Let me invite you, church, to open with me to the book of Joel. Joel chapter one. We're gonna be looking at verses one through 13 this evening. Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel. Not sure what comes to your mind when you read the minor prophets. They're probably some of the less read sections of your Bible, but our text this evening makes me think about, of all things, driver's ed. Now stick with me here for a second. I promise that'll make sense in a second. I took driver's ed about 13 years ago, right in the heart of downtown Jarrettsville. I think it was called Four Corners at the time. And my expectation going in was, you know, you'd go in, you take the thing, you learn the rules, you pass the test, and then you get to just keep kind of journeying into the promised land of adulthood. And for the first few nights, that was basically what happened. You know, you learn some rules, you take some notes, they tell you what roadsides mean, In my day, you had to learn how to parallel park. They don't do that anymore. But you learn how to parallel park, all fairly standard and straightforward instruction. And then there came the night when they showed us the video. I wonder if any of you all remember the video. The video where they show you, in all of the just horrific detail that they can, a car crash caused by distracted driving. They show you in this video, at least they did in my day, the destruction, the trauma, the pain, the tragic consequences of a car wreck. And if you're like me, a lot of that imagery has stuck with you to this day. Here's the thing, nothing about what you're shown in that video is pleasant at all. But what's happening is you're being forced to stare in the face of this appalling scene. It's being held right up to your nose so that you can see the consequences. The consequences in that case of driving in a way that's unsafe. And so even though it's horrific, there's a sense in which it is good. It's good to see the tragedy. It's good to be faced with the consequences. As we come to the Book of Joel tonight, the text that we're going to consider functions in a very similar way. Joel is prophesying in the midst of this time of national crisis for the people of Judah. They're experiencing this devastating invasion of locusts that's making their land into a wasteland. He's gonna look out at the scene of destruction that's playing out, and as God reveals his word to him, and, and this is important, based on what God had already revealed, he's going to rightly identify this as an act of historic judgment from God against his people because of their sin. And what's going to happen in this text is that we're going to be confronted with the grim reality of God's judgment against his sinful people. We're going to be forced to stare at it in this text. In vivid language, we're going to see the horror and the tragedy of sin and what sin deserves. And what we're going to be forced to reckon with is the fact that holy God is just to judge sin in this way. In this horrific, historic judgment against sin, we're going to see that sin must be punished. And that this is in fact, the judgment we're going to see here is in fact God being faithful to what he had said would take place. And it's good for us, church, to see the sobering reality of the consequences of sin against Almighty God. This historic judgment that we see in Joel is going to teach us something about what our sin deserves. And yet, we're also going to see that the God who rightly judges sin calls sinners to turn to Him and to receive mercy. We're going to see judgment and salvation put on display all throughout this book. The main point I want us to consider this evening from this passage is that God is just to pour out His judgment upon sin. And yet, He calls sinners to turn to him and receive abundant mercy. Let's look now at Joel chapter one, beginning in verse one. The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Bethuel. Hear this you elders, give ear all inhabitants of the land. Has such a thing happened in your days or in the days of your fathers? Tell your children of it and let your children tell their children and their children to another generation. What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten. And what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten. Awake, you drunkards, and weep, and wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it is cut off from your mouth. For a nation has come up against my land, powerful and beyond number. Its teeth are lion's teeth, and it has the fangs of a lioness. It has laid waste my vine and splintered my fig tree. It has stripped off their bark and thrown it down. Their branches are made white. Lament like a virgin wearing sackcloth for the bridegroom of her youth. The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off from the house of the Lord. The priests mourn. The ministers of the Lord. The fields are destroyed. The ground mourns because the grain is destroyed. The wine dries up. The oil languishes. Be ashamed, O tillers of the soil. Wail, O vine dressers, for the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished. The vine dries up. The fig tree languishes. Pomegranate, palm, and apple, all the trees of the field are dried up. And gladness dries up from the children of man. Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests. Wail, O ministers of the altar. Go in, pass the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God, because grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God. As we walk through this text this evening, hopefully you got it outlined in your bulletin, we're gonna consider two aspects of God's judgment against sin, and then we're gonna conclude by seeing the call for sinners to repent and turn to him. Have three points this evening. First, we're gonna see that the judgment of God against sin is all-encompassing. We're gonna see that the judgment of God separates us from the presence of God. And then finally, we're going to see wonder of wonders that the God who judges sin also calls sinners to turn to Him and to receive mercy. Well, we see first from this passage that the judgment of God against sin is all-encompassing. So Joel is relaying the scene of this historic judgment being poured out on the land of Judah, and we see that there is nothing that is unaffected by this invasion of locusts. This whole passage is filled with this all-encompassing language. Every arena of life for the people of Judah is being ravaged as a result of the locusts that God sent. And we get a sense of just how cataclysmic this scene is right off the bat in verses two and three, as we see how Joel urgently calls on the people of God to hear the word of the Lord. He says, He wants them to pay attention, to give ear and to listen closely. The judgment that they're facing here as a result of their sin, it's no small matter. And we see all throughout this passage, this urgent language over and over again. In verse five, he says, awake. Verse eight, lament. Verse 11, be ashamed. Verse 13, put on sackcloth. Again, he's putting this reality right in their face, saying, you need to see the consequences of your sin against God. It's interesting to note, we're not told the specific sin that precipitated this act of God's judgment. We're not told the background of how Judah specifically was sinning against God. But it's clear, as Joel describes this scene, and as he calls on the people to repent, it's clear that what they're experiencing is the result of Judah's unfaithfulness to God. It's the result of God bringing judgment upon his people. And so they must hear and we must hear the word of the Lord. So we see this all-encompassing language of destruction that just characterizes this entire passage. In verse four, notice that this invasion of locust leaves absolutely nothing in their path. What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust is eaten. And what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust is eaten. There's this poetic progression where you have one swarm, and then whatever's left after that swarm, another one comes. And whatever's left after that, another one comes, just laying waste to everything in their path. And the point is that everything is destroyed. The crops are demolished. These agents of God's judgment are laying waste to everything in their path. And again, see that what this passage is teaching us is that sin against Almighty God warrants a total, all-encompassing outpouring of judgment. We need to understand that sin never warrants a slap on the wrist from God. It never warrants a severe talking to. Sin warrants severe and all-encompassing judgment. The imagery of this passage really is of the land of Judah being unmade, being destroyed. That's what sin deserves. This all-encompassing language characterizes this entire passage, and we see how it just affects all areas of life. In verses five through seven, we see that as a result of this invasion, the fruit of the vine is cut off. It's gone. Let me ask you for a second to lay aside your baptistic impulses and see for just a moment that in this context, wine would have been representative of God's blessing and prosperity upon the land of Judah. Now we certainly see that it could have been abused. It could be abused. We see him calling out the drunkards, calling them to wake up. But the broader context of the Old Covenant, we need to recognize that In Deuteronomy, God had said that as his covenant people were preparing to enter into the land, if they were to be faithful to the covenant that God had given them, he was going to make their land fruitful. He was going to cause it to bear much fruit. There would be a good harvest with good fruit to enjoy. And so wine would have been an indicator of God's blessing on the land. The land is producing. It's yielding fruit. But here that blessing is cut off from their mouth. The sweet wine was gone. See that here for the land of Judah, the judgment of God, the righteous judgment of God, it cuts off the enjoyment of life's good gifts. The imagery in verse seven just heightens the tragedy even more. Look at verse seven. It has laid waste my vine and splintered my fig tree. It is stripped off their bark and thrown it down. Their branches are made white. So see this, you have this image of a flourishing vine. Think image indicating God's blessing, a flourishing, growing, beautiful green vine. And it's just been laid completely bare, stripped down to nothing. Its branches are made white and lifeless. And see what's happening there. The very sign indicating the blessing of God and the prosperity for God's people, it now testifies to God's judgment against His people because of their sin. And what's happening with the vine and the fig tree is an indication of what's happening to the land of Judah. Judah is being laid bare because of her sin. Look to the wasted vine. Look to the splintered fig tree. They tell you the story of God's judgment against sin. But we see further in this passage that it's not only the wine that makes life sweet that's affected by this invasion of locusts. No, in fact, the wheat that's needed for daily bread and the fruits that nourish the people are also reduced