(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Amen. All right, we're there in Joel chapter number three. And of course, on Sunday nights, we've been going through the book of Joel verse by verse and spending some time in these short three chapters. It's three chapters, but there's a lot in these chapters. And what we've been doing is we've been focusing, because the book of Joel has two kind of focuses. There's definitely, obviously, an end times focus in the book of Joel. But then there's, of course, also some very practical application in the book of Joel. So we've been going back and forth. We spend one week kind of looking at the practical or looking at the end time stuff and then another week looking at the practical stuff. We're going to finish the book of Joel next week. And Joel chapter three is actually divided into two sections. The first section is the prophet Joel really speaking to the children of Israel of his current time. And there's some very practical application there. And then he ends the book where they look at end times again. And he focuses in on the Battle of Armageddon. We're going to talk about that next week. We're going to look at the Valley of Jehoshaphat, as he calls it, and the Battle of Armageddon and finish the book with those end times thoughts. Tonight, we're going to look at kind of the practical application of the book of Joel and some of the things that he says. Now, we're going to delve into chapter three here in a minute. And we're going to go about halfway through the chapter. But before we do that, I want you to go back to chapter two. And there are some things that we didn't cover. And they're important parts of the book of Joel. They're actually some of the most well-known parts of the book of Joel. But we didn't cover them because they don't have end times ramifications. So as we were dealing with different things like the abomination desolation or the last time we looked at the replacement theology and all of that, we didn't go through it. But I want to go through it tonight. And I want to make sure we cover this information before we are done with the book of Joel. There's three kind of practical lessons, practical applications that I want to point out to you. And if you're taking notes, I'd encourage you to maybe write some of these things down. The first one is a lesson on rending your heart. So you could call it rend your hearts. There in Joel chapter 2 and verse 12, I want you to notice what Joel says to the children of Israel. And again, this is kind of mixed in between end time stuff. If you remember when we started the book of Joel, we talked about the illustration of bifocal type glasses that you can see near and you can see far with these prophets. Sometimes we see far, and then sometimes we see near. Sometimes he's speaking about things that will happen in the end times. Other times he's speaking about things that are happening right there and then. And in verses 12 and 13, we have him speaking to the children of Israel of his day. Notice he says there in verse 12, therefore also now sayeth the Lord. He says, turn ye even to me with all your heart. The children of Israel here, the prophet Joel, is being used of God to speak unto them. And he is admonishing them to turn back to God. Turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning. And then he says this in verse 13. I want you to notice that he says, and rend. The word rend means to tear or to rip. He says, and rend your heart. Now you might ask, well, why is it that God says, I want you to rend your heart? He says, and rend your heart. And then he gives us this contrast. He says, I want you to rend, or rip, or tear your heart, he says, as opposed to your garments. He says, and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God. For he is gracious, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repented him of the evil. Now you might ask, well, what is it that the prophet Joel is referring to here talking about? If you've read the Old Testament, you may have noticed that the children of Israel seem to be pretty dramatic people whenever bad things happen. And it is a custom in the Old Testament. You'll find it. And it's not just the bad guys. It's often the good guys. And it's not a bad thing. But you'll find in the Old Testament that whenever they got some bad news, whenever they heard some bad things, or whenever they realized that the judgment of God had came, or something like that, the children of Israel would often rend their clothes. They would actually rip their clothes off. And they would do this as an act of mourning. They would rip their clothes. They would sometimes put ashes upon their head. They would sometimes rip their clothes off and clothe themselves with sackcloth. And these were all acts, rituals, things that they did in order. The purpose of the action, the purpose of the action was to show that they were in deep mourning, that their hearts were broken, that they had offended God, and that they were wanting to get right with God. The purpose was to rip their clothes so as to show that this is how they felt on the inside. As they rent their clothes, they were showing that their hearts were being rent. But as time had gone by, and as the prophet Joel had stepped onto the scene, what we find is that these people had turned these actions into religious rituals. Whenever the prophet would speak, thus saith the Lord God, whenever a hard sermon was preached in their direction, it became kind of this ritual where they would just kind of rend their garments. And they would weep. And they would howl. And they might put ashes upon their head. But God looks down upon these people. And he says, you know, the problem is you're renting your clothes, but you're not renting your heart. The problem is you're performing these religious rituals, but nothing's actually changing on the inside. And here, the prophet Joel, he says, you know what? Why don't you rent your hearts and not your garments? Here's what he's saying. He's saying it'd be better for you if you rent your heart and not your garment than to rent your garment and not your heart. He says, and rent your hearts and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God. I kind of equate it. Go with me if you would to the book of Ezekiel chapter 33. Ezekiel 33, if you're there in Joel and you go backwards, you've got the book of Hosea, Daniel, Ezekiel, Ezekiel chapter number 3. The idea is this, that many people put up religious shows. They act religious. They act the part. They act the way that they think they're supposed to act. They do what they're supposed to do. But in their heart, they're not really getting right with God. They're not really affected by the preaching of the word of God. There's nothing actually changing on the inside. You know, whenever I read that verse, I think because obviously as New Testament believers, we don't have this practice of renting your clothes, right? But here's a practice that Baptists have, and especially what we would affectionately refer to as the old IFB. The new IFB doesn't really have this practice in our new IFB type churches. But the old IFB, which the old IFB is much bigger than the new IFB, and we all came out of the old IFB to some extent or another. But the old IFB has this practice. And some of you, if Verity Baptist Church is the only church you've