As we've worked our way through the first half of Joel's prophecy, we've seen that the nation that was identified as God's people had sinned greatly and repeatedly, and so they had incurred God's wrath and his judgment. This judgment came in a particular form in the days of Joel, in the form of a huge swarm of locusts which devastated the land followed by a drought which hindered the land's recovery. Now the purpose of this judgment of God upon his people was twofold. Firstly, it was to awaken the people to the folly of their sinful ways. They were drinking in the world's pleasure instead of treasuring God. They were living in proud self-dependence instead of humbly depending upon God. They were pursuing a religion of empty ritual instead of a living faith in God. And so this plague of locusts and this drought shook them. It awakened them to the reality of the vanity of the lives that they were living. The emptiness and the futility of their rebellion against God. The second purpose of this judgment was to warn the people of a greater judgment to come. that this physical, temporal judgment was but a foretaste of an eternal judgment. That if they persisted in their rebellion against God, if they continued pursuing the things of this world rather than the things of God, and defying God and his goodness to them in their self-dependence, and relinquishing the rituals and their purity in the temple worship by going through empty forms of worship rather than the heart reality of it, they would incur a judgment that would be far greater than the plague of locusts and the drought. It would not only devastate their land, it would devastate their lives. And for all eternity, they would be cut off from the privileges and the blessings of God. It would be as real and as certain as their present affliction and of unending duration. And so Joel called the people to repentance. He urged them to change their direction. He urged them to wake up and see their plight. He urged them to turn from their wickedness and return to the living God. And they did. The priests cried out to God, The people called for mercy from God, and God saw how they responded. He heard their cries of repentance, and he reversed the devastation that he had brought upon them, caused by the locusts and the drought. We saw that this was a picture of the change that God can bring into the lives of those who turn from their wicked ways to walk in paths of righteousness, following him and his word. Not that he would bring material prosperity and physical health to all who cry upon his name, but where lives were previously desolate of purpose and void of hope, they would now be filled with joy and overflowing with peace in the presence of God. And so this evening, I draw your attention to Joel chapter two and verses 28 through 32. where we read, it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days, I will pour out my spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls. This section bridges the gap between the present and the future, between the material and the spiritual. It demonstrates that not only does repentance reverse the devastation of empty lives, devoid of purpose, but it saves from eternal destruction, as Joel has described. Now, I want you to consider, firstly, what Joel was telling the Jews. as he speaks these words to them, having told them that the Lord would revisit them with blessing, and he would restore to them the years that the locusts had eaten. Such would be the plenty and prosperity of the land that the plague of locusts would be forgotten. It would be as though it had never happened, as though it had never struck, as though the judgment had never touched their lives. Such is the grace of God, such is the mercy of God to those who call upon Him in humility, repenting of their sins. But now Joel goes on to say that the God's blessing will not simply be a material blessing upon a land devastated because of their rebellion against him, their refusal to honour him and to worship him as prescribed, but that his blessing upon them would have a spiritual dimension, that his blessing would affect their hearts and their lives with eternal consequences, and not simply be limited to their lives in this world, the Spirit of God would be poured out upon them. Now it was known that the Spirit of God came upon certain men, in particular those who were anointed to preach the Word of God, to speak it to the people, the prophets in particular. Kings also, as they were anointed, might receive the Spirit of God. But for the general population, this idea of anointing and being touched by the Spirit of God was not something that they were taught to expect. And so these words of Joel to the people were a revelation to them. This was something new. This was something above and beyond anything that God had done for them or promised to them before. That the general population, sons and daughters, the young and the old, even servants, would have the spirit of God to illuminate their lives, to guide them in their walk. The spirit of God would be poured out. It would abundantly spread among them and enliven them and activate them to walk in God's ways, to know his word and to follow his will. They would all be like prophets in that sense, knowing the mind of God. Dreams and visions were the domain of the prophets. It was the way through which God spoke to them and directed them to speak to the people, to bring his word of challenge to them or of encouragement to them according to their need. But now, he says, all people will enjoy these blessings. Not to say that they would literally dream dreams and see visions. but that they would know the Spirit of God, that He would speak to them, that He would guide them, that He would teach them the ways of God, that they would have a spiritual understanding of the truth of God, that they would have enlightenment in their minds and illumination for their lives. all would benefit directly from the Spirit of God and no longer be dependent upon another to teach them. But as another prophet says, all will know me. You don't need to be told that God is your God, that His grace is your salvation. You will know it when the Spirit of God comes upon you. This is the blessing of the new covenant promised to the people, that God's Spirit will come upon them and they will be given a new heart and a new spirit within them, new lives transformed by the inward reworking, remaking, recreating of them. so that now their hearts will not lead them astray to the worship of idols, to vanity and folly, but now their spirit-imbued hearts will encourage them and direct them and strengthen them to walk in God's ways and to do God's will. They will be directed in the law of God and enabled to walk in its precepts. They will no longer be a wayward people, a stiff-necked people, a rebellious people, because they will be born of the Spirit of God to a new life in Him. God's blessings would bridge the gap between the present and the future, the reality of their lives as they were living them then, and the hope of eternal life that others had caught a glimpse of in the promises of God and trusted in for their hope. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, and many others had seen in the promises of God and in the physical blessings of God, signs and symbols of something greater, something more lasting than a physical land. They were looking for a heavenly kingdom. They were looking for the city of God. They were looking for His presence. And God is saying that these people can have that. That the blessings of God will come upon them when he pours out his spirit upon them. And there will be signs, he says, of this reality unfolding for them. Predictions now of signs of the end times. This isn't something that was going to happen immediately. These were promises to the people of God of events that would unfold. It shall come to pass afterward. And yet, in some measure, as they grasp hold of these promises, they had the hope of the blessings. They would be their blessings even then, but they would be fulfilled sometime in the future. And we see from the New Testament that their fulfillment came in the days of Jesus Christ, at least in part. with his death upon the cross and the gifting of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, but more fully they would be completed at Christ's second advent. What Joel presents here in this prophecy is the beginning and the end of the last days. It is a and an enveloping prophecy that foresees the coming of Jesus Christ and the blessings of new life in him, and then his return at the end of the age, when he will bring the work that he has begun to its perfect and glorious climax in the new heavens and the new earth, where this world will pass away and all of its sin and all of its destructive influences will come to an end and be no more. There will be perfection on that day when Christ comes in all his glory. For those two advents of Christ, his incarnation and his later return, are brought together in this one prophecy. God's blessing would provide hope of real salvation for his people, not just salvation from physical suffering, not simply salvation from a temporal judgment that may befall them to awaken them and correct them and direct them back to a humble dependence upon God and true worship of him, but God's blessing would bring a real salvation from eternal judgment and the punishment that this world deserves for its sin against a holy God and a righteous creator. Here is the hope of life and life eternal as the spirit of God is poured out and those who call upon God for mercy, we're told, will be saved. not now saved from locusts and their devastating effect, not now saved from droughts, but saved from sin and all of its consequences, saved from the judgment that they deserve from a holy God against whom they've rebelled, those on whom the Spirit is poured out, will be called and will themselves call on the name of the Lord. These are rich promises that Joel speaks to this people of things future, of things to come, but of blessings that they may have with sure hope if they will trust in the word of God. This is what Joel was saying to the people of his generation. And the centuries passed, and the promise was fulfilled. God did send his Spirit. He did pour out his Spirit. And this is what, in the book of Acts, in the second chapter, Peter was telling the crowd. For he, together with other disciples of Jesus Christ, had been gathered together in an upper room in Jerusalem, awaiting the promise, the gift of the Spirit of God. And as they were gathered there, praying to God and waiting upon God, suddenly the Spirit came. descending like tongues of fire upon each one, a physical evidence of his presence among them. And then they began to go out from that upper room into the streets of Jerusalem and there, encountering the crowds who were there for the festival of the Passover and of Pentecost. They began to speak. speak to the crowd who had come from all over the Roman Empire and further afield. People, Jews, who had been dispersed at different times in the history of Israel, settled in different communities, adopting their languages, but still known to be Jews, the people of God, who would return from time to time to Jerusalem to celebrate the feasts of the law of God. And here they are, Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and parts of Libya. Even visitors from Rome are there. And they hear these Jews speaking to them in their own languages, in their own dialects, clearly proclaiming to them the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. What has happened? What is unfolding in these days? Well, some begin to suspect that these are drunkards. They have been drinking too much long into the night and into the morning, and Peter says they're not drunk, as you suppose. These are filled with the Spirit of God. This is what Joel uttered. This is what he spoke of. The outpouring of the Spirit of God on all flesh. Now, Joel didn't say anything about speaking in tongues. Didn't say anything about speaking in foreign languages. But you see what the people were doing. on the day of Pentecost and speaking in those tongues was what the prophets were doing. Those who saw visions and dreamed dreams, receiving the word of God to proclaim it to the people of God. This is what these people are doing. And so in the spirit of God, these people are fulfilling that which Joel had predicted. Joel's prophecy, Peter says, is now being fulfilled. The many days have passed since Joel's day, and now the time appointed has come, and the Spirit of God has been poured out. And here are men and women, here are young and old, here are the servants, and they have the Spirit of God, and they are speaking the Word of God. Again, later on in Acts chapter 10, similar things would unfold as Peter preached the gospel to Gentiles, and there again, The Spirit of God was poured out upon them. And there again, there were the signs of the Spirit as those who received him began speaking in tongues and extolling God. And Peter realized that what was happening was a fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel, that this was a prophecy not just for Jews, not just for the ancient people