259 --> 00:20:15.039 Because we can't save ourselves. 00:20:17.680 --> 00:20:19.240 And we can let God be God. 00:20:24.220 --> 00:20:28.120 And so to lament means to take all our griefs and all our losses to God with honesty, 00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:30.480 both in private prayer and in public worship. 00:20:31.059 --> 00:20:31.980 And together. 00:20:34.200 --> 00:20:35.440 That's point one about lament. 00:20:36.460 --> 00:20:38.440 But to lament also means something else. 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:39.700 It means another thing for Joel. 00:20:40.600 --> 00:20:46.600 To lament means to connect our losses to a bigger story. 00:20:48.039 --> 00:20:51.380 Lamenting means taking our losses to God, even together, 00:20:51.680 --> 00:20:53.880 but then connecting it to a bigger story. 00:20:54.220 --> 00:20:55.799 Look at verses 15 through 18. 00:20:56.079 --> 00:20:57.000 Let me read those for us. 00:20:57.740 --> 00:20:58.120 Joel says, 00:20:58.119 --> 00:21:27.139 Now at this point in Joel chapter 1, 00:21:27.140 --> 00:21:30.960 Joel's actually beginning to model for us what lament looks like. 00:21:31.140 --> 00:21:32.560 In the last couple verses he said, 00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:34.100 I want you all to do it together. 00:21:34.220 --> 00:21:36.380 Now he's kind of showing us a model of what it looks like. 00:21:36.520 --> 00:21:39.200 And notice in verses 16 through 18 of what I just read, 00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:40.759 we see what we already saw. 00:21:40.920 --> 00:21:47.640 That we're being led to an honest pouring out to God of all the losses that we've experienced. 00:21:47.640 --> 00:21:51.280 But look at verse 15. 00:21:51.279 --> 00:22:05.279 In other words, 00:22:05.279 --> 00:22:09.180 Joel sees in the present catastrophe, 00:22:09.279 --> 00:22:10.180 Joel sees in the present catastrophe, 00:22:10.180 --> 00:22:13.599 not just an agricultural or an economic crisis. 00:22:14.019 --> 00:22:18.559 And he sees not just a spiritual disruption of temple worship. 00:22:18.799 --> 00:22:20.660 He sees something even more. 00:22:21.819 --> 00:22:22.599 For Joel, 00:22:22.599 --> 00:22:25.079 this magnitude of the locust invasion, 00:22:25.240 --> 00:22:26.959 this unprecedented loss, 00:22:27.179 --> 00:22:28.339 is a reminder. 00:22:29.399 --> 00:22:30.859 It's sort of a beacon. 00:22:31.519 --> 00:22:36.159 It's even a foretaste of an even greater crisis to come. 00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:42.059 What Joel calls the day of the Lord in verse 15. 00:22:42.059 --> 00:22:48.279 Now the day of the Lord was a theme that developed throughout the prophets. 00:22:48.940 --> 00:22:52.279 And it took on multiple interconnected meanings. 00:22:53.440 --> 00:22:57.480 The day of the Lord could speak of the day when God would judge Israel's enemies. 00:22:58.539 --> 00:23:02.659 And the day of the Lord could also speak of the day when God would judge Israel's own sinfulness. 00:23:04.419 --> 00:23:05.259 But ultimately, 00:23:05.419 --> 00:23:07.859 the day of the Lord spoke of a day when God, 00:23:08.460 --> 00:23:09.679 the creator of all, 00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:15.180 would judge his creation with perfect justice once and for all. 00:23:17.799 --> 00:23:20.000 Every idol would be torn down. 00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:22.340 Every heart exposed. 