1 00:00:14,119 --> 00:00:17,339 Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church podcast. 2 00:00:18,379 --> 00:00:24,100 If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you. 3 00:00:24,900 --> 00:00:26,580 Thank you for joining us today. 4 00:00:34,740 --> 00:00:39,820 So, I'm really, really, really excited 5 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:53,899 to be in the book of Acts. How about you guys? For me, I remember first reading through the book of Acts 6 00:00:54,100 --> 00:01:01,320 for me. I was kind of entrenched. You know, when I first came into saving knowledge of Jesus, 7 00:01:01,479 --> 00:01:06,060 I was really entrenched in the Gospels. And then I remember getting into the book of Acts and this 8 00:01:06,060 --> 00:01:14,659 kind of epic story unfolding. And I've always been a... My mind has always been a kind of guy that 9 00:01:14,659 --> 00:01:23,079 gets drawn into stories. I was a big... When I was a child, I was a big Tolkien guy. 10 00:01:23,079 --> 00:01:31,000 I loved, loved Tolkien. And I grew up in this old farmhouse. And in my bedroom, I had this 11 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:37,120 big, deep closet. And I filled it up with pillows and put a little light in there. And I would go 12 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:50,439 in there and read The Hobbit for hours. Hours. And like everything else, I had a very compulsive... 13 00:01:50,439 --> 00:01:54,739 When I got into something, I was like really into it. So, I'd read The Hobbit over and over again 14 00:01:54,739 --> 00:02:00,319 and just get drawn into this story. And then I remember getting introduced to the Lord of Rings. 15 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:06,439 Lord of the Rings. And I started that out. And when I got into that, I'm there. 16 00:02:08,439 --> 00:02:14,620 Why are all these new characters coming into play here? What happened to... I mean, 17 00:02:14,620 --> 00:02:21,659 Bilbo is kind of the main guy here. Why is everything changing? And the whole story unfolded 18 00:02:21,659 --> 00:02:27,099 into this epic thing where The Hobbit was just kind of setting up this larger story. 19 00:02:27,780 --> 00:02:33,800 And I remember kind of feeling that way when I was in the book of Acts. I'm there. Well, 20 00:02:34,419 --> 00:02:40,020 what happened to... What happened to Jesus? The main character. He was kind of our guy. And who 21 00:02:40,020 --> 00:02:47,240 is this Paul? And what is happening here? But as I got into the story of Acts and it just began 22 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:55,139 to unfold, I just realized this is this great journey where these small ragtag group of people 23 00:02:55,139 --> 00:03:02,539 who common people were filled with the spirit and their lives were transformed to the point where 24 00:03:02,539 --> 00:03:10,139 they literally changed the world. So it's always been this amazing story to me. And today, 25 00:03:10,139 --> 00:03:18,280 we're going to talk about Pentecost, which is another just amazing story of where God just 26 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:27,840 launched the church with this powerful moving of the spirit. But would it surprise any of you 27 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:41,000 to know that perhaps Pentecost maybe wasn't a new thing. So when we think of Pentecost, 28 00:03:41,219 --> 00:03:48,620 we can picture any number of scenes. It's intimate gathering of the apostles as they prayed, 29 00:03:49,099 --> 00:03:56,139 perhaps in the upper room and they waited for God's spirit to move and there was this miraculous 30 00:03:56,139 --> 00:04:02,400 outpouring of the spirit that launched the early church and people were talking in tongues and 31 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:11,960 masses of people were turning to Jesus. But the day of Pentecost was actually 32 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:22,600 a Jewish festival day called Shavuot. And they had been celebrating this for 33 00:04:23,579 --> 00:04:33,420 many, many, many, many centuries. So Shavuot stood for weeks and Pentecost is the Greek 34 00:04:33,420 --> 00:04:43,620 translation of that word. And it was seven weeks or 50 days after Passover. So it was the second 35 00:04:43,620 --> 00:04:49,339 feast of the firstfruits. There was two celebrations of firstfruits and we'll get 36 00:04:49,339 --> 00:04:55,759 into that a little bit later. But this was to celebrate the wheat harvest. So before we go 37 00:04:55,759 --> 00:05:03,740 any deeper into that, and I want to go deeper into that, let's start by reading some of Acts 38 00:05:03,740 --> 00:05:08,279 chapter two. And I'm going to be skipping around a little bit. I'm not going to do a straight 39 00:05:08,279 --> 00:05:15,199 straight read through this. So bear with me on this. So when the day of Pentecost came, 40 00:05:15,199 --> 00:05:23,699 they were all gathered in one place. Suddenly a sound like blowing of a violent wind came from 41 00:05:23,699 --> 00:05:29,319 heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of 42 00:05:29,319 --> 00:05:35,680 fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit 43 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:43,860 and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now they were staying in 44 00:05:43,860 --> 00:05:51,240 Jerusalem, God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd 45 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:58,500 came together in bewilderment because each heard it in their own language was being spoken. 