Today's Preach It Friday comes from Acts 2:14-21. The spoken sermon is available here.
Before getting into our Scripture, let me give you a little background. In Acts 2, the disciples were praying as they waited for the promise of Holy Spirit. Then, on the day of Pentecost, Holy Spirit came, enabling them to speak in other tongues and resting on each of their heads as a tongue of fire. This drew a big crowd, but some began to mock the disciples, saying they were only drunk.
Then Peter got up and began preaching, starting in Acts 2:14.
Peter stood up with the eleven apostles and shouted to the crowd. "Listen carefully, my fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem. You need to clearly understand what’s happening here. These people are not drunk like you think they are, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. This is the fulfillment of what was prophesied through the prophet Joel, for God says:
'This is what I will do in the last days —I will pour out mySpirit on everybody and cause your sons and daughters to prophesy, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will experience dreams from God. The Holy Spirit will come upon all my servants, men and women alike, and they will prophesy. I will reveal startling signs and wonders in the sky above and mighty miracles on the earth below. Blood and fire and pillars of clouds will appear. For the sun will be turned dark and the moon blood-red before that great and awesome appearance of the day of the Lord. But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'" (Acts 2:14-21, TPT)
After these verses, Peter went on to declare Jesus as the Messiah. Those who heard his message were cut deep to the heart and responded in faith. The end result was that 3,000 people got saved that day, and they were baptized and added to the church.
The prophecy that Peter quoted comes from Joel 2:28-32.
Joel opens with a scene of desolation, brought by an army of locusts. Then, in the beginning of chapter 2, the locust army is described as it marches against Jerusalem – God is at the head of the army, leading the way.
Though the locusts come and strip bare all crops and vegetation, God urges His people to turn back to Him. He then begins to tell of all that will come next: the wilderness will become lush and green again; grain, wine, and olive oil will overflow; the people of Israel will be restored; and in verses 28-32, we get the verses Peter quoted:
Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on servants—men and women alike. And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth—blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and terrible day of the Lord arrives. But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, for some on Mount Zion in Jerusalem will escape, just as the Lord has said. These will be among the survivors whom the Lord has called. (Joel 2:28-32, NLT)
The remaining third of the book of Joel speaks of the judgment God will bring to Israel’s enemies, and the fruitful refuge He will be to His children.
Today, I want to focus on one small part of this amazing prophecy that has been and continues to be fulfilled: God said He would pour out His Spirit on all flesh.
The Greek word for 'pour out' in Acts 2 is ekcheo, and it means, "to pour forth; to bestow:—gush out, run greedily (out), shed, spill." This word is often used in the context of someone’s blood being shed.
The Hebrew word for 'pour out' in Joel 2 is similar in meaning. It's the word shaphak, which means, "to spill forth (blood, a libation, liquid metal; or even a solid); also to expend; intensively, to sprawl out:—cast (up), gush out, pour (out), shed."
According to the notes in my Passion Translation, the Aramaic from Acts 2 can be translated, “I will be splashing my Spirit-Wind over all flesh.”
I don’t know how you’ve pictured Pentecost, but I’ve never imagined God splashing His Spirit over everyone present. But what a free, fiery expression of His lavish love!
Have you ever gotten into a splash battle in a pool or ocean? I used to all the time when I was a kid. One person would splash another (intentional or not), and before you knew it, everybody was shooting water at everyone.
People you weren’t aiming for were getting sprayed with wetness. Usually, there was a lot of laughter and carefree giddiness involved.
I don’t think that’s too far off from how God pours out His Spirit. Holy Spirit is infinite, which means there’s a never-ending supply of joy, grace, power, and holiness in Him.
Our Father is generous, and dare I say, even sloppy when He doles out His Spirit on us. He makes no distinction – qualified or not, refined or vulgar, rich or poor, male or female, red or yellow or black or white or brown ... everyone who dares to get close enough will find themselves in the splash zone!
So what’s it like to be splashed with fire?
It’s electrifying.
It’s empowering.
It’s freeing.
It’s restful and yet energizing.
It’s thick.
It’s hot.
It’s intense.
It’s healing.
It’s beautiful, yet often messy.
It’s an experience that can’t really be conveyed; it can only be lived. Being filled and splashed and dumped on by Holy Spirit is a unique encounter that each person must discover for himself (or herself).
The Bible, and our passage, does give us some insight to how this splash party might look:
~ People might think you’re drunk
~ You may speak in tongues
~ You might prophesy
~ You may see visions
~ You may have heavenly dreams
~ You might receive revelation from the Father
~ People may get saved
I love how generous our King is. I love that He wants us to be drunk on His life-giving, never-running-dry Spirit. I love how freely He pours Himself out on us.
Today, I invite you to be a pitcher, as big or small as you like.
In 2 Kings 4, there was a widow with nothing left but a little oil. She reached out to the prophet Elisha for help, and he told her to gather jars from her neighbors. She did, and as instructed, began pouring her last bit of oil into the jars. A miracle happened: the oil kept pouring and pouring and pouring, not stopping until every jar was filled!
Holy Spirit will pour Himself into you until your jars are full. You can have as much of Holy Spirit as you open yourself up for.
So open your heart, your mind, your body, and your spirit wide to receive a fresh outpouring of fire. Step a little closer to the splash zone.
I bless you to be filled and empowered today. I bless you to have new encounters, to see visions, to dream God-dreams, to speak words from the mouth of Your Father. Most of all, I bless you to be deeply connected to the fire Holy Spirit brings, and to be a fountain of living waters that splashes the people around you.
Today, take some time to invite Holy Spirit to splash on you some more. All it takes is a simple prayer: “Come, Holy Spirit. Give me more of You. Fill me up with Your presence.”Allow Him to step into your heart, your mind, your life. And rest. And receive. And be free.
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