00:23:23.539 --> 00:23:26.380 Every evil and every wrong made right. 00:23:30.340 --> 00:23:35.279 So when Joel says in the midst of his generation's unprecedented loss 00:23:35.279 --> 00:23:37.279 that the day of the Lord is near, 00:23:37.279 --> 00:23:43.480 he's reminding the people that this experience of loss 00:23:43.480 --> 00:23:46.660 is part of a much larger story. 00:23:47.700 --> 00:23:49.960 The story of God, 00:23:50.480 --> 00:23:52.099 the creator of heaven and earth, 00:23:52.319 --> 00:23:56.299 who will one day judge this fallen world in perfect righteousness. 00:23:56.299 --> 00:23:59.639 Now in Joel chapter 2, 00:23:59.639 --> 00:24:00.359 next week, 00:24:00.700 --> 00:24:05.000 Joel's going to unpack the day of the Lord theme in terms of repentance. 00:24:05.659 --> 00:24:06.000 That is, 00:24:06.079 --> 00:24:07.220 in the face of loss, 00:24:07.460 --> 00:24:09.259 the people must turn from their sin 00:24:09.259 --> 00:24:11.639 and turn back to God and God's mercy. 00:24:12.259 --> 00:24:13.539 But here in chapter 1, 00:24:13.639 --> 00:24:16.279 Joel's focus isn't so much on repenting just yet, 00:24:16.379 --> 00:24:17.680 but it's on lamenting. 00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:21.220 And in that key, 00:24:21.580 --> 00:24:22.920 in the key of lament, 00:24:23.640 --> 00:24:25.180 to invoke the nearness, 00:24:25.380 --> 00:24:26.600 the sort of impendingness, 00:24:26.680 --> 00:24:28.700 the pressing in of the day of the Lord, 00:24:29.299 --> 00:24:34.380 is to be reminded that the whole story of humanity 00:24:34.380 --> 00:24:36.120 is a story of loss. 00:24:36.119 --> 00:24:42.919 When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, 00:24:43.919 --> 00:24:45.879 we lost our original glory. 00:24:48.359 --> 00:24:51.299 We lost our original fellowship with God. 00:24:52.239 --> 00:24:55.199 Creation lost its original harmony and peace. 00:24:57.579 --> 00:25:00.519 So our ongoing losses now 00:25:00.519 --> 00:25:03.959 connect us in a profound way 00:25:03.960 --> 00:25:07.140 to the deep story of God and his creation 00:25:07.140 --> 00:25:10.120 and to every other human being 00:25:10.120 --> 00:25:11.840 who also experiences loss. 00:25:15.319 --> 00:25:18.380 We find ourselves caught up 00:25:18.380 --> 00:25:20.500 in a much bigger story. 00:25:23.340 --> 00:25:24.960 And that means something important 00:25:24.960 --> 00:25:26.600 when it comes to the practice of lament. 00:25:28.200 --> 00:25:31.420 Our laments naturally and rightly begin with me, 00:25:31.579 --> 00:25:32.039 don't they? 00:25:32.180 --> 00:25:32.779 My losses. 00:25:33.960 --> 00:25:35.299 But when we connect them 00:25:35.299 --> 00:25:37.019 to the larger story of the Lord 00:25:37.019 --> 00:25:38.400 and the day of the Lord, 00:25:38.680 --> 00:25:40.440 those laments that begin with me 00:25:40.440 --> 00:25:43.480 become laments that expand out into we. 00:25:44.920 --> 00:25:45.559 Don't they? 00:25:46.960 --> 00:25:49.519 We stand before God in our loss. 00:25:51.380 --> 00:25:53.240 We stand with a humanity 00:25:53.240 --> 00:25:56.539 that is lost and lost and lost. 00:25:56.539 --> 00:25:58.279 And we stand with a creation 00:25:58.279 --> 00:26:00.620 that is groaning under loss. 00:26:00.619 --> 00:26:06.919 And that means we aren't alone 00:26:06.919 --> 00:26:09.159 before God in our grief. 