Sermon: "A Vision Born of God's Gifts"

A VISION BORN OF GOD’S GIFTS
Joel 2:23-32

The Bible is a library - a library with 66 books in it - 39 in the Old Testament dealing with the beginnings and history of the Jewish people and 27 in the New Testament dealing with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the early history of the church. In this library there are books of law such as Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy (we refer to them as a group as the Torah or Pentateuch, the five books of law) - and there are books of history such as Joshua, Judges, I & II Samuel, I & II Kings in the Old Testament and the book of Acts in the New Testament - and there are books of poetry such as Ecclesiastes and the Psalms - and there are books that are letters, many of them written by the hand of Paul to local churches in places like Rome and Corinth and Thessalonica - and there are books about the end of time - like Daniel and Revelations - and finally, there are books of prophecy, “major” ones like Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel and “minor” ones like Hosea, Obadiah, Malachi, Habbakuk and yes, the book of Joel. There are twelve “minor” ones and they are referred to as “minor”, not because they are less important, but, rather, because of their length - they are all somewhat short. The book of Joel, for example, is just three chapters long. It is from Joel that we glean a message for the communities of faith with/in which we associate.

While Bible scholars are not sure when the prophet Joel lived and made the prophetic observations recorded in the book there seems to be no doubt about what it was Joel wanted those who heard him to hear. The people of Judah had become quite prosperous - they had achieved some national success and as is so often the case when a people become well off, they began to feel pretty good about themselves and their abilities to take care of themselves. Some would say that’s human nature, even though we know full well that we are dependent upon nature and each other in thousands of ways, when things are going well it’s our nature to succumb to the illusion that we are self-made, self-sustained - that we can take care of our own lives and do as we wish. And, when we humans are guilty of such an attitude, God is taken for granted. And when God is taken for granted, people turn to self-centeredness and idolatry. Joel believed that was what was going on in his community of faith.

And then the locusts came. While locusts causing problems weren’t an uncommon experience in that part of the world, it had been awhile since they’d experienced the problem and one of the apparent magnitude of this one was unprecedented. Those who have witnessed an army of locusts in action note that the way Joel described it was pretty accurate and the best depiction they know of. Listen to some of Joel’s descriptive words and phrases: “A nation has invaded my land, powerful and without number; it has the teeth of a lion, the fangs of a lioness. It has laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees. It has stripped off their bark and thrown it away, leaving their branches white.” “Grain offerings and drink offerings are cut off from the house of the Lord.” “The fields are ruined, the ground is dried up; the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, the oil fails. Despair, you farmers, wail, you vine growers; grieve for the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field is destroyed.” “The seeds are shriveled beneath the clods. The storehouses are in ruins;” “Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come. Before them fire devours, behind them a flame blazes. Before them the land is like the garden of Eden, behind them, a desert waste - nothing escapes them. They have the appearance of horses; they gallop along like cavalry. With a noise like that of chariots they leap over the mountaintops, like a crackling fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army drawn up for battle. At the sight of them, nations are in anguish; every face turns pale. They charge like warriors; they scale walls like soldiers.” “They rush upon the city; they run along the wall. They climb into the houses; like thieves they enter through the windows. Before them the earth shakes, the sky trembles, the sun and moon are darkened, and the stars no longer shine.”

Get the picture? The land of Judah was a mess! The locusts had stripped the land of all vegetation thus causing a famine. It was so devastating that all levels of society were affected. Joel saw more than an act of nature in the movement through the land of the powerful locusts though. He saw it as a symbol of the utter destruction of the coming day of judgment, or, “day of the Lord.” Joel felt, like some of the other prophets before him, that the “day of the Lord” was not going to be a time when God would destroy all Israel’s enemies and restore Israel to power as Israel hoped would be the case, but, instead it would be a day of judgment against Israel just as much as against its enemies. Joel perceived that because God’s people had been messing up, been taking God for granted, become believers in the self-sufficiency fallacy, that God was going to punish them right along with their enemies. As far as Joel was concerned the “day of judgment” was not a day that should be being looked forward to by his people because it was going to be a very severe day - a day not unlike the current day of destruction caused by the mass of locusts.

Some claim the locust plague itself was God’s judgment, like some in our own day sometimes mistakenly try to claim with both disasters of nature like earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes, and disasters of human design like the terrorist attacks and changes in the economy and accidents. While there’s no question that Joel saw the hand of God in the plague, it was as a symbolic warning that greater judgment was coming unless the people repented. His was a word that warned his people that they were not immune from the judgment of God simply because of their chosen status.

But Joel’s prophecy wasn’t just about the judgment of God that was sure to come. His people had experienced an unbelievable blow to their view of themselves - their prosperity was severely threatened - they were a scared lot. Joel’s people were so shaken by the natural catastrophe that had befallen them that their ability to visualize a better future was greatly impaired. Joel knew that what they now needed was a word of encouragement - a word of hope. And he provided it by reminding his people of the graciousness and mercifulness of God. Verses 12 and 13 of chapter 2 marks the shift from the word of warning to this word of hope: “‘Even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.’ Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for (God) is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and (God) relents from sending calamity.” “Repent,” cried out Joel, “and our compassionate and forgiving God will change his mind and save us yet.”

