WEBVTT 00:00:00.180 --> 00:00:07.780 Well, good morning everyone. My name's Ian and I'm delighted to be speaking to you this morning, albeit that I'm not able to see you. 00:00:07.820 --> 00:00:12.820 It's been great, hasn't it, to be able to be reminded of some of the Christmas carols, to enjoy them again, 00:00:13.220 --> 00:00:19.519 and to think of all that the Lord Jesus did for us after he came into the world on that first Christmas. 00:00:20.440 --> 00:00:24.060 For the next few minutes, though, I want to pick up on the other theme that's been in our service, 00:00:24.060 --> 00:00:27.300 particularly in our second video and in Fraser's Prayer, 00:00:27.300 --> 00:00:32.920 and to reflect on some of the things that have been happening in our world this year. 00:00:33.840 --> 00:00:42.539 End of the year is a good time to take stock, isn't it, and to think where are we and where are we likely to go in the future. 00:00:43.519 --> 00:00:47.179 And it's been a really, really hard year. 00:00:47.939 --> 00:00:54.799 At best, all of us have suffered great inconvenience and changes to our lifestyle over the year. 00:00:54.799 --> 00:00:58.779 But for many people, it's been much worse than that. 00:00:59.579 --> 00:01:03.359 There have been financial pressures, perhaps worries about job. 00:01:04.239 --> 00:01:07.759 Many have been ill, whether with COVID-19 or with other things. 00:01:08.759 --> 00:01:14.920 People have suffered in their mental health, made worse by the restrictions we've been living under. 00:01:15.420 --> 00:01:19.920 And of course, some too have suffered terrible bereavements over the year. 00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:22.679 It's been a hard time. 00:01:22.680 --> 00:01:29.640 And I was trying to think what part of the Bible could speak into our current situation. 00:01:30.260 --> 00:01:37.020 And my mind kept going back to the book of Jewel and the plague of locusts that we read about earlier. 00:01:37.640 --> 00:01:43.320 I know we studied Jewel a couple of years ago, but I think it is worth revisiting it briefly this morning. 00:01:43.319 --> 00:01:54.559 Because I was thinking that the plague of locusts in Jewel has many similarities to the COVID-19 pandemic we've been suffering this year. 00:01:55.339 --> 00:01:58.419 Both of them came on us very suddenly. 00:01:59.459 --> 00:02:05.519 For most of us, there was little warning or little expectation of what was about to hit us. 00:02:05.519 --> 00:02:12.419 Both of them were disastrous in the lives of individuals and of families. 00:02:13.079 --> 00:02:16.539 A plague of locusts can destroy your livelihood overnight. 00:02:17.639 --> 00:02:22.460 Both of them also provoked national economic crises. 00:02:22.460 --> 00:02:28.740 And for both of them, there's this feeling of wave after wave of things coming. 00:02:28.820 --> 00:02:36.000 Did you notice in our reading that it talks about the different kinds of locusts that would come? 00:02:36.100 --> 00:02:41.840 The locust swarm, the great locusts, the young locusts, the other locusts, one after another. 00:02:42.360 --> 00:02:45.860 And just when you think things are getting better, they get worse again. 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:49.560 And isn't that very much where we've been and where we are? 00:02:49.560 --> 00:02:53.080 We had the initial lockdown, as bad as that was. 00:02:53.159 --> 00:02:54.740 And then we thought, well, it's getting better. 00:02:55.199 --> 00:02:57.180 The number of deaths is reducing. 00:02:57.659 --> 00:03:00.460 And maybe things are getting back to normal. 00:03:00.560 --> 00:03:02.560 And then in September, it all picked up again. 00:03:02.819 --> 00:03:04.719 And we were back under more restrictions. 00:03:05.340 --> 00:03:08.659 And then when the vaccine was coming along, we thought, great, there's hope now. 00:03:08.960 --> 00:03:14.780 We have a new variant of COVID that is coming and has forced us into even more restrictions. 00:03:14.780 --> 00:03:17.280 One thing after another. 00:03:17.280 --> 00:03:25.259 So I want to learn today some lessons from locusts that I hope will help us in our current situation. 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:31.439 And assure us in particular of God's presence and of God's love for us. 00:03:31.479 --> 00:03:37.520 That love that was revealed so wonderfully in sending his son into the world. 00:03:38.280 --> 00:03:40.879 We're going to come to Joel in just a few minutes. 00:03:41.099 --> 00:03:44.620 But I want to begin by talking more generally about locusts. 00:03:44.620 --> 00:03:47.480 They're going to be in many ways the villains of this sermon. 00:03:47.879 --> 00:03:50.879 But they also are wonderful creatures. 00:03:52.759 --> 00:03:57.379 Locusts are among the most isolated of all insects. 