Encountering the Gift of Grace through the Holy Spirit
Joel 2: 12-14, 18- 32 (NLT)

A Call to Repentance

 12 That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.  13 Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.”  Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish. 14 Who knows? Perhaps he will give you a reprieve, sending you a blessing instead of this curse. Perhaps you will be able to offer grain and wine to the Lord your God as before.

The Lord’s Promise of Restoration

 18 Then the Lord will pity his people and jealously guard the honor of his land. 19 The Lord will reply, “Look! I am sending you grain and new wine and olive oil, enough to satisfy your needs.  You will no longer be an object of mockery among the surrounding nations.
 20 I will drive away these armies from the north.  I will send them into the parched wastelands.  Those in the front will be driven into the Dead Sea, and those at the rear into the Mediterranean. The stench of their rotting bodies will rise over the land.”  Surely the Lord has done great things! 21 Don’t be afraid, my people.  Be glad now and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things.  22 Don’t be afraid, you animals of the field, for the wilderness pastures will soon be green. The trees will again be filled with fruit; fig trees and grapevines will be loaded down once more. 23 Rejoice, you people of Jerusalem!  Rejoice in the Lord your God!  For the rain he sends demonstrates his faithfulness.  Once more the autumn rains will come, as well as the rains of spring.  24 The threshing floors will again be piled high with grain, and the presses will overflow with new wine and olive oil.

25 The Lord says, “I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts.  It was I who sent this great destroying army against you.  26 Once again you will have all the food you want, and you will praise the Lord your God, who does these miracles for you.  Never again will my people be disgraced.
27 Then you will know that I am among my people Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and there is no other.  Never again will my people be disgraced.

The Lord’s Promise of His Spirit

 28 “Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy.  Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions.  29 In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on servants—men and women alike.
 30 And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth—blood and fire and columns of smoke.  31 The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and terrible day of the Lord arrives.  32 But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, for some on Mount Zion in Jerusalem will escape, just as the Lord has said.  These will be among the survivors whom the Lord has called.

1.  Give God our hearts in our repentance

12 That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.  13 Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” 

Paying attention to whether we have the right kind of feelings to make us feel repentant or sorrowful cannot change the heart. 

First, to change our hearts, our minds must dwell and be transformed by the new promises and grace of God. 

Matthew 5:28 (NIV) 

    But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Psalm 39:3 (NIV) 

    My heart grew hot within me, and as I meditated, the fire burned…

Second, to change our hearts, our will must choose to live in this new life of grace

In short, a change of heart is something we choose, not something we feel all the time. 

1.      Realize what it took for God in all His love and grace to bring you back to Him and the depth of your sin and selfishness that requires such a sacrifice

2.     Repentance means a change of mind.  To change our hearts, our minds must dwell and be transformed by the new promises and grace of God

3.     To change our hearts, our will must choose to live in this new life of grace

So what is the result of a change of heart?

2.  God will restore us

Joel 2:25 (NIV) 

    "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten-- the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm…

3.  God reanimates us by giving us His Holy Spirit to empower and sustain us

 28 “Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.

Luke 17:21 (NIV) 
    …nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."

John 14:26-27 (NIV); 15:26 (NLT); 16:13-14 (NIV) 
    But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. [27] Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid..."But I will send you the Counselor—the Spirit of truth...he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. [14] He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.

                        How do we receive this empowering Spirit of God?

 32 But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,

Acts 2:14, 16-17, 21 (NLT) 
    Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, "Listen carefully, all of you...what you see this morning was predicted centuries ago by the prophet Joel: 'In the last days, God said, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people...And anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'

                               I want the HS, how do I receive Him fully?

1. Be still in the presence of God until we become so aware of His presence and desire to restore and empower you
2. Repent literally from the bottom of our hearts
3. Receive and accept His total forgiveness, like a river rushing over you and taking every bit of sin away
4. Ask, accept, and receive by faith, His Holy Spirit to indwell you - "Fill me with Your Holy Spirit Lord!"
5. Ask the Holy Spirit to empower you to do what is supernatural, strengthen you so you will not fail, to lead you so you will be lost, and to stir a deeper desire for God
6.  Just keep receiving while in the presence of God until our spiritual tank becomes full