How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” Romans 10:14-15
Joel 2
The Day of the LORD is coming. Most believers know it, but the lost don’t really understand. They have a skewed understanding of “The End.” They deserve to know the truth, but how can they know it if no one cares enough to tell them. The Day of The LORD is terrible for the lost. Terrible as in immense, terrifying intense, and causing great alarm. Verses 1-11 describe the army of The LORD on that Day.
“Blow a trumpet in Zion;
sound an alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near,
2 a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains
a great and powerful people;
their like has never been before,
nor will be again after them
through the years of all generations.
3 Fire devours before them,
and behind them a flame burns.
The land is like the garden of Eden before them,
but behind them a desolate wilderness,
and nothing escapes them.
4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses,
and like war horses they run.
5 As with the rumbling of chariots,
they leap on the tops of the mountains,
like the crackling of a flame of fire
devouring the stubble,
like a powerful army
drawn up for battle.
6 Before them peoples are in anguish;
all faces grow pale.
7 Like warriors they charge;
like soldiers they scale the wall.
They march each on his way;
they do not swerve from their paths.
8 They do not jostle one another;
each marches in his path;
they burst through the weapons
and are not halted.
9 They leap upon the city,
they run upon the walls,
they climb up into the houses,
they enter through the windows like a thief.
10 The earth quakes before them;
the heavens tremble.
The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.
11 The Lord utters his voice
before his army,
for his camp is exceedingly great;
he who executes his word is powerful.
For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome;
who can endure it?”
The army will be bigger than we can even imagine, so big and powerful that its movement will be enough to destroy. No weapons will be useful against them. They will move to Jesus’ command and nothing can stop them. Even the earth itself will react.
When that trumpet, that shofar sounds it will be a call to repent. But the call has been out there for so long. The people have had so many chances that by the time that trumpet sounds, they won’t, and there will be no more opportunities. But there are chances now. It is not too late. Today is the day to call on God and be saved. The Lord is waiting for you to come to Him, but He will not wait forever. (2 Peter 3:9). He’s calling to the lost and He’s calling to believers to obey His great commission. (Matthew 28:16-20). Verses 12-14 read,
“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.
14 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
for the Lord your God?”
Our obedience to Him, our proper worship of Him, and our praise and thanksgiving to Him are a living sacrifice and a testimony to the lost. (Romans 12:1-2). Philippians 1:27-30 reads,
“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.”
But we also have to tell them! In Mark 5:19 Jesus said, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”
We need to take The Day of The LORD seriously. Jesus is coming. That is terrible for the lost and wonderful for us. But we love the lost. We can’t just party like it’s 1999 and not care that they are dying. Let’s earnestly pray, let’s seriously obey and minister to The Lord. Verses 15-17 read,
“Blow the trumpet in Zion;
consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
16 gather the people.
Consecrate the congregation;
assemble the elders;
gather the children,
even nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom leave his room,
and the bride her chamber.
17 Between the vestibule and the altar
let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep
and say, “Spare your people, O Lord,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”
Do you realize how much God loves us? Do you know that He has compassion for us and so He gives us what we need to be in this temporary home, called Earth? He has given us the tools to obey Him. He protects us from the thieving lying enemy. Verses 18-23 say,
“Then the Lord became jealous for his land
and had pity on his people.
19 The Lord answered and said to his people,
“Behold, I am sending to you
grain, wine, and oil,
and you will be satisfied;
and I will no more make you
a reproach among the nations.
20 “I will remove the northerner far from you,
and drive him into a parched and desolate land,
his vanguard into the eastern sea,
and his rear guard into the western sea;
the stench and foul smell of him will rise,
for he has done great things.
21 “Fear not, O land;
be glad and rejoice,
for the Lord has done great things!
22 Fear not, you beasts of the field,
for the pastures of the wilderness are green;
the tree bears its fruit;
the fig tree and vine give their full yield.
23 “Be glad, O children of Zion,
and rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given the early rain for your vindication;
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the latter rain, as before.”
All that was taken by the enemy, will be restored to us. All that we sacrificed and lost for Jesus’ sake will be ours again. New Jerusalem, God’s own city on New Earth will be perfect and we will never want or cry or need. Verses 24-27 read,
“The threshing floors shall be full of grain;
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25 I will restore to you the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent among you.
26 “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.”
And now in the meantime, we have still have God with us. Jesus, our Redeemer came. He gave us the Holy Spirit. God is with us! That is a big deal. Consider that magnitude of The LORD God Almighty being with you, in you, and around you. Reflect on the implications of the Creator of the entire universe working through you to accomplish His purposes! Verses 28-32 read,
“And 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.
29 Even on the male and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 32 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.”
God speaks though us. He speaks through His Word. He speaks through signs and wonders. Everyone who calls on Jesus’ name will be saved, but how can they call on Him if they’ve never heard? God uses all of us who let Him.
