Hello Calvary family and welcome to
worship for Pentecost Sunday.
Every think about it the fact that some
people bring joy to everyone, while some people
bring joy when they leave😊 You know people
that walk in the room and everybody is happy to see them, and then you have those couple of
people--- that when they leave everybody is
happy. Sometimes I wonder which one I am?
Think about your life, think about how God has created your life. God has blessed you. Which leads me to think about the church today--
Pentecost Sunday. We're going to get into it with Acts chapter 2. What Pentecost was with just the first couple of verses of Acts chapter two
(I was standing in front of Calvary’s sign) I want you to see behind me the Calvary Reformed Church sign. Back in the 50s Calvary started as Bethany Missions, Pastor Wayne Trip showed up for some time. After pastor Wayne Tripp (who is still alive in Wisconsin), Pastor Don Lam came and was here for about twelve
years with a wonderful ministry, as did pastor Wayne Tripp. Pastor Don left and Pastor Vern Hettinga ministered for about twelve/ thirteen
years, having a great ministry. Then Pastor Jonathan Bronson and his family came. They were here for about three years or so had a wonderful ministry. And then little did Calvary know that back in 1999 when I was only 38 and they would call me I would be here for all these years---- but the beauty of the church---this church, it's not me ---this church is not being built by the people inside this church. Any church around the world must have a core focus of
Jesus Christ. And the church is built by Jesus Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit.
Let’s read from John 14, Jesus says to us in John 14 and I will ask of the Father and He will give you another counselor some of the old translations say another Paraclete… another counselor to be with you forever, who is the spirit of the truth. The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him nor knows him, but you know him for he will live with you and will be with you. The disciples yet did not have the Holy Spirit with them at that time but then we read in Acts chapter 2 and we got to remember this for Acts chapter 2 is taking place on during the Festival of Weeks. For the Jewish people the festival of weeks or what we call the Pentecost ---Penta is 50 this festival was one of the festivals one of the three festivals that if you were a Jewish man living within 20 miles or so of Jerusalem--- you were required to come to Jerusalem three times a year for certain festivals. Passover was one of them, feast of weeks or Pentecost was one of them. And it's
during this festival 50 days after Christ offered his life for you and I that he sends the Holy Spirit and we read in in Acts chapter 2 when the day
of Pentecost had come.
Penta 50, the Pentateuch in the Old Testament Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy is called the Pentateuch the five books of the Old Testament.
When the day of Pentecost 50 days after
the Passover time they were all together in one place. A lot of people have in the past have said that one place was in the upper room where they had the Passover meal. That may have been, but I believe it was really within the temple that they were. We don't have enough time on the video to define why, but within scripture I believe they were in the temple because there were a hundred of twenty hundred and twenty of them who were there together and as they were there, suddenly the sound of a blowing of a violent wind
came upon them from heaven came down from heaven---- not coming from side by outside like a storm but from heaven and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
And they saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the spirit enabled them to.
I want to speak briefly about Passover and the Pentecost and just a couple little ideas between the two.
We need to realize that the first Passover
that took place took place was in Egypt and it's when Yahweh God said to Moses to lead the Jewish people out and that first Passover of the angel of death passing over people's doorsteps or their doors as they put the blood of the Paschal Lamb over their door, symbolize their freedom from slavery--- their freedom from slavery.
Jesus Christ came and the fifty days prior to what we’re reading in Acts chapter two Christ comes and he is the Paschal Lamb which gives
freedom from the slavery of sin---- Passover
original freedom from the slavery of Egypt- Christ Passover freedom from the slavery of sin.
The second aspect here is an interesting aspect in the fact that that on Pentecost the first Pentecost that took place the ---the first festival of weeks when in the Old Testament in the book of Deuteronomy God Yahweh God set up to do this festival it was a time of bringing in the harvest. It was a time of even before the bringing of the harvest the Jewish people say that during this time the festival of weeks is when Moses went up the mountain on Mount Sinai and
received the Ten Commandments received
Yahweh God's law, His guideline of how we are called to live our lives ---which I believe still holds true today ---for the Ten Commandments simply put we have how many hundreds and thousands of pages of books of law in our land and if
we followed the Ten Commandments--- simply
put what Yahweh God laid down for us ---that first Pentecost that first festival of weeks we would be better off as a society.
