1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:02,080 What's going on, Port City family and friends? 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:04,200 My name is Tanner. I am one of the pastors here at 3 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:05,720 Port City. And if you're listening this 4 00:00:05,720 --> 00:00:09,760 right now, chances are it's because of the snow in the 757 5 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:11,560 or maybe you're listening to it at another time. 6 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:14,520 But this is a great time to remind us all that church is 7 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:17,960 more than content and worship music, although we love those 8 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:20,160 things. The church is a people that 9 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:23,040 gathers as God's people. God created us to be His 10 00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:25,600 children who gathered together to hear from him and then to be 11 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:28,080 scattered out during the week on mission together. 12 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:31,920 I know many Christians who still just kind of do the Bible, Jesus 13 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:34,120 worship music thing and occasionally attend the Bible 14 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:36,240 study. And if that's you, we just want 15 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:39,120 to invite you to join us. God wants you to belong to a 16 00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:41,560 family where when you don't show up, somebody notices. 17 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:43,440 He wants you to be a part of a mission that's bigger than 18 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:45,800 yourself. That's why we take membership 19 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:47,560 and the mission seriously here at Port City. 20 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:51,760 I hope today's teaching is a blessing, but may we all be 21 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:54,960 reminded that we miss something when we're unable to gather 22 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:57,600 together. So let's pray over today's 23 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:00,320 teaching from the book of Joel, and we'll dive in. 24 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:04,599 Father, use this time. Thank you for your word. 25 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:07,760 God, what we know not right now would you teach us. 26 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:10,640 What we have not would you give us, and what we are not, would 27 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:12,360 you make us? And let the words of my mouth 28 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:16,200 and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, our 29 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:18,200 rock and our Redeemer. Everybody who agree with that 30 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:23,280 said Amen. Chicken Little came out in 2005 31 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:26,280 and is one of the few Disney movies that slipped through the 32 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:29,720 cracks of my adolescence. I probably thought I was too 33 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:32,600 cool for Chicken Little in 2005 anyways, which is silly of me 34 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:35,440 because it's a good movie. In the movie, the main character 35 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:39,920 is a little chicken who becomes known for thinking something big 36 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:42,120 is about to happen. Early in the film, something 37 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:44,480 hits him on the head. Chicken Little insists it wasn't 38 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:46,600 just anything. He says it was blue and shaped 39 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:49,000 like a stop sign, but he can't find it. 40 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:52,280 His dad picks up an acorn and says this is what hit you. 41 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:56,240 And that explanation becomes the story everyone believes. 42 00:01:56,560 --> 00:02:00,560 Chicken Little is mock dismissed and his credibility is gone. 43 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:02,600 But later in the movie, something really does fall from 44 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:04,680 the sky again. Chicken Little finds that same 45 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:08,120 blue stop sign shaped piece and realizes he was right all along. 46 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:12,040 The future had already broken into the present, but no one was 47 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:14,400 ready to believe it. And from that moment on, Chicken 48 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:17,000 Little is uniquely positioned to be the hero. 49 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:20,280 What Chicka Little understood is that when the future pops into 50 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:23,520 the present, you start living in that future as if it's already 51 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:26,920 here because by it breaking in, in a sense, it is here. 52 00:02:27,920 --> 00:02:31,760 Today we dive into the book of Joel and explore a topic known 53 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:36,120 as the Day of the Lord. At a base level, the intention 54 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:39,320 of the Day of the Lord is to get our attention by bringing the 55 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:42,880 future into the present. Although there are layers to the 56 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:47,440 Day of the Lord, and much of it is encouraging, it's also going 57 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:50,040 to be talking about a day of decisive judgment. 58 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:53,480 And that's something we can be allergic to in our cultural 59 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:57,080 moment. But if we let God's timeless 60 00:02:57,080 --> 00:02:59,640 Word speak to us in this moment, we will see that the Day of the 61 00:02:59,640 --> 00:03:03,480 Lord fits within a larger story, and that deep down we want this 62 00:03:03,640 --> 00:03:05,480 to be true. As hard as some of the 63 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:08,440 implications are, we want things made right by a judge we can 64 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:11,360 actually trust. My hope for us today is that we 65 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:14,680 will all leave living like Chicken Little. 