One of the great missteps in our response has been to treat the Christian life as an individual journey—me and my Bible, me and my quiet time, me and my God. And while personal faith is crucial, Scripture never presents it as sufficient. God has given us something more, something necessary: the Body of Christ.
Too often, the Church is viewed as just a place we go or a service we attend. Hebrews 10:25 warns us not to “forsake the assembling of ourselves together,” and that’s a good start. But assembling isn’t the goal—it’s the beginning. A true church is more than a crowd of believers in the same room. It’s a Spirit-filled, Scripture-centered community where hope is actively rekindled.
This is what the prophet Joel envisioned when he wrote:
“And it shall come to pass afterward,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
Even on the male and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit.”
(Joel 2:28–29, ESV)
Joel pointed forward to a day when God would do something new—not just anoint a few prophets or leaders, but pour out His Spirit on the whole community of faith. And the evidence of this Spirit-filled people? They would dream. They would see. They would speak.
Centuries later, Peter stood before a crowd in Jerusalem and declared, “This is that.” On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came, and the Church was born. People from every background were united by one Spirit. And in that moment, Peter quoted Joel directly:
“And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.”
(Acts 2:17–18, ESV)
What Joel saw, Peter experienced. What was promised became present reality.
The early believers gathered—not only to worship, but to devote themselves “to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). In other words, they gathered around the Word of God, empowered by the Spirit of God, to become the people of God.
This is where hope grows—not in isolation, but in community. When we gather with fellow believers who are filled with the Spirit and grounded in Scripture, something holy happens. We begin to speak prophetically—not in wild speculation or personal revelation, but by faithfully and boldly declaring the truth of God’s Word to one another. The centrality of Scripture is non-negotiable. It is the Word that gives life, and the Spirit who breathes that Word into our hearts afresh.
When the Spirit is active in a church, people begin to dream again. The young see visions—not just of career or success, but of kingdom purpose. The old dream dreams—not of nostalgia, but of the promises of God still unfolding. We remind each other of what’s true. We carry one another’s burdens. We confess sin, offer forgiveness, and speak the gospel again and again until it sinks deep into our bones.
Hope is not found in a program or a pep talk. It’s found in the holy mystery of the Spirit working through the Word in the lives of ordinary believers. That’s the church. And that’s the hope of the world.
If your hope feels dry, don’t just look inward. Look around. Press into the Body of Christ—not passively, but with expectation. Ask the Spirit to move. Open your Bible. Open your mouth. Open your life.
God still pours out His Spirit. And His people still dream.
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