Sermon: God’s Response To Repentant Believers
Bible Passage: Joel 2:12-27

I. There was a crisis with regard to farm and agriculture (cf. 1:1-2:11)

1. The crisis was God’s chastisement
2. Locust was God’s vehicle and their invasion of Jerusalem and Judah was God ordained
3. It had a domino effect—it will affect eventually every area of their life
4. In the face of crisis, Joel counsels the people of Judah not to react in despair but with faith
5. In fact, the crisis was not to harm the believers
6. But it was to to get their attention and bring them back to God
7. According to Joel, it is not a sign of God’s rejection, but it is a sign of God’s readiness to heal
8. Solution to the crisis is that the believers “return” to God

a. Return “turning away from any false mode of behavior”
b. With weeping and fasting—visible signs of repentance
c. With an attitude of remorse
d. By calling for a solemn assembly (2:15-17)

II. God responds with favor to those who repent and come back to Him (2:18-27)

1. Jealous God (2:18)
2. Merciful—restraint of anger (2:13)
3. Compassionate God—abundance of kindness (2:18)
4. Reversal of crisis (2:19)

a. Food and vegetation (2:19, 22-24)
b. Restraining of enemies (2:20)
c. Additional compensation for the loss (2:25-27)
d. Fuller, complete restoration began with the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (Joel 2:28 and Acts 2)

5. Believers’ prayer and repentance move God

III. In the midst of all good things, Jesus identifies in the Church at Ephesus a problem that needs immediate correction (Rev 2:4)

1. They lost their first love—they lost their zeal to testify, which was the evidence of their love in the early days
2. They need to have a realistic look why it happened
3. They must repent and do what they did at first
4. If they did not repent, the consequence is that Jesus would take their missional privilege (Lampstand)

Take Away:

Return to God with genuine repentance