Yesterday was Pentecost and Pastor Mary shared Luke’s account from Acts 2 of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit which was the fulfillment of Jesus’s promise to empower and equip His disciples for ministry. Pastor Mary reminded us about Peter’s sermon, which was the first Christian sermon ever preached on that Pentecost day. In verses 17-21 of Acts 2, we see a direct connection with our passage today from the Old Testament prophet Joel. As Pastor Mary mentioned, Peter quoted what Joel had said as he knew it from the Torah. Keep in mind there was approximately 790 years between Joel 2 and Acts 2, as Joel wrote his book around 820 BC and the events that Luke wrote about in Acts 2 most likely took place around 60 AD. Nevertheless, Peter preached about what the servants of the Lord had just experienced, and it was exactly what Joel had prophesied. Peter’s sermon serves as a reminder to us that the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives should directly connect with the work of the Word in our lives, and as Pastor Mary said yesterday, it’s a oneness that we have with Jesus.
Friends, the same Holy Spirit that the believers in Acts received, is the same Holy Spirit that you and I received when we welcomed Jesus into our hearts, through salvation, so He could change our lives for all eternity. By this commitment, the Holy Spirit desperately wants to guide our daily lives to grow in our relationship with Jesus, and to become more powerful within us so that He can use us to grow God’s Kingdom. It is by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit that you and I are guided in the ways of God, rather than by the ways of this world, and the choice of this oneness is up to each one of us.
As you read today’s passage, keep in mind that many theologians believe that Peter’s use of this prophecy, in Acts 2, was to point to a portion of fulfillment, but also as a sign that the last days have begun and that we need to be prepared for Jesus’s return. Frist, we must rejoice that the Holy Spirit of the living God resides in us. Next, we must allow the Holy Spirit room to move in and through us as we are one with Him and one with His Word (so be in His Word every single day). Finally, we must repent, turn from our sins, and live by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. God is restoring you and me all of the time, and we want to be ready for the Day of the Lord.
Joel 2:28-32 (NLT)
The Lord’s Promise of His Spirit
28 “Then, after doing all those things,
I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your old men will dream dreams,
and your young men will see visions.
29 In those days I will pour out my Spirit
even on servants—men and women alike.
30 And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth—
blood and fire and columns of smoke.
31 The sun will become dark,
and the moon will turn blood red
before that great and terrible[f] day of the Lord arrives.
32 But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved,
for some on Mount Zion in Jerusalem will escape,
just as the Lord has said.
These will be among the survivors
whom the Lord has called.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for connecting Your Word for us. Holy Spirit, we need Your guidance all of the time. Help us to be quick to repent, to be in Your Word each and every day, and to share Jesus’s message of eternal love through salvation with others. We want our hearts to be prepared for Your return. We ask all of this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.