of God, but that the Spirit of God would be poured out on all flesh, on Gentiles as well as Jews. It was impossible to miss the reality of what was unfolding. And Peter understood it, and he said, can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? And so, just as on the day of Pentecost, 3,000 people who received the Spirit of God, repenting in faith in Jesus Christ, were baptized. So, in this Roman community, among these Gentiles who received the Holy Spirit, repenting of their sins and trusting in Jesus Christ, they were baptized. This was the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy. The promise had now come to pass and it was given to all. People from every tribe and every language and every nation on this earth would be blessed with the reality and the power of the Spirit of God in their lives. He would transform them. He would change them. Their hearts of stone would be turned into hearts of flesh. Their blind eyes would be opened and their deaf ears unstopped so that they would see glorious things in the word of God and hear the invitation to come to Jesus Christ, to call upon his name and be saved. And so salvation came to the nations of the world. after the ascension of Jesus Christ to the right hand of God the Father, and the pouring out of the Spirit of God upon all flesh. And so what Joel said to the Jews of old, and what Peter was telling the crowd in his day, is the message of God for you. What is God telling you through these words? That the Spirit is given, that he is given in power to all who call upon him, to all who believe the Word of God and humble themselves and acknowledge their sin and cry out to God for salvation. All who call upon his name will be saved. This is the message that Paul proclaimed in Jerusalem. This is the message that he took with him into the Roman Empire, to Galatia, to Thessalonica, to Ephesus, to Rome, and perhaps even beyond. This is the message of hope that this world needs, that there can be reconciliation with God, that though we deserve the outpouring of his wrath, though we deserve this world to be destroyed, though we deserve our lives to receive the full punishment for our sins, God is a God of mercy. God is a God who delights to forgive those who call upon him in humility and repentance. To those who believe in the Word of God, in the message of salvation, to those who call, there is salvation. And it is possible because of the Spirit of God. His awakening work in the lives of those who are dead in their trespasses and sins. It is possible because of the Spirit of God and His illuminating darkened minds that have been deceived by the lies of Satan, opening them up to know the truth and believe the truth and respond to the truth. It is the Spirit's work. that humbles proud hearts, so that they will bow before the living God, acknowledging their sins and appealing to him for mercy. It is the Spirit's work that is being undertaken today all around the world, wherever the gospel is preached. The Spirit is being poured out as he was at Pentecost. as he was in the home of that Roman centurion, and as he has been in all the ages since, wherever the Word of God is proclaimed, there the Spirit of God is active. We do not need to look for special signs. for his work is seen in the illumination of minds that once did not understand and did not comprehend the mind of God. The demonstration of the presence of the Spirit of God is in spiritual discernment and understanding, and in lives lived in the power of the Spirit, producing the fruit of the Spirit. And so the promise that was given to the Jews in Joel's day, the promise that came to its first fulfillment in the days of Peter, is a promise that still applies, for the last day has not yet dawned. The coming of Christ to judge the world has not yet happened. And those who call upon the Lord now will be saved. And such a call is evidence of the Spirit's presence. It is those who are called by God who call upon God. So how will you respond to this message? Do you see your utter helplessness and hopelessness? Do you see the emptiness and meaninglessness of your life without God? The Jews of Joel's day were drinking in the world's pleasure instead of treasuring God. Is that you? Is that a description of you? Do you find that your heart is drawn more to this world? And when you hear about God, and you hear about God's ways, and you hear about God's righteousness, and you hear about God's expectations, you think, oh, I don't like that. That doesn't appeal to me. I have no longing for those things. Well, such an attitude demands repentance. God is worth treasuring. His ways are worth pursuing. It is a lie to think that this world's pleasures will satisfy. It is only in God that there is true satisfaction, for He is the purpose of our existence. We were created for Him as well as by Him, and we will never find satisfaction anywhere else than in His service, in bowing to Him and walking in His ways. Are you living a life of self-dependence or do you realize that all that you have and all that you are comes from the hand of a generous God? And will you acknowledge that and give thanks to that and show your gratitude by humbly walking with Him? You're here perhaps Sunday by Sunday. You go through the rituals of singing the hymns, of bowing in the prayers, of listening to the messages. But is it just an empty ritual? Or is there a living faith in God? You see, like the Jews, we today can have all of the outward form and none of the inward reality. And today is a day of grace. Today is a day of salvation. Today is the day in which the Spirit of God is moving, calling, urging. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Cast yourselves upon his mercy and you will find forgiveness. Turn to Him in repentance and faith, and you will find the glory of God in His saving grace. And then walk with Him in the power of the Spirit. Walk with Him, not in the ways of this world, but for the glory of God. Walk with Him. As Paul wrote to the Galatians, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law, and those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. The Spirit is poured out upon all flesh. Open your heart to the Spirit of God. Receive him in all of his power and grace. to the glory of God as you trust in Jesus Christ as Saviour and as King. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, help us, we pray. Help us indeed by your Spirit. Grant him to us that he may stir us and change us and guide us and teach us. May his work be fulfilled in us. To the glory of your name and the exaltation of Jesus Christ and his saving work, we ask. Amen.