God’s Spirit Is Powerful to Revive God’s People

Joel 2:28-32

According to the most recent Forbes list, the most powerful man is Xi Jinping - the president of China. He’s followed by Vladimir Putin, the US President, the German Chancellor, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, and Warren Buffett - business magnate. They’re powerful - their actions, words, and decisions impact the world. They’re great organizers. Maybe their habits are studied and make it to books like “7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” Yes, we often look to power like that. Which is okay. But oddly, we wish the Christian church was powerful like them. Then maybe we’d have more disciplined living, influence, self-control, and connections. We’d be powerful! But there’s one thing these powerful unbelievers don’t have - the spiritual power of Christ.

But on the other hand, when we look at the visible church, we see how fragmented, weak, and divided she is. And the shameful scandals that Christians have endured. Where’s the spiritual power? So how do we experience that power? How do we become spiritually revived? The Legalist and moralist will tell you to try harder and do more - if you work harder, you will succeed. The Catholic will tell you to be more repentant - God blesses godly sorrow, you know. The more you mourn for your sins, the more power you will have. Now, we don’t disagree with godly sorrow and godly action. But if that’s all there is, the Christian life would be very difficult. How much must I do? How sorry must I feel? But the power we need is the power of the Spirit. And the Spirit has been freely given to all who believe. When we’re enthralled with Jesus’ atonement and love for us, because the Spirit has poured that love in us; and when we walk gratefully in his Spirit, submitting ourselves to him, then we’ll experience victory. When we look away, we’ll be weak. There are 3 learning points we can get from this passage. Firstly, God’s spiritual power promised to his repentant people; secondly, God’s spiritual power revives his repentant people; and thirdly, God’s spiritual power redeems his people completely.

Firstly, God’s spiritual power promised to his repentant people. As we’ve preached through the book of Joel, we’ve seen a picture of doom and gloom. The nation just faced great turmoil. Locusts or a locust-like army had destroyed crops and livestock. There was famine. Everyone from greatest to least were mourning. God’s people were weak and struggling. And God warned if they didn’t take the opportunity to reflect and repent, they wouldn’t be ready for the greater day of darkness. But then in the midst of this, he offered hope - I’ll send power. I’ll revive you as a people! You’re weak, sinful, struggling - but I’ll revive you by my Spirit. Verses 28-29 tell us that God would pour his spirit upon all flesh - your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old and young men will dream and have visions. Even on male and female servants I will pour out my spirit. This was a promise of revival from God.

And it would affect all of God’s people. He’d pour his spirit on all flesh. Now, all flesh doesn’t mean every single person on earth. The next sentence clarifies - your sons, your daughters, your old men, your young men. This was a promise to send power to all kinds of God’s weakened and struggling people. You see, God’s people had experienced defeat. Chapter 1 instructed the elderly, the young bride, the groom, the farmer, the servants, and the drunkards to repent. And therefore here in chapter 2, God promised to send his Spirit on all kinds of these weakened people. Where once they were weakened, sinful, wayward, they’d be restored. If they turn to God, they’d be revived.

Now, when did this take place? When did God strengthen and revive his people? Acts 2. When the Spirit was given, tongues of fire appeared and hung over the disciples - and all of a sudden, male and female disciples all started to declare the Word in different languages. Peter preached; he told the crowd that they’d killed Christ. He said, “God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” And the people recognized their sins and asked - what shall we do? And Peter told them to turn to Christ; to be washed of their sins. This message was preached also in Samaria and to the Ethiopian eunuch - they repented. Even the Gentiles believed; Cornelius turned to Christ and they were filled with the Spirit. The kingdom of God spread. And all kinds of people had the Spirit - from important leaders like Cornelius, to fishermen like Peter; from religious people like Nicodemus, to those who once persecuted the church like Paul. It brought together all kinds of people. And the result was incredible. They were engaged in spiritual things - loving and caring for one another. And the kingdom of God became so large and powerful that the Jewish and Roman leaders, and all people were alarmed. They persecuted the church. Now, the church wasn’t organizationally large - it had no army, no earthly king, no corporation - but each believer, living for Christ, loving one another, helping one another, preaching the gospel - that was the power. And when that spread, this kind of spiritual strength and revival promised by the Father was too much for earthly powers.

