Beyond Today Daily

Pentecost

Jun 4, 2021

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Pentecost is a time of beginnings, a reset to remind us to be God's firstfruits.

[Steve Myers] We've just come through the Feast of Pentecost, and one of the nicest identifiers for Pentecost, at least in my opinion, is a passage that's found back in the book of Exodus. It's in Exodus 23:16. And there's a lot of meaning in the name that Pentecost is given here in Exodus 23:16. It says this, it says, "You should keep," verse 16, "the feast of harvest, the first fruits of your labors." The first fruits of your labors as part of the identifying factor for what would become the Feast of Pentecost. Acts 2, God pours out His Holy Spirit, and the first fruits, those who would be the ones that God would work with first, receive God's Spirit.

And so as you look throughout the Bible, God's first fruits and that connection to harvest is such an important principle. And it has a distinct meaning because that's where it begins. God begins to work with mankind. And throughout history, He calls those He's working with His first fruits. And so Pentecost could be thought of as a time of beginning. And spiritually speaking, that's absolutely critical. It ties into what the apostle Paul wrote over in the book of Romans. Romans 6:4 becomes a critical passage for us today. And it says this, "Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in newness of life."

It is time to begin. God's opened our minds to His truth. Let's get going. It's time to start. And Pentecost is a yearly reminder to have a reset, to get going, to have a fresh start. Be the first fruit. Be those that God is working with, and submit to God's Spirit so we can accomplish His will. It is time to begin.

That's BT Daily. We'll see you next time.

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Steve Myers

Steve is the Operation Manager for the Ministerial and Member Services department of the United Church of God. He is also an instructor at Ambassador Bible College as well as a host on the Beyond Today television program. Together, he and his wife, Kathe, have served God and His people for over 25 years.

Related Media

Let Us Keep the Feasts: First Fruits

38 minutes read time

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This is part 6 in the Bible study series: Let Us Keep the Feasts. Is it possible that God is only dealing with a few people today? There is a huge spiritual harvest to come, but what does the Biblical Festival of Pentecost tell us about the plan of God? God uses the representation of the harvest of firstfruits to make a powerful point as to the deep meaning of His purpose. In this study we’ll discuss the details of what exactly is a firstfruit and what responsibilities does it carry? Join us for this in depth examination of Pentecost and the firstfruits.

Transcript

[Steve Myers] Good to see you tonight. Hope you're doing very well, not only those of you here in the room, but those that are joining us on the Web. Tonight, we continue our series on Let Us Keep the Feast. And since we've come through the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost is right ahead of us, we're going to change our point of view and start to talk about something a little bit different tonight that points us to the next festival in God's plan, and that is Pentecost. And so to begin tonight, why don't we go ahead and bow our heads? We'll ask God's blessing on our study tonight.

Loving Heavenly Father, God almighty, thank you so much for your wonderful way. We thank you that you have a plan and a purpose for all of us. Thank you, God, for that plan. Thank you for revealing that plan and as we study your word tonight, Father, help us to even understand more fully and perhaps more deeply than we ever have before certain aspects of your love and your way and your mercy and, of course, the plan that you have. And so we thank you for this. Thanks for the opportunity to discuss your word. Thanks for your presence here with us. And we just pray that you bless every word that's said and bless our thoughts and our thinking as we discuss and consider your word. So thank you for this opportunity, Father. Thank you for your love and your way. And we just want to put it into your hands now. So we thank you for it, and we ask this blessing by the authority of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

All right, to begin tonight, I thought I could begin with a question. If you had to say how God reveals His plan to us, how would you answer? How does God reveal His plan? Okay, well, we know He's got to open our mind to His truth. Okay we could probably start there. Without God's calling, without Him working with us, without Him taking the blinders off, well, we can't even begin. But once God begins to do that, is there something in His word that shows what He's doing that indicates His plan and His purpose for mankind? Is there anything that indicates the way that His plan of salvation works? How is He going to rescue us? Like Paul says, how is He going to rescue us from this body of sin, this body of death? How is He going to do that?

Well, throughout the Bible, we find that God reveals that plan through His Festivals and Holy Days. And it's by those Festivals and Holy Days He paints a picture of his purpose. He paints a picture of his plan. And in a way, I think we can say it's an object lesson, isn't it, that he gives us a means to help us understand. So if you had to say, what is that object lesson that God demonstrates through His Festivals and Holy Days that's supposed to help us to understand what His purpose is, to help us understand His focus and His intent for salvation? What would that be? What would that object lesson be?

Well, if you tear apart the Scriptures, I think you've got to come to the conclusion that it's about harvest. It's about harvest. If you look at the early writings back in the Old Testament, we find the focus of God's Festivals and Holy Days are around the harvest. And it's supposed to be an object lesson for us. Now, it's a little bit of a challenge for us today because most of us aren't farmers. We don't grow our own food. We're not so connected to the land that it immediately pops out as "Oh, wow! There's something being taught to us through this lesson of harvest" But nonetheless, that's the way God reveals His focus. He reveals it through three festival seasons. And those three seasons are symbolic of what God's purpose is. He is harvesting. God is harvesting. And He uses this physical harvest as an object lesson to teach us spiritual things.

And so if you'd like to turn with me over to Exodus 23, we can begin there to see this object lesson played out as God discusses how the ancient Israelites should be able to recognize that purpose that God is working out for mankind. Let's notice it. Exodus 23, beginning in verse 14, He describes these three harvest times. Let's notice it. Exodus 23:14, He says, "Three times you shall keep a feast to me in the year." He says, verse 15, "You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. You should eat unleavened bread seven days as I commanded you at the time appointed in the month of Abib." That's the first month of the year according to God's calendar. "For in it, you came out of Egypt. None shall appear before me empty.”

Then He says, “A second time in the year,” it says "and the feast of harvest," it says, "the first fruits of your labors, which you have sown in the field." So there's that harvest connection, that how you harvest from the field should be symbolic of some greater spiritual truth. And then He points to the third season, and He says, "And the feast of ingathering at the end of the year when you've gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field."

And so here God is showing His people that He's established His Festivals and Holy Days to outline His purpose. And He's done it around these harvest seasons, these harvest seasons in Palestine, in ancient Israel. And the interesting thing is it's not about crops. It's not about physical grain that's growing or fruit that's going to be coming to harvest at the end of the year. That's not what it's about. But it's supposed to teach us what it is about. And so here's God mapping that out. And in a way, you know what He's saying. He's saying, “Just like you harvest these various crops at different times during the year, I am going to harvest people. Just like you harvest crops, I am going to harvest people to eternal life in the Kingdom of God.”

And so He established these Holy Days that are wrapped around the harvest seasons. And so in the spring time, we have the Festivals and Holy Days of Passover, Unleavened Bread that begin that first harvest. The barley harvest is in Palestine right in the spring time of the year. Then as we move on through the year, we get to the early summer where Pentecost falls. And that's representative of this wheat harvest, still an early harvest, not this gigantic, overwhelming, open-the-storehouses kind of harvest, but a small harvest, an early harvest.

And then of course, He mentions here in the fall of the year, we have those fall Holy Days of Trumpets and Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles and the Eighth Day. And they're certainly representative, I suppose, as a whole of that ingathering that he mentioned here in Exodus, this huge harvest, almost overwhelming harvest of all the other things, other than wheat and barley mainly, all those other crops that are going to finally be ready to be taken in. And that happens in the fall of the year. And so we see as God maps out how important those harvest seasons are.

And in fact, still here early on in the year, he points to this feast of harvest. Well, what does this feast of harvest have to do with the crops that are going to be gathered in? And how does that fit toward the beginning of the year? We have those spring harvests, the Passover and Unleavened Bread, I guess you could say, and then Pentecost following. Why would He call it the feast of harvest?

In fact, this particular Feast seems to have more names than most of the others. Sometimes, it's called the Feast of Weeks. If you just flip over a couple of pages to Exodus 34, we see that name synonymous with this feast of harvest. It says, verse 22 in Exodus 34, "You shall observe the Feast of Weeks of the first fruits of wheat harvest." And then he mentions that third season again, the feast of ingathering at year’s end. So he mentions those three seasons here again in Exodus 34. And so we have the feast of harvest, which is equal to the feast of first fruits, also called the feast of weeks, the Feast of Weeks, because we recognize that God designed this feast to be counted out from the Days of Unleavened Bread to when it should be kept. And it's a number of weeks. Seven weeks plus a day are counted.

In fact, the New Testament name in Greek is Pentecost, which means 50th. And so it's actually numbered out so we know exactly when to keep that specific day. We'll talk a little bit more about that in just a minute.

Now, we know that these days, whether it's called the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of First Fruits, connected and synonymous with Pentecost in the New Testament. We know in the New Testament something awesome happened, that was the time that there was this speaking in all kinds of different languages when God poured his spirit out on his people, and the New Testament Church began. And in fact, it is interesting when you begin to think about what does ripening fruit have to do with beginning of a New Testament church? How are those things connected? And what in the world is a first fruit anyway? What is it?

