Pentecost and the last days.

Acts 2:14-17. ¹⁴But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. ¹⁵For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. ¹⁶But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: ¹⁷“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.

On Pentecost the Holy Spirit came down from Heaven filling the disciples of Jesus so that when they spoke the gospel it was in different languages. Languages that they didn’t already know. At first this sounded confusing, so confusing that some people thought they were drunk and just babbling nonsense.

So when Peter stood up to preach he had to say these people are not drunk as you suppose. Instead this is the Holy Spirit. Then Peter quotes from the prophet Joel. Can you find Joel in your Bible? Joel prophesied hundreds of years earlier that in the last days God would pour out his Holy Spirit on all flesh.

Last days?

Many Christians wonder if we are living in the last days. What they wonder is if these are the last few days before Jesus comes back for us. But Peter says that we have been living in the last days since Pentecost. That’s two thousand years. Yes, for two thousand years Christians have been living in the last days.

You see, we don’t know how long the last days are, God doesn’t tell us. But we do know what we should be doing during the last days – telling others about Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Before Pentecost, only certain people received the Holy Spirit. Kings like David, or priests like Moses and Aaron. But the prophet Joel said that one day the Holy Spirit would be poured out on ALL flesh. Now, that doesn’t mean that every person gets the Holy Spirit, but it does mean that everyone who trust in Jesus gets the Holy Spirit. Men and women, old and young, black, brown, and white, everyone who is a Christian is a Spirit filled Christian. The Holy Spirit isn’t just for the special Christians, he’s for all of us! All of us who are with Jesus have his same power to love others.

The last days are a time to love others and tell them the good news of Jesus. The news that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead so that we can receive his eternal life with God. In these last days, Jesus is fighting a battle against the devil for the hearts and souls of every person on Earth. And we are being used by God to help fight that battle. How? When we walk and talk like Jesus, love like him, and serve like him. Whenever and however we make Jesus known to others, we are being used by God in these last days to do his will.

Joel says that everyone is standing in what he calls the “Valley of Decision.” That means that everyone has to decide if they will trust God or not. And more specifically, will they trust that God sent Jesus to save us. Joel will say, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Years later, the Apostle Paul will quote the Prophet Joel and say, “Everyone who calls on the name of Jesus will be saved.” And that’s exactly what happened at Pentecost. Three thousand people called on Jesus to save them. Yay!

Have you called on Jesus to save you? If you have then you are part of God’s plan for the last days. The plan to let the whole world know about Jesus and his love for us on the cross.

You: Have you called on the name of the Lord Jesus to save you?

You with Jesus: If you have the Holy Spirit you can share Jesus with others. How can you do that today?

Prayer: Father, thank you for giving me the Spirit. Use me in these last days to show his love.  Amen.