Pentecost Today
Joel 2:28-29
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.
Acts 2:14-16
14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
The first part of this chapter deals with God calling the Jews back to him who had fallen into idolatry.
He warns them that the Day of the Lord is at hand…it is approaching swiftly. He gives them insight of the terrible judgment that will fall.
Judgment though is always preceded by warning and mercy.
Joel 2:12 Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
If you have not fully surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, you will experience the terrible wrath of God in final Judgment.
That’s why the Bible says… Today is the day of salvation.
(Illust) We had a man in our church who backslid and ended up leaving the church. He had been one of our Sunday School Bus drivers at one time. We attempted to help him get back to God, but he wanted nothing to do with church. He went back to drinking. When he got real bad, we went to see him and he said, I know, I know, I need to get back in church. I’ll be there this coming Sunday. But he never came. We went again one more time to see him and again another promise to come to church, but he never showed up. The following week, we was found dead in his house. He had literally drank himself into an alcoholic coma. They kept him on life support for about 3 days but the family finally decided to let him go. He was completely brain dead. I was the last one in the room, and as I stood by his bed with tears in my eyes, I called him by his name and said, You drank yourself right into hell.
Listen, you may not have tomorrow to get right with God. If you’re not saved, you need to call upon the mercies of the Lord now!!!
So the first part of Joel ch. 2 deals with God’s judgment and his plea for Israel to return to Him.
The LAST part of Joel 2 gives us insight into the FINAL Judgment of God… we know as The Great Tribulation.
There are some religions that are teaching and preaching that Christ will set up His Kingdom here on this earth. NOT SO.
(don’t have time to read all the scripture to support what I’m fixing to say…)
But in summary… This world that we know of will be finally consumed with fire.
2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
What’s gonna happen then?
Re 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
So back to Joel ch. 2… the beginning speaks of God’s Judgment to the Jews…the latter speaks of God’s judgment to all the inhabitants of the earth…
But sandwiched between these two terrible things is… PENTECOST
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.
Notice some KEY words in these verses:
I will pour Who is pouring? God
What does pouring mean? Is it the same as sprinkling?
Pouring is a continuous flow until the Cup is full.
Out my spirit Who’s Spirit? God’s spirit.
The Holy Ghost. The 3rd person of the trinity.
Upon ALL Flesh who does ALL mean? It is inclusive. It means everyone.
Now does it mean the sinner? No.. You have to keep scripture in context. And no scripture contradicts itself.
That’s why Acts 2:38 says…
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
You don’t receive the Holy Ghost until you first repent. You’ve got to be saved first.
So all flesh means all those who are saved are candidates to receive the Baptism of the Holy Ghost.
Might add: it’s not voluntary… not up to you whether you want the Holy Ghost or not… it is commanded in Scripture.
Eph. 5:18 ….be filled with the Spirit.
and your sons and your daughters:
This outpouring is not only for the male species, but female as well.
the servants and upon the handmaids:
showing it was for all classes of people.
Now the reason I’m preaching Pentecost today is because many churches, even some of our Pentecostal churches have done away with the importance of being filled with the Baptism of the Holy Ghost!
Even back in the day when the Holy Ghost was first poured out, people didn’t understand it, so they labeled it as something bad, or something not important…
They said… these men are drunk.
About 1900 years later… when Pentecost was being poured out in great Revivals at the turn of the century, like the Azusa St. revival… even the religious sect labeled it as false and many ignored it.
Well 100 years later, in 2008 it’s still being ignored by people even in our Pentecostal churches.
It’s been watered down…. Hardly preached about, not sought after, and deemed relatively unimportant in our walk with God.
How do I know that? Our Christian book stores are full of self-help books.
How to better yourself.
How to receive God’s blessings
How to write your own ticket with God
How to become prosperous
How to have wealth and health
But very few books are to be found on How to receive the Baptism of the Holy Ghost.
WHY? because the devil has succeeded in blinding the Christian to their need for this great resource.
He has deceived many into thinking they’re ok without this power and therefore
HAS KEPT THE CHURCH POWERLESS!
We are little threat to the devil if we do not have this POWER.
Even Jesus saw His need to be filled with the Spirit.
After John baptized Jesus in the Jordan,
The scripture says: John 1:32-33
32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
Jesus told his disciples before he left this world…
Lu 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
Ac 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
And they did just that…tarried until the Holy Ghost was poured out…
Acts. 2:1-4
1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
If God thought it important enough to put it in his Holy Bible through the prophet Joel about His pouring out of His spirit…
If Jesus thought it important enough to be baptized himself with the Holy Spirit…
If the disciples thought it important enough to tarry in Jerusalem until they received the baptism of the Holy Ghost…
WHY don’t you feel it important enough to shed off the excuses as to why you don’t have this power and seek after this baptism until you are filled?????
I’m preaching on Pentecost today
Illust: When my wife and I had been married about two years, we came across a great deal on a car.
1978 Cadillac Coup de Ville.
(it was 12 years old and had 112 k miles)
(bought it for $1200.00)
-But there was a ping in the engine.
-it needed a High Octane Booster
-now it cost a little more to add it…. BUT
-took out the ping, better performance,
better gas mileage, & increased power.
This Pentecostal Power I’m preaching about today to you is just like that.
YOU can survive without it, but why would you not want the Holy Ghost….
When it can….
1.take the ping (the whining) out of you (for many whine saying… I can’t make it… I can’t live for God… I can’t defeat temptation)
2.give you better performance (it’ll help you live a better Christian life)
3.give you better gas mileage (you’ll do more for God with this power)
4.give you increased power. Not only will you do more for God, but you’ll be more effective for God and his kingdom. You’ll be an effective witness.
Why wouldn’t you want the baptism of the Holy Ghost???
Yes it does cost a little more! It will cost you some tarrying, some praying, some preparation, some living a holy life…
But it’s worth it!
Just ask some of our folks here today.
Conclusion: Are you struggling? Are you powerless? Are you hungry, thirsty for something more from God? Are you saved? You are a candidate for the Holy Ghost.
