We are not a non-prophet organization

When I was in college, I used to frequent a coffee shop called Hill of Beans. There was a guy I met there a few times. He thought of himslef as a prophet, or he was training to be (I do not remember which). He wore strange clothes to make himself standout. He would approach strangers in the coffe shop in a very intimidating way. The workers couldn't stand him.

It seemed to me (upon observation and after a little discussion) that his desire to be a prophet was based upon some felt need for significance. I mean, who in God's community is more honored than a prophet? I know others who have entered the paid ministry for the same reason. The idea of being common is among the scariest of them all.

Such a motive is obviously faulted. But the means he employed were equally faulted. In Acts 2:14-21, Peter begins his sermon by quoting Joel's prophecy about these last times (Joel 2:28-31). The prophecy tells us that in these last days God's Holy Spirit will be poured out onto all who call on his name. It explains that all believers (young, old, male, female, slave, rich) receive the Spirit to prophesy.

What a striking declaration that must have been. The same Spirit which fell on Elijah, David, Saul, Gideon, Samson, and few others, now falls on the slave, the decrepite, the peasant, the commoner. Now falls on you and me? The same Spirit that came on Samson so he could destroy a lion with his bare hands, and take down a thousand men with a donkey's jawbone; the same Spirit that allowed Elisha to see an army of angels ready to defend him, allowed Daniel and John to see the Son of Man in heavenly form, allowed Elijah and Philip to outrun chariots; the same Spirit that was poured out on Christ at his baptism, is now poured out on the church.

The Holy Spirit of God is in the public school teacher, the preacher, the trucker, the waitress, the shop rat, the hair dresser, the manager of the Mobil, the maintanance man, the retiree, the student, and every other baptized follower of Jesus Christ. The Spirit of the Living God is... IN YOU!

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