Joel Chapter 3 - Pastor Van Jones
First B Jackson
2026-03-01

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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Many men gone for the snowmobile treat last week. I I just asked that we wait till this week. They asked me to read something. Also, when we're going into what we're going into next week, we'll be back in the New Testament next week. I'm finding myself just languishing and I think that the minor prophets speak to our times wonderfully but I need a little bit of hope.

Can I get a witness? Also, in between last week and this week, I did not know that there would be a war starting. And so there's a bit of prayer and consideration for all of that sort of stuff, but we're not here ever, period, ever to talk politics ever and I ain't going to start. So, that's not for this but I just wanted to say thank you all for just coming humbling yourself before the Lord and showing up and that's a good segue to these who who humble themselves before the Lord and just keep showing up. Shall I read first?

You

can read

first. You tell me. Okay. Acts three ten says the three one through 10 says this. One day, Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer about three in the afternoon.

Now, a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful where he was put every day to beg from those who were going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money, and Peter looked straight at him as did John, and Peter said, look at us. So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Peter said, silver and gold, I do not have. But what I have, I give to you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.

Taking him by the right hand, He helped him up and instantly, the man's feet and ankles became strong and he jumped to his feet and began to walk and then he went with them into the temple courts walking and jumping and praising God and when all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as that same man who used to sit begging at the temple called the gate called beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Okay. When when Good morning, church. We come here.

No. I'm not really gonna translate. He just said when you when I need a word,

help me. Okay. Alright.

Yes. Sometimes the brain is closed. So good morning. We are almost the same time now. Pastor Ray started to to lead us here in this church, and we have two little kids.

And Oscar and Ricardo, they were six and and seven. And my wife, Guadalupe, we come from New Jersey. We was lost. So the the part of the Bible I find it, it look like my wife. We come to say thank you church because really we have a a problem and don't understand.

One day I ask help to for the church and I didn't understand. So she have a big problem and and the and the stomach, but it's not a stomach. We went four times at the hospital, and they say, yes. It's the column. You have problem on the column.

It's a spinal column.

Yeah. Yeah. So we went four time and I told the doctor the the last time, I said, told me you you are available to to to read an answer. Help me because we we come four times in this hospital. I don't receive answer.

She is suffering. And and the problem is she have a pain in the stomach and pain all the way here. She cannot walk. But she say, I can I think I think I can do by myself? But little by little, she go twisted like that, and she walk like that.

And another time, I pray, Lord, help me. And he doesn't answer. She don't sleep. She cry. I have to sleep because I have to work.

Steve Landis, he was in Pennsylvania. He was in vacation. When he come, he said you never answered my phone call because I was upset with the church. I say this is the church I go

Because let me let me say this. We come from Mexico. They built a lot of churches. It's one part when they built 365 churches. The name is Cholula Pueblo.

Even it's the

the salsa, Cholula. It's there. It's big building, rock building, but they are empty. It's not love. It's not compassion.

Help yourself. They collect collect every year every year, June 29 and like that. All the country collect money. When they don't have a money, they they take a pig, a chicken, corn, wheat, and they send to one part. I know because I go there.

And all that kind of money, they sell send to the Vatican. So we don't receive help. I thought was the same here. I say, what is the difference? Because we never we never received nothing for church.

I mean, we don't come here to receive. We come to give Give love. But we receive love, compassion. A lot of people call me brother. A lot of people find me at the street.

What is to what you you wife, Isaac, the people, they let's pray together. They pray for me. For me, it's new. I say, wow. That is different.

Several people here, they find me at the street, and they pray for my wife. It's a blessed very we don't do that. We don't do that. You know, even the the help we're looking for, the people, they we we are I told my wife, I I have time to to encourage her. I said, how we be in love with God?

You know? It's a song we say, test and see. Mhmm. You know? I wanna sing a little bit.

Did she say okay. The the song how is it?

Taste and see that the Lord is good, Psalm thirty four eight. Yeah.

