ALL! I know that this is a simple, three-letter, one-syllable, easy-to-pronounce word. You probably hear this word used multiple times in a day and never give it a second thought. That was exactly my state of mind until God put some heavenly dynamite into that word and caused it to explode in my spirit. The inward explosion happened as I was reading Joel’s prophecy about an outpouring of God’s Spirit. This prophecy promised …
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that 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: And also upon the servants
and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.”
Joel 2:28-29
Immediately after reading Joel’s prophecy, I turned in my Bible to Acts 2 to read the account of the prophecy’s fulfillment. Are you ready for this? Once again, the word “all” was big-time prominent in Luke’s report of the day of Pentecost. I won’t use the space to share each verse, but, rather, I’ll just give bullet points and ask you to read the report for yourself.
- They were ALL with one accord in one place (Acts 2:1)
- The sound from heaven filled ALL of the room (Acts 2:2)
- Cloven tongues like as of fire sat upon EACH (this would be ALL in the room) of them (Acts 2:3)
- They were ALL filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in a language from heaven (other tongues) with the enablement of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4)
But wait. There’s more. After the fulfillment of God’s promise, God ensured that we wouldn’t miss what had just happened in the upper room. Peter stood up and prophesied …
“But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God,
I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh …”
Acts 2:16-18
Did you see that God reiterated His promise and emphasized that the Holy Spirit is an ALL Holy Spirit?
I can’t stop. There’s more. God wanted to make sure that everyone knew that this Holy Spirit wasn’t to be limited to just those who were present in the upper room. Once again, God used this simple, three-letter, one-syllable. easy-to-pronounce word as Peter spoke and said …
“For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off,
even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”
Acts 2:39
There’s so, so much more to share. But, it will have to wait. I’ll continue in the next blog and share about the “all and you”. (Be forewarned … wear your shouting clothes!)