66 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:17,680 Not panic, but awake as if the day of the Lord is already upon 67 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:22,120 us because y'all in Jesus, the day of the Lord has already 68 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:25,640 begun to get there. We're going to have two points 69 00:03:25,640 --> 00:03:27,360 about the Day of the Lord. First, we're going to understand 70 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:29,400 the day of the Lord, and second, we're going to respond to it. 71 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:33,320 If you're ready, wherever you're listening to this, say out loud, 72 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:36,320 I'm ready. Point #1 Understand the day of 73 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:38,840 the Lord. There are three angles on the 74 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:40,880 Day of the Lord. We need to wrap our minds around 75 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:43,160 1st. The day of the Lord is about 76 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:45,760 judgement. I'm going to read chapter 2 77 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:49,120 verses one through 3. Blow a trumpet in Zion, sound an 78 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:52,800 alarm on my holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the 79 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:55,160 land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. 80 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:59,440 It is near a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick 81 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:01,800 darkness like blackness. There is spread upon the 82 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:05,000 mountains of great and powerful people there like has never been 83 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:08,640 before, nor will be again after them through the years of all 84 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:11,200 generations. The fire devours before them, 85 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:14,640 and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the Garden of 86 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:18,279 Eden before them, but behind them a desolate wilderness, and 87 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:22,960 nothing escapes them. The minor prophets use a lot of 88 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:25,760 poetic language and images to highlight themes like judgement. 89 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:29,640 And remember, we're supposed to read the prophetic books next to 90 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:32,320 the historical books. So the historical books, King's 91 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:34,440 Chronicles, that's like what's going down. 92 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:39,760 And then the prophetic books are God's way of commentating on the 93 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:42,200 corruption he sees in his people, nations. 94 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:44,680 It's him kind of pulling back the curtain and saying how he 95 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:49,040 really feels about it. And Joel's primary contribution 96 00:04:49,280 --> 00:04:53,440 from the Lord through history to his people, to the church now is 97 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:56,200 around this imagery of the day of the Lord. 98 00:04:56,840 --> 00:05:00,080 The day of the Lord is a day where God's judgement occurs. 99 00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:04,840 To get a visual of what a locust plague looks like, you can 100 00:05:04,840 --> 00:05:09,200 actually check this out in the the Netflix series Our Planet 2. 101 00:05:09,840 --> 00:05:14,880 The first episode there's like this locust plague that, you 102 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:17,840 know, just travels around some, some African countries, Middle 103 00:05:17,840 --> 00:05:20,000 Eastern countries and and European ones. 104 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:23,680 And it's just staggering to watch 50 to 200 billion locusts 105 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:27,960 moving from country to country, eating everything in their path. 106 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:32,960 That locust plague is the imagery that Joel chapter 1 107 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:36,120 launches out with and then is assumed here in chapter 2. 108 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:40,920 That's the image of God's impending judgment that He drops 109 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:43,560 in our imagination as we read Joel. 110 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:45,880 Joel kind of assumes we understand why judgment is 111 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:48,520 necessary. You see, the Bible teaches that 112 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:52,000 God created all things good and full of potential, but when 113 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:54,600 humanity was deceived by the serpent and fell into sin, 114 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:58,080 everything was cursed. At its core, sin is rebellion 115 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:00,920 against God, and its main side effect is brokenness. 116 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:04,160 Sin is rebellion that leads to brokenness. 117 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:07,960 Sin is at the root of all kinds of everyday problems, y'all like 118 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:11,560 domestic violence, workplace gossip, adultery, the lust for 119 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:16,640 power, among many other things. Once we see how pervasive sin is 120 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:20,360 and its effects are, how pervasive God's judgement will 121 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:24,040 be makes sense. Now the question is, who are the 122 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:28,920 recipients of that judgement? Looking here at Joel 21, we see 123 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:34,000 a a reference to Zion. Anytime you see Zion, that's 124 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:39,560 equivalent to Jerusalem. This is God's first recipient of 125 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:42,440 the judgement. As the capital city, Zion should 126 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:44,560 have been the epicenter of where God is most loved. 