“And it shall come to pass afterward,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
Even on the male and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
“I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.” [1]
Even people who are only casually acquainted with the Word of God will recognise this passage of Scripture as the text Peter employed for the first sermon delivered after the Spirit of God was poured out on the members of the first Christian congregation, the New Beginnings Baptist Church of Jerusalem. Perceptive readers will have noted that Peter did cease quoting Joel in the middle of the THIRTY-SECOND VERSE: “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved” [JOEL 2:32a]. There was no need for Peter to go any further than this in giving his citation. The Big Fisherman was, after all, opening the message of salvation to include Gentiles. The doors of the Faith were forever opened wide to Gentiles on that day.
The Faith of the Living God had not progressed beyond a tightly restricted enclave of those with the appropriate Jewish heritage. The first Christians were Jewish, and unsurprisingly they reflected their Jewish heritage. Despite Jesus’ instructions, these first saints struggled with accepting anyone other than a Jew becoming a worshipper of the Christ. After the sacrifice of the Son of God and His conquest of death when He rose from the dead, access to the Father has been opened for all who are willing to come.
Before His sacrifice was presented, Jesus generously offered, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” [MATTHEW 11:28-30]. When Jesus used the word “all,” it seemed as if His disciples took that to mean “all Jews.” However, “all” must include “all mankind,” or there must be an unqualified restriction on language.
The “all” that Jesus used as recorded in MATTHEW 11:28 echoes Joel’s use of “everyone” in our text. The Word of God makes it clear that though God chose Israel to be His chosen people, He invited all people to know Him and to worship Him. Jews were chosen to make God known to all the nations, a task they failed to fulfil!
More important than anything else I might say in this message, know that God has made provision for you to be forgiven of all sin. Indeed, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” [JOHN 3:16]. And this includes you. You must know that God will receive you, forgiving all your sin against Him, giving you a place among the redeemed saints of God, when you openly, voluntarily receive Jesus as Master over your life.
FRAMEWORK —
“And it shall come to pass afterward,
[JOEL 2:28a]
What was happening that the LORD was compelled to speak to Israel through the Prophet? What had preceded this message that we see recorded as our text? Let’s go back to the opening of the prophecy Joel delivered to discover what was going on as the LORD spoke. God warned of an invasion unlike anything Israel had ever witnessed. The LORD spoke of an invasion of locusts that would utterly devastate the land.
Joel responded on behalf of the nation at this revelation of pending judgement,
“Alas for the day!
For the day of the LORD is near,
and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.
Is not the food cut off
before our eyes,
joy and gladness
from the house of our God?
The seed shrivels under the clods;
the storehouses are desolate;
the granaries are torn down
because the grain has dried up.
How the beasts groan!
The herds of cattle are perplexed
because there is no pasture for them;
even the flocks of sheep suffer.
To you, O LORD, I call.
For fire has devoured
the pastures of the wilderness,
and flame has burned
all the trees of the field.
Even the beasts of the field pant for you
because the water brooks are dried up,
and fire has devoured
the pastures of the wilderness.”
[JOEL 1:15-20]
He called on the priests to repent and seek the LORD. He urged the priests to consecrate a fast, gathering the elders and inhabitants of the land to join in solemn petition to God to show mercy. It didn’t require a theological degree to see that God’s blessing was not being shed on the land. Rain had not fallen to water the ground; the cattle were famished and the seed shriveled in the clods that lay unbroken on the surface of the land. Fire scorched the timber and the pastures, threatening man and beast. My, oh my, the situation described could have been ripped from the conditions that now prevail in our own nation.
Then, Joel opens what we have received as the second chapter of the Book, pointing to pending judgement. The people had ignored their relationship with God, treating the LORD as a drag on their self-fulfilment, and now God’s army—an army of locusts—would descend upon the land. There had been devastation before, but now the devastation would be unlike anything ever witnessed. The language is metaphorical, but the reality would be far worse than the people could imagine. Therefore, the Lord warned,
“Blow a trumpet in Zion;
sound an alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for the day of the LORD is coming; it is near,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains
a great and powerful people;
their like has never been before,
nor will be again after them
through the years of all generations.”
[JOEL 2:1-2]
The LORD Himself begins to speak, His tone softened as He pleads with the people to turn from their wilful way to seek how they may again walk with the LORD.
“‘Yet even now,’ declares the LORD,
‘return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
and rend your hearts and not your garments.’
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.
Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
for the LORD your God?”
[JOEL 2:12-14]
The people of God had been judged, but they rationalised the judgements as natural phenomena, mere happenstance. Inwardly, they understood that the reversals they were experiencing—lack of rain, loss of harvests, fire destroying forests and pastures, economic devastation—were the inevitable result of their failure to acknowledge the LORD. And yet, they told themselves that it was climate change, natural cycles—everything could be explained away.