ever known, this might be new to you or a surprise to you. You've never seen this before. But it's done at a lot of old, conservative, traditional type churches. And it is the invitation, right? Who's ever been to a church that held an invitation? Raise your hand. We're going to hold an invitation right now. I see that hand. Walk down that aisle. You know, if you've been at a church that held an invitation, the pastor preaches. And then at the end of the service, the music starts playing. And they'll start talking about raise your hand if you want to get saved, or raise your hand if you want to get right with God. Walk down the aisle and make an altar here at the platform. And people will kneel down at the platform. And they'll pray. And they'll get right with God and all that. And you say, well, what's wrong with that? And I'm not preaching on that. And there's lots of things that are wrong with that. There's a reason why we don't do it here at Verity Baptist Church. But I will say this. One thing that tends to be a problem with that is that people turn it into this religious ritual. We're just at the end of every Sunday morning service, at the end of every Sunday night service, at the end of every Wednesday night service. It's just the same people walking on the same aisle, getting right with God for the same sin. And sometimes you've got to ask, you want to ask people, like, how many times are you going to get saved? Or how many times are you going to ask God to forgive you for that sin? How many times are you just, it's like, at some point you need to just get victory over that thing. But the thing is this, that it just becomes this religious ritual where we feel bad. We feel guilty. We rend our clothes. We walk down the aisle. We cry. But here's what God says. God says, I'd rather you get your heart right. You know, at Verity Baptist Church, you don't do the invitations. But here's the thing. I've been in many old IFB church where the pastor stood up and preached on soul winning, and preached a powerful sermon on soul winning, a powerful message on soul winning, a powerful sermon on hell. And people were convicted, and they felt bad, and they were guilty. And they walked down the aisle, and they cried, and they made this big show. And then Saturday morning rolls around, and three soul winners show up. You say, what do you say to that? Why don't you rend your hearts and not your garments? You know, I often tell people, hey, keep your decision. Stay in the aisle. Don't walk down the aisle. I'd rather you not make a show out of it and just show up for soul winning. I'd rather you not make a show of it and just read your Bible the next day. I'd rather you not make a show. See, God says, and the prophet Joel says, he says, look, rend your hearts and not your garments. Here's what he says. Keep the show, just get right with God. Because many people want to get religious. They want to put on a religious show. But God says, why don't you get your heart right? Notice there in Ezekiel 33, we kind of see the same example here with the prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel 33 and verse 30, the Bible says this, also thou son of man. Ezekiel 33 and verse 30, this is God speaking to the prophet Ezekiel. He says, also thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls in the doors of the house. Now, when he says they're talking against thee, this is not necessarily a negative. He says they're still talking about thee. They're still talking about you. And speak one to another, every one to his brother saying. Notice what the people are saying about Ezekiel. Ezekiel the prophet, Ezekiel the preacher. Ezekiel must have been a gifted speaker. He must have been an anointed preacher of God. Because here God tells Ezekiel, hey, the people, they're still talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the house. They speak one to another, every one to his brother saying. Notice what they say. They're saying, come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the Lord. You say, well, that sounds good. They're saying, they're going out to their friends and to their family, and they're saying, man, listen, I found this guy on YouTube. You got to listen to him. I mean, they're still talking about you. You preach the sermons, they're still talking against thee. I've been listening to this guy, man. You got to come here. You got to come check this out. They're saying, come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh from the Lord. You say, that sounds good, that doesn't sound bad. You're right, that is good. Nothing wrong with that. Would to God that we would go out into the highways and hedges and go to our friends and our family and say, you ought to come with me to the house of God. You ought to come, and I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh from the Lord. So that's not bad, yeah, that's not bad. Here's the problem, though, verse 31. And they come unto thee. This is God telling Ezekiel the prophet. And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words. He says, they come to church, they sit before you, they hear the preaching. That all sounds good, that sounds great. Here's the problem, but they will not do them. He says, they come to church, they listen to the preaching, they sit in church, they hear the preaching, and then they go home and they don't do anything. They don't do, they don't apply, they don't actually put into practice the things that they've heard. He says, and they come unto thee as the people cometh, they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do it. Notice, for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. So what is he talking about? He's talking about very religious people, who like church, and like preaching. And they show up to church, and they sit, and they hear, and they even share. They go and they talk against thee by the walls and the doors of the houses. They go and they post it on their Facebook, and you gotta listen to this for a minute. They're like, this is a great sermon on soul winning, why they don't go soul winning. This is a great sermon on prayer, why they don't pray. This is a great sermon on forgiveness, why they don't forgive. And the problem is not, the problem is not that they come, we want them to come. The problem is not that they sit, we want them to sit. The problem is not that they hear, we want them to hear. The problem is that they do all of this, and they do not, for their mouth. This is what God, look, this is how God speaks of it. And some of you, if you were honest with yourself, you would say, yeah, Ezekiel 33, 31, that's my life verse. I come and I sit and I hear, but I do not. I come and I sit and I hear, but they will not do them. And this is what God thinks of you. For with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. He says, with their mouth, they, oh yeah, I love God, I love the King James Bible, I love fundamentalism, I love hard preaching, we love all these things. But their heart only loves what they want, goes after what they want. And lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument, for they hear thy words, but they do them not. And when this cometh to pass, lo, it will come. Then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them. And the context is here that, if you remember Ezekiel 33, if you remember the context is that the