Now that the elections are over, we are compelled to return to what should be our first purpose: fulfilling the Great Commission. Indeed, as we draw closer to the Lord's return, His passions shall increasingly become our passions and to rescue the unsaved world is the epicenter of His heart.

To understand the Lord's desire for the unsaved, we simply have to review Peter's discourse in Acts, chapter two. Remember, the disciples had been with Jesus for forty days after His resurrection. The words, which Peter took from Joel, conceivably might also have been spoken by Jesus Himself during this last intimate time with His disciples before the ascension.

So, it is Pentecost Sunday and several thousand people are suddenly drawn to the spiritual phenomena exploding in the upper room: the sound of rushing wind and flaming tongues of fire. Peter rose and proclaimed to the crowd below the significance of what they were observing. Quoting the prophet Joel, he said,

"And it shall be in the last days," God says, "That I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all mankind; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even upon My bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit and they shall prophesy.

"And I will grant wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. And it shall be, that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:17-21).

With such signs the church was born and with greater signs shall this age be completed. Indeed, as significant as this inaugural event was, Pentecost represented only the first installment of the anticipated outpouring of the Spirit. Pentecost celebrated only the first fruits of the coming harvest. The full harvest, Jesus said, will be "at the end of the age" (Matt 13:39b).

The Lord promised He would pour out His Spirit, not merely on the Jews or North Africans and southern Europeans, but upon ALL mankind. The disciples experienced a great beginning, yet even today nearly two billion souls have yet to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ! Beloved, the passions of God are for all peoples, regardless of their class, culture or geography.

So, looking at Peter's proclamation in Acts, let's study, not only what happened, but what the Word of God clearly declares still awaits us.

First, to understand God's heart, the Lord said He would "pour forth of His spirit." The concept, "to pour forth," means to give to reach one's goal. When athletes compete, for instance, to win they will pour everything they have onto the field. Having fully spent themselves, they hold nothing back. Likewise, the Lord is saying this: Before the day of My great wrath, I'm going to do all I can to turn the unsaved toward me.

So, here's what the Lord is telling us we should expect at the end of the age. First, an anointing will come to the living church that will raise up and release a prophetic generation: even our "sons and daughters will prophesy." Additionally, there will be a restorative grace from God: people who seemingly have missed their destiny, the middle-aged and elderly, will be filled and our "old men will dream dreams." The young and inexperienced, the Lord says, will not be excluded, for "young men will see visions." The Lord is promising that He will be alive in the church, bringing Christlikeness to full stature among His people (Eph 4).

Yet, to reach the world, the Lord will multiply the graces He supplies the church and take us beyond what the first century knew. He promises to "grant wonders in the sky above." The word "grant" implies that these attesting signs are not expressions of God's wrath, but answers to prayer! Thus, we should expect spectacular wonders in the heavens that arrest the attention of every soul on earth.

Yet, to those who refuse to heed His signs, the Lord declares more fearsome things: "the sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood." Yet, even these terrible, unavoidable signs are servants to divine mercy and will be manifestations of God's heart reaching to the stubbornly unrepentant.

Our Father is saying He will do absolutely everything fill the church with power, the heavens with signs and the earth with judgments to bring the lost to Himself. He says this for one summary purpose: "that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (verse 21).

GOD'S VISION

If we are truly going to possess the heart of God, then we must care about the spiritually lost. This is why we have, for example, Lighthouses of Prayer to reach and love our neighbors. This is why we work toward unity in the citywide church. The final goal is not unity, but outreach. The ultimate purpose of Pentecost was not phenomena, but winning the lost. The outcome of a unified, prayer-focus of the disciples was, again, winning the lost. The disciples were in "one place" and in "one accord," and because of that unity, the Holy Spirit fell with power. The final outcome of Pentecost was salvations: three thousand people came to Christ.

God is not going to add people to a divided, selfish, ambitious, or carnal church. He's going to restrain the harvest until we step up to Christ-centered unity. This is why we labor to unite the body of Christ. Only as the church becomes one does the world then believe (Jn 17). Our vision is simple: we desire to bring as many people to heaven as we can, in as Christlike a condition as possible. If your heart is to see the lost saved and people become more Christlike, you're in the right place.

So, regardless of your occupation, let your focus be upon praying for and reaching to the lost. If you're a hairdresser, silently pray as you work, and, in your loving conversation with your customers, look for openness in their heart to accept Christ. If you are a doctor, even as you treat the body, look for opportunities to heal the soul of your patients. Whatever your skill or gift is, it should be used to serve this purpose. You don't have to be an evangelist; you simply have to love people and speak as the Lord provides opportunity.