The Day Of Pentecost Series

First, we see this Pentecostal experience

And the first thing I want you to see is when it took place because it says, ‘when the day of Pentecost was come’ and I’d like to define what the day of Pentecost is because there’s been so much misuse of this term that people seem to think this was the beginning of the Pentecostal church but the actual historical Pentecostal Church began in Los Angeles, California in 1906 and the original church only lasted until 1915. It was led by an African American preacher by the name of William J. Seymour.

And this revival as it was called was characterized by ecstatic spiritual experiences and was accompanied by miracles, dramatic worship services, speaking in tongues and inter-racial mingling which meant blacks and whites worshipped together which was very unusual for the time.

The people involved in these meetings were criticized by both the secular media and Christian theologians for behaviors they considered to be outrageous and unorthodox. This revival is considered to be the primary catalyst for the spread of Pentecostalism in the 20th century.

Now; let’s get to the real Pentecost and let me begin by describing the seven annual feasts the Jews held, so, you’ll understand the significance of what happened.

The first feast was the Passover and this was also known as the feast of redemption and this feast reflected Israel’s deliverance from their bondage in Egypt.

The next was the Feast of Unleavened Bread and this one lasted for seven days. Its chief characteristic was for everyone to get rid of any leaven in their houses because leaven represented sin. So, this feast was supposed to signify a time of cleansing.

I had a Jewish friend in Toronto who told me that before this feast his mother would throw bits of yeast under the beds and then she’d go around the house and make sure all of it was cleaned up again.

There are at least five kinds of leaven were mentioned in the New Testament. The first is where Jesus warned His disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees which He identified as self-righteousness and hypocrisy. Then there is the leaven of the Sadducees which is unbelief and the leaven of Herod which is worldliness. And then Paul spoke of the leaven of the Corinthians which was immorality and the leaven of the Galatians which was legalism. Leaven’s function is to puff things up and this reminds us of pride which is the beginning of all sin.

The third in order of the annual festivals was the feast of first fruits and there was no set date for this one since it happened whenever the grain was ripe and the time for harvest arrived. A chosen committee was sent from the temple to gather a small amount of grain which they’d thresh and grind into to flour and then they’d present it before the Lord. And by this; they were acknowledging both the power and the goodness of God.

The fourth feast was called the feast of Weeks or Pentecost and it came fifty days after the Passover; from which we get the name Pentecost. Pente means five or fifty. Pentecost was celebrated in June which was the best time for travelling which also explains the large number of people from different countries who were gathered in Jerusalem. In total they assumed there were around two million people from the various countries.