Had not the LORD warned the people through the words of Moses? “If you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
“The LORD will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me. The LORD will make the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. The LORD will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. The LORD will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed” [DEUTERONOMY 28:15-24].
But it was so passe to bother with God. The words of Moses were written long ago; they weren’t relevant to the modern world. The people genuinely believed they had made themselves secure and self-sufficient. They had advanced science and technology to make their lives comfortable. And the world had become a virtual paradise through their brilliance. What did the LORD have to do with anything. They went to the Temple on the holy days, the priests were paid to voice their platitudes and to remind the people of their history—a history that was increasingly forgotten as the new religion of self-exaltation grew more and more prominent.
But there were still those prophets, those roughhewn men who claimed to speak on behalf of the LORD. They made people uncomfortable with their constant claims of national sin that was bringing divine judgement upon the land. Why couldn’t they just get on board with the priests and say something positive? Why couldn’t they affirm the people, making them feel good about themselves? Why did they always have to talk about sin, making people feel guilty? Those living in Israel were good people, after all! Why did the prophets have to be so negative? The people ignored them and dismissed their harsh, condemning statements. However, they seemed to persist in their dreadful condemnation of the people, pointing out the sin that was accepted and acceptable. They seemed undeterred by the fact that most people ignored them.
However, from time-to-time the prophets would speak words of comfort, claiming that the LORD was graciously anticipating a future for the nation. They would, seeming to indicate that God had carved out a place for Israel, declare that He was unwilling to let the people simply disappear into the dustbin of history. And it was in just such a gentle moment when the LORD spoke through Joel, saying,
“Then the LORD became jealous for his land
and had pity on his people.
The LORD answered and said to his people,
‘Behold, I am sending to you
grain, wine, and oil,
and you will be satisfied;
and I will no more make you
a reproach among the nations.
‘I will remove the northerner far from you,
and drive him into a parched and desolate land,
his vanguard into the eastern sea,
and his rear guard into the western sea;
the stench and foul smell of him will rise,
for he has done great things.
‘Fear not, O land;
be glad and rejoice,
for the LORD has done great things!
Fear not, you beasts of the field,
for the pastures of the wilderness are green;
the tree bears its fruit;
the fig tree and vine give their full yield.
‘Be glad, O children of Zion,
and rejoice in the LORD your God,
for he has given the early rain for your vindication;
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the latter rain, as before.
‘The threshing floors shall be full of grain;
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
I will restore to you the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent among you.
‘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 again be put to shame.
You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.’”
[JOEL 2:18-27]
If this was God’s intent, then the obvious question in the midst of the trials and tensions the nation was then facing was, “When would these blessings be delivered?” And that brings us to the text, the famous text that was employed by Peter on the day when God sent His Spirit to fill all who looked to the Risen Son of God as Saviour!
FULFILMENT —
“And it shall come to pass afterward,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
Even on the male and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit."
[JOEL 2:28-29]
When God spoke through Joel, the prophecy was yet in the future. What couldn’t be known was how far into the future fulfilment of the promise would lie. Let’s go back in our mind to that wonderful Day of Pentecost. Let’s read once more what took place on that day after the Risen Lord had ascended into the glory.
Doctor Luke records the events that occurred on that day. “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” [ACTS 2:1-4].
The phenomena were mesmerising for the throngs crowding the streets of Jerusalem, drawing vast crowds to rush to witness what was happening. The people pressing in were astonished at what they saw and heard. A small group of men and women were speaking, each with darting flames of fire seeming to dance over them. What was especially bewildering was that those in the crowd heard what was being said, each one in his natal tongue. This was not some strange hubbub, some confusing babble, but each person witnessing what was taking place heard affirmations of the mighty works of God, and they heard what was being said in their native tongue.
It was at this point that Peter, who had been standing with the eleven, spoke loudly, addressing the assembled crowd, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel” [ACTS 2:14-16].
It was at this point in the message Peter would declare that he reached back hundreds of years to the words God had spoken through Joel. Peter recited those words that were delivered by the Prophet, as he explained what the people were then witnessing. The people had never witnessed the Spirit of God working in this way, nor had anyone before them witnessed God’s Spirit openly working in this fashion. Thus, an explanation was warranted, and Peter provided that explanation, citing Joel’s prophetic word.
“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved.’"
[ACTS 2:17-21]
Peter was, as you know, quoting the words of our text. The full prophecy was not fulfilled on this day, but the prophecy was beginning to be fulfilled. You may have heard the justly famous quote delivered by Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain, when British troops had at last driven Rommel’s troops into full retreat in East Africa. The retreat marked the first significant victory for the Allied forces. Together with the landing of American forces in the West under Operation Torch, Churchill was moved to say, “This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
That sentiment might be applicable to the fulfilment of Joel’s prophetic word as appropriated by Peter, who would go ahead to declare to those listening on that notable day, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it” [ACTS 2:22-24].
