May 31, 2020

The Day of Pentecost

The Day of Pentecost

The Day of Pentecost is a sermon teaching us that Jesus fulfilled the feast days God spoke of 1,000s of years earlier and celebrated by Jewish people each year.

The Feast of Shavuot or Pentecost occurs 50 days after the Feast of Firstfruits, celebrated for when Moses received the law on Mount Sinai, the traditionally celebrated day. There is a correlation of the Jewish feast days and events occurring in the New Testament. It all starts in the month of Nisan, the first month of the Jewish calendar.

On the 14th day of Nisan is the Feast of the Passover commemorating the time in Egypt when those under the sign of the cross (doorposts and lintel painted in lamb’s blood) were spared from judgment. The following day, the 15th of Nisan is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when flatbread (bread without yeast which represented sin) was eaten for seven days signifying purity and holiness.

On the 16th of Nisan, the Feast of Firstfruits starts when people bring one sheaf of their firstfruits of the harvest to the priest and he offers it to the Lord on behalf of the person bringing it. And a burnt offering is also offered. This represents Spring, a time of new life. 50 days later is the Feast of Shavuot or Pentecost, people bring the firstfruits of the bountiful harvest, and burnt offerings were made. This is an offering for the priest. It is celebrating the end-gathering of the bountiful harvest.

In the New Testament, during Passover, Jesus prepares to be sacrificed as the Lamb of God. The disciples don’t know what is happening and Jesus is preparing them for this and afterward. Jesus tells them that He will send another Comforter to them, one that is the same as Himself, and that stays forever. The Comforter is the Spirit of Truth who will dwell with you and in you. The world cannot know Him because they do not receive the Spirit of Truth.

Christ rose from the dead and became the firstfruits of the resurrection. We are all sinful as Adam and when we believe Jesus we are made alive and born again and become part of the Lord.

Jesus was crucified on the Feast of Passover, the 15th of Nisan. He was buried and lay in the tomb on the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the 16th of Nisan. Then on the third day, the 17th of Nisan, He arose from the grave on the Feast of Firstfruits and became the firstfruits of the resurrection of those who are saved.

What comes next is the end-gathering of the harvest, Pentecost, or the Feast of Shavuot. God told His people of this, thousands of years ahead of time. And they repeated these feasts year after year so they wouldn’t forget.

After His resurrection, Jesus showed Himself alive with many infallible proofs witnessed by many for 40 days. He instructed His disciples not to leave Jerusalem but wait for the promise made by God the Father, that He had told them about.

When we are baptized we are not added to the body of Christ, we become part of the body of Christ. Jesus tells His disciples that they would be baptized with the Holy Ghost, becoming part of the body of Christ, to be in Christ.

They knew He is the Messiah to save Israel but told them they would receive power from the Holy Ghost to proclaim His name. They would be empowered by the Holy Ghost to be witnesses to the whole world.

When the disciples gathered in the upper room, 120 in all. They prayed for 10 days. When the day of Pentecost fully came, the 50th day, just like God said thousands of years ago, suddenly a sound came from Heaven and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. They began to speak different languages as the Spirit led them for a very specific purpose. Jews from every country were in Jerusalem to celebrate the feast days. Every man heard them speak in his own language and were amazed. The whole world could start to learn about Jesus.

Peter began to preach when the day of Pentecost had fully come. Peter proves to the listening people from the scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior, who was promised since the time of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The men wanted to know how to be forgiven. Peter taught that they should repent and then be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and they would receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Then they gladly received his word and were baptized and that same day, the day of Pentecost, there were added to the 120, which was the church, about 3,000 souls.

We need a great outpouring of the Spirit of God today, a revival. Give God control of our lives. That’s what happened on the day of Pentecost, the gathering of the end-harvest, the salvation of 3,000 souls.

The Day of Pentecost sermon starts with verses from Leviticus 23:4-22:

4 These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.

5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’S passover.

6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.

7 In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.

8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.

9 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:

11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.

12 And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD.

13 And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin.

14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:

16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.

17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.

18 And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the LORD, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto the LORD.

19 Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings.

20 And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest.

21 And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

22 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.

Also verses from John 14: 16-17:

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

I Corinthians 15:20-23:

20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

Acts 1:1-9, 12-14:

1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,

2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:

3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith heye have heard of me.

5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey.

13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.

14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

Acts 2:1-15:

1 And when the day of Pentecost was 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 all the house where they were sitting.

3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?

8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?

9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,

10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,

11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.

12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?

13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.

14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

Acts 2:32-41:

32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.

33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.

34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,

35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool.

36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.

41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Get in-depth knowledge by viewing or listening to the sermon: The Day of Pentecost

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About the Speaker

Dr. Michael L. McClure

Dr. Michael L. McClure

Senior Pastor

Dr. Michael L. McClure, our lead pastor, is known for his in-depth knowledge and effective teaching style of biblical truths applicable to everyday living.