Joel 2:29"And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit."
It was from this Scripture that Peter preached on the day of Pentecost. He had been accused of being drunk, but, filled with the Holy Spirit, he explained that what they perceived as drunkenness was actually the power of God's Spirit. I suspect this was shocking to the Israelites, hearing an uneducated fisherman claim to be filled with the Spirit. They were accustomed to the Holy Spirit being on select individuals, at specific times, and for particular purposes. Yet, this was a new dispensation of God’s grace. As the prophet Joel had prophesied, His Spirit would be poured out upon all flesh.
This is a beautiful reminder that it is no longer just prophets and kings who can experience God's power and presence, nor is it limited to specific times or places. Whoever we are—whether young or old, rich or poor, master or servant—we can all be filled with the Spirit of God. This happens at our new birth. There was only one day of Pentecost, and there will never be another. We don't need to wait for wind, flames of fire, or miraculous signs; that occurred on Pentecost when the Spirit entered His new temple, just as He did with the tabernacle and Solomon’s temple. Now, He dwells in our hearts: “Know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost?” In the past, His Spirit dwelled in the temple, and men came to worship Him there, with only the priests granted access. But in this new, Spirit-filled dispensation, every believer is a priest. We have all been cleansed, sanctified, justified, and made fit for the worship of our Lord.
Jesus told us it was expedient for Him to go away, so that He could send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. Upon His arrival, the Spirit would reprove the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment—and He has. He has worked through fishermen, businessmen, scholars, the unlearned, masters, and servants alike, to fulfill Joel’s promise: “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered.” That was Peter’s cry, Paul’s, and ours this morning: “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
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