Beloved, do you want to receive more tangible blessings from God AND more opportunity than ever before? If so, you have to know what you should be on the lookout for so you don’t miss even His smallest whisper or motion. And to fully appropriate all that He has for you, you have to know your “THAT.”

This may sound confusing at first, but I promise you it’s not confusing at all–and it’s deep, powerful, and encouraging. Read on for more!

Our Scripture passages for Day 5 of 21 Days of Great Exploits come from Acts chapter 2. We’ll look at this Scripture in two parts.

In Acts 2, God poured out His Holy Spirit upon His people and baptized the early church with His Holy Spirit and fire.

After He poured out His Spirit, the believers started speaking in tongues. Cloven tongues of fire appeared on every person, and they all started magnifying God and extolling Him.

These people made such a noise that a great crowd gathered and marveled at what was happening. Some bystanders even speculated that the believers who were receiving such an encounter with the Lord might have been drunk!

In the middle of that chaotic scene, the apostle Peter stood up and gave a sermon, totally inspired by God’s Holy Spirit. Look at what Peter said first in Acts 2:15-16:

“For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;” (Acts 2:15-16 KJV).

And I want you to first notice how Peter said, “This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel …”

“This is THAT.” This phrase is key for our lesson today, friend. Why?

Because, if you want to do great exploits for the King, you have to know your “that.” And when God does something new in you, through you, and for you, OR when you WANT Him to do something new in/through/for you, you have to know your “THAT.”

“This” is “that.”

What do I mean when I talk about “this” and “that”?

Well, Peter pointed out to the people that the scene before them was the fulfillment of something that God had previously promised. The wild scene of Pentecost (the “this”) wasn’t a random happenstance or occurrence.

No; it had been previously predicted in God’s Word. And Peter pointed to a specific promise (the “THAT”) to prove to the people that this event had a precedent. By speaking through Peter in this manner, the Lord built the bystanders’ faith for a similar encounter with Christ (salvation and the baptism in the Holy Spirit) of their own.

“This” (the scene of Pentecost unfolding) was “THAT”–the fulfillment of the promises of Joel 2:28-32. And Peter went on to explain exactly that. After he started his sermon by asserting that “this is that,” he continued preaching and explained exactly what God had previously promised (essentially quoting Joel 2):

“‘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. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy.

I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved’” (Acts 2:17-21 NKJV).

Well, beloved, Peter did a great exploit that day.

Peter messed up plenty in his life, including during his time spent learning from Jesus in person before Jesus went back to Heaven. However, but Peter did a huge exploit that day anyway.

On the day of Pentecost, God chose Peter to preach the early church’s (post-ascension) first recorded sermon. And he didn’t preach a wimpy sermon, either. He was full of the Holy Spirit and power, and he preached a doozy of a word: a great exploit that produced a God-given victory:

“And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, ‘Be saved from this perverse generation.’ Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them” (Acts 2:40-41 NKJV).

I think any person would be happy about seeing 3,000 souls converted to Christ in one day; don’t you? I know I would! And the Bible says that the angels in Heaven rejoice when even one sinner repents and receives salvation. Yes, Peter did a great exploit.

Related: What Is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and How to Receive It

But the foundation for Peter’s great exploit was the fact that Peter knew his “THAT.”

In other words, Peter knew what had previously been promised. And therefore, the Lord was able to use him in that moment:

• to fully appropriate a divinely-appointed moment;
• to bring fantastic results for the Kingdom; and
• to operate in his gifts as an apostle (called to preach, exhort, equip, shepherd, and bear witness for Christ).

But would the Lord have used Peter if Peter had never studied, listened, or paid attention to the things of God before, and therefore had no knowledge of what had previously been prophesied? Maybe; but maybe not. I’m inclined to think that, at minimum, Peter would certainly have missed out on a moment that changed his life.

Beloved, how many times have you missed out on a moment that could change your life–all because you didn’t recognize that “this” was “that”?

Do you know God’s promises to you well enough to recognize even the faintest stirrings of His prophetic whirlwind on your behalf? Do you know what He has promised you in such detail that you can tell when He is doing something for you …

… so that even at the scent of His movement, you are fully on board, leaning into Him, and following Him?

Do you know your “THAT”?

If you don’t, beloved, I encourage you to get alone with the Lord and start studying His Word. When you sit down to pray and read your Bible, ask Him specifically to show you what He has for you. Ask Him to help you understand His promises, and to believe every one of those promises for yourself.

If you will do that, you will find God’s promises seeming to leap off the pages of Scripture as you read them. And every time a verse seems to leap into your heart, write it down. THAT verse is one of God’s words to you, and He expects you:

• to believe it in faith;
• to hide His Word in your heart;
• to start praying over each Bible promise; and
• to be on the lookout for even the faintest stirrings of the fulfillment of those promises.

You have to know your “THAT,” friend.

It’s too easy to miss your moment if you don’t know what you are looking for. And God will tell you in advance what to be on the lookout for if you will just learn His Word for you, and hide it in your heart, praying over it and contending with God for every single promise to be fulfilled.

If you want to carry out great exploits, you have to know what God has promised you.

Do you need His help with this today? If so, pray this with me right now:

“Dear Heavenly Father, I come before you in Jesus’ name.

Abba Father, thank You for Your many great and precious promises. Thank You that You have promised to do exceedingly abundantly ABOVE all I could ask or think. Thank You that Your mercies are new every day, and thank You that Your grace is sufficient for me.

Holy Father, in Jesus’ name, I am asking You for help today:

• I need to understand what You have promised me, so please open Your Word up to me and help me understand Your treasure trove of promises.
• Give me ears to hear You, eyes to see You, a nose to smell Your fragrance, and a heart to understand Your Word.
• Give me revelation according to Your Word!
• Help me to know specifically when You are speaking to me about a thing.
• Build my faith, Lord; increase my faith to believe You and Your Word, and to know that all of Your promises are for me–not just for other people.

O Abba Father, please help me to learn all that You have promised me so that I can recognize it, participate in it, and not miss it when it comes.

I don’t want to miss out on a single thing, Father.

I want to be instant in season; always prepared, always with my eyes on You, and always walking in Your blessing–without missing out on anything. I desire to appropriate every moment, every good work, every great exploit, and every blessing that You have ordained for my life.

So please, Abba Father: please help me to know the “that” (the promise or prophecy) behind every fulfilled promise, every answered prayer, and every blessing that You send me.

Thank You, Lord God. I give You all the praise. In Jesus’ mighty name I pray, amen.”

Beloved, are you hungry for your “this” to happen, as promised and prophesied in your “THAT”?

If so, leave a comment below!