Joel 2:28-32, “And it shall come to pass afterward that
I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your
old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. 29 And also on My
menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. 30 “And I
will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. 31
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the
great and awesome day of the LORD. 32 And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the
name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be
deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the remnant whom the LORD calls.”
This day of Pentecost reminds me of the day God filled me with His
Holy Spirit. And I experience Him working in the same way till today. May God's people
experience the same fire today which God poured out even 2000 years ago on the apostles.
Jesus promised not to leave the disciples orphans but to send them
the Holy Spirit when He leaves.
In our text it is not the prophet's opinion that God would work
mightily in the last days, but it is God Himself promising that He will pour out His
Spirit; the Spirit Who was on David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Abraham etc. will now be poured out
on God's people.
1) Let us look at the words "poured out." We read in
Isaiah 44, "For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry
ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your
offspring."
In Ezek 39 we read, “'And I will not hide My face from them
anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,' says the Lord
GOD.”
And in Acts 10:45, “the gift of the Holy Spirit had been
poured out on the Gentiles also.” The Holy Spirit being poured out is likened to
water in the Bible. He is the water of Life. If there is no rain, even good seed will not
grow. Everything on earth depends on water and rain. And so too the Holy Spirit breathes
life into us. The letter kills but the Spirit gives life.
You cannot receive the Holy Spirit if God hasn't dealt with sin in
your life. The Cross must do its work in your life. It is a waste of time to pray for the
Holy Spirit while you are still playing with sin. If you still get irritated and annoyed
you will not receive the Holy Spirit, even if you pray and fast fervently.
The Holy Spirit is Holy and not a spirit of wickedness and sexual
immorality.
May the Cross of Christ work in your life so that your life is
consecrated "holy unto the Lord". Then you will ask and receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit.
2) "Your sons and daughters will prophesy." To prophesy
is to publicly expound the Word of the Lord. In German it not only means to publicly
expound the Word of the Lord, but everything such a person says is filled with Godly
wisdom and understanding.
When a person opens his mouth it is evident whether he has
received the Holy Spirit or not.
When people can only speak about football, soccer, rugby or the
opposite sex it is evident that they don't know the Holy Spirit. Others can only repeat
the latest news in the media. They are incapable of speaking about the things of God.
It is noteworthy also in these verses that when the Holy Spirit
works there is no differentiation between young and old, rich and poor. He doesn't
discriminate. He works among all people.
When you have experienced the Holy Spirit, earthly riches and
greatness become rubbish. The rich have many worries and troubles. All their possessions
make it extremely difficult for them to enter the Kingdom of God. Rather thank God that
you who are poor are not distracted with much possessions.
Do not be bound to the things of this world when the Heavenly Life
is available.
3) God does miracles and signs and wonders. Some of the signs in
our text we have seen, but the complete fulfillment will be before His coming. The literal
fulfillment of these things will be awesome.
Remember that the Day of God's wrath is coming, of fire and blood.
Those who mock at God's warnings will be burned on that Day. And those who listen to God's
Word time and again but are like a duck where the water simply runs off and leaves them
dry will be like dry wood in the fire.
But those who allow God's Word to penetrate and transform them
will go forth and proclaim the Gospel. As it is promised, “The Lord gives the word
[of power]; the women who bear and publish [the news] are a great host” (Ps 68:11,
Amplified). And the Bible promises that the Gospel will go forth to the ends of the earth.