Yeah. I told to my family. I said I told Guadalupe, how we end in love with me when we was little? Because we we met each other when we was little. So how we met each other, he get in love.

Test, conversation, be together. So it's like that with God. I try to encourage it. So later, I find job because I all the time I work when I come here with Christian people, he train me like a like a human. Love me.

Leave me. But later, the the Steve Lundy retired. I work with the with the with the people. And I try to encourage to the people, the people hate me. The people love.

But some people they do like When nobody watch it, they say, what is that mean Christian? Because I remember my mother, he was Christian, but she passed away. Now I wanna know what is that mean Christian? But he say he he told me, don't tell at the front of the other people they because they gonna laughing about a Jew. The people they are curious, what does that mean Christian?

Even me. I get surprised. What is a church? What is brother and sister? So pastor Ray go to my house.

Phyllis, what is going on? Guadalupe, she she was crying. She was crying, and she say, I see you suffer. He said, let's let's go I go back to the church. Yeah.

I go pray. Yeah. I go talk to the people. Steve Landis come. He say, he go my house.

What is the problem, Felix? My wife. They don't find cure. I don't know what is going on. And he say he say, so let's see.

You go over there. You went this. And I say, yes. We did it, but we never received the answer. But, you know, one day my wife, she told me, I have a lot of pain.

We go to the chiropractic to get a massage, something like that. You know? And the and the type of desperation, Lord, help me.

And

we had to make an appointment fifteen days to receive a massage here in Jackson. I told my wife, let's go to to to Idaho Falls. It's a Chinese guy. You know, Korean Chinese. Come on, come on.

I almost pulled you in. Come on. Come on. When I when I go over there, I said, there's no me. It's my wife.

I'm okay. He's taking your wife inside, but the the English is like mine or worse. You know, the people don't understand. I say, is somebody here speaking English? He say, I say, I don't get it.

And okay. He rubbed my wife and put it down on the on the bed. He started to get a massage. When he touch the back, look at me. Said, what's that?

And he say, it's not here? And he say, no. It's here. And he he take him at the at the wall, it was a picture. And he showed me the the the body of the human.

Human body. Okay? Yes, please. He showed me, he pointed right here at the back. I said, get out of here.

You have no study. You you you know, the doctor is very more important than you. How come you get that? I say, yeah, sure. And he say, yeah.

Yeah. It's here. It's at the back. So I go and chiropractic, and they say, yeah, I told the same. I say, what you gonna do with my wife?

He say, get a massage. I said, the doctor say, here is the the the stomach, and he say, no. It's here. So we go three time. Finally, they find the problem, it was neuropathy?

Yeah.

Neuropathy. Yeah. So destroy the the the the body to the people. Little by little. And we don't have that kind of money because already we we he told us a guy, how much is it cost?

How much is the price? It's a lot of money. So she this we decide we decide to to stay like that. And she say Guadalupe, she say, I think I can do it, but she work she go like this. She lost the job.

She don't work. It's one almost one year. And three weeks ago, a month ago, Steve Landis go and he say, you know, you have to fix that problem. I talk with the church. The money is already for that purpose.

Just decide. Guadalupe, she say, no, but there's a lot of money. She say, the money is there. I say, he say, how much you have it? I say, $30,000.

Let me see. When he come back, he say, are you ready to have a to get the surgery? The church pay for everything. So I noticed, God, I say now, lord, forgive me because I'm disobedient. I say, you don't listen to me.

You don't love me because my wife is suffering. Then I go in my knees, I say, lord, forgive me. I know you listen, but it's not when I want it. It's when he he want it. Yep.

So I ask permission to in my job, either people hate me. When I I ask permission to to miss a time to be with my wife, they fired me. But it hurt. But now I take care of my wife, and I'm three weeks inside, take care of my wife. I help.

And I say, Lord, anything is perfect for you. Even we don't understand. But we have to go and walk. Don't go to the left, to the right. Just be straight with God.