Well, it's not real hard to figure out. It's pretty much what those words say. First fruits would be those first that ripen, the ones that come to maturity fastest, to come to maturity first. And so God uses that concept of first fruits, those that ripen sooner, to spell out a portion of what He's doing in his plan, in that plan of salvation. God uses this concept of the first fruits, those that would be harvested sooner, in order to illustrate what He's doing at the beginning of His plan, more toward the beginning of what his purpose is all about. And so when we look at what He's doing at the beginning of those harvests, what was it? What was it?

Well, when you look to the beginning, to the Days of Unleavened Bread, it begins to point out that there was a certain procedure that was done during those days. Before that early harvest could begin, there was a special ceremony that had to take place. In order for any harvest to start, physical harvest at that time, something had to be done first. God had a requirement for them. In fact, it's found over in the book of Leviticus, Leviticus 23. If you take a look over in Leviticus, we'll see what God required must happen before any harvest could take place. So let's take a look over in Leviticus 23, and we begin in verse 9, Leviticus 23:9. Here's the Lord speaking to Moses and He says, "Speak to the children of Israel. Say to them, ‘ When you come into the land which I give you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest."

So before any harvesting could be done, this ceremony had to take place. An individual would go out and cut a sheaf of that barley. And once that sheaf was cut, we could say it was a handful, an omer, a couple of liters worth, I guess, of dry measure, they would bring it to the priest. And then what would the priest do? Well, verse 11, it says, "He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted on your behalf. On the day after the Sabbath, the priest shall wave it."

And so here we see the beginning of the harvest began with this sheaf of the first fruits. Sometimes it's called the wave sheaf. This single lone sheaf was called the first fruits. And so this priest would take that, and he would wave it before the Lord. Or literally, he would lift it up. He would lift it up and present it before God. And that was a significant festival because no one could eat any of the new grain, any of the new harvest. None of it could be touched in that sense. None of it could be harvested. None of it could be eaten until that ceremony took place.

And so it meant something very significant. And especially when you begin to think about the spiritual connection here because it's not just about crops. Remember, God is giving us an object lesson to teach us about a greater spiritual truth through these three harvest seasons. So before any of them could begin, this sheaf of the first fruits had to be waved, had to be lifted and presented before God.

So let's consider this sheaf of the first fruits for just a moment. The sheaf of the first fruits is what Leviticus calls it.

So we’ll write that out. I’ll try to spell it correctly here before I get carried away.

So the sheaf of the first fruits, sometimes also called the wave sheaf, well, what does it represent? So we’ll put that up here. It represents.

What is that significance of this particular ceremony and this particular sheaf? And more often than not, it was barley, in order to begin that harvest. Well we see specifically it's called the first in verse 10. Verse 10, it is called the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest, the sheaf of the first fruit. You see, Israel understood this concept of first fruits. First fruits not only applied to the crops. It not only applied to the grain or any of the harvest things. It also applied to people. And so this wave of the first fruits also had a representation that connected them to the firstborn.

This sheaf of the first fruits has a connection and represents the firstborn. And the firstborn of God's people were special to God. There was something that related to that idea of being first, being first. It's always nice to be first, isn't it? First in line, first to win the race. What's second place? The first loser, right? Well, you want to be the first loser? You want to be the winner, firstborn. And it had that connection. It's the best. It's the choicest. It's the one that is special. It's that whole concept that they did understand that it's the best and also an indication that if it's the first, there must be more to follow as well.

So they understood there was this connection between the sheaf of the first fruits and the firstborn. If you go with me over to Nehemiah 10, we can see this connection spelled out in that representation to the firstborn and the connection to a sheaf. Let's notice what it says here in Nehemiah 10. Look at verse 35, Nehemiah 10:35. Here it says, "We made ordinances to bring the first fruits of our ground." Of course the "We made it" is not really there in the Hebrew. In your Bible, it may be italicized. But certainly, they were told by God to bring the first fruits of their ground and the first fruits of all fruit of all trees year by year to the house of the lord. And so we've got this connection to the first fruits, but it doesn't stop there.

So we keep reading, also verse 36, “to bring the first born of our sons.” And it didn't stop there either, “the first born of our cattle,” as it's written in the law, “and the first born of our herds and our flocks to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of God. To bring the first fruits of our dough, our offerings, the first from all kinds of trees, the new wine and oil to the priests and the storerooms, to the house of our God, and to bring the tithes of our land to the Levites.” And so we see the Israelites understood. There was a connection here between the first fruits and the firstborn.

The first fruits were holy to God. They understood they belong to God. And what happened at the time that those firstborn came on the scene? It says they were presented before God like that wave sheaf. Like the sheaf of the first fruits, they were presented to God. They were set apart by God and then presented to Him. He considered them something special, something that was choice, something that was first.

And so Israel certainly understood there was a connection here. Now, this firstborn concept goes farther as well because it's not just about cattle and fruit and sheaf and not just about that. There's a spiritual significance. So keep that in mind, because we'll come back to that in just a moment, because there's more to what the sheaf of the first fruits has a connection to.

It's also interesting that this sheaf, or really, oftentimes, any sheaf in the Bible can be representative of a person. So it has a connection to the firstborn. But there's also this connection of a sheaf to a person. Can you think of any example in the Bible? Let's say other than Jesus Christ, where a sheaf has a connection to a person. Well, we probably all know the story of Joseph with his fancy multi-colored coat that his dad gave him. Remember how he got in trouble with his brothers? Remember what that dream was all about that Joseph had? I won't go there. But if you went to Genesis 37, it tells that story of Joseph and the multi-colored coat that he had. And his brothers got jealous because Joseph had a dream. And in that dream, what was happening? They were putting sheaves together. They were bundling up the grain. And as those bundles came together, whose bundle stood tall? Whose sheaf stood tall while all the others of his brothers bowed down to Josephs? Well, it was Joseph's.

So we see there is a connection there in that story of Joseph and his dream that that one sheaf represented Joseph. The others represented all his brothers. And so there is that connection that a sheaf can represent a person. There is that connection. In fact, it doesn't stop there. There's an amazing psalm. I don't know if you've ever noticed this. Psalm 126, it seems like the early days of America, they recognized this psalm, I'd say, often, often. In Psalm 126, right at the very beginning of the psalm, we've got a prophetic psalm. It's a prophetic psalm that speaks to the future of what's going to be happening and looks to the past of what has occurred as well as it identifies God's people, God’s people. It says, "When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream." But we know what happened to Israel, well they got carted off into captivity because they disobeyed God.

But we know, prophetically, there's a time they're going to come back. God's going to bring them back. And this is accounting for that very scenario. Let's notice something. It says then, wow, “This is great! We're going to be back in our land where we belong.” It says, "Our mouth was filled with laughter. Our tongue was singing." And they said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them." God gets the credit. And we know this is going to happen in the future. God is going to bring His people back. Verse 4, “bring back our captivity, the streams of the south. Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy." Yeah they've sowed in tears as they were carted off into captivity, but when they're redeemed, they're brought back, and then there's going to be, it says, “great joy”

And in a way, that happened in Christ's ministry as well. The Jews expected Christ to come in great power and authority and wipe out anyone that stood against Him. But He was a man of sorrows, wasn't He, first time around, a man of sorrows? He sowed in tears. Connection to Christ there. But ultimately, what will be reaped? Well, He says great joy here.

Then he says, verse 6 "He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seeds for sowing shall doubtless come again with rejoicing." There's that connection to Christ, a man of sorrows who was sowing what's going to be reaped, a fantastic harvest. And what does He say about that harvest? Remember our connection here? It says, “He will bring his sheaves with Him.” He’ll bring his sheaves with him.
I don't know if you've ever heard the song before. But in early America, they used to sing it all the time. Did you ever hear that song? "Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves, we shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves." That's what that is from. Christ is going to bring His people with Him represented as a sheaf. As the sheaves He's going to bring with Him. So I think it's undoubtable that there is a connection between sheaves, the first fruit, and people and that harvest, of course. So we see that connection to this representation of what God's purpose and plan. He's going to return and His people, those sheaves, are going to be with Him.

Now, I think it also begins to point out something pretty specific that we've even talked about a little bit already, that there is this representation of Jesus Christ Himself.

That wave sheaf is representative of Jesus Christ. Yes, there's connections to the firstborn and to people as sheaves. But most specifically, this single sheaf not only represents Jesus Christ, but I think, more importantly, is that it was fulfilled by Jesus Christ. This ceremony that we read about in Leviticus 23 not only was a representation, but something that Christ Himself fulfilled. He is the firstborn. He is that sheaf of the first fruits. He was the firstborn as well, firstborn of Mary but, most importantly, the firstborn of the Father. He was also the first born of other things as well.

If we turn over to 1 Corinthians 15, we can see this connection to this first fruit and this wave sheaf and Jesus Christ. Look at 1 Corinthians 15:20. 1 Corinthians 15:20, you probably remember chapter 15 oftentimes known as the resurrection chapter. And not only talking about the opportunity for God's people to be resurrected, but it get's right back to the beginning, right back to the first.