46 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:06,600 Utterly amazed, they asked, aren't all these people speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each 47 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:14,220 of us are hearing them in our native language? Parthians, Medes, and Emulates, residents of the 48 00:06:14,220 --> 00:06:23,139 Mesopotonia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontius, Asia, Phlegra, I can't quite get that one, and 49 00:06:23,139 --> 00:06:31,160 Pamphylia, Egypt, and parts of Libya near Syrian, visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts to 50 00:06:31,259 --> 00:06:39,120 Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues. 51 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:48,259 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, what does this mean? Some however made fun of them and 52 00:06:48,259 --> 00:06:55,699 said, they have had too much wine. Then Peter stood up with the 11, raised his voice to address 53 00:06:55,699 --> 00:07:02,980 the crowd and said, fellow Jews, all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you. 54 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:09,439 Listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk as you suppose. It's only nine in the 55 00:07:09,439 --> 00:07:15,740 morning. And then I'm going to skip to 41. He says, those who accepted this message, and we'll 56 00:07:15,740 --> 00:07:21,420 get to that stuff in the middle soon enough, they were baptized and there was about 300 that 57 00:07:21,420 --> 00:07:29,399 were added to the number that day. Now that's 3000, thank you. And as I read through that, 58 00:07:30,519 --> 00:07:37,459 I've read through it many times, there were things that stood out to me a little bit. And 59 00:07:38,259 --> 00:07:46,120 I love to, as I'm reading, I love to, you know, picture in my mind, you know, what the scene 60 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:56,560 was, I'm a visual, visual learner. And most of the times as I am studying something like this, 61 00:07:57,079 --> 00:08:04,019 my picture begins to change as I dig in a little deeper. And I know if you know me, 62 00:08:04,860 --> 00:08:12,339 if you've heard me teach before, you know that I love to consider the cultural relevance of things 63 00:08:12,339 --> 00:08:19,600 that are being taught. I love context. I love to understand the wise. I like to, you know, 64 00:08:20,079 --> 00:08:26,819 look at who, who God was addressing here and try to, you know, figure out, okay, wow, what, 65 00:08:26,879 --> 00:08:33,159 what all, what all was happening. I love studying the scriptures. I love digging a little deeper. 66 00:08:33,419 --> 00:08:38,600 I love cross referencing Old Testament, New Testament. I love the hidden treasure 67 00:08:39,279 --> 00:08:45,120 and I love the hints that are, that are in scripture because oftentimes we skip over 68 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:49,480 the hints that are in there and the Jews had a little word for them. They were called pearls. 69 00:08:51,860 --> 00:08:56,360 So when we, there were some things in here, little hints that kind of 70 00:08:58,019 --> 00:09:04,860 stood out to me, should we say. So they were all together in one place in the house. 71 00:09:06,179 --> 00:09:14,000 Well, there was a crowd of 3000 people or so that gathered could have been more. Just said 3000 72 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:19,200 were saved and baptized. And well, we know, and if you've seen pictures and if you've been there, 73 00:09:19,340 --> 00:09:25,220 you know, the city of Jerusalem is pretty tight. Okay. The streets are narrow. They're winding. 74 00:09:26,039 --> 00:09:30,779 So I did a little digging into this. Well, how could they have been gathered in a house? 75 00:09:34,220 --> 00:09:43,919 Well, the Jewish law tells us that they would have been all together that day in God's house. 76 00:09:45,220 --> 00:09:50,500 So there's a possibility that this could, there's a strong possibility that when they say house, 77 00:09:50,799 --> 00:09:59,039 what they meant was the house of God, the temple, so to speak. So Deuteronomy 16 says, 78 00:09:59,759 --> 00:10:07,360 count off seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain. Then 79 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:14,279 celebrate the festival of weeks to the Lord your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion 80 00:10:14,799 --> 00:10:22,779 to the blessing the Lord has given you and rejoice before the Lord your God at the place 81 00:10:22,779 --> 00:10:30,559 he would choose as the dwelling for his name. You, your sons and your daughters, your male 82 00:10:30,559 --> 00:10:35,399 and female servants, the Levites in your living, they're living among you. Remember 83 00:10:35,399 --> 00:10:43,519 that you were slaves in Egypt and follow carefully these decrees. Three times a year, 84 00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:50,820 all the men must gather, appear before the Lord your God in the place that he would choose 85 00:10:50,820 --> 00:10:55,559 and the festival of unleavened bread, the festival of weeks and the festival of the 86 00:10:55,559 --> 00:11:01,840 tabernacles. No one should appear before the Lord empty handed. Each of you must bring a gift 87 00:11:02,660 --> 00:11:12,980 in proportion to the way the Lord has blessed you. So the Jews would have been at the temple, 88 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:19,620 at the house. So now I'm not saying couldn't have happened in a room or the upper room and 89 00:11:19,620 --> 00:11:25,399 then they transitioned to the temple. Possibly there was another hint that was given here. 90 00:11:25,620 --> 00:11:31,860 They specifically say nine in the morning. Well, that nine in the morning would have been the 91 00:11:31,860 --> 00:11:38,340 exact time that they would have been bringing their sacrifices and prayers to the temple. 