The Day of the LORD is coming. Most believers know it, but the lost don’t really understand. They have a skewed understanding of “The End.” They deserve to know the truth, but how can they know it if no one cares enough to tell them. The Day of The LORD is terrible for the lost. Terrible as in immense, terrifying intense, and causing great alarm. Verses 1-11 describe the army of The LORD on that Day.
“Blow a trumpet in Zion;
sound an alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near,
2 a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains
a great and powerful people;
their like has never been before,
nor will be again after them
through the years of all generations.
3 Fire devours before them,
and behind them a flame burns.
The land is like the garden of Eden before them,
but behind them a desolate wilderness,
and nothing escapes them.
4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses,
and like war horses they run.
5 As with the rumbling of chariots,
they leap on the tops of the mountains,
like the crackling of a flame of fire
devouring the stubble,
like a powerful army
drawn up for battle.
6 Before them peoples are in anguish;
all faces grow pale.
7 Like warriors they charge;
like soldiers they scale the wall.
They march each on his way;
they do not swerve from their paths.
8 They do not jostle one another;
each marches in his path;
they burst through the weapons
and are not halted.
9 They leap upon the city,
they run upon the walls,
they climb up into the houses,
they enter through the windows like a thief.
10 The earth quakes before them;
the heavens tremble.
The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.
11 The Lord utters his voice
before his army,
for his camp is exceedingly great;
he who executes his word is powerful.
For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome;
who can endure it?”
The army will be bigger than we can even imagine, so big and powerful that its movement will be enough to destroy. No weapons will be useful against them. They will move to Jesus’ command and nothing can stop them. Even the earth itself will react.
When that trumpet, that shofar sounds it will be a call to repent. But the call has been out there for so long. The people have had so many chances that by the time that trumpet sounds, they won’t, and there will be no more opportunities. But there are chances now. It is not too late. Today is the day to call on God and be saved. The Lord is waiting for you to come to Him, but He will not wait forever. (2 Peter 3:9). He’s calling to the lost and He’s calling to believers to obey His great commission. (Matthew 28:16-20). Verses 12-14 read,
“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.
14 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
for the Lord your God?”
Our obedience to Him, our proper worship of Him, and our praise and thanksgiving to Him are a living sacrifice and a testimony to the lost. (Romans 12:1-2). Philippians 1:27-30 reads,
“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.”
But we also have to tell them! In Mark 5:19 Jesus said, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”
We need to take The Day of The LORD seriously. Jesus is coming. That is terrible for the lost and wonderful for us. But we love the lost. We can’t just party like it’s 1999 and not care that they are dying. Let’s earnestly pray, let’s seriously obey and minister to The Lord. Verses 15-17 read,
“Blow the trumpet in Zion;
consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
16 gather the people.
Consecrate the congregation;
assemble the elders;
gather the children,
even nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom leave his room,
and the bride her chamber.
17 Between the vestibule and the altar
let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep
and say, “Spare your people, O Lord,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”
Do you realize how much God loves us? Do you know that He has compassion for us and so He gives us what we need to be in this temporary home, called Earth? He has given us the tools to obey Him. He protects us from the thieving lying enemy. Verses 18-23 say,
“Then the Lord became jealous for his land
and had pity on his people.
19 The Lord answered and said to his people,
“Behold, I am sending to you
grain, wine, and oil,
and you will be satisfied;
and I will no more make you
a reproach among the nations.
20 “I will remove the northerner far from you,
and drive him into a parched and desolate land,
his vanguard into the eastern sea,
and his rear guard into the western sea;
the stench and foul smell of him will rise,
for he has done great things.
21 “Fear not, O land;
be glad and rejoice,
for the Lord has done great things!
22 Fear not, you beasts of the field,
for the pastures of the wilderness are green;
the tree bears its fruit;
the fig tree and vine give their full yield.
23 “Be glad, O children of Zion,
and rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given the early rain for your vindication;
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the latter rain, as before.”
All that was taken by the enemy, will be restored to us. All that we sacrificed and lost for Jesus’ sake will be ours again. New Jerusalem, God’s own city on New Earth will be perfect and we will never want or cry or need. Verses 24-27 read,
“The threshing floors shall be full of grain;
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25 I will restore to you the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent among you.
26 “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.”
And now in the meantime, we have still have God with us. Jesus, our Redeemer came. He gave us the Holy Spirit. God is with us! That is a big deal. Consider that magnitude of The LORD God Almighty being with you, in you, and around you. Reflect on the implications of the Creator of the entire universe working through you to accomplish His purposes! Verses 28-32 read,
“And 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.
29 Even on the male and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 32 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.”
God speaks though us. He speaks through His Word. He speaks through signs and wonders. Everyone who calls on Jesus’ name will be saved, but how can they call on Him if they’ve never heard? God uses all of us who let Him.
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