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SERMON TOPIC: The Feast of Pentecost

Speaker: Ken Paynter

Language: ENGLISH

Date: 6 July 2014

Topic Groups: PENTECOST, TYPOLOGY, FEASTS

Sermon synopsis: The Feast of Passover: had to do with “Peace with God”
The Feast of Unleavened bread and Feast of First Fruits: had to do with the “Peace of God”
The Feast of The Feast of Pentecost: has to do with the “Power of God”

The Feast of Pentecost is the 4th step that the believer must take towards the “Rest of God” which is typified by the Feast of Tabernacles.

Hebrews 4:9-11 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

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The Feast of Pentecost.

The Feast of First Fruits.

The Feast of First Fruits.

The Feast of Passover: had to do with “Peace with God”

The Feast of Unleavened bread and Feast of First Fruits: had to do with the “Peace of God”

The Feast of The Feast of Pentecost: has to do with the “Power of God”

The Feast of Pentecost is the 4th step that the believer must take towards the “Rest of God” which is typified by the Feast of Tabernacles.

Hebrews 4:9-11.

There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

Shavuot the Festival of Weeks or Pentecost:

Leviticus 23:15-21.

And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed.

Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord. 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.

Shavuot the Festival of Weeks or Pentecost:

Leviticus 23:15-21. (continued)

And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year, without blemish, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be as a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the Lord. Then you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats as a sin offering, and two male lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a peace offering. The priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the Lord, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the Lord for the priest.

And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

Shavuot the Festival of Weeks or Pentecost:

God told the Israelites to count seven Sabbaths from First-fruits (Leviticus 23:15; Deuteronomy 16:9) which adds up to 49 days. (seven weeks)

Then on the day after the seventh Sabbath which was the fiftieth day, they were to bring to the temple two loaves of bread, made with fine flour and baked with leaven (Leviticus 23:17)

These two loaves of bread were to be used as a "wave offering" for the people.

Shavuot was believed by Rabbinic scholars to be the day that God gave Moses the Torah or law on Mount Sinai after their exodus from Egypt. On that day God Himself came down in a cloud on to Mt. Sinai in fire, and smoke, and a blast of God's trumpet, to establish His covenant with His people.

Shavuot the Festival of Weeks or Pentecost:

Shavuot is therefore commemorated as the birth date of the nation of Israel.

However this feast was also a prophecy of the day of Pentecost and the coming of the New Covenant. The disciples were commanded to wait at Jerusalem “for the promise of the Father” (Acts 1:4) which they did. However they did not have long to wait. The coming of the Holy Spirit occurred on the next Jewish holiday when Jews from different countries came to be in Jerusalem to celebrate the completion of the harvest season.

On this annual feast Shavuot, or the Feast of Weeks, God once more descended on those first-century believers, this time with a mighty rushing wind, tongues of fire and other demonstrations of the Holy Spirit, again establishing a covenant with His people.

It is more than likely that the two loaves of bread that were brought to the temple on Shavuot represented both Jew and Gentile. Ephesians 2:14-15. For he is our peace, who hath made both (Jew and Gentile) one, and have broken down the middle wall of partition between us ... to make in himself one new man, so making peace

The Feast of Pentecost.

Shavuot was originally a festival for expressing thankfulness to the Lord for the blessing of the harvest.

The celebration is tied to the giving of the Ten Commandments and thus bears the name Matin Torah or "giving of the Law." Jews believe that it was exactly at this time that God gave the Torah to the people

Throughout Jewish history, it has been customary to engage in all-night study of the Torah on the first evening of Shavuot.

Children were encouraged to memorize Scripture and rewarded with treats. The book of Ruth was traditionally read during Shavuot. Today, however, many of the customs have been left behind and their significance lost.

The public holiday has become more of a culinary festival of dairy dishes. Traditional Jews still light candles and recite blessings, adorn their homes and synagogues with greenery, eat dairy foods, study the Torah, read the book of Ruth and attend Shavuot services.

The Feast of Pentecost.

In Acts 1, just before the resurrected Jesus is taken up into heaven, he tells the disciples about the Father's promised gift of the Holy Spirit, which will soon be given to them in the form of a powerful baptism.

He tells them to wait in Jerusalem until they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, which will empower them to go out into the world and be his witnesses. A few days later, on the Day of Pentecost, the disciples are all together when the sound of a mighty wind comes down from heaven, with tongues of fire resting on them. The Bible says, "All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."

The crowds observed this event and heard them speaking in different languages. They were amazed and thought the disciples were drunk on wine. Then Peter got up and preached the Good News of the kingdom and 3000 people accepted the message of Christ! That same day they were baptized and added to the family of God.

The Feast of Pentecost.

The book of Acts continues to record the miraculous outpouring of the Holy Spirit that began on Pentecost.

Once again we see the Old Testament revealing a shadow of the things to come through Christ! After Moses went up to Mount Sinai, the Word of God was given to the Israelites at Shavuot.