to nothing. See this in verse 11. Be ashamed, O tillers of the soil. Wail, O vinedressers, for the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished. And the imagery here is that God's judgment comes not only against kind of the cherries on top of life, it comes up against not only the sweet wine, it comes against the very essentials of life. There's no wheat, there's no barley, no bread for survival. Perhaps this doesn't quite land for us because we live in a magical pseudo-world where our food comes to us nicely and neatly packaged in a grocery aisle. And thank you, Eric, for the work that you do. But if there's no harvest, there's no life. The judgment of sin that sin deserves is to be cut off from life itself. And again, just see how this devastating, tragic language and imagery continues in verse 12. The vine dries up, the fig tree languishes, pomegranate, palm, and apple, all the trees of the field are dried up, and gladness dries up from the heart of man. So the harvest, this time that was meant to be a time of celebration and thanksgiving, it now becomes a time of sorrow and shame because God's judgment is coming against his people. And it's as though as the harvest dries up, the same thing is happening within their hearts. Their gladness is drying up. Their souls are reflecting the barren, desolate wasteland that these locusts have brought. Again, we need to see this so clearly as a result of their sin and their covenant breaking against God. Before we move on from this section, I just want to offer us one practical application from the imagery that we have here in verses 11 and 12. As we see this imagery of all of life being cut off and of barrenness resulting from sin against God, may this imagery serve us in our daily battle against sin. See, sin in our lives always promises gladness, doesn't it? It always promises a harvest. It promises satisfaction. Sin so often says to us, turn here, you're gonna find abundance and life and joy and flourishing here. But we see repeatedly in scripture that the true impact of sin, if it's left unchecked and unrepented of, is to dry up gladness from our hearts and from our lives. Sin promises a harvest, but it leaves us desolate. It promises to lead us back into Eden. but in fact, it leads us further and further into the wilderness. So friends, may we not be enticed by the empty promises of sin. May we see what it leads to, the destruction that it wreaks over our lives. As we see in this passage, this all-encompassing language of judgment, I want us to recognize two things before we move on to point number two. First, we need to understand that what we see here is not an indication that God has somehow failed. But this is in fact God being faithful to his word. Let me invite you to turn with me to Deuteronomy for a moment. Turn with me to Deuteronomy chapter 28. This is one of the most important chapters for understanding the entire Old Testament and what God is doing in Israel So Deuteronomy 28, as Israel is about to enter into the promised land and Moses has given them the law, the covenant once more, we see in Deuteronomy 28 that as they go into the land, God promises them that if they are faithful to the covenant, he will bless them and bless their land. But if they're unfaithful, if they turn to sin and to idolatry, there will be curses for their covenant breaking. Deuteronomy 28, look first at verses one through four. And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth, and all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you. If you obey the voice of the Lord your God, blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb, and the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your cattle, and the increase of your herds, and the young of your flock. You see, blessing held out for God's old covenant people if they would obey the covenant. But then look at verse 15. But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God, or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground. the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. See how he's replaying the blessings, but flipping them. Then go down to verse 38. Verse 38, continuing in these covenant curses for disobedience. He says, you shall carry much seed into the field and shall gather in little, for the locust shall consume it. He shall plant vineyards and dress them, but ye shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worms shall eat them. So as we look at what the prophet Joel is saying, we need to see that God is doing exactly what he said he would do. In the grand story of scripture, if we look big picture, what's happening here is that God had chosen Israel as his old covenant people through whom he was going to bless all the nations. And essentially what he's doing is he's constituting them, creating them as a sort of new humanity, bringing them into the promised land as a new Eden, calling them to be faithful to this covenant relationship and holding out blessings for them if they would be faithful. but telling them that if they were to be unfaithful, if they were to break covenant, this new Eden would be unmade. Curses would come upon them. They would experience, in a sense, a de-creation. So what God is bringing against his people here, through this historic act of judgment, is exactly what he had promised and what he had said would take place. This is God being faithful to his word, not his word failing amongst the people of Judah. Secondly, we need to see that our sin warrants the all-encompassing judgment of God. What we see Judah experiencing from the hand of God teaches us something