When the Day of Pentecost had fully come they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
My oh my, how time flies.
The busier we get the faster it flies.
Jesus compared the last days to labor pains. As the
time for delivery draws near, the time between labor pains becomes more frequent
and intense.
We’ve been busy lately.
April 19-25 America Read the Bible
May 7 America's National Day of Prayer
May 17 America Rededication to the Lord
May 24 Pentecost Sunday
May 25 Memorial Day
July 4th America's 250th Anniversary
That’s just looking through a small and narrow Church
window.
National events converging like this are no coincidence, but Providence.
Timing is powerful.
Yesterday we remembered, Pentecost, the birth of the
Church and those who gave their lives to give us the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Today we celebrate, Memorial Day, and honor those who
gave their lives so we can freely worship Jesus Christ.
Let us live worthy of the lives they gave.
Divine Timing changes the trajectory of nations.
We are living in very consequential times.
There are two kinds of time. Kairos and Chronos.
Chronos is time that can be measured by calendar or
clock. We operate by chronos (chronological) time.
God operates in Kairos. The fullness of time. When the
time is right, God moves.
Galatians
4:4-6
But when the fullness of the time
had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born
under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the
law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
God lives outside time but uses time to tell HIStory.
For example, He sent the angel Gabriel to Daniel in
539 BC to lay out the seventy-week
timeline to the end of time. (Daniel 9:25-27).
He spelled out 483 years (173,880) in advance the very
day Jesus would ride into Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday.
They called it Lamb Selection Day. It was the
day each family chose the spotless lamb they’d use for the Passover.
The priests would examine the lambs and accept or
reject them as worthy.
Jesus, the True Passover Lamb, rode into Jerusalem, on
that very day, to be accepted or rejected.
At first the people gladly accepted Him, cheering, “Hosanna
to the Son of David, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Matthew
21:9.
But by Friday, deceived by corrupt religious leaders, they
shouted for Jesus to be crucified.
Which led to the Divinely timed crucifixion of Jesus.
Not just the day, but the hour, 3:00. The very time the Passover lambs were
slain, Jesus, the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world said, “Father
into Thy hands I commit My Spirit” and with those words, His bowed His head and
His body died.
And just like that, the first of the four spring
feasts were fulfilled.
Thus, fulfilling once and for all the True meaning of
Passover.
For over 1,400 years, multiplied millions of lambs had
been slain year after year commemorating the first Passover when the blood of
the Passover lamb over the doorpost caused the death angel to pass over that
household. That night Israel was released from Egyptian bondage.
The Passover
when Jesus died, opened the door, making a Way for all mankind to be released
from the bondage of sin.
The next day, was the Feast of Unleavened Bread
(Lev. 23:6). Reflecting Jesus sinless body, since leaven
represents sin. He was the Perfect, sinless sacrifice, like a grain of wheat
planted waiting to burst forth as the First Fruit of an abundant harvest.
John
12:24
Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and
dies, it remains alone: but if it dies, it produces much grain.
Then, He rose on the Feast of First Fruits.
Jesus is the First Fruit of the Resurrection, representing many more
resurrections to all who follow Him.
Which brings us to the feast we
commemorate today.
Pentecost
Lev. 23:16-17, Count fifty
days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new
grain offering to the Lord. 17 You
shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of
two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with
leaven. They are the firstfruits to the Lord.
Pentecost.
Greek: fiftieth. Also called: Feast of Weeks or, Shavuot,
which means, weeks.
Pentecost celebrated the first fruits of the wheat
harvest.
During Pentecost they baked two loaves
of leavened bread which was different from the other
feasts because leaven represented sin.
During Passover, all leaven had to be removed from
homes.
Every other grain offering in Leviticus had to be made
without leaven.
However, in this case, the leaven stayed,
because we all have sinned, but through Christ we can
be forgiven and accepted as children of God.
Come as you are. He will cleanse you. While we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8.
Two
loaves were baked and waved as an offering to the Lord, and then, given to the
priests to eat.
The two loaves represent both Jew and gentile, being made
into one family, yet maintaining distinct identities.
Furthermore, this represents the firstfruits of the
harvest of souls. By the time this beautiful day of Pentecost had fully come to
an end, 3,000 souls were saved, born again. Acts 2:41.
And that was just the first wave that has been rolling
in wave upon wave from that day to this.
Later, not recorded in Scripture, but the Rabbis added
commemorating the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, because it also took
place during Shavuot.
At Sinai God wrote the law in stone.
But God had something much better planned.
At Pentecost God wrote the law of love in
hearts.
Did you notice, we just addressed the first four of
the seven feasts of Israel? (Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, and
Pentecost).
They occur during the spring and have already
been fulfilled by Christ in the New Testament.
The final three feasts (Trumpets, Atonement, and
Tabernacles) occur during the fall, all within a fifteen-day period.
Many (including me) believe that just as the spring
feasts were fulfilled during the Lord’s first coming, the three fall feasts
will be fulfilled according to the appointed times of His second coming.
Did you know the Hebrew word for “feasts” (moadim)
literally means, appointed times?
Spring Feasts yet to be fulfilled:
Trumpets (Leviticus 23:24). The first of the fall feasts. Many believe this day points to the Rapture of the Church when Jesus will appear in the heavens as He comes for His bride, the Church. The Rapture is always associated in Scripture with the blowing of a loud trumpet (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53).
Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:27). Prophetically pointing to the day of the Second Coming when Jesus returns to earth and the Jews that remain will "look upon Him whom they have pierced," repent of their sins, and receive Him as their Messiah (Zechariah 12:10 and Romans 11:1-6, 25-36.
Feast of Sukkot, or Tabernacles or Booths (Leviticus 23:34).
Foreshadowing the beautiful time when the Lord will dwell (tabernacles) on
earth with man.
Revelation
21:3
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle
of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall
be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.
When the Day of Pentecost
had fully come...
Okay, back to The Feast of Pentecost.
This was another Kairos moment. A Divine
appointed time.
In the fullness of time. When
Pentecost had fully come. This wasn’t any regular Pentecost.
It was a Divinely timed fulfillment of all Pentecosts.
After Jesus resurrection He walked and talked with folks
for 40 days offering undeniable proofs of His resurrection.
Before He ascended into heaven, He told His disciples
to wait in Jerusalem where you shall be baptized with the
Holy Spirit and you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit
has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Acts 1:4-8.
... they were all with one accord in one
place.
They were together in
the same place, the same location, but more they were united in one accord,
together in soul and spirit.
Oh, how Jesus longs
for His Church to be in one accord like that, of the same heart and mind as Him.
In John 17 on His
last night alive in the flesh, before being crucified, He prayed earnestly, repeatedly,
that we’d be one.
On this glorious day
of Pentecost, they were all of one accord...
2 And
suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing
mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were
sitting.
The sound was real
and it was loud and heard outside and caused the whole town to come running to
see what they were hearing.
3 Then there
appeared to them divided tongues, as
of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
They could see what
appeared to be tongues of fire on each one of them individually, all 120
of them.
They were together, heart
and soul, but the Lord gave them individually, personally, their own
manifestation of the divided tongues as of fire.
The gifts
of the Holy Spirit are given individually as He wills. 1 Corinthians
12:11.
4 And they
were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to
speak with other tongues, as the Spirit
gave them utterance.
They were all filled
with the Holy Spirit and willingly spoke with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them. Not forced them.
They were filled with the Holy Spirit and
spoke with other tongues.
Speaking in Tongues is
listed as a gift of the Holy Spirit, never as the gift
of the Holy Spirit.
Paul writes in 1 Cor.
14:5, “I wish you all spoke with tongues.” And then, in verse 18 he
says, “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than you all…”
According to Scripture;
Tongues are a gift, a gift to seek, but not the gift
of the Holy Spirit. Not the evidence of the Holy
Spirit.
The greatest gift, the
most excellent evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit is, His
Love flowing through us.
See more: Spurling
Silver: With Other Tongues, Acts 2:4-13
They were in one accord with one tongue, filled and led
by the Holy Spirit. Now that is world changing, soul saving, dunamis, dynamite,
Power.
Which is what Jesus was talking about. Power. His Presence.
His Spirit. Dwelling in us. Empowering us to be His witnesses spreading His love
and light.
Like a reverse of the curse of babel.
At babel they were in one accord with one tongue, dishonoring
God. So, God gave them different languages, that confused and separated them.
Now at Pentecost they speak different languages, that
bring unity and clarity and glory to God.
Being baptized with the Holy Spirit equips and empowers
to complete the original command in the beginning, be fruitful, multiply, fill
the earth, subdue it… go into all the world and be His witnesses. Tell His Good
News
After this they were transformed. No more hunkering
and hiding behind closed doors, but bold as lions, courageous witnesses all the
way through the jaws of death. So much so that their word for witness
(martus) is where we get our word, martyr.
To be a witness for Christ, means
giving your life for Christ.
After this they faced ridicule, slander, lack, temptation,
false imprisonment, torment, torture, death. Not one of them turned back.
On this Powerful Pentecost the Lord poured out His
Spirit on the world. The 120 spoke in tongues; however, the
multitude heard, each in their own native tongue. Acts 2:5-11.
On the glorious birthday of the Church, the Lord
poured out gifts of tongues and interpretation simultaneously to every nation under
heaven represented there that day in Jerusalem. Resulting in thousands being
saved.
The firstfruit that blossomed that day has spread all
the way to us today. Jew and gentile together in one accord as one big, noisy,
messy, happy, loving, family of God.
Galatians
3:28
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is
neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Are you baptized with the Holy Spirit?
That doesn’t mean: “Do you speak in tongues?” It doesn’t
mean: “Are you saved?”
It means: Are you filled with the Holy Spirit’s Power
to be His witness to the world?
Are the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit evidenced
in your lifestyle?
The Fruit of the Spirit is:
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such there is no
law. Galatians 5:22-23.
Gifts of the Spirit are:
Wisdom, Knowledge, Faith, Healings,
Miracles, Prophecy, Discernment, Tongues, Interpretation. 1 Corinthians 12:4,
8-11, 28.
Do you want to be baptized with the Holy Spirit?
If so, ask.
Luke
11:13
If you then, being evil, know how to give good
gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy
Spirit to those who ask Him!”
Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, we invite you to baptize us with
Your Holy Spirit, so through us You may freely flow, transforming us into soul
winners and disciple makers, leaving a trail that leads straight to You.
Thank You.
We love You, forever.
Amen.
Prayer Requests:
Call or text: 612-554-2522
Email: pray4measap@aol.com
Facebook: Church at WPV
Books: amazon.com/author/dougspurling
Watch online:
Facebook: The Power of Pentecost,
Acts 2
You Tube: The Power of Pentecost,
Acts 2
This was feed for you to read. Now it’s
Seed for you to sow.
Thank you for sharing.
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