92 00:11:38,559 --> 00:11:45,360 So devout Jews, including the disciples, would naturally be at the temple on this holy day. 93 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:52,120 So Shavu is one of these three temples, one of these three festivals where they're commanded 94 00:11:52,120 --> 00:12:00,080 to bring. So another part of this scripture says there was this international crowd that describes 95 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:08,000 Jews of every nation under heaven being presented. These would have been pilgrims who came to 96 00:12:08,879 --> 00:12:14,000 Jerusalem for specifically for this festival. So 97 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:24,059 finding a place large enough to facilitate a crowd like this. 98 00:12:25,019 --> 00:12:36,120 And it also said that 3,000 Jews were baptized. So when you look at this amazing archaeological 99 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:41,960 dig here, this is the southern steps of the temple called the Houdegate. 100 00:12:43,620 --> 00:12:50,259 And it's many scholars believe that this is the likely location where Peter would have given this. 101 00:12:51,340 --> 00:12:58,480 It was a public gateway for massive crowds. It was kind of this almost, they talk about it as 102 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:05,200 being this amphitheater type things. They call it actually the rabbi's stairs. So these steps 103 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:14,240 were famous for being used for teaching. And what do you know that during their excavation, 104 00:13:15,019 --> 00:13:22,139 they have uncovered over 40 ritual immersion baths, which would have been called mitzvahs. 105 00:13:22,559 --> 00:13:35,179 I'm not pronouncing that right. Anyway, somebody will correct me. So these were directly at the 106 00:13:35,179 --> 00:13:39,299 one. So if you look at these, you get a little closer, they were kind of this progression. One 107 00:13:39,299 --> 00:13:44,399 of these days I'm going to remember to bring a pointer where I can kind of point here. So 108 00:13:44,399 --> 00:13:53,019 they would have been ideal for mass baptisms. So speculative, sure, it's okay. But it's okay. 109 00:13:53,159 --> 00:14:00,059 God likes us to kind of dig in and think further on these things. And I believe that God, 110 00:14:00,059 --> 00:14:08,919 I know for me, God meets me. God meets me when I choose to really get in and just really try 111 00:14:08,919 --> 00:14:19,059 to understand and dig through this. Jesus himself, he did not teach plainly. He taught so that people 112 00:14:19,059 --> 00:14:25,179 would have to intentionally want to get in and learn more. He taught in ways that challenged 113 00:14:25,179 --> 00:14:31,279 people and made us want to figure out more. Proverbs two, four to five says, 114 00:14:31,740 --> 00:14:38,100 if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, 115 00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:44,820 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. 116 00:14:45,320 --> 00:14:51,700 So just picture this scene where Peter and the apostles are up here and these crowds, 117 00:14:51,700 --> 00:14:56,200 thousands of them were gathered. And then the Holy Spirit is just being poured out 118 00:14:56,200 --> 00:15:01,039 and he's moving in this, this powerful, powerful way amongst the people. I mean, 119 00:15:01,179 --> 00:15:07,700 it's just got to be this amazing, amazing scene that they were all involved in. 120 00:15:08,580 --> 00:15:12,279 And they had to kind of be kind of winking to each other. That's what Jesus talked about, 121 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:16,759 right? He said, wait in the coming, the power, the Holy Spirit. And it was just happening. 122 00:15:16,759 --> 00:15:22,519 So now let's explore a little bit more of these pearls. 123 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:29,600 So Shavuot, second feast of the first fruits celebrating the wheat harvest. So Leviticus 124 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:36,700 23, nine through 14 says, the Lord said to Moses, speak to the Israelites and say to them, 125 00:15:37,220 --> 00:15:43,440 when you enter the land, I am going to give you and you reap its harvests. 126 00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:48,679 Bring to the priest the sheaf of the first grains of the harvest. 127 00:15:49,700 --> 00:15:56,440 He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord so that it will be accepted on your behalf. 