From the Pulpit

In baking a cake, there are some ingredients that are more essential than others. While sprinkles aid ascetics and nuts add texture, it’s the eggs, flour, and sugar that actually make it a cake. 

The same is true of a healthy church family. There are many potential elements that can be added to the recipe but they’re not all of equal importance. While a building may add stability and significant attendance can bring excitement, it’s commitment to the gospel and submission to the word, prayer and evangelism, baptism and communion, discipleship and discipline, love of God and love of God’s people that make it a church. And it’s this last essential ingredient we’re going to examine at this morning—a love for one another. The hard reality is, if a church family fails to love one another it cannot be and do what God desires it to be and do. Familial love is the eggs, flour, and sugar of church life. It’s an essential, foundational ingredient.

God wants those who belong to him to experience intimacy with him. That’s why he calls believers to pursue holiness (1:5–2:2), obedience (2:3–6), and familial love (2:7–11; 3:10–23), not because that’s how we’re saved but because that’s how we draw near to him once we’re saved. God so desires that his children abide in him that he tells us to avoid worldliness (2:15–17) and sin (3:1–9), not because if we don’t we prove we don’t belong to him but because such rebellion kills intimacy. God so longs for his people walk in his light and love that he warns us to avoid false teaching (3:24–4:6), not because it can steal our salvation but because few things cause more damage to a relationship than deception. And, as John reveals in our passage today, there are lots of lies out there, falsehoods and half-truths about Jesus that can, if entertained and believed, destroy trust, breed anger and apathy, and prevent us from enjoying the Lord.

Imagine I told you we were going to have a conversation about classic story structure, and invited you to finish the following sentence: “and they all lived…” Exactly. We all know it. In most cases, we probably expect it. And while it’s obviously not true of every story, the opposites are infrequent or undesirable enough that “and they all lived terribly ever after” just isn’t a thing we say. 

Think of the last fictional book you read or movie you watched (ones that actually resolved the story, not the ones with the cliffhanger setting up for the sequel) and I can almost guarantee there was a scene involving the punishment of the “bad guys” before seeing the happy future for the “good guys”. Because in many ways, part of that happy ending involves this acknowledgement that the evil ones are getting what they had coming, fair retribution for what they have done to the world and to the protagonists themselves. We know in our hearts, even in our fictional stories, that bad things deserve punishment, and a “happily ever after” with evil still on the loose just isn’t “happy” or “ever after”.

As I mentioned a few moments ago, today we’re going to get to the resolution of the prophetic story in the book of Joel. And in that resolution, we’re going to see everything required for that proper “happily ever after”.

We’re into the final two sections of the book of Joel and we’re now in part of the book where it finally starts to take a turn for the positive, where God’s people have been challenged to repent, and we now get to see God’s response for when they do so. The last two weeks described judgement on God’s people in the southern kingdom of Judah, and called them to repentance for their disobedience, and it was fairly simple to make the connection to see how those texts could still be relevant and applicable for us today. A passage that calls for turning from sin and turning to God, all for the sake of his glory can obviously draw our mind to our own struggles, temptations, and disobedience and what we should do about them.

Today’s passage is a little less obvious, at least in my opinion, because the majority of the verses are focused on God turning from his punishment, showing mercy, and even blessing the very people he had just been disciplining. While God has shown us all mercy, particularly through the person and work of Jesus Christ, he is not necessarily going to bless us or relent of discipline in the exact same ways he did for his people in Joel. This is a specific story of God’s mercy and blessing, not a template, not a “if you do this, God will do that” scenario, necessarily.

Specifically, in today’s passage we’re going to see God offering deliverance to his people, relenting of his discipline and blessing them through meeting their physical needs after the army and the locust invasions. He then promises a future deliverance available to all people, where he will offer to meet their spiritual needs through the outpouring of his Spirit.

