Engagement of Innocent Mabuyakhulu and Jabu Khoza
Pentecost Sunday
Joel 2
28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
30 And I will shew 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 great and terrible day of the Lord come.
32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.
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:
Isaiah 44
3 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.
Ezekiel 39
29 ‘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.
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 fulfilment will be before His coming. The literal fulfilment 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.