And in fact, it is interesting, in the Old Testament the word oftentimes translated first fruits is reshith. That's an English transliteration. But you know what it's also translated as? Beginnings, beginnings. It's also translated as beginnings. Where does the plan of God begin? Well, it begins with Jesus Christ. Where does our hope begin? Well, it begins with Jesus Christ. Where did the church start? Well, it started on Pentecost, on the feast of harvest, on the Feast of Weeks the New Testament church began. And so there's amazing connections even with just the usage of the terms when you look at what the Bible says.

Well, anyway, back to the resurrection chapter, chapter 15, 1 Corinthians. Let's notice verse 20. It says, "But now, Christ is risen from the dead and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. So that tells us straight away, Christ not only represents but fulfills the first fruits. He is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. He says "For since by Man came death,” by Man with a capital M, by Jesus Christ, our Savior, “also came the resurrection of the dead, for as in Adam, all die, even so in Christ, all shall be made alive." But he says each one in his own order. Christ the first fruits, afterward, those who are Christ at his coming."

And then comes the end when He delivers the Kingdom of God to the Father and puts an end to all rule and all authority and all power. And so it's kind of interesting here in Corinthians, we see that pattern of the harvest seasons. And Christ is the beginning. He's the first of the first. But there's also a connection of how there will be each one in his own order. There's a series of things. And those harvest Festivals in Palestine and ancient Israel have a connection to what God's purpose is all about. There's a spiritual meaning behind it. And so that wave sheaf, that sheaf of the first fruits points to the beginning. It points to our savior Jesus Christ and everything that He not only represents but He fulfilled in His life and His resurrection.

In fact, Colossians exemplifies this, expands on it even more. If you go over to Colossians 1, we can see here in verse 16, Colossians 1:16, it talks about the preeminence of Christ. It talks about how Christ is choice, how He is the best, how He is the ultimate. He is the firstborn of the Father, firstborn in so many ways. Let's notice what it says, Colossians 1:16. Well, look at verse 15, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation." So he's preeminent. It says, "By Him, all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through him and for him." Making that point, He's the choice. He's tops. He's number 1.

Verse 17, "He is before all things, and in Him, all things consist. He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning. The firstborn from the dead that in all things He may have the preeminence," all things, He may have preeminence. So He is the most holy one. He is the fulfillment of the first fruit, that sheaf of the first fruits. He was that fulfillment. He represents that.

In fact, we see that played out in scripture right to the T how that wave sheaf that was lifted before God in ancient Israel had a connection to what we just read about, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If you remember the story of the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ, if you look really quickly over to the book of John, John 20, let's recognize in more than one way he fulfilled this sheaf of the first fruits. John 20, let's see. Where should we begin?

Well, verse 13, here's Mary at the tomb. And we see they ask Mary, "Why are you weeping, woman?" She said, "Because they've taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they laid Him."

Verse 14, "When she said this she turned around and saw Jesus standing there and didn't know that it was Jesus." Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Well, she supposed Him to be the gardener. And she said, "Sir, if you’ve carried Him away, tell me where you've laid Him that I will take him away."

And Jesus said to her "Mary!" She turned and said to him, "Rabboni," which is to say teacher. She recognizes Christ. Well, what does Christ say to her? He says something interesting. He says "Do not cling to me for I have not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brethren and say to them I'm ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."

So it's interesting to see this connection now. Where was Christ in all of this? This connection to the sheaf of the first fruits, He's been cut down. He's been resurrected. But He hasn't been presented yet. Just like that sheaf had to be cut, had to be gathered up, and then taken to the priest, He was right in between. He'd been cut down. He'd been resurrected and picked up in that sense but hadn't been taken to the Father yet, like that sheaf had to be taken physically to the Father, Christ had to ascend…or to the priest, Christ had to ascend. He said don't touch me yet. I haven't ascended, haven't been there yet.

But later on in the story, we see that Christ does allow the disciples to touch Him and hold Him and handle Him. If you go over to the book of Luke 24:38, we see just a little while later, same day, different story. A different story is right here as we see Christ appear before the disciples. This is verse 38 in Luke 24. It says, "Why are you troubled? This is Christ speaking. Why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold, my hands and my feet that it is myself." It's me, He says. "Handle me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have." So here's Christ encouraging them to touch Him when just earlier in the day He said, “Mary, don't touch me. Don’t touch me. Don't hang on to me, because I haven't ascended. Well evidently, like that wave sheaf that was lifted up by the priest, Christ hadn't been lifted up yet to the Father when Mary was there. But later on in the day, obviously, that had happened, and He had ascended and had been presented before the Father and had been accepted by the Father. And so He fulfilled that sheaf of the first fruits.

And we can see how that representation follows straight through in what Christ Himself did. His resurrection and appearance to the Father testified to the very fact that this sheaf of the first fruits had been not only cut down but reaped and presented, reaped and presented to God in His Heavenly sanctuary, not to just some priest, but to God the Father.

And in fact, it's also interesting to note, back in Leviticus, if we were to have kept reading there in Leviticus where it talks about this sheaf of the first fruits, it also talked about other things that were to happen when that sheaf was presented. They had daily sacrifices that always went on. But it also talked about special sacrifices. So when you get time, you can look back at Leviticus 23, and it points to other sacrifices that were to have occurred when this wave sheaf, this sheaf of the first fruits, was presented at the temple.

You know what they were? Those sacrifices were ones that had a connection to a great spiritual truth as well, because there was a meal offering that was given. Meal offerings often consisted of the grains that would have been included in bread and things like that. There was also a coinciding drink offering, a drink offering that was also presented before God. Now, that wasn't all. During that presentation of the wave sheaf, there was also a burnt offering that was offered, a burnt offering, the whole body of the animal being given over to God. And of course, then there was the wave sheaf as well, that sheaf of the first fruit.

Does that remind you of any connections here? Can you think of God's plan being outlined in His Festivals and Holy Days? Well, the Passover, certainly representative of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. That burnt offering was a complete offering, body and blood, everything offered. So we have that connection to Jesus Christ, Christ's death itself in that. There was also the meal offering with connections to bread. There was the drink offering with connections to wine, point also to the Passover, and the wave sheaf because after the Passover and after His crucifixion, it points to His resurrection.

But there's also something missing there in Leviticus. One of the sacrifices was missing that was a normal kind of sacrifice that everybody had to account for. You know what that one was? Sin offering. At that wave sheaf ceremony, there was no sin offering. Can you think why? Christ is sinless. There is no sin in our Savior Jesus Christ. Christ Himself was sinless. And so the amazing connections here between Christ fulfilling that symbolism of the sheaf of the first fruits and those connections even to the offerings that were given are really astounding when you think of how amazing and how interconnected the word of God is and how many nuances there are into why He did the things that He did and how they should just bring forth His amazing plan. It all starts with Jesus Christ.

And of course, being the first, we saw that there is another connection here.

It's also a symbolic thing toward the harvest, because even though specifically we can say that points to Christ, it's also pointing to the fact that there's a harvest coming. It had to start with that first sheaf that they cut and then bought to the priest physically. It had to start there. Then what happened? Well, they all sit back and forget it and relax. No, that's the time we've got to get going. There's going to be more. We got to go get the rest of the barley in. It's time. It's time for the harvest. It's time for the early harvest. The wheat and the barley, that's when it began. And so this sheaf of the first fruits pointed to the fact that there will be a harvest. There will be a harvest, not specifically the harvest of the first fruits, but this was a sample, you could say. This first wave sheaf was a sample of what's to come. It also even pointed to the fact that there's going to be a greater one, a huge harvest, at the end of the year by the time you get to the representation of those later Festivals, those Festivals that came in the fall of the year in Palestine. And so this was just the beginning. This was just the start.

And so we see a double sense in that that's specifically representing Christ. But this harvest, I think, has that connection to a person, the sheaf, that the fact that this harvest is pointing to the fact that it's symbolic of God's people, not just any people, but more specifically God's people, those who will be sheaves with Him when He returns, fulfilling that Psalm 126. It points to God's resurrected saints that will be with Him at his coming. It certainly points to that very fact. And I think the important aspect of that is the first fruits…Let me get it spelled right. The first fruits points to us. It points to God's people, specifically. God's people, it points to them that like Christ, He was the first of the first fruits with those to follow, His people. His people that have been set aside that are called by God, that are responsive to God, that have been given His Holy Spirit. They will follow.

In fact, there's an amazing passage over in the book of James. Take a look over in the book of James, first chapter. James 1:16 is where we’ll begin. James 1:16 points to the fact that we are called first fruits. There is a symbolic connection between the first fruits and God's people , those who have responded to the call of God and have received His spirit. James 1, look at verse 16, says "Don't be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there’s no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of his creatures." Some translations say "of his own creations."

And so then it goes on saying, well here's how first fruits behave. Because He brought us forth, because He opened our minds to His truth, because like that beginning of the New Testament church, He poured out his spirit on us, and we made a commitment to follow God. And as we keep that commitment, He promises his first fruits will be there when Christ returns. We are those first fruits. We are the first fruits of His creation. And so we have an opportunity to be a part of that early harvest because another harvest is coming later. But that early harvest, that wheat harvest, that barley harvest that happens early on in the year, we have an opportunity to be a part of that early harvest that Revelation 20 talks about. We’ll be able to reign and rule with Christ when He returns. And so that's God's people. The first fruits are representative of God's people.

