Well, it is a great joy to me. To be with you once again. As Pastor mentioned, it's been a number of times, every one of them blessed to me, and we've both lost track of the number of times I've been here. And perhaps that's best because it's a reminder of age. and uh some of those things we would rather not be reminded of.
Somebody told me this morning that I didn't look one inch older. And of course the response to make, well, what, I make five feet older? Is that what it is? How do you measure that? But it's good to be with you today and this week.
If the sermon today Seems not to have a conclusion. That doesn't mean I'm going to preach all day, mind you. But if it seems like it's just an abrupt ending, it is. Because I'm not really preaching a sermon today. What I have is a sermon for the week.
chopped into five pieces. Because we're looking at a study in the scripture which is beyond one. Um Well, put it this way, a guy like me can't really It in proper order or organization sufficiently. And so it's one message, and it'll be jumbled up some here and there, no doubt, but hopefully makes sense and be very clear to everyone. And as we come to the conclusion today, you might be asking yourself, What in the world did he just talk about?
And understand, I'm just trying to lay a foundation today. Not usually the way I would go on a Lord's Day morning, but that's the way we're going this morning, trusting to be prepared to build on this morning's message and content this evening and in the days to come.
So I hope that you'll plan and be able to be with us for those times.
Now, taking care of very important business here, if I seem to have a complex today because my collars are flying up in the air, believe me, I do. I do. I brought these clean from the cleaners and realized this morning that I didn't bring the collar staves that hold your collars down. And so my first thought was to run home and get them, but I figured if I did that, I might be late for the service this morning and therefore needed to find something else to do. As I was driving here today, people in the cars around me were looking at me and pointing my direction.
One guy stopped and got out and laughed, bent over backwards, pointing at this guy in his collar.
So I just have to address the matter. It reminds me of the time many years ago when an older gentleman from our congregation and I were visiting door to door and we went to the home of a lady who Professed to be a devout Catholic, and beyond that, loved to argue. And as soon as she realized we were from the church, she invited us in. And the first thing she said to us was, Don't pay any attention to my legs. If you had had 12 children, yours would look the same way.
Which, of course, prompts you to want to say, Well, what's wrong with your legs anyhow? Let's see. But all that aside, my collars are giving me attention today that I didn't seek and want, and perhaps we'll get it fixed before the week's over. But that out of the way, Pastor Barkman mentioned that his daughter had sent to him a cassette tape of the sermon I preached at Bob Jones, and that was a number of years ago. And since then, he has invited me back many times.
I might add, Bob Jones has never invited me back since then. That's something to keep in mind, and I'll not speculate as to why, but that's as they say, that's water under the bridge, and we keep traveling nonetheless. Um The messages this week and the question, what happened at Pentecost? Um Yeah. I was asked About a year ago, to speak at a pastor's conference where I was to preach five times, and the organizer of the conference assigned five topics to me, one of which was.
A message on the power of the Holy Spirit. And so, as I was endeavoring to prepare for that and searching how to approach that subject and what to include. My mind went immediately to Samson and how the Spirit of God came upon him and with great power he would do amazing superhuman feats. And certainly he was enabled by the Spirit of God to do those things. But the more I contemplated the matter, The more I was impressed with the fact that the s power of the Spirit of God was manifest on the day of Pentecost.
in an amazing amazing evidence of power, that we might not contemplate When we consider the day of Pentecost, the power, and what was happening on that day. And reading there from Acts chapter 2, as you read this morning, this pastor read this morning. The question was asked as those who observed what was taking place stood in wonder and awe. The question was asked, what? meaneth this.
That's the question I hope we can consider together this week. to gain some meaning. out of what happened at Pentecost that we've not yet had. And I trust that everyone who is a part of these services. is indeed edified and instructed.
and challenged and encouraged. by what we need to consider concerning the day of Pentecost. It's my Belief. that one of the great marks of the superficiality of the evangelical church of our age. Is the fact that when the word Pentecost is heard.
Doubtless the first thing that comes to mind is tongues. I know that's the case with me. And one of the reasons I needed to look further at it. the day of Pentecost and what was taking place there. Has in a sense in this age, I think, been overshadowed by the enlargement of the most conspicuous thing, And it is the most conspicuous thing, the speaking in tongues.
but it has been enlarged to the obscuring Of much more that was taking place in the power and providence of God on the day of Pentecost. And so that prompted My interest in looking further in this direction. My fifteen-year-old granddaughter asked me this summer, Pop, How long does it take you to prepare a sermon? And my immediate answer was, an hour and 68 years. That's what it takes.
And indeed, Um The preaching that I do, I trust, flows forth out of. Not only immediate preparation, which is never enough whenever I come to a pulpit, I always want one more hour to prepare. But Would flow out of experience in the ministry and in hearing other preachers in the past. touch on the subjects we're dealing with today.
Some years ago I attended a pastor's conference Where Dr. Sinclair Ferguson was one of the preachers. Many of you doubtless have heard of Dr. Ferguson, a very well-known theologian. Professor, pastor.
Author of many books. And he dealt to some extent with this subject, and since that time, How many years ago? I don't know, maybe 20, I've just been. contemplating. that work of his.
and the work of the Spirit of God. And what took place at Pentecost.
So that's how we get to where we are today. And I was asked to prepare that message for a pastors' conference, which took place in April, I think, of this year. and have continued since then. pondering this matter and so I hope that it is a time of edification and blessing. to all of you.
In order to understand the Old Testament setting, and the beginnings of what we would call the day of Pentecost. We need to be acquainted to some extent with the people of Israel and the way of their living and the The instructions that we've read this morning from Exodus 23 and 34, as Moses, the mouthpiece of God, told them about these three. Feast days when all of the males of Israel were to assemble together.
Now, in understanding that, we need to recognize, first of all, that Israel at that time was functioning as a theocracy, there was no king. God spoke to his people. Through Moses. He made his presence with them known by the pillar of cloud in the day and the pillar of fire at night. And they were ruled by what God said.
They looked to God alone as long as Moses was leading them. Those who wandered off into idolatry brought ill upon the whole but were dealt with there at the Golden Calf at Sinai. But it was A theocratic Mindset. They knew. from what their leader Moses was telling them.
that God was their ruler. He was their provider. He was their keeper. and they owed unto him all that they were. Six days a week.
In addition to the cloud above and the pillar of fire at night, They