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This is one of the most remarkable passages in all the Bible For me, it is second only to John’s introduction of Jesus “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:1 and 14) - what makes this prophecy given to Joel extraordinary, • is this experience of the Spirit that is promised was definitely exclusive ◦ this is clear from a passage I have frequently quoted ◦ when Moses complained his assignment was too much for him, God told him, “Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel . . . and bring them into the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there. And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them . . . . ¶ Then the LORD came down in the cloud . . . and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it” (Nu. 11:17 and 25)

Thirty years ago Reba McEntire released a song, “If I Had Only Known” It is a typically “country” tear jerker If I had only known It was the last walk in the rain I’d keep you out for hours in the storm I would hold your hand Like a life line to my heart Underneath the thunder we’d be warm If I had only known It was our last walk in the rain If I had only known I’d never hear your voice again I’d memorize each thing you ever said . . . etcetera – it hits a nerve, because we’ve all felt the regret it expresses • things would be different not; would have been avoided; or would have turned out better ◦ if only we had known – that’s the reason, for the second time, Joel says, “Blast the ram’s horn in Zion” • the first time, in verse 1, it was to sound the alarm regarding the approaching invasion ◦ this time it is a call to action • a terrible disaster is approaching Jerusalem, ◦ but something can be done – the city can be saved

Have you ever received an Amber Alert on cell your phone? It’s so loud and annoying, there’s no way you can ignore it - this is the sort of attention-getter Joel calls for in verse 1 “Blow the ram’s horn in Zion,  sound the alarm on my holy mountain” • sentinels were posted on Jerusalem’s walls, ◦ and Joel tells them to sound the shofar and alert the people ◦ because a massive, hostile army was approaching the holy city • after what we read last week, the danger Joel announces seems a little strange ◦ we expect him to warn of the “locust plague,” but instead he warns of , “the day of the LORD” - now because of what we’ve been told in past decades, this needs a bit of explaining

Friday our nation observed the tragedies of “9/11" and those we lost Many of us remember the very moment when we first heart of it - for several hours we could hardly breathe • we watched endless reruns of two airliners, smashing into the iconic “Twin Towers” in New York City ◦ we didn’t want to see it, but we couldn’t look away ◦ we could not avoid the reality of it • and each time we looked, we felt helpless, outrage, and extreme sadness - every disaster of that magnitude, wounds a country’s soul • we don’t just walk away and return to our usual routine ◦ it creates a fog of confusion that we feel we must sort out ◦ it stirs up insecurities that leave us groping for answers • for sometime after, we remain alert, sensitive, aware ◦ for awhile, we’re ready to listen; we’re paying attention and eager to learn This is the right time for us to approach the prophecies of Joel Israel was experiencing a catastrophic trauma - it was not localized, but spread across the entire nation • at times in this first chapter, Joel sounds like a newscaster; ◦ reporting the wide range of destruction ◦ the food source of the entire country was running out • Joel, however, was not merely delivering a report; ◦ he was delivering “The word of the LORD”

I’m not going to give a Labor Day talk, but that’s where we’ll start Last year I felt it was important that I read Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations – Smith is sometimes referred to as the Father of Capitalism • he explored the principles of economics that caused some systems of flourish and others to flounder – one concern was the ways that governments interfered with industries and commerce • but something disturbed me as I read through his detailed research and conclusions ◦ Smith took for granted that there would always be a huge mass of poor people ◦ he saw this as the general pattern of civilizations from ancient history • there were always masters and slaves, emperors and subjects, kings and paupers Here are a few quotes I pulled from his work: Smith, “All for ourselves and nothing for others, seems, in every age of the world, to have been the vile maxim of the masters of mankind. . . . As soon, therefore, as they could find a method of consuming the whole value of their rents for themselves, they had no disposition to share then with any other persons.” – “For one very rich man there must be at least five hundred poor, and the affluence of the few [assumes] the indigence of the many.” – When the economy of a nation is static rather than increasing, wages for the workers are barely enough to raise a family or even continue the “race of laborers.” “. . . there is no order that suffers so cruelly from [a nation’s economic decline as the poor].” However, the voices of the poor were rarely heard, except in when there were public demonstrations.

The Book of Isaiah begins with God’s frustration over Israel; for instance: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me . . . . Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evil doers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged” (Isa. 1:2-4) Then in chapter 6, Isaiah tells the story of his call from God to be a prophet - at first, he continues in the same stream as the opening • but a little further on, he is given messages of hope ◦ God always provides a way back ◦ his radiant love always breaks through the dark clouds • by chapter 30, his promises to Israel are fantastic “For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.” - God promises his people he will always be speaking to them • they will always hear him nearby, and he will guide them • as long as they were willing to listen to him, and accept his direction, ◦ he was willing to constantly communicate with them

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Psalm 25 This psalm does not track a central theme What I mean, is that we cannot say, “This is a psalm of praise,” - or “Psalm of confession,” or “thanksgiving psalm,” or “supplication psalm” • this doesn’t mean the structure of the poem is random, ◦ only that it doesn’t tell a story or develop a specific point • nevertheless, there is a pattern to the psalm, ◦ but we don’t find it arranged in an obvious pattern - the first Hebrew letter in the first word of the first verse is alef (like 'A' is the first letter of our alphabet) • the first letter in the first word of the second verse is bet (like 'B' is the second letter of our alphabet) ◦ alef and bet are the first two letters in the Hebrew alphabet ◦ that’s what the poet used for the outline of the entire psalm • it’s like the nursery rhyme, “A is for apple; B is for ball . . . .” ◦ except that two letters from the Hebrew alphabet are missing There are several psalms that use this acrostic device - Psalm 119 is the most radical example, supplying eight verses (each beginning with the same letter) for every letter of the Hebrew alphabet

The last two weeks I’ve been encouraging you to listen for God’s voice Now, today, using this spectacular episode of Isaiah’s life is neither practical nor fair – he was chosen by God to be a prophet, • and the prophet’s calling is in most instances very dramatic ◦ e.g., Moses and the mysterious flames; Ezekiel’s fantastic vision, impossible to imagine • so if there’s a legitimate reason for us to consider Isaiah’s experience, ◦ it’s because in his vision he saw and heard God speak to him ◦ that is what defines the prophet – even if we never have a dramatic or spectacular encounter like Isaiah, • we can draw lessons from what he describes, because we want to hear God’s voice ◦ and Isaiah’s experience may help us navigate our own less dramatic experiences • let’s see what we can find in this story that will be useful to us

About six years before my dad died, For some reason, that I don’t remember, - I got the idea that it was really important for him to tell his life’s story • there were already a lot of fictional stories regarding his life, ◦ and how he came to be the founder of a new church movement • I suppose, that as his son, it was important to me, ◦ that people learned how God worked in his life to make him the man he was - however, I knew that though dad was a gifted storyteller, • he was not a writer, and would never find the time to produce an autobiography ◦ so I volunteered to be his ghost-writer, and he agreed • I’m telling you this, because there’s something in his book I’m going to read