128 00:15:57,039 --> 00:16:04,200 The priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. So this would be the first 129 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:09,039 of the first fruits, which would have been the barley fruit. We'll talk a little bit 130 00:16:09,039 --> 00:16:16,220 more about that in a second. So together with its grain offering and a tenth of an epa, 131 00:16:17,179 --> 00:16:22,559 the first, the finest flour mixed with olive oil, good offering presented to the Lord, 132 00:16:22,679 --> 00:16:29,620 a pleasing aroma and its drink offering of a quarter of a hint of wine. You must not eat 133 00:16:29,620 --> 00:16:37,240 any bread or roasted or roasted any of the new grain until the very day you bring the offering 134 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:44,779 to your God. This is to be a lasting ordinance for generations to come wherever you live. 135 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:52,259 So the celebration of the first fruits, the first festival was the barley harvest, 136 00:16:52,519 --> 00:17:00,659 and that was immediately after Passover, which would have been what? The resurrection. 137 00:17:01,819 --> 00:17:08,180 So Jesus was resurrected on the first fruits. So this is the second one that we're talking about, 138 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:14,619 and this was the celebration of the wheat harvest. And the wheat was considered a much more desirable, 139 00:17:15,039 --> 00:17:21,519 a finer, making the bread. Barley was typically even thought of like a poor man's grain. 140 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:27,640 So this marked the end of the barley harvest in the beginning of the wheat. 141 00:17:28,759 --> 00:17:36,799 But it also commemorated the giving of the law to the Jews on Mount Sinai, 142 00:17:37,019 --> 00:17:44,779 the giving of the covenant on Mount Sinai. So in addition to gathering their harvest 143 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:53,180 and being thankful and celebrating that the Jews would have recounted the gathering on Mount Sinai, 144 00:17:53,180 --> 00:17:57,619 which was 50 days out of Egypt. 145 00:18:01,420 --> 00:18:09,079 So it not only represented a time to remember, but a hope for the future for them, 146 00:18:10,140 --> 00:18:17,799 because the harvest represented this prophetic hope in God's covenant. So devout Jews, 147 00:18:18,519 --> 00:18:26,259 these people who spent their life studying his scriptures would have made this connection 148 00:18:26,259 --> 00:18:33,579 on the day of Pentecost, what God was doing on this special day for them, what he had been 149 00:18:33,579 --> 00:18:41,200 calling them to do for centuries. The Spirit was now fulfilling all of that. 150 00:18:42,019 --> 00:18:42,700 And in the end, it's not just about that. It's about what God has done for us. 151 00:18:42,839 --> 00:18:53,759 Ezekiel 36, starting in 24, says, for I will take you out of the nations. I will gather you from 152 00:18:53,759 --> 00:19:01,180 all of the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, 153 00:19:01,820 --> 00:19:08,680 and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 154 00:19:09,539 --> 00:19:18,119 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you 155 00:19:18,119 --> 00:19:26,619 your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit in you 156 00:19:27,340 --> 00:19:36,700 and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land 157 00:19:36,700 --> 00:19:43,599 I gave your ancestors, and you will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all 158 00:19:43,599 --> 00:19:52,059 the uncleanliness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful. I will not bring famine 159 00:19:52,059 --> 00:19:59,559 upon you. I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field so that you will no 160 00:19:59,559 --> 00:20:13,079 longer suffer disgrace among the nations. Ezekiel is just loaded, overflowing with prophetic imagery 161 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:22,640 of this very moment. So God was using this day, this special day, this special festival 162 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:30,619 for the Jews to telegraph and amplify this new movement that he was pushing forward. 163 00:20:32,120 --> 00:20:35,559 And to make it even clearer to them, 164 00:20:37,900 --> 00:20:47,720 there are some very, very remarkable similarities between the covenant that was given on Mount 165 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:55,240 Sinai and the new covenant that was being poured out here, which they were experiencing. 166 00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:09,160 So the law was given on Mount Sinai, and God was pouring out his spirit on Mount Zion. Jerusalem 167 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:13,940 would have been considered Mount Zion, but if you say, hey Jamie, that's not a real mountain. 168 00:21:14,099 --> 00:21:18,559 Actually it was a mountain. There was Mount Moriah, which is what the temple was actually 169 00:21:18,559 --> 00:21:24,819 built on. But they would have considered it Mount Zion, where God's spirit was. So God's spirit 170 00:21:24,819 --> 00:21:32,200 was miraculously and magnificently poured out, and he was sealing this new covenant with them, 171 00:21:32,420 --> 00:21:42,059 just like Torah was poured out and given, and the Spirit of God was on that instructing them 172 00:21:42,059 --> 00:21:49,539 and convicting them and teaching them. He's doing that with his spirit. God manifest himself in a 173 00:21:49,660 --> 00:21:55,579 dynamic way in both of these situations. Lightning and fire and smoke and trumpets 174 00:21:55,579 --> 00:22:00,240 on Mount Sinai, and the blowing of the wind and tongues of fire 175 00:22:03,100 --> 00:22:12,319 on the day of Pentecost. God's presence was there in a mighty way. God descended on the mountain 176 00:22:12,319 --> 00:22:21,319 in a powerful way, and then God descended on his people in a miraculous way. Jeremiah 31, 177 00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:30,220 31 through 33 reads, the days are coming declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with 178 00:22:30,220 --> 00:22:38,140 the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made 179 00:22:38,140 --> 00:22:42,920 with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, 180 00:22:44,039 --> 00:22:49,480 because they broke my covenant, though I was husband to them, declares the Lord. 181 00:22:50,039 --> 00:22:55,519 This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. 