Sometimes in times of struggle, difficulty, or suffering, we act as though all we need to do is apologize and everything will be okay. Sometimes we look at the suffering God allows in our life or the discipline he’s putting us through as a combination lock just waiting to be opened, a code to be cracked. “If I just ask forgiveness for this sin” or “if I just read my Bible this much” or “if I just go to church this many times” or “if I just donate this amount of money” God will have no choice but to bless me and take me out of this pain and put me into better life circumstances. It may sound a little ridiculous, and many of us probably wouldn’t say those things out loud, but I know I’m not the only one who has had times where we’ve thought it, or acted as though that’s the way it is.

The reality is we are told in the Bible that God will sometimes use or allow to help us grow, mature, learn, and become more like Christ. So while it’s okay to ask God to help us with or even remove us from situations of suffering or discipline, to apologize, or to be brought to confession, repentance, or positive life-change by those circumstances, that doesn’t mean God immediately owes us a supernatural rescue for doing as we’re told. Saying sorry doesn’t mean we won’t face discipline or consequences.

It’s Mother’s Day, and a sermon about divine judgement and locust plagues and starving animals probably isn’t what most of you came expecting today. But interestingly enough, the overall tone of the first chapter is not so different from some very common maternal phrases, like “sit here and think about what you’ve done”, “You can come back out when you’re ready to apologize and behave”, or “I hope you’ve learned your lesson”.

Today, we’re going to start with the first chapter, and as we read we’re going to see three specific types of calls to action: a directive to listen and tell, a directive to grieve, and a directive to repent; and each of these is followed by a description of the admittedly brutal circumstances that makes these actions necessary.

One of the greatest honours and aspirations for any athlete is to compete for their country on an international stage like the Olympic Games. They dream of wearing the flag and hearing their national anthem played as they stand on the podium. And many athletes make their country proud in those moments, competing and carrying themselves in an admirable and applaudable manner. But some bring shame to the nation they represent by cheating, lying, mistreating teammates and opponents, and even breaking the law. When this happens, the athlete is still a citizen of their county but they’ve failed to represent the values of their country. They’ve squandered the opportunity to showcase to the world the best that their nation has to offer. 

Christians are on Team Jesus. We wave a common flag and represent a heavenly nation. Our job is to represent well, not bringing shame but showcasing to the world the best our Lord has to offer. And according to 1 John 3, that means we love one another like Christ.

Most people today—and, unfortunately, many Christians and churches—treat sin more like empty calories than like cancer, something that can be enjoyed in moderation but not something to necessarily fear and fight. But even a cursory reading of the Bible reveals sin to be more the latter than the former. It’s pervasive and powerful, corrupting and consuming, and deceptive and damning. 

Sin is not something with which God’s people should approach casually. Indeed, every Christian can echo the puritan prayer that says, “Eternal Father, thou art good beyond all thought, but I am vile, wretched, miserable, blind … I bring my soul to thee; break it, wound it, bend it, mould it. Unmask to me sin’s deformity, that I may hate it, abhor it, flee from it.” Summarily, sin is a big deal to God and should be to God’s people also. Why? Well, for starters, because sin prevents the enjoyment of Christ, the modelling of Christ, and the honouring Christ.

Speaker: Nate Vellekoop

Research shows that the sunniest places in Canada are southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, a swath of land that runs from Calgary to Estevan boasting over 2375 hours of bright sunshine annually. (For reference, that’s about an hour more per day than Toronto.) Often the big skies are blue, the clouds are sparse, and the sun is bold. However, some find it difficult to fully enjoy that prairie perk because of the cold. With winter temperatures regularly dipping below -40°, many choose to “appreciate” the sunshine from indoors. The potential for frostbite can serve as a significant obstacle to the enjoyment of regularly clear skies. 

The book of 1 John makes it clear that God wants his children to enjoy the life-giving warmth of his light and love. He wants us to walk in close fellowship with himself (1:3). Unfortunately, many believers simply “appreciate” its cloudless clarity from afar. Why? Because there are obstacles that distract and discourage, realities that can, if we’re not careful, keep us from fully enjoying the divine gift of intimacy with God.