00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:06.120 You won't find locusts gathering together as you would bees in a hive or hornets in a nest. 00:04:06.340 --> 00:04:11.240 Or other animals, other insects, ants in a hill perhaps. 00:04:12.140 --> 00:04:14.120 Locusts are very solitary. 00:04:14.620 --> 00:04:15.240 Locusts are very solitary. 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:17.199 They live in the desert. 00:04:17.740 --> 00:04:22.500 They find somewhere where they can nest individually and can mate. 00:04:22.600 --> 00:04:23.399 And they stay there. 00:04:23.740 --> 00:04:29.220 And they actually, if they see other locusts coming, they very actively run away from them. 00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:34.000 Now I can almost hear some of you shouting, that can't be right. 00:04:34.680 --> 00:04:38.060 The whole thing about locusts is that they come in their millions. 00:04:38.579 --> 00:04:40.139 There are huge swarms of them. 00:04:40.139 --> 00:04:44.719 There are no other creatures that gather together as much as they do. 00:04:45.759 --> 00:04:46.579 And you're right. 00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:49.060 But so am I. 00:04:50.419 --> 00:04:53.519 Because there are two forms of locusts. 00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:56.860 And they're called solitary and gregarious. 00:04:56.860 --> 00:05:00.500 And in many ways they're very different from each other. 00:05:00.620 --> 00:05:03.920 Different in character and also different in their looks. 00:05:04.020 --> 00:05:07.520 The solitary locust is designed to blend in with its surroundings. 00:05:07.520 --> 00:05:09.520 So it's brown or sometimes green. 00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:12.979 The gregarious locust is much more colourful, often yellow. 00:05:13.560 --> 00:05:19.240 And it also has bigger wings and a shorter body than the solitary locust. 00:05:19.939 --> 00:05:25.099 And the gregarious locust indeed does swarm in its millions. 00:05:26.060 --> 00:05:33.500 When there is a plague of locusts, there can be as many as 50 million locusts in one square kilometre. 00:05:33.500 --> 00:05:39.120 And the whole swarm can be bigger than the human population of the world. 00:05:39.819 --> 00:05:42.420 They come in their billions. 00:05:43.060 --> 00:05:47.000 And they are so different from the solitary locust. 00:05:47.899 --> 00:05:49.839 But here's the remarkable thing. 00:05:50.540 --> 00:05:55.120 I'm not talking about two subspecies of locusts. 00:05:55.120 --> 00:06:02.879 Because a solitary locust can change almost overnight into a gregarious locust. 00:06:03.319 --> 00:06:04.439 Change its character. 00:06:05.160 --> 00:06:06.579 Even change its appearance. 00:06:07.280 --> 00:06:09.199 And change what it does. 00:06:10.459 --> 00:06:15.280 The way it happens, and scientists have only learned this in the last hundred years or so, I guess. 00:06:15.740 --> 00:06:20.879 Is that most locusts most of the time live this solitary existence. 00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:27.199 They find a patch of green that they can live in and that they can eat from. 00:06:27.719 --> 00:06:29.279 And they stay there by themselves. 00:06:29.459 --> 00:06:30.360 They lay their eggs. 00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:34.740 And they have very little contact with other locusts. 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:37.360 And then the rains come. 00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:45.719 And as the rains come, the eggs that are around the locusts and the various locusts quite close to each other, 00:06:45.719 --> 00:06:46.740 they hatch. 00:06:47.079 --> 00:06:50.839 And there's a huge number of new locusts. 00:06:51.159 --> 00:06:54.180 And there are so many that they rub against each other. 00:06:54.800 --> 00:07:00.219 And scientists believe that it's when they rub against each other their legs that a chemical is released, 00:07:00.500 --> 00:07:04.319 which brings about this dramatic change in character. 00:07:05.620 --> 00:07:09.860 And because there are so many of them, there's not enough food for them to eat where they are. 00:07:09.860 --> 00:07:15.400 And they go flying away, flying in their millions, carried along by the wind. 00:07:15.400 --> 00:07:18.580 And everywhere they go, they descend. 00:07:19.040 --> 00:07:20.300 They ravage the land. 00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:23.900 They eat their own weight in food every day. 00:07:23.899 --> 00:07:31.819 And they create the kind of crisis that we are familiar with that is described in the book of Joel. 00:07:32.819 --> 00:07:36.199 But I think there's a really important lesson for us here. 00:07:36.199 --> 00:07:44.959 When the locusts get into the time of crisis, that's when they come together and work together. 