Joel’s prophecy was not exhaustively fulfilled at that time, but what happened on that day was a partial fulfilment of God’s promise delivered through His servant. The messianic day had begun and the “last days” had commenced with the coming of Messiah. With the words, “This is what was uttered through the prophet Joel” [ACTS 2:16] Peter was stressing an incipient fulfilment of the prophecy. He was not ignoring a yet future and exhaustive fulfilment that would be revealed with the return of the Christ.
We sometimes forget that we are living in “the last days.” We somehow imagine that “the last days” still lie somewhere in the distant future. But have you ever noted the use of that phrase by those who penned Scripture? For instance, James excoriates the wealthy who depend upon their wealth rather than looking to the Lord when he writes, “Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days” [JAMES 5:3].
Ouch! He writes as if “the last days” are now upon us! If James were the only one writing in this vein, it would be reason enough to understand the times in which we are now living; but we also witness Peter writing as though we are now in “the last days.” The Apostle to the Jews writes, “This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation’” [2 PETER 3:1-4].
And how else are we to understand the times when we read in the Letter to Hebrew Christians, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs” [HEBREWS 1:1-4].
I’ve worked my way through these verses to emphasise how Peter was on solid ground when he cited Joel to inform all mankind, and especially those who heard him speaking on that Day of Pentecost, that the fulfilment of Joel’s prophecy had begun. God was working to fulfil the promise He had made. These last days will not immediately see Messiah’s Second Advent, but they point to the ultimate fulfilment as given by Joel.
Paul will disabuse those who foolishly imagine that the Millennial reign of Christ has already begun, warning that troublesome times lie ahead in these last days. He warns, “Understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth” [2 TIMOTHY 3:1-7].
Pentecost gives evidence that the Lord is working to fulfil His promise. And the presence of God’s Spirit, working among His churches, is evidence that time is moving inexorably toward a glorious conclusion. And the Spirit of Christ at work in you who believe, gives evidence that the promise of God will be fulfilled in His time and according to His promise.
I want you to remember how Jesus promised His disciples, and we are His disciples if we have believed, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. I f it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” [JOHN 14:1-3]. We who are redeemed have a home in Heaven waiting for us. And one great evidence that this is the case is the Spirit of Christ living in us. He is always encouraging us and lifting our hearts toward Heaven where God awaits us.
This is the promise we received when the Saviour promised, “I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged” [JOHN 16:7-11].
We who have believed the Lord are given a rich and glorious promise, “This we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words” [1 THESSALONIANS 4:15-18]. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Amen.
FUTURE — Joel continued delivering the great prophecy the LORD had given as he wrote, “I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls” [JOEL 2:30-32].
From the earlier consideration of Joel’s prophecy, those reading his words would have understood that what God had to say centered on Jerusalem. The people of Israel were being confronted for their sin and comforted as God looked forward to a day when the land would be restored. The locust invasion they would shortly experience was a harbinger of a far more tragic, a far more devastating invasion. But that day would also see God’s deliverance of the people.
Through His prophet, the Lord was warning that the nations would gather against Israel. Their intent would be to destroy the nation. God speaks of this when Joel writes,
“Proclaim this among the nations:
Consecrate for war;
stir up the mighty men.
Let all the men of war draw near;
let them come up.
Beat your plowshares into swords,
and your pruning hooks into spears;
let the weak say, ‘I am a warrior.’”
[JOEL 3:9-10]
We acknowledge that this is “the church age,” saying these are the days when the Faith will be proclaimed throughout the earth. Here in the western world, we have grown complacent; we are at ease, feeling no urgency to push into darkened regions, spiritually destitute areas of the world. We don’t understand the hostility that is boiling up here in North America as educational institutions rage against the Jewish peoples.
It seems to me that we are witnessing the implementation of these dark words in this last chapter of Joel’s prophecy. Our own government officials are increasingly hostile toward Israel. European nations not only tolerate incredible antisemitism, but they promote that same despicable, vile evil, all the while demanding that Israel disarm and tolerate the most unimaginable attacks from hostile neighbours. While the current administration in the United States is openly pro-Israel, there is a significant minority that agitates to jettison any pretense of support for the nation. Israel finds itself in a precarious position with few friends in the world.
Thus, the voice of the LORD calls out defining what will shortly take place.
“Hasten and come,
all you surrounding nations,
and gather yourselves there.
Bring down your warriors, O LORD.
Let the nations stir themselves up
and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
for there I will sit to judge
all the surrounding nations.”
[JOEL 3:11-12]
The LORD tells the perceptive reader that the nations will gather against Israel, intent on eradicating the knowledge of Israel from the face of the earth. It is the statement anticipating the words of the Master, Who warned, “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” [LUKE 21:20-28].
