Get Ready Joel 2:12-17, Adapted from a Jerry Watts sermon http://www.sermoncentral.com/print_friendly.asp?ContributorID=&SermonID=145598

1. Get Ready
Joel 2:12-17

2. Joel 2:12 NIV “Even now,” declares the
LORD, “return to me with all your
heart, with fasting and weeping and
mourning.” 13 Rend your heart and not
your garments. Return to the LORD your
God, for he is gracious and
compassionate, slow to anger and
abounding in love, and he relents from
sending calamity.

3. 14 Who knows? He may turn and have
pity and leave behind a blessing—grain
offerings and drink offerings for the LORD
your God. 15 Blow the trumpet in Zion,
declare a holy fast, call a sacred
assembly. 16 Gather the people,
consecrate the assembly; bring together
the elders, gather the children, those
nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom
leave his room and the bride her chamber.

4. 17 Let the priests, who minister before the
LORD, weep between the temple porch
and the altar. Let them say, “Spare your
people, O LORD. Do not make your
inheritance an object of scorn, a byword
among the nations. Why should they say
among the peoples, „Where is their God?‟
”

5. In the first part of the prophecy of Joel, we
have been reminded of the Day of the
Lord and what will happen on that day.
It‟s not pretty, but it is a reality.
Our text today calls us to GET READY for
Christ‟s return.

6. Matthew 16:24 NET Then Jesus said to
his disciples, "If anyone wants to become
my follower, he must deny himself, take up
his cross, and follow me. 25 For whoever
wants to save his life will lose it, but
whoever loses his life for my sake will find
it. 26 For what does it benefit a person if
he gains the whole world but forfeits his
life? Or what can a person give in
exchange for his life?

7. 27 For the Son of Man will come with his
angels in the glory of his Father, and then
he will reward each person according to
what he has done.
(An allusion to Psa 28:4; Psa 62:12;
cf. Pro 24:12)

8. Joel prophesied people had to do things to
GET READY. Jesus calls each of us to
deny himself, take up his cross, and follow
me, because, when he returns he will
reward each person according to what he
has done.
Are we doing anything!
Salvation demands ACTION!

9. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 NET For the Lord
himself will come down from heaven with
a shout of command, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trumpet of
God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive, who are
left, will be suddenly caught up together
with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in
the air. And so we will always be with the
Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one
another with these words.

10. We know about getting ready for things.
We get ready for events, school, work,
weddings, church and much more. We
don‟t want to go somewhere and not be
ready. How do we get ready to meet God
and eternity? Realizing that our world,
society, and even church culture has
missed God‟s mark (which, by definition, is
sinful) and that nothing sinful is ready to
meet God, what do we do?

11. For the people of Israel, after this
prophecy with eye-opening judgment, God
gave Joel the way to get ready.
These verses suggest 3 actions which a
church and a culture need to
“GET READY.”

12. 1. Assemble God’s Children
The first line in verse 15 is a repeat of
verse 1, “Blow the trumpet” yet here it is
for a different reason. Verse 1 is an alarm
while verse 15 is a call to gather.
Picture it this way.
The Emergency Broadcast Tone or
tornado sirens are sounding an alarm.

13. The Church bell, the same as the bell at
the farm, calls workers to come in to be
fed & nourished. Joel says, “Call all God‟s
children together” and the call of the New
Testament is the same, “Come Together.”
Why?

14. The Power of the Assembly
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a
holy fast, call a sacred assembly.
When we speak of this assembly, the
modern day counterpart is the church. The
assembled church has incredible power.
Just as Jesus gave them to Peter, the
church has the KEYS to spiritual things in
heaven and hell.

15. The idea is not that Peter will admit people
to heaven, but that Peter opened the door
of the kingdom to both the Jews (Act 2:38-
39) and the Gentiles. (Act 10:34-44) (Guzik)
The power to open the gates of the
kingdom of heaven was expanded into the
great missionary commission,

16. - a commission that was understood by
the apostolic church to be addressed not
to the eleven apostles only, but to all
Christ's followers without distinction.
(ISBE)
Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And remember, I am
with you always, to the end of the age."
Matthew 28:19-20 NET

17. But this is the church that is assembled
and together.
In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit fell when they
were all together in one place.
Acts 2:1 NET Now when the day of
Pentecost had come, they were all
together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound
like a violent wind blowing came from
heaven and filled the entire house where
they were sitting.

18. 3 And tongues spreading out like a fire
appeared to them and came to rest on
each one of them. 4 All of them were filled
with the Holy Spirit, and they began to
speak in other languages as the Spirit
enabled them.
In John 17 the Lord Jesus prayed
diligently & passionately for His people to
walk in unity and harmony.

