Sermon at First Presbyterian
Church Lockhart
by James Greene
Today is Pentecost Sunday. It marks the foundational beginning
of “the church”. I used a different
order in the readings, to help bring focus upon the significance of the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit upon the Apostles in the temple,
in
In John this morning, we see Jesus
being asked by Philip to “show us the Father”. Jesus’ response is that anyone who has seen
me has seen the Father. He
announces the coming of the Holy Spirit “the
Spirit of Truth” that will be in you,
not just for a little while, but forever.
In Psalm 104 we see the works of the Lord
in creation. We see the power
of God's rule, and His Glory reflected
in the creation. We see God’s provision and sustaining
power over life. He has put eternity in our souls. It is
that part of us that connects us to the God of the
universe. Our song and our praise is
our response to that Divine Spark
(that Spirit) within us, described by John Calvin.
In Romans, Paul shows us how those who are led by
the Spirit are the sons of God. It is in our adoption, that we have the full
privileges of a natural son, as
the children of God and as the co-heirs with Christ, in the
Father’s inheritance of The Kingdom and His Glory.
It is in our reading from Acts 2:1-21 that we see the Pentecost
event with the pouring out of God's
Spirit on the Apostles. Here
they are gathered in the
First -- lets look into the Old Testament history of the Passover and Pentecost to understand the significance of the event of the Holy Spirit being poured out upon the apostles, and their speaking languages that were not native to them.
Pentecost is the Greek term for
50, and the Jewish Feast of Weeks. It takes place seven weeks after the Passover. It is a one
day festival to give thanks
to God.
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This one-day festival, was to remember the Lord as the source of rain and the earth’s fertility found
in Deuteronomy 16:9-12. It has several names in the Old Testament. It is known as: The Feast of the Harvest, The Feast of Weeks, and Pentecost.
In Numbers 28:26, it is describe as “On the day of first fruits when you present
your gift to the Lord, an offering of new grain during the Festival
of Weeks, hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.”
This is the only festival in Ancient
Israel that is not associated with
a redemptive act of the Lord,
in their historical tradition.
(like the Exodus)
It was also identified as the season of the giving, and the reading of the Torah, The
Law was brought out and read to the people in the morning
service of the synagogue.
This Festival of First Fruits, is just
the 'beginning' of the harvest season. This
Is
a one day pause in the harvest when they praise God for his provision. At the end
of the agricultural year was the
Feast of Tabernacles, also known as
the Feast of Ingathering. This
was to celebrate the final fall harvest.
So what is this all about? What is going on here? What is so significant in this festival in this
time called Pentecost?
The speaking of God’s praise in languages by the
Apostles, is
a significant event. This is revealed in the book of Joel 2:27-29. (read) It is a picture of what is like to be in the Kingdom. God’s
Spirit is to be poured out on "all
flesh" - sons, daughters, old, young, servants
and handmaids. In Zechariah 8:22-23
"And, many peoples and powerful nations will come and seek the Lord
Almighty and to entreat Him. This is
what the Lord Almighty says; In those days ten men from all languages
and nations, will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe
and say, “let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with
you."
The insight --is that we see Peter and the 10 in the temple fulfilling the words of Zachariah, with the Pentecost event. With the Good News, Pentecost is the beginning of the harvest. It is the Apostles with the beginning of the church. The Holy Spirit is poured out upon the people.
Theologically, is the time of the beginning of the harvest.
It is the beginning of the
bringing in of God's people that
Christ was teaching in Matthew 9:37-38 when he said: ‘the harvest truly is plenteous, but
the laborers are few: Pray
therefore the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth laborers
into his harvest.”
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The
key element of Pentecost is that God is being praised in the common tongues! It is the beginning of bringing the Good News to all people in their own language.. The Promise fulfilled among the Jews
at Pentecost, has also become the
Promise fulfilled among the Gentiles.
What is Pentecost all about? What is going on here? Pentecost is the beginning of the Church’s harvest season. It is mirrored in the Old Testament and explained in
the New Testament teachings of
Christ. In the Old Testament is the outline
of the New Testament’s fulfilling of
the coming of God’s Kingdom that is described in prophesy, and by
Jesus.