That’s the second point. God’s spiritual power revives his repentant people. We see the result of that spiritual power in Acts 2:41-47 - “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” After the Spirit was poured out, the church grew. And now, the church was comprised of people who loved the Word, shared with one another, came together to pray. There was mutual affection - to the point where they took care of one another. They sold what they had to give. It was not legislated. There was gladness and singleness of heart, and they praised God. And God increased the size of the kingdom on a daily basis.

Now this was very different from what Joel experienced in his day. It was dead. It was weak. It was powerless. There was no revival! There was sin. Everyone was living for himself. They needed the Spirit to revive them! And this was not the first time. There was also another time in Israel’s history when it was like that. In Numbers 11, during the wilderness wandering, the people of Israel were very unruly. The people complained and murmured. They were ungrateful. God had rescued them from slavery, he gave them manna to eat, but they complained! They murmured they had no meat. They were difficult to lead. Moses had a tough time. And so he lamented to Joshua in Numbers 11:29 - he said, “would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!” In other words, if only God’s people were full of God’s Spirit - then they’d be like prophets - obedient to God, knowing God’s will. They’d be easier to lead. They’d love one another, love God, and love God’s commandments. Like how Colossians 3 describes Spirit-filled people - husbands would love their wives, wives would submit to their husbands. Children would honor parents, and parents would not provoke children. They’d worship God freely. They wouldn’t covet. They’d love God’s laws. If you love me, Jesus said, keep my commandments. He who loves me, is loved by my Father, and I will manifest myself to him. God’s people are powerful because they’re filled with love and the Spirit. They wouldn’t give themselves over to the flesh to fulfill their lusts and pride.

And that’s exactly what we saw in Acts 2. When God’s Spirit was given, when the people knew the Word of God, when they obeyed the Word of God, submitting themselves to the Spirit of God - then there was revival! They gave of themselves. They spent time with God’s people. They came daily for prayer. They gave to those who had none. Yes, there are times when the visible representation of God’s kingdom has been weak and powerless, at times strong. But only when God’s people in the kingdom walk according to the Spirit has the kingdom grown. But when the people are weak, living according to their own ways, not responding to the Spirit, that’s when it’s been weak. This was the promise of the Father. Ezekiel 36:26-27 say, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”

You see, revival and power are always connected with the Spirit and the Word. Revival and strength and power do not come just like that! We can’t expect to be revived through organization. We can’t expect to be revived by legislation. Revival only comes by reliance on the Spirit to obey the Word. That’s what Joel 2 said - the Spirit will be given and the people will prophesy. Moses said, if only the people will have the Spirit and be like prophets. Ezekiel 36 says that when the Spirit is given, the people will walk according to my statutes and keep my laws. Revival only happens when we walk according to the Spirit.

Why might we face so much weakness in our lives? Where is the power? Is it not because, while we have the Spirit, we don’t heed its prompting? Do we not submit ourselves to him and the Word he has inspired? The Spirit calls you to love your wife. But I won’t give myself to her unless she changes her ways. The Spirit calls you to talk out your problem with your enemies. No, I’ll fold my hands and wait and see and silently judge others. The Spirit calls you to honor your parents. No, my parents haven’t been good to me - they deserve their plight. The Spirit calls you to teach and love your children. Why didn’t God give me better children! The Spirit calls you to be content in your work and abilities. But I deserve so much better. The Spirit calls you to read the Word and find comfort from it. Oh, but I’m so busy everyday - I just hope the preacher gives me a good sermon on Sunday. The Spirit calls you to fellowship with people in church. But they don’t meet my needs! And we wonder why we’re weak! God has promised his Spirit, his Spirit revives, but shall we not submit ourselves to him?

This weakness we all experience, this feeling of a lack of power in our lives - we know it only too well. But it will not last forever. Yes, if we seek the Lord, as his prophets, obedient, surrendering ourselves to his Spirit, there will be revival in our lives. But even then, there will be pockets of weakness in our lives. So how do we cope? I want power now! Complete revival! Folks, it doesn’t work that way now. Yes, there’s a final day where this power will revive the kingdom completely - where there will be no more weakness ever again. And that’s the last point. God’s spiritual power redeems his people completely. Verses 30-32 speak of a final day of deliverance - “And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.”