about what all sin before a holy God warrants, complete and eternal destruction. Now, I want to be clear that we're not under the same covenant relationship with God that Judah was under. So we shouldn't interpret, you know, the failure of our gardens or a bad day at work as God's judgment against us. We'll think a little bit more about this at the end under point number three. But we need to see that what our sin deserves and what all sin deserves before a holy God is a total outpouring of His wrath. So friends, if there's anything good in our lives, if there's anything good in the lives of our unsaved friends and neighbors, it's because God is merciful to us. He's saying tonight that it's His breath in our lungs. If you're drawing breath right now, you are receiving far more from the hand of God than you could ever deserve. It's only because God is showing you a mercy and a kindness that you don't deserve that you're here right now. So we see first in this passage that the judgment of God against sin is all-encompassing. It lays waste to the land of Judah in this historic judgment. But what we're gonna see next is that not only is the physical land affected, In fact, the greatest consequence of sin and of judgment for the people of Judah, the greatest consequences were not physical, they're spiritual. The worship of God had ceased. This brings us to point number two. Point number two, we see that the judgment of God separates us from presence of God. We see this in verses eight through 10. The real tragedy of this scene, the real tragedy of this devastation that's coming upon the people of Judah, was that the daily sacrifices of the temple had ceased. We see this in verse nine. He says the grain offering and the drink offering are cut off from the house of the Lord. The priests mourn the ministers of the Lord. In the book of Exodus, in Exodus chapter 29, verses 38 through 42, The priests had been commanded to sacrifice a lamb with grain and with wine every morning and every evening. It was this daily reminder of the covenant that God had made with his people Israel. It was a daily reminder that he dwelt among them and they were called to live their lives before the face of God. So just think about this, at the beginning of the day, and at the end of the day, as these sacrifices are carried out, it's this daily reminder of what God had said to them. I will be your God, you will be my people. I will be your God, and you will be my people, day in and day out, as these sacrifices are carried out as God had prescribed. But because of the destruction of the locusts, the grain and the wine that would have been used for these offerings are gone. and therefore the daily worship of God had ceased. And so now it's as though the people of Judah are being told, I am not your God, and you are not my people. And see in verses eight through 10 that just the great sorrow that comes as a result of this consequence of being cut off from the worship of God. It says, lament like a virgin wearing sackcloth. The priests mourn. Even the ground mourns. What's happening is Judah is being cut off from knowing and worshiping God. The reality of their sin had threatened the very possibility of God being present among them. So these locusts, they cause physical destruction on the land, but the real tragedy is a spiritual reality. The real tragedy is being cut off from God's presence, being cut off from knowing and worshiping him rightly as he had prescribed in his law. And we can identify a similar pattern in our own lives, can't we? I wonder if we see how our unrepentant sin threatens our ability to worship God. how if we continue to seek our satisfaction in sin, we compromise our ability to gather together with God's people and worship Him rightly. When we refuse to confront realities of sin in our lives, our relationship with God and with others suffers. Our sin is never merely an individual reality. Because we are united together in Christ, our sin always affects other people. And we need to see, friends, that this is a life and death issue. Think about those in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 who died as a result of their unrepentant sin and improper worship in the way they were taking the Lord's Supper. Now again, we need to recognize there are distinctions between us today and Judah under the Old Covenant. We need to see that our standing before God is through faith in Christ and that nothing can undo that. But see the broad principle. Sin separates us from God. Sin has disastrous effects on our worship of God. And again, see how the pattern here we see in Joel is really just replaying the very thing that we see at the beginning of the book of Genesis. We see in Genesis that God created Adam and Eve to know and to worship him. He places them in this garden that's really like a temple where his presence dwells with them. But the result of their sin and their rebellion against God is that they're cast out of God's presence. That they're left in the desolate wilderness of a world that's under the curse of sin. And we see all throughout scripture that to be in God's presence is to experience life. But to be cut off from God's presence is to experience death. And as the story moves forward with the nation of Israel and with the people of Judah here in the book of Joel, we see that same pattern and those same themes replaying themselves. God's judgment against sin is that sinners are cut off and cast out of his presence, cut off from knowing him and cut off from worshiping him. And we need to see once more that this is what our sin deserves. to be cut off from