judgment of God was coming. And here's what God is telling them. God is telling them, it doesn't matter how much church you go to. It doesn't matter how many services you attend. Doesn't matter how many times you come to church, and I'm not down on church, I want you to come to church. But what he's telling them is, it doesn't matter how often you come to church, how often you sit in the preaching, how often you listen to preaching, how many YouTube videos you've listened to, how many documentaries you've watched. If you don't actually apply the word of God, your lives will be destroyed. And when this cometh to pass, when this cometh to pass, lo, it will come. Then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them. When their lives are destroyed, then they'll think, hmm, maybe I should have actually done what the prophet said and not just shared it, not just emailed the link, not just invited a friend. And none of that's bad, all of that is good. We want all of that, but you know what we want? We want your heart, we want you to rend your heart and not your garment. Now if you rend your heart and you rend your garment, nothing wrong with that. But when you rend your garment and not your heart, that's hypocrisy. So the prophet Joel says, there's a lesson here, a lesson in rending our hearts. Go to Matthew chapter 12, if you would. Matthew chapter 12, first book of the New Testament there. Matthew chapter 12. He says, rend your heart. Let me tell you something, you know what God wants from you? He wants your heart, he doesn't want a show. He wants your heart, he doesn't want you to put up this religious show and look how godly I am and look how remorseful I am and look at the things that I'm doing. You know what God wants more than all that? He wants your heart. He wants you to be serious. We'll deal with this in 2 Corinthians, we're in the book of 2 Corinthians on Wednesday night. But if you remember in the book of 2 Corinthians, we have the apostle Paul dealing with this church at Corinth who had this young man who fornicated and then they punished him and he got right with God. In that book, the apostle Paul teaches us that when somebody is truly repentant, when someone really wants to get right with God, and we're not talking about salvation, obviously you don't have to repent of your sins to be saved, we understand that, but when someone actually wants to repent and get right with God, the apostle Paul there gives us a list of seven different things that someone who is truly repentant will do, why? Because if your heart really wants to get right with God, the outside will follow. The problem is when we put up a show, watch me rend my garments and God says, but I see your heart. Matthew 12, look at verse seven. Here's how Jesus said it. This concept's found all throughout the Bible. It's said differently by different people. Jesus put it this way. But if he had known what this meaneth, here's what Jesus said. I will have mercy and not sacrifice. You would not condemn the guiltless. Jesus said, you know what I want? He said, you are offering up sacrifices while refusing to give mercy. You're putting up all these religious gifts and these donations and these sacrifices and there's nothing wrong with that. But you're doing all these religious things while being bitter, while being angry, while being unmerciful, while being unforgiving, and here's what Jesus said. Jesus said, I would rather have mercy and not sacrifice. He says, I'd rather you get your heart right and keep your clothes. I don't need the religious show. God says, I want your heart. Keep your finger right there in Matthew. We're gonna come back to Matthew here in a minute. But go back to Joel chapter two. Notice what he says there in verse 13. See, there's something about the rending of your heart. He said, rend your heart and not your garment. You say, why, here's why. Your heart condition will move God. See, the Bible says that man looketh on the outward appearance. And the liberals try to use that negatively and act like the outside doesn't matter because man looks on the outward appearance. That is not a negative statement towards that. That's just an observation that man cannot see your heart. Man only sees on the outside. That's all we can see. But he says, man looketh on the outward appearance, but God looketh upon the heart. God knows what's in there. God knows what's in your mind. God knows what you're actually thinking. God knows how you're actually feeling. And it is the heart condition that moves God, not the religious acts. It is the heart condition that moves God, not the rending, not the walking down an aisle, not the sacrifice. God, see, none of us can see your heart. But God can. Notice what he says there in verse 13. And rend your hearts, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God. For he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Notice verse 14, who knoweth? That reminds me of the book of Jonah. Remember in the book of Jonah there we have the king saying, who knoweth? If he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him, even mean offerings and a drink offering unto the Lord your God. See, it is your heart condition that will move God. Go to Psalm 34, if you would, Psalm 34. If you open up your Bible, just right in the center. Right in the center of the Bible, you have the book of Psalm, Psalm 34. God looks at your heart, God cares about your heart. And here's the point. God cares more about your heart than your outward. He cares more about the inward man than the outward man. I didn't say he doesn't care about the outward man. We'll talk about that here in a minute. But God cares more about your inner state than your outer state. Psalm 34 verse 18, notice what the Bible says. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart. And saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. You say, how do you know, how can I be close to God? You want me close to God? Well, the Bible says the Lord is nigh to them that are of a broken heart. You want me close to God? Run your heart. Yeah, I've been running my garment. Well, fine, but how's your heart? God knows your heart, the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart. And saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Go to Psalm 51 if you would. Look at verse 16, Psalm 51. Here we have the famous Psalm where David is getting right with God after committing adultery with Bathsheba. Notice what he says, Psalm 51 in verse 16. Notice what David says up to God. He says, for thou desire is not sacrifice. He says, you don't desire sacrifice. Notice what David says. For thou desire is not sacrifice, else would I give it. David, here David's trying to get right with God. David's afraid that he's gonna lose the power of the Holy Spirit, not his salvation. Remember he said, remove not the Holy Spirit from me. He said, restore the joy of thy salvation. He never lost his salvation, but he's afraid that he's gonna lose the presence and the power of God. And here David says up to God, he says, thou desire is not sacrifice, else I would give it. Here's what he's saying. If all I have to do is give you a sacrifice, if all I have to do is write a check, I do it. That's not what God wants. God doesn't want sacrifice. That's what the Catholic church thought for years, by the way, it's called penance. Oh, you wanna get right