So like that, I told to my sister what God did in Guadalupe's life, and they cry. But they don't wanna come to the church because it's for me, in love with God, we have to test and see. No. I don't wanna go to the church because it's very it's very far. It's the only day I cannot sleep far out a lot.

I see people come when it's as frost, as snowing, they come for Victor. They come for leaks because it's law. We don't have that that law. We I see when when the the little kid go to study the Bible, the little kid I call the little goat, but they are running when they pass by. So they The

little goat herd of kids going downstairs to study the Bible.

They training to us to depend a 100% to the to the priest. He go upside after service, and he go and we have to kiss the hand It be like that. Every human, every guy kiss the hand to the priest. We we we training to confess.

Capital sense and venial sense.

Okay. You we have to confess every year because you you don't do it. If you have a capital Mhmm. Confess, go to the church as an obligation, but there's no love. Honestly, there's no love.

If you ask to the help to the people, even the Mexican, we say, no. Because when he is he gonna be good, he don't gonna help me. No. Because he gonna be good, he don't talk to you. That is envy.

He don't know love. Yeah. I can see the difference between us and you guys because you read. You have this, the Bible. We don't know.

I offer bibles to the people. It is some people say the other day, by the way, Steve Landis talk to me. He he say, go visit a Peruvian girl at a church at the at the at the at the at the hospital. My wife and I, we go. You know why?

Because we are learning for you guys. Yeah. I need it. You lead us. Lead us.

Tell me. Because I really appreciate what God did in Guadalupe's life and my life. Yeah. Yes. That is the church.

That is the church. I don't come here to receive nothing because already I have it. When I start to work with Mark Hall, I find anything. Just I looking for answer. What God give me a lot because he love you?

How how come he love me? Yeah. I'm a sinner. Drinking and driving, they're in Mexico, we're fighting, cheating my wife. That is how the the the Mexican.

I can't yes. I can say Mexican. No Hispanic people. The Mexican because I know the Mexican. That is the Mexican life.

No church. No god. Yes. I know. It's a theory God.

Yes. But God is is here. I can see God. And if and this is the people are. Every case, every action, that is God.

You don't have to go like my brother. He say, a pill with a suitcase full of money. No. It's the action. The people the people really I know you people.

Now I, all my life, I be I don't know be appreciate anything you did for my wife. Because I I I told God, God, punish me. Do it to me, not to her. She is no bad lady. I am.

I am. Why her? Why not me? I I saw her walk at night and crying because she cannot sleep. She eat, but the the the virus he have it, she don't take it his his body take the protein.

Yes. She go to the to the toilet. That's why she is very skinny. So now she receive a surgery. She start to walk.

Now she say, I got feeling in my in my feet. I have feeling here in my hand because she before, she doesn't have it. Now she is walking. Really? But it's God God purpose.

Amen. For one reason. Now you don't understand. For me, a lot of time is is hard to say, lord, I don't wanna go back to the Hispanic people. It's like I feel like a Jonah.

God says, go this side. No. I go the the other side. I don't wanna go. I say, Steve Landis, he say, I find job with a Christian.

What do I say? Lord, but you yes. You will. I have to go back. But you know, it's hard in the people.

Believe me. The people, they are curious about us. They are curious about you. All the time, pastor Ray, he say, why? Why?

Why? He has the is is is the question, the people. But they don't come to they don't wanna come to Jesus, and it's it's easy. But like the guy he say, tell me let me see. What does that mean Christian?

Because I remember my mom, she was he is an adult. He like a 50 years old. And he say, my mom told me he was a Christian, but I don't understand what does that mean Christian. I said, God. Only no status.

Only Yeshua Christ in the Bible. He said, but don't talk to everybody because they're gonna laugh about you. I know that. They laugh. They hate you, and they hate me.

Even they hate Jesus. They hate you. But we have to be strong. Just follow. Yep.

Because nothing is easy. Now I'm happy. I say thank you, George. Thank you, Lord, for for put beautiful heart to the people, to my wife. Because as the I told the North the nurse, take care of my wife as the only wife I have.

Amen. Amen. It's a lot.

Thank you.

That's a lot.

Thank you. I appreciate it. Amen.

So, we're praying for God's continued blessing on the health of Guadalupe and of Felix and on the ministry that he will use. In Jesus name, lord, thank you. These two faithful servants that have been walking the path the best they could, receiving nothing for so long and then, lord, you breaking them down to the point of utter reliance and humility and meeting the need. In Jesus name, amen. Amen.

Thank you, both. Amen. Can we what? I would. Yeah.

Yvonne. Yvonne's having a consult on the tenth Yep. Of March.

And and I know exactly what they're saying and Yep. And and what they're going through and

Can we just call it an amen? Amen. Thank you. Amen. Now, Van, follow that up.

I

don't know if I'm going to be able to follow that. That is so good and also like as he was talking, there's so many things that are in my notes and I'm like, well, we're good, you know, but we're going to we're going to we're gonna cover some things and and finish what Ray started last week in in Joel. So, yeah, last week a bunch of us were having fun snowmobiling in Idaho, maybe in a little bit in Montana, but it was great. There was a ton of snow, it was super fun. So just to give some context for those of us who missed last week, we've there's kind of two halves of Joel.

Okay? The first half is God fighting against his people. And it's in an effort to show them who their allegiance should be to, right? Like, they needed that attention grabber. The the all the locusts that came in in chapter one and then they repented.

They had humility before God and in chapter two, there's impending judgment like the Lord's army. It could be locusts, could be something. They're moving like horses. There's fire before them, fire behind them. They're terrified and they repent last minute like the eleventh hour, the ninth hour, whatever the saying is.

They repented like just right before destruction And they they came to a point of sincerity before the Lord. Verse 13, you'll hear this again. You heard it last week if you're not stimmabiling. Rend your hearts to God, not just your garments. And they they had judgment spared.

And again, like, it's gonna be hard not to make this even longer than already, but that testimony, man, that's what we want to be. Right? We want to we want to be a room full of our hearts written to God. Not just, y'all all look great. Y'all are wearing nice clothes, but that's not what we're here for.

Right? We're not trying to pretend to be some people that have it all figured out because we don't at all. We need Jesus. And that's kind of part of the message of Joel today. We see this in the second half, God fighting against the nations.

What separates us from being God's enemy? Only our hope in Christ. Right? Only by his grace and mercy. So this is gonna be a little bit of a wild ride.

There's some back back to the future if you've seen that movie. I've got a couple little screenshots of back to the future in here because there's a lot of this stuff that's happened in the past, right, like the locust and everything to Israel. And then there's some stuff that's the future for Joel, which is 02/28, '29, and and '32. There's a promise of the spirit on all who call on the name of the Lord. That's future for Joel but past for us.

Right? This has already happened. And then two thirty to the end of three is future for Joel, future future for us. Is anybody lost? I mean, I'm trying to make this as simple as possible but most of chapter three is is about a day of the Lord, judgement, and and restoration.

So we'll start off. I am going to speed things up a little bit because we've got nine minutes until fellowship hour. There's blood, fire, columns of smoke like it's war time, like it's going to get crazy. Chapter three verse one, behold, in those days and in that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, so we see mercy for God's people, right? I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley Of Jehoshaphat.

Did I say it right? Don't look it up. It means God's judgment, the valley of God's judgment. That's that's terrifying for the nations. K?

What are you to me, oh Tyre and Sidon and all the regions of Philistia? For you have taken my silver and my gold and have carried my rich treasures into your temples. Okay. How how many of you remember in first, second Kings, all the kings of Judah that allowed because of their disobedience to God, these other nations to come in and they took the gold and silver, the the really holy elements from the temple to their places. Okay?

Example, this is such a good story. In Daniel, king Belshazzar is like probably in his time most powerful man on earth. Right? Babylon, very successful country. They have conquered Israel and they have taken some of the gold and silver from from Solomon's temple.

And Belshazzar is throwing this really big party, okay, and he's like, hey, I've got an idea. Let's grab some of the gold and silver that we took from the temple and let's use it to get drunk and party and go crazy. And so that's what he does. And there's this cool this picture is trying to represent the writing on the wall that happens. Whether you're a Christian or not, you've heard that saying, oh, the writing on the wall, like it means judgment.

Like judgment's coming. And he asked what it says and there's Daniel trying to or telling him what it says and it's, hey, your kingdom will be divided. And basically, you're gonna he dies that night. Belshazzar dies that night. And I bring that up because this is still, like, related to this judgment that's coming the day of the Lord, the judgment on the nations.

Verse nine, proclaim this among the nations. Consecrate for war, stir up the mighty men. Let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords. That's what those things are at the top.

And your pruning forks into spears. Like, make war. Like, come on. It reminds me of King Leonidas, like the Spartan king that's like battling Persian. He's like, come on.

Take the weapons like it's time to fight. Like, he's totally jacked, ready to go. And God's like, in a much bigger way, come on. Come on, nations. You think that you're gonna do things on your own and not glorify me?

Come on. Bring everybody. Bring everything you got. Let the nations stir themselves up. Come to the Valley Of Jehoshaphat, judgment.

And there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. And then it's judgment time. Verse 13, swing the sickle because the harvest is ripe. Come and trample the grapes because the wine press is full. The wine flats vats overflow because the wickedness of the nations is extreme.

Word picture here. Right? The harvesting, the sickle is literally judging these nations. Destruction. It it parallels to so this is Old Testament Joel prophecy of the end time of the day of the Lord.

We see a very similar thing in Revelation, New Testament prophecy of the day of the Lord, end time. Then I looked, this is John in Revelation, and there was a white cloud and one like the son of man was seated on the cloud with a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Looks a little different than when he was when he came the first time. Right? So the one seated on the cloud, he swung his sickle over the earth and the earth was harvested.

Later, verse 19 of chapter 14, the angel, another swinging of the sickle, earth swung his sickle at the earth and gathered the grapes from the vineyard of the earth and he threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath. Remember this. Okay? We're gonna talk about it again. And the press was trampled outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press up to the horse's bridles for almost a 180 miles.

That's a terrifying war scene. Like, it I wouldn't get to mention this, but, you know, there's some fire and brimstone churches. Right? It's like this message every Sunday, and it's they're they're working on your emotions. They're trying to scare you into believing because of judgment day.

That's not this church. That's not what I'm doing right now. I'm preaching what the what the Bible says. Like, it is terrifying for people who are not on God's side, right? What what degree of separation are we from the enemy?

Like, what separates us from from being on the the the being the grapes that are trampled in the winepress of God's wrath? Jesus. Yes. It's not us. It's only him.

That's our only way. And it this is cool, and I'm gonna try to say this the best I can. But in communion, okay, there's this picture. Right? We're drinking a cup of Jesus' blood.

We're invited to a sacred table. Okay? Not the physical stuff, but it's the sacred union that we have with each other in Christ. Right? We're drinking a symbol of Christ's blood.

Here, we don't drink wine. The grape juice can be a symbol too. It looks similar. We're we're drinking this and and and doing that, we are recognizing that wine press of God's wrath. Man, Jesus, his body went through it and it was trampled.

Like, he took on all the wrath of God. Right? He took it on, and blood came out. And and he took the cup of wrath, and he drank it all. We can't drink it.

He drank it for us. And we this blood that we get to drink is a sign that we trust in him to save us from the wrath. Okay. We're gonna keep going. Verse 14, multitudes, multitudes in the Valley Of Decision.

Hey. Decision's already been made. Boom. Wrath happens. Verse 16, the Lord roars from Zion.

I think of the lion of Judah. Right? He roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the Lord is a refuge to his people. The lion and the lamb right here.

Right? His people find refuge, which the testimony we talked about refuge, we sang a song earlier about refuge. He's a stronghold. A refuge is a shelter. It's protection from danger or distress.

A stronghold is more like a war term. It's a heavily fortified place that is a defendable location to protect troops, equipment, territory. Right? Don't wait until the ninth hour to choose whose side you'll be on. We have this opportunity to repent.

Whose side are we on? In that first half of Joel, the people had this this split allegiance. Right? They had one foot in the world. I don't know which side I normally do.

It's the world side. One foot in the world, one foot in God's camp. And God's like, no. Like and Jesus says, don't be lukewarm. Like, you'll get spit out.

He and remember, verse 13, rend your hearts, not your garments garments. In verse 17, so you shall know that I am the Lord your God who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain. So you shall know. Like, we have this word, so we shall know. We are being warned of this impending doom.

Right? We have an opportunity just like in Jonah. Again, y'all, like, he mentioned Jonah. Like, it's awesome. God gave the the Ninevites who were clearly enemies.

Like, there's no way to understand it any different. They're not Israelites. They're enemies of the Israelite nation, but even more so important, they're enemies of God. And he has a heart of compassion. And in Jonah's little tiny horrible sermon, they repent.

He has an opportunity in repentance. And even more of a sign remember Jesus says sign of Jonah? Even more than the sign of Jonah is the sign of Jesus, a man that died on the cross and then rose from the grave. Like, what more sign do we need? That's it.

Now, we're in the future. Just still in chapter three of Joel verse 18 and in that day, the mountains shall drip sweet wine but we're going to pause. We're going to go back to the past. Okay? If you've seen this this movie is just perfect.

We're going back to Joel 02/28, okay? Because it it's important to recognize that this 02/28 is future for Joel, past for us, okay? In 02/28, Joel says, and it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. In acts two, that's Pentecost. I know Ray talked about it last week.

The spirit came on those who believed in Jesus after he was glorified. And what does Peter do in the moment? He he quotes Joel. Literally, he quotes Joel. Also, note, there's 17 nations that are listed in Acts two that were hearing and speaking and being able to communicate the opposite of the Tower Of Babel.

They were in their own language they were hearing. So this is not just for Israel, just for Jerusalem. Okay? This is all nations. Everyone who calls in the name of the Lord shall be saved.

And the people when they heard I I skipped this. When when the people heard who Jesus was and recognized that that they put him on the cross, they were cut to the heart and asked, what should we do? What should we do? Peter answered, repent and be baptized. Every one of you in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord calls to himself. Alright. Back to the future. Back to chapter three now. Restoration in Joel has happened and will happen.

And in that day, the mountains shall drip sweet wine and his and the hills shall flow with milk, and the stream beds of Judah shall flow with water, and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord and water the Valley Of Shittim. And if you're in our Thursday men's lunch, that fountain just sounds like John seven that we're studying. Alright. And then Isaiah two, this is another parallel. Okay?

It's reversed. Literally, it says the opposite. Let me pull it up quickly. He shall judge between the nations. This is Isaiah two.

This is awesome. He shall decide disputes for many peoples and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. That's not today. If y'all been reading the news, that is the future.

Jesus wins. We can have hope because of his death and resurrection. He's the lion and the lamb. And so may we genuinely, humbly, sincerely be on his side, rendering our hearts, not just our outer garments. May we cling to the truth of his word and let it cut us to the heart, changing us inside out.

And it will wrap up. The band can start coming up. We'll wrap up the the way Joel started in chapter one. Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children and their children to another generation.

Been a wild ride this morning. Next week, if you want to get ahead in the text, we're going be in Ephesians. What is the church? What is it that we are to do? Looking forward to the fruits of the spirit and all of those sort of things and Ephesians and Galatians and Good New Testament hope in Christ.

Would you stand with us? We're going to talk about in this song, abiding in Christ, abiding