Jesus
is the first fruits of the Resurrection. With the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles at
Pentecost and the giving of Praise to God for the first fruits of the Resurrection Harvest. It is the beginning of the church. It
is the day set aside to praise
God for his provision, and the fulfilling
of The Law, that is being
read at Pentecost.
With the Pentecost event, and the coming of the Holy Spirit upon God’s people, we
celebrate the pouring out of God’s
Spirit on all people. Like the Jewish festival, it too is only the beginning of the
harvest season. It is the time to stop and give thanks to God for
the coming of The Christ, “the first fruits”, of the resurrection and the reconciliation of mankind and creation to God.
Pentecost is the beginning of the
work of the church. It is the time where the church is
called to go into the work of the fields and continue the harvest started
with Jesus. The
pouring out of God’s power in
the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles was the continuation of the harvest.
The
Church is in the harvest season. “The
harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” We are in
the middle of the work. It is our
job, as the church, to bring the Good News to the people,
from the Christ who points
us to God, and God’s
intention for the creation. As the church, we are called to the work of bringing
in The Kingdom as part of God’s
plan. So, at the end of the age, we all will celebrate with The Christ with the final
ingathering, in the final harvest
of God, the Festival of Booths which
is the celebration of God’s great provision, and the great banquet of our God at the end of time as we know it: The final harvest of the resurrection.
What is Pentecost all about? It is about going forth from this
place as the people of God, to spread
and to share the Good News
with all people. Pray that we may turn
to the work before us in this
season of harvest bringing God’s people into fellowship with God in the Kingdom. We do this in the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us, and that spirit, we share
with all people. We as followers of
the Christ, must continue the work of the Harvest in bringing in The Kingdom…..
In the Name of … the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. Amen
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Pastoral
Prayer 5/23/10
Dear
Lord, we give thanks for your Spirit revealed
to us through your Son. You call us, to the work of the
Harvest. We praise you in all of our works and your promise offered to
us by your Son. Help us to live worthy of being called Children of God. Help us to bring about your Kingdom through
the power of the Holy Spirit. Help
us to live in your love, in the fellowship of the church.
O
Lord, we pray for Your Spirit that teaches and sustains us in and through your Word. Bring about your Oneness as your people. Turn our hearts to you, help us to live into your love, and will. We give thanks for your provision for us.
We
pray for those in leadership in our government that their focus is in Your Word and Your Will. We pray for our
President and those in Congress. Watch over the men and women in our armed
forces, who answer the call to serve
You and our country.
Stand with and comfort them on their duty, and in their service; be
their comfort, defender, and shield
We
pray for the capping of the well in the Gulf, that it would prevent further
damage to the creation.
Your Son laid down his life for us, in Righteousness.
Help us to live our life in Your Love and Righteousness as The
People of God.
We pray for those who's
spirit need our comfort. For the Wilson and Hoffman families in the loss
of their mother Estelle. Let us be your helping grace.
We pray for those who are
sick, or in the hospital, or in need of your healing compassion.
name:
*George
Miller for healing, *Tom Miller for healing
*Leticia
Frausto for healing, and chemo *WayneWallace – surgery Monday
*Betty
Burton for strength *Kimberly Preweet – for recovery chemo
*Pastor James
Lee for strength *Kay Duffield – for strength and
recovery
*Lyle
Looger -for strength and recovery *Tom Bennet – for
strength
*David
Koch - for healing and recovery.
We
pray for those we name, in our hearts, … and to
remember that all things,
including
this life, is a gift from you.
We give thanks for this Christian fellowship,
that sustains us in our trials and problems; You hold us in the comfort of your
loving care. We know Salvation is found in you alone. And help us to live our lives and trust in you alone, through
your living Word,
Jesus
the Christ, -who taught us to pray:
Remember that you are God’s people,---- that you go out in the power of God’s Spirit
to change the
world, to bring The Good News to all people…
in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.