Joel: the prophet of the Spirit’s outpouring

"Even now", declares the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning" Joel 2:12 (NIV)

Joel is God’s prophet of repentance and renewal – the prophet who prophesies the Spirit’s outpouring.

This is exactly why Peter quotes at length from Joel at the very beginning of his Pentecost sermon, Acts 2:14-21.

The three chapters of this Old Testament book expound the eternal spiritual truth that when men and women seek God with sincere repentance, then God promises to restore them and pour His Spirit on them.

The book of Joel falls into two distinct halves. The first half (1:1-2:17) is a vociferous call to wake up, realise the spiritual bankruptcy around us, and immediately take whatever steps are needed to come in sincere repentance to the Lord.

The second half of Joel (2:18-3:21) describes all the different things God promises to do when people sincerely repent and seek him.

"Then the Lord was jealous for his land and took pity on his people" Joel 2:18 (NIV)

"And afterwards I will pour out my Spirit on all people" Joel 2:28 (NIV)

2 Chronicles makes exactly the same point;
"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land" 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)

And so does Ezekiel …
"And I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws" Ezekiel 26:26-27 (NIV)

It was the practice of the early Pentecostals to "tarry" for the outpouring of the Spirit (this comes from the translation of Jesus’ instruction to his apostles in the King James "Authorised" Version: "tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high").

Church elders would join church members in "tarrying" meetings, waiting for the Spirit to come and fill those seeking the Lord.

Today, in May 2025, there is a widespread sense of the Lord working in the church – perhaps the strongest evidence for this is the recently published report from Bible Society – "The Quiet Revival".

You will immediately see that Joel is the Bible book for this time – God’s prophet of repentance and renewal, his prophet of the Spirit’s outpouring.

So far, we’ve studied the command of Jesus and the exhortation of Joel. Tomorrow we will study how the apostles responded to Jesus' command. What they did and how they took God at his word, and how their example should guide us forward!

But let’s pause right now and allow the Spirit of God to search our hearts and identify any areas in our lives where we are now fully welcoming the Lordship of Jesus.

"Even now", declares the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning" Joel 2:12 (NIV)

"If we confess our sins God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" – 1 John 1:9 (NIV)