I will pour out of My Spirit. . . and they will prophesy

Acts chapter 2, beginning with verse 14, from 14 to 18: "Then Peter stood up with the eleven, and raised his voice and spoke to them, saying, Men of the Jews and all you who live in Israel, let this be known to you and listen to my words. , because these are not drunk as you suppose, because it is the third hour of the day" 9 in the morning, "but this is what was said by the prophet Joel: And in the last days, says God, I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, "your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams" and upon my servants and upon my maidservants, in those days I will pour out my Spirit and they shall prophesy. God bless His holy Word.

There are two ways to read this text I can think of, two ways. This is practically a survey that will cover 100% of us here. Either we respond in one way or we respond to this text in another way.

One way to respond to this text is this: this is a nice story, Pastor, very nice, and I don't doubt that God can do this or in the past has done this with others, but will God continue to do these things? Is God still in the business of these things? because at least with me it hasn't. In other words, you are affirming it and perhaps you agree that it is a good idea and that perhaps you agree that God worked in this way, but it does not register in your own experience. It is not something that is real to you.

And the other way to read this text is like this: Pastor, this seems right with what the Holy Spirit is doing in me, the Holy Spirit is doing this in me. I may never have preached a sermon or seen thousands respond to a call but I know what it's like to have the Holy Spirit indwell me, I know that, the Holy Spirit working in me and to be able to accomplish things under the Power of the Holy Spirit that I never could. have done with just my own cunning or ability or energy. In other words, Pastor: I know what it is to have God within my being, I know it is Him and I have seen the Lord do things through me that I know I would not be able to do alone.

I hear amen, amen, some who are responding to this survey. By the way, trying to explain this experience to those who have not experienced it in their own life is something like this: by the way, it's me, it's not that I stop being me. It is my mind, my hands, my energy, but I also know that it is God, the Holy Spirit working through me. In other words, it is me but at the same time it is He, do you follow me?

These brothers testify in this way and it is an indication of this work of God working in them, they are the brothers that you hear testifying: Pastor, God at that moment revealed to me, God at that moment enlightened me, God at that moment gave me the appropriate words, God at that moment used me. I myself was surprised Pastor.

Interesting this idea of God working in us. It is as if we were talking about the incarnation, the fact that Jesus was 100% man and 100% God, not that we are God, let's clarify here, or even gods, but the Word promises that the same Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead operates in us.

During His Ministry on Earth Jesus, walking in a meat vest, ministered through the anointing of the Holy Spirit within Him and in the same way the Spirit of God ministers through us, and if this is so, you who He is listening to this and says: Pastor, I sort of understand Pedro and I understand what he might feel at that moment, to feel that it is him but at the same time it is someone else working through him and doing great things through him unexpectedly. And if so, we can identify the transforming Power at work in Peter at this time.

Many of us, perhaps you who have said amen and have said: yes Pastor, I have an idea of what you are talking about, perhaps it is the first time that this has occurred to you, I always imagine the brothers here who are pioneers, the first ones maybe in your house or in your family who know the Lord and return to their houses, and maybe you are the only one, for the moment, for now that serves the Lord or knows the Lord and the first moment in which you have this encounter with the Holy Spirit how do you get home, transformed? others would say upset, with an indelible smile.

The enemy is very capable of mining the space around us with things that he knows annoy us, right? they bother us. That night maybe you will arrive boom! One mine explodes after another, after another, but you stay cool. The things that perhaps for you were life or death, now you don't even pay attention to them, and people ask you: are we what? what got into you? what happened? here they would say: or perhaps they would ask as they asked about Peter and the eleven: are they not drunk? but now they don't say it so fine right? they won't be... what are you drinking boy? what party did you come from? what got into you? until today's sun

The only thing is that now nine in the morning does not indicate anything, Pedro never lived in Roxbury (laughs) but he would say the same. Pedro and we would say: it is not what entered me but who entered because it is as if Pedro were another man. I always imagine Peter in this scene raising his voice and preaching with such unction in the Name of Jesus, among that crowd, a maiden, a young woman who looks at him and asks: but isn't this the same one who does a a month and a half ago you denied that you still knew Jesus? who will this be?

Another man. It is not that it is another man and this is my point that the Lord is leading me to. It is not that it is another man, it is Peter, the same Peter, but in reality it is that there was a man hidden inside him, locked inside him waiting to come to light, there was a man locked in him who required the Power of the Spirit would come to light.

Perhaps you are here because, like Pedro, you understand this all too well, that is why you are here. For some it is as if we live in prison, let's see if I explain myself, it is as if we live in prison within our own life, those who come with this weight I think can explain it better than I can. Inside your own mind, imprisoned, your own heart, you sleepwalk through your life. You see their decisions, hear their own words, listen to their thoughts and ask: but what do I do, why did I do that? why am I behaving this way? why am i like this?