Pentecost / Festival of Weeks the giving of the law from God, while the second Pentecost---this one in Acts chapter 2 shows the giving of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says that he will put a new law within our lives--- that new laws that we are called to love one another--- we're called to love
the Lord our God with a heart soul mind and strength, then our neighbor as ourselves. Friends if we actually know-- this if you actually have given your life to Jesus Christ--- the Holy Spirit's living within you. If you actually are doing that--- love God 1st and neighbor 2nd, so many of our problems with our neighbors are dispelled because the reality is whoever we meet is our
neighbor.
There's one other thing here I want to bring up, that the last Passover for Jesus, we know that he was arrested we know that he was betrayed, we know that he was humbled, we know that he was put to death--- the son of God, who did not count equality with God something to be grasped, but gave it all up and took on the likeness of humanity---- so that Jewish Passover Christ was degraded and killed--- but at Pentecost, fifty days later when he sends the Holy Spirit he is glorified--- because the Holy Spirit has been sent within our lives to glorify Jesus Christ and Pentecost I love this friends Pentecost reverses what took place at the Tower of Babel. In the Old Testament when the people at that time said we are going to build a mound -- an area that is so high that we will reach up to the heavens we will reach up to God. But God came down and confused their language.
Pentecost is a time as we read the fact that the disciples--- the hundred and twenty were
able to speak in various tongues. Today people speak in the tongues of angels. I believe at that point in time that the tongues that they spoke in
were native tongues of people who were
in Jerusalem celebrating. Celebrating the
festival of weeks. People gathered from all
different countries but who had accepted the Jewish faith. It would be like me suddenly being able to speak Japanese if I met a Japanese person, and the Holy Spirit gave me the ability to speak in that language to share Jesus Christ. That was the original tongues!!
So what we have here is Pentecost is over the reversal of God's separating people but now God wanting to bring people together- whatever ethnic background --whatever cultural background –whatever part of the world we may live in or have grown up in, Jesus desires to bring us together as one under Jesus Christ.
The reversal of the Tower of Babel, so we see how the Passover symbolized the freedom from sin or from slavery in Egypt--- Christ gives us freedom from sin in our lives ---we see how the Pentecost / festival of weeks at first dealt with the giving of the law from Yahweh God, but now we see how Jesus Christ gives us the law within our lives through the Holy Spirit, and that Christ---though he was crucified died and was
Buried--- we know that he ascended and he
sent His Holy Spirit--- and we celebrate that today.
There is a few more things I want to bring up in this it is just packed--- so full of rich
Teachings. The one the next one is the fact that they were all the disciples were all in one Accord. They had one mind, and they were in one place-- one Accord-- one mind-- one place I love that idea they were all in one Accord.
One Accord means to be in one mind, it means to have a single purpose, it means to have a have a vision, a goal a desire, to be in one area. There is no church that can expect to revival if there's no there's no body of Christ. A Church can Not expect it to grow unless the people in that church have one mind--- one mind of serving Jesus Christ-- one mind of serving God the Father--- one mind of serving the Holy Spirit--- one mind of following what this word / the Bible has to say within our lives versus what culture has to say. We are called to have one mind so that there is no strife.
They were also at one place. As I already said I believe that place was the temple they were in one place together-- as a body and it's
interesting because it says that they were sitting. Now we often say that that they were praying for the coming of the Holy Spirit, but the Greek here says in Acts that they were sitting. Jewish people-- the Jewish culture was when they prayed they were either standing or they were kneeling not sitting. The Holy Spirit came on them at a time where they were not expecting to come and yet the Spirit came, and they were to gather in one place.