with God? Well, how bad was your sin? Do a few Hail Marys, and that's not a football pass. Do a few, you know, Lord's prayers, write a certain amount, you know, give a certain amount of donation, and then that'll make it right with God. But here David says, no, for thou desire is not sacrifice, else I would give it. What does God want? Here's what God wants. Thou delight is not in burnt offerings, the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart, oh God, thou wilt not despise. You wanna be close to God? Rend your heart, not your garments. You wanna be close to God? Don't give God a sacrifice, give him your heart. He wants your heart, go to Matthew 23. Now here's where people go off the rails with this type of teaching. Because the holier than thou's, they'll say, you don't have to go to church, just give God your heart. You don't have to go soul-willing, just give God your heart. You don't have to read your Bible, just give God your heart. Well, there's a problem with that. You can't say you're a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ when Jesus Christ said, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. So look, you say, I'm a follower of Jesus Christ. Are you fishing for men? Are you a soul winner? I'm not a soul winner. Then you're not a follower of Christ. See, people have this idea that there's this disconnect between the heart and the outward. Look, you're a person that everything is connected together. Matthew 23, are you there? Look at verse 25, notice what Jesus said. He says, woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. Notice, for you may clean the outside. Here we have hypocrisy, and people are always trying. When you get up and preach the Word of God and you preach with authority, people will always try to say, oh, you're a hypocrite, oh, you're a Pharisee. Look at that Pharisaical preaching. But here's what Jesus said, woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you may clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. You say, what is hypocrisy according to Jesus and the dictionary? It's this, that you put up a show on the outside that does not match the inside. You may clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, stop going slow winning. Is that what he says? Thou blind Pharisee, don't be faithful to, is that what he says? Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and the platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. He's not telling you to stop doing that which is on the outside. He's just saying, make sure your heart's right. And by the way, when your heart's right, when you clean the inside, the outside will get cleaned up too. He says, cleanse first. He's not saying one is better than the other. He's telling you there are some priorities here. Cleanse first that which is within the cup and the platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. It's not that God wants your heart and nothing else. It's that God wants your heart first. And when you give God your heart, when you give God your heart, the outside will follow. See, they try to make it sound, they preach against us, right? And they try to make it sound like, if you show up to every soul winning event, you're into some sort of sin because you're trying to make penance or something. Here's what you need to understand. If your heart's right, you'll show up for soul winning. If your heart's right, you'll dress right. If your heart's right, you won't fornicate. If your heart's right, you'll live right. If your heart's right, now here's the thing. Can you do all that and your heart not be right? Absolutely. That's why he says, run your heart, not your garment. Don't get me the outside show while the inside's not real. But here's the truth. When you first cleanse the inside, the outside will follow. So don't tell me you love the Lord while you're living like the devil. Your heart condition will move God. Your heart condition will move you to God. Someone recently, I was just talking to somebody recently, and they were asking me, and they weren't really asking me, they were more commenting to me about some of these preachers that have came out against us over the years. And they'll say, yeah, it's really interesting because it seems like they latch on to the new IFB, or whatever you wanna call it, to get some sort of a following or platform. And then though, when they feel like they've got enough, I don't know what they feel like they've got enough, subscribers or whatever, when they feel like they've got enough of whatever they need, then they're like, I don't need these guys anymore, and they stab us in the back. Here's the funny thing. As soon as they leave us, so does the crowd. Soon as they leave us, it's like, oh, I got enough people watching me on YouTube now, like if that's their main focus of what they wanna do. And then as soon as they leave us, it's like their YouTube views go down to like five, 10, 30, and they don't understand, and it's kinda like, I don't understand. Okay, I did everything that they were doing. They were yelling, I was yelling. They were saying fags, I was saying fags. They were saying, you know, they were doing this, and they were doing that, and I did all those things, and yet, I can't get the same traction. And it's like, what's the problem? Hey, you know what the problem is? Your heart's not right. Well, here's what you're missing, the touch of God. Here's what you're missing, the blessing of God. Here's what you're missing, that your heart is actually right with God. You can stand up and yell and scream and preach and say whatever, and that doesn't mean that God's with you. Don't get this idea, oh, I can do what Pastor Jimenez does. I can do what Pastor Anderson does. I can do what Pastor Mejia does. I'm just gonna get up and holler and scream and yell and make YouTube thumbnails, and then people will watch me and follow me. No, no, wait a minute. How about you do what Pastor Anderson does and get on your knees and pray? How about you do what Pastor Mejia does and run your heart and not your garment, get the blessing of God on your life? You say, what's the difference? Here's the difference, get right with God. Here's the difference, actually walk with God, actually love God, actually follow the Lord, actually get close to God in your heart, and then you won't have to copy anybody. You can be yourself with the touch of God upon your life, with the power of God upon your life, with the filling of the Holy Spirit upon your life, because let me let you in on a little secret. God is no respecter of persons, and I don't have to become Pastor Anderson for God to use me. I don't have to become Jack Hiles for God to use me. God is willing to use me all on my own, and God is willing to use you all on your own if you'll run your hearts and not your garments. You can put up a show, try it. Start a YouTube channel, get a pulpit, put it in your living room, that's what we did. Start screaming and yelling and screaming and yelling, but you'll be missing something, your heart. So Joel says, I want you to run your hearts and not your garments. I don't want you to put a show. I don't want you to put a show together. I want you to actually get right with God. Let me give you the second thought. Go back to Joel chapter two. Keep your finger right there in Matthew. We're gonna come back to it. Here's another