127 00:06:45,280 --> 00:06:49,480 And what's interesting about Joel is that he didn't write his 128 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:52,600 book in such a way that you can pinpoint exactly when it was 129 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:54,920 written or what historical things were going on. 130 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:58,080 And scholars do their best, and I have a hunch of when I think 131 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:00,440 it was written, but it's not like during the reigns of these 132 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:03,280 kings, as many of the other prophetic books are. 133 00:07:03,280 --> 00:07:06,840 And that's very intentional. The purpose of it is so that the 134 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:10,240 people of God, at any time in their existence, can pick up 135 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:13,200 Joel and take it seriously. We can get an image of what it 136 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:15,480 looks like, of what God's saying to us. 137 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:19,400 And we can recognize that the day of the Lord starts with the 138 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:21,200 people of God. Judgement starts with the 139 00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:24,480 household of God first. Peter 4 Now from the New 140 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:28,560 Testament, Peter says it like this chapter 4 verse 17 for it 141 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:32,080 is time for judgment to begin at the household of God. 142 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:35,720 And if it begins with us, what would be the outcome for those 143 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:37,360 who do not obey the gospel of God. 144 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:43,200 You know, the the people of God were and are supposed to be the 145 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:46,840 most aligned with reality, exemplifying who God is to our 146 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:51,000 neighbor in our cities, loving people the way God loves us. 147 00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:56,160 And it is our failure to be that and fulfill that vocation that 148 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:58,840 leads to judgment starting with us. 149 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:04,200 But that's not where it stops. Chapter 3, verses 11 and 12 say 150 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:06,600 this. Hasten and come, all you 151 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:09,080 surrounding nations, and gather yourselves there. 152 00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:11,960 Bring down your warriors. O Lord, let the nations stir 153 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:15,760 themselves up and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there 154 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:18,840 I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. 155 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:22,200 In addition to serving to wake up His people. 156 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:24,440 The day of the Lord is a day where the nations will be judged 157 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:27,440 as well. The Valley of Jehoshaphat is not 158 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:30,400 an actual location. It means the Valley of Decision. 159 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:34,960 Friends, God is the ultimate judge who decides. 160 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:37,480 He is the one with all authority. 161 00:08:37,799 --> 00:08:40,120 Authority has that word author in it. 162 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:43,600 This is God's story He's writing, not ours. 163 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:47,120 Our culture used to assume a biblical story about where we 164 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:49,200 came from and destinations like heaven and hell. 165 00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:53,280 We've developed an allergy to those concepts in a little bit. 166 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:55,400 I get it. Years of TV preachers or church 167 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:58,000 corruption or grandma who didn't articulate this well could put a 168 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:02,360 bad taste in our mouths. You know, I really do get it if 169 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:04,520 that's you today. And there's just a bit of an 170 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:09,280 allergy to like decision day and and you know, God judging and, 171 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:13,280 and let me just ask you this. Don't you want somebody good and 172 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:16,400 trustworthy to decisively make all things right one day? 173 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:20,880 Don't you long for all injustices to be undone, for all 174 00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:22,440 evil to be absorbed and defeated? 175 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:27,880 I'll long for that too. God will start with His own 176 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:30,160 people, but He will be the judge of all people. 177 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:33,160 He's the ultimate final word and authority. 178 00:09:33,160 --> 00:09:35,920 He gets to make those calls. Heaven is real. 179 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:38,920 Hell is real. Just because this is hard 180 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:40,040 doesn't mean we should ignore it. 181 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:41,320 In fact, we should listen a little harder. 182 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:46,600 At the center of all reality all is Godfather, Son, Spirit. 183 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:51,280 He made you in his image. He's the ultimate father and at 184 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:54,920 the end of days he will be the final decider not of who is good 185 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:55,880 and bad. Listen to this. 186 00:09:55,880 --> 00:09:58,440 Y'all check in. If you checked out, check in. 187 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:02,360 Hey, He will be the final decider not of who is good and 188 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:05,520 bad, but of who knows him and who doesn't. 189 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:09,280 You see, ultimately the day of the Lord is relational. 190 00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:16,040 The nations reject God. The next thing about the day of 191 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:19,600 the Lord we need to see, y'all, is that the day of the Lord is 192 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:24,520 about the Spirit. In chapter 2, verses 28 to 32, 193 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:26,920 some really famous verses about the day of the Lord, how it 194 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:29,040 relates to the Spirit of God are fleshed out. 195 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:31,400 Let's check it out. And it shall come to pass 196 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:34,640 afterward that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. 