“But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, I will pour out My Spirit unto all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams. And, on My servants and on My handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit and they shall prophesy—and I will show wonders in Heaven above and signs in the earth beneath. . . And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the Name of the Lord shall be saved’.”
Acts 2:16-19a, 21
It’s not a question of whether He wants to do it or is going to do it; it’s a question of whether or not we’re going to experience it firsthand.
“And I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh.”
Did the Lord really mean this when He led Joel to prophesy those words so long ago? And, were they fulfilled and finished when Peter stood on the Day of Pentecost and proclaimed them who’d witnessed an unmistakable miracle (2:1-13)?
There’s no doubt the Holy Spirit’s coming in power that day was a fulfillment of John the Baptist’s prediction of what God would do through Jesus when He arrived (Jn. 1:29-34). And, there’s no doubt the manifestation of the Spirit’s arrival was a fulfillment of “the Father’s promise” (Acts 1:4-5) and their empowering to fulfill the Great Commission (Acts 1:8).
However, the question is “Is Jesus still baptizing with the Holy Spirit?” or is God still “pouring out His Spirit upon all flesh?”
The answer is found in v.21 of our Manna: “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.”
When a person is born from above, He is immediately INDWELT by the Holy Spirit—for the Holy Spirit is Jesus Himself within us, not some special power or separate person. However, it’s possible to be indwelt, but not EMPOWERED.
The Corinthians Christians were “saved, but enslaved” by their fleshly ways. That’s why there was “envying, strife and divisions among them” (I Cor. 3:3-4). They were still like the believers addressed in Heb. 5:11-14: “Dull of hearing. . .spiritual babies, dependent upon milk, not ‘grown-up’ food. . .weak and anemic. . .unskillful in the Word of righteousness because of unfamiliarity with it. . .and unable to discern both good and evil” (cf. I Cor. 3:1-2).
But, dear Pilgrim, such spiritual immaturity grieves and quenches the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30), preventing Him from doing what He wants to do. Jesus Himself said “He that believes on Me, the works that I do shall He do also—and greater works than these shall He do, because I go to the Father” (Jn. 14:12).
Therefore, it’s clear the Heavenly Father is wanting to “pour out His Spirit upon all flesh in these last days;” however, He cannot do so if the container if already full and will not do so if it’s dirty within. He can/will only use vessels that are “sanctified and fit for His use” (II Tim. 2:21). Thus, the question, then, is “How badly do we want to be baptized/filled with the Holy Spirit? How desperately do we hunger and thirst for Him?” Yield to Him now.
By Tom Smith Morning Manna Date August 29, 2009