knowing and loving and experiencing life in the presence of Almighty God. This is the real tragedy of your unsaved neighbor or your unsaved relative. They don't know God. Sin separates from God. Sin makes true worship, the very thing we were made for, impossible. And apart from a work of God's grace, we would all be cut off from God's presence for all eternity. So we see here the reality that sin makes true worship of God impossible. And as we see this bleak picture in Joel, and it has been a bleak picture, there's a question that I think we might be tempted to ask. Isn't this just a little bit overkill? You have all this language of total desolation, of the promised land turning into this post-apocalyptic wasteland. It's a bit much, right? Maybe just a tad overkill on the part of God? Let's be honest that in our hearts we might sometimes feel that question rise up. That question, I just want to offer two responses. Firstly, we need to see that the great problem with a question like that is that we grossly underestimate the offense of our sin because we grossly underestimate the holiness of our God. We need to recognize that the God who has revealed himself in his word is almighty God. He is the one who made heaven and earth. He is infinitely holy, infinitely perfect, all-powerful, all-glorious. His greatness and his glory are unsearchable, the psalmist says. His glory is so great and His holiness is so majestic that the angels ministering in His presence cover their faces before Him. And if we were to see Him face to face, we would not be left wondering why He makes such a fuss over our sin. Instead, we'd be with Isaiah, crying out, Woe is me, for I am undone. If we're ever to understand the heinous thing that sin really is, we need to comprehend the holiness of God. Because then we'd never again think that God's response to our sin is overkill. Secondly, in answering this question and related to the first, if we don't understand the horror of our sin for what it is, and the judgment that it warrants, then we will never fathom the depths of God's mercy and God's grace to us in Christ. If this is the ferocity with which God comes in judgment against his people, well, we should be left thinking, okay, this is a historic judgment. How great, then, is the eternal judgment of God against sin? How unthinkable, then, that God has chosen to judge his Son in our place. How unthinkable then that instead of pouring out His wrath on sinners like you and I, God poured out His wrath on His own Son at the cross and calls sinners now to turn to Him and receive mercy. Friends, this is good news. This brings us to point number three. See finally that the God who judges sin calls sinners to turn to Him and to receive mercy. We turn now to verse 13. So thus far, Joel has painted this bleak picture of God's judgment. Again, he's shown us the car wreck. He's preached judgment and shown the consequences of sin. But judgment alone is not the final word in the book of Joel. No, as God proclaims judgment through his prophet, he also calls on his people to repent and to receive mercy. And so in verse 13, we have this call to put on sackcloth and lament, to wail, to pass the night in mourning clothes. Well, what's going on here? What's happened is God has presented his case against Judah. He's shown them the consequences of their sin. And now he is calling for them to mourn over their sin and repent and turn once more to their God. He's calling on them to turn away from loving and languishing in sin and instead to turn back to the God who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt. He's calling them to return to faithfulness to the covenant that he had made with them. And given what we've considered about the holiness of God and the righteousness of his judgment, This should just astound us. The fact that there is any hope for sinful people beyond judgment should absolutely blow us away. And we should see here that even if we didn't go on, and there's great hope in the rest of the book of Joel, but just the fact that God is calling His people to mourn over their sin, in and of itself, that is an act of God's mercy. In and of itself, the fact that God is showing them their sin and not leaving them to it, reveals God's great mercy. And this is what God has revealed about himself all along, that he is the God who is holy. He is the God who judges sin, but he is also the Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. Exodus chapter 34, verses six and seven. So our God is infinitely holy and just, and he is abundantly merciful to sinners like you and I. And it's because of his character as the God of mercy that he calls his people Judah, and that today he calls wicked sinners like you and I to turn from sin and be delivered out of judgment. And moving on in the book of Joel, this is the exact picture that we are presented with We're going to see this more and more in the weeks to come, but the message of Joel is that as God calls Judah to repent, as God calls them to turn from their sin and look to their God, He is the one who will deliver them from judgment. God is going to be the one who restores their ravaged land. God is going to be the one who provides the grain and the wine for their worship. My favorite Sections in the entire book comes from chapter 2, verses 25 and 26, where God tells his people, I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God. So see this picture. As God brings historic judgment against the people of Judah under the old covenant, he's also going to bring a historic deliverance. But we need to see even further that that deliverance