197 00:10:35,040 --> 00:10:37,760 Your sons and your daughters shall prophecy, Your old men 198 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:42,360 shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions even 199 00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:45,520 on the male and female servants. In those days I will pour out my 200 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:48,560 spirit, and I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, 201 00:10:48,560 --> 00:10:50,240 blood and fire and columns of smoke. 202 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:52,800 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood 203 00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:55,520 before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 204 00:10:55,560 --> 00:10:59,160 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name 205 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:04,320 of the Lord shall be saved. The day of the Lord leads to His 206 00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:07,160 spirit being poured out on all flesh. 207 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:11,280 Somebody say all flesh y'all? In our era of radical 208 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:14,560 individualism, what can be lost is that for thousands of years 209 00:11:14,560 --> 00:11:17,080 in most societies things ran through kings and priests and 210 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:20,280 positions of power, and even biblically the concept of 211 00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:24,000 anointing and God's presence being with you was uniquely 212 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:27,320 relegated to positions. All of the people were in a 213 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:30,160 covenant relationship with God, but they were not anointed with 214 00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:31,920 the Spirit of God all in the same way. 215 00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:35,320 So the day of the Lord points to a day when all people would 216 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:38,880 become recipients of the Spirit directly and then would 217 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:41,440 prophecy. A day where hierarchy and 218 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:45,600 mediated access are gone. Instant access to a personal 219 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:49,440 intimate relationship and empowerment from God himself. 220 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:52,480 And here's what's so unique about what the New Testament 221 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:55,440 adds to this conversation. In Acts chapter 2, Peter is 222 00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:58,200 delivering the first sermon after Jesus leaves the earth and 223 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:02,720 the the Spirit of God falls on those disciples and then he 224 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:06,480 preaches and in that sermon he quotes right here from Joel 225 00:12:06,560 --> 00:12:10,400 chapter 2. What Peter was saying is that 226 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:14,480 the day of the Lord had happened like right there in their midst. 227 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:19,680 Even as I say that that kind of rubs a little bit. 228 00:12:19,680 --> 00:12:21,760 Everything we were just talking about this decisive day in 229 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:23,520 judgement, all this stuff. I thought the day of the Lord 230 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:26,440 was a decisive day of judgement at the end for the people of God 231 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:30,760 in the nations. Well, it is somehow it's also a 232 00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:33,960 day where the Spirit of God will be poured out on all flesh and 233 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:36,160 everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 234 00:12:36,680 --> 00:12:38,520 Here's what we've got to, here's what we've got to grab. 235 00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:41,760 To really understand this, to really understand the Bible's 236 00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:45,160 view of the day of the Lord, you need a dual lens of its 237 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:49,040 fulfillment, a short term fulfillment lens and a 238 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:52,000 background lens that that sense of like kind of when you're 239 00:12:52,120 --> 00:12:53,240 pulling up on the mountains, right? 240 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:55,960 Like you see some mountains in front of you and you see some 241 00:12:55,960 --> 00:13:00,280 way off, and there's this dual fulfillment of the day of the 242 00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:03,120 Lord, and it's partially been fulfilled. 243 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:06,040 When Jesus came, He died, He rose, He ascended and sent the 244 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:08,520 Spirit. But the day of the Lord will 245 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:11,440 fully be realized on that last decisive day we've been talking 246 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:13,280 about. Let me show you one more angle 247 00:13:13,280 --> 00:13:15,680 on the day of the Lord, and hopefully these things start to 248 00:13:15,680 --> 00:13:18,720 tie together for you. Third, the day of the Lord is 249 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:21,880 about dwelling. Look with me at how the book 250 00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:24,160 ends in chapter 3 starting verse 17. 251 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:27,600 So you shall know that I am the Lord your God who dwells in 252 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:30,000 Zion. My holy mountain and Jerusalem 253 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:33,000 shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through 254 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:34,680 it. And in that day the mountains 255 00:13:34,680 --> 00:13:37,080 shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk. 256 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:39,960 And all the stream beds of Judah shall flow with water, and a 257 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:42,640 fountain shall come forth from the House of the Lord and water. 