WHEN NATURE SPEAKS IN BROKEN WORLD (JOEL 1:12)🙏🌎😭😱🤯💝

0:00Hello and welcome we are so glad you're able to join today. Today we are talking about when nature speaks in a broken world and we're diving into the Old Testament, one of the major minor prophets who was Joel and this is only three chapters and we're going to be looking into Joel who was a minor prophet and there was a lot of destruction. This was when they were not united. This was when they were separated, the kingdom, the Israelites were separated and sometimes we see destruction happening in the world. We see things just like earthquakes, tornadoes based on locusts. So today we're diving into a story from a long time ago. The book of Joel chapter 1 verse 1 to 12 and imagine this that your favorite video game and suddenly everything starts to go wrong. The crops that you've been

1:02farming are disappearing and the water sources are drying up and it's chaos everywhere. This is similar to what's happening in Joel's time. There was famine, there was chaos, there was locusts, there were bugs everywhere and it was packed with a bunch of lesson for us. Even in the midst of chaos and trials, God was still in control. So let's get into it. The book of Joel is part of the Bible collection of minor prophets, their writings about what's going to happen, about encouraging the people of Israelites to come closer to God. So what happens when you face massive disaster? What happens if the EMT, EMP goes off and there's a major blackout? What happens when you see war and bombs going on? What happens? And then things are going to get wiped out, things are going to get chaotic but we know

2:06that God is in control and that you, who didn't Christ, can follow in his ways. So imagine opening up your fridge and it was completely empty, scary, right? So let's jump into this passage, Joel chapter 1 verse 1 to 12. The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Matthew said, hear this, you elders, listen, all who have heard or lived in this land, has anything ever happened in your days or in the days of your forefathers, tell it to your children and let your children tell it to their children and their children to the next generation. What the Locust swan has left the great Locusts have eaten, the great Locusts have left the young Locusts have eaten and what the young Locusts have left other Locusts have eaten. Wow, it says what the cutting Locusts left, the swarming Locust

3:08have eaten, swarming Locusts left the happy Locusts have eaten. Wow, so this is talking about Locusts and Locusts are the bugs that really eat your plant, your green plant and it really is scary to see bugs everywhere, we're used to seeing everything being clean, all the bugs are eradicated, we're used to seeing green trees and green grass, but during that time they had a national disaster by the nature, nature spoke and ate up the Locusts were eating up the plant and they were also eating up the young one, and then verse 5 of 12 chapter 1 it says, wake up you drunkard and weep, whale are you drinkers of wine, whale because of the new wine, for it has been snatched from your lips, a nation has invaded my land, powerful and without number, it has teeth of a line, veins of a lioness

4:12and it has laid waste my vines and ruined my big trees, it has stripped off the bark and thrown it away, leaving the branches white, completely gone, no more greenness, completely white, more like a virgin in sackcloth, grieving for the husband of her youth, grain offerings and drink offerings are cut off from the house of the Lord, the priest are mourning those who minister before the Lord, the fields are ruined and the ground is dried up, the grain is destroyed and new wine is dried up, the oil fails, despair, new farmers wail, new vines grow, it's green, that the wheat and the barley because the harvest of the field is destroyed, the vine is dried up and the fig tree is withered, the pomegranate, the pome and the apple tree, all the trees of the field are dried up and surely the joy of mankind is withered away and this sounds terrible, this sounds horrible to have the nature eat up everything

5:14that you build up, that you try to grow and then this is a calling of God to turn back to repent to the Lord our God and imagine having your fridge completely empty, the stores in New York completely shut down, there was five stores in Walgreens in New York shut down, people leaving the city, the city, a great city of New York, supposed to stand up but we see destruction, we see community crisis, we see nature's alarm bell and it's a car to reflect and that's why the main points are these things, the nature's alarm bell, the locuses were coming in, invading and eating up the crops, the food and people were going to be starving and hungry and that is scary, yeah you are hungry and then this is nature's alarm bell, the locus of the invasion, Joel talked about is nature's way

6:17of sending a text message saying hey something's wrong, it's a wake up car for you to wake up to pay attention to your actions, to your relationship with God because if you are walking away from God then you're going to feel that emptiness in your life, you're going to feel like you need something to fill you up and that only the only source is God himself and that's why we must continue to be alert, to be vigilant, to be strong in the Lord and we cannot let the things of the world be distracting us from the one true God, so nature's alarm bell, nature speaks and nature shows the destruction, the flood, the earthquakes, the fire, it's nature speaking to tell you to wake up in the name of Jesus, wake up today, today we must repent and face the one true God and say Lord I need a savior and Jesus you are that savior amen for God is good

7:23and then number two there is a community crisis in this passage this community crisis is not just about bugs eating plants it affects everyone the farmers their livelihood the priest of the temple and no offerings were made to God and it shows how connected we are more connected than ever you each one of you guys are so important and vital to this community and it seems like it can be destroyed overnight it seems like we are so fragile we just focused on ourselves but the main focus should be on God and building his community and that's why I'm going to pray for you guys at the end to receive the Lord I savior and to receive protection and receive healing and to receive wisdom understanding knowledge at the very end so stay to the very end