00:26:10.839 --> 00:26:12.500 That means we stand together 00:26:12.500 --> 00:26:14.279 in desperate need of God. 00:26:16.679 --> 00:26:17.479 So you see, 00:26:17.619 --> 00:26:20.099 what the practice of lament does, 00:26:20.879 --> 00:26:24.359 because loss often so often 00:26:24.359 --> 00:26:26.079 makes us feel alone, 00:26:26.079 --> 00:26:28.419 when we lament, 00:26:28.859 --> 00:26:30.679 it actually brings us together 00:26:30.679 --> 00:26:32.279 so that we know that we're not alone. 00:26:37.480 --> 00:26:39.980 So lament connects us to the bigger story of God. 00:26:39.980 --> 00:26:43.779 And that not only connects us to one another, 00:26:44.420 --> 00:26:49.019 but that also opens the door for hope. 00:26:49.019 --> 00:26:52.819 The third and last thing we see 00:26:52.819 --> 00:26:53.680 in Joel's lament 00:26:53.680 --> 00:26:56.720 is a door beginning to open 00:26:56.720 --> 00:26:58.339 of hope. 00:26:58.839 --> 00:27:00.519 Look at verses 19 and 20. 00:27:00.519 --> 00:27:03.720 To you, O Lord, I call. 00:27:04.940 --> 00:27:05.980 For fire has devoured 00:27:05.980 --> 00:27:07.019 the pastures of the wilderness. 00:27:07.639 --> 00:27:08.339 Flame has burned 00:27:08.339 --> 00:27:09.420 all the trees of the field. 00:27:10.680 --> 00:27:12.180 Even the beasts of the field 00:27:12.180 --> 00:27:13.319 pant for you. 00:27:15.440 --> 00:27:17.200 Because the water brooks are dried up 00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:19.079 and fire has devoured 00:27:19.079 --> 00:27:20.139 the pastures of the wilderness. 00:27:22.079 --> 00:27:22.940 In these verses, 00:27:23.079 --> 00:27:24.519 as chapter one comes to an end, 00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:26.599 Joel himself 00:27:26.599 --> 00:27:28.059 prays to the Lord. 00:27:28.059 --> 00:27:31.539 And this prayer 00:27:31.539 --> 00:27:32.599 is coming from a place 00:27:32.599 --> 00:27:33.859 of having lost everything. 00:27:34.419 --> 00:27:34.940 Did you notice there? 00:27:35.279 --> 00:27:36.299 Pastures? Gone. 00:27:36.619 --> 00:27:37.639 Trees? Gone. 00:27:37.899 --> 00:27:38.819 Water? Gone. 00:27:38.980 --> 00:27:39.659 It's all burned. 00:27:39.960 --> 00:27:40.759 It's all dried up. 00:27:40.799 --> 00:27:41.519 And what does that mean? 00:27:42.539 --> 00:27:43.000 God 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:44.179 is now 00:27:44.179 --> 00:27:45.419 their only hope. 00:27:47.139 --> 00:27:47.799 In fact, 00:27:47.879 --> 00:27:48.679 all of creation 00:27:48.679 --> 00:27:49.759 is panting, isn't it? 00:27:50.839 --> 00:27:52.319 Even the beasts of the field 00:27:52.319 --> 00:27:53.480 pant for you 00:27:53.480 --> 00:27:55.480 or as Romans 8 would say, 00:27:55.559 --> 00:27:56.059 Paul would write, 00:27:56.339 --> 00:27:57.519 creation's groaning. 00:27:58.059 --> 00:27:58.919 For the Lord. 00:28:02.200 --> 00:28:02.879 But you see, 00:28:02.940 --> 00:28:04.119 if my story is connected 00:28:04.119 --> 00:28:05.559 to the story of creation 00:28:05.559 --> 00:28:06.539 and its losses, 00:28:06.859 --> 00:28:08.059 then it is also connected 00:28:08.059 --> 00:28:09.240 to the Lord's story 00:28:09.240 --> 00:28:10.059 of liberation 00:28:10.059 --> 00:28:11.700 from this bondage 00:28:11.700 --> 00:28:12.259 to decay. 