This is the time God spoke of through His prophet, saying,
“Multitudes, multitudes,
in the valley of decision!
For the day of the LORD is near
in the valley of decision.
The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.”
[JOEL 3:14-15]
This is the future as foretold by multiple prophets, including Joel, and ratified by Jesus Himself. If the prophecy concluded there, it would be a dreary day ahead for God’s Chosen People. But God wasn’t finished speaking through His prophet. Joel continued,
“The LORD roars from Zion,
and utters his voice from Jerusalem,
and the heavens and the earth quake.
But the LORD is a refuge to his people,
a stronghold to the people of Israel.
‘So you shall know that I am the LORD your God,
who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain.
And Jerusalem shall be holy,
and strangers shall never again pass through it.’”
[JOEL 3:16-17]
Joel concludes with this comforting word.
“‘Judah shall be inhabited forever,
and Jerusalem to all generations.
I will avenge their blood,
blood I have not avenged,
for the LORD dwells in Zion.’”
[JOEL 3:20-21]
Why does this matter to us as followers of the Risen Son of God? I’m not Jewish, but I am adopted into the Family of God. There was a day when I was excluded from the covenants. The Apostle to the Gentiles speaks of that time when I, a Gentile by birth, was accepted into that eternal Family. At that time, I became a child of the covenant, just as you did when you were born from above and into the Family of God. Paul writes, “Remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called ‘the uncircumcision’ by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” [EPHESIANS 2:11-22].
Later, in this same missive we witness Paul again referring to this transition, writing, “I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” [EPHESIANS 3:1-6].
The promise of this adoption was the fulfilment, the first evidence of this new age, seen when the Spirit was poured out on those first disciples. The disciples would be pushed out of their comfort zone, carrying the message of life to Samaritans and to Gentiles, until the entire Empire would be compelled to confess that a Saviour had given His life for fallen mankind, giving proof that He alone could deliver the dead into life by rising from the dead.
The Lord poured out His Spirit on those first disciples, and they were energised to fulfil the task God assigned. Those first disciples were obedient to the charge they had received from the Master. They did not perform their duties perfectly; the Lord had to stir the nest to drive them out of their comfort zone. But they did fill Jerusalem with the message that Jesus is the Christ Who gave His life as a sacrifice. He was buried and He conquered death, rising from the dead on the third day. Those disciples, when driven from Jerusalem carried the message throughout Judea and into Samaria with the evidence that the Lord was with them as precious souls came to faith in the Christ. Driven even from Samaria, they travelled into Gentile regions with the message of life, witnessing many souls turning to faith in the Risen Lord of Glory, until at last those who opposed them and their message were compelled to confess, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also” [ACTS 17:6b].
After those first disciples had passed from the scene, others picked up the mantle and carried the message of life farther and farther until the entire world had been confronted with the message of life. The message moved from Rome into the Alpine valleys of Vaudois, into the realm of the Celts, Germania, and Britannia. And when the opposition grew intense against these followers of the Saviour, like a great conflagration emitting hot embers the fire spread throughout the European continent. And when the flames began to die down in the Netherlands and in the forests of northern Europe, the flames leapt across the English Channel to ignite a fire in England. And when ecclesiasticism and the state church began to smother the Faith in Britain, the preaching of John Wesley and Whitfield carried the flame to the New World. And when revival fires began to die down in the coastal communities of New England, Methodist circuit riders and Baptists farmers preaching each Sunday to their neighbours penetrated the wilderness. And when revival fires began to die down on the prairies, new flames were ignited in the Asian continent as Korean churches exploded on the scene. And today, new flames are burning throughout South America and in some of the benighted nations of Africa. I’m moved to ask, “Why not us? And why not now? And why not here?” The same God Who empowered His followers throughout the centuries is still working ion the lives of those who have embraced His Son to this day. The Saviour is still seated on the throne to hear the prayers of His people when they cry to Him.
The promise of God stands true when He calls to His people:
“Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
or his ear dull, that it cannot hear”
[ISAIAH 59:1]
If there is a rebuke to us, it must be that which James delivered so long ago when he said, “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” [JAMES 4:2-3].
My prayer is that the Lord would work in our midst, stirring each heart until the embers that have died down and are now quietly smoldering will be blown to rest against the tinder dotted throughout the recesses of our lives. My prayer is that the Spirit of Christ will gently blow on the smoldering kindling to ignite a flame that cannot be extinguished. My prayer is that each Christian will be stirred to seek the Lord, will be moved with compassion for lost friends and lost family members until we can be silent no longer. My prayer is that the Lord Himself will be moved with pity to shake us from our lethargy, compelling us to again live boldly, shining brightly in the darkness and speaking powerfully of the salvation offered in Christ. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
