Intimacy & Imminence

Well, good morning, church. Turn with me, if you have a Bible, to the book of Joel, chapter 2.

Joel 2 · chapter mention

If you're in the sanctuary, the text will also be on the screens.

As Pastor Matt mentioned, Pastor Nick wasn't able to be here this morning,

but he wrote a great sermon, and so I'm going to preach it. Now, you might never have seen

this happen before. I happened to be at a church this summer where they were meeting in several

different locations, and the pastor would rotate around, and in the other locations, they were all

meeting in backyards, somebody else would read the pastor's sermon, and it was very edifying.

Or you can imagine yourself in the early church, and the Apostle Paul, who perhaps planted your church,

is under house arrest, and he can't come in person, but he writes a letter,

and someone stands up in the church and reads Paul's sermon to you, right? So this has happened

before in the history of the church. We're just going with it today. So, Joel 2, 28 to 32,

is our sermon text this morning. We've been going through the book of Joel, and we come here to a

great promise that Joel gave his people. Joel 2, beginning at verse 28.

And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your

daughters shall prophesy. Your old men shall dream dreams. Your young men shall see visions,

even on the male and female servants in those days. I will pour out my spirit, and I will show wonders

in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to

darkness and the moon to blood before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it shall come

to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in

Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those

whom the Lord calls. Let's pray. God, we have heard your word. Now we humbly ask that by your spirit,

you would help us to understand it, and not just understand it, but to take it in and to live it out.

We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. One of the great longings of the human heart is for intimacy.

What is intimacy? Well, we might say it's knowing and being known. But it's not just being known,

it's also being welcomed, received, loved. That's intimacy. Knowing and being known, loving and being

loved. And it's one of the great desires or longings of our hearts. Now it's easy to see that on the

horizontal level in our human relationships. We long for friendship, or perhaps for marriage,

or perhaps for a deeper connection with our children, or with our parents. We long for intimacy,

but we also know this longing on the vertical plane toward God. The human heart was made for eternity,

for transcendence, for intimacy with God. Now how do we know that? Well, just think,

why is true satisfaction so hard to find? Even, and maybe especially when we're in the best of times,

surrounded by friends and success, why doesn't that satisfaction seem to last?

And why, despite many people's predictions that religion in the modern world would gradually fade,

and eventually become obsolete, why are religions and spiritualities flourishing and multiplying today,

like never before all across the globe? The human heart longs for intimacy with God.

Nothing else will satisfy, nothing else will do.

C.S. Lewis wrote a long time ago,

If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy,

the most probable explanation is that we were made for something more.

In fact, long before C.S. Lewis, Augustine wrote,

God, you have made us for yourself,

and our hearts are restless until they find rest in you.

But here's the heart of the matter.

Is intimacy with God possible?

Is it possible for my finite heart to touch eternity,

for my created being to have real intimacy with the creator of the universe?

Is that really possible?

Well, that's a question that Joel's audience might have been asking.

Remember, the message of Joel came to a people who had lost everything in a locust plague.

And after the call in the beginning of the book to lament and repent,

Joel begins in the middle of chapter 2 to bring a message of hope.

The message of hope began, as we saw last week,

with the promise of physical restoration.

Some of my favorite verses in the whole book are verses 24 and 25 of chapter 2.

The threshing floor shall be full of grain.

The vat shall overflow with wine and oil.

I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten.

I will restore to you the years that the locusts have devoured.

What a rich promise!

It's a promise that stretches through the entire Bible.

That God will undo the effects of sin on his creation

and make all things new, a new creation where death, dying, and decay are no more.

But Jesus once asked this question.

He said,

What does it profit to gain the whole world if you lose your soul?

What if you could have threshing floors full of grain

and vats overflowing with wine and oil, all the joys of this world?

What if you could have the new creation at your fingertips and not have God?

What good would that do?

What if we had all the gifts that this world can give but not the giver?

You know, any of us who have lost a parent or a spouse

or someone very close to us

would trade in a heartbeat every gift that person had ever given us

for one more day in their presence with them?

The giver is more important than all the gifts.

And how much more is that true of God?

So is it possible to have intimacy with God?

And if so, how do we get it?

That's the question Joel's audience may have been asking

and it's the question that we may be asking too.

And at the end of this chapter 2 of Joel, we see the answer.

Joel shows us first how intimacy with God is possible

and second how we can get it.

So first we'll look at how intimacy with God is possible.

Look at verses 28 and 29.

These verses tell us that intimacy with God is possible

because God has promised to pour out his spirit.