258 00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:46,080 The valley of Shatim. Egypt shall become a desolation 259 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:48,560 and Edom a desolate wilderness for the violence done to the 260 00:13:48,560 --> 00:13:51,040 people of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in 261 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:53,600 their land. But Judah shall be inhabited 262 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:56,400 forever in Jerusalem to all generations. 263 00:13:56,440 --> 00:13:58,560 I will avenge their blood. Blood I have not avenged, for 264 00:13:58,560 --> 00:14:03,880 the Lord dwells in Zion. Twice in the text we read that 265 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:08,800 God dwells in Zion. God wants to dwell with people 266 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:14,520 who want him to dwell with them. Some of us, much like myself at 267 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:18,480 18 years old, have no category for a God who dwells. 268 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:21,760 God wants to dwell. God wants to live with me, with 269 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:24,920 people. When we first hear the day of 270 00:14:24,920 --> 00:14:27,760 the Lord, we think of arbitrary judgment. 271 00:14:28,560 --> 00:14:31,520 But you all, the point of it all is that God might live with 272 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:33,200 people who want to live with him. 273 00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:36,400 And somehow the bridge between those two, between the dwelling 274 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:38,680 and the judgment, was the the peace about the Spirit being 275 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:42,240 poured out. So the day of the Lord will be 276 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:44,120 scary. At some level we should fear 277 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:45,920 God. He's God almighty. 278 00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:50,240 He's the decisive judge and author, but for those who dwells 279 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:54,840 with His power is their comfort. The same God who is decisively 280 00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:57,160 judging some and removing them from His presence will be the 281 00:14:57,160 --> 00:15:00,240 one who is a refuge to others. He will dwell with some. 282 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:04,040 In hell, all we get is God's wrath and judgment in the 283 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:07,480 absence of His mercy. In heaven, we get relational 284 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:10,080 access to all of His love as we dwell with Him. 285 00:15:11,040 --> 00:15:14,640 Friend, God's passion for you is that He might live with you now 286 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:17,000 and forever. Sometimes we just will not 287 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:20,600 listen. Unless he's intense, we are 288 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:23,080 going to die, but His goal is to live with us. 289 00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:27,200 Which leads us y'all to talking about responding to the day of 290 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:29,080 the Lord. Point #2 respond to the day of 291 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:31,640 the Lord. Y'all, this day of the Lord 292 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:34,560 requires a response. If we think back to Chicken 293 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:37,240 Little, shout out to you Chicken Little, what happened in the 294 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:40,280 moment the piece of the sky fell is that he took it seriously and 295 00:15:40,280 --> 00:15:43,960 ran with the implications. If the sky is falling, we can't 296 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:45,080 just keep doing what we're doing. 297 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:48,560 One way to think about that is that Chicken Little was more 298 00:15:48,560 --> 00:15:54,120 sober minded than his peers. To be sober means to see things 299 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:58,200 accurately as they are, to not be intoxicated with something 300 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:00,680 that distorts reality as it really is. 301 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:04,680 But so often, unlike Chicken Little, we hear things that 302 00:16:04,680 --> 00:16:11,200 should change us and they don't. This shows that we aren't sober. 303 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:15,160 God is like the kindest friend trying to sober us up. 304 00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:18,840 What we are most drunk on y'all, is sin. 305 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:23,160 What sin does is it gives us a personalized cocktail that makes 306 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:26,080 us think we are our own God and we will live forever. 307 00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:28,680 In our secular moment. We are drunk on energy, 308 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:31,840 language, and the universe. We're swimming in relativism. 309 00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:35,240 But friends, the day of the Lord as described by Joel and taken 310 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:39,480 further in Revelation, particularly chapter 6 and 14, 311 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:43,800 tells us that on the decisive day, people will want to ask 312 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:46,080 mountains to fall on top of them. 313 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:50,880 Hide me under a mountain because the wrath of God and the Lamb is 314 00:16:50,880 --> 00:16:53,680 about to be poured out. I have to confess that as a 315 00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:57,400 minister of the gospel, I don't lead with God's wrath often 316 00:16:57,400 --> 00:16:59,920 enough. Probably if you're a believer, 317 00:16:59,920 --> 00:17:02,040 maybe you're like me in the caricature of the fire and 318 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:04,160 brimstone type. Old school preacher has made us 319 00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:07,000 ashamed of this doctrine. We should learn from the 320 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:10,319 prophets that we don't have to scream, we just have to be 321 00:17:10,319 --> 00:17:12,560 serious. We don't have to be jerks, but 322 00:17:12,560 --> 00:17:16,440 we are God's realists. The apostles used to say save 323 00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:18,920 yourselves from this crooked generation. 324 00:17:19,839 --> 00:17:23,160 And here's the truth y'all, our generation is also a crooked 325 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:26,400 generation. We don't got to scream to say 326 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:28,359 that. But the truth is we won't live 327 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:31,520 forever. There is no energy out there 328 00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:35,000 governing all things, only God. Truth is objective. 