Key Truth: We are called to take seriously the impact of the coming Day of the Lord knowing that it can only be endured by faith alone in Christ alone through God’s grace alone.  

Introduction:

What causes you to pause and take stock of your life?

The Call to Tremble at the Judgment in the Coming Day of the Lord:

Joel 2:1-9

“…(Joel) bids the inhabitants of the land to tremble. By these words he intimates, that we are not to trifle with God by vain ceremonies but to deal with him in earnest. When therefore, the trumpets sound, our hearts ought to tremble; and thus the reality is to be connected with outward signs. And this ought to be carefully noticed; for the world is ever disposed to have an eye to some outward service, and thinks that a satisfaction is given to God, when some external rite is observed. But we do nothing but mock God, when we present him with ceremonies, while there is no corresponding sincere feeling in the heart; and this we shall find handled in (Joel 2:12-17).”

John Calvin, Commentary on Joel

What causes you to turn and seek the Lord?
How does the impact of the coming Day of the Lord affect your interactions with those in your spheres of influence?

The Question of Who Can Endure the Day of the Lord:

Joel 2:10-11

“How should a person respond to the announcement that this day is coming? In particular, what should God’s own people do in anticipation of this coming day of judgment?...Joel provides straightforward instructions: God’s people should repent and return to the Lord. Nothing else will serve as an adequate preparation for the coming of the great Day of the Lord.”

O. Palmer Robertson, Prophet of the Coming Day of the Lord: The Message of Joel

Who can endure the Day of the Lord?
How does the answer to this question affect your interactions with those in your spheres of influence?

Application: 

Joel 2:1-11 teaches us that we are:
- to take the impact of the coming Day of the Lord seriously for ourselves and for those in
our spheres of influence
- endure the coming Day of the Lord by faith alone in Christ alone through God’s grace
alone 

“Grant, almighty God, that as thou invites us daily with so much kindness and love, and makes known to us thy paternal goodwill, which thou didst once show to us in Christ thy Son, -- O grant, that, being allured by thy goodness, we may surrender ourselves wholly to thee, and become so teachable and submissive, that wherever thou guidest us by thy Spirit thou mayest follow us with every blessing: let us not, in the meantime, be deaf to thy warnings; and whenever we deviate from the right way, grant that we may immediately awake when thou warnest us, and return to the right path, and deign thou also to embrace us and reconcile us to thyself through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

John Calvin, Commentary on Joel

Benediction:

Revelation 21:3-4