famous passage from the book of Joel. He says, run your hearts and not your garments, and then in verse 25, he says this, and I will restore to you the years that the locusts have eaten, that the canker worm and the caterpillar and the pommelwood, my great army, which I sent among you. Remember in Joel chapter one, Joel began with this description of nature, of this pestilence coming. He says, that which the locusts have not eaten hath the canker worm eaten, and that which the canker worm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten, and that which the caterpillar left hath the pommelwood eaten, and the idea is that there was this massive, this massive judgment of God that it came upon the nation, and yes, it was foretelling of the end times, what I believe is that actually happened to the nation of Israel, and what it was saying is that God had not only just sent the locusts, he sent the locusts first, and whatever was left over, then he sent the canker worm, and they took what the locusts had eaten, and the caterpillar then came after, and they took what the canker worm had eaten, and then the pommel worm came after, and they took, it was just a desolation. They'd lost years. It would take them time to be able to grow back. It would take them time to be able to restore what they had lost, and in Joel chapter one, Joel reminds them of the detriment of the loss that they had sustained, but in Joel chapter two, the prophet Joel brings a little bit of hope, and he says, look, let me remind you of something. He says, God says, I will restore to you the years that the locusts have eaten. See, not only does God want you to rend your hearts, he also wants to restore your years. Go to Matthew chapter number 20. Matthew chapter 20. My wife and I are blessed that we've had the opportunity to serve God from our youth. I believe that's one of the reasons why the Lord has blessed us to the extent that he has blessed us. The Bible says, young people, please listen to me. The Bible says that you ought to serve God with your youth. Amen. You ought to give your youth to God. That doesn't mean you have to be a pastor. That doesn't mean you have to be a pastor's wife. Obviously, if God wants to use you in that way, then we'd love to train you and send you out, but we've got many a godly businessman in this room. We've got many a godly homeschool mom and homemaker mom. Hey, it just means this. Give your life to God. And by the way, God knows if you're just putting up a show. So you're talking to the teenagers? I'm talking to everybody. God knows if you're putting up the show. Rend your hearts, not your garments. But let me just talk to you that maybe are older. Because often what I hear from people, and sometimes they say it in a positive way, and sometimes they say it in a negative way, and I understand both. But often what you hear from people are statements like these. I wish I would have learned these things 10 years ago. I wish somebody would have taught me these things when I was still raising my children. I wish I would have learned this when I was still married. I wish I would have learned this. You know, people will say, I've just kind of lived life, and we've wasted time, and we've wasted a lot of time, and there's years that the locusts have eaten. But I'm here to tell you that the prophet Joel wants you to know that God can restore to you the years that the locusts have eaten. God can help you make up for the time that's been wasted. Maybe there's been years that have been wasted, years that have been destroyed, years that have gone to sin, but God can make those up for you. They say, well, how in the world would God do that? Well, let me just share with you a parable, and I've preached on this parable in the past, but I think this is probably the clearest illustration of I will restore to you the years that the locusts have eaten. In Matthew chapter 20, the Lord Jesus Christ gives this parable. It's a little lengthy, but I want to read it to you, and I know you're familiar with it, but I want you to see it again. Matthew chapter 20 in verse one, he says, For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard. Here he is referring to the Christian life or the life of a Christian. He said it's like unto an householder. Now, just for sake of illustration, the householder here in this parable is picturing God or the Lord Jesus Christ. He says that it is like unto a householder which went out early in the morning. In the Bible, of course, we know that the day or the morning began at 6 a.m., and we'll see that that's consistent with this parable. He went out early in the morning when people would go out to work, and in these Bible times and in these agricultural societies, they would have a 12-hour workday. It would go from 6 a.m. morning to 6 p.m. evening, six days a week. And here the householder, he goes out early. He finds the early birds. He finds a group that gets in early. Notice verse two. Well, look at the last part of verse one, which went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed, that's the key word, by the way, of this parable, he'd agreed, that means he made a deal with them. They didn't just go into work. They said, he says, I wanna hire you. They said, how much are you gonna pay? He said, I'm gonna pay you this much. They said, okay, that's fair, and they agreed. And when he had agreed with the laborers for a penny a day, and they're not getting ripped off here, they agreed to this. He said, you want a job? They said, yeah, can you work all day? He said, we're out here early in the morning. 6 a.m., we're ready to work, we'll put in 12 hours. Well, how does a penny a day sound? They said, penny a day sounds fine. They agreed with the laborers for a penny a day, and he sent them into his vineyard. He finds the early birds, they start at 6 a.m. They said, hey, you wanna get to work? They said, yeah, we can work all day. Can you work 12 hours? 12 hours, how much do I need to pay you? Well, you know, how about a penny a day? Penny sounds good. They agreed, they shook hands, they go to work. Notice verse three. And when he went out about the third hour, this is three hours later, now it's 9 a.m., and saw others standing idle in the marketplace. Idle, they're standing there, they're not working. It's like when you go to Home Depot and you see the line of guys there and they're all waiting for work. This is what this guy's doing. He's going to Home Depot and he's finding workers. Went out at 6 a.m., hired a few of them, put them to work, realized he has more work that needs to be done. He goes back three hours later at the third hour, 9 a.m., and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, verse four, and said unto them, go ye also into the vineyard. But this time, because they're getting a late start, no deal is made. He just says, and whatsoever is right. We're not going to agree, you just go work and I'll give you what's right. They didn't agree, they allowed the householder to decide what they would get paid. He says, and whatsoever is right, I will give you. And they went their way. And again, he went out about the sixth hour. This is now three hours later. Six hours after the first group. This is now noon or 12 p.m. And he went about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, that's three hours after that, 3 p.m., and did likewise. He went out