It shall come to pass afterward, I will pour out my spirit on all flesh.

Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

your old men shall dream dreams,

and your young men shall see visions.

Even on the male and female servants in those days,

I will pour out my spirit.

Now the spirit of God in the Old Testament

is God's personal powerful presence.

And in the New Testament, we know that the Holy Spirit

is none other than the third person of the Trinity.

God himself.

Now these verses highlight three things about this gift of God's spirit.

It's lavish, it's universal, and it's fruitful.

Consider how lavish it is.

God says, I will pour out my spirit.

He says it at the beginning of verse 28 and at the end of verse 29.

It's not a trickle, it's not a drop,

it's a lavish pouring out of the spirit.

A few years ago, I was at a water park with my family,

and at one spot near the splash pad,

they had this giant bucket suspended in the air.

And water would slowly pour into the bucket

until it got so full that it would suddenly tip over

and deluge all the kids standing underneath.

And it would happen again and again and again.

That's the image here.

God's spirit poured out, nothing held in reserve.

Not just once, but on an ongoing, overflowing basis.

You know, in the Old Testament,

the spirit of God would come and go on certain people.

But Joel looks forward to a day

when the spirit would be a lavish, permanent presence.

Nothing held back.

But it won't just be lavish, it will be universal.

That is for all kinds of people.

I will pour out my spirit on all flesh.

On young and old, Joel says.

On male and female.

On the upper class,

all the way down to the male and female servants.

The spirit will come and make intimacy with God possible.

For everyone.

For all kinds of people without exception.

Age won't be a barrier.

Gender won't be a barrier.

Social status won't be a barrier.

Now back in chapter 1,

when Joel was talking about the locust plague,

everyone was affected by the devastation.

Young and old.

Male and female.

Priests and farmers.

But now we see that intimacy with God will come.

For all of those groups of people.

As the great Christmas hymn puts it,

he has come to make his blessings known

as far as the curse is found.

But it's not just lavish and universal, it's fruitful.

Verse 28 says,

your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.

Your old men shall dream dreams.

Your young men shall see visions.

When the spirit is poured out,

it's going to make a difference.

And Joel talks about the effect of the spirit's fullness

in terms of prophecy.

Now on the one hand,

we know from the New Testament

that the indwelling spirit of God

is given,

gives a variety of gifts

to believers to build up the church.

To help and serve and love one another.

And these gifts are given freely,

without distinction,

so we can build one another up in love.

You can read more about that in 1 Corinthians 12, 13, and 14.

But to Joel's audience,

they would have heard something even more than that

in this promise.

You see, in the Old Testament,

to prophesy or to be a prophet

was to be someone who had received the word of God

in a special and powerful way,

to have the knowledge of God wash over you

so powerfully and so specifically

that you had to share it with others.

You couldn't hold it to yourself.

In the Old Testament,

God would sometimes communicate to prophets

through dreams or visions,

as verse 28 mentions,

or sometimes just by speaking to them.

But the point is that to prophesy

was to know God and God's word intimately

and to be an instrument of sharing that word with others.

So when Joel says,

the spirit will be poured out

and everyone will prophesy,

yes, he means we'll have gifts to serve one another,

but deeper down,

he means that intimacy with God,

knowing and being known,

loving and being loved

by the creator of the universe himself,

will not be the privileged possession

of a select few,

but intimacy with God and his word

will flow like a river

over all the people of God,

young and old,

rich and poor,

male and female.

What Joel sees here

is the fulfillment of Moses' longing

in Exodus or Numbers 11.

Moses said,

I wish that all the Lord's people

were prophets,

that the Lord would put his spirit on them.

Jeremiah spoke of a similar thing

in Jeremiah 31

when God said,

I'm going to make a new covenant

with my people.

He says,

I'll put my law within them

and I'll write it on their hearts

and I will be their God

and they shall be my people.

And no longer shall each one

teach his neighbor

and each his brother saying,

know the Lord,

for they shall all know me.

From the least of them

to the greatest,

declares the Lord.

Intimacy with God is possible

according to Joel

because God has promised

to pour out his spirit.

And you know,

that's one of the things

that makes Christianity

or biblical spirituality

different from other religions.

You know,

most other spiritual approaches

will give you a program to follow

in order to break through

to intimacy with God.

But the Bible turns all of that

on its head.

According to the Bible,

God breaks through to us.

He forges the intimacy.

He pours out his spirit.

And doesn't that make sense

when you think about it?

You know,

intimacy is not something

that can be forced.