00:07:44.959 --> 00:07:57.419 And my first lesson from locusts for us this morning in the circumstances that we're facing at present is that God wants us to face trials together. 00:07:57.420 --> 00:08:00.319 Now, as Christians, we're never solitary. 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:03.040 We're not called to live a solitary existence. 00:08:03.199 --> 00:08:09.640 We're called to be part of a church and to enjoy fellowship and support of other Christians. 00:08:09.639 --> 00:08:17.879 But perhaps it's in the times of trial that we should and do most come together. 00:08:18.479 --> 00:08:23.360 Remember Paul's description in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 of the church as being like a body. 00:08:24.019 --> 00:08:27.379 And when one member suffers, everyone suffers. 00:08:28.039 --> 00:08:33.939 We pull together in times of trial, just as the locust does. 00:08:34.500 --> 00:08:38.899 I think looking back over this year, one of the things that's been quite noticeable 00:08:38.899 --> 00:08:46.139 and has been a real evidence of God's grace in our church is the togetherness that there's been. 00:08:46.220 --> 00:08:47.279 Not together physically. 00:08:48.019 --> 00:08:50.899 Only recently have we been able to have services at the church 00:08:50.899 --> 00:08:53.919 and only a limited number of people were able to come to them. 00:08:54.340 --> 00:08:56.759 But together in many other ways. 00:08:57.579 --> 00:09:03.620 As we've been going around the last couple of weeks and giving small Christmas presents to many of our members, 00:09:03.620 --> 00:09:09.779 very often the thing that we've talked about is the fact that although we've been apart as a church, 00:09:10.139 --> 00:09:14.960 we've been together because we've been able to worship as one every Sunday morning 00:09:14.960 --> 00:09:19.639 throughout the whole of the year and Sunday evenings as well. 00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:24.279 And these services, although we couldn't physically be together a lot of the time, 00:09:24.740 --> 00:09:31.000 have brought us together as we have worshipped together and as we have continued to learn together. 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:38.080 Alongside that, another blessing this year has been our prayer times on Zoom. 00:09:38.820 --> 00:09:42.980 Every evening during the first lockdown, twice a week now. 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:46.980 And these for many of us have been an enormous blessing. 00:09:47.700 --> 00:09:53.480 As we've been able to come together and to bring to God our requests and our thanksgivings 00:09:53.480 --> 00:09:59.259 and to enjoy the fellowship and support and prayers of others. 00:09:59.259 --> 00:10:05.039 And during the lockdown, whatever kind of day you'd been having, even if you had a really hard time, 00:10:05.340 --> 00:10:08.879 you could know in the evening there was opportunity to pray together 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:13.500 and to talk together with Christian brothers and sisters. 00:10:14.759 --> 00:10:15.679 And maybe one more. 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:22.819 As most people we know, we run a food bank, the Basics Bank, at the church here at Brunsfield. 00:10:22.820 --> 00:10:31.420 And the thing that's been really wonderful this year has been how the Basics Bank has brought our community together. 00:10:32.220 --> 00:10:37.020 Our neighbours in Leamington Terrace have been enormously generous in the provision. 00:10:37.160 --> 00:10:40.240 They've made wheelbarrows every week of food. 00:10:41.140 --> 00:10:42.080 And not just them. 00:10:42.600 --> 00:10:47.640 Political groups, other churches, local supermarkets, local school. 00:10:47.639 --> 00:10:54.659 Lots and lots of people at the time of crisis thinking of others and saying we're going through it together. 00:10:55.340 --> 00:10:58.600 Let's see what we can do for one another. 00:10:59.679 --> 00:11:01.980 I don't want to paste too rosy a picture here. 00:11:02.039 --> 00:11:06.860 I'm aware that for some people you may feel you haven't been supported as well as you might be. 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:08.980 And we need to address that. 00:11:09.679 --> 00:11:13.980 But very much in this year there's been a sense we've all been suffering. 00:11:13.980 --> 00:11:17.519 We've all been struggling, some more than others. 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:21.740 And there have been opportunities to face that together. 00:11:22.460 --> 00:11:28.659 And as we go into 2021, and as we have further uncertainty, certainly for a few months, 00:11:29.180 --> 00:11:35.519 let's go together and as believers in the Lord Jesus, as a church of his people, 00:11:36.120 --> 00:11:41.080 let's continue to support and encourage one another. 