And over in the book of Romans, it substantiates that even more. And in fact, you might do a study of sometime. Just Google first fruits and see how many times in the New Testament that word comes up and study it. Recognize how many times that term is used and notice what it's connected to, how often it's connected to Christ Himself and how many times it's connected to God's people. Just recognize that. You'll probably have some fun going through a study like that. But over in the book or Romans, Romans 8, notice verse 11. Romans 8:11, it points us to the fact that we are the first fruits. God considers us like the firstborn, like a person who has responded to His truth, who has received his spirit. Romans 8:11 says, "If the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you..." that's where it starts, we got to have God's spirit, "He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His spirit who dwells in you." So we see that connection to the Feast of Weeks, to Pentecost, the beginnings of the New Testament church with God's spirit being poured out. If God's spirit has been poured out on us and we have made a covenant with God, He says He'll give us life. We'll be in that early harvest. We'll be right there.

In fact, if we skip down a little bit to verse 14, He says, "For as many as are led by the spirit of God, these are the sons of God." We're the sons of God. And we’re the first ones because there's going to be more later. And those three seasons of harvest point to that very thing. And so later on, there'll be a bigger harvest. And so right now, we can be the sons of God if we're led by His spirit, it says, by His spirit. Now down to verse 16, it says, "The spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God." Then it says, "If children then heirs…We are heirs, it says…heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him that we may also be glorified together." Boy, it sounds like Psalm 126. He's going to be bringing those sheaves with Him. His first fruits will be with Him, glorified together.

And so if we skip down a little bit further, look at verse 22, "We know the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs until now." And not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body, for we were saved in this hope." And then He goes on from there.

So God identifies those first fruits. He identifies those who have His spirit are set apart as His people. They are His people. They are His church. And what that harvest indicates is not going to be some monstrously huge number of people. Because like that early harvest, it's going to be smaller. The barley harvest didn't rule the year. The wheat harvest, by no means. It was that fall harvest that was the big one. That was just the amazing one where the storehouses just become packed full. And so this certainly points to the fact that, right now, God's just dealing with a few people. And there's a much greater huge spiritual harvest to come down the line.

But it's also a very hopeful thing. It's not something that anybody should get a big head over, “Wow! Look at me. I'm great. I'm a first fruit. That would be a warning message there. Better be careful. You see, it points to the fact that everyone's going to have an opportunity. Everyone's going to have an opportunity. You point to those fall Festivals, you point to the harvest that's in the fall. It’s pointing the fact everyone's going to have an opportunity to know and understand God, have an opportunity to choose His way, have an opportunity to respond to God's calling.

And so the first certainly should remind us all that there's going to be more to come. The early harvest, the small harvest should always remind us there's a bigger harvest to come down the line. And it is a promise. It is a prophecy that Christ will certainly fulfill as a part of God's great plan. And it's spelled out in those harvest seasons. So the fall season will certainly be representative of the fact that all people will have an opportunity to understand the truth and have an opportunity to be a part of the family of God.

Now in the mean time, first fruits also are challenged. First fruits, if we want to be a part of that early harvest, we're challenged to do what the preeminent one did, the one who was the forerunner, the one who led the way, the one who was resurrected, the one who was lifted up to the Father. We are challenged to do as He would do. That's a challenge for us as God's people, as first fruits. And the only way that can happen is also found in this representation of the first, God's spirit. It's only by the power of God's spirit that we can accomplish the things that God wants us to accomplish.

You see we have the opportunity to be the first to seek first the Kingdom of God. That's a wonderful honor. But it's also a big responsibility, isn't it? Also, a huge responsibility. We have the responsibility to be the first ones to come out of this world. How many times did God say to come out in front of my people? Don't partake of their wrong ways. We have the opportunity to be the first ones to do that, following in the steps of Jesus Christ. We can be the first not to compromise, not to give in. We're to maintain with love, especially that first love of the truth so that we not only know the truth, but we live the truth, and we do the truth. And we keep accomplishing those things that we were called to by that faith that God's given to us. And so we’re the first to do battle against human nature. Other than Jesus Christ, we're following in His footsteps. Like Paul said, we can overcome, through God's Holy Spirit, that normal everyday carnal human way of thinking. Through the power of God, through His Holy Spirit, we can be the first to battle. We're called as first fruits to be holy, to be just, to be different than the rest of humanity. God's called us to that.

And so we have those responsibilities as his called out people because we've been given his spirit. We have to be different people than the rest of the world. We have to be people of integrity. We have to be people of our word. We have to be people that represent the highest standard. In fact, we're striving for that full measure, that standard of Jesus Christ. That's what we're striving for. And so we can be first and foremost in love and obedience and service. And we can be the first to be growing in grace and knowledge.

In fact, when we do those things, we recognize it's not by anything that we work up. It's not by our greatness or our power or our authority or our good looks. It's none of that. We know it's only possible by God's spirit, God's spirit, which connects us right back to the beginnings. The beginnings of our connection to God is through His spirit, by his calling and our response to that calling. And in fact, we're told very specifically over in 2 Timothy, if we're to be first fruits, we’ve got to maintain that. 1 Timothy 1, notice verse 6. I'm sorry 2 Timothy 1:6, 2 Timothy 1:6 brings us back to that connection to the Spirit of God. Here the apostle Paul has reminded the young minister, Timothy. He says, "I remind you to stir up the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands." Well, what was that gift? He says it's His spirit. It's the Spirit of God. "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." That's the heart of a first fruit that they stir up that spirit. They respond to that spirit. They submit to the Spirit of God, and that they imitate Jesus Christ. They follow him. They're transformed from the ways of this world into the character of Jesus Christ.

And it points to the fact that there's more to come. There's more to come. And we have the opportunity to be a part of the things at the beginning. So what a wonderful blessing. In fact, when you get to the very end of the story, you go all the way back to the book of Revelation, there's an interesting comment that's made in Revelation 14. And for me it hearkens back to that passage in the Psalms that we read about the sheaves. Revelation 14, it talks about the 144,000, certainly pointing to the fact of those sheaves I guess you could say that would be with him when Christ returns. Right at the very beginning of the chapter, he says "I looked and behold a lamb standing on Mount Zion and with him 144,000 having His Father's name written on their foreheads. So here's the lamb, Jesus Christ, with his people. And down in verse 3, it says, "They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, the elders, no one could learn that song except the 144,000." And it says who are they? "Those that were redeemed from the Earth, those that were redeemed.

It says, "These are the ones who weren't defiled," specifically it says with women, "for they are virgins." Spiritually speaking, that's what it's talking about, “These are the ones who follow the lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among men being first fruits to God and to the lamb." And so right when we get to the end of the story, we see when Christ returns his first fruits will be with him. And so we want to be there. We want to be there. And with that great calling that God has given us, we have that opportunity to be a first fruit.

And so this whole aspect of the sheaf of the first fruits has such amazing significance that we don't want to take it lightly. We want to make sure that we recognize there's responsibility that comes with being a part of God's great calling, especially now. Not everyone has that opportunity right now. That's going to come later. That's represented in the plan of God, in His purpose, in those harvest Festivals. But we have that opportunity right now. And so what an awesome calling we have. And it's not because we're so great. We know that passage that talks about that. It's not because we're so smart or so great. It's because God is so good. He is gracious. And He has an awesome plan. And He's called not many mighty. But he's called us to be a part of His plan now, to be a part of his family, especially when Christ returns. And we can be there.

And so I think if we take this symbolism that God's given us, it can have deeper meaning for what God's purpose and His plan is all about. And hopefully, it will also motivate us then to strive for the ultimate standard. And of course, that ultimate standard is found in the first fruit, the ultimate standard of Jesus Christ. So let's strive to meet that standard and allow Christ to live in us and through us, and then we can truly be first fruits.

All right, well, that will do it for our study tonight. I hope you enjoyed it. We will be having another Bible study in two weeks or our next biweekly Bible study two weeks from tonight. So we hope you'll join us right here at the home office of the United Church of God. If not, join us on the Web. You can tell your family and friends. They can watch online. It's archived on ucg.org as well. So we hope you'll catch up on some of our past Bible studies. We'll continue this series of Let Us Keep The Feast in two weeks. So we look forward to seeing you then.

God’s Holy Day Plan

The observance of God’s festivals provides the key to understanding His astounding plan for the salvation of all humanity.

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Pentecost Is Peculiar

May 31, 2020

Steve Myers

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Peculiar can mean strange or odd, but that’s not all. This sermon discusses the uniqueness of Pentecost and how it should impact God’s peculiar people.

Transcript

[Steve Myers] Pentecost is peculiar. Ever considered that fact? I mean, here we are meeting on a Sunday. That might seem a little peculiar for some, but we know there's a reason behind that. But when you consider the fact that Pentecost is peculiar, there's actually a number of things that come to mind with this special day. One of the things that's interesting and peculiar about Pentecost is the many names that this feast has. It's called the Feast of Harvest in Exodus 23. But that's not all. It's also called the Feast of Weeks in Exodus 34. But that's not all either. It's peculiar that it's also called the Day of Firstfruits. That's over in the book of Numbers. And sometimes the names get a little bit longer than that. In fact, I think Pentecost is the feast that has the most names for it. You can find it's also called the Feast of Weeks of the Firstfruits of the Wheat Harvest. So that's the long-form name. But there's also another one that's connected to that. It's called the Feast of Harvest, the Firstfruits of Israel's Labors.