If I'm trying to get to know

another person,

they have to open up

for a real friendship

to develop.

They have to pour out

their spirit as it were.

And if that's true

with one another,

how much more is that true

when we approach

an infinite,

holy,

and perfect God?

We can't create,

we can't break through

to intimacy with this God.

God must break through

to intimacy with us.

There's no other way.

Maybe one of the reasons

if you found intimacy with God

to be fleeting

or hard to come by,

perhaps you've been looking

in the wrong place.

Perhaps you've been

peeking through the back window

trying to get a glimpse

when God has flung open

the front door

and said,

come inside.

But here's the good news.

What in Joel's day

was a future promise,

Joel said afterwards,

Joel was looking forward

to a point in the future

when this would happen.

For us,

it's a present reality.

And we heard earlier

from the reading

from Acts chapter 2

Acts 2 · chapter mention

about the day of Pentecost.

One of the most significant

moments

in all of redemptive history,

in all of the biblical story.

You see,

on the day of Pentecost,

this was after Jesus

had died

and resurrected

from the grave

and ascended into heaven.

His followers

were gathered

in the upper room

and on that day,

God poured out

his spirit

on all flesh

just like

he had promised.

And on that day,

the new covenant age

of the risen Lord

and his spirit began

without reserve,

without distinction,

and fruitful

beyond imagination.

God has poured

out his spirit.

But that leads us

to our second point.

We've seen how intimacy

with God is possible

because God has poured

out his spirit,

but now we need to see

how do we get it?

Let me read again

the second half

of our text,

starting in verse 30.

God says,

And I will show wonders

in the heavens

and on the earth,

blood and fire

and columns of smoke.

The sun shall be turned

to darkness

and the moon to blood

before the great

and awesome day

of the Lord comes.

And it shall come to pass

that everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord

shall be saved.

For in Mount Zion

and in Jerusalem,

there shall be those

who escape,

as the Lord has said.

And among the survivors

shall be those

whom the Lord calls.

So how do we,

here,

right here and now,

how do we get

this intimacy with God

through his spirit?

Joel says,

Everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord

will be saved.

Now,

verses 30 and 31

use the figurative language

of a battle.

Blood,

fire,

smoke.

smoke.

And the smoke

is rising so high

that in daytime

it blocks the sun

and at night

it makes the moon

look blood red.

This is battle language.

Language of turmoil

and conflict.

And what Joel is saying here

is that between

the outpouring of the spirit

on the one hand

and the great

and awesome day

of the Lord's return

on the other,

the in-between time

will be a time

of great upheaval.

And the in-between time

it's the time

we're living in now.

And if you look over

the last 2,000 years

of human history

since the day of Pentecost,

you have to agree.

There have been moments

of grandeur

and grace

and peace.

But human history

has also been full

of upheaval,

conflict,

turmoil.

And all this distress

reminds us

that our world

is still broken.

things aren't

how they're supposed

to be.

We're not

how we're supposed

to be.

And if God

were to return

in his holiness,

if he were to

simply show up,

the sinful world

would collapse

under the weight

of his glory.

But in the midst

of this upheaval

and distress,

something else

is happening.

Amidst the sounds

of battle,

another sound

is going forth.

another voice

is ringing out

through the tumult

of human history

and it's the voice

of the Lord

calling.

That's how verse 32

ends,

with the reality

of the Lord's call.

And that sovereign

call of God

is drawing forth

a response

in human hearts.

The Lord's call

goes out

and the human

response calls

back.

And in that

call and response,

this promise

unfurls.

Like a banner

of hope

over the chaos,

everyone

who calls

on the name

of the Lord

will be saved.

Now you might ask,

well,

saved from what?

It's a good question.

We're not saved

from the tumult

and upheaval

and conflict

of human history.

What we are

saved from

is permanent

alienation

from God.

You see,

that's the very

opposite of intimacy

with God,

is alienation

permanently

from God.

In Matthew 25,

Jesus says

that to be

permanently

alienated

from God

is like

being forever

excluded

from the feast.

Like being

lost

in perpetual

darkness.

Even like

disintegrating

in a fire.

And if you've

ever been

alienated

from a loved

one,

you know

a little

of what

that

disintegrating

fire

feels like.

what if

the trajectory

of your

life

apart

from God

continues

for

eternity?

What if

when the

curtain

of your

life

drops

and the

play

is over

and the

drama

ends,

what if

you find

yourself

in darkness

outside

the feast,

not in

intimacy

with God

but alienated

from

God?

Is there

any way

to be

saved

from that?

