By ROBERT FIGUEROA
The Prophet Joel Speaks Of The Great Outpouring
"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: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered (saved): for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call." - Joel 2:28, 29, 32
The prophecy of Joel was spoken of 800 hundreds years before the first Apostolic Holy Ghost filled preaching in Acts by Peter. Today the Spirit of the Lord is still being poured out and our church needs not to miss out on it!
In the Prophet Joel's time there was a drought in the land. The land was in great devastation. A plague of locust had covered the countryside destroying all vegetation, the cattle and even stripped the bark off tree's. The prophet Joel eventually talked about a renewal or watering of the Land. We know this watering or refreshing as the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. But first there needed to be a repentance and a gathering of the nation in order to receive this refreshing. The Apostle Peter understood this refreshing for the Apostles also waited for this Spirit to be poured upon them in the upper room.
Let's look at some key words in this prophecy.
1. Pour Out
The Spirit being poured out on the people of different countries signifies great abundance, as the physical rains came in sufficient volume to restore the parched land. So this coming of the Spirit will be an out pouring today. Sometime we feel dry and parched not having this anointing in our life. But we can learn from the minor Prophet Joel that things will change if there's a repentance and a closer walk with the Lord. We need this Spirit for it will lift us off this dry land it is our ticket to paradise where there will be no more parched and fallow grounds.
2. All Flesh
Every class of person, to every individual who wants it! all ages men and women. The Spirit of God is for all of His beautiful creation. The key was there needed to be repentance in order to receive this outpouring. The promise is unto all as Peter had said when proclaiming this old prophesy.
3. Prophesy
Dreams and vision were the common use of Prophesy in the Old Testament, but now all were to prophesy by the word of the Lord. All could prophesy, sons and daughters. Not just delegated only to prophets but to all. To bring God's point of view to earthly understanding was the main purpose of prophesying.
When that mighty rushing wind came into the upper room they were all filled with the refreshing of the Spirit; I know the Spirit is still being poured out today! False prophets will say: this has stopped after the account of Acts, tongues has ceased, spiritual Gifts are done away with, miracles are only for the Apostles times, that this power is from the devil. But it's false, they are speaking blasphemy: "For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." It's for everybody. With this outpouring the Apostles did much: they spoke in tongues they preached the word of God, people repented, people were baptized in the Name of Jesus, people received the Gift of the Holy Spirit, they were refreshed with the comforter, the Church started, they healed the lame. Faith now involved action with the Spirit.
The Land was finally refreshed because there was repentance in the land as we continue to read from Joel 2:19-27:
v19-20: "The LORD will answer and say to His people, "Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations. But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things."
v21-23: "Fear not, O land; Be glad and rejoice, For the LORD has done marvelous things! 22 Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field; For the open pastures are springing up, And the tree bears its fruit; The fig tree and the vine yield their strength. 23 Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the LORD your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you -- The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month."
v24-27: "The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. 25 "So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. 26 You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame. 27 Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the LORD your God And there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame."
They will be refreshed, the land, the beast of the land, the trees and plants will be refreshed, the rains will come the former and the latter, threshing floors will be full, You shall never be put to shame again What a wonderful promise; if you want this great outpouring then you need to follow the commandments of Acts 2:38-39:
"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. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call."
Our dry and parched hearts will be restored with the outpouring that only God can provide. Will you reach out and accept this out pouring today?
Robert Figueroa is a member of the East Palo Alto Apostolic Church along with his wife Irma and is the co-executive producer of Inspired Christian.org.
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