Sermon Central
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Pentecost Today
Contributed by David Johnston on Mar 29, 2008 (message contributor)
Summary: 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.
Pentecost Today
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.
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.