at 6 a.m., found some workers. They agreed to work for a penny a day. They went into work three hours later at the third hour, three hours later at the sixth hour, three hours later at the ninth hour. He finds worker. He doesn't agree, he just says, whatsoever is right, I will give you. And they said, that's fine, and they went to work. Notice verse six, and about the 11th hour. Remember, the workday ends at the 12 hour, the 12 hour workday. One hour before the workday is over, at 5 p.m., he went out and found others standing idle and sayeth unto them, why stand ye here all the day idle? And they say unto him, because no man hath hired us, he saith unto them, go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. Again, no agreement is made. Notice verse eight, so when even was come, even at 6 p.m., the workday's over, the Lord of vineyards saith unto his steward, call the laborers and give them their hire. They've been working now for 12 hours, he said. It's time to give them their reward. It's time to pay them for their work. He says, call the laborers and give them their hire. Notice what he says there in verse eight. Excuse me, look at verse nine. And when they came, you know what, let me go back just to give you the context. Verse seven, they say unto him, because no man hath hired us, he saith unto them, go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. And when even was come, verse eight, the Lord of the vineyards saith unto the steward, call the laborers and give them their hire. I want you to notice this at the last part of verse eight, beginning from the last unto the first. He said, I want you to start with the guys that we hired last, the newest guys, the guys that have done the least amount of work, and I want you to pay them first, and I want you to go from the last to the first. Notice verse nine. And when they came that were hired about the 11th hour, the guys that got hired at five p.m., they worked for one hour. They received every man, notice this, a penny. Now remember, the guys that started at six a.m., they agreed with the laborer for a penny a day. So a penny is one day's wages. The guys that worked one hour got paid as though they got paid for an entire day. They'd only worked for one hour. They started at the fifth hour of the day, but they got paid as though they'd been working the whole time. Notice again what he says. Verse nine, and when they came that were hired about the 11th hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, notice these words, they supposed. Be careful about assumptions. They supposed that they should have received more and they likewise received every man a penny. See, the guys that got hired at six a.m., they worked all day long. They were at the end of the line. And the guy that had only worked one hour, he was at the beginning and he went up to get paid and they put a penny in his hand. He'd only worked one hour and he got a full day's wages. Then the guy that had gotten hired and he'd only worked three hours, he goes out and he puts his hand up and he put a penny in his hand. He'd only worked three hours. And they gave him a full day's wages and so on and so on. And the guys at the end, they're kinda looking at each other and saying, man, this guy's paying well. I mean, he paid that guy a penny. He paid, that guy only worked one hour. We've been working all day. I wonder how much we're gonna make. Look at verse 10, but when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more. And they likewise received every man a penny. They worked 12 hours and got an entire day's wages. And then when they had received it, they murmured against the good man of the house, saying, these laws have wrought but one hour. And that was made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and the heat of the day. Now, if you read this just casually and you don't really think about what's going on, it seems to us like it's unfair. That's because we're communist. That's because we live in a socialist society. Let me tell you something. The boss can decide how much he wants to pay whoever he wants to pay, and it's right. But these people, they said, you've ripped us off. Because we're comparing ourselves to these other people. We worked for 12 hours. They worked for one hour, and we got paid the same. Notice verse 11, and when they had received it, they murmured against the good man of the house, saying, these laws have wrought but one hour, and thou has made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them and said, notice verse 13, notice when he says, friend, I do thee no harm. Here's the key to the parable. If you think God is unfair, did not thou, did not thou agree with me for a penny? Didn't you agree to work for one penny a day? I did agree to work for a penny a day. Did I give you a penny for the work you agreed upon? Yes, yes you did. Did I give you less than we agreed upon? No, you didn't. Then how am I being unfair? Well, you gave the other guy more. Notice verse 14, take that as thine. Take that thine is and go thy way. I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil because I am good? Here's what he's saying. Be careful about accusing God of being unfair because he's giving more to somebody else. Be careful about feeling like God's ripping you off because he's blessing somebody else more than he's blessing you. You say, I don't understand the parable. Two takeaways. One is for those that have been working for a long time, the guys that got started young, and one is for those that got started late. Here's the message for all of us that have been serving God since our youth, and I want you to understand the context of the parable. The parable's not just thrown on there for no reason. The parable, and I won't take the time to develop it because I'm running out of time, but the parable is really an answer to a question. See, earlier in the book of Matthew in chapter 19, we had a rich young ruler who came to Jesus and was unwilling to give up his riches in order to serve Christ. He went away sorrowful, the Bible says, and Peter asked this question. He says, we have given up all. We have forsaken all and have followed thee. What will we get on the day of judgment? He said, here's what Peter asked. Peter said, that guy wasn't willing to serve you, but we've given everything up. We've been serving you from the beginning. What are we gonna get? And Jesus responds with this parable. Jesus says, let me tell you a story. And he tells him the story. You say, what's the moral of the story? Here's the moral of the story. Young people, here's the moral of the story. Serve God and don't make any agreements with God. Stay away from this mentality. God, I will serve you as long as you give me the spouse that I want. You give me that prince in shining armor, you give me that princess that I'm looking for, you give me a wife and I'll serve you, God. Or once you have a wife, you give me those children and I'll serve you, God. And once you have the surgeon, you give me that house and I'll serve you, God. And once you have the house, you give me that car and I'll serve you, God. And once you have the car, you give me that beagle puppy. Or whatever it is. Here's what I'm saying, quit making agreements with God. Do you just serve God and let him take care of it? Don't sit there and say, well, I've been serving you for 12 hours, how much am I