329 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:39,080 Jesus is real. This is not the white man's 330 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:41,880 religion. Open mindedness can't save 331 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:44,880 anybody. The world normalizes and 332 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:48,320 gamifies sin. This is God's story he's 333 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:51,160 writing. Every single breath we take 334 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:53,920 belongs to him. We are sinners. 335 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:57,600 We have used our agency as free human beings to ignore and 336 00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:00,680 reject God and create a world of our own making. 337 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:06,720 His patience and mercy and love is so in our face if we would 338 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:10,640 but open our eyes. And here's the good news of the 339 00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:16,160 Bible, y'all. The main way God opens your eyes 340 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:18,320 is not actually through trying to scare you. 341 00:18:19,120 --> 00:18:21,440 It's not to threaten you with judgement if you don't become a 342 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:25,920 good person, which might be what your flesh has heard in this 343 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:28,480 message so far. Something's coming. 344 00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:31,760 You better be good. That's really not how God rolls. 345 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:35,520 What will really change us, friends, isn't if we just dread 346 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:38,160 the ultimate day of the Lord that is to come check this 347 00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:40,640 y'all. What will change us is if we 348 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:42,880 seriously consider the day of the Lord that has already 349 00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:47,000 happened to Jesus. What will change your life is if 350 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:50,480 we really see the cross of Jesus Christ, which is the key to all 351 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:53,960 of this. You see in Jesus two things 352 00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:56,120 happen simultaneously that otherwise would have been 353 00:18:56,120 --> 00:18:59,440 possible to wed together. First, on the cross our sin is 354 00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:03,800 taken seriously. If sin is so bad it evokes 355 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:07,800 locust plague imagery of devastation to be dealt with, we 356 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:13,240 need a solution that absolves sin at that level, plague level, 357 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:17,240 but also at the cross. God's love for us is genuine. 358 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:24,040 God wants to dwell with us. So somehow, you know, locust 359 00:19:24,040 --> 00:19:27,560 level devastation has to be dealt with and God wants to 360 00:19:27,560 --> 00:19:31,400 dwell with us and those two seem to not be able to go together. 361 00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:35,160 If it's that bad and we're that bad, why would God want to dwell 362 00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:37,160 with us? Y'all? 363 00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:40,440 God came up with a plan where he wouldn't just swipe sin under 364 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:43,880 the rug and call it off like brokenness isn't a big deal. 365 00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:47,520 And he also came up with a plan where he is able to genuinely 366 00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:52,840 shower us who are still so broken and sinful, with his love 367 00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:56,680 and mercy, His grace, The good news of the Bible, y'all. 368 00:19:57,080 --> 00:19:59,200 And if you've been checked out, now's the time to check in. 369 00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:03,440 Is not that God gives us the road map to avoid hell. 370 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:08,000 No, if everybody's going to get what they deserve, we all get 371 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:10,400 hell because all of us deserve hell. 372 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:13,720 None should be in Zion with God. If he's coming to dwell with me 373 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:16,160 and I don't have Jesus put the hills on top of me. 374 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:19,080 Now let's hide. I mean, this is God we're 375 00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:20,320 talking about. He's holy. 376 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:23,880 He commands lightning. He created the sun, which I 377 00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:26,480 can't even look at from like millions of miles away. 378 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:29,880 You know what I mean? But God had a plan y'all. 379 00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:32,400 He had a plan. He had a plan to get us back. 380 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:35,800 His plan was to send the sun full of the Spirit to live as a 381 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:39,440 man, yet without sin. Jesus lived like us, yet he 382 00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:43,560 didn't sin or doom scroll or watch Netflix 24/7. 383 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:47,760 He lived perfectly in our place, loving his neighbor, seeking the 384 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:52,520 welfare of his city, giving his life away for others so that at 385 00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:55,520 the end of his life, when he died and was resurrected and 386 00:20:55,520 --> 00:21:00,120 ascended, his life can count for ours when we put our trust in 387 00:21:00,120 --> 00:21:04,400 Him. Don't you see today, my friend, 388 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:09,560 the reason God can relent from the disaster you and I deserve 389 00:21:09,800 --> 00:21:12,680 is because He brought that disaster on His Son who didn't 390 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:15,360 deserve it. He takes the judgment we 391 00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:17,920 rightfully deserve. We get the dwelling with God he 392 00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:21,320 rightly deserves. Don't you see we trade places, 393 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:23,920 He takes our judgement, we get His dwelling. 