And that's not all. We can't forget the New Testament reference to this day is Pentecost, the Feast of Pentecost in the New Testament. And we know that Greek word in the New Testament means 50. Fifty because we are 50 days from the wave sheaf offering during the Days of Unleavened Bread. And 50 is a significant number. You could say it's a peculiar number because it represents freedom. It represents liberty. It represents deliverance. And all of those are connected to this very day. In fact, in the Old Testament, being called the Feast of Weeks ties in with that number 50 as well because we are seven weeks from the Passover, but really 49 days plus one. On the 50th day was when they held this tremendous Feast. And so when you think about Pentecost being peculiar, yeah, the word can mean odd, it can mean unusual, maybe even strange but there's more as well.

Maybe a hint at the more part is when we look back to the book of Exodus. If you make your way over to Exodus 19, we find that Israel has left Egypt. God has now called everyone together and He calls them to the mountain. And at that mountain, we know what happened. God thundered His law with the voice of a trumpet and the mountain was shaking, and there was fire, and it was quite the scene. That's the first Pentecost. You know, history seems to show that that was the day that God gave His law on that Feast of Weeks, on that Feast of Harvest, on what we would call Pentecost. And Exodus 19 records some of that as the people came together. And then, of course, in Exodus 20, we have the Ten Commandments that were given.

And on that first Pentecost, I think you could say something peculiar happened. Look at verse 5 in Exodus 19. Exodus 19:5, it says, "Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice…" So here's God's speaking through Moses. He says, "Obey My voice, keep My covenant, and then you shall be a peculiar treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine." So there's that word again, peculiar. This is a peculiar day. Then He goes on in verse 6, “'You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you should speak to the children of Israel," God says to Moses. “So Moses came, called the elders of the people, laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded. And then all the people answered, in a sense, sealing the covenant that God was making, they said, "All that the Lord has spoken, we will do."

And so here we find God setting these people apart. Certainly, this peculiar feast has many names but this is a different kind of peculiar. This kind of peculiar doesn't mean odd. It doesn't mean strange. It means special. It means unique or it means something that's valuable, you know, a distinctive kind of a thing, a unique thing, a notable thing. And God says, well, what's special? What's notable? What's important? What's unique? His people. His people are valuable. So what we find happening on this Feast of Weeks, this Pentecost, this peculiar Pentecost, we could say, was that Israel becomes God's special people, His peculiar people. Israel became a nation. And that's a second aspect of the peculiarities of Pentecost. Yes, there's many names for this feast but Israel became a special nation, a peculiar nation. And in fact, it's mentioned over and over and over again.

And there's more to it, even right here in the book of Exodus. If we skip ahead just a little bit to chapter 23, there's a familiar passage here, where it speaks of keeping the feast days. Exodus 23:14, see if this sounds familiar. Here in chapter 23 verse 14, God says "Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year." And He names those times. The Feast of Unleavened Bread,” says “you should eat unleavened bread seven days.” Then verse 16, He says, “the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors” that would be Pentecost. And then He says, “and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you've gathered the fruit of your labors from the field.” And then verse 17, He says, "Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord God.” And so we find that reference to three times, three times. And it seems to be saying it twice in these few little verses here.

Now, if you were to look this up in a word dictionary, the Hebrew becomes interesting in connection to Pentecost. In fact, maybe a better word than interesting would be peculiar, a peculiar word. In verse 14, the word times can mean a foot or a leg. So, what in the world would three legs in keeping a feast in those times have to do with it? That sounds kind of odd. Is it the odd kind of peculiar or is it the special kind of peculiar? Well, if you were to look this up in the Encyclopedia Judaica, it says under an article of pilgrimage feasts, that this three times is pointing to walking in a sacred procession. So, that's the connection to legs or to feet. In other words, we move our feet to observe God's feast days. We get on the move. So we're told to keep a feast to the Eternal. And He says three times we do this, Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Those are the times of the years that we do this. And so we've got to be moving.

And in fact, verse 17, when it says three times, that's a different word. It's not the same word that means leg or foot, as in verse 14. This word in verse 17, has a different meaning. In fact, it's the same meaning of the word that's used in Deuteronomy 16:16. Now that verse might sound familiar. Deuteronomy 16:16 is normally a verse we'll read on the high days because that particular verse talks about bringing God an offering. Don't appear before the Lord empty-handed, it speaks of. And it says three times in a year. But that word for times, like we read here in verse 17, is a different Hebrew word. But the meaning is peculiar. It's a special word. It means to order, or to beat regularly, or to strike in a beat, or move your steps in order. Of course, I think of that as, you know, a kid who used to play in marching band, we all march together, we move together.

And so, here we see a couple of different words used for times associated with the Feast of Pentecost that all have to do with walking, moving together, being regular, striking up the beat, moving our footsteps in order. Well, are we going to follow God's beat? You see, I think a peculiarity about Pentecost is that we're to get moving. That's a third thing that's peculiar about Pentecost because it reminds us, we've got to get with the beat, get with God's beat, walk in His way. There's a job to do. We've been around for 25 years. Is the job over? Are we done? Are we finished? No, we better not be. We better get the beat and walk that much better, in an organized way, an orderly way, proclaim His word, strike up the band, walk in order. All of those things are associated with God's beat.

And we got to walk to a different drummer than this world does. We've got to walk to God's day. So when we consider Pentecost as being peculiar, we recognize we've got to be on the move, put to work by utilizing God's Spirit so we can accomplish His will. So we're going to get moving because God says that's what He requires on this day. And in fact, as we consider that, part of this movement and part of the possibility of even making that happening is intricately associated with this special day. How are we going to do that? How do we get with our beat? How do we walk together? How are we orderly? How can we walk in this procession that proclaims the truth of God?

Well, I think that's part of the peculiarity of this special feast. I mean, it's called sometimes the Feast of Wave Loaves. Sometimes it's referred to that because of one of the offerings that were given on this day in the Old Testament. They would offer wave loaves. They would bring two loaves of bread before God. These loaves were baked of new grain. And it's interesting if you study into that, and I won't take too much time to do that this afternoon, but you could study this at some time. When the people would take this new wheat, it was freshly harvested, it was the firstfruits of the harvest that tie into this day. And the priests would bake two loaves, two loaves. And there's some symbolism here that ties-in to what we were reading about these times, this movement we're to be about.

I mean, it's symbolic, first of all, because there's two of them, two loaves, that when we think of the church, it was supposed to be formed of, I suppose you could think of it as two bodies, two bodies. Well, what are we talking about? Well, some might feel, well, it's Old Covenant, New Covenant, that type of thing. But it seems to, more specifically, refer to the fact that it's talking about people, that the gospel was not just for the Israelites. Later on during Jesus' time, was it just for the Jews? Well, no, when we recognize what the message was all about, it was for people. It was Jews and non-Jews, Gentiles alike. It was for both.

And in fact, when we recognize what Christ said, He said He came first to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But it's interesting what He says in John 10. You could just write this down. John 10:16, Christ said that there were other sheep that He has that were not of this fold. In other words, they weren't Jews. They weren't Israelites. But He said, "Them also must I bring that they are may be one flock." So we have two loaves, Jews and Gentiles, coming together. And so He was referring to that. So those wave loaves on Pentecost were symbolic, that God was going to take Jews and Gentiles alike and bring them together. And Pentecost, in a sense, is how He was going to do that.

When you think of the fact that these loaves on this day were baked with leaven, leaven is yeast. And oftentimes in Scripture, yeast is a symbol of sin. Now, why would these loaves be baked with leaven? Well, because as physical people, the Church is not made up of people who are perfect yet. We're not Spirit beings yet. We sin. And so, we have sin in us. We're still in the flesh, but we're in the process of becoming what God wants. And so when we recognize these loaves, it's a reference to God's peculiar people. It's a reference to us as His people. And it's reflected in how we can then overcome, how we can get on the move. How can we be of one mind? How can we march together and get moving in order to proclaim the truth of God?

In fact, that same truth, I think is reflected on what happened on this day in 31 A.D. If you'd like to turn over to Acts 2, I'm going to head over there next. And in Acts 2:1, it describes this very day. It describes this day and there was a peculiar experience that happens. Of course, here we are in Acts 2, we're 50 days after that wave sheaf that happened that year, and we see this connection to getting moving together, getting moving together. Notice verse 1, we see this togetherness mentioned specifically here. It says, "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place together." They were together. They were all there. So, they moved together to be in the presence of God as they're worshiping Him.

Verse 2, "Suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." So as we consider what was going on, on that first Pentecost, miraculous things happened that day. We have these 120 individuals that came together, their one connection was their interest in Jesus Christ, that connection to Christ. Were they one body before this? Were they moving together before this? Were they in time? Not really. Not really.