gonna get paid? You know what, God is fair and he will pay you what is due. But if you make an agreement with God, then you are binding him from him being able to bless you. That's a takeaway for the young guys. Here's a takeaway for the old guys. You got in late in the game? You wasted some time? You didn't get in till the 11th hour? I mean, isn't this the truth? Look at Matthew 20, verse six. And about the 11th hour, he went out and found others standing idle and said unto them, why stand ye here all the day idle? Isn't that what we do at Verity Baptist Church? We find people who have been married for five years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, they have not been doing anything for God with their life. And we stand up and say, why stand ye here all the day idle? There's work to be done. God wants to enlist you, God wants you to work. And then people say, yeah, but I'm already old. I didn't get started when I was young. It's the 11th hour of the day. Here's the application for you. Go serve God and whatsoever is right, I will give you. You may find that God blesses you like he blessed somebody who's been serving him his whole life. You just get in there and work for God. Quit making deals with God and try to, quit rationalizing what I can do, what I can't do. Well, if I would have got saved, and if I would have done this and if I would have done that, you just get in there and let God bless you. Because you might find that God is more merciful, God is more gracious, God is more generous. See, Joel says God can restore to you the years that the locust has eaten. Here's how Jesus said it in the New Testament, Matthew 20, verse 16, so the last shall be first. You know what that means? The last shall be first, you know what that means? It means that God can restore unto you the years that the locusts have eaten. Don't sit there and tell me about all the years you've wasted. Don't sit there and tell me about all the time that's been spent. I understand that and I get that, but you know what? You can get in at the ninth hour, you can get in at the noon hour, you can get in at the 11th hour! And God might just reward you like those of us that got in early. So don't make any deals with God. Either side, don't make any deals with God. Realize that God is good and God is fair, and God can make up for the time that you've wasted. Go back to Joel chapter three, let me give you the last one, we'll finish up. Three lessons from the book of Joel was the first one, rend your hearts, not your garments. God doesn't want a show, he wants your heart. And you can put up a show and if you miss the heart, you'll miss the closeness and blessing of God. Number two, God can restore to you the years that the locusts have eaten. You can say, pastor, you don't understand, I've gotten to the judgment of God and it took a lot for God to get my attention and the locusts came and then the cankerwood came and then the palmerwood came and you don't understand. Hey, let me tell you something. You can get in at the fifth hour and God can use you. He wants to use you. And he can supernaturally restore unto you the years that the locusts have eaten. Here's the third lesson, we'll finish up. Joel chapter three, look at verse one. For behold, in those days and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, there's a lot of debate as to when the book of Joel was written. It's hard for people to pin down when it was written. As far as I can tell at this point in my study, and I could be wrong about this, it seems to me that Joel was written earlier in the time of the written prophets, probably around Isaiah and Hosea. But here he talks about the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem which is something that happens after. It happens with Jeremiah and then Ezekiel. I believe, and I could be wrong about this, that Joel is actually speaking prophetically here. Now he's not speaking end times prophecy like you and I. He's gonna do that later on in this book. But he's speaking to the children of Israel about the fact that the judgment of God is gonna come and there's going to come a captivity of Judah and Jerusalem. And we know that the Assyrians will come and take the northern kingdom of Israel, and then years later the Babylonians will come and take the southern kingdom of Israel. And he says, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, he's looking towards that captivity and then the end of that captivity. When God brings them back into the land. Remember when Cyrus the king decreed that the Jews could go back, that's where we have the book of Nehemiah and the book of Esther. They go back into the land. He says in verse two, this is what he's referring to. He's referring, I just want you to understand the context. Joel is speaking prophetically because this hasn't happened yet, but it's already happened in our timeline. This is in the Old Testament, but it hasn't happened in his lifetime yet. He's telling them that there's coming a captivity of the children of Israel. The Assyrians and the Babylonians are gonna take them into captivity, but after 70 years, God will bring them back into the land. That's what he's saying. For behold, in those days and in that time when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage, Israel. Now, there he begins to look ahead to the battle of Armageddon. We're gonna look at that next week as we get into verses 13 and on, but notice the last part of verse two, he says, whom they have scattered among the nations and parted my land. He's talking about the captivity. The Assyrians came in and dispersed the people, parted the land. The Babylonians took the children of Israel out of Judah and into Babylon. Of course, we have Daniel and Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego, and we have Esther and we have Mordecai, and we have all those Jews that we read about that were taken out of the land. Notice verse three. And they have cast lots for my people and have given a boy for an harlot and sold a girl for wine that they might drink. What is that referring to? That's referring to trafficking. We have a big problem in the United States of America with human slave trafficking, and it was happening here at this time. Look, there's no new thing under the sun. And Joel is describing to the children of Israel that when they go into captivity, this is what's gonna happen to them. They have cast lots for my people and have given a boy for an harlot and sold a girl for wine that they might drink. Yay, and what have you to do with me? Notice, he's mentioning the nations that took part in this. He says, O Tyre and Sidon and all the coasts of Palestine, will you render me a recompense? He's saying, these are the nations that partook in this. Now, you might ask, and I'll just answer this quickly, if he's talking about the Babylonian captivity, why is the nation of Babylon not mentioned here? Or if he's talking about the Assyrians coming in, why is Assyria not necessarily being mentioned here? My thought and my belief is this, that Babylon's not being held accountable for the captivity of the nation of Israel because God actually ordained that Nebuchadnezzar be a tool used of God to bring judgment upon the nation of the northern kingdom, of course, with the Assyrians and the southern kingdom with Babylon. See, those nations were being used of God to bring