00:11:41.080 --> 00:11:45.080 And if you're joining us today and you're not a member of Brunsfield, but you're at another church, 00:11:45.420 --> 00:11:52.680 I pray that similarly you may be able to support and encourage each other through these difficult times. 00:11:53.820 --> 00:11:58.720 Let's move on now and let's think about the book of Joel. 00:11:59.620 --> 00:12:04.520 Joel is a book where the people of Israel are facing a crisis. 00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:09.820 In chapter 1, the crisis is clearly a plague of locusts. 00:12:09.820 --> 00:12:12.480 In chapter 2, it's a bit less certain. 00:12:13.060 --> 00:12:20.580 The language is still about locusts, but it appears it may have been a metaphor for an invading army 00:12:20.580 --> 00:12:24.060 which was going to come and attack the people. 00:12:24.860 --> 00:12:28.060 Either way, there was a crisis. 00:12:29.260 --> 00:12:34.300 And when you get a plague of locusts, that is an enormous crisis. 00:12:34.299 --> 00:12:39.159 You may have missed it in everything else that's going on this year. 00:12:39.899 --> 00:12:46.500 But 2020 has been one of the worst years on record for locust plagues. 00:12:47.259 --> 00:12:49.939 The worst worldwide for at least 25 years. 00:12:50.500 --> 00:12:55.120 The worst in many parts of the world for 70 years or more. 00:12:56.039 --> 00:13:01.179 And note it in some of the countries that have had very significant locust infestations. 00:13:01.179 --> 00:13:13.839 Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Somalia, Eritrea, India, Pakistan, Iran, Yemen, Oman, Saudi Arabia. 00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:19.019 Right throughout Africa, the Middle East and large parts of Asia. 00:13:19.159 --> 00:13:24.299 Indeed, even as far away as South America, there have been issues with locusts this year. 00:13:24.299 --> 00:13:30.579 It has been a bad year for people in these countries, not just because of COVID-19, 00:13:31.139 --> 00:13:36.319 but because of the locust plague that has been a feature of 2020. 00:13:36.539 --> 00:13:37.959 It would be good to pray for them. 00:13:38.620 --> 00:13:43.759 In this prayer, Fraser mentioned other things that maybe we're not so aware of this year. 00:13:43.819 --> 00:13:47.339 And this certainly could be one of them, that we could pray for these nations, 00:13:47.399 --> 00:13:50.299 even as the locust problems still continue. 00:13:50.299 --> 00:14:00.299 But anyway, in Israel, in the time of Joel, they were in the midst of one of these plagues of locusts. 00:14:01.179 --> 00:14:03.939 And Joel says to the people in his letter, 00:14:05.059 --> 00:14:11.319 what God is saying to you now is you need to listen and you need to act. 00:14:11.379 --> 00:14:14.699 And that's my second lesson from locusts this morning. 00:14:15.699 --> 00:14:19.679 God speaks to us in our suffering. 00:14:20.299 --> 00:14:26.240 When we are going through difficult times, when times are hard for us, 00:14:26.679 --> 00:14:31.259 we should be saying to God, what is it that you want to say to me? 00:14:31.579 --> 00:14:34.620 What lessons are there to be learned? 00:14:36.459 --> 00:14:39.419 Over the last few days while I was preparing for today, 00:14:39.579 --> 00:14:42.039 I usually watched a film on the television. 00:14:42.039 --> 00:14:46.500 It was Shadowlands, the story of C.S. Lewis, 00:14:47.299 --> 00:14:54.339 a man who is recognized as one of those who was really expert 00:14:54.339 --> 00:14:58.599 and really thought deeply about the subject of suffering. 00:14:59.259 --> 00:15:02.679 Look up Christian and suffering and Google or any other search engine 00:15:02.679 --> 00:15:07.939 and you will certainly find lots of quotes by C.S. Lewis on it. 00:15:07.940 --> 00:15:14.740 And Shadowlands points out that C.S. Lewis had been through a difficult time in his childhood. 00:15:15.020 --> 00:15:19.040 He'd suffered a lot of loss then, but he had kind of internalized it 00:15:19.040 --> 00:15:25.300 and it made him repressed and he had sought to hide and disguise his suffering. 00:15:25.299 --> 00:15:29.240 And he spoke a lot about suffering. 00:15:29.399 --> 00:15:34.740 He developed the theology of it that many of us would still hold on to today. 00:15:35.539 --> 00:15:40.839 And then there was a big change in his life when an American came, 00:15:41.259 --> 00:15:45.539 Joy Davidman, came into his life and eventually married her, 00:15:45.659 --> 00:15:49.759 then fell in love and then he lost her to cancer. 00:15:49.759 --> 00:15:54.259 And for what for him had been in some ways a theoretical thing, 00:15:54.720 --> 00:16:00.220 talking about suffering and presenting it to others became very real. 00:16:01.000 --> 00:16:04.960 And he came to understand something more of the nature of suffering 00:16:04.960 --> 00:16:13.039 and also to understand that the joy of love justifies the pain that often comes with it. 00:16:13.779 --> 00:16:18.899 And C.S. Lewis, there are many quotes that we could bring from him on the subject of suffering, 00:16:18.899 --> 00:16:20.459 but let me just bring you this. 00:16:20.539 --> 00:16:22.579 You've probably have heard it before. 00:16:23.379 --> 00:16:24.299 C.S. Lewis wrote, 00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:27.799 Pain insists upon being attended to. 00:16:28.899 --> 00:16:30.919 God whispers to us in our pleasures, 00:16:31.860 --> 00:16:33.379 speaks in our consciences, 00:16:33.899 --> 00:16:36.120 but shouts in our pains. 00:16:37.179 --> 00:16:42.279 It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world. 00:16:42.919 --> 00:16:45.399 When we are going through times of suffering, 00:16:45.399 --> 00:16:47.819 we should be asking to God, 00:16:48.199 --> 00:16:52.519 what are the lessons you want us to learn from it? 00:16:53.500 --> 00:16:56.199 And that's what Joel is saying in his context. 00:16:57.159 --> 00:16:58.259 At the beginning of our reading, 00:16:58.779 --> 00:17:01.579 hear, listen, tell. 00:17:02.159 --> 00:17:03.500 In other words, pay attention. 00:17:04.139 --> 00:17:06.460 This is something that's important. 00:17:07.619 --> 00:17:10.519 And in the core of the message, perhaps in chapter 2, 00:17:10.519 --> 00:17:12.779 even now, declares the Lord, 00:17:13.420 --> 00:17:17.079 return to me with all your heart. 00:17:17.960 --> 00:17:21.960 God is speaking to his people through the time of suffering 00:17:21.960 --> 00:17:24.460 and saying you need to change, 00:17:24.920 --> 00:17:28.000 and here is what I am saying to you. 00:17:29.660 --> 00:17:33.819 I wonder what God is saying to us in our time of difficulty. 00:17:34.460 --> 00:17:39.759 What are the lessons that we need to learn from the COVID-19 pandemic? 00:17:40.519 --> 00:17:42.839 I don't claim prophetic powers, 00:17:43.180 --> 00:17:44.839 so in some ways I'm speculating, 00:17:44.920 --> 00:17:46.980 but let me say on a national level, 00:17:47.059 --> 00:17:48.400 on an international level, 00:17:49.019 --> 00:17:50.660 I think we need to learn 00:17:50.660 --> 00:17:54.099 that we're not as in control of our circumstances 00:17:54.099 --> 00:17:56.740 as we might like to think. 00:17:57.480 --> 00:18:00.619 Yes, there have been great developments in science 00:18:00.619 --> 00:18:02.139 and in technology 00:18:02.139 --> 00:18:05.500 and in learning in recent years. 00:18:05.500 --> 00:18:06.980 And they're wonderful 00:18:06.980 --> 00:18:08.420 and they've helped human beings 00:18:08.420 --> 00:18:11.180 to make more and more of this wonderful world 00:18:11.180 --> 00:18:13.779 that God has given us. 00:18:14.519 --> 00:18:16.019 And yet something can come along 00:18:16.019 --> 00:18:17.599 totally out of the blue 00:18:17.599 --> 00:18:20.759 and derail almost everything. 00:18:21.779 --> 00:18:23.480 And perhaps God is saying to us, 00:18:23.940 --> 00:18:25.339 as a nation, as a world, 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:27.779 you're not as in control of things 00:18:27.779 --> 00:18:29.240 as you thought you were. 00:18:29.240 --> 00:18:32.259 You need to return to me. 00:18:33.559 --> 00:18:34.700 And what is God saying to us 00:18:34.700 --> 00:18:37.599 as a church and as individuals? 00:18:38.420 --> 00:18:39.620 Well, again, I wouldn't presume 00:18:39.620 --> 00:18:43.220 to know what God is saying to each of us. 00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:46.180 But I think God is certainly saying, 00:18:46.420 --> 00:18:47.799 aspect to all of us, 00:18:48.259 --> 00:18:50.559 that there are things that you depend on 00:18:50.559 --> 00:18:51.940 in your lives. 00:18:52.720 --> 00:18:54.000 And some of these things 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:55.620 have been taken away from you 00:18:55.619 --> 00:18:57.039 in the last year. 00:18:58.019 --> 00:18:59.699 The meetings with family, 00:19:00.399 --> 00:19:03.419 the ability to interact with others, 00:19:03.719 --> 00:19:06.000 to give your grandchildren a hug, 00:19:06.539 --> 00:19:08.919 even to shake hands with other people 00:19:08.919 --> 00:19:10.519 as a sign of friendship. 00:19:11.500 --> 00:19:14.439 These things have gone for now. 00:19:15.319 --> 00:19:17.000 But the thing that remains 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:19.639 is God's love for us 00:19:19.639 --> 00:19:22.179 and our relationship with him, 00:19:22.679 --> 00:19:23.659 if we have it. 00:19:23.660 --> 00:19:26.240 And perhaps God is saying to us, 00:19:26.900 --> 00:19:27.900 some things have gone. 00:19:28.759 --> 00:19:32.320 Some things you would normally rely on 00:19:32.320 --> 00:19:35.700 and would value are no longer available. 00:19:36.540 --> 00:19:38.019 But you still have me 00:19:38.019 --> 00:19:40.840 and you need to get back to the basics 00:19:40.840 --> 00:19:43.019 and to understand if you have God, 00:19:43.100 --> 00:19:45.340 if you have Christ in your life, 00:19:45.720 --> 00:19:47.300 then you can face whatever 00:19:47.300 --> 00:19:49.540 the world throws at you. 00:19:50.279 --> 00:19:51.320 Now, maybe God's saying something 00:19:51.319 --> 00:19:52.559 completely different to you. 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:54.919 If that is the case, 00:19:55.139 --> 00:19:58.399 please listen and act as appropriate. 00:19:59.299 --> 00:20:02.700 But God speaks in our suffering. 00:20:02.899 --> 00:20:05.839 That's a key lesson from our locus. 00:20:08.740 --> 00:20:09.500 And then finally, 00:20:10.500 --> 00:20:11.539 the positive message 00:20:11.539 --> 00:20:13.839 is that God loves us 00:20:13.839 --> 00:20:16.639 and never leaves us. 00:20:17.899 --> 00:20:19.619 Joel chapter 1 is very gloomy. 00:20:19.619 --> 00:20:21.819 The Lord is pointing out 00:20:21.819 --> 00:20:23.359 all the faults of the people 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:25.939 and the consequences of them. 00:20:26.779 --> 00:20:28.019 Parts of chapter 2 00:20:28.019 --> 00:20:30.099 are also gloomy. 00:20:31.119 --> 00:20:32.699 But amid all of that, 00:20:33.139 --> 00:20:35.559 God has a message of hope. 00:20:36.439 --> 00:20:39.039 You are still my people, Israel. 00:20:39.739 --> 00:20:41.039 I still love you. 00:20:41.719 --> 00:20:43.459 And if you return to me, 00:20:43.859 --> 00:20:45.079 if you repent 00:20:45.079 --> 00:20:47.259 and choose to go my way 00:20:47.259 --> 00:20:48.779 rather than your way, 00:20:49.179 --> 00:20:51.019 I will restore to you 00:20:51.019 --> 00:20:53.259 the years the locusts have eaten. 00:20:53.299 --> 00:20:54.659 You will have plenty again. 00:20:55.240 --> 00:20:57.759 The food that you so wish for now, 00:20:57.899 --> 00:20:58.740 it will be there, 00:20:58.819 --> 00:20:59.759 it will be on your tables. 00:21:00.059 --> 00:21:01.460 You will be able to enjoy 00:21:01.460 --> 00:21:03.919 life to the full again. 00:21:04.859 --> 00:21:05.859 And that's a great message, 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:07.099 a great lesson for us 00:21:07.099 --> 00:21:08.419 from the locusts 00:21:08.419 --> 00:21:10.960 and in this time of pandemic. 00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:13.740 God still loves us 00:21:13.740 --> 00:21:17.019 and God is still with us. 00:21:18.420 --> 00:21:20.279 That was the thrust, wasn't it, 00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:21.579 of our reading from Romans 00:21:21.579 --> 00:21:22.940 earlier on. 00:21:23.539 --> 00:21:24.900 That there is nothing 00:21:24.900 --> 00:21:26.579 in all creation 00:21:26.579 --> 00:21:28.620 that can separate us 00:21:28.620 --> 00:21:30.220 from the love of God 00:21:30.220 --> 00:21:31.799 in Christ Jesus, 00:21:32.279 --> 00:21:33.079 our Lord. 00:21:33.079 --> 00:21:35.659 And how do we know that? 00:21:36.379 --> 00:21:37.359 How do we know 00:21:37.359 --> 00:21:39.119 that God's love is with us 00:21:39.119 --> 00:21:40.179 and will continue 00:21:40.179 --> 00:21:41.619 to sustain us? 00:21:42.159 --> 00:21:43.559 It's a few verses earlier 00:21:43.559 --> 00:21:45.319 in Romans chapter 8. 00:21:46.379 --> 00:21:48.379 He who did not spare his own son 00:21:48.379 --> 00:21:50.659 but gave him up for us all, 00:21:51.399 --> 00:21:53.019 how will he not also, 00:21:53.599 --> 00:21:54.699 along with him, 00:21:55.379 --> 00:21:57.939 graciously give us all things? 00:21:58.359 --> 00:22:00.359 How do we know that God loves us? 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:02.859 We know because he gave his son 00:22:02.859 --> 00:22:03.979 for us. 00:22:04.799 --> 00:22:06.500 He didn't withhold the one 00:22:06.500 --> 00:22:07.939 who was most dear to him. 00:22:08.319 --> 00:22:09.919 He sent him into the world 00:22:09.919 --> 00:22:11.740 that first Christmas day. 00:22:12.139 --> 00:22:14.599 He lived a perfect life as a man. 00:22:15.019 --> 00:22:16.839 He died on the cross of Calvary, 00:22:17.219 --> 00:22:19.500 taking our sins on him. 00:22:20.199 --> 00:22:21.159 And because we know 00:22:21.159 --> 00:22:23.000 that God has done that for us, 00:22:23.459 --> 00:22:25.179 we know that God cares 00:22:25.179 --> 00:22:27.279 and that God will continue 00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:28.359 to be with us 00:22:28.359 --> 00:22:31.199 whatever our circumstances. 00:22:31.200 --> 00:22:33.039 And perhaps today, 00:22:33.140 --> 00:22:34.720 God is saying to us, 00:22:35.559 --> 00:22:36.440 depend on me, 00:22:37.279 --> 00:22:38.660 depend on my love, 00:22:39.220 --> 00:22:40.460 and look to the future. 00:22:40.980 --> 00:22:43.319 This situation won't last forever. 00:22:44.039 --> 00:22:45.259 These circumstances 00:22:45.259 --> 00:22:46.799 are short term. 00:22:46.799 --> 00:22:48.759 And even the problems 00:22:48.759 --> 00:22:50.259 and the trials of this world 00:22:50.259 --> 00:22:51.460 are not forever. 00:22:52.180 --> 00:22:53.220 If we know 00:22:53.220 --> 00:22:54.919 and trust the Lord Jesus, 00:22:54.919 --> 00:22:55.879 if we enjoy 00:22:55.879 --> 00:22:57.659 God's love in our lives, 00:22:58.119 --> 00:22:59.299 we know that ultimately 00:22:59.299 --> 00:23:01.180 we'll go to be with him 00:23:01.180 --> 00:23:02.859 and to be with him 00:23:02.859 --> 00:23:03.960 forever. 00:23:05.919 --> 00:23:08.039 God left his son. 00:23:08.759 --> 00:23:09.919 Christ on the cross 00:23:09.919 --> 00:23:10.639 could say, 00:23:10.839 --> 00:23:11.339 my God, 00:23:11.440 --> 00:23:12.119 my God, 00:23:12.119 --> 00:23:14.519 why have you forsaken me? 00:23:16.039 --> 00:23:17.139 But those who know 00:23:17.139 --> 00:23:18.719 and love the Lord Jesus 00:23:18.719 --> 00:23:20.459 can have this confidence 00:23:20.459 --> 00:23:22.879 that God will never leave us. 00:23:23.379 --> 00:23:24.839 We can always be 00:23:24.839 --> 00:23:26.859 in his love. 00:23:27.979 --> 00:23:28.759 But let me just say, 00:23:28.859 --> 00:23:30.839 God doesn't trust himself 00:23:30.839 --> 00:23:32.139 upon us. 00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:33.459 The Israelites, 00:23:33.859 --> 00:23:35.139 before they could enjoy 00:23:35.139 --> 00:23:37.279 the benefits of God's love 00:23:37.279 --> 00:23:38.819 and see the restoration, 00:23:38.819 --> 00:23:40.919 they had to come to God 00:23:40.919 --> 00:23:41.980 and recognize 00:23:41.980 --> 00:23:44.200 their need of him. 00:23:45.019 --> 00:23:46.200 If they continued 00:23:46.200 --> 00:23:47.899 to reject God, 00:23:48.379 --> 00:23:49.579 they would experience 00:23:49.579 --> 00:23:50.679 his judgment. 00:23:51.659 --> 00:23:52.720 If they continued 00:23:52.720 --> 00:23:53.960 to ignore him 00:23:53.960 --> 00:23:55.079 and to try to do things 00:23:55.079 --> 00:23:55.859 their own way, 00:23:56.240 --> 00:23:57.480 they would never get back 00:23:57.480 --> 00:23:58.259 to the state 00:23:58.259 --> 00:23:59.259 that they would want 00:23:59.259 --> 00:24:00.439 to be in. 00:24:00.919 --> 00:24:02.179 And similarly for us, 00:24:02.859 --> 00:24:04.639 we need to come to God, 00:24:04.720 --> 00:24:05.619 we need to come first 00:24:05.619 --> 00:24:07.000 in repentance and faith, 00:24:07.159 --> 00:24:08.399 trusting in the Lord Jesus 00:24:08.400 --> 00:24:09.600 for our salvation, 00:24:10.060 --> 00:24:10.720 for forgiveness, 00:24:11.080 --> 00:24:12.740 for all that we've done wrong 00:24:12.740 --> 00:24:14.019 and that he took 00:24:14.019 --> 00:24:15.080 the punishment for 00:24:15.080 --> 00:24:16.360 on the cross. 00:24:16.980 --> 00:24:17.759 And then when we come 00:24:17.759 --> 00:24:18.940 into times of trial, 00:24:19.060 --> 00:24:19.700 and not just then 00:24:19.700 --> 00:24:21.000 in our daily lives as well, 00:24:21.360 --> 00:24:22.800 we need to recognize 00:24:22.800 --> 00:24:24.440 our dependence on God 00:24:24.440 --> 00:24:26.340 and to live in his love 00:24:26.340 --> 00:24:29.519 and to be obedient to him. 00:24:30.140 --> 00:24:31.380 And I think is the great 00:24:31.380 --> 00:24:33.100 forward-looking lesson 00:24:33.100 --> 00:24:34.400 from the locusts. 00:24:35.480 --> 00:24:36.440 God loves us. 00:24:36.440 --> 00:24:38.880 God wants us to enjoy 00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:41.259 his presence with us. 00:24:42.039 --> 00:24:44.200 God will never leave us. 00:24:44.940 --> 00:24:46.519 And if we trust in him, 00:24:46.820 --> 00:24:48.059 we can be confident, 00:24:48.220 --> 00:24:50.360 not just for the next few months, 00:24:50.900 --> 00:24:52.240 but for the next years, 00:24:52.299 --> 00:24:53.039 however long we have 00:24:53.039 --> 00:24:53.680 in this world, 00:24:53.799 --> 00:24:54.759 and then beyond that, 00:24:55.160 --> 00:24:56.320 that we will go and be 00:24:56.320 --> 00:24:58.320 with the Lord Jesus. 00:24:59.460 --> 00:25:01.440 So three lessons from locusts. 00:25:01.519 --> 00:25:03.620 God wants us to come together, 00:25:03.619 --> 00:25:05.679 to face trials together. 00:25:06.539 --> 00:25:08.299 God wants to speak to us 00:25:08.299 --> 00:25:09.419 in our suffering. 00:25:09.539 --> 00:25:10.399 Are we listening 00:25:10.399 --> 00:25:12.659 to what he has to say to us? 00:25:13.519 --> 00:25:14.919 And God loves us 00:25:14.919 --> 00:25:18.239 and will never leave us. 00:25:19.559 --> 00:25:20.939 At our Christmas Day service, 00:25:21.059 --> 00:25:21.919 if you watched it, 00:25:22.179 --> 00:25:23.179 at the beginning, 00:25:23.679 --> 00:25:24.939 people were describing 00:25:24.939 --> 00:25:25.899 in one word 00:25:25.899 --> 00:25:28.139 what Christmas meant to them. 00:25:28.140 --> 00:25:31.280 and by far the most common word 00:25:31.280 --> 00:25:32.640 that people use 00:25:32.640 --> 00:25:34.160 was hope. 00:25:35.020 --> 00:25:36.200 Hope in a time 00:25:36.200 --> 00:25:37.400 of difficulty. 