Interesting that war within us. And you hear a voice, you hear yourself saying, sometimes when your streak passes, you hear your own soul telling you: I am worthy of more than this. I wasn't born to be an alcoholic, I wasn't born to be a drug addict, I wasn't born to be any of those things. Maybe you have your title, your job, your profession, your business but still we have to admit that we feel empty. What is your life worth?

It is not what you achieved. What is your life worth? What value do you give to your life? and know? an inescapable voice tells you that your life is worth much more, like we know who we want to be. Again, I struggle to explain. We know who we want to be. We see it clearly in the mirror image.

One sees another in his soul, when he looks in the mirror one says: I know that this is not me, I know that there is another inside of me and you hear a voice that tells you: you were born for more.

Know? We would live calmer if the Holy Spirit left us satisfied with our own mediocrity, if the Holy Spirit left us alone but He created us, He knows what you were made for and He knows that you were made for more, and you will not have peace until you there is harmony between the man you are now, the woman you are now, and the man God wants you to be, the man God wants us to be, I don't know if I understand myself.

Until there is harmony, until that war is resolved between the man that one is now, the woman that I am now and what God sees when he sees us. The Lord does not leave us alone, even in our dreams he presents us with this image and that is why we are here.

Jesus perceives this other man in Peter as Jesus perceives this other man in you. After his character failure there was greatness in Peter and in the eleven, and Jesus knew, He knew what he needed, what he needed for what, what was locked up in Peter and what should stand out in us.

They knew Jesus. They were disciples, they were followers of Christ, they had walked with Him for three years listening to His message, seeing miracles, they had the risen Christ among them for forty days; more converted cannot be. We are not talking about conversion, there is something else the Lord wants you to experience.

The Lord told them, He tells them: Wait for this gift that I have for you, this gift, this Baptism of the Holy Spirit. There we see Acts chapter 8, that promise: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be me" a noun, "witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth."

Notice something. The Lord did not say: "And they will testify" that is a verb, something we do, but: "and you will be my witnesses" we will be witnesses, a noun. The Lord is calling us to something that we are, not something that we do, I don't know if I understand myself. It's not something we do; this call is something much more difficult.

He is not calling you to do something, He has called us to be, we are, it is not to testify but to be a witness, that is, a living recipient of the Power of the Holy Spirit that when seeing you, hearing you, being in your presence, there is no way people would be confused about whether Christ is risen and whether His Spirit indwells human beings, and the Lord has called you to be that person, much more difficult and impossible to do without the Holy Spirit.

When the Baptism in the Holy Spirit arrives, the Word declares, what we see in Acts chapter 2, the place shook, they spoke in tongues and I love that image, a column of fire coming down and separating into tongues of fire that are deposited in each one of them, very similar to the image in Second Chronicles when the pillar of fire descended on the Ark of the Covenant, but now instead of descending on the Ark of the Covenant, now it is descending and resting on each one of us, now you are the Ark of the Covenant. Now you are the tabernacle of God, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Now, the recipient of the Power of God, now the recipient of the Power of the Holy Spirit is you. The Power of God now resting upon you, and apart from physical signs, as a people what can we expect?

Why is this so important? Why is it so important to claim it, to wait for it? because you can expect the Work of God very deeply within you through the Holy Spirit. There is something that God does within us and at the same time, there is something that the Holy Spirit does from outside through us.

Apart from the signs, apart from the physical evidence, there is a work within and there is a work without. First, within, the Holy Spirit opens our minds and we do not see the Scriptures or our lives in the same way. That is one of the first and most powerful gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Let's take a good look at Pedro himself. Knows? like a good Jew Peter heard the Word. Knows? even today the Torah is read in the synagogues, the custom is that the Torah is read completely in the synagogue during the course of the year. They have a fixed reading and in the 52 weeks of the year the Torah is completely read, and like a good Jew, Pedro was listening to this in the synagogue, like many of us the Catholic mass.

Do you know that the Catholic missial is the same and the Anglicans are the same? they divide the Scriptures and in the course of time, I don't know if it's in a year or two, they divide the Scripture but they cross the entire Word. The beautiful thing is that one sits down, one is supposed to listen, participate in the Lord's table and go home. It goes in one ear and the other...

But it is not like that, that ends in a place. Peter is listening to the Word and storing it, that is what you are doing, something very interesting is happening in our brain. We hear this Word and store it in the basement of our mind with him along with thousands of other details: his social security number, his favorite color, the recipe for a good mangoo, all occupying the same space in his brain, those details of the Word of the Lord.

