Being Like Jesus

 Acts 2:17 NKJV 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. In the last days, of which we are in, God has poured out of His Spirit on all flesh. This outpouring comes in three ways and in three operations. The first outpourings are for sons and daughters; these are for newly saved believers. They are the baptism of Jesus (1Cor.12:12, 13), and of the Holy Spirit (Acts 11:16). And from the Scriptures, we see that anyone baptised with the Holy Spirit has an evidence of speaking in tongues (Acts 10:44-48, 19:2-6). How do we know that these outpourings were baptisms? Acts 10:45-46 says, “... the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out... For they heard them speak with tongues...” And in Acts 19, Paul was asking the believers in Ephesus about baptism, and; “When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the

 Paul the apostle wrote to the church in Corinth, “... desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy... Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy...” (1Cor. 14:1, 39). Why do we need to desire earnestly to prophesy? Because prophecy reveals what is in the heart of the Father toward an individual, a people, a territory or a nation. “Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7). First, the prophets in context of our discussion are not the office of the prophets, but the manifestation of the prophetic gift. Paul said, “For you can all prophesy...” (1Cor. 14:31). Joel prophesied the release of the prophetic spirit in Joel 2:28, "And it shall come to pass afterward That I [God] will pour out My Spirit on all flesh [not some, but all]; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy [not the prophets, but ordinary kids]...” And that day was fulfilled, even up till now, on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:16-21.