00:25:38.400 --> 00:25:39.300 Hope also 00:25:39.300 --> 00:25:41.560 for eternal life. 00:25:42.240 --> 00:25:43.420 Let's leave this morning 00:25:43.420 --> 00:25:44.440 with that hope 00:25:44.440 --> 00:25:45.720 that we can have 00:25:45.720 --> 00:25:46.720 in Jesus, 00:25:47.600 --> 00:25:48.720 trusting in him 00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:50.540 and knowing that he will 00:25:50.540 --> 00:25:52.400 never leave us 00:25:52.400 --> 00:25:53.700 or let us down. 00:25:54.360 --> 00:25:55.580 Let's join together in prayer. 00:25:55.580 --> 00:25:55.640 Amen. 00:25:55.640 --> 00:25:55.700 Amen. 00:25:55.700 --> 00:25:55.740 Amen. 00:25:55.740 --> 00:25:55.780 Amen. 00:25:55.780 --> 00:25:56.180 Amen. 00:25:56.180 --> 00:25:56.700 Amen. 00:25:56.700 --> 00:25:57.700 Amen. 00:25:58.140 --> 00:25:59.360 Our Father, 00:25:59.500 --> 00:26:00.140 we thank you 00:26:00.140 --> 00:26:01.280 for what we have been 00:26:01.280 --> 00:26:03.380 celebrating over the last few days. 00:26:04.080 --> 00:26:05.040 We thank you 00:26:05.040 --> 00:26:06.380 for the joy of Christmas, 00:26:06.520 --> 00:26:07.440 the joy of the fact 00:26:07.440 --> 00:26:08.200 that your Son 00:26:08.200 --> 00:26:09.240 came into the world 00:26:09.240 --> 00:26:11.240 to be our Savior. 00:26:12.320 --> 00:26:13.620 And yet we do recognize again 00:26:13.620 --> 00:26:14.140 that it's been 00:26:14.140 --> 00:26:16.160 a very different Christmas. 00:26:17.460 --> 00:26:18.700 And that now it is again 00:26:18.700 --> 00:26:19.460 very different 00:26:19.460 --> 00:26:21.320 as we have moved back 00:26:21.320 --> 00:26:22.960 into very high levels 00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:24.080 of restrictions. 00:26:25.160 --> 00:26:26.240 And we recognize again 00:26:26.240 --> 00:26:27.740 that for many of us 00:26:27.740 --> 00:26:28.240 this year 00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:29.420 has been really, 00:26:29.859 --> 00:26:30.960 really difficult. 00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:32.720 We pray for those 00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:34.120 who have suffered loss, 00:26:34.620 --> 00:26:35.680 for those who perhaps 00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:36.700 have lost jobs, 00:26:37.079 --> 00:26:38.079 have lost health, 00:26:38.519 --> 00:26:39.720 have lost loved ones. 00:26:40.299 --> 00:26:40.880 And we pray that you 00:26:40.880 --> 00:26:41.680 will be particularly 00:26:41.680 --> 00:26:42.680 close to them 00:26:42.680 --> 00:26:44.000 at this time. 00:26:45.319 --> 00:26:46.319 We pray for lands 00:26:46.319 --> 00:26:47.660 where the situation 00:26:47.660 --> 00:26:48.559 is in many ways 00:26:48.559 --> 00:26:49.980 even worse than here. 00:26:50.039 --> 00:26:50.640 And we pray particularly 00:26:50.640 --> 00:26:51.279 for the lands 00:26:51.279 --> 00:26:52.019 that have been affected 00:26:52.019 --> 00:26:53.480 by the locust plague 00:26:53.480 --> 00:26:53.940 this year 00:26:53.940 --> 00:26:55.160 as they seek to rebuild 00:26:55.160 --> 00:26:56.740 not just from a health 00:26:56.740 --> 00:26:57.480 point of view 00:26:57.480 --> 00:26:59.000 but from agriculture 00:26:59.000 --> 00:26:59.620 as well. 00:27:00.039 --> 00:27:01.320 That you will help them 00:27:01.320 --> 00:27:02.259 and be with them 00:27:02.259 --> 00:27:02.860 and give wisdom 00:27:02.860 --> 00:27:04.580 particularly to governments 00:27:04.580 --> 00:27:06.019 and to leaders. 00:27:06.940 --> 00:27:07.980 And we pray for all of us 00:27:07.980 --> 00:27:09.440 that all of us 00:27:09.440 --> 00:27:10.880 may at this time 00:27:10.880 --> 00:27:11.920 as we look back 00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:13.519 and as we look forward 00:27:13.519 --> 00:27:15.460 that we may hear 00:27:15.460 --> 00:27:16.779 what you are saying to us. 00:27:17.420 --> 00:27:19.340 That we may live 00:27:19.340 --> 00:27:20.640 within your love. 00:27:20.640 --> 00:27:22.980 that we may together 00:27:22.980 --> 00:27:24.480 be able to support 00:27:24.480 --> 00:27:25.720 and encourage one another 00:27:25.720 --> 00:27:27.480 and live for the Lord Jesus. 00:27:28.200 --> 00:27:28.620 We thank you 00:27:28.620 --> 00:27:29.520 for this time together 00:27:29.520 --> 00:27:31.100 and we ask for your blessing 00:27:31.100 --> 00:27:33.000 on us in the coming days. 00:27:33.460 --> 00:27:34.720 In the name of the Lord Jesus. 00:27:35.840 --> 00:27:36.200 Amen. 00:27:36.200 --> 00:27:36.340 Amen.