Message of the Week

The Little White Community Church

Scripture: Joel 2:21-23 August 27, 2023

Message: “There Shall be Showers of blessing.” by Pastor George Gnade

Intro.: 1. The song: “There Shall Be Showers of Blessing” comes from this passage found in Joel chapter two. 2. Because the people of Judah had turned away from God, He sent an army of locusts which destroyed the land, but when they repented, He restored the land.

3. This favorite hymn that we enjoy singing provides a simple outline worthy of our time today.

A. In verse one, it says: “There shall be showers of blessing – this is the promise of love. There shall be seasons refreshing, sent from the Savior above.”

1. When we read a passage of Scripture, it is valuable to first of all consider the passage itself to see what the passage meant to them.

a. When Joel made this promise, the people were very depressed. The locusts had destroyed everything. They needed some words of comfort and love.

b. Maybe you are going through a tough time and could use a promise of love.

2. They felt like they had lost everything. They needed hope. In vs. 22, God promised them “the trees are bearing fruit, the fig tree and the vine yield their riches.”

a. Notice how God’s promises are often worded in the present tense to show that it’s a promise that will surely happen.

b. God wants us through the eyes of faith to visualize how it will happen and believe God will help us find a way.

3. In vs. 23, it says: “Rejoice in the Lord your God for He has given you a teacher of righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both the autumn and the spring rains, as before.”

a. In verse one of the song, the writer says: “There shall be seasons refreshing, sent from the Savior above.”

b. In our passage, many believe Jesus is “the teacher of righteousness” that God was going to send to them.

c. And the “autumn and spring rains” guaranteed the seasons of the year that would restore the land as it had been before the locusts came.

4. By introducing “the teacher of righteousness” along with the promise of rain, vs. 23 causes us to think, not only of the physical needs created by the locusts, but also of the spiritual needs that they had as well.

a. Isn’t it true that our spiritual need are even more important than our physical needs?

b. That is why the chorus of our song also addresses both. It says: “Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need, mercy drops round us are falling, but for the showers we plead.”

c. Yes, the promise “sent by the Savior above” came to help us with all our needs, but especially with our spiritual needs.

B. In the second verse of the song, it says: “There shall be showers of blessing, precious reviving again, over the hills and the valleys, sound of abundance of rain.”

1. Joel spent most of chapter two pleading with the people to mourn for their sins and fast and pray for a spiritual revival.

a. That is what Jesus was asking us to do in Matt. 5:

3-4 when He said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted. “

b. To be ‘poor in spirit’ is to admit to God how we have sinned and need His help. It means to humble ourselves before the Lord and thank Him for sending a Savior to help us.

2. That is why the chorus of the song differentiates between the “showers we need” and “the showers we plead.”

a. In Joel 2: 12, he writes: “Rend your heart… and return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate… Who knows but He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing?”

b. Pleading with God may not just be for ourselves. In revivals, people often spend time confessing the sins of others as well and asking God to reach them and forgive them. In this present age, this might be the only hope our nation has.

c. In the Bible, Daniel did this while in captivity and was blessed for doing so. He prayed for his nation and God heard His prayer and brought them back to their own land.

C. Verse three of the hymn says: “There shall be showers of blessing- Send them upon us, O Lord! Grant to us now a refreshing, Come and now honor your Word.”

1. As Joel prayed for his people and encouraged them to pray as well, God honored His Word and sent the showers of blessing that they needed so badly.

2. In II Peter 1:3-4, Peter talks about how we all need to grow in our knowledge of God. As we do this, we will also learn more and more about “His great and precious promises.” As Christians, God wants us to learn them and claim them in faith.

3. Often, it will lead to “showers of blessing” that refresh us and encourage us.

D. That brings us to verse four of the hymn. It says: “There shall be showers of blessing- Oh, that today they might fall,

Now as to God we’re confessing, Now as on Jesus we call.”

1. As Joel and the people confessed their sins and prayed, God responded by sending showers of blessing. But the greatest blessing of all was the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s “teacher of righteousness” (Joel 2: 23).

a. He not only called us to repent and confess our sins, He was sent to die on the cross to save us from our sins.

b. Our sins can become like a heavy burden, almost too much to bear. But Jesus can lift that burden and give us peace instead.

2. Jesus’ showers of blessing have the power to wash away our sins. But there is even more to the story.

a. In vs. 23, Jesus, as God’s teacher of righteousness, also brings “the autumn and spring rains.” Sometimes the Bible calls them the “early and latter rains.”

b. Many people like to think of the first coming of Jesus as “the early rains.” After He died and rose again, He sent His Holy Spirit upon His church to live in our hearts and help us live the Christian life.

3. They also like to think of “the latter rains” as a time of great revival just before Jesus comes again. Some believe that is already happening.

a. In Joel 2: 28-32, we are given a wonderful promise about the coming of the Holy Spirit. We will learn more about that in my next sermon.

b. How thankful we can be for all the blessings that God sends our way. But the forgiveness of our sins through the coming of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit are the greatest blessings of all.

E. The last verse of our song says: “There shall be showers of blessing, if we but trust and obey. There shall be seasons refreshing, if we let God have His way.”

1. That is the theme of the Book of Joel. It is all about getting right with God, then trusting and obeying God.

2. Isn’t that what it means to “let God have His way?” Our way only leads to trouble. God’s way leads to an abundant life filled with showers of blessing. Amen! So let it be!