When you really consider this, receiving the Spirit of God is what brought them together and made them one body, moved them together so that they could be in time. This was that fulfillment of Jesus' promise that the Holy Spirit would come and they were baptized with the Holy Spirit. And of course, we remember what John the Baptist said about being baptized with the Holy Spirit. That's over in Matthew 3:11. Remember, John said, "I baptize you with water unto repentance, but…” he said, "After me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I'm not fit to carry." What did he say about the Christ? He said, "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."

And so when we recognize we're talking about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, that's what makes progress possible. That's the key ingredient that brings us all together, brought them together as one body, brought them together so that they could be in time. They could be totally of one mind. They were of one Spirit. And it wasn't just this outward demonstration, having the Spirit of God was an inward reality. It wasn't just associated with languages, and fire, and wind, and all those types of things. No, there was so much more. Those were kind of in a sense, the incidentals. What was really exciting was how God was going to move His people together in order to be that one body.

And that also then connects us back to what was happening on that first Pentecost. We remember that a nation was created, a peculiar, special people were created on that first Pentecost. As God said, "You are my special treasure." Well, here we are in Acts 2, it's not the birth of Israel as a nation. But now, we have a fourth peculiarity about Pentecost because here we find it's the birth of the New Testament Church. The New Testament Church of God is born, you might say, on Pentecost, and it became one body, God's family through the power of God's Holy Spirit.

And so now it all takes us to this next level, that it's not just about loving God. It's about being together. It's about working together. It's about moving together. It's about having a true relationship with God. I can't be a part of the Church, that spiritual Body without having a right relationship with God. And what makes it possible? The power of God's Spirit. It makes us a body and not just any old body, one body, the Body of Christ. And so when we consider that, it is an interesting aspect of what Pentecost is all about, that we are one through the power of God's Spirit, and we can be one with God the Father in Jesus Christ. And we must have that relationship in order to accomplish His will.

And so when we consider this baptism of the Spirit, this connection to God the Father and Jesus Christ, we see there's some interesting references, peculiar references, we could say, to this very fact. One is given in a pretty familiar passage. It's over in 1 Corinthians 12:12. Notice this passage, you'll recognize it. Chapter 12 talks about spiritual gifts quite a bit but it also talks about the Body, combined of people that God calls, whether they're Israelites or Gentiles. Whether they're any people that He works with, we all come together as one.

And in this particular section of Scripture, we're going to look at verse 12. 1 Corinthians 12:12, we find this one reference. In fact, this is the only reference in the New Testament that connects the Spirit with baptism and with the Body. I mean, you might think there would be a whole lot more passages specifically that connect those things, but there aren't. This is the one that specifically makes that connection. And let's notice it as we look at it from that perspective. 1 Corinthians 12:12, it says, "As the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free— and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many."

And so we make this connection, one Spirit, we're baptized into one body. Now we know that doesn't happen on Pentecost. This was a unique situation in the first century. But we know we're baptized into that body when we are baptized. At our baptism, our individual baptisms as we commit our lives to God and we forsake sin, we are baptized into His body. And we recognize the Spirit and baptism, and body all connected here. And it's saying we can't be separated. We're together, We're moving together, we're with God, we are of one mind, one heart, and I can't live in isolation anymore. You see this physical distancing that we're experiencing right now is not something that's acceptable spiritually. We have to be together spiritually.

And so when we consider this one Body, we could say, one loaf. We've been given the power to live sin-free. We've been given the power to have a right relationship with God. We've been given the power to be this collective Body of Christ. And so we've got to come out of sin and we've got to live sin-free. And the only means to be able to do that, I mean, how do you get sin out? Well, it says right here, it's by one Spirit. In fact, as it says in verse 13, "We've been made to drink into one Spirit." So take a big drink. That's what it's talking about, drinking into one's Spirit. And sometimes maybe we get it a little reversed.

I was thinking about this particular concept and I thought, way back when I was in junior high school science class. And in science class, there was one day the teacher set up this experiment. And she had a beaker up there, just an empty beaker was sitting there. And so, she asked the class, "How do I get all of the air out of this glass?" And so, we started to have a little classroom discussion about how do you get the air out? So it was like, "Well, I know, you just stick a pump on it and suck all the air out and that'll do it." She said, "Yeah, but this is just a cheap little beaker and it would explode if we tried to create a vacuum and it'll just shatter the glass all over the place. So that's not going to work." So we're all kind of puzzled. It's like, "I don't know, how are we going to get the air out of the glass?"

Well, she went over to the counter and brought back a pitcher of water. And we all kind of just looked at her as she poured the water into the glass and all the air left the glass. It was like, "Yeah, I guess I should have thought of that." She said, "Here it is, all the air is removed." And it was pretty striking to try to think a little bit differently. And I think this particular concept has struck me with the idea that how do we get rid of sin? You know, can we just pull it all out of there and that'll get rid of it in my life or does it work better the other way around, that I should be filled with the water of God's Holy Spirit? If I'm filled with the Spirit of God, then sin has to leave. It has to leave. It can't be contained in that way. It has to go. If I'm filled with the Spirit, responsive to the Spirit, utilizing God's Spirit, sin has to depart.

And so, that same aspect I think comes true when it comes to our spiritual lives. Pentecost is a reminder of that very thing, that as a part of God's Church, yes, I have to strive to live sin-free, but I know the only way that's possible is by the power of God's Spirit. So I've got to replace that sin by means of the Holy Spirit and get rid of that by being filled. In other words, not that I need more of God's Spirit, God's given me everything I need. I just got to get myself out of the way. I got to get my own thinking out of the way. I've got to submit my thinking, my aspect, my way of life to God's so that I'm acting according to His will. And I could do that by the power of God's Holy Spirit.

So as we think about Pentecost being peculiar, we read a little bit about some of those amazing miracles that happen that way. In fact, I think we could say that's probably a fifth thing peculiar about Pentecost is there were peculiar miracles that happened when the New Testament Church began. There were pretty strange things, maybe peculiar in that way but also, they were miraculous. They were amazing. They were unique. They were special. What were they? Well, we had the symbol of the wind, the fire, and the tongues, the languages. And in fact, those three things only occurred together in Acts 2, all connected with the beginning of the Body of Christ, the New Testament Church.

And we recognize those three things were symbolic. As well as some miracle that literally happened, there was symbolic meaning behind those things. And what's interesting about those is that they're all connected to the function of the Body of Christ. And when we look at Acts 2 and we think of this peculiar Day of Pentecost, in a sense, it's God's way of telling us, this is what the Body is supposed to do. This is how the Body is characterized, you could say. And when we think about that, well, let's see if that applies. Let's see if it does.

That first thing was there was wind. Well, it really wasn't wind but it was something that sounded like a mighty rush of wind. It wasn't the wind, but it kind of seemed that way. And it filled the house right where they were sitting. And we consider that, well, I can't see the wind. It's not obvious by sight. It was an invisible power. But it was strong. It was a mighty wind. It was powerful. You weren't going to be able to hold that thing back. And as we consider that, shouldn't be a characteristic of the Church? In fact, shouldn't it be a characteristic that we have? As a characteristic of the Church, we find this thing that was like the wind could be symbolic of what we're to be like. We are a band of men and women that God has called and we are bound together by the life, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We've been given the invisible power of God's Holy Spirit and we are expected to accomplish great things. And when others look at us, they can't figure out why we're different because you can't see it, you can't touch it, you can't measure it, but it's there. It's there. That source of our power is there, and we should never be able to be stopped because we have that invincible, invisible power of God's Holy Spirit. And that fire or the wind on that day, certainly, was symbolic of that.

Now, we also know there was a second aspect of mere miraculous things that were going on and there was this thing that looked like fire. Now, Acts 2 says it really wasn't fire but it was like fire. All right, well, how would that be connected to the work of the Body of Christ? How would that be characteristic of what you and I should be like? What does that mean when it comes to God's Church today? Well, when we look at fire throughout the Bible, a couple of things come to mind, especially when you think about Old Testament use of fire. Oftentimes, it was used to purify things, especially if you look at passages like Malachi 3:2, it refers to fire as something that purifies. It's a refiner's fire because you get rid of all the junk, you get rid of the dross. And if you're purifying silver or gold, you have to heat it up in fire so it will melt and you can just take off, you could purge all the waste and get rid of it. And so fire certainly was used to purify, get rid of the junk, get rid of the dross.

But we also find a second aspect when it comes to fire. Fire also symbolized something else. In fact, I'd like to read a passage in the Old Testament that's referred to in Psalms 39:4. Psalms 39:4 refers to this peculiarity of fire. And we can kind of see if there's a connection here to that Day of Pentecost as well and to us, for that matter. Psalm 39:4, here we find it says, "When I was silent and still, not even saying anything good, my anguish increased." It says, "My heart grew hot within me. As I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue: 'Show me, O Lord, my life's end and the number of my days let me know how fleeting is my life. You've made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of years is as nothing before you, each man's life is but a breath. Selah.'" Think about that. Consider this.

Now, it's interesting when he says, "My heart grew hot within me. I meditated and the fire burned." Well, he's not talking literally there. You know, what's he talking about? It's something coming out from within him, a passion, an enthusiasm for God's way. God, I know, my life isn't going to last forever. This physical life wasn't intended to last. So help me to number my days so I can serve You, so I can love You, so I can live Your way, so I can become like Christ. I recognize I have a short physical life ahead of me, help me to have the passion for Your way. Help me to have a purpose that I am driven to serve You, help me to have this hunger within, that fire that burns within me. And, of course, we see that aspect as well when you consider this Day of Pentecost. Isn't God's Church supposed to be characterized by a purifying passion?