19. John 17:20 NET "I am not praying only on
their behalf, but also on behalf of those
who believe in me through their testimony,
21 that they will all be one, just as you,
Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray
that they will be in us, so that the world will
believe that you sent me.

20. 22 The glory you gave to me I have given
to them, that they may be one just as we
are one — 23 I in them and you in me —
that they may be completely one, so that
the world will know that you sent me, and
you have loved them just as you have
loved me.

21. God has chosen to work through His
church (the assembly) so there are many
other issues which we can glean from the
text. We read of the call to „fast.‟ In simple
terms fasting (though not practiced by
most believers in modern times) is a
commitment to put God & His walk ahead
of EVERYTHING!

22. The Priority for the Assembly
16 Gather the people, consecrate the
assembly; bring together the
elders, gather the children, those nursing
at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his
room and the bride her chamber.
Maybe the better way to state this is the
“participation” in the Assembly, but it
seems to me that the Prophet is giving us
a picture of our expected priority and
participation.

23. Look at all the people who are mentioned;
the elderly, children, babies, & even
newlyweds. It would seem that the word of
the Lord is this: “Let nothing stand in your
way of getting together, it‟s that important!”

24. We are living in an era of „I‟ and „me‟. Most
of us are tired of hearing about this
because (for many) it smacks us in the
face. What flimsy excuse have you heard
or used? “Sunday‟s the only day I have to
relax.” “I don‟t like coming back Sunday
evenings,” or if “I” have nothing else to do
this week, “I” may be there; are all
statements which are commonly used.

25. In many minds, the Assembly is a man
made institution which does not deserve
first priority, yet this line of thinking is not
from the mind of our Lord.
Jesus loved and loves the church. He
birthed her, died for her, empowered her,
and one day is coming back for her.

26. We claim to be a member of the church,
but are we if we‟re not a participant? Are
we as useless as an appendix & need to
be cut out? Look at the picture Jesus
draws.
John 15:1 NET "I am the true vine and my
Father is the gardener. 2 He takes away
every branch that does not bear fruit in
me. He prunes every branch that bears
fruit so that it will bear more fruit.

27. The Holy Spirit was sent when there was
an assembly gathered. Things happen
when God‟s people assemble!
The main thing is Jesus promises to be
there, shouldn‟t we be there also?
Matthew 18:19 NET Again, I tell you the
truth, if two of you on earth agree about
whatever you ask, my Father in heaven
will do it for you. 20 For where two or
three are assembled in my name, I am
there among them."

28. The Prayer by the Assembly
17 Let the priests, who minister before the
LORD, weep between the temple porch
and the altar. Let them say, “Spare your
people, O LORD. Do not make your
inheritance an object of scorn, a byword
among the nations. Why should they say
among the peoples, „Where is their God?‟
”

29. It was very common for the leaders and
thus, the priests to offer corporate prayer
for the assembly.
In verse 17 we sense the passion for God
and His people.

30. The leaders are told to pray standing
between the temple porch and the altar.
With their back to the altar because they
had nothing to offer & their faces to the
Temple where God was enthroned, they
were to pray with a broken heart. Why
were their hearts broken? Because of the
corruptness of God‟s people.

31. Perhaps the reason God answers so few
of our prayers today is because He sees
no brokenness over our sin, our
unfaithfulness and even our inconsistent
lives. I think if we are to get ready for the
Day of the Lord, we must be like Joel
speaks and be broken.

32. 2. Acknowledge God’s Character
We could stay here all day talking about
God‟s character and still only touch the
surface. Yet, to read verses 13 & 14 is to
see common characteristics of our Lord.
Return to the LORD your God, for he is
gracious and compassionate, slow to
anger and abounding in love, and he
relents from sending calamity.

33. 14 Who knows? He may turn and have
pity and leave behind a blessing—grain
offerings and drink offerings for the LORD
your God.

34. He is Gracious
Think about those first three attributes
which we have read; gracious and
compassionate, slow to anger. I think one
word encompasses all of these thoughts;
merciful. Would it be fair to say, that God
has not given us what we deserve?

35. He has given us kindness, understanding,
leniency, and the best gift of all, His Son.
God is THE God who takes the first step
toward us so that we can find Him.

36. He is Good
He is so rich in love that He (of His own
choice) can be merciful! Almighty God is
good to us in that He offers us His love
and the assurance that when we come to
Him, He will abundantly pardon. Consider
this: God is so gracious and good that He
desires that no one fall under His divine
judgment. He sent Jesus to die because
He desires that no one perish.