And for the moment the Power of God descends on Peter, the Power of the Holy Spirit is poured out on him and first of all, he knows: I love that text, I think it is in the Gospel of Luke and in conclusion I believe that the Lord accompanying these men , these disciples on the road to Emmaus, and the Word says that He was explaining the Word but as it did not enter them, and the Word says that He opened their understanding so that they could understand the Scriptures.

Well now with the baptism of the Holy Ghost that's part of the package. At that moment the Holy Spirit opens our understanding and what was stored in the basement of Peter's brain at the moment the Holy Spirit does: fff, oh my God. joel chapter 2

Pedro is seeing it in 3D, high definition, he does not remember the Word, he sees it, he is experiencing it firsthand, he says: I am living it! Joel chapter 2, this promise is being fulfilled and between a little while: flash! For the moment that Word that was hidden in the back of your mind now becomes real to you, it surrounds you. In a short time we began to live life according to the Scriptures and you understand through the pages, through the characters of the Bible and you no longer see your life as meaningless chaos.

You begin to see your life and measure your life according to the drama of the Word and one says: but the same author of the Bible is the author of my life, my life will end well, He is in control, and you see in the pages of the Word: one day you are Moses; I don't know who this happens to.

One day you are Moses, tomorrow maybe you look like Abraham offering your Isaac, then, I don't know who else lives like this, then you are David, a psalmist, warrior, king, my sisters maybe you are Ana today shedding tears before the Lord Maybe next day you are a Ruth, then you are a Queen Esther, next week a Deborah, you yourself become a character of the Word and you measure your life according to the pattern of the Word; The Holy Spirit is already weaving your life according to the Scriptures, we are living the Word.

It is as if you have taken a leap and through the Holy Spirit you are living the Word, you are dreaming the Word. In your conversations you hear the Word, you hear yourself using the Word, thinking through the Word, you smell it, you feel it, your food still tastes of the Word. The Word becomes life in you and your life conforms to the Word, that is what the Holy Spirit does and sin, the yoke of sin rots because it no longer fits in this scene, this adventure that you are living in the Word of the Lord, your life becomes the Word made life.

This dichotomy between the Word and the life of the Spirit is a totally false dichotomy. They butt. The Power of the Holy Spirit is required to live biblically. We need the revelation of the Holy Spirit and we need that background of the Word of the Lord. That is the first thing that God does in you, the Word: fffu (onomatopoeia), it becomes life in you. And this divine energy not only works in you but flows out of you, interesting.

Looking at this first message from Peter, even in the fact of quoting Joel chapter 2 and interpreting this Scripture about the prophetic Power of the Holy Spirit Peter himself is prophesying, isn't that interesting? In this passage about the prophetic Power of the Holy Spirit we are looking at an example of someone prophesying in the Power of the Holy Spirit.

When one studies this text, this is interesting. When one studies this text, especially the second chapter of Acts from 17 to 21 one realizes that it is not a verbatim reproduction of Joel chapter 2 28 to 29, there are some differences that we will consider shortly.

In Peter's statement there are some differences that when we compare them with Joel 2 in the Hebrew or even in the Greek that was read in the synagogue, the two do not overlap. If you run to your Scripture and compare what Peter said in Acts chapter 2 under the anointing of the Holy Spirit and read Joel chapter 2 you will see that it is not word for word.

Now as a lawyer this excites me, do you know how I read it? First, for me this is more evidence of the credibility of the Scriptures, this doesn't bother me, moreover, it excites me. Do you know what this tells me? Pedro is not quoting this from memory. That's what we look for, certain imperfections that tell us that this is authentic. This is taking you from the bottom of your heart, this is authentic and I find this wonderful.

And you know? the Holy Spirit is wonderful, hasn't he done that with you? I know that he has done it with me. At that moment that comes to mind, that illumination or that decision, the Holy Spirit creating something through you where not long ago there was nothing. At a given moment one receives a Word, one receives illumination. A decision that was impossible for a week at the moment comes an illumination from the Lord.

The same Holy Spirit that entrusted this Word to Joel here entrusts it to Peter. Let's look at one of those prophetic modifications or alterations that the Lord makes, this Word begins: "In the last days" Joel says "After this", after what? after the coming of the Messiah "He will pour out His Spirit on all flesh."

I loved what the Pastor said a few weeks ago about this, that maybe the last days are right now, that he's speaking prophetically about the days that we're living in, and that he's not just about kings or about priests or about prophets, but that on this practically illiterate fisherman and on you, on us, the Lord would pour out His Holy Spirit.

Look in verse 17 and 18: "And your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and my Spirit shall be poured out." You know what's interesting there? Peter added under the anointing of the Holy Spirit "and they will prophesy" emphasizing this promise, why would he do it?