God has given us his Spirit - we’re redeemed, we have power when we surrender ourselves to him. But there’s a final, complete day of redemption. On that day, the remnant will be saved. There’s the great and terrible day of the Lord - that final judgment - but God’s people will escape it. That’s why it’s a day we all look forward to as Christians. But until then, there will be many occasions which will remind us again and again the need to call upon the name of the Lord. Until that final day of deliverance, there will still be times of weakness. We have to learn to walk by faith - to walk according to the Spirit. There’s a principle the church of God needs to learn. The principle of already and not yet. Some might wonder - if the Spirit is already given, then why don’t we all have complete victory now? I struggle so much. The church of Christ still seems so weak. If Jesus has ascended into heaven, then why doesn’t he already rule everything? Why is that power not already completely powerful in my life? Because that final great and terrible day hasn’t come yet. Hebrews 2:8 tells us that Christ hasn’t subdued all things, but he will - “Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.” All things are put under Christ. Already. But also, not all things completely. Jesus is doing a work. He’s calling his people together. He gives his Spirit. He’s empowering them. But we’re not perfect yet. But as we surrender ourselves to him, fueled by love, we have strength. But one day we will have perfect strength, perfect holiness, perfect obedience.

Now, verses 30-32 describe the wonders that will happen before that great and final day. The sun will be dark, the moon will be blood, all before the terrible day of the Lord. God is assuring us - when you see these days happening, it’s a promise that one day you’ll be completely and powerfully triumphant over sin. And this was the case. On the day of Jesus’ crucifixion, the sky went dark. He provided an atonement for his people. On the day of Pentecost, fire came down from heaven. The Spirit was given to all those who called upon the name of the Lord. Yes, whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. The thief on the cross, the Centurion acknowledging Jesus to be the Son of God. The 3000 people at the temple believing in one day. So until that great and terrible day of the Lord, God is building his church. He has given his Spirit, his Word, and when we surrender to him, there will be refreshing, strength, power. Yes, we’ll limp along at times; we’ll walk; but when we wait on him, and renew our strength, we shall fly like eagles. And one day, when Christ comes, we will have perfect power. Until then keep on walking, living, trusting, and submitting to the Spirit. Do you desire a refreshing in your life? Submit yourself to the Spirit.

What are some ways we can apply this Word to ourselves? Firstly, surrender. I’m not going to tell you to be more sorry for your sins or to try harder. Dearly beloved, you know your sins you’re struggling with. You’ve tried very hard to overcome them. But the thing that you need to do is surrender. You have a sin problem in your life - you want to hold on to it, maybe it’s anger - launch a hostile take over against your enemy. But the Spirit is prompting you to forgive. While your flesh is weak, let your heart and spirit be willing. You know when he prompts you to obey - when you surrender to his sweet control, that’s when he gives you power. Don’t quench the Spirit. He subdues you, changes your temperament, makes you more mellow, and forgiving. He changes the appetites of your hearts. And don’t struggle on your own. God has given you the church. Let the church pray for you. Come with your needs - receive the power of God by his people praying for you - don’t keep to yourself and struggle on your own.

But it’s not just surrender. Secondly, it’s patience. Know that before that great and terrible day of the Lord, which you will escape because you have the guarantee of the Spirit; you will still encounter times of weakness. Please, dearly beloved, you have the Spirit. Walk with the Spirit. Surrender to him. Don’t let your discouragement drive you to seek power from elsewhere. Christ was in that desert fasting for 40 days. At the end of it, in his weakness of flesh, the devil tempted him. He surrendered not to the Devil to receive food, power, and recognition. Instead, he surrendered to his Father, who led him to the cross. And there, he died. But the power he received was far more than the power any in Forbes list have. He resurrected, ascended to the right hand of the Father, where he now rules over all things, victorious, sitting down and praying for us. He sends his Spirit to comfort us, revive us, and remind us of all things he has taught us. Let us in our weakness look to him. Remember that Christ’s kingdom is comprised a motley crew of imperfect disciples. But God did wondrous things with them.

1. God’s Spiritual Power Promised to His Repentant People

2. God’s Spiritual Power Revives His Repentant People

3. God’s Spiritual Power Redeems His People Completely