THE BELIEVER AND THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

PROF. BEN ONYEUKWU (REV.)

NCE(Eng.) ND/HD (Journalism); BA (Hons) MA, PhD.

Call: +2348037346939  E-mail: professorbenonyeukwu@yahoo.com

THE BELIEVER AND THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Devotional Text: Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17

Introduction:

Every believer is a prospect of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which the Lord had promised He would give at the last days. This Blessed Gift would be bestowed on all flesh, male or female. On sons and daughters, the ability to prophesy, on old men, the ability to dream dreams, and on young men, the ability to see visions, and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids… The Lord says, He would pour out His Spirit, (Joel 2:28-29).

GENERAL REMARKS

(1)     The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is for every one who believes, irrespective of gender, age or social status, (vs. 28).

(2)     The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is not for Gospel Ministers alone, but for every believer, (vs. 28).

(3)     The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is not restricted to any ethnic group or race, (vs. 28).

(4)     The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is even for maids and servants, (vs. 29).

THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE MANIFESTATION OF THE GIFTS

                        The scriptures cited as the devotional texts apparently show the gifts that come with outpouring of the Holy Spirit, as the gift of prophecy, gift of dreams and the gift of vision, and these gifts are hereby defined or explained as follows:

(i)       Gift of Prophecy: Prophecy is a prediction of what would happen in future, and there are three types of prophecy, namely; the aforetelling, forthelling and foretelling. The aforetelling is the telling of what happened in the past, which the one giving the prophecy has no pre-knowledge of. The forthtelling type of prophecy is the speaking forth or preaching from the Word of God, and the foretelling type is the prediction of future happenings.

(ii)     Gift of Dreams: The gift of dreams is the ability to see unfolding events in dramatic forms, while asleep. There are two types of dream, namely; the active and the passive dreams. The active dream is when the dreamer is a participant in the events of the dream, whereas, the passive dream is when the dreamer is not a participant.

(iii)    Gift of Vision: The Gift of Vision is the ability to see the goal one aspires to pursue. There is the intuitive vision, as well as vision that come through trance. In all, the Scripture says;

(i)       prophecy should be encouraged, (I Thess. 5:20)

(ii)     people perish without vision, (Prov. 29:18)

(iii)    God speaks through dream, (Matt. 2:12).

But, cautions that prophecy, vision or dream could come from the evil one. So, always test them, (I John 4:1).

THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH

The primary purpose for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is mission. And, every gift that come with it, is a means to the objective of the mission, which is soul winning. Therefore, it becomes worthy of note that the gifts of prophecy, dream, vision and more, which came by dint of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit are given to authenticate the presence and participation of the Lord in evangelistic efforts. This basic truth became evident from the Day of Pentecost, when the Lord fulfilled the promise, (Acts 2:17). The foregoing, therefore, implies that the Holy Spirit:

(i)       empowers the believer for missions, (Acts 1:8)

(ii)     leads the believer into new areas of mission, (Acts 10:9-48)

(iii)    convinces the sinner into genuine repentance, when the gospel is preached by the force of His power, (Acts 2:37-47).

THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HINDERANCES TO THE GIFTS

The Holy Spirit is holy, and can only use or bestow His gifts on people of His kind. So, it is not true, as some are made to believe that the Holy Spirit can use a sinner in His work of salvation. However, He can, by His sovereign act, move a sinner into accomplishing certain things to His glory. But, as for the work of salvation, He can only use holy vessels. This, equally refute the idea that a sinning or a backslided minister can still be used by the Holy Spirit to perform the miracle of salvation.

In this connection, the lesson in focus asserts that the backslided or sinning minister is an old horse, with the knowledge of the precepts of salvation which he can still teach or minister independent of the Holy Spirit, and such teachings or ministrations, since they hinge on the word of God, can by chance, draw someone to Christ. This does not mean the said sinning minister or backslider is in working relationship with the Holy Spirit, nor does it mean He is using him. Having cited the above, it biblically becomes evident that:

(i)    sin is a hindrance to the outpouring and gifts of the Holy Spirit, (John 9:31)

(ii)  wrong motive is equally a hindrance to the outpouring and gift of the Holy Spirit, (Acts 8:14-24)

(iii) renewal and the gifts come when one repents of one’s sins, (Acts 3:19).

And, be also ready to inspect closely, when a seemly sinning minister or a backslided believer manifests certain gifts. For such a fellow may be operating from the false gifts, of the false kingdom, (see I John 4:1). BE CAREFUL.