182 00:22:55,900 --> 00:23:02,819 I will put my law in their minds and write it in their hearts. I will be their God, 183 00:23:03,539 --> 00:23:11,039 they will be my people. God was fulfilling this right before their very eyes. 184 00:23:11,539 --> 00:23:19,460 They were participating in this with God, and they would have recounted so many of these prophetic 185 00:23:19,460 --> 00:23:26,039 scriptures. God's covenant was given, so the law was written on Mount Sinai, 186 00:23:26,319 --> 00:23:30,920 and then the law was written in the hearts of the people. 187 00:23:32,819 --> 00:23:41,140 Not on stone, in their hearts, in our hearts. This is the presence of God 188 00:23:41,140 --> 00:23:49,920 that was being inscribed in their hearts. It's no longer this physical temple. 189 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:56,519 God's dwelling place is now, instead of the physical temple and the tabernacle, 190 00:23:56,519 --> 00:24:05,700 He is dwelling in His people, in us. I mean, just imagine that. We are now the vessels. 191 00:24:06,819 --> 00:24:16,079 We, Lansdale Life, we are the vessels now that are carrying His Spirit, His very presence. 192 00:24:18,259 --> 00:24:24,019 Everywhere we go, from here, this coming Friday, on first Fridays, 193 00:24:24,019 --> 00:24:27,900 it puts it in a little bit of a different perspective when we're out there, right? 194 00:24:28,599 --> 00:24:35,339 That His presence, we are His vessels, His glory, His power is in us. 195 00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:42,119 And I believe that at this moment in time, that He was preparing the Jews 196 00:24:42,819 --> 00:24:45,460 for the ultimate destruction of the temple, 197 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:53,119 saying to them, you are now the temples, you don't need this physical temple. 198 00:24:54,720 --> 00:25:02,799 The sacrifices don't have to happen anymore because I am the perfect sacrifice, blemish free. 199 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:10,720 And then the magnificent culmination of all of this, there were 3,000 redeemed and baptized. 200 00:25:11,299 --> 00:25:18,279 Because at Sinai, there were 3,000, imagine that. Imagine that lining up just like that. 201 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:22,519 Just incredible, isn't it? 3,000 were killed. 202 00:25:24,980 --> 00:25:31,359 And on Pentecost, 3,000 were redeemed, restored, and baptized. 203 00:25:32,579 --> 00:25:38,259 The exact number. Incredible, isn't it? Isn't God's Word amazing? 204 00:25:38,559 --> 00:25:44,819 I was talking to someone about this just last week, and it was like, 205 00:25:46,579 --> 00:25:49,279 mankind is not smart enough. 206 00:25:50,299 --> 00:25:58,019 We're just, there are some very, very, very far more intelligent than me or anyone in this room out there. 207 00:25:58,259 --> 00:26:08,319 But we're just not smart enough to put together this incredible Bible, Scripture, 208 00:26:08,599 --> 00:26:13,619 and to have everything kind of work together like this. 209 00:26:13,619 --> 00:26:17,599 All of these numbers, all of these things, all of these, you know, 210 00:26:17,859 --> 00:26:23,160 various things throughout that Scripture that as you dig, oh wow, this, you know, 211 00:26:23,339 --> 00:26:28,059 the more I dig, I see that this means this, and this means we're just not smart enough to do it. 212 00:26:28,859 --> 00:26:35,400 The more you read and the more you study His Word, you realize His divine presence, 213 00:26:36,559 --> 00:26:40,220 God's divine presence, wove all of this together. 214 00:26:40,940 --> 00:26:47,100 And it's the more you read and the more you study, the more amazing His Word is. 215 00:26:51,420 --> 00:27:00,420 God is retelling the story of His covenant here in a powerful, redeeming way as Jesus 216 00:27:00,420 --> 00:27:08,660 outpours the Spirit and the Jews. Most 100% would have made the connection 217 00:27:09,779 --> 00:27:14,960 between all this Old Testament, the Shabbawood that they've been celebrating for years, 218 00:27:15,180 --> 00:27:21,779 the connections that were happening here with Sinai. Paul absolutely connected the dots. 219 00:27:24,920 --> 00:27:30,019 2 Corinthians, one of many Scriptures that points to this, 3 through 6. 