The word here is prophetic, "and they shall prophesy," prophetic. It is not just forecasting the future and it is more than pronouncing a Word under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Prophesying in this context means being the channel of God's energy, transmitting His Voice, His thoughts, His authority, His ability to heal, His ability to liberate. It is the Holy Spirit using His gifts to advance the interests of the Kingdom of God.

If through the Holy Spirit you come into an environment perforated with violence and strife, and project a spirit of meekness, God is using you as a prophetic instrument in that environment, "and they will prophesy."

If God gives you access to levels of influence in business, or in the school system, or the judicial system, or the government, as he did with King Joseph, or with Queen Esther, or with Daniel, if you are a teacher in a public school or have a business, or have access to power and if in that place the Holy Spirit brings you advice that honors God and that advances the interests of the Kingdom of God, there you are a prophetic instrument and the Lord is extending the influence of His Kingdom through you. Your life is mined with gifts, mined with gifts hidden within you waiting for the Holy Spirit to awaken them and put them to use to bring light through you to where darkness now dwells.

"Your young men will see visions and your old men will dream dreams. Verily on my male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit and they will prophesy."

You will see visions, you will undertake dreams. We become partners with the Holy Spirit, we are His servants it says there. On My servant, on the one who executes My Will I will pour out My Spirit.

You no longer see the world around you in the same way, you don't see your life around in the same way, you see your life as God sees it. What's more, the focus is no longer even on us. You are not even interested anymore, in fact, look, to gain the value of our life we lose interest in our life, and we see the adventure of the Kingdom of God, and we see our role in the Kingdom of God, and in fact my brother, yes one day you have a strong guide or a cloud passes through your life for a season, you do not lose hope because the Lord has given you the vision that there is another life that the Lord awaits for you.

There was a time and why is this so important? Knows? Joshua one day approached Moses scared because in the field of Israel certain men and women were heard prophesying under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, it is supposed that Moses was the only prophet of Israel, right? he told Moses scared and Moses replied: are you jealous for me? I wish that all of Jehovah's people were prophets and that Jehovah would put His Spirit upon them. It was like the Lord said: aha? that is exactly My plan, that all of them were prophets and that I would pour out the sweet influence of the Spirit of God on all flesh, on their lives.

That is our prayer for this Congregation as well. When you hear the Pastor say: we want an even Church, that is his way of saying: Father, I hope that everyone were prophets, that we were all equally operating under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, that there is not a being that steps on this sanctuary that does not leave here connected with the Holy Spirit, that they do not highlight their gifts and be awakened by the Power of God in them. That is our desire, that is one of the priorities of this Congregation.

Let's lower our face for a moment. This is your life, I don't know how you are living now but in this last half hour the Holy Spirit has shown you how your life can work, how your life should be. Your life does not have to be a nuisance, a burden, another day. Your life can be the great adventure with open spaces ahead of you achieving "even the old will dream dreams" the Lord is ageless here, "even the old will dream dreams" "the young will see visions" the Lord does not want to waste a moment of his life.

If this is a revelation for you, I have an invitation, especially if until now you have not said: Jesus, my life is yours, do with me what you want, I give myself to you. If that's you, I invite you to raise your hand right now, if that's you.

I invite you, come to the altar. If you are coming for the first time, do this step and this sister who has her hand raised, if someone can accompany her to the altar. We want you to know at the same time this God of power, that this moment for which you were born, you were born for this, that it be fulfilled in you and that through this your life is what God always wanted it to be, He knows what you were born for, He knows what is in you, He knows the hidden treasure in you, He knows that you are precious my sister, you are precious sister before the Lord.

Spirit of God: I bless these souls and I declare, Holy Lord, Your Purposes fulfilled in the fact that they are before Your Presence and Your Word has reached them. Now Spirit of God revive them and awaken Your Purposes in them.

My brothers, I invite you to repeat this prayer with me and the brothers who accompany you repeat this prayer: Lord Jesus, I come before You declaring that I need You as my Savior and my rescuer. I open my life in front of You, every corner, every space. May Your Holy Spirit invade everything that is my life. From this moment on I am Your servant and You are my Shepherd. Guide me, provide me, protect me, and keep me from all evil all the days of my life until I see you in glory, I beg you in Jesus Name, amen. Glory to God.

My brothers, let's stand up, I bless you in the Name of Jesus. Lord Jesus, pour out Your Power on Your people. Lord Jesus, every cell, every corner, every being, may everything that breathes in this place, may every being created in this place, every flesh in this place, may we be a vessel of Your Glory; pour out Your Glory on Your people, pour out Your Spirit on Your people, we plead with You in Jesus Name.