And we've got to have a hunger for God's way. We have to purify our lives and we have to have this relentless drive to please God, to worship Him, and to be like Jesus Christ. In fact, we find in that third symbol was tongues. Now, of course, we know that's not just gibberish, it's not some Pentecostal crazy languages or anything like that. It's glossa. It's dialects. It's talking about specific languages, we might say foreign languages, different languages, real languages. And it's interesting when you think about, what were they saying? What were they saying? Did people say, "Oh, I don't have a clue what they were saying, it's just a bunch of gibberish?" No, it's not like that at all.

Take the time to read through Acts 2 and you'll find these were intelligent speaking. It was utterances that people could understand. And what were they doing? They were praising God. They were worshiping God with these various languages. They were prophesying. They were speaking in inspired ways. They were seeing visions. They were preaching the gospel. They were telling the mighty works of God. All of those things were happening on that first Pentecost. Now, hopefully, we can see this connection then to us. We've been given God's Spirit, are we to reflect these same symbolic characteristics so that we speak with boldness, we speak with clarity, we speak the Word of God? We are sincere, we are earnest. We're speaking the very words of God and telling of His mighty ways, His mighty works. We're speaking the gospel in words that are easy to understand and convicting people to the power of God's Spirit and the Word of God itself.

And so here we see, in Acts 2, the church applied that, and we must too. We must too. When you look through the book of Acts, we see the apostles and the early church apply the symbolism of those miracles because they certainly expressed their faith. They were filled with the power of God's Spirit to speak mighty things. And part of us being filled with that Spirit is to do the exact same thing that we would speak with that boldness and that clarity, that we are filled with power and passion, and we're ready to proclaim the Word of God. And that means, yeah, we've been around for 25 years but there's more to do.

It would lead us by the power of God's Spirit in new ways, in new directions, that we are the people that are proclaiming the words of God, that we understand that God has shown us His way and He expects us, in whatever means we can, in new approaches and new methods to have a passion for His way, to get His word out to the world, and He will call people that He will so that we can become a body that is working to honor and proclaim the truth of God, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. And that we're not going to allow the dross and the waste to overcome us. But we're going to get rid of that out of our lives so that we can proclaim His praises.

And so Pentecost is a peculiar day in that way. It is such a special day when we consider our great calling. But we don't want to forget the empowering aspect of this day. Because Pentecost was also peculiar because it's unique among the feasts in that it has to be counted every year. Every year, it must be counted. And so it has to be 50 days from that wave sheaf offering. And so we have to count that omer every year. And you have to ask, well, why would God want it to be counted? I think there's a measure of personal responsibility there, no doubt about that. But another aspect of the counting, I think that's peculiar, that's special is when we consider each and every day, one day after another, after another, we recognize each day we see the need to draw closer to God.

We see the need to fulfill His calling. We see the need collectively to fulfill the vision and the mission of the Church. We see the need each and every day, step by step as we're ordering, you know, our steps together, moving together to recognize the fact that each and every day, that Spirit of God must be renewed. As I count every day, from the wave sheaf to Pentecost, it's kind of representative of my life, the seven weeks of our life, the completeness of our life. We must order our steps by the power of God's Spirit, and that Spirit has to be renewed each day. I have to count it every single day.

In fact, 2 Corinthians 4:16 is such a beautiful reminder of that. It reminds us of that necessity to renew God's Spirit, to stir up that Spirit each and every day, to have that focus in our lives. 2 Corinthians 4:16 is certainly one that is beautiful reminder of the peculiarity of Pentecost and it's counting each and every day. Notice what it says here. Paul wrote to God's Church in Corinth, 2 Corinthians 4:16. He says, "Therefore we do not lose heart." And, of course, as we look around the world today, it's easy to lose heart. We may feel isolated because we've been, you know, socially distanced. We haven't been able to be together. We see the tragic things that are happening in our world around us. We see the need for the Kingdom of God. It could be easy to lose heart, but we don't. We don't lose heart.

Even though these terrible things are happening, as Paul writes, "Even though our outward man is perishing," he says, "yet the inward man is being renewed day by day, step by step, week in, week out." And so, we recognize that very fact that we each have to stir up the Spirit of God and draw close to God each and every day to be filled with that Spirit, to renew that Spirit, to renew that passion and that hope that we have to draw ever closer to God. And we know that we have to come out of sin and be filled with the Spirit. And that's such a powerful thing.

I was reminded of the fact of what one man once said. It was a man named Billy Sunday, He said something interesting about this very aspect. He said, "The only way to keep a broken vessel full is to keep it always under the tap." Yeah, you better keep that glass under the faucet. You want to keep the air out, you want to keep the sin out, keep that glass under the faucet. Keep that water pouring in. Keep God's Spirit coming. Renew it every single day. Pentecost is certainly a reminder of that, in the counting of our lives, that we recognize the fact we are totally dependent on the Spirit of God so that we can have a right relationship with Him.

And that's probably another particular thing about Pentecost. I think that brings us up to seven, a beautiful number, certainly a number of completion. The fact is, it's not just about us. It's not just about my calling. In fact, it's not just about those that God's working with right now, all of us as God's people, as His church. One of the interesting peculiar things about Pentecost is the fact that it's not just about us. It's not just about us. There's a day that's coming when all people could be called peculiar. We can read about that over in John 4:13. John 4:13, here Jesus is talking to the woman at the well. He's gone to Samaria and He makes this point. And I think it's such a powerful one when it comes to God's purpose and His plan.

And overall what God is doing in the big picture, Pentecost is a reminder of that as well. Notice what Christ says to this woman. John 4:13, He says, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again." Yeah, you drink physical water, you're going to get thirsty physically. But He says, verse 14, "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst," the water of God's Spirit. He says, "The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." And then He goes on, skip down to verse 21. He says, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you don't know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him."

He says, "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth.” And so, Christ talks about what's happening right now with those who He's called. But He also has this intimation, you might say, He intimates what's going to happen in the future. In the future, the second resurrection, those who never have had an opportunity to know God will have an opportunity to worship God in Spirit and truth. They'll have that opportunity. And by the power of God's Spirit, they too can become a peculiar people, a special people, a unique people to God because God's looking forward to the time that all will have that opportunity because we know He doesn't want any to perish but He wants us all to come to repentance. And so that's made possible through the power of God's Holy Spirit.

And so as we consider these things, there's no doubt Pentecost is peculiar. It's a peculiar time, but in a number of ways, in special ways, because we have become spiritual Israel. We are a spiritual nation. And after 25 years of the United Church of God, it's a reminder, it's time to rededicate ourselves. It's time to be sure that we're following God's beat. We're following His direction. We're following marching in order. By the power of His Spirit, like the wind, we have an invisible power that God has given us so that we can be invincible when it comes to the Spirit. And so we should certainly fan the fire, burn off the waste, get rid of the dross, and have that burning desire for God and His Kingdom. Have that kind of perspective.

And with our talk, with our language, we can determine to be that shining light, to speak the Word of God and what we say, let it shine forth in our actions, and be determined collectively to powerfully preach the Word of God. Be that watchman that cries out the truth in this dark world, and teach the way, and live the way, and be sure that we're counting. Be sure that we're counting on God. We can count on God for His love. We can count on God for His mercy. We can count on God for His grace. And at this special time, we can recommit to constantly renew that Spirit of God that's within us. So let's remember to continually pray to our great God that we may be filled with power, that we may be filled with passion, that we may be filled with His purpose and then we can truly be called His peculiar people.

Pentecost

Steve Myers

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This festival is known by several names that derive from its meaning and timing. Also known as the Feast of Harvest, it represents the firstfruits gathered as the result of the labor of those who completed the spring grain harvests in ancient Israel.

The Feast of Pentecost

The Firstfruits of God's Harvest

Steve Myers

May 31, 2013

10 minutes read time

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Pentecost serves as a reminder that God grants His Holy Spirit to the firstfruits of His spiritual harvest.

In the process of revealing His plan of salvation for mankind, God established His annual Holy Days around the harvest seasons in the Middle East (Leviticus 23:9-16; Exodus 23:14-16). Just as His people harvested their crops around these three festival seasons, God's Holy Days show us how He is harvesting people for eternal life in His Kingdom.

The Holy Days have meanings that build upon each other. Together they progressively reveal how God works with humanity.

Earlier we saw Passover symbolizing Christ's giving of Himself for us so our sins could be forgiven and we could be redeemed from death. We also learned how the Days of Unleavened Bread teach us that we must remove and avoid sin and instead obey God in actions and attitudes. The next festival and Holy Day, Pentecost, builds on this important foundation.

This festival is known by several names that derive from its meaning and timing. Also known as the Feast of Harvest (Exodus 23:16), it represents the firstfruits (Numbers 28:26) gathered as the result of the labor of those who completed the spring grain harvests in ancient Israel (Exodus 23:16).