37. However, make no mistake: His goodness
is only exceeded by His righteousness
and Holy God will indeed judge unholy
man because God will judge and punish
sin. Getting ready for the Day of the Lord
means recognizing that He is gracious,
good and;

38. He is Generous
God‟s character is such that when we
come to Him „who knows‟ what He might
do? He may replace His judgment with a
blessing. We know that James the brother
of Jesus writes that „every good and
perfect gift comes from the Father‟ (James
1:17) and we know that Jesus taught that if
“we who are sinful give good gifts to our
kids, what do you think God will do?” (Matt
7:11; Luke 11:13)

39. Never forget, God is rich! He is rich in
grace, He is rich in life, and He is rich in
love: He is generous with all that He has!
Too many think that God wants to „cramp
their style‟ and „take away their fun‟ when
actually the opposite is true. We will never
be ready for His coming until we recognize
the true Character of God.

40. 3. Accept God’s Call
(for repentance)
We are familiar with the call to repent.
John the Baptist and Jesus began their
ministry calling people to repent. In Acts 2,
the people cried out “what must we do?”
Peter said to them, "Repent, and each one
of you be baptized in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and
you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:38 NET

41. He didn‟t stop proclaiming this message.
In Chapter 3, after healing the lame man
he preached again saying, Therefore
repent and turn back so that your sins
may be wiped out, so that times of
refreshing may come from the presence of
the Lord, and so that he may send the
Messiah appointed for you — that is,
Jesus. Acts 3:19-20 NET

42. Jesus‟ message rings clear; No, I tell you!
But unless you repent, you will all perish
as well! Luke 13:3 NET
There is no exception. To look in verse 12
& 13 is to know that God was talking with
His own people.

43. 12 “Even now,” declares the LORD,
“return to me with all your heart, with
fasting and weeping and mourning.” 13
Rend your heart and not your garments.
Return to the LORD your God, for he is
gracious and compassionate, slow to
anger and abounding in love, and he
relents from sending calamity.

44. He says,
“Repent”
and gives us 3 pictures to see;
The Timing
The Turning
The Tearing

45. The Timing
He says “EVEN NOW.” Paul writes, For he
says, "I heard you at the acceptable
time, and in the day of salvation I
helped you." (Isaiah 49:8) Look, now is the
acceptable time; look, now is the day of
salvation! 2 Corinthians 6:2 NET

46. God never says you can, will, or should
wait. He says, “Do it now, do it quickly.”
Many will respond, “I‟ll repent however, I
want to wait.” First of all, if you can wait—it
probably won‟t be true repentance
because true repentance comes from a
broken heart. Generally, no brokenness
equals no repentance.

47. The Turning
To turn to God means turning from
something. Most of the time it means
turning from self. This is not easy or
desirable. Just like you can never turn
toward the east without turning your back
on the west, you can never turn to God
without turning your back on the world.

48. To be a friend of God is to be an enemy of
the world (and visa-versa). Maybe this is
why turning to God takes such action.
Notice the three participles; fasting,
weeping, and mourning. A participle is the
adjective form of a verb. A verb is the
action word and just like turning, all three
of these require us to take action. Can you
sense the hurt of the heart when you see
weeping and mourning?

49. The Tearing
I think the act of fasting, weeping and
mourning is the bridge which leads to the
“tearing.” In Old Testament days it was
common to tear your clothes and dirty
your face to demonstrate your repentance.
However, the prophet says, „Don‟t stop
with your clothes, tear your heart also.‟ It
is only when we tear our heart that we will
become tender enough to return to the
Lord with no excuses.

50. God calls us to “Get Ready for His
coming.” We must be ready in our hearts
and with our lives.
In an article for Youth Ministries magazine,
a 14-year veteran of the Navy SEALs
describes the color-code system they use
to indicate levels of combat readiness.
Each stage has a parallel in spiritual
warfare.

51. Condition : The soldier is relaxed
and daydreaming, unaware of his
surroundings. A Christian in this condition
is easy prey for Satan.
Condition : The soldier is relaxed
physically but alert mentally. A believer at
this level may sense trouble coming, but
he‟s not ready to confront it.

52. Condition : The soldier is
physically prepared, mentally alert, and
ready to fight. A believer at this stage has
on the full armor of God.
Condition : As in condition orange, the
soldier is ready to fight. The difference is
experience. A battle-seasoned Christian
knows quickly what to do because of his
experience and familiarity with Scripture.

53. Wherever we as followers of Christ
happen to be--at work, in the mall, on a
business trip, even among fellow
believers--we need to know about Satan‟s
methods and be prepared to resist. He
always seems to attack at our most
vulnerable moments. But if we stay alert
and armed, we can fend off his most
powerful attacks. --DCE

54. THINKING IT OVER
Which color code describes your spiritual
condition?
How have you responded recently to
temptation?
Are you studying and obeying God‟s
Word?