220 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:36,759 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not in ink, 221 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:44,380 but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but the tablets of human 222 00:27:44,380 --> 00:27:53,759 hearts, such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves 223 00:27:54,620 --> 00:28:01,839 to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us 224 00:28:01,839 --> 00:28:14,359 competent as ministers of this new covenant, not the letter, but the Spirit, because the 225 00:28:14,359 --> 00:28:24,240 1 Corinthians 3, 16, did you not know that you yourselves are God's temple, that God's Spirit 226 00:28:25,059 --> 00:28:37,259 dwells in us? This would have been unbelievably significant to these Jews to hear this, to say 227 00:28:37,819 --> 00:28:48,700 His Spirit is dwelling in me now. So God was pouring out His Spirit for a very specific mission. 228 00:28:51,079 --> 00:28:55,920 For these disciples and these pilgrims that were there to take the kingdom, 229 00:28:58,099 --> 00:29:05,740 to proclaim this message, to be His ambassadors now, He was anointing them with the Spirit, 230 00:29:05,740 --> 00:29:13,160 empowering them to do this thing, to tell this story of the new covenant that He was doing, 231 00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:20,839 this new thing that God was pouring out on them. Let's continue in Acts. 232 00:29:22,539 --> 00:29:27,180 In the last days, and Peter is quoting directly from the prophet Joel here, 233 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:33,720 in the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters 234 00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:38,539 will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams. 235 00:29:39,279 --> 00:29:43,579 Even my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, 236 00:29:43,700 --> 00:29:50,480 and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, 237 00:29:50,779 --> 00:29:58,000 blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood 238 00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:03,299 before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 239 00:30:04,259 --> 00:30:10,000 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 240 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:19,980 This outpouring of God's Spirit as Peter gets up and addresses, and he continues with Isaiah 49.6, 241 00:30:20,259 --> 00:30:29,660 I will make you a light for the nations, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth. 242 00:30:31,099 --> 00:30:41,619 So Peter, my fellow Jews, you are no longer this inward facing religion. 243 00:30:44,300 --> 00:30:54,299 This is no longer about just you. This is about taking what God has given you out to the nations. 244 00:30:55,959 --> 00:31:05,039 Out. And if you really study in the Old Testament, getting into Leviticus and Judges, 245 00:31:05,359 --> 00:31:11,039 and now we're in Joshua, you will see that this was God's plan from the beginning, 246 00:31:12,299 --> 00:31:19,579 to take it to the nation. We are to be a light. They were to be a light. 247 00:31:20,139 --> 00:31:27,759 You will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth. Our Messiah, our long-awaited Messiah, 248 00:31:28,700 --> 00:31:36,720 God has raised him from the dead. Now go and tell. The prophets foresaw this day, 249 00:31:37,180 --> 00:31:45,059 all of them did, and they wrote about it. The Spirit, this transformation that was happening 250 00:31:45,980 --> 00:31:52,359 to send them out from Mount Zion. You will be my witnesses, fulfilling this promises. 251 00:31:52,799 --> 00:31:58,859 These 3,000 Jews that were baptized and filled with the Spirit, He has anointed you, 252 00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:08,579 empowered you, and He's sending you now to the Gentiles, to every nation. This is still, 253 00:32:09,380 --> 00:32:14,460 He's still speaking directly just to the Jews. The Gentiles will come into the picture as we 254 00:32:14,460 --> 00:32:21,460 get billed out in Acts, but His Spirit was being poured out in an undeniably powerful way that had 255 00:32:21,460 --> 00:32:27,940 an immediate impact on these people, and it changed everything for them. It changed everything. 256 00:32:32,339 --> 00:32:39,240 Continuing in Acts. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, 257 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:45,839 to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. Everyone was filled with all that the many wonders and 258 00:32:45,839 --> 00:32:51,539 signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. 259 00:32:51,799 --> 00:32:59,420 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day, they continued 260 00:32:59,420 --> 00:33:06,220 to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together 261 00:33:06,220 --> 00:33:12,440 with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people, 262 00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:17,240 and the Lord added to their numbers those who were being saved. 263 00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:27,140 So not only was God pouring out His Spirit on them and sending them out, 264 00:33:28,420 --> 00:33:38,480 but God was creating this Spirit-filled community. So not just going out, but taking care, 265 00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:44,859 feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the widows and orphans, 266 00:33:46,039 --> 00:33:53,440 standing up for the marginalized. This was a major part of what was happening, but guess what? 267 00:33:53,440 --> 00:34:03,839 It was also a major part of Shavuot, the celebration, carrying the needs of the people. 268 00:34:04,660 --> 00:34:08,440 Listen to this. In Leviticus 23, 22, 269 00:34:11,179 --> 00:34:18,980 when you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field 270 00:34:18,980 --> 00:34:25,739 or gather the glaining of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner 271 00:34:25,739 --> 00:34:35,460 residing among you. I am the Lord your God. God told them to bring an offering of proportion 272 00:34:35,460 --> 00:34:43,000 of how the Lord was blessing them. So God was, the first fruits were given to God 273 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:52,139 as part of this celebration, but the uncut corners of their field, the greater portion, 274 00:34:53,119 --> 00:35:00,619 the more abundant portion was left for the needy. This goes all the way back to Leviticus. 275 00:35:00,840 --> 00:35:10,940 The uncut corners at Shavuot was a foreshadowing of the harvest of salvation that God was sending 276 00:35:10,940 --> 00:35:21,079 them to reap back in. It extended far beyond Israel. It fulfilled the meaning of Pentecost, 277 00:35:22,420 --> 00:35:30,860 the true meaning. This was a huge, huge part of the message of Pentecost. For so often, 278 00:35:31,659 --> 00:35:35,460 I would just think of it, okay, this was the great pouring out of the Holy Spirit 279 00:35:36,260 --> 00:35:40,340 you know, for the people and for me and the empowering of the Holy Spirit, 280 00:35:40,679 --> 00:35:47,719 but such a bigger part of this. It says it right there that they formed this community. 281 00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:53,119 They were doing all of this stuff to take care of those. 282 00:35:54,860 --> 00:36:02,280 So God builds into this celebration and commands his people to leave these edges of their crops. 283 00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:09,360 The provision that God has given us, we're giving back portion to him, but the more greater portion 284 00:36:09,360 --> 00:36:16,480 going to the poor and the foreigners or the Gentiles. So the feast wasn't just about 285 00:36:16,480 --> 00:36:22,239 gratitude. It was about intentional inclusion for outsiders. 286 00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:31,920 So it says, Jews from many nations were present. So the Spirit enables the Gospel to go 287 00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:40,960 far, far beyond Jerusalem, taking these uncut corners. So it wasn't just, 288 00:36:41,900 --> 00:36:50,699 Jesus is not just exclusively for them. He's not just exclusively for us. 289 00:36:52,980 --> 00:37:01,300 Pentecost calls us as God pours his Spirit on us to overflow and to take this abundance 290 00:37:01,300 --> 00:37:08,340 out, to take this kingdom message out, but to care for the marginalized and the poor as well. 291 00:37:08,659 --> 00:37:16,380 These believers were giving as they saw need. They were taking care of the lost. They were 292 00:37:16,380 --> 00:37:22,300 actually selling property and selling their things so that they could do this. 293 00:37:22,300 --> 00:37:30,860 This was radical Spirit-led living and it reflects the outrageous 294 00:37:32,720 --> 00:37:40,739 generosity that God has towards us. Doesn't it? You think about the generosity that God has for us 295 00:37:40,739 --> 00:37:48,480 and this is a mere reflection of that. So God was saving the greater harvest, the finer 296 00:37:48,480 --> 00:37:55,800 of the harvest to be that fragrant offering to those who are lost. 297 00:38:02,060 --> 00:38:07,880 Peter also had a clear vision and a clear understanding of what was happening on that day. 298 00:38:09,840 --> 00:38:16,440 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver and gold that you were 299 00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:22,119 redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 300 00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:28,460 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish. 301 00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:34,800 We sung about this this morning, the righteous one, the Lamb of God. 302 00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:47,219 Jesus was the perfect sacrifice. He was beyond blemished sacrifice 303 00:38:49,200 --> 00:38:57,659 and Jesus was crucified and killed on Passover. He was the spotless lamb, 304 00:38:58,660 --> 00:39:06,519 not a lamb that had to come back and come back and come back and be sacrificed over again. 305 00:39:06,840 --> 00:39:13,579 It was once that his blood was poured out and he was the final sacrifice. 306 00:39:15,380 --> 00:39:24,579 1 Corinthians 15, 20 through 23 says, but Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, 307 00:39:24,579 --> 00:39:31,480 the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, 308 00:39:31,639 --> 00:39:39,360 the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as an Adam all die, 309 00:39:39,639 --> 00:39:47,079 so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn Christ the first fruits, 310 00:39:47,079 --> 00:39:51,780 then when he comes, those who belong to him. 311 00:39:54,340 --> 00:40:03,340 He was raised on the festival of first fruits. Jesus was the first fruits raised to new 312 00:40:03,340 --> 00:40:12,099 resurrection. His body never again to die. He was the sheaf that it talks about in Leviticus, 313 00:40:12,099 --> 00:40:18,739 the first of the harvest that was weighed before the Lord in celebration of Thanksgiving and then 314 00:40:18,739 --> 00:40:28,219 50 days after that on Shavuot or Pentecost, God told the Jews to bring an offering to them 315 00:40:28,219 --> 00:40:34,440 in proportion to how he is blessed. So Shavuot, you're not just bringing this thank offering, 316 00:40:35,539 --> 00:40:43,099 but you're at the temple and you're leaving so much more for those who were left behind. 