Luke the physician wrote after the Holy Spirit came upon the people in the upper room, a crowd gathered who wondered if they were drunken. Jesus' disciple “Peter” stood up and said, “this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel. And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams”, and in chapter two and verse eighteen of the book of Acts Luke shared how Peter referred to the words of God spoken through the prophet Joel which declared, “on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit” where we read:
And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy:
The verse begins, “And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit;” Luke began with the words, “and on my servants” which means “and upon my, God's, bondmen, slaves, attendants and men of servile condition” “and on my handmaidens” or “and upon my, God's, female slaves, bondmaids and women of servile condition” “I will pour out” which means “I, God, will gush out, shed forth, bestow and distribute largely” “in those days” which means “within those periods of time” “of my Spirit” or “pertaining to my, God's, third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, who is coequal and co-eternal with the Father and the Son”. Luke shared how God was to “shed forth and bestow” His “Holy Spirit” “upon” His “male and female servants”.
The verse continues, “and they shall prophesy:” Luke added the words, “and they” or “and God's male servants and handmaidens” “shall prophesy” which means “will speak forth by divine inspirations, predict and foretell future events pertaining to the kingdom of God”. Luke shared how God declared through the prophet Joel how His “male servants and handmaidens” would “speak forth divine inspirations” concerning His Kingdom.
When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we learn how God promised through the prophet Joel that “servants” would also be blessed by the “pouring out” of His Holy Spirit. “Servants and handmaidens” are often thought to be in a “lesser” position among people, but God will exalt them to the position of speakers of “prophetic” words. God's good news of salvation through His Son Jesus is for all people regardless of their “station” in life. When a person yields their life to Jesus, He will forgive their sins, grant them everlasting life and raise them to positions they never thought possible before. God loves everybody, and those who surrender themselves to Him may have His Holy Spirit “poured out” upon them to performed acts, deeds and speeches which are useful in His Kingdom.
Next time Luke shares how Peter continues to speak Joel's words, “I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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