May. 7, 2021

Joel 2:28-32...Acts 2:1-47

Joel 2:28-32 KJV...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.

Listen to anyone's conversation these days and you will hear much talk about who has power. The political conversation will be which party has the power, in sports which team has the most power; economically this person has amassed this amount of money which translates to the power of wealth.

The world is consumed with the pursuit of power but all of what we pursue in this world's perceived power pales in comparison to Spiritual Power. In the Old Testament, Samson had extraordinary power when the Power of God was upon him. His destruction of his foes was amazing because he had God's Power.

We are in the season of Pentecost; soon Pentecost Sunday will be here. It is the time the Old Testament prophet Joel gave his prophesies about this Power from God that was indeed so powerful...the world would be changed...and indeed it was. Our scripture reference at the top of this message is from Joel and everything he said became real and this old world was never the same.

Pentecost means 50, you can find the biblical reference in Leviticus 23:15-22 and was called "The Feast of Weeks." People from all over the known world would go to Jerusalem for this celebration. it was 50 days after the Passover when Jesus ate His final meal with his disciples. After His resurrection, Jesus walked among the people for 40 days before going to Heaven. The disciples were told to go Jerusalem and wait for the promise. 10 days later the world changed when The Holy Ghost gave them POWER to become the awesome men and women Jesus always knew they would become...Just like Joel said.

When The Holy Ghost descended on those in the upper room who had been praying, a POWER to witness was upon each of the 120. Because of the Feast of Weeks celebration and Jerusalem being packed with people...it was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that enabled ordinary men and women to speak in a language they never knew. The crowd was astonished that they actually heard Christ being preached in their language.

Peter stood and acknowledged Joel's prophesy and began preaching the greatest sermon ever preached. The end result...over 3,000 souls accepted Christ. “Talk about Good Church.”  In fact that is when the Church was birthed, by the uncompromising courage of those disciples to preach Jesus Christ. Most paid the price with their lives, the only one who did not die a horrible death was The Apostle John. That is undying purpose and commitment to The Lord they walked, talked and ate with.

The same POWER that was on display thousands of years ago is still available to anyone who has the courage to ask for it. God did not spare our lives after everything (good and bad) we have experienced. He kept us alive for a specific reason, to share our stories to this dying world. To give those who are struggling with what we have been delivered from hope.

Jesus is the habit breaker, deliverer, healer, marriage fixer, way out of no way and The Holy Ghost is still available to give us The Power needed to witness about our Savior. Pentecost Sunday will be the 3rd Sunday in this month. If you have never experienced this amazing POWER, ask for it. Ask God to Fill you with His precious gift. When He does, step out of your comfort zone and allow yourself to be led by The True Spirit Of The Living God.

Souls are waiting on you, I am praying for you.

Thank You Lord For Your Word.