00:28:15.379 --> 00:28:16.759 Why can Joel 00:28:16.759 --> 00:28:18.139 turn to God 00:28:18.139 --> 00:28:19.059 with such confidence 00:28:19.799 --> 00:28:20.980 in the midst of loss? 00:28:20.980 --> 00:28:28.019 because Joel knows 00:28:28.019 --> 00:28:28.940 that God 00:28:28.940 --> 00:28:29.819 keeps 00:28:29.819 --> 00:28:30.680 his promises. 00:28:34.120 --> 00:28:34.860 And friends, 00:28:34.920 --> 00:28:36.000 how much more today 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:37.039 do we know 00:28:37.039 --> 00:28:38.200 that to be true? 00:28:40.799 --> 00:28:41.860 From the perspective 00:28:41.860 --> 00:28:42.660 of the New Testament, 00:28:42.860 --> 00:28:43.420 we see 00:28:43.420 --> 00:28:45.120 that at the heart 00:28:45.120 --> 00:28:46.000 of the Bible 00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:47.700 is the story 00:28:47.700 --> 00:28:49.079 of the Creator God, 00:28:49.720 --> 00:28:51.440 the one true God 00:28:51.440 --> 00:28:52.140 who is willing 00:28:52.140 --> 00:28:53.819 to enter creation 00:28:53.819 --> 00:28:55.039 in the person of Jesus 00:28:55.039 --> 00:28:56.579 and to lose 00:28:56.579 --> 00:28:57.660 everything. 00:28:59.440 --> 00:29:00.740 Jesus is the one 00:29:00.740 --> 00:29:01.940 who's stripped bare. 00:29:02.140 --> 00:29:02.839 Jesus is the one 00:29:02.839 --> 00:29:04.099 who's cut off 00:29:04.099 --> 00:29:06.240 for us 00:29:06.240 --> 00:29:08.420 in our place. 00:29:08.420 --> 00:29:11.220 and at the heart 00:29:11.220 --> 00:29:11.740 of the cross, 00:29:11.800 --> 00:29:12.680 in that moment 00:29:12.680 --> 00:29:14.019 of being stripped bare 00:29:14.019 --> 00:29:15.360 and cut off, 00:29:15.960 --> 00:29:17.640 comes a cry 00:29:17.640 --> 00:29:18.440 and a prayer 00:29:18.440 --> 00:29:19.240 of lament. 00:29:20.039 --> 00:29:20.640 My God, 00:29:20.720 --> 00:29:21.200 my God, 00:29:21.279 --> 00:29:22.140 why have you 00:29:22.140 --> 00:29:23.019 forsaken me? 00:29:25.880 --> 00:29:27.060 And in that moment, 00:29:27.180 --> 00:29:28.060 Jesus' identification 00:29:28.060 --> 00:29:28.820 with us 00:29:28.820 --> 00:29:29.440 in our sin 00:29:29.440 --> 00:29:30.560 and in our loss 00:29:30.560 --> 00:29:31.800 couldn't be more 00:29:31.800 --> 00:29:33.259 profound or real. 00:29:34.160 --> 00:29:34.640 And Jesus' 00:29:34.860 --> 00:29:35.600 own lament 00:29:35.600 --> 00:29:36.440 on the cross, 00:29:36.759 --> 00:29:37.100 you know, 00:29:37.120 --> 00:29:38.200 it not only invites 00:29:38.200 --> 00:29:39.019 us to lament 00:29:39.019 --> 00:29:39.840 with Jesus, 00:29:40.019 --> 00:29:40.799 but it allows 00:29:40.799 --> 00:29:41.640 us to lament 00:29:41.640 --> 00:29:42.340 with hope 00:29:42.340 --> 00:29:43.559 and with trust, 00:29:43.740 --> 00:29:44.799 with the kind of trust 00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:45.380 that Joel has 00:29:45.380 --> 00:29:46.039 in verse 19 00:29:46.039 --> 00:29:46.480 when he says, 00:29:46.580 --> 00:29:46.880 to you, 00:29:46.980 --> 00:29:47.200 O Lord, 00:29:47.240 --> 00:29:47.640 I call. 00:29:48.940 --> 00:29:49.519 Because you see, 00:29:49.600 --> 00:29:49.759 friends, 00:29:49.819 --> 00:29:50.380 the gospel, 00:29:50.519 --> 00:29:51.160 the good news 00:29:51.160 --> 00:29:51.700 is this, 00:29:52.860 --> 00:29:53.700 that Jesus 00:29:53.700 --> 00:29:55.180 lost everything 00:29:55.180 --> 00:29:55.940 for us 00:29:55.940 --> 00:29:58.200 so that even 00:29:58.200 --> 00:29:58.740 if we lose 00:29:58.740 --> 00:29:59.120 everything, 00:29:59.259 --> 00:29:59.640 we'll never 00:29:59.640 --> 00:30:00.220 be lost. 00:30:03.580 --> 00:30:04.160 No matter 00:30:04.160 --> 00:30:04.680 how dark 00:30:04.680 --> 00:30:05.140 it gets, 00:30:05.380 --> 00:30:05.799 our Heavenly 00:30:05.799 --> 00:30:06.759 Father will not 00:30:06.759 --> 00:30:07.259 abandon 00:30:07.259 --> 00:30:07.900 His children. 00:30:08.200 --> 00:30:09.920 in Jesus, 00:30:10.299 --> 00:30:10.980 God has kept 00:30:10.980 --> 00:30:11.840 His promise 00:30:11.840 --> 00:30:12.660 to save. 00:30:13.480 --> 00:30:14.559 Christ lost 00:30:14.559 --> 00:30:15.000 it all 00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:15.980 to regain 00:30:15.980 --> 00:30:16.360 us 00:30:16.360 --> 00:30:18.059 and bring 00:30:18.059 --> 00:30:18.460 us home. 00:30:20.720 --> 00:30:22.180 And so now, 00:30:22.680 --> 00:30:23.279 in the midst 00:30:23.279 --> 00:30:23.880 of loss, 00:30:24.680 --> 00:30:25.500 rather than 00:30:25.500 --> 00:30:26.220 despair, 00:30:27.220 --> 00:30:28.860 we lament. 00:30:29.500 --> 00:30:30.360 We grieve 00:30:30.360 --> 00:30:30.980 in a direction. 00:30:31.720 --> 00:30:32.980 And we do that 00:30:32.980 --> 00:30:33.460 together. 00:30:33.460 --> 00:30:33.539 together. 00:30:34.120 --> 00:30:34.840 And we do that 00:30:34.840 --> 00:30:35.400 in line with 00:30:35.400 --> 00:30:36.240 God's story. 00:30:36.740 --> 00:30:37.500 And we do it 00:30:37.500 --> 00:30:38.279 with confidence, 00:30:38.460 --> 00:30:40.039 even with hope. 00:30:43.759 --> 00:30:44.500 Because ultimately, 00:30:44.640 --> 00:30:44.799 you see, 00:30:44.880 --> 00:30:45.600 Joel is a book 00:30:45.600 --> 00:30:46.240 not just about 00:30:46.240 --> 00:30:46.640 loss. 00:30:46.840 --> 00:30:47.579 Joel is also 00:30:47.579 --> 00:30:48.100 a book about 00:30:48.100 --> 00:30:48.400 hope. 00:30:50.539 --> 00:30:51.299 As we'll see 00:30:51.299 --> 00:30:51.779 as this book 00:30:51.779 --> 00:30:52.380 unfolds, 00:30:52.380 --> 00:30:53.180 it's about a God 00:30:53.180 --> 00:30:54.799 who can restore 00:30:54.799 --> 00:30:55.660 the years 00:30:55.660 --> 00:30:56.500 that the locusts 00:30:56.500 --> 00:30:56.860 have eaten. 00:30:57.700 --> 00:30:58.660 And it's about a God 00:30:58.660 --> 00:30:59.440 who will pour out 00:30:59.440 --> 00:31:00.019 His Spirit 00:31:00.019 --> 00:31:00.779 to restore 00:31:00.779 --> 00:31:01.740 our lost fellowship. 00:31:01.740 --> 00:31:02.839 And it's about a God 00:31:02.839 --> 00:31:03.620 who one day 00:31:03.620 --> 00:31:04.480 will put an end 00:31:04.480 --> 00:31:05.339 to evil and loss 00:31:05.339 --> 00:31:05.980 and He'll dwell 00:31:05.980 --> 00:31:06.660 with His people 00:31:06.660 --> 00:31:07.099 forever. 00:31:09.380 --> 00:31:09.960 That's where 00:31:09.960 --> 00:31:10.720 this book is headed. 