GODtalks "I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT
“And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.”
-Joel 2:28-
Both Michele and I have been blessed to see incredible moves of God and outpourings of His Spirit in gatherings we have attended over our lives. Although at times there have been similarities each worship gathering has been unique in the:
Gathering (ministers, congregations, curious unbelievers).
The Scope of the Work of the Holy Spirit among that group (healings, supernatural signs, personal experiences, salvations, baptisms in the Holy Spirit)
The Venues (Churches, convention centers, campgrounds, homes, classrooms, hospital rooms)
The constant is the response of God’s people to the presence of the God.
Welcoming
Humbling themselves
Worshipping
Praying over one another
Obeying the voice of god
“I will pour out my Spirit.”
Let’s break that sentence down for a moment:
I—the sovereignty of God.
Will—the determination of God.
Pour Out—the generosity of God
My Spirit—the personality of God.
When Joel records the promise, he uses the phrase “and afterward” in verse 28 to indicate that the blessing of God’s Spirit comes after God’s judgment on the unbelieving people of Judah. Eight hundred years later Peter quotes Joel 2 at the beginning of his magnificent sermon in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:14-41). When the Holy Spirit came upon the early disciples, they began to speak with other tongues, declaring the Lord’s greatness in languages that they did not know.
What Joel predicted has now come true. On the Day of Pentecost, God began to pour out his Spirit on all people, just as he said he would. You cannot understand Joel 2 and Acts 2 apart from God’s great purpose to empower his people with the Spirit so they will take the gospel to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8 says that very plainly: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
God never pours out his Spirit simply for the purpose of entertaining us or to cause strange emotional manifestations. Those things may happen on occasion, but that is beside the point. God pours out his Spirit so that we will be bold witnesses for Christ starting where we are and going to “the ends of the earth.”
This is a Promise for All People.
I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT UPON YOUR WEAKNESS…
The seat of our weakness. “The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). Because sin resides in our flesh, that’s where we fight our spiritual battles. Here, the Lord promises to send his Spirit at the very point of our personal weakness. Do you struggle with certain sins that cause you to feel unworthy of the Lord? God promises to pour out His Spirit in the very place where you struggle. He is promising that on your flesh with all its weakness I will pour out my Spirit!
EMPOWERED FOR MISSION
God promises to pour out His Spirit to empower the church to take the gospel into the darkest parts of the world around us. We read it last week in Numbers 11, God saw the mission was too great for Moses alone so he told him I am going to take the Spirit I placed upon you and put my spirit upon 70 elders who will be empowered to assist in the mission THE DAY OF PENTECOST was the day God poured out his Spirit upon ALL believers willing to receive it.
Now we have…
ALL THE GOSPEL FOR ALL THE PEOPLE
AND…
ALL THE HOLY SPIRIT EMPOWERMENT FOR ALL THE BELIEVERS!
God wants us to be fully equipped for every battle and every mission engagement!
Equipped with the Gospel message.
Empowered by the Holy Spirit