317 00:40:48,800 --> 00:40:52,400 The worship team could start making their way up here. 318 00:40:56,019 --> 00:41:04,400 So on this day, the church experienced true Pentecost. 319 00:41:07,200 --> 00:41:10,699 It was the beginning of this new and this powerful movement 320 00:41:10,699 --> 00:41:16,820 that literally would change the world. 321 00:41:20,140 --> 00:41:30,639 I often thought about what it must have been like to have that pouring out of God's spirit. 322 00:41:32,359 --> 00:41:44,059 I spent so many years in my early days as a believer just seeking God and just saying, 323 00:41:44,119 --> 00:41:50,659 pour out your spirit and pour out your spirit. I did experience it so many times, 324 00:41:51,340 --> 00:42:00,619 but I remember going through this journey of just crying out to God to fill me in, 325 00:42:00,619 --> 00:42:06,900 let his presence come on me. And it was just this time where I just felt like I was just 326 00:42:06,900 --> 00:42:14,840 chasing and chasing and chasing this thing. And I remember so clearly, I remember so clearly 327 00:42:16,059 --> 00:42:26,800 God saying to me, my spirit is in you. I am waiting for you to release it to people. 328 00:42:29,440 --> 00:42:34,519 And I'm not saying that God doesn't pour his spirit down and come down on us in times, 329 00:42:35,200 --> 00:42:42,000 but the overwhelming majority of times God is saying, release what I've put in you. 330 00:42:43,599 --> 00:42:50,559 Release what I have given you to those around you, those you work with, those in your neighborhood, 331 00:42:51,440 --> 00:42:58,400 those who are on first Fridays, release that spirit that's coming out of you that I have 332 00:42:58,400 --> 00:43:11,099 deposited it in you. So the question isn't necessarily what God did on Pentecost. 333 00:43:12,400 --> 00:43:17,659 It's not just what he did from historical perspective, but it's what he's doing 334 00:43:17,659 --> 00:43:27,320 today. It's what he's doing today in us. You know, the Holy Spirit is in us. It's dwelling in us. 335 00:43:28,320 --> 00:43:32,500 The spirit is still here today, the same as it was. 336 00:43:34,620 --> 00:43:41,260 It's still here. And you know what else is still here? The harvest is still rising. 337 00:43:42,980 --> 00:43:50,500 And God is saying, I want you to experience that level of true Pentecost. I want you to take those 338 00:43:50,500 --> 00:43:57,360 uncut corners that you have. We all have uncut corners, don't we? We have so much that God has 339 00:43:57,360 --> 00:44:04,679 given us and we have these uncut corners to the suffering and to the weak and to the marginalized 340 00:44:04,679 --> 00:44:11,699 that he's waiting for us to give them. He's waiting for us to be these ambassadors that take his 341 00:44:11,699 --> 00:44:23,559 message out there. I remember hearing a message one time from Keith Green where he was talking about 342 00:44:23,559 --> 00:44:30,539 you know, going out and taking this message to the kingdom and I'll paraphrase because I 343 00:44:30,539 --> 00:44:38,679 certainly don't remember it all. But he said, if God hasn't specifically called you to stay, 344 00:44:39,019 --> 00:44:44,639 then go. Because know this, that if he's not specifically speaking something to you, 345 00:44:44,659 --> 00:44:53,099 he already wrote it down in his word what you are to do. And it's all spelled out for us here in 346 00:44:53,219 --> 00:45:03,440 Pentecost what we are supposed to do. I was talking to a gentleman two weeks ago who was saying, 347 00:45:03,639 --> 00:45:08,159 you know, I'm just waiting. I'm waiting on, you know, God's starting to do this and I'm just 348 00:45:08,159 --> 00:45:15,659 waiting for him to do this particular thing in my life. And I said, while you're waiting, 349 00:45:16,720 --> 00:45:23,900 keep doing what he already has told you to do. He's already told us in scripture what to do. 350 00:45:23,960 --> 00:45:31,179 He's already giving us very clear directions. He's already empowered us with his spirit 351 00:45:33,600 --> 00:45:40,920 to take those uncut corners and to reach the multitudes with his word. Let's pray. 352 00:45:46,159 --> 00:45:54,360 Jesus, we thank you, Lord, for the abundance, God, you have given us, Lord, the blessing. We thank you 353 00:45:54,360 --> 00:46:02,900 that you poured yourself out, Lord, as that final offering, that blemish free offering, 354 00:46:03,219 --> 00:46:07,980 God, the lamb of God, the holy lamb who was sacrificed for us. 355 00:46:10,519 --> 00:46:17,820 And we thank you, God, that you have filled us with your spirit, God, and called us, 356 00:46:18,599 --> 00:46:27,139 called us, sent us as ambassadors, Lord, with that word to those around us. And I pray, God, 357 00:46:27,420 --> 00:46:32,960 that you give us the courage to step out in that and to realize, God, that that spirit 358 00:46:32,960 --> 00:46:38,760 is just in us waiting to be released to those around us, those in need. 359 00:46:40,460 --> 00:46:44,539 And we give you all the praise and the glory in your name. Amen. 360 00:46:48,400 --> 00:46:53,820 Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church as we praise God and discuss his word. 361 00:46:54,500 --> 00:46:59,980 Don't forget to join us for worship live Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. Eastern on YouTube. 362 00:46:59,980 --> 00:47:03,079 Be blessed and have a great day!