Is there

any way

to get

the intimacy

that God's

spirit

makes

possible?

Well the

good news

according to

Joel is

yes,

everyone

who calls

on the

name of

the Lord

will be

saved.

Now you

might also

ask,

what does

it mean

to call

on the

name of

the Lord?

And that's

a good

question too.

In the

Old Testament

to call

on the

name of

the Lord

is an

expression

that basically

means to

worship the

Lord

exclusively.

To shift

the allegiance

of your

life from

any other

God to

the Lord

and to

the Lord

alone.

In the

New Testament

this is

called

faith.

Trusting

or resting

the weight

of your

life

no longer

on yourself

but on

the Lord.

And that

raises another

question.

Why is

calling on

the name

of the

Lord the

way to

get intimacy

with God?

Why isn't

it those

who are

smart enough

can find

intimacy with

God or

those who

are good

enough or

enlightened

enough or

kind enough

can find

this intimacy

with God?

Well the

reality is

you can

never be

enough.

the chasm

of sin

between us

and God

is too

great for

us to

bridge.

That's an

unpopular

thing to

say.

But maybe

the reason

that we

try to

keep telling

ourselves

over and

over

I'm enough

I'm enough

I'm enough

is that

deep down

we know

that we're

really not

enough.

enough.

But here's

the good

news.

There's

one who

is enough

and he

loves you.

When sin

separated us

from God

Jesus took

our sin

and he

bore that

separation

on the

cross in

your place

in my

place

and he

rose again

so we

could call

on his

name

and be

saved.

You see

we get

intimacy

with God

not through

what we've

accomplished

but through

what Christ

has accomplished.

It's

grace.

Something

has been

done for

you.

The Lord

Jesus has

come and

lived and

died and

rose again

for you

so you can

call on his

name and

rest your

life in him

and be

saved now

and for

all eternity.

And if

you get

that,

if you get

that it's

all of

grace and

we can't

accomplish

it in

our own

name but

we can

receive it

in his

name,

then the

intimacy with

God will

come.

Because the

spirit who

is poured

out at

Pentecost will

begin to

wash over

you too.

And God

will include

us in

his people,

this new

Jerusalem,

this new

Zion,

those as

Joel says,

those whom

the Lord

calls.

I wonder

do you sense

that even

now or have

you sensed

that?

The Lord's

call?

In Acts,

when Peter

preached this

very text,

he read these

very words on

the day of

Pentecost,

it says the

people were

cut to the

heart.

Have you

felt a tug

on your

heart?

On the one

hand,

it's a voice

that may seem

strange and

other because

it's not your

own voice.

And at the

same time,

it's familiar

and true.

And it's

saying,

come.

And do you

sense your

own heart

responding with

a yes to

the voice

of God?

If you've

experienced that,

if you're

experiencing that

now, you're

experiencing the

power of the

Holy Spirit and

the effective

call of God,

liberating you

to call on

Jesus and

be saved.

So do just

that.

Call on the

name of Jesus,

take him as

your Lord,

the only

Lord.

Lord.

And then go

public, talk

to a friend or

talk to one of

the pastors about

making your

faith public by

getting baptized.

And if this is

true of you

already, if

you've already

heard and

responded to

that call of

God, if you've

called on the

name of the

Lord, continue

to make your

profession known.

Continue to

enjoy the

intimacy that

you have in

the Spirit of

God, through

prayer, through

fellowship with

other believers,

through serving

with the Spirit's

gifts, through

loving your

neighbor, through

sharing this

good news of

Jesus with

others, all of

those are ways

that the

indwelling Spirit

of God works

in us and

through us.

And as we

keep in step

with the Spirit

who's been

poured out, this

intimacy will

continue through

joys and sorrows

until one day we

will see him

face to face, the

Lord, on whose

name we have

called.

And when the

great and awesome

day of the Lord

comes, our faith

will become sight

and our intimacy

with God will

have no end.

Let's pray.

Father, thank you

for this promise

that you gave to

your people long

ago through the

prophet Joel.

Thank you for

fulfilling that

promise by sending

your Spirit on

the day of

Pentecost to

seal the work

that Jesus has

done to our

hearts, to

fill us with

that fountain

of living water,

of overflowing

life.

We pray that we

would be

refreshed by

the power of

your Holy Spirit

this morning.

We pray that we

would live in the

power of your

Spirit day by day.

We pray that we

would call on you

and know your

promise that those

who call upon your

name will be

saved, that you

have rescued us

and you will

continue to abide

with us.

Pray all these

things in Jesus'

name.

Amen.