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October - Promise Sermon

Promise - Oct

Joel 2:21 'Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things.'

The Lord we serve is a great God and he will do greater things in our lives. We the children of God will experience greater things in our life. In this verse, we see

the Lord addresses the nation but the message or the word goes for each and every one. Firstly, the Lord says 'Fear not and be glad'. Though we may face things that

scare us, we need not be scared because the Lord has spoken saying 'Fear not'. In general, people are scared for many different things. Fear concerning the future, fear

concerning the family and so on. Today, the Lord says 'Fear not and be glad'. Bible scholars has titled this portion as a call to repentance. We can see read this in

Joel 2:13 'And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and

repenteth him of the evil.' In order to receive greater things from the Lord, we need to repent from the things that are displeasing the Lord God. Our Lord expects a

whole-hearted repentance with a spirit of submission and a heart of surrender. In Psalm 51:17 'The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart,

O God, thou wilt not despise.' When we humbly submit our hearts to the Lord, he will forgive us for he is a merciful, compassionate and long suffering God. From today

onwards, the Lord will do great things.

Springing up new things

Joel 2:22 'Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their

strength.'

In this verse, we can see on what are all the things the great things of the Lord will be established. We can see there will be pastures in wilderness. In English translation,

the word 'springing up' is used to denote something appears rapidly. Pastures and wilderness will not go with each other as it is impossible to see pastures springing

up in wilderness. The Lord had already prepared the pastures for the wilderness but we cannot see them. Before the pastures are appearing outside it will be hidden and

it will spring up soon. We need to believe and have faith that the Lord has given us the blessings and we will witness them soon. God is not going to create something

new, what God has aleady created that is hidden will spring out in due time. Wilderness is a barren land with no possibities of fertility. Our Lord is going to give

us the hidden treasures in the life of wilderness. We will receive unexpected blessimgs from unexpected places in unexpected times.

Bearing fruit

Joel 2:22 '....for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.'

Here it is recorded as the trees will bear its fruit. Every tree is planted with a purpose that it should bear its fruit in due season. Today, the Lord promises that

we will receive expected fruits in unexpected plentiful quantities in an unexpected time. The Lord will remove all the barrenness in our lives. The barrenness of unfruitful

trees will change and they shall bring fruit. In Song of Solomon 4:16 'Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow

out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.' Also we read in Galatians 5:22-23 'But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,

gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.' Here all the qualities listed in the verse are not different fruits but one. All these

builds up to one fruit which is the fruit of spirit. The Lord will assist us to get these fruit of the spirit in our lives. May we enjoy the experience of God's frutis

while growing in the fruit of the spirit of the spirit that is good character in which the Lord God is delighted.

Yielding reward

Joel 2:22 '...the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.'

In the above verse we see a blessing of a great reward. In a wilderness which was infertile and barren, the Lord works out a great thing where it yields a reward. Even

in our lives, where we cannot bear the right fruits, the strength of the Lord will enable us to yield the right rewards. Only our Lord can transform a wilderness into

a fertile land. In Joel 2:23 'Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause

to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.' Here we read the Lord is rewarding his children at the right time moderately by

pouring the rains. The Lord will bless us aptly. Not by our desires, but the Lord will bring the right help to establish us in his plan. In Joel 2:24 'And the floors shall

be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.' We will witness the threshing floor not just full but overflowing. Amen.

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October - Promise Sermon