The Feast of Pentecost (or Shavuot) was
celebrated on the fiftieth day after Passover, or the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan (May or
June). It is found in Leviticus 23:15-21 of the Old Testament.
Shavuot is traditionally a joyous
time of giving thanks and presenting offerings of the new grain of the summer
wheat harvest in Israel. Jews believe this celebration is the exact time that
God gave the ten commandments to the people through Moses on Mount Sinai.
In the New Testament, the
resurrected Jesus is about ready to return to Heaven. Before leaving, He tells
the disciples about the gift
of the Holy Spirit. On the day
of Pentecost (A few days later) in Jerusalem,
the disciples are together when the sound of a mighty wind comes down from Heaven.
Tongues of fire rest on their heads.
Being filled with the Holy
Spirit, they begin to speak in foreign languages.
As the crowds observed this event, Peter preaches in each person’s native
tongue at one time, and three thousand people accepted the message of Christ.
On the first evening of Shavuot, traditional
Jews today still light candles and recite blessings, adorn their homes and
synagogues with greenery, eat dairy foods (such as cheesecakes and cheese
blintzes), study the Torah (first five books of the Old Testament), read the
book of Ruth and attend Shavuot services.
What lessons can we all learn from
Pentecost?
The Holy
Spirit (inside of Christians) helps make …
1. Positive lifestyle changes a real possibility.
“This
promise is for you and your children and for all those whom the Lord our God
calls (even though they are far away).” (Acts
2:39, New Testament WE)
“A Christian fellowship lives and exists by the
intercession of its members for one another, or it collapses.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
2. A unified community full
of various abilities.
“Then
in those days I will pour My Spirit to all humanity; your children will boldly and prophetically speak the word of God. Your elders will
dream dreams.” (Joel
2:28, VOICE)
“Trying to do the Lord's work in your own strength is
the most confusing, exhausting, and tedious of all work…When you are filled
with the Holy Spirit, then the ministry of Jesus just flows out of you.” (Corrie ten Boom)
3. Our mission for the Almighty crucial.
Then
He said to his disciples, “The harvest is large, but the workers are few. So
ask the Lord who gives this harvest to send workers to harvest his crops.” (Matthew
9:37-38, NOG)
“Successful witnessing is taking the initiative to share
Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God.” (Bill Bright)
“I firmly believe that the moment our hearts are emptied of pride
and selfishness and ambition and self-seeking and everything that is contrary
to God's law, the Holy Ghost will come and fill every corner of our hearts; but
if we are full of pride and conceit and ambition and self-seeking and pleasure
and the world: there is no room for the Spirit of God…I believe many a man is
praying to God to fill him when he is full already with something else.” (Dwight L. Moody) [i]
[i] Inspired by the sermon
“Fantastic Feasts: The Lord of the Harvest” (Installment four, final) Sunday,
June 4, 2017 Pastor Dave Jansen CenterPoint Gahanna Church Gahanna, OH.
Additional source used was “Feast of Pentecost” by Mary Fairchild
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