ESOCS Devotional 28 May 2023
MEMORY VERSE: “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh …” Joel 2:28
TEXT: JOEL 2:28-32
28 And afterward I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.
29 Even upon the menservants and upon the maidservants in those days will I pour out My Spirit.
30 And I will show signs and wonders in the heavens, and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.
32 And whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered and saved, for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the remnant [of survivors] shall be those whom the Lord calls.
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
God has over time revealed His purposes and plans for the human race through the words of prophecy. The Lord chose for Himself men and women from among His people to serve as prophets through whom He revealed hidden truths and His purposes to mankind. Joel was one of them. The message of Joel in our text today came to fulfilment after about eight hundred years and has continued to flow to date.
The promise was: “I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh” and it was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). It was not so at the moment of the prophecy. The Spirit of the Lord fell on few who were chosen and anointed for specific service. Today, we can testify that the Spirit of God is upon as many as believe in Jesus Christ. God has continued to speak through His holy prophets. We must believe His words and change our evil ways. Do not judge the word of prophecy with the present. It may be talking about a near or far future.
As parents and elders of the Church, it is gladdening to witness our sons and daughters prophesy by the Spirit of the Lord. It happens where you have anointed men who like the apostles of old will lay the foundation with the word of God. It is a spiritual error to find our sons and daughters grow in a family and a Church but cannot exercise the manifestation of the Spirit of God in prophecy as the Bible says. The promise is that “Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy…”
When the old men and women lack the capacity to manifest the power of the Spirit of God in dreams and the young men in visions, then you know that something is wrong. We have got to package our spiritual lives through faith in God and commitment to the service of God to attract the manifestation of the power of God. The promise is that: “the old men shall dream dreams and the young men shall see visions.”
The essence of this promise of God is to give peace to the believers. Members should not travel from place to place to seek for spiritual solutions to their problems. They should not be exposed to false prophets who exploit and manipulate them for financial and material gains. With the presence of our sons and daughters who prophesy, old men and women who dream and young men who see visions in every congregation, present in every church service, we shall all together have peace. This is the will of God for the Church (Eph. 4:11)
The manifestation of the Spirit is for the purpose of causing signs and wonders and making the impossible to be possible in the life of the believers and those who respond to our invitations so that the people will know that God rules in heaven and on earth (Joel 2:28-32).
Let us, therefore, prepare the congregation for the manifestations of the Spirit of God and learn to nurture our sons and daughters to grow in the Spirit and power of God.
- Do you witness the power of the Spirit of God among your sons and daughters, young and old men?
- Father, may I live to witness the manifestation of your Spirit in my life and those of my sons and daughters, in Jesus name. Amen.
FURTHER READING: Isaiah 40:12-end; Acts 2:1-21; 1 John 5:1-12.
Thank you for reading the ESOCS Devotional today. Please share and follow us on all our platforms to contribute to the spread of the Gospel.
ESOCS Devotional 28 May 2023
Comments 1