judgment. God is not punishing them for that. But there seems to be these other nations, Tyre, Sidon, Palestine, who when Nebuchadnezzar came in, they took advantage of that and they cast lots for my people and have given a boy for an harlot and sold a girl for wine. And then God responds this way. The middle of verse four, will you render me a recompense? And if you recompense me swiftly and speedily, will I return your recompense upon your head? Because ye have taken my silver and my gold. Here's what he's saying. Here's what God's saying. I'm going to recompense on your head. And if you're taking notes, these are the three lessons we learned from Joel. Ren your hearts, restore the years, and recompense on your head. Notice what he says, verse five. Because ye have taken my silver and my gold. Again, I could be wrong, but I believe that Joel is speaking prophetically about when Babylon takes the silver and the gold out of the temple. Because ye have taken my silver and my gold and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things. The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have you sold unto the Grecians. Again, here, there's a mention of the Grecians. This is something that's not done till later on. Daniel is the first, is the one that mentions the Grecians and their power, that ye might remove them far from their borders. Notice verse seven. Behold, I will raise them out of the place whether ye have sold them. He says, you've sold them, but I'm going to bring them back. Now, people like to say, oh, this is going to happen in the end times. But he's talking about this is what happened with King Cyrus, Nehemiah, Ezra. He says, look, I will raise them out of the place whether ye have sold them, and will return your recompense upon your head. Here's what he's saying. The way you treated my people during their captivity, I'm not going to forget about that, and I'm going to recompense that to you. You sold, you cast lots for my people. You gave a boy for an harlot. You sold a girl for wine. Notice verse eight. And I, this is the Lord speaking, will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans. This is why it's not about the end times Jew, because he's saying, this is what he said, I'm going to do this to you, to a people afar off, for the Lord has spoken it. Go to Romans chapter 12. We're going to finish up here. Romans chapter 12. He says, I'm going to recompense this upon your head. You say, what does this mean? Here's what it means. You reap what you sow. Be not deceived, God is not mocked. For whatsoever man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. Let me tell you something. God will recompense it upon your head. God will make sure you reap what you've sown. And I'm not going to preach on reaping and sowing tonight. Let me just give you three principles when it comes to reaping and sowing. Number one, you always reap what you sow. Number two, you always reap more than you sow. Hosea says, you reap the wind, and he says, you sow the wind, and you reap the whirlwind. And number three, you always reap after you've sown. Sometimes way after you've sown. So don't think, oh, I did it, I got away with it. Oh no, it's coming. God will recompense. But for those of you on the other side, for those of you that have been hurt, for those of you that have been abused, for those of you that have had people hurt you and be mean to you and be violent to you, because that's who Joel is speaking to. He's telling the children of Israel, look, there's coming a time, it's called the time of captivity, and God is gonna bring you back into the land after that. There's a man named Ezra and a man named Nehemiah, and God is gonna use a king named Cyrus, and he's gonna bring you back into the land, but let me tell you something, when they take you out of the land, it's not gonna be pretty. They're gonna sell a boy for wine and alcohol, and they're gonna sell a girl. They're gonna traffic these kids. They're gonna violate these children. It's gonna be a dark time, and God is telling the children of Israel, don't worry too much about it, because I will recompense it upon their heads. You say, what's the message for those that have been abused, hurt, betrayed, had evil done upon them? Here's the message, Romans 12, verse 17. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as it is likely then, you live peaceably with all men. Some of you, you read that to people, and they're like, I don't wanna hear that. If you knew what he did to me, if you knew what she did to me, if you knew what they did to me. Let me tell you something. God says that he can recompense it upon their head, but there's a caveat to that, as long as you don't. He says recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as it is likely then, you live peaceably with all men. You say, why would I live that way? Why would I do that? Here's why. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto God, for it is written, vengeance is mine. I will repay, saith the Lord. You know who's better at punishing your enemies than you are? God is. But you know that God will not punish your enemies when you punish them. Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him. If he thirsts, give him drink. For in so doing, thou shall heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. You say, why? When I'm so angry, and I'm so bitter, and I'm so mad. Just let God deal with it. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves. He says, vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. So we have the prophet Joel telling the children of Israel, I like it that you rent your garments, but you know what would be better if you rent your heart? You know what God wants more than a show? He wants your heart. You know what God wants? He doesn't want the outside. He doesn't want the inside instead of the outside. No, that's not what he wants. He wants the inside first, and then the outside will follow. And then Joel tells the children of Israel, I know you've lost much with the locusts, but let me tell you something. God can miraculously restore the years that sin has wasted in your life. And then he ends by telling them, I know bad things have happened, but God will recompense it upon their heads. God is the just God. He will balance out the scales. So you just live peaceably with all men. You just learn to forgive. You just leave it with God. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, thank you for the book of Joel, and thank you for these practical lessons. I know they're not prophetic as far as end times prophecy is concerned, but there's good application, there's good teaching here. There's a reason you want us to know about it. Lord, I pray you'd help us. Lord, I pray you'd help us to be Christians that really love you from our hearts, that we rent our hearts and not our garments, that we don't put up shows, that we just worry about being right with you. Lord, I pray that you would help us not only to rent our hearts, Lord, but also help us to know that you can restore the years that the locusts has eaten. And our job is to not try to make a deal with you and agree with you. Just get in the game and get to work. And for those that have been hurt, I pray you'd help them to rely upon this promise that you will recompense. We love you in the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen.