Sunday Evening Worship Service

Grab your Bibles and we're going to go right to Joel chapter number two. to a tremendous and timely word we heard from pastor this morning. And if you uh missed it, go back online to our YouTube page or Facebook page and listen to that. I believe the Lord is trying to speak to us. I think the Lord is trying to awaken us. And one thing that I mentioned a couple of Sundays ago and what pastor mentioned today is we need a revival of joy. We need a revival of joy and I believe he's going to do that. Turn with me to Joel chapter number two. Going to begin reading at verse number 23. Joel chapter number two. Beginning at verse number 23. Preached this a few years ago and Pastor Anthony mentioned it, said he'd like to hear me preach it again. I kind of forgot about it to be honest with you. I had to go back and look through my files and went and studied it and I felt I might need to share that with you again today. Joel 2 beginning at verse number 23. Be glad then ye children of Zion and rejoice in the Lord your God for he hath given you the former reign moderately and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain in the first months. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. Look at verse 25. And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten. He didn't say he would restore the crops, but he would restore the years. Don't miss that. I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmer worm, my great army, which I sent among you. And you shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name the Lord your God that hath dealt wondrously with you, and my people shall never be ashamed. want to preach this evening. Restoring the locust years. Restoring the locust years. I want you to just lift up your hands right where you're seated. Would you just ask the Lord to speak to you and to speak to your neighbor? Father, we thank you for the wonderful day we've had in your presence in your house with your people. A tremendous and timely word we heard today that we need joy. We need to get our heads up, Lord. And I pray even tonight, Lord, that there would be there would come from your presence a refreshing, a restoration that can only come from you. In Jesus' name we pray. And everyone said, "Amen." Why don't you clap your hands one more time unto Jesus. I think we can just do a little bit better. I think we can do just a little bit better that he's worthy of. Amen. Amen. Restoring the locust years. Thank you. The prophet Joel. It's a short book and there's little fanfare in this book kind of opening up who and telling us about who he is and uh the timeline uh of when he's writing. Uh there's there's really not a timestamp in this uh this book to kind of help us figure out historically where it's taking place. No kings are named, no battles dated, no enemies identified. But one event looms large in the background that a devastating locust plague that ravaged the land. And he says that it begins there in chapter number one. In Joel's day, the locusts were a living nightmare. They came like a dark storm over the land, blotting out the sun, filling the air with the roar of countless wings, leaving nothing but desolation in their wake. Swarms could cover hundreds, hundreds, hundreds, hundreds of square miles, moving like an invading army. Each insect consumed its own body weight and vegetation every day and multiplied millions upon millions. No crop, vineyard, or orchard could stand against them. And so the prophet describes them wave after wave, the gnawing, the swarming, the creeping, the consuming, and each stage devouring what the le the last had left behind. And so Israel, if you're familiar with the Old Testament, Israel, I've seen this before, in Egypt, Pharaoh hardened his heart, and the Lord sent locusts to cover the land until not one green thing remained. When the locust came, famine and fear followed close behind. They were small, but they were destroyers, stripping bare every field, every tree, every vineyard. And this is not just ancient history. Back in 2020, I found uh that wonderful year 2020. Don't you remember that one? Locusts swarmed across East Africa and the Middle East in the worst outbreak in 70 years. It is said that skies turned black, farmers wept as entire harvest vanished in hours and the governments declared states of emergency. And so the world saw five years ago with its own eyes what Joel's people experience. When the locust come, nothing is safe. Now I want to make sure we understand this that the locust that I'm describing here uh shouldn't be confused with cicatas. Anybody know what cicas are? When you hear a cicada about 5:00 p.m. in the summer, you know it's going to be a hot one, right? Uh but cicas are not the same as these biblical locusts. Cicas can be loud and overwhelming in number, but they're not locust like this. Cicas don't strip the land bare. They don't leave famine in their wake. Yes, they're a nuisance. Yeah, but they're not a destroyer. But life is full of cicas, too. make noise, divert your attention, rattle your nerves, >> but they don't devastate the soul like locusts do. >> Locust like the locust of Joel's day. Life has its own locust that can devour. Money can be restored, right? Property can be restored. broken down cars, cracked paint, old houses can be restored, even relationships can be restored. But there's one thing, brothers and sisters, that can not be restored, and that is time. Time flies and it never returns. Years pass and we don't get them back. Time is the currency of our life. Everyone has time. It's what you do with it that matters, right? >> Let me tell our teenagers in the room, maybe those who are pre-teens, you feel like you're going to be a teenager for the rest of your life. You feel like you're going to be young forever. Can I tell you, you will be old longer than you were young. You did. Isn't that great? Captain Obvious up here. You're going to be old longer than you were young. Time flies by. And even so, everyone in this room began their Christian walk at different stages of their life. And I want to address a few things. But there are many, I'm sure, in the room who have an overwhelming sense of regret over wasted time. years, months, weeks, days have been lost, never to be regained. Questions like for new believers, they may ask themselves, "Why didn't I do this sooner? Why did I wait so long to give my life to Jesus?" Or perhaps they say something that I have said, "I have so much time to make up. I feel like I'm behind. But you know, you'll never hear somebody who commits their life to Jesus, you'll never hear them say,"I regret that decision." >> What they will say is, "I regret not doing it sooner." And this is what the prophet says. I'm not going to preach loud and I'm not going to be, as brother Osborne says, spitting speed tonight, but I want to I want to help you. I want to I want to refresh somebody from the word of the Lord. I want the wind of refreshing to come in this room where the locust has eaten tonight. He says, "I will restore the years that the locust has eaten." The meaning of the promise is clear. People, God's people had suffered the destruction, the complete destruction of their entire harvest through the swarms of locust that marched like an insect army through the fields for years. For years, all of their work was gone in a moment, wiped out. And God's people were brought to their knees in more ways than one. But it says earlier in chapter 2, the Lord became jealous for his land and had pity on his people. Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you'll be satisfied. God said in essence there would come an abundance from what the locust had stole. If God can restore to the people of Israel what the locust devastated, how much more can he do that to his new covenant people here tonight? This is a promise for those people, but it's also a promise for us here tonight that God is in the restoration business. God wants to refresh and he wants to restore tonight. >> Can I give you a few examples of this? I want to give you a few examples of the locust in our lives. What do locust years look like? Locust years are years that you can't get back. And they come in many shades and colors and varieties. Let me give you a few of these. All right. Number one, locust years are fruitless years. A lot was accomplished in those years that the locust had eaten. Everything was destroyed. And the people must have thought all this work and what do we have to show for it? Some of you know what this is like. Maybe it's the pain in the world of business, a failed venture, a bad investment, a misguided policy. All that effort that you put in day after day, month by month, year by year led to nothing but disappointment. Perhaps it was bankruptcy, failure to save, or simply blowing through your money. Instead of wisely handling your finances, the locust of frivvality ate your harvest. Perhaps it's broken relationships. You think, "All these years I spent in that relationship and it's over. Nothing but fighting and mistrust. What do I have to show for it?" You might think, "What has come of all my time and all of my effort?" Locust years are painful years. I'm thinking of those in the room who've lost loved ones. You had plans for the future, but now you fear the coming years might be empty. I'm thinking also of those who live with illness in the body or in the mind. You assume that you'd always be able to do what you used to do. And you have to find a way to live with the disappointment that you cannot do what you used to do. And those are painful locusts beyond your control. How about locust years are selfish years. Here's a story that has been repeated throughout history and maybe it it resonates with you. There's a person, let's just call him John, who had a spirit, a spiritual encounter with Jesus at a camp meeting or special service, but it didn't run deep. Faith in Jesus was just a slice of the pie of his busy life filled with all the things that he wanted to pursue. Then one day, Jesus really gets a hold of John and he's awakened and he says to himself, "What in the world have I been doing? There's no substance in my life. I really wanted to count for Jesus. I want to live in the power of the spirit. I want to make a difference in the world. But the locusts have eaten half my life. I've wasted my years on myself. How about another one? Sounds familiar. Let's call her Sally. She was baptized filled with the Holy Ghost. Rather than getting involved and serving in the church, she instead chooses to let the church serve her. She only comes to church for fellowship and social needs. She's into how people see her and is concerned how she's like. Then there comes a moment when she realizes that people's opinions and preferences are fleeting and unfulfilling. She begins to think that there's got to be more to church and be and she begins to serve others. But she feels the overwhelming sense of regret of putting her needs first instead of others all that time previously. Y'all all right tonight. >> Talk about the locust years. Locust years are loveless years. A division comes to a family, alienating loved ones. A marriage quietly endures in which love had been burning low for many years. Maybe you see a couple who's really in love and you say, "I wish I could be loved like that." Or you've not yet met the person you would like to meet and you remain s remain single. It feels like the years are moving on. You can never get them back and the locusts have eaten them. Locust years are rebellious years. Perhaps you grew up with many blessings, but in your heart you just wanted to rebel. Didn't fully understand the urge, but you gave yourself to it. And instead of bringing you pleasure, rebellion brought you pain. Now you look back on all those years and you see what the locusts have eaten. Locust years are misdirected or misguided years. Maybe you walked away from the church. You walked away due to some disappointment or some sort of offense. The path you chose in your career at college was a dead end. Didn't fit in. And in your mind, sometimes in your conversations, you say something like this. How'd I end up here? If only, if only, if only, if only I had taken that opportunity. If only I I had chosen a different path. But the moment has passed. It's gone. You can't go back to it. and you're left with the destruction of the locust years. Locust years are Christless years and all Christless years are locust years. This point is worth thinking about. If you've never made a commitment to Jesus, ask anyone who came to faith in Christ later in life and they'll tell you how much they wish they would have done that sooner. How much foolishness I would have avoided. How much heartbreak I could have avoided. How much more good might have been done in my life. Locust years. Maybe you feel that regret. Maybe you fall in line somewhere. Maybe it doesn't. Maybe this none of this meets you where you are. That's fine. I'm sure I' I've missed it somewhere. But somebody in this room can relate. Locusts have come into your life and you're left with regret. Maybe shame, maybe guilt, and you feel like the buzzing of the locusts are constantly chasing you. But there's a time where things can turn around. In Joel's prophecy, the restoration didn't come automatically. The years lost to the locust were not restored while the people stayed stubborn in their ways. The turning point came when the people turned back and said, and I'm I'm paraphrasing, "Yet even now, he says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping and mourning, and rend your hearts and not your garments." >> Brothers and sisters, restoration begins at the place of repentance. >> It is repentance at its very base definition is a turnaround. It's a turnaround. And it's and sometimes it's not a repenting of sin, but perhaps perhaps it's a repenting of motives or a repenting of neglect or a repenting of ignorance. Repentance has lots of different colors and varieties. But the thing that you must have if you want restoration is you must turn around. >> You're going to have to have a change of mind. You're going to have to change your ways. You're going to have to change your mentality. You must simply turn around. You can change your mind. You can turn toward Christ. That's a lot of the issues with many of us is we're facing the wrong direction. We are facing our past instead of facing our future. >> The reason why a lot of us can't move on is because we're because we're constantly connected to our past. We can't get our eyes and our focus off on on off of what we used to do and how all the things that we regret doing. And if you would just simply turn around, if you would simply repent and turn around or simply forsake and turn around, there will come a restoration. Restoration always follows repentance. The refreshing always comes when you turn around. The locust years are Christless years, but they don't have to remain so. When Israel humbled themselves, when they tore their hearts open before the Lord, not just their clothes, not just their garments, but when they rent their hearts, they realize, you know what? We're in this situation because of our decisions. >> Here's the other issue. Some of us want to constantly point at others. >> If they hadn't done, if they would have, if I would have had that, >> it's a repenting of that as well. It's learning not just to simply we got to we've got to repent of pointing at others for our ills. If we would simply take responsibility, you know what repentance is? is taking responsibility. >> There's a lot of Rs we can use in this, couldn't we? Repentance and restoration, >> responsibility. We we we have to take responsibility for our decisions. We are living, brothers and sisters, we are living in a day where people want to be entitled to everything. I I deserve this. I should have that. Why do they have this and I don't have it? I don't know. Do you have their disciplines? >> Have you made the same decisions? Instead of pointing at others, how about we point at ourselves? Restoration always follows repentance. And it's the same for them. It's the same for us. The wasted years of sin, selfishness, rebellion, and pain can be restored. But it only happens when we come in surrender to Jesus and we do this. I was wrong. Why is asking for forgiveness so hard? It's because we have to admit our own wrongs. when it's much easier to blame others than to blame ourselves. Repentance is saying, "I take responsibility for my neglect, for my ignorance, for my mindset, for my decisions. I need forgiveness. I need a turnaround." The locust stop devouring when the heart stops wandering. Repentance is the doorway through which God walks in with his restoring power. Musicians, get ready. Joel uses the word restore. I got to thinking about that. Sometimes you can read a text so fast and you think you know what a word means. You just kind of blaze on through to try to get to the point. I stopped and I said, "Well, what's that word restore mean? That sounds that might be an interesting word to look up. The word Joel uses for restore in Hebrew is shalom. It's the root of shalom. Shalom. You might have heard the word shalom means peace, wholeness, nothing missing, nothing broken. Most of us need a restoration of our peace. Most of us, our relationships need a restoration of peace. It's the chaos of regret that keeps us up at night. It's the chaos of guilt and shame that robs us of our peace. And Joel didn't say he's simply going to give back. He's saying that he is going to restore and nothing will be missing. Shalom. Shalom means to repay a debt, to make good on a loss or to complete what was unfinished. But at its heart, it's about bringing things back into harmony or peace. >> Do you need peace in your mind? It begins with repentance. Do you need peace in your relationship? Don't just come up here and ask God to forgive you. Go back to your spouse and ask for forgiveness, too. You can be seated. Peace always follows after repentance. When God promises, "I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten," he is saying more than, "I'll give back what you lost." He is saying, "I will make it whole again. I will bring peace where fear has lived, fullness where emptiness has lingered, wholeness where brokenness seems permanent. The locust may have stripped the land bare. But God says, "I will bring shalom. He will fill it, heal it, and make it fruitful once more." >> Brothers and sisters, this is the hope of the gospel. >> Our God doesn't simply rewind time. Paul says in Ephesians 5:16, he redeems time. >> God is not going to simply give you a doover. >> He's giving you another opportunity. >> He's redeeming. My God, he's redeeming. He's buying back what sin or the locust or life has lost or devoured and says, "I will give you more. I'll give you more. My God, he's not just wanting to give them crops. >> This is more than crops. >> My God, he says, I'm going to restore the years. Woo. >> I'm going to give peace to the years. I'm going to give wholeness and completion to the This is more than than crops. Some of us, listen to me now. Some of us get so caught up on the material blessings and God is saying, "You know how much more I can give you than that?" You see, what happens is I'm I'm moving fast. I'm going really close. What happens is we think we see somebody get we we we see somebody have things. Oh, look at all the things that they've got. Look at all the things they've got. Finances and cars and vacations and clothes and opportunities, things. But ask them, "What do you really want?" And they'll say, "Peace. Peace in my mind, my health, my family." You see there are a lot of people in the world who have things but they don't have peace. >> You see if we would stop chasing the material blessings on >> God will restore beyond the m it's more than crops it's more than harvest it's more than things that he wants to give us. He wants to give us wholeness in our life. And if we'll realize that this gospel that Jesus has paid for with his own blood is more than about blessing materially. It's about blessing in your life, in your mind, in your soul, in your heart, in your relationships, and more importantly, it's about a peace that comes from knowing him. Would you stand to your feet? My God, restore, restore. I will restore to you the years. [Music] Doesn't just want to rewind time. I wish I can go back and do No, no, no, no, no. What's the old saying? And I'm off my notes. I shouldn't do this. I usually butcher a saying when I do this. The best time to have planted a tree was what does it say? 20 years ago and then the second time is what today. So the thing is it's a saying like that I just butchered. Somebody will text me tonight. [Music] I just wish I can go back. I just wish I can go back. I just wish I would go back. How about today? You got a whole You got a You got a whole one today. How about tomorrow? Instead of I wish I can have How about tomorrow? You know, I would I wish I would have spent my teen years serving for the Lord. That's great. What are you going to do tomorrow? I'm going to scroll through Facebook for five hours. Come on, somebody. You don't have to. I wish I can go back. Yeah, we all say that. We all say that. But what are you going to do with today? He's giving you a today. We're not promised tomorrow. Hopefully, we all wake up tomorrow, have a new day. How about you start in the morning? Simple. Easy. You can't go back. Marty McFly is not coming. Doc isn't coming. The Delorean. The Delorean's already outdated today. I think Doc be driving a Tesla, but a Tesla is not going to get you your years back. And can I just meddle? Some of us who are in our mid midlife, getting a fast car, dying your hair is not going to bring back your teenage years. You're not fooling anybody. If I walk in here to tomorrow with a hairpiece, y'all going to like, I ain't fooling nobody. But you know what you could do in the morning? This is the day that the Lord has made and I'm going to make a decision. I will. I will. I can't get back the the old days. I can't get back the old but I've got a new day coming. I've got a new thing coming. I've got another day coming and I can take advantage of this day. He wants to restore what the locust has eaten. God, my God, [Music] what do you need restored tonight? What do you need restored tonight? Where do you need restoration tonight? I want you to come. I'm done. I wonder if somebody says, "You know what? I'm going to stop thinking that way. I I'm going to stop living with regret. I'm going to stop living with guilt. I'm I'm not going to think that way no more. I've got a new day. I've got a new opportunity. I've got another day coming and I'm going to take advantage of it because he's the restorer of the years. I might feel behind, but stop thinking that way. You got another day coming. Take advantage of it. Pray again. Worship again. Repent again. Start again. He can make all things new. Come on. Would you lift up your hands? Lift up your heart around. >> Oh yes. >> God turn it around. God turn it around. >> Oh yes. >> God turn it around. I'm calling on the name. >> Come on. He can restore it. >> He can res everything. >> He can restore it. >> Say, God, turn it around. God, turn it around. >> Turn it around. >> God, turn it around. >> Oh yeah. >> All of my hope is in the name the name of Jesus. And breakthrough will come. Come in the name of the name of Jesus. So God turn it around. God turn it around. God turn it around. Oh yes. God turn it around. Got to turn it around. God turn it around. I am preaching out of experience tonight. I was 25 years old when I began preaching. Now, God had called me three years before that and I ran faster than Usain Bolt. I mean, I ran and I ran and I ran hard [Music] and I felt for years, I'm behind. I'm behind. I'm behind all of these other all these other guys who've been preaching all these years and seeing great revivals. I God, what are you going to do with me? And you know what? God uses us where we are. Whether you're an 11year-old sharecropper or a 25y old or an 80y old, you can't look back. You can't constantly look back with with regret. What you can do is say, "I've got tomorrow. I've got tomorrow and I'm going to start. I'm going to begin. I'm going to pray. I'm going to take up this book and I'm going to read it. I'm going to share the gospel with somebody. I'm going to Come on, somebody. I'm going to start over. Come on. Don't look at years of regret, but look tomorrow to what he can do and what he can use right where you are. Right where you are today. Come on, somebody. Lift up your hands. Lift up your heart. One more time. up to something. Restoration.