RETURN TO ME: JOEL

• The common core nature all people are born with is a nature that chooses .
• The common message God gave was RETURN TO ME. To return means they have God’s ways.
• People don’t usually express their arrogance toward God verbally. It’s expressed in .
• Some return to God, while others go their way.
• God calls His people, then and now, to wholehearted because He is gracious, just, patient, and merciful.

• Joel 1:1 The Lord gave this message to Joel son of Pethuel.
• “Son of Pethuel” distinguishes this Joel from other men named Joel and identifies him as the of “the word of the LORD.”
• Pethuel is not presented as prominent in the book, yet his brief mention grounds Joel’s ministry in a real and historical .
• Joel means “Jehovah is God”.
• Among the 12 minor prophets, Joel was among the earliest.
• Joel prophesied during the reign of Joash, King of Judah (the southern part of Israel).
• Joel was a contemporary of Elijah and Elisha and probably knew them.

• There are two common characteristics of prophets: obedience and boldness.
• It’s one thing to receive a strong word from the Lord, and it’s another to be obedient and that word.
• How eager would you be to to a friend who admits to being a follower of Jesus but isn’t living a God-honoring life?
• Galatians 6.1-3 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.

• Joel 1.2-7 Hear this, you leaders of the people. Listen, all who live in the land. In all your history, has anything like this happened before? 3 Tell your children about it in the years to come, and let your children tell their children. Pass the story down from generation to generation. 4 After the cutting locusts finished eating the crops, the swarming locusts took what was left! After them came the hopping locusts, and then the stripping locusts, too! 5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you wine-drinkers! All the grapes are ruined, and all your sweet wine is gone. 6 A vast army of locusts has invaded my land, a terrible army too numerous to count. Its teeth are like lions’ teeth, its fangs like those of a lioness. 7 It has destroyed my grapevines and ruined my fig trees, stripping their bark and destroying it, leaving the branches white and bare.
• If living meant having healthy crops, would locust devastation be a concern for us today?
• What if, in one day, all the money saved in the bank was suddenly gone? Would that be a big deal?
• Joel 1:10-11 The fields are ruined, the land is stripped bare. The grain is destroyed, the grapes have shriveled, and the olive oil is gone. 11 Despair, all you farmers! Wail, all you vine growers! Weep, because the wheat and barley—all the crops of the field—are ruined.
• When we feel the consequences of our sin, would we ever be enough to say to ourselves, “It didn’t have to be this way”?

• Joel 1:16-19 Our food disappears before our very eyes. No joyful celebrations are held in the house of our God. 17 The seeds die in the parched ground, and the grain crops fail. The barns stand empty, and granaries are abandoned. 18 How the animals moan with hunger! The herds of cattle wander about confused, because they have no pasture. The flocks of sheep and goats bleat in misery. 19 Lord, help us! The fire has consumed the wilderness pastures, and flames have burned up all the trees.
• Joel 2:6 Fear grips all the people; every face grows pale with terror.
• Never say, in a time of turmoil, that at least things can’t get any worse. They can.

• Joel 2:12-17 That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. 13 Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish. 14 Who knows? Perhaps he will give you a reprieve, sending you a blessing instead of this curse. Perhaps you will be able to offer grain and wine to the Lord your God as before. 15 Blow the ram’s horn in Jerusalem! Announce a time of fasting; call the people together for a solemn meeting. 16 Gather all the people—the elders, the children, and even the babies. Call the bridegroom from his quarters and the bride from her private room. 17 Let the priests, who minister in the Lord’s presence, stand and weep between the entry room to the Temple and the altar. Let them pray, “Spare your people, Lord! Don’t let your special possession become an object of mockery. Don’t let them become a joke for unbelieving foreigners who say, ‘Has the God of Israel left them?’”
• Joel 2:28 Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions.
• Peter quotes Joel 2:28-31 in Acts 2.17-21. Salvation is for all who call upon the of the Lord.
• “The Day of the Lord” refers to God’s intervention to His enemies and to His people. In the New Testament refers to the day of Christ’s (1 Thessalonians 5.1-4 and 2 Peter 3.8-13).
• “The Day of the Lord” is both a of judgment and a of restoration.

• Is there a specific sin that has created distance between you and God?
• God promise to people.
• Joel 3:21 I will pardon my people’s crimes, which I have not yet pardoned; and I, the Lord, will make my home in Jerusalem with my people.”
• What’s the word that soothes a sinner’s troubled life? RESTORATION.

Merciful God,

I acknowledge that I am a sinner and cannot save myself. I repent of my sin and ask You to forgive me. I believe that Jesus bled, suffered, and died on the cross for my sins, and that You raised Him from the dead. Today, I place my faith in Jesus alone—not in good works or a religion, but in a relationship.

Jesus, I confess You as my Lord and Savior. Please forgive me. I surrender my life to You and ask You to help me follow and obey You from this day forward. Thank You for Your mercy, Your grace, and the gift of eternal life.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

If you have made a decision for Christ today please let us know by clicking this link and filling out the form.