8:25and then number three the main point is to a car to reflect do I will use this tough time to encourage you to think about your life and how you are living it are you living it against God are you living it for God to praise him are you living it a life of helping people and loving people and loving God it is like a giving you a timeout in a game when you can pause and figure out a new strategy a new way or a God way and God's plan to align with your life you know so not my will but his be done may he increase and I decrease may he be made known in the name of Jesus amen for God is good so some application guys we gotta we're gonna look into application but look into the destruction of the broken world the prophet Joel begins by addressing a catastrophe

9:25catastrophe upon Judah catastrophe upon Israelite that has already taken place and this calamity took place with multiple swarms of locusts eating the harvest in the devastated land and whether the locusts are literal or metaphorical for enemies that have attacked the Israelites their outcome is the same God's people are devastated and in our devastation we must acknowledge and remember how we got there our world is broken sinful hurt in destruction and because of sin we are living in a broken world and we must turn back to him who will give us life who will bring us together who heals who gives us life and restores so we don't have to remain in a place of destruction you really don't have to because there is a hope that you can remind yourself daily in Christ his

10:28restorative work in a relationship with our Heavenly Father and then when you repent of your sin and choose to follow Jesus you know that he can repair and restore your souls he can restore your life your family your community he's able God is able amen because God placed you here for a reason he placed you here so that you can witness the power of God and number two after the destruction of the broken world and recognizing for what it is and having it as a wake-up call we can lament in devastation as Joel continues to address the people with the same message the destruction has fundamentally changed their lives all the Israelites including the priests and the farmers were experiencing devastating effects and they will they mourn their losses and it's okay to be crying it's okay to feel broken because that is the reality of life but then out of that broken this God is able to bring you into the life he's able to bring that brokenness and restore you

11:34so that you are no longer broken in the name of Jesus their problem was so dire that people's joy were withering away as the crops have dried and withered their hope was put into the materialistic things which fades and rust away and the enemy can steal killing and destroy but God said Jesus said that I have come to give you life and life abundant in the name of Jesus however we do not feed greed forever we do not cry forever because we know that God is in control and God has you under his power under his protection under his strong tower and his wings and he holds the power to lift you up as you humble yourself and then of course the wicked will be humbled as well we lament while hoping and trusting that God Jesus who promises to restore not only

12:34people but also all of creation so application we must listen to the nature just like in dwells time if we see something wrong in the environment around us it's a cue that we must pay attention and maybe change now how we live are we being kind to the planet are we in a relationship with God are we allowing God to transform our life and so that we can say yes Jesus I will follow you and I will do your will and I will protect and cultivate what you have called me to protect so listen listen and see look around you be aware be vigilant be alert this is what God wants us to do and number two application we're all in this together guys all of our actions affect others our actions affect others you may think that huh well I ain't doing nothing well you're in actions also affect others because if you were to do serve them if I

13:43was not to get on live that we would not have all of you guys on here and we would not be here as community but because I was faithful in showing up then we can spend some time with God most high who loved us and cared for us and give hope to the last and broken and to learn about Joel which a lot of people don't know about Joel but even I kind of forgot about Joel but by the grace of God this is my devotion that I have to look into I have to study and then now I can share with you guys out 12 so we're all in this together so be mindful how you treat each other friends family community even strangers so these family welcome and God bless you in your ministry and may he continue working and speaking to you and through you to other people as you continue being strong in the Lord for he is good and Shalom to you peace be with you because I've seen

14:46your lives I've seen your videos amazing amazing job so praise the Lord these family for God is good so number one we listen to nature listen to the brokenness of the world and say hey people are broken people need the Lord today and so then we must continue preaching and sharing the love of God for he is good and then number three the application is to reflect it's a time to reflect just like the people of Joel's time they have to think of their actions they have to take a moment to reflect on their choices so we too have to reflect on our daily choices how can you prioritize God how can you put him first how can you live your life optimally to serve the Lord I God how can you take back the souls that the devil is trying to take away and win more souls how can you plant the seeds of the gospel so someone might stumble upon it and be like wow I want to be in the

15:46presence of God because it is so good and it is something that I'm missing out on everyone needs the Lord that is hands down everyone needs the Lord hands down and that's why we're here to preach it word and say he is the Lord our Savior and the only way the truth the life right leafy amen amen are we living in a way that is good for us for others are we living in a way that glorifying God are we living in a way that will point others to him who is the ultimate light who is the light and giver of life and he is the way the truth and the life so that's why we come before our Lord I God and say yes Lord take my life yes Lord you are my Savior if you have any prayer requests let me know and I can answer also questions some application what is devastating to you in this world how does Christian or Christ restorative work

16:50on the cross change the way you view the situation I think it's crazy how the borders are being just unprotected but God still loves those people God still loves the people who are broken and hurt but still the world is changing and it's out of our control and we are not to focus on first the world we focus on God first and know that he is in control and he is our Lord our God amen so what Christ did on the cross what he did he already saved my soul I have nothing to worry about I can just say hey he is in control I will trust him to take care of me and I know one day I'll be in a better place so praise the Lord for he is good and his love in truth forever and then how do you lament before the Lord how do you cry out to the Lord how do you mourn

17:52well you know when I was so broken glass and hurt I I cried in the back of the room I was all alone but I still just lifted my hand to God in surrender and said hey Lord you are in control I'm broken I'm rock bottom I'm hungry for you so Lord I pray that you would let your will be done and I will commit my life to you a hundred percent all my life my energy my time my wealth everything give it all back to God and give him our glory so dwell my seem like it's a long long time ago a problem with locuses but it's not just about the locuses it's about really listening caring and making a change for the better you can be a hero in your story but let God be the ultimate hero let God be the ultimate one that changes and lift you up changes your life

18:52drives you closer to a relationship that is so good that we cannot resist so we praise the Lord for who he is and we know he ultimately he is in control amen so every smart choice every good smart choices you make can lead to a big positive change in your life amen so do you have any father thank you for your love for your grace your mercy thank you for restoring us into a relationship with you that's the number one thing our soul is saved now we're living in the natural realm Lord I pray you guide us teachers let us win more souls let's take more more souls back for your glory for your kingdom Lord when I see brokenness in this world my heart mourns just like your heart mourns you break my heart for what breaks yours yes Lord I know there's

19:54is do that you can fix all things there's nothing impossible for you so Lord we thank you in Jesus name amen and a second prayer for those who want to stop Jesus as your Lord and Savior you have to understand that he created you to have an intimate relationship with you so that you may have a relationship with him but because of sin it broke us apart from him and no matter what we did we cannot buy our way to heaven we cannot buy our way to him relationship with the heavenly Father because his presence is heaven and so the only way to get to him is through his action which was standing in his son Jesus to die on the cross for our sin redeeming us back in silence and making a way for us to come back to him but not only did he die for us but he rose again in victory after three days lifting this lifting us up with him so that you may have a relationship with him he came from heaven to earth so that we can go from earth to heaven the great exchange he died

21:00and sacrificed his life for you and there's no greater love than this but one to lay his life down for another and so we praise God for who he is because he died for us if you want to step Jesus as your Lord and Savior pray this with me dear Lord thank you for your love I need a Savior because I am a sinner and I am not perfect and I cannot live my life without you you Jesus you are that Savior so I commit my life to you and say all of me is all of you all yours I will read the word of God I will pray to you I will continue growing in you and building your kingdom in Jesus what holy name amen and amen for God is good God is good I'm seeing Zoe I love your videos it makes me laugh so much better praise the Lord and Isabella welcome back good to see you

22:04and then shallow yes the world is changing but ultimately Jesus will win amen amen praise the Lord for he is good queen card girls says amen amen amen praise God well I think that is what I want to share today and we will just continue walking in in his ways says I love you videos it makes my life so much better you know praise God work I work hard on those videos 30 to an hour long time but if it can bless someone save one more soul plant the seeds of the gospel a praise God praise the Lord and thank you for your testimony

23:08because that is encouraging because I'm really working hard for every young why are people leaving this video well because I made my point earlier I think and now we're just chatting now we're just discussing now we're just talking and then I'll restart it and then people more people will come and then I'll talk maybe about how to dominate in a wicked nation lesson number four which was really long but Abraham was the only righteous man during that time and then God blessed him by being his shield by making him a great nation by giving him land and wealth and we're going to see the promises of God to Abraham yeah and because you are and will receive the inheritance of God surely the promises of Abraham God from God to Abraham

24:15must be for us too because you are the spiritual lineage of Abraham when you give your life to God now heaven will be so much better than anything you can receive here on earth heaven more than silver more than gold more than protection more than anything else heaven is way better and God protects us and makes a way when there's no way God is the one that lifts us up when we cannot lift ourselves up he's the one that lifts up the humble and he knows exactly what you need in your life so we praise God for his love his grace is sufficient for me his grace is sufficient for you and he is all that we need in our life amen amen for he is good and we love the Lord with all our heart with all our soul with all that we are we give thanks to the Lord amen praise God

25:22praise the Lord and now I might try something different but on YouTube thank you guys Lopez thank you for following we're going to try new things we're going to try to continue advancing the kingdom of God amen thank you thank you he is good now I need to take a break but I still be back I know so many of you guys are here I'm just supposed to be in school this Friday too but who knows I'm glad to be able to be a light in your life it's alright we love you in Jesus name we come before you because you are the loving heavenly Father I pray for everyone under the sun and my voice that you

26:22equip them with your wisdom understanding knowledge you bring healing upon their life you draw them close to you that they will chase after you and only you and you the first and foremost Lord God we thank you therefore adding to us thank you for your provisions thank you for your protection thank you for this livestream thank you for your word we thank you for being our king we thank you for being mighty God and Savior we thank you for everything so much so much things thank you for everyone here Lord and everyone who came by Lord I pray that you continue building this community and your kingdom come as it is in heaven on earth we love you and we trust you with all of our hearts because you nevertheless stand in Jesus with holy name amen amen God is good all the time all the time God is good and I will see you next time