00:31:12.640 --> 00:31:13.759 But in the meantime, 00:31:15.480 --> 00:31:16.400 Joel is telling us 00:31:16.400 --> 00:31:16.880 right now 00:31:16.880 --> 00:31:17.920 not to deny 00:31:17.920 --> 00:31:18.579 our losses 00:31:18.579 --> 00:31:19.440 but to acknowledge 00:31:19.440 --> 00:31:19.799 them. 00:31:20.660 --> 00:31:21.759 And not to despair 00:31:21.759 --> 00:31:22.319 in the midst 00:31:22.319 --> 00:31:22.940 of our losses 00:31:22.940 --> 00:31:23.960 but to lament 00:31:23.960 --> 00:31:24.259 them. 00:31:25.279 --> 00:31:25.920 And then, 00:31:26.740 --> 00:31:27.799 in God's timing, 00:31:28.839 --> 00:31:29.700 our losses 00:31:29.700 --> 00:31:30.880 will become 00:31:30.880 --> 00:31:31.640 the place 00:31:31.640 --> 00:31:32.680 where God's 00:31:32.680 --> 00:31:33.140 mercy 00:31:33.140 --> 00:31:34.080 and God's 00:31:34.080 --> 00:31:34.420 kingdom 00:31:34.420 --> 00:31:35.060 break through. 00:31:36.740 --> 00:31:37.400 Let's pray. 00:31:45.100 --> 00:31:45.540 Father, 00:31:45.620 --> 00:31:46.020 there's much 00:31:46.020 --> 00:31:46.440 to lament 00:31:46.440 --> 00:31:47.000 this morning. 00:31:51.280 --> 00:31:51.940 So let's 00:31:51.940 --> 00:31:52.440 take a moment 00:31:52.440 --> 00:31:52.720 now, 00:31:52.759 --> 00:31:53.180 and even in the 00:31:53.180 --> 00:31:53.620 quiet of our 00:31:53.620 --> 00:31:54.020 hearts, 00:31:54.259 --> 00:31:55.700 just bring to 00:31:55.700 --> 00:31:56.540 God the griefs 00:31:56.540 --> 00:31:57.080 and the losses 00:31:57.080 --> 00:31:58.100 of this past 00:31:58.100 --> 00:31:58.440 week, 00:31:59.100 --> 00:32:00.040 of this past 00:32:00.040 --> 00:32:00.360 season. 00:32:00.359 --> 00:32:19.419 Father, 00:32:19.519 --> 00:32:19.899 thank you for 00:32:19.899 --> 00:32:20.299 hearing the 00:32:20.299 --> 00:32:20.919 prayers of your 00:32:20.919 --> 00:32:21.259 children. 00:32:23.819 --> 00:32:24.479 Thank you for 00:32:24.479 --> 00:32:25.179 Jesus' death 00:32:25.179 --> 00:32:25.759 and resurrection 00:32:25.759 --> 00:32:26.500 that allows us 00:32:26.500 --> 00:32:27.240 to come before 00:32:27.240 --> 00:32:27.879 your throne of 00:32:27.880 --> 00:32:28.700 grace with 00:32:28.700 --> 00:32:29.400 confidence, 00:32:29.940 --> 00:32:31.060 with all of 00:32:31.060 --> 00:32:31.760 our griefs, 00:32:31.860 --> 00:32:32.380 with all of 00:32:32.380 --> 00:32:33.020 our joys, 00:32:33.380 --> 00:32:34.360 with all of 00:32:34.360 --> 00:32:35.060 our triumphs, 00:32:35.100 --> 00:32:35.520 with all of 00:32:35.520 --> 00:32:36.100 our failures. 00:32:37.480 --> 00:32:38.060 Thank you that 00:32:38.060 --> 00:32:38.460 because of 00:32:38.460 --> 00:32:39.260 Jesus and the 00:32:39.260 --> 00:32:39.720 covenant that 00:32:39.720 --> 00:32:40.180 he kept, 00:32:40.300 --> 00:32:40.820 we can come 00:32:40.820 --> 00:32:41.440 with confidence. 00:32:44.940 --> 00:32:45.300 Father, 00:32:45.380 --> 00:32:45.740 we pray that 00:32:45.740 --> 00:32:45.960 you would 00:32:45.960 --> 00:32:46.440 continue to 00:32:46.440 --> 00:32:46.860 pour out your 00:32:46.860 --> 00:32:47.460 spirit upon 00:32:47.460 --> 00:32:48.020 your church. 00:32:48.780 --> 00:32:49.260 Help us, 00:32:49.460 --> 00:32:49.820 we pray, 00:32:50.820 --> 00:32:51.900 to walk 00:32:51.900 --> 00:32:52.540 faithfully in 00:32:52.540 --> 00:32:53.060 these days. 00:32:54.000 --> 00:32:54.320 In Jesus' 00:32:54.320 --> 00:32:54.700 name, 00:32:55.700 --> 00:32:56.080 amen. 00:32:57.880 --> 00:32:58.880 Amen.