The Feast of Pentecost (2013)

Feast of Pentecost

Pentecost

Lesson By: Melissa Pointer

By Melissa C. Pointer

The Three Great Feasts These were discussed in Leviticus 23 We are required by God to keep them They point to what God will do for us to be saved from this world The name of the 3 great feasts…

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Passover Pentecost Tabernacles This is found in Exodus 24: 15-17

Other Holy Convocations Atonement

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Day of Fasting

Trumpets

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Referred to as memorial

We gather together that day and do no servile work Leviticus 23: 24 -27

Other Holy Convocations Our other feast days were not commanded by the throne of God

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Purim Dedication

Pentecost It is the 2nd of the great feasts Always occurs on a Sunday At first glance it seems like an ordinary day

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Used in an agriculture society To signify harvest time

There is much more to it than that

History Reveals The children of Israel were commanded to bring a sheaf of the first fruits of their harvest to the priest, to be held until the first day of the week The priest would then wave the sheaf before the Lord so that he would accept them and

bless them, which enabled them to officially begin their harvest

Exactly 50 days after, on the Feast of Harvest, each family would bake 2 loaves of leavened

bread with the flour of the first fruits and bring them to the priests to be offered and waved before the Lord

Pentecost For Us We don’t have any farms Many of us have no idea how to process wheat This being the case, how is Pentecost relevant to us today?

We Must Obey God God commands us to keep the feast days because each holy convocation teaches us about being saved

Salvation is a team effort....it requires work from God + work from you

He requires us to obey his laws, he requires works and sacrifices

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Our works and sacrifices are unique to the individual

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No one else could be the Father of many nations like Abraham

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No one else could be Moses who helped save the children of Israel from Egypt

During Pentecost The firstfruits are given to God These firstfruits represent our best work and effort that must be given to God We should never place ourselves, parents or school above God The Lord is always #1

God Knows....

When you are giving your best When you are giving him sloppy seconds When you are giving him crumbs

More On the Firstfruits

The first fruit of the harvest not only

represents our best efforts but a special group of saints called the 144,000

During the time of harvest, the Lord will first BEGIN with the 144,000, pouring out his

Holy Spirit upon them to prepare them for salvation

When Pentecost is referred to as the Feast

of Harvest, keep in mind that this specifically references the firstfruit harvest or the gathering together of the 144,000

Time to Recap The children of Israel were commanded to bring a sheaf of the first fruits of their harvest as an offering & sacrifice unto the

Lord , which the priest would wave so that the Lord would accept them and bless them

Exactly 50 days after, on the Feast of Pentecost, each family

would bake 2 loaves of leavened bread with the flour of the first fruits and bring them to the priests to be offered and waved before the Lord

For the individual, the firstfruits represent our best works The firstfruits also represent a special group called the 144,000

Christ Is Our Example Christ is the firstborn of God the Father He gave his best effort to please his Father

Think of Christ as a living sacrifice that was offered & presented to God the Father in heaven

Because of his dedication & obedience, he was deemed acceptable

Just like the wheat offered during ancient Israel

Christ Is Our Example We must obey the Father as Christ obeyed him

Christ obeys the law because he is the law....he wrote it with his finger We too, must obey the

commandments & every word written in the bible

By doing so, we become a living sacrifice unto God

A Living Sacrifice To be a living sacrifice is to be

holy...it is to be perfect in the laws Just as the priests presented the

wave loaves during Pentecost, Christ will one day present his children to God the Father in heaven

We of course want God the Father to accept us

But Wait....!

We can’t get to heaven with our current bodies Our hearts, minds and entire flesh needs to be changed This is where the works of the Holy Spirit comes in to play

Who Is the Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit is God He was created by God the Father and is a part of the throne of God Reference Scripture: “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.� (I John 5: 7)

Works of the Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit calls the saints of God out of sin and brings them into repentance (sorrow & regret for past sins) We are waiting for the time when the Holy Spirit will come upon his people during the last days of this earth During that time he will change the hearts of all the saints, bringing them into righteousness

Works of the Holy Spirit The whole world will witness the gifts of the Spirit through his people, such as the gift of healing & speaking in multiple languages Christ will baptize us with the fire of the Holy Spirit and our physical bodies will become immortal just like Jesus It will be a time of rejoicing and everlasting joy for the children of God!

Pentecost The End!

By Melissa C. Pointer

Questions?

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