that God is going to bring for Judah, for their land, is also pointing beyond itself. It's pointing to a greater deliverance to come. And we're gonna see this as well all throughout the book of Joel, that we have this near fulfillment, these near promises of deliverance, but then those are pointing forward. Because here God is calling his people to faithfulness, back to faithfulness to the old covenant. But that was a covenant that could be broken again. That was a covenant that they could again break through sin and idolatry. So all the while, and we see this all throughout the Old Testament, there's this anticipation of something greater. All throughout, there's this forward momentum. where God is continually saying to his people, in the midst of their sin, in the midst of their unfaithfulness, keep looking forward. Something greater is coming. God's going to bring a greater deliverance. That's not here yet, but it's coming. Keep looking forward. That's almost the lens through which we could just read the entire Old Testament. This salvation that God's going to bring for the people of Judah in the book of Joel, it's pointing beyond itself to a much greater salvation. One that God would accomplish not only for the people of Judah, but for all who call upon his name. And friends, we need to see that this is the salvation that God has accomplished for us in his son, Jesus Christ. We need to see as we see judgment here and as we see a call to repentance here, this points us forward like a beam of light to see that our God has made a way for sinners like you and I to escape the desolation and the destruction of our sins. and to be brought into a saving relationship with God that never ends. He does this by sending his son, Jesus Christ, the second person of the triune God who takes on flesh, who lives a life of perfect faithfulness and perfect obedience, perfect righteousness. Christ had no need to ever repent, and yet, God chose to pour out His wrath and His judgment for sin upon His Son at the cross. Christ Jesus became a curse for us. When we see language of judgment like this that is so severe throughout all of Scripture, it should just heighten and deepen our understanding of what Christ Jesus endured at the cross. the wrath that he experienced from the hand of God for sinners like you and I who do not deserve an ounce of mercy. And yet he drank the cup of God's wrath down to the last drop for sinners who deserve to be unmade. Christ finished the work and Christ rose again in victory over sin and death. And now he, as the exalted risen Lord, calls sinners to turn and to look to him and to repent and to look in faith and to be completely, totally forgiven of sins and declared righteous before God for all eternity. I mean, can you imagine that? That we go in an instant from eternally condemned sinner under God's wrath to forgiven, beloved, justified, righteous, inheriting eternal life all through faith in Christ. Friends, that is the good news of the Gospel. That's what we celebrate and sing every single week. That's why we come to hear God's Word preached, so we can be reminded of the good news of the Gospel that has come to us in Christ. As we conclude tonight, I just want to offer two final exhortations for us. If you're here this evening, or if you're listening online, and you have not put your faith in Christ, Let me exhort you to turn from your sin and to trust in Christ Jesus and His finished work on the cross, because nothing else is going to make you right with God. No amount of effort will atone for your sins, but Jesus is an all-sufficient Savior, and no amount of sin is too much for Him to atone. No amount of sin is too great that He cannot pronounce you forgiven and righteous and redeemed. Put your faith in Him. And then to those of us who are trusting in Christ this evening, who have embraced Christ Jesus as our Savior, the exhortation of this sermon is for us to live in the reality of the salvation that we have in Jesus Christ. So we've seen this dreadful language of judgment, and we'll see more language of judgment as we go on in the book of Joel. Well, how staggering is it then to think and to read that there is now no condemnation for us in Christ Jesus. None. Not an ounce. God's not waiting around the corner to hit you on the head with a stick. He's not waiting around the corner for you to mess up and for you to fall back into condemnation. No, there is no condemnation for you if you are in Christ Jesus. If your faith is in Jesus Christ, your sin has been judged on the cross. And God's not going to judge it again. So live in that reality. Live with assurance in Jesus. Fight your sin and daily repent with assurance in Jesus. Obey God with that assurance in Christ Jesus. Run to your God daily knowing that he's never going to cast you out. Because we see, and the whole book of Joel is about this, that the God who judges sinners is also the God who saves. by judging His Son in our place. Let's pray together. Father, we thank You. We thank You that You have saved us through judging Your Son. And Father, I pray that we would be a people who confess that every week, every day, that we would celebrate that. God, that the message of the cross would be our joy, that it would be our assurance, God, when we feel condemned, when we try to condemn ourselves or when the world tries to condemn us, God, help us to see Christ and help us to proclaim Christ to a world that's under judgment. God, may we be faithful. Would you continue to equip us by your grace to live in the reality of the assurance that we have in Christ Jesus. It's in his name I pray, amen.