It is also called the Feast of Weeks (Exodus 34:22), with this name coming from the seven weeks plus one day (50 days in all) that are counted to determine when to celebrate this festival (Leviticus 23:16). Similarly, in the New Testament, which was written in Greek, this festival is known as Pentecost (Pentekostos in the original), which means "fiftieth" (W.E. Vine, Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, 1985, "Pentecost").

Among Jews the most popular name for this festival is the Feast of Weeks, or Shavuot, in Hebrew. When celebrating this festival, many Jewish people recall one of the greatest events in history, God's revealing of the law at Mount Sinai.

But Pentecost doesn't just picture the giving of the law; it also shows—through a great miracle that occurred on the first Pentecost in the early Church—how we can persist in living by the spiritual intent of God's laws.

The gift of Pentecost: the Holy Spirit

God chose the first Pentecost after Jesus Christ's resurrection to pour out His Holy Spirit on 120 believers (Acts 1:15). "Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues [languages], as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:1-4).

The speaking in various languages occurred as a crowd of people from many nations gathered in Jerusalem, with each visitor hearing the speech of the disciples in his own native tongue (Acts 2:6-11). These astounding events demonstrated the presence of the Holy Spirit.

At first the people of Jerusalem who witnessed this miraculous phenomenon were astonished, with some attributing the proclamations of the Christians to drunkenness (Acts 2:12-13). The apostle Peter, now filled with the Holy Spirit, boldly explained the event to the crowd as a fulfillment of Joel's prophecy: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh" (Acts 2:17; Joel 2:28).

Peter explained how his listeners could also receive this Spirit: "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call" (Acts 2:38-39).

God used these miracles and Peter's preaching to add 3,000 people to His Church in one day. These converts were all baptized and received the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:40-41). From this pivotal point, God's Spirit has been available to all who truly repent and are properly baptized. The Day or Feast of Pentecost is an annual reminder that God poured out His Spirit to establish His Church, the group of believers who are led by His Spirit.

Why we need God's Spirit

Humanly speaking, no matter how hard we try not to, we still sin (1 Kings 8:46; Romans 3:23). Acknowledging this inherent weakness of humanity, God lamented in Deuteronomy 5:29, "Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments that it might be well with them and with their children forever!"

Here God explains that humankind has a heart problem. Academic knowledge of the law does not enable us to think like God. Becoming godly in our thoughts, attitudes and actions is beyond the comprehension and ability of men and women without an additional ingredient—God's Spirit.

God's way of thinking produces peace, happiness and concern for others. Jesus complimented a religious scholar who correctly quoted the essence of God's law: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind" and "[love] your neighbor as yourself" (Luke 10:27). This man quoted Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, from two books of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament). Jesus here confirmed that the Old Testament Scriptures are based on these two great principles of love (Matthew 22:40).

The essence of God's law is love (Romans 13:8-10; 1 Thessalonians 4:9). God gave His commandments because He loves us. Writing to Christians who had God's Spirit, John said, "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome" (1 John 5:2-3).

Because God's Spirit was now residing in the Church, its members could express genuine love. "A new commandment I give to you," Jesus had said, "that you love one another; as I have loved you . . . By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35). God's gift of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost made it possible for the Church to fully express God's commandments of love.

Jesus Christ: the firstfruits of eternal life

Firstfruits are the first agricultural products to mature and ripen. Throughout the Bible, God uses the analogy of the harvest—and, particularly on Pentecost, firstfruits—to illustrate aspects of His plan of salvation. Israel observed this day in the late spring after the barley and wheat harvests. A special offering of the first ripe grain during the Days of Unleavened Bread, called the wave-sheaf offering, marked the beginning of these harvests, which continued during the next 50 days and led up to Pentecost (Leviticus 23:11). This spring harvest was the firstfruits of the yearly agricultural cycle.

One of the first harvest lessons of the New Testament is that Jesus Christ "is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Corinthians 15:20). The wave-sheaf offering represented Jesus Christ, who was the "firstborn over all creation" and the "firstborn from the dead" (Colossians 1:15, 18). He presented Himself to God the Father on the Sunday after His resurrection, the same day during the Days of Unleavened Bread on which the first sheaf of grain of the spring harvest was to be waved before God.

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark and after Jesus had already been resurrected (John 20:1), Mary Magdalene came to His tomb and discovered that the rock in front of it had already been rolled away. She ran to tell Peter and John that Jesus was no longer in His grave. The two men hurried to see this and verified that Jesus' body was gone (John 20:2-10). Mary also returned and, after Peter and John left, she stood outside the tomb (John 20:11). As she wept, Jesus appeared to her but would not allow her to hold on to Him because He had "not yet ascended" to the Father (John 20:17).

Later that same day Jesus appeared again. This time He allowed certain women to hold on to Him (Matthew 28:9). His own words show that, between the time Mary Magdalene saw Him and the time He allowed the women to hold on to Him, He had ascended to, and been accepted by, the Father.

The wave-sheaf ceremony God gave to ancient Israel thus represents Jesus Christ's acceptance by His Father as "the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Corinthians 15:20).

The Church as firstfruits

Romans 8:29 speaks of Jesus Christ as "the firstborn of many brethren." Yet the New Testament Church is also considered to be firstfruits. In speaking of the Father, James said, "Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures" (James 1:18).

God's Spirit within us identifies us and sanctifies us—sets us apart as Christians. "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ," wrote Paul, "he is not His," and "as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God" (Romans 8:9, Romans 8:14).

Paul also referred to the members of the Church as those "who have the firstfruits of the Spirit" (Romans 8:23). He alluded to several first-century Christians as the firstfruits of God's calling (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:15).

The significance of the Bible writers calling these people of God firstfruits becomes evident when we consider John 14:6. Here Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

How many, throughout the centuries, have really accepted and practiced the way of life Jesus taught? Even today many people have simply never heard much, if anything, about Jesus Christ. How will God offer them salvation?

Few people understand that God follows a systematic plan, symbolized by His Holy Days, to save all of humanity by offering all people eternal life in His Kingdom. In this world we are simply at the beginning of the harvest for the Kingdom of God.

The apostle Paul understood this: "But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep . . . For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming" (1 Corinthians 15:20, 1 Corinthians 15:22-23). Anyone who is now called and chosen by God is included with Christ as God's firstfruits.

The Bible teaches us that God must call people (John 6:44; John 6:63). Our Creator, therefore, controls the timing of His harvest. When God founded His Church by imparting His Spirit to believers on the Day of Pentecost 50 days after Jesus' resurrection, He was expanding His spiritual harvest. It was the beginning of what Joel prophesied, that God will ultimately pour out His Spirit on "all flesh" (Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2:14-17).

The Holy Spirit at work

The coming of the Holy Spirit dramatically changed the lives of these early Christians. The book of Acts is filled with accounts of the early Church's remarkable spiritual impact on the surrounding society. A transformation was so evident that nonbelievers accused the Christians of "turning the world upside down" (Acts 17:6). Such was the dynamic, miraculous power of the Holy Spirit.

To fully grasp how God's Spirit can work in our lives, we must comprehend what the Holy Spirit is. It is not a person who, along with God the Father and Christ the Son, forms a "Holy Trinity." In Scripture the Holy Spirit is described as the power of God at work in our lives (Acts 1:8; Romans 15:13, Romans 15:19), the same power that was at work in the ministry of Jesus Christ (Luke 4:14; Acts 10:38). (To learn more about what the Holy Spirit is, read our free Bible study aids Transforming Your Life: The Process of Conversion, Who Is God? and Is God a Trinity?)

This divine power allows us to be "led by the Spirit of God" (Romans 8:14). It was this same power that transformed the lives of the early Christians and is the power working in the Church today. Paul told Timothy that God's Spirit is a "spirit of . . . power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7).

Pentecost serves as an annual reminder that our Creator still works miracles, granting His Spirit to those called to be the firstfruits of His spiritual harvest, empowering them to carry out His work in this world.

Pentecost

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Steve Myers

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Peculiar can mean strange or odd, but that’s not all. This sermon discusses the uniqueness of Pentecost and how it should impact God’s peculiar people.

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The Feast of Pentecost

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Pentecost serves as a reminder that God grants His Holy Spirit to the firstfruits of His spiritual harvest.

The gift of Pentecost: the Holy Spirit

Why we need God's Spirit

Jesus Christ: the firstfruits of eternal life

The Church as firstfruits

The Holy Spirit at work

Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life. We follow Him by preaching His message, caring for His disciples and serving others as He served.

Pentecost

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Let Us Keep the Feasts: First Fruits

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Given In

Pentecost Is Peculiar

Peculiar can mean strange or odd, but that’s not all. This sermon discusses the uniqueness of Pentecost and how it should impact God’s peculiar people.

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The Feast of Pentecost

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Course Content

Course Content

Pentecost serves as a reminder that God grants His Holy Spirit to the firstfruits of His spiritual harvest.

The gift of Pentecost: the Holy Spirit

Why we need God's Spirit

Jesus Christ: the firstfruits of eternal life

The Church as firstfruits

The Holy Spirit at work

Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life. We follow Him by preaching His message, caring for His disciples and serving others as He served.