08-22-24-DAILY READING-ENG.

EXPERIENCING THE SPIRIT

                                              ONE FOR ALL

Even as God was making His presence known through prophets, judges, and kings who were filled with the Holy Spirit, He was always looking forward to the day when His Spirit would be poured out on all people. This promise was given through the prophet Joel: 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, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My
    maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days…. And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the
    LORD Shall be saved. (Joel 2:28-29, 32) A relationship with God is not just for prophets, judges, and kings; it's for all His people. It's for sons and daughters. It's for the old and the young. It's for the wealthy and the poor, the powerful and the weak. When all of these have the spiritual capacity to see the activity of God in their lives, they also have the ability to call upon His name and receive His saving deliverance and power.

The gift of the Spirit at Pentecost was recognized and foretold by others in addition to the prophet Joel. Ezekiel prophesied of a day when the Spirit of God would be freely poured out on the people of God: “ ‘I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord GOD” (39:29). Isaiah talked about the judgment of God “until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high” (32:15). Later Isaiah wrote: Thus says the LORD who made you And formed you from the womb, who    will help you: “Fear not, O Jacob My servant; And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water on him who is thirsty And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring.”    (44:2-3)

The Lord also spoke through Zechariah to say, “I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication” (12:10). Although the Day of Pentecost was planned in the heart of God from the very beginning, it would not take place until the Son of God had come; it couldn't happen until Jesus fulfilled His role in God's great plan of salvation. Until the fallen and sin-filled world was dealt with through the death and resurrection of the Savior, the Holy Spirit had to wait. For Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6)—giving all people access to a love relationship with the heavenly Father. Christ's work had to be complete before the outpouring of the Spirit could fall upon the human race.