October 6, 2010

A Dream Come True
Acts 2:14-21(MSG)

Peter stood up and, backed by the other eleven, spoke out with bold urgency:. . .“This is what the prophet Joel announced would happen:

"In the Last Days," God says, "I will pour out my Spirit on every kind of people:
Your sons will prophesy, also your daughters;
Your young men will see visions, your old men dream dreams.
When the time comes, I'll pour out my Spirit On those who serve me, men and
women both, and they'll prophesy.
I'll set wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below, Blood and fire
and billowing smoke, 20 the sun turning black and the moon blood-red, Before the
Day of the Lord arrives, the Day tremendous and marvelous;
And whoever calls out for help to me, God, will be saved." Acts 2:14-21(MSG)

Pastor’s Blog

Imagine the journey you have dreamed of all your life having finally begun. All that you’ve longed for, agonized over has finally begun. Hopes have been realized. Now at last the life you’ve yearned for can finally begin.

First century Jews knew that Daniel had predicted a 490 year exile. It had been about that long since Israel had been taken captive by Babylon. They were ready for deliverance. Daniel was the travel brochure that helped them keep going toward their destination of freedom

And now Peter says, “it’s here” The last days, during which God will set his people free have arrived. Peter, knowing his Bible, recognizes immediately that Joel had predicted this day. God’s redeeming power would not come through Jewish leaders, military power, or insurrection, but through ordinary people, young, old, women, children . . . all who receive and are energized by God’s Spirit

Luke is making a very big point. He is explaining how it was predicted from centuries earlier that a small group of frightened, puzzled, largely uneducated men and women could so quickly become a force to be reckoned with all across the known world.

The Holy Spirit in and through ordinary people swept across the Western World to the point where we can legitimately conclude the world today is simply unimaginable without that which God started on the day of Pentecost 2000 years ago.

Here’s the take away, I think. You as a believing member of a local body of Christ are right in the middle of the real action on planet earth. You are part of the most powerful force for good on the planet. Nothing else comes close. You, the local Body of Jesus Christ, are the hope of the world.