394 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:26,360 He takes our death, we get his dwelling. 395 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:28,680 That's the good news of the gospel. 396 00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:31,880 That's what we have the opportunity to walk in. 397 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:36,680 To be in God's good graces isn't through your actions, is through 398 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:38,880 what Jesus Christ has done on your behalf. 399 00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:43,040 The one who lived full of the Spirit, the true human life, He 400 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:45,520 has already taken upon himself the judgement. 401 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:47,320 The day of the Lord is filling up. 402 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:53,440 Once we see that the day of the Lord has already come in Jesus 403 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:57,200 and the Spirit of God is available to us, it changes 404 00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:01,000 everything. If we do follow Jesus, our lives 405 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:05,280 become full of neighbor love in seeking the welfare of the city. 406 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:08,240 Things like what the church that Thessalonica was struggling with 407 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:10,800 some of y'all Christians. I challenge you to go read First 408 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:12,720 Thessalonians. Y'all they were struggling with 409 00:22:12,720 --> 00:22:15,840 laziness, idleness and that just becomes unthinkable. 410 00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:19,160 They're like, yo go to work, love people, help people. 411 00:22:20,120 --> 00:22:24,440 In our context, the normal just American lifestyle of just Uber 412 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:27,400 doom scroll and watching hundreds of hours of TV just 413 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:31,360 becomes unthinkable. We, we stop also being scared of 414 00:22:31,360 --> 00:22:34,720 the big bad world, you know, and thinking we need to retreat or 415 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:37,880 get away or whatever. We also stop being those 416 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:39,960 Christians who blame everything on the church. 417 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:44,480 You know we we become those who jump in with the church, 418 00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:48,960 although it is imperfect and we live on mission for the good of 419 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:53,080 cities and people and for the non Christian, God wants to 420 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:56,440 change everything for you too. If you see Jesus on the cross 421 00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:58,640 taking your judgment so you can have his dwelling, it changes 422 00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:01,560 everything. It makes you want to call on the 423 00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:05,360 name of the Lord, makes you want to dwell with him, makes you 424 00:23:05,360 --> 00:23:10,000 want to call on his name. What I want to do with the end 425 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:13,440 of our time here today, Y'all, is I want to read from Romans 426 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:16,800 10, which quotes the book of Joel, this idea of calling on 427 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:19,720 the name of the Lord. And y'all, I want to give you an 428 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:22,280 opportunity. If God is drawing you right now, 429 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:25,280 if you are not a believer and it's a snow day or some other 430 00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:28,360 time, you're listening to this. God has drawn you to himself, 431 00:23:28,360 --> 00:23:33,640 man, for real. And I believe maybe you're going 432 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:35,200 to call on the name of the Lord for the first time. 433 00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:37,000 And I want to just walk you through what that could look 434 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:38,760 like. But first, let's start with 435 00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:40,960 Romans 10. That's where that's the road map 436 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:43,440 for what we're talking about. Romans 10 verses 9 through 13 437 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:46,240 say this. Because if you confess with your 438 00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:49,560 mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God 439 00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:52,440 raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 440 00:23:52,840 --> 00:23:55,560 For with the heart 1 believes and is justified, and with the 441 00:23:55,560 --> 00:23:58,720 mouth 1 confesses and is saved. For the scripture says everyone 442 00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:00,840 who believes in him will not be put to shame. 443 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:02,880 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. 444 00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:05,640 For the same Lord is the Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all 445 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:09,040 who call on Him. For everyone who calls on the 446 00:24:09,040 --> 00:24:12,640 name of the Lord will be saved right now where you're seated. 447 00:24:13,360 --> 00:24:16,200 If you don't know Jesus, this text gives you the path. 448 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:19,120 Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in 449 00:24:19,120 --> 00:24:22,640 your heart that God raised him from the dead, and you will be 450 00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:24,560 saved. For everyone who calls on the 451 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:27,960 name of the Lord will be saved. Friend, the day of the Lord is 452 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:30,080 coming in fullness one day where judgment will occur. 453 00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:33,520 Jesus has already partially brought the day of the Lord by 454 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:35,720 dying in the place of sinners like you and me. 455 00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:43,200 If you will call on His name, the Spirit of God will apply the 456 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:45,480 saving work of Jesus to your heart. 457 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:48,680 The work is Jesus's yo, not yours. 458 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:52,600 He did it, we just receive it. He's the champion. 