Sermon on Joel 2:19-27, Hope for the Hopeless

“I love you…I love you and I’ll never leave you.”  That is what she had been told, and that is what she had believed.  After all, Sandra and Dave had been dating for some time by that point.  She was no “easy” girl.  And he was a lot of fun, good looking; he had the right connections around town, too.  And it was no exaggeration to say that he was loaded.  And he loved her!  It’s what she’d always wanted.  It’s what she’d always wanted to hear.  So how could she have said no?  But now, these many years later, the only thing that hadn’t left her was the guilt.  First the sex.  Then the pregnancy.  Finally, the abortion.  It wasn’t long before he was out of the picture.  Now, Sandra just felt empty and alone.  She felt hopeless.

“I love you…I love you and I’ll never leave you.”  When Tom made that promise, he meant it.  December 15, 1987.  It was a beautiful day for a wedding.  But that was before the coke.  Of course, it never starts with coke.  Every once in a while he would come home drunk, but that was no different from his college days (and she knew about his college days).  But the stress of the arguments with his wife and two kids at home and the mortgage breathing down his neck were just too much for him.  The alcohol wasn’t cutting it.  Besides, cocaine doesn’t wake you up the next day with a hangover.  It wasn’t long before he lost control.  Goodbye, job.  Goodbye, wife.  Goodbye, kids.  He hadn’t seen them since before Thanksgiving, and he sure wasn’t going to invite them over to his one bedroom hellhole that the landlord called an apartment.  Tom had just about lost hope.

“I love you…I love you and I’ll never leave you.”  Each man of Israel made that promise.  Every last one of them made it.  Well, actually their fathers did.  No, wait…they had made the promise, too.  God told them that if they would agree to love him and never forsake him that they would be prospered in the land.  Israel made the covenant promise to love God, and they definitely prospered.  Up until that one moment.  Then the land was gone.  Oh sure, it was still there.  But it was desolate.  The locusts, God’s agents of judgment, had descended on the land and eaten up everything of use.  Nothing was left.  The crops, the vineyards, the pastures; the storehouses, the granaries, even the streams were no more.  This was, of course, exactly what God promised.  They broke their vow and met their ruin.  Israel was totally cut off from God.  Hopeless.

Each of these is a true story, though the names have been changed to protect the guilty.  I say “guilty” because each story displays a broken vow or promise, a fractured expression of love.  Each includes someone who has disobeyed and turned from God.  And each found themselves in difficult situations.  They were without hope.

What about you?  Are you there today?  Have you disobeyed the Lord?  Have your promises shattered with the passing of time?  This is exactly where we find Israel in the book of Joel.

Destruction and desolation are the marks of those who have turned from the Lord.

1. Israel was totally destroyed and desolate from the attacks of the locusts, which were a result of their disobedience. (Joel 1.2-12)
2. We, too, are broken in our rebellion, though it is not always so obvious. We have had broken relationships. We have faced the consequences of poor choices. We’ve dated that person we now wish we had never met.

 But this is not a sermon about avoiding sin or remaining constantly faithful to God.  You see, we all have turned from God; some of us are doing so right now.  So what hope is there for those who have experienced the destruction of sin?  What can be done about it?  What steps should you take? 

Repentance is the proper response to our sins.

1. The first type of repentance is outward repentance, where we try to start doing everything right on our own. (Joel 1.13-20)
2. The second type of repentance is repentance of the heart, where we throw ourselves on God’s mercy and trust in him. (Joel 2.12-17)

When we repent like this, what can expect?  Is there really any hope for the hopeless?

The Lord is the hope for the hopeless and He will restore your life from the broken state that it is in.

1. God restores physically. (Joel 2.18-27)
2. God restores spiritually. (Joel 2.28-32)

God wants to restore you today.