The Significance of Pentecost

If you have ever been shopping and had your child wander off, you know that feeling of panic that hits.  Where are they?  Where did they go?  Were they kidnapped?  You then begin the frantic search throughout the store looking for the child.  You describe them to the store employees and to fellow shoppers in hopes that someone has seen them. 

When I was 7 years old, I got lost in the grocery store and couldn’t find my Mom anywhere.  I was scared and she was equally as scared.  She did what any thinking parent would do, however, as she had the store manager announce over the intercom, “Brian Clark, please come to the front of the store.  Your Mom is looking for you.”

This is what happened at Pentecost.  Our Heavenly Father paged his children and began drawing them to himself.  Pentecost was one of three festivals where Jews who were dispersed all around the globe were required to return to Jerusalem to worship.  God brought His children from all around the world and called them to one place.  

He then poured out the Holy Spirit on 120 believers who were gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem and they begin to speak in other languages.  The Jews who had gathered from Egypt, Phrygia, Pamphylia, and other lands began to hear the gospel in their own language.  Their Father had brought them to one place and was metaphorically announcing their name over the intercom and inviting them into His family.

As dramatic as it must have been for Jews who were scattered all around the globe to hear the gospel preached in their language, the story becomes more dramatic when we learn the planning involved by our Heavenly Father. The divine set-up reveals the heart of the Father. I believe when you see this, you will fall in love with Him in a greater way. Let’s take a quick look at the history of events that led up to Pentecost.

God gave man a free will in the garden of Eden so we all had a right to reject Him, which Adam and Eve did.  Even though we rejected Him, however, God continued to pursue. He still wanted a relationship with His kids.

According to Revelation 13:8, Jesus was already the lamb slain from the foundation of the world.  In other words, God had a plan to get His kids back before we ever made messed up.  He prophesied of the plan when He instituted the Passover to celebrate Jewish deliverance from Egyptian bondage. 

In God’s foresight, He required Jews from all around the world to return to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover each year.  Jesus was crucified during Passover so thousands of Jews from around the world saw our passover lamb hang publicly from a cross on a hill overlooking Jerusalem. The timing of this wasn’t an accident.  God crucified Jesus at a time where the maximum amount of people would see it.

50 days after Passover the Jews returned to Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost. According to the law of Moses, the feast of weeks (Pentecost) was a celebration of the harvest and Jews were required to return to Jerusalem to celebrate.  The timing of Pentecost is significant.  It was to be observed exactly 50 days after Passover.  Check out the Leviticus 23 if you would like to learn more about these feasts.  

I want to draw your attention to the effort and intentionality of God to restore His family.   He brought Jews from all around the world at Passover to see Jesus crucified.  He then brought them back 50 days later at Pentecost as he poured His spirit out and restored many of them to His family.  The Jews celebrated the festivals of Passover and Pentecost for 2,000 years prior to the birth of the church.  Every time they celebrated these feasts, God was prophesying of His redemptive plan through them.  

This Sunday May 31st is Pentecost.  Grace Life Church is joining many churches around the nation and re-opening our doors and beginning to gather and worship Jesus.  I’m not sure what to expect, but I don’t believe it is a coincidence.  I don’t want to make any bold claims, but I do want to tell you that our Father is up to something.  He is wanting to draw more people into His family so they can experience His goodness.  

Let’s all do what the 120 believers in the upper room did in Acts 1. Let’s begin to pray and believe for God to pour out His spirit in a powerful way so revival begins to fall afresh on our world this Pentecost. He wants to bring order out of our world’s chaos and simultaneously see a great harvest of souls! Agree with me, “Holy Spirit come and have your way in people’s hearts this Pentecost. Give us courage to share the good news! Do what only you can do.”

Whatever God is up to, I can guarantee it is going to be awesome! Get your expectancy up! Revival is here! To learn more about how God divinely orchestrates revivals check out this message.

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