Right now, churches are starting to get back together, we have done the drive in the last few weeks and we're talking about how to phase in in person worship. Other churches are doing that currently - phasing in worship. Somebody
asked me recently well pastor what why is it important for us to get together as a body? Why cannot we just continue this virtual worship. I said why, because Christ died for the church, the ecclesia. Christ died for his body, sometimes people will say to me oh I attend Calvary I attend your church pastor---- I say it's not my church it's
your church--anybody that attends here it's your church--- but the reality is it's not our church it's Christ's Church and we are called to be in one place together on Sunday mornings ---in worship. And that becomes that anchor, that core for us of worship to gather… one mind-- one place. In the book of Acts, it says that the house was filled with the sound with the wind filled the rushing wind coming down--- the Holy Spirit where the believers were sitting were filled
My question--- is our lives is your life
is your life singularly focused on serving Jesus Christ or is it chasing all other---all other things-- all other whims is your life singularly focused on a place to worship---- gathering with other believers and is your heart filled with desire to offer praise and worship to Jesus Christ.
Another idea I just want to bring up comes from Deuteronomy with the first festival of Weeks. Deuteronomy says three times a year your men and your women must appear, or your men must appear before the Lord your God Yahweh God and no one can appear before the Lord empty-handed. Each one of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord has blessed you. We tend to see Church nowadays as a way of what will church do for us --what will God do for us--- what the Holy Spirit do for us!!
The reality is friends there's a responsibility on our part--- there's a responsibility on my part not to be empty-handed--- I hold teaching on the whole idea biblical idea of tithing and giving the 10% giving love gifts over and above. Friends, when we gather as His people, we are called to not come empty-handed, but called to offer what we have ---and it says here it says according to how God has blessed us. Some have been blessed financially, some others have not, and the scripture says it's according all in proportion to the way you've been blessed.
Friends for Pentecost we come to celebrate the giving of the Holy Spirit and we can only receive a gift if we have open hands. We are called to come to give our gifts to God so that
as we give--- we have an open hand-- and we are not hanging on to what we believe is ours-- which reality isn't that ours!
A couple more ideas Acts chapter 2, In some respects are some of the most important verses in scripture--- yes John 3:16 for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him might not die
but will have eternal life whoever believes that opportunity for all of us to accept him for eternal life----- yes that is one of them but---- but Acts
chapter two is the birth of the church. It is birth of the Bride of Christ --- it is the empowerment that we are called to have to do his work for him in the world.
You ever think about that we are called to do God's Jesus Christ's work by the power of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 16 Jesus says to us you don't fully understand right now when I speak to you but I will build my church I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it. I love the reality that Christ builds His church and gates of Hell will not prevail against it.
Friends--- what it's saying is Jesus Christ is the one who does the building---it's not me!!!
The first church had nothing of what we have today--- no technology--- no praise bands---no massive choirs---no evangelistic outreach--- all that goes on what the first church HAD was the Holy Spirit ---the power / the power and the strength of the Holy Spirit and that is what moved them Jesus says I will build my church
and the gates of Hell will not prevail.
The gates of Hell will not overcome
Sometimes, we think about that that you
know what heaven a fortress and hell is
is trying to break in. That is not what Jesus is saying, He says hell will not withstand --hell is being attacked-- hell will not overcome the reality
the power of the Holy Spirit. The church has been given power---- to you and I ---and by Christ’s power we are to be is knocking on the gates of hell. We are called be on the attack, not on the defense ---called to be on the ATTACK--
Jesus says I will build my church. I love that I will build My church, friends Pentecost is a Sunday that we celebrate the outpouring of the
Holy Spirit and all who believe my prayer is that my life would exhibit ----that my life would be fully filled with the Holy Spirit--- to do that work ---to do have that power ---which he calls me to do
not for myself not for Calvary but for Christ’s worldwide church. Friends, may we all be of one mind--- of one focus--- be in one place in worship whether at Calvary or any other place that is worshiping Jesus Christ. And may our lives be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit---focusing others to Christ---as Christ builds his church.
In the name of the Father, Son, the Holy Spirit. Lord we give you thanks and we bless your name, and we seek your spirit to work within us.
And may the Lord bless you and keep you and He lifts up His face upon you and grant you Grace and peace amen