And what will the result be of that repentance? At last we’re ready to hear the selected reading. I’d like to begin though with a few of the verses of chapter 2 that come before that reading: “The Lord will reply to them: ‘I am sending you grain, new wine and oil, enough to satisfy you fully; never again will I make you an object of scorn to the nations.” “Be not afraid, O land; be glad and rejoice. Surely the Lord has done great things. Be not afraid, O wild animals, for the open pastures are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches.”

And now, the selected text: “Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten - the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm - my great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed. And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men and women will dream dreams, your young men and women will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the survivors whom the Lord calls.”

Through Joel, God assured his people that all would be as it once was if they did indeed turn from their idolatrous ways, confess the wrongness of the attitude that they could make it on their own, and petition Him with acts of recognition that they had sinned. Specifically in this portion of scripture, Joel claimed God said that appropriate rain for the seasons will be provided, enough crops to fill the threshing floors and new wine and oil for the vats will be provided - plenty to eat. And then, in addition to all these gifts to supply their physical needs, Joel reported that God said he would bestow his spirit on all people - young and old, rich and poor - and the result will be that those who receive the Spirit will be able to prophecy and dream dreams and see visions.

I think the words in the book of Joel are relevant for us in our day. As I read the book of Joel and what others have to say about what they believe Joel’s timeless message is, I can’t help but think about the history of many once thriving churches who've lost their prestige. This passage invites us to dream a bit, maybe envision somewhat, if their future might possibly be different. Right now, I'm remembering several downtown, central city churches. They had everything - lots of people, wonderful facilities, a choir everyone who was wanted to be a member of, plenty of money, influence - if you were going to be a leader in the community it was important that you be seen there. Growth was easy in those days - when someone moved to town and asked about which churches they should visit, business associates, community leaders, neighbors all sent the newcomers to the influential church usually in the heart of the city. Center city churches didn't have to do much of anything in order to have people flock through their doors. It was the place to be - the church to belong to - they didn’t have to tell their story to get people to try them and they didn’t. As long as the community was growing, so were these churches. Additions were necessary to meet the needs of the expanding membership and activities - the membership was made up of so many people who worked and who were used to working by making decisions and delegating to others that staff was added to get the work of the church done. The pews were full and so were the classrooms. They were successful and although I doubt that anyone ever really said it out loud, their behavior certainly reflected it: “we don’t need to go to God for direction or advise or for God’s design for our future, for we must already be doing it right. Just look at how successful we are.”

And then things began to change - downtown was no longer perceived as the center of things - other churches were closer to where population centers were, where new people to the area were moving to. Downtown or uptown churches had competition but many of them had become flabby and not used to turning to God for direction. They thought if they just worked a little harder, called people who were already on the rolls to be a little more accountable, they would overcome their plight - the loss of influence and members. Over the years some of them were fortunate to still have the resources to fulfill their mission - that is, to make disciples for Jesus Christ. Some might be tempted to rationalize that God continued to bless them with resources of money and facilities, but many floundered in their attempts to do what it was theirs to do. And they floundered, I think Joel would say, because they thought for too long that they could turn it around on their own, with their own self-will, work ethic. "After all," they thought, "we’re a bunch of pretty intelligent people, we know how to analyze. We’ll just try harder."

Now, hear me when I confess that I know I was personally guilty of what I’m accusing these churches corporately of. I’ll admit to you that I was discouraged with worship and Sunday School attendance figures and said to myself at more than one church, “If I just work a little harder, get the right staff together, a few more members here or there, we’ll get back to being the church we were. If we just get the right ad created, the right exciting, inviting program, people will flock again to our doors and enough money will come in that we won’t have to rely on money from other sources.”

Have I painted a depressing enough picture? Need to hear something a little more encouraging? I believe there's reason to hope, but, it won't happen because of hard work alone. God continues to make available gifts for us to use and new vision of how to use the gifts provided. Our role is to repent of our tendency to believe that we can do it alone - that we can will our way out of tough situations - that we can see what needs to be done without God’s help. The mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ - individual churches envision unique ways of living it out and proclaiming it. I think one of the recent ways several churches have rediscovered to fulfill that mission is the biblical idea that every member is a minister.

In Rick Warren’s book The Purpose-Driven Church he describes the role of the church as that of catching the waves God builds. “Surfing is the art of riding waves that God builds,” he writes. He continues with, “God makes the waves; surfers just ride them. No surfer tries to create waves. If the waves aren’t there, you just don’t surf that day! On the other hand, when surfers see a good wave, they make the most of it, even if that means surfing in the middle of a storm. Our job as church leaders, like experienced surfers, is to recognize a wave of God’s Spirit and ride it. It is not our responsibility to make waves but to recognize how God is working in the world and join (God) in the endeavor.” (1)

There's hope for every local church. God is doing some amazing things all around us and among us and through us and can do even more as we utilize the gifts and passions within our corporate body and our individual bodies. The gifts and passions God puts in our hearts, guts and being births visions of new ministries that will bring healing to our churches, families, communities, and society. We need to constantly remember that our vision for ministries is born from God’s gifts to us and we will only be successful if we keep in our hearts and minds that we can’t do it alone, that we need God’s guidance, inspiration. And whenever we forget it, let us remember to repent of our sin of independence and human pride. Be hopeful, people of God, God is in charge!

(This is another sermon I prepared prior to my adequately and appropriately footnoting. I'm sure much of the interpretation of Joel was derived from a not recorded source.)

1. Rick Warren, The Purpose-Driven Church (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995), pp. 20-21 e-book.