Remembering Pentecost
Pastor Charles Cooley
3/8/07

Jesus was raised from the dead on the Feast of Firstfruits. He then walked with His disciples 40 days teaching them about the coming kingdom of God. He said,

"Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." - Acts 1:4-5

After he said these things, he was taken up from them into the heavens in a cloud. Two angels declared they would see him come again in the same way, but now they should wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father. They waited for 10 days, praying and fasting and on the day of the Feast of Weeks, which is called Pentecost because it occurs 50 days after the Feast of Firstfruits, the promise came. Acts 2 records what happened -

"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." - Acts 2:1-4

As Jesus had said, they were endued with power and began to preach and testify to the wonders of God. The result was that 3000 souls repented that day and were added to the church. While this story is known by most of the Church, few understand all that was happening. Pentecost didn't just happen then, but God instituted it when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the tablets of the ten commandments. God had written His laws on tablets of stone so the people wouldn't forget them, but they could not wait and fell into sin, choosing a golden calf for their God.

Moses, seeing the golden calf, broke the tablets the Lord had carved because of the people's sin in making the golden calf and worshipping it. God was so angry that He was going to destroy the people and start over again but Moses interceded for them and God relented. The people were asked to choose whom they would follow and those who did not choose God were killed by the Levites. 3000 died that day. On that first Pentecost, 3000 did not choose God, but on this Pentecost 3000 did choose God.

 Moses had to chisel out two new tablets for the Lord to write the laws on. First, God cut the tablets, now Moses had to cut them out. God still wrote the commandments, however. The Sabbath rest was emphasized, the Feast of Unleavened Bread was to be celebrated, and the Feast of Weeks was initiated.

Moses understood the absolute need for the presence of the Lord being with them. It is the presence of the Lord that gives us rest. But, God's presence cannot abide with sin. That is what the Feast of Unleavened bread is about, purging out sin, which is represented by leaven. Moses would meet with the Lord in the tent of meeting and on one occasion he asked the Lord,

"If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people." The Lord replied, "MY Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." - Exodus 33:13-14.

God was not intending to go with the people but only send his angel before them but, Moses again interceded to the Lord,

"If your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?" - Exodus 33:15-16

So what does distinguish us from all other people? One thing - the Presence of the Lord. Many today think a denomination distinguishes us, or a church building, or a code of ethics, or other do's and don'ts, but what distinguishes the Christian is the presence of the Lord. If you go to church on a Sunday and the presence of the Lord doesn't go with you, you have not been to church! Therefore, Pentecost is intended to remind us of our need of the presence of the Lord. On that first Pentecost God gave His law written on stone tablets, but on this Pentecost, He wrote them on the tablets of our hearts. As Paul writes -

"You yourselves are our letter, written on your hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts." - 2 Corinthians 3:2-3

"The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: 'This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds." - Hebrews 10:15-16

This makes Pentecost not a religious ceremony but a personal encounter with God the Holy Spirit. As His laws are written on our hearts and minds, we become the testimony, not just what we say, but who we are, our very being.

God also promised Moses that His Presence would give them rest. That is what the Sabbath is all about - resting in God. We are no longer to be doing our works but we can now do the work of God in His strength. This is the rest Isaiah spoke about - "Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people, to whom he said, 'This is the resting place, let the weary rest' and 'This is the place of repose' - but they would not listen." - Isaiah 28:11-12. We know this is referring to Pentecost because Paul quotes this Scripture to explain speaking in tongues - ! Corinthians 14:21.

There are many running around trying to build the Church but, Jesus declares "I will build my church." - Matthew 16:18. We don't build the Church, we are the Church and it is the Holy Spirit who builds us up. Now 'resting' does not imply apathy or inaction, but it does mean dependence on the Holy Spirit to enable the work.

So what does Pentecost mean to us? It means first our absolute dependence on the Presence of God by His Holy Spirit. It means we are to embrace the law of God, making it part and parcel of our lives, written on our hearts. We are to love the truth and His word is truth. We are to rest in the Lord, surrendering to His will, knowing that if we obey, He will do the work He has already ordained. We are to embrace the gifts of the Lord and rejoice that He wants to involve us in the work of building His Church, if we but obey His leading. Finally, when the Israelites celebrated the Feast of Pentecost they were not to appear before the Lord empty handed. They were to offer the firstfruits of the wheat harvest and there were two loaves made with leaven and finely beaten flour offered to the Lord. These two loaves represented Jew and Gentile which would come together to make the 'one new man' that Jesus died for in the Church. Leaven was allowed because we are not sinless, just forgiven. It speaks of the need for repentance being an integral part of our lives. The flour was beaten fine to represent the truth that we are perfected by the things that we suffer. There is a cross to bear to walk in Pentecost.

Finally, while we need to embrace Pentecost every day of our lives, it is good to celebrate this feast with rejoicing, because God has not forsaken us. He was and is willing to get involved in our lives and invites us to get involved in His.