Acts 2:17 In the last days

Acts 2:17 In the last days

Pastor Hong Chul-gi, Sungwon Full Gospel Church

Sermon on Sunday, May 25, 2025

17. In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
18. In those days, I will pour out my Spirit on my male and female servants, and they will prophesy.
19. I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below—blood and fire and smoke.
20. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before that great and glorious day of the Lord comes.
21. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

The Presbyterian Church is the largest denomination in South Korea. The Presbyterian Church of Korea (Tonghap), the Presbyterian Church of Korea (Hapdong), then the Methodist Church, the Full Gospel Church, the Baptist Church, and the Holiness Church in that order.

Worldwide, Catholics are the most numerous with about 1.2 billion, followed by Protestants with about 530 million, and the Orthodox Church with about 270 million. There are some who do not know the Orthodox Church, but it is a Catholic-style church centered mainly in eastern Greece, Russia, and Romania.

• Worldwide

Among Protestants, there are the Full Gospel Church, Anglican Church, Baptist Church, Lutheran Church, Methodist Church, and Presbyterian Church. The number of believers is estimated to be approximately 280 million for the Full Gospel Church, 120 million for the Anglican Church, 75 million for the Baptist Church, 60 million for the Lutheran Church, 80 million for the Methodist Church, 50 million for the Reformed Church, 3.5 million for the Anabaptist Church, and approximately 11 million for the Presbyterian Church. The Presbyterian Church in Korea accounts for 1/3 of the total.

The Book of Acts announces the beginning of early Christianity and is a model church for all churches. The principle of church revival should be found in the Book of Acts. The church that finds the model will be revived and grow.

1. In the last days
2. God said, “In the last days, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.

In the last days

1) There will be war. The Russian-Ukrainian War began on February 24, 2022, with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. You can think of the war between Palestine and Israel, the war between India and Pakistan, the war between China and Taiwan, and the war between South Korea and North Korea.

Matthew 24:7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

2) Earthquakes will occur.

Up to 5,352 people were killed directly in Myanmar, 103 in Thailand, and 1 person died from the shock in Vietnam. Up to 11,404 people were injured, and hundreds were reported missing.

Matthew 24:7 There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

3) Rising global temperatures

It causes various natural disasters such as rising sea levels, heat waves, droughts, and floods, causing serious damage to the ecosystem and humanity. It also causes health problems, makes food production difficult, and aggravates poverty.

4) Spiritually,

they show evil dispositions such as loving themselves, loving money, boasting, arrogance, and slandering. They disobey their parents, are ungrateful, unholy, unloving, and do not forgive their grievances, and slander one another. They lack self-control, are fierce, love evil, hate good, forget God, and love pleasure more than God. They hate to be humble and serve others. They exalt themselves, boast, and slander others. (2 Timothy 3:1)

5) Many people leave the faith.

Matthew 24:11. Many false prophets will rise and deceive many.

12. Because lawlessness will be abound, the love of many will grow cold.

Churches in Europe are closing, and Christianity is being persecuted worldwide. People think that following the teachings of the Bible is backward.

2. In the last days, our saints must be filled with the Holy Spirit. 17. God said, “In the last days, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”

In the last days, God will pour out the Holy Spirit on us. However, in the last days, evil spirits will pour out the spirits of demons.

The number of shamans in Korea is estimated to have increased nearly fourfold from 200,000 in the early 2000s to 800,000. In particular, there is an article that estimates the number of shamans who open shrines and practice shamanism to be between 400,000 and 600,000. The number of shamans who open shrines and practice shamanism is estimated to be between 400,000 and 600,000.

Statistics Korea data: As of 2022, the number of people engaged in ‘fortune-telling and similar services’ is 11,940. Shamanism groups claim: More than 300,000. Number of members of the Korean Federation of Confucianism and the Korean Association of Fortune-tellers: Approximately 800,000.

The number of churches recorded in the religious yearbook is about 60,000, and the number of pastors is about 130,000.

The average salary for a senior pastor is 3 to 5 million won, and for an associate pastor, 2.2 to 3.5 million won.

Our country’s religion has developed largely from Buddhism to Confucianism and then to Christianity. However, shamans (shamans) have the devil in their hearts, whether it be during the Three Kingdoms period of Buddhism, the Confucian era of the Joseon Dynasty, or the modern Christian era. We are seeing shamanism today.

When a shaman rides a stick and tells stories of the past, people feel as if they are real. (Movie Sleep)

A shaman’s word is “Gongsu,” and he speaks directly, such as going east and wearing black clothes. On the other hand, Christianity feels fake because it asks people to pray.

Buddhists have spirits, shamans have spirits, and Catholics have spirits. Christianity also has the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus. I go to church, but I don’t feel the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 14 1. Pursue love and desire spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.

How much more, even demons call with their intellect and sincerity, but because the saints do not pray and worship God with all their heart and sincerity, the Holy Spirit does not dwell. How can the Holy Spirit dwell in my heart when I am not clean?

2. Old men will dream dreams
3. God said, “In the last days, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.”

Dreams have no age limit. They say that everyone dreams.

Professor Kim Hyung-seok, who is 105 years old, said that he had this dream. He said that he dreamed of entering elementary school. He said that he had a dream of receiving a notice of vulnerability.

I have experienced an awkward situation every time I take a flight to Jeju or Busan after I turn 100. The machine does not recognize the boarding pass I reserved with my resident registration card. Sometimes I turn 02 and sometimes the boarding pass does not come out. After investigating for a while, the employee explained, “The three-digit number does not appear on the computer.” This is a dream story about how I might receive an elementary school admission notice in a few more years.

Now, I often have dreams about enlisting in the military again. I really don’t want to have a dream about enlisting in the military again, which I hate so much, but I do. Because it was a boring and painful period.

Caleb said, “Give me this mountain at the age of 85.” Caleb did not rest or be passive at the age of 85. The land he wanted to obtain was one that could not be obtained without fighting a war. He wanted to obtain the mountain in his old age.

“Give me this mountain. You heard that day that the Anakim were there and that the cities were large and fortified. If the Lord is with me, I will drive them out, just as the Lord said.” (Verse 12).

Most of our Sungwon Full Gospel Church members are older. Are there any of you who say, “I am too old to do anything anymore?” As we grow older, we live by cursing, gossiping, and gossiping about others with our lips, as the Book of James says. Will the Holy Spirit give you dreams because you live a life of boasting and living a life of luxury with what little you have? He gives dreams to those who have good dreams like Caleb and try to put them into practice, and gives beautiful results to those who work hard for those dreams.

3. He will pour out the Holy Spirit on his male and female servants

Acts 2:18. At that time, I will pour out my Spirit on my male and female servants, and they will prophesy.

He said that he will pour out the Spirit of God on his male and female servants.

The Presbyterian Church of Korea opposes the ordination of female pastors. For biblical reasons, 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 and 1 Timothy 2:11-12 clearly state restrictions on women’s roles in the church.

1 Corinthians 14:34. Women should keep silence in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to be submissive, as the law says. 35. If they want to learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home; for it is shameful for a woman to speak in the church. 36. Did the word of God come from you, or did it come to you only?

They oppose the ordination of female pastors due to feudalistic thinking and male-superior thinking. However, the Full Gospel Church has been experiencing revival in the church for a long time due to the capable ministry of Pastor Choi Ja-sil, and now we can see female pastors being more active than male pastors.

The unification of the Presbyterian Church is still opposed, but the Presbyterian Church in Korea has allowed female rape rights for the first time in 109 years.

Joel 2:18. At that time I will pour out my Spirit on my male and female servants, and they will prophesy.

The Bible, starting from the Old Testament era, says that God pours out the Spirit of God on male and female servants. If you pour out the Holy Spirit, you will have dreams.

• It is said that a people without dreams will perish.

Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision, the people perish, but he who keeps the law is blessed.”

 

Vision was translated as a dream. If we interpret the previous verse as ‘Blessed are those who keep the law’, it cannot be interpreted as a dream.

There is a vision for Sungwon Sunbokgum Church.

It is a happy and blessed thing to live in our church. However, what would be happier is if our church used the 3rd and 4th floors for missionary purposes. Our Pyeonggang says so. They rent the 3rd and 4th floors to students from Yonsei University, Sogang University, Hongik University, and Ewha University, especially to children of pastors in rural areas, asking them to pay only the electricity and water bills. In return, our Pyeonggang needs to earn a lot of money. And our dream is to move to Daewon Apartment. It is a dream that all the believers come up to the 2nd floor of our church on Sundays and have lunch.

These are the things that happen when you receive the Holy Spirit.

During a normal religious life, through a revival meeting or a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit of God, people begin to end their first sins. When the Holy Spirit of God enters our hearts,

1) Alcohol, cigarettes, and prostitution will end. The cigarettes that we had smoked for decades will end (When Boramae went to the Osan-ri Fasting Prayer Center, he received the Holy Spirit and the most noticeable phenomenon was that he stopped smoking and drinking.)

2) People around him will know. After believing in Jesus and receiving the Holy Spirit, you have changed a little. When the Holy Spirit dwells in my heart, my face will brighten, I will want to go to church, and no matter what anyone says, I will only see the Lord’s work.

3) When I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will live for the Lord. All my goals and directions will be for the glory of Jesus. I will no longer feel regret. In the Book of Acts, there are many actions that many people took after receiving the Holy Spirit. It is said that they sold their own property and offered it at the apostles’ feet.

When Adam and Eve began to sin, the Holy Spirit of God left people’s hearts, so we must always fight against sin and repent and come close to the Lord in order not to sin.

Conclusion.

The Acts of the Apostles is the Acts of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gathers together to pray, the Holy Spirit evangelizes, the Holy Spirit establishes churches, and the Holy Spirit conducts overseas missions. The focus, or priority, of the Acts of the Apostles is the Holy Spirit. After Jesus ascended to heaven, the Holy Spirit spoke in tongues, and the Holy Spirit made the conclusions of all the meetings.

Acts 15:28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond these essentials.

Hebrews 10:15 And the Spirit bears witness with us,

1 John 4:13 And we know that we abide in him, and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

What we must focus on is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit leads our church, and the Holy Spirit revives our church. A church without the Holy Spirit is like a dead church.

What is the priority in our lives? For some, it is money. For some, it is children. For some, it is health.

For me, the priority is the Holy Spirit, followed by the sermon. I do my best for the sermon. Whether one person comes or two people come, I am preaching. And I focus on that. Even when watching a drama or a movie on TV, the priority is the sermon. It is applied to the sermon.

The priority of our church is the revival of the church. The consistent prayer topic of our members is the revival of the church. For the revival of the church, the Holy Spirit is our priority. The next priority for me is the sermon, but for our members, it is coming to church and praying. We have dawn prayer meetings, Wednesday services, and all-night services. We have revival meetings for the revival of the church.