459 00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:56,480 We just turn from our sin. We agree with him, we submit to 460 00:24:56,480 --> 00:24:59,280 Him, we fall down before Him. We confess with our mouth. 461 00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:01,200 We believe in our heart that guy raised him from the dead. 462 00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:04,200 We confess Jesus is Lord, we turn, we call on his name. 463 00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:07,760 So what I want to do is I want to lead you in a little prayer 464 00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:10,600 here. And if you're going to be 465 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:12,960 putting your trust in Jesus for the first time, the second 466 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:16,000 you're done here today. What I want you to do is text 467 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:19,120 somebody at Port City, you know, and tell them you think you just 468 00:25:19,120 --> 00:25:21,000 called on the name of the Lord, You think you're a Christian, 469 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:21,960 you want to talk to him about it. 470 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:25,840 Another way you can do that is you can go on our website, go to 471 00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:29,520 church center, next steps, fill out a baptism conversation form 472 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:33,240 or you do both those steps, text somebody and fill out that form. 473 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:35,320 So what I want to do is I want to pray. 474 00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:37,360 And y'all, your confidence isn't in the words. 475 00:25:37,360 --> 00:25:38,880 I'm praying that you're copying me. 476 00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:42,680 I'm just going to talk to God with you in mind right now and 477 00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:45,480 try to let you and God have this conversation. 478 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:49,880 Maybe even when this this when, when this podcast is over. 479 00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:53,400 But pray with me. Let's pray. 480 00:25:55,280 --> 00:25:57,280 Father, just thinking about your church first. 481 00:25:57,280 --> 00:25:59,800 Would you build up your church? We need to be sober minded God. 482 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:02,240 We need you to sober us to give us soft hearts. 483 00:26:02,240 --> 00:26:04,160 We would rend our hearts on our garments. 484 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:06,760 God that we would be spirit filled as we live with you 485 00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:08,440 awaiting the final day of the Lord. 486 00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:11,240 God, please activate the good works you have in mind for your 487 00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:14,680 church. God help us to love the mess out 488 00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:17,920 of Norfolk and our neighbors. Wake us up from our American 489 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:20,200 slumber. Forgive us for how lackadaisical 490 00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:23,040 we are. Forgive us for our being ashamed 491 00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:27,160 of judgment in hell sometimes may we be just good witnesses to 492 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:29,360 the truth of your word. Would you save some of our 493 00:26:29,360 --> 00:26:32,000 friends? Would you just by your spirit 494 00:26:32,040 --> 00:26:37,440 convict our city and sober our city and God Now I do want to 495 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:42,720 pray thinking of those who might be putting their trust in in you 496 00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:46,720 for the very first time and God, I want to give them some words 497 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:48,240 and and you know my heart in this God. 498 00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:51,800 Their confidence can't be and what I'm about to say, but God, 499 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:55,760 I pray this would be a road map for them to just come to you. 500 00:26:56,320 --> 00:26:59,080 Lord, may this remove just obstacles of maybe it needs to 501 00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:00,880 be magical. God, would you just meet them? 502 00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:03,400 Would you give them a heart of faith, pull out their heart of 503 00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:04,240 stone, give them a heart of flesh? 504 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:07,520 So God, maybe they pray something like this. 505 00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:11,800 Father, I've sinned. I admit that I was created to 506 00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:13,320 know you, to love you, and to serve you. 507 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:17,320 I have not done that. I have loved sin more than you. 508 00:27:17,840 --> 00:27:19,800 I thought I could run the show better than you. 509 00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:24,640 I admit that I need to be saved. I believe that you sent your son 510 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:28,240 Jesus to save me from my sins. Believe that He died in my 511 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:30,160 place. I believe that He is the risen 512 00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:32,240 and reigning King of the world right now. 513 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:35,000 He is alive. He died on the cross for me. 514 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:37,160 I believe that he sent the Spirit to dwell on earth with 515 00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:39,960 your people. I confess that He is Lord. 516 00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:44,240 I ask you to save me and fill me with the Holy Spirit. 517 00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:47,880 Dwell with me God. I turn for my sin and I trust in 518 00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:50,240 you. I love you and I pray these 519 00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:55,360 things in Jesus name, Amen. If you just pray that prayer, I 520 00:27:55,360 --> 00:27:58,800 encourage you to reach out to somebody at Port City, you know, 521 00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:03,600 fill out that form. Hey y'all, may we all live with 522 00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:06,960 King Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit until the final day of 523 00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:08,720 the Lord. Grace and peace to you. 524 00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:10,920 Hope to see you soon. Salute.