When the Jews accepted the Torah, they became servants of God. Similarly, after Jesus went up to heaven, the Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost.

When the disciples received the gift, they became witnesses for Christ.

Jews celebrated a joyous harvest on Shavuot, and the church celebrated a harvest of newborn souls on Pentecost.

The Feast of Pentecost.

How is Pentecost related to Pentecostal Christians?

Pentecostal Christians have had a powerful experience of God’s presence, which is usually accompanied with speaking in tongues.

Pentecostal Christianity used to be a small segment of Protestantism, but today it has spread throughout the world and is the fastest growing form of Christianity. Many Christians who are not Pentecostals nevertheless celebrate Pentecost and hope that the Holy Spirit will renew and empower the church, though not necessarily with the particular manifestations of the first Pentecost.

How do Christians celebrate Pentecost?

As you might expect, there are a wide range of Christian celebrations of Pentecost.

Some churches do not recognize the holiday at all. Most churches at least mention it in prayer, song, or sermon. Some churches go all out, with worship focused on remembering the first Pentecost and praying for a similar outpouring of divine power.

Churches that employ liturgical colours generally use red on Pentecost as a symbol of power and fire of the Spirit.

Some churches receive new members on Pentecost, thus commemorating the first “new members class” that joined the church after Peter’s Pentecost sermon. Centuries ago in Britain, those joining the church wore white for baptism. Thus the Sunday was called “White Sunday” or “Whitsunday.”

Wikipedia

Whitsun (also Whitsunday, Whit Sunday or Whit) is the name used in the UK and Ireland for the Christian festival of Pentecost, the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ's disciples

The Feast of Pentecost.

Feast of “Weeks” or “Pentecost”

Occurred 7 weeks after the Feast of First Fruits and pointed to the great harvest of souls and the gift of the Holy Spirit for both Jew and Gentile,

who would be brought into the kingdom of God during the Church Age (see Acts 2).

The Church was actually established on this day when God poured out His Holy Spirit and 3,000 Jews responded to Peter’s great sermon and his first proclamation of the Gospel.

The Feast of Pentecost.

The Historical background.

The Greek term Pentecost means 50, from Pente which is 5. When the Jews dispersed among the nations the feast lost it’s primary significance as a harvest festival and was celebrated as the giving of the Law at Sinai.

Exodus 19:1.

On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt on that very day they came to the Desert of Sinai.

The Feast of Pentecost.

The central feature of this feast was the offering of two loaves of new wheat.

Loaves represent a real union of particles making one body. The two loaves may represent the Jews and Gentiles and the leavened bread typifying the Church which still contains evil.

Ephesians 2:11-20.

Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands) remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations.

How Jesus fulfilled the Feast of Pentecost.

Fifty days is the exact period of time between Jesus resurrection on the Feast of First Fruits and the formation of the Church on the Feast of Pentecost when in fulfilment of what Jesus had said, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the 120 disciples who were praying in the upper room.

Acts 2:1-4 &32-33.

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them……..

God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

How Jesus fulfilled the Feast of Pentecost.

40 days after His resurrection, Jesus ascended to Heaven and 10 days later he baptized the believers with the promised Holy Spirit.

John 1:33.

And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.

John 7:37-39.

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

The personal aspect of the Feast of First Fruits.

Do you want to be Baptized in the Holy Spirit (Filled)?

Are you a new creation?

Is Jesus glorified in your life?

Are you thirsty for more of God?

I was very interested in the testimony of the two ladies we went to hear 2 weeks ago giving their testimonies of being held captive in an Iranian prison.

One thing that particularly caught my attention, was the fact that both of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke of their experience and speaking in tongues in a setting where not everyone holds to the Pentecostal teachings that we as AOG do.

They distributed 20000 bibles in Iran going from house to house with Bibles in their backpacks. Can we honestly expect the Lord to fill us with the Holy Spirit if we have no intention to fulfil the Great Commission and just want to sit back and warm a pew?

Holy Ghost boldness.

Acts 4:13-14.

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marvelled.

And they realized that they had been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.

Acts 4:21-31.

After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old. On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God.

Holy Ghost boldness.

Acts 4:21-31 (continued)

Sovereign Lord, they said, you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one. Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus. After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

The personal aspect of the Feast of First Fruits.

The fourth feast, that is Pentecost, pointed towards the time that the Holy Spirit would be poured out to empower God’s New Covenant people to be witnesses for the Lord. However they had to be prepared by the first 3 feasts as Jesus said….

Mark 2:22

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost.

New wine calls for new wineskins.

2 Corinthians 5:17.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,

the new creation has come:

The old has gone, the new is here!

The personal aspect of the Feast of First Fruits.

The promise is for everyone who responds to the Gospel, but you must first repent.

Acts 2:38.

Peter replied, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off for all whom the Lord our God will call.

Acts 5:32.

We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.

The personal aspect of the Feast of First Fruits.

You must however ask for this gift, there must be a desire (a thirst)

Luke 11:9-13.

So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.

Personal Implications of the Feast of Pentecost.

In theory, the Spirit could have been poured out on the followers of Jesus when they were not gathered together.

There are surely times when the Holy Spirit touches an individual who is alone in prayer, worship, or ministry to others. But the fact that the Spirit was given to a gathering of believers is not incidental. It underscores the centrality of the church in God’s work in the world. The actions of the earliest Christians put all of this in boldface. The Holy Spirit is not only given to individuals, but also, in a sense to the gathered people of God. Many Christians, especially those of us who have been influenced by the individualism of American culture, live as if the church is useful but unnecessary. We seem to believe that as long as we have a personal relationship with God, everything else is secondary. But Pentecost is a vivid illustration of the truth that is found throughout Scripture: the community of God’s people is central to God’s work in the world. Thus, Pentecost invites us to consider our own participation in the fellowship, worship, and mission of the church. It is a time to renew our commitment to live as an essential member of the body of Christ, using our gifts to build the church and share the love and justice of Christ with the world.

Personal Implications of the Feast of Pentecost.

On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit empowered believers to praise God in languages that they had not learned in the ordinary manner .

Symbolically, this miracle reinforces the multilingual, multicultural, multiracial mission of the church. We are to be a community in which all people are drawn together by God’s love in Christ.

Galatians 3:28:

There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

Although there are some exceptions, it seems that the church has not, in general, lived out its multilingual mission.

We are often divided according to language, race, and ethnicity. Pentecost challenges all of us to examine our own attitudes in the regard, to reject and repent of any prejudice that lurks within us, and to open our hearts to all people, even and especially those who do not share our language and culture. It is not easy, but it is central to our calling and it is something that the Spirit of God will help us to do if we are available. http://www.patheos.com/ blogs/ markdroberts/

Charisma Magazine.

God's Spirit is ready an willing to empower us, but be prepared: Those who are filled with His power often feel compelled to take unusual risks.

We have always loved Christmas and the birthdays of our children. Watching their eyes light up as they open a gift my wife and I purchased for them is a tremendous joy. Jesus addressed the giving nature of God when He asked, “ 'Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!' ” (Luke 11:11-13, NIV). Jesus was not referring here to our “born again” experience. At the moment he becomes born again, the new believer is automatically indwelt by the Holy Spirit (see Rom. 8:9-10,14-16; 1 Cor. 6:19-20). Jesus was speaking of another experience involving the Holy Spirit-the “gift” of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. God gave this powerful gift to the early church, and it is available to the church of this century as well. Through misunderstanding, misinterpretation of Scripture and naiveté, countless people have missed this wonderful gift. Others have not earnestly desired all God has for them. But the baptism in the Holy Spirit is for every believer. It will help us be all God intends for us to be.

Charisma Magazine.

Those who have received the baptism in the Holy Spirit often feel compelled by God to enter occupations they would not naturally seek.

I did not want to go into the ministry, even though I had grown up in a minister's home. But my father insisted that I go to a Bible college. Then one day I felt that the Spirit of God touched my life. My heart melted from its stubbornness, and I felt convicted about not wholeheartedly serving Christ. I decided to yield my entire life to the Lord. From that day until now, I have wanted to do only what the Holy Spirit has told me to do.

Missionary William Carey planned to go to the Great Polynesia in the South Seas. The Holy Spirit guided him to India instead, where he translated the Bible into nearly 40 different languages and dialects.

David Livingstone's ambition was to work in China. But the Holy Spirit led him to Africa, where he became a missionary, statesman and explorer.

Adoniram Judson's choice was India. The Holy Spirit urged him to go to Burma, where he did a great work for God, translating the Bible into Burmese.

Charisma Magazine.

It is important that we understand how critical our obedience is to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

As we take our first step by faith, God will reveal the next. We can expect God to make clear what we should do.

When we receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit, we also receive a unique ability to be a witness. This does not mean that we are all expected to go into full-time ministry. Many have misunderstood the Lord's intentions in their lives and have entered ministry thinking they were obligated because they had received a wonderful experience from God.

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is for everyone and will be a tremendous help to you no matter what your occupation, location or age. You will sense a new strength, authority and confidence to be a testifier and communicator of God's truth about His precious Son, Jesus Christ. The new millennium church of the 21st century, like the church in the book of Acts, needs the dynamic power of the Spirit to equip it to evangelize the world and build the body of Christ.

Charisma Magazine.

A major characteristic of Spirit-Baptized Christians

Evangelistic zeal.

Being full of the Holy Spirit and winning the lost go hand in hand.

Pentecostals read the book of Acts and believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are available for them today. They observe that the early church was focused on evangelism and believe they must behave and respond in the same way.

Evangelism is their primary goal. Because of this focus, Pentecostal missions programs have dynamically entered unconverted areas of the world, often at great risk, believing God would enable them to reach these areas for Christ

You shall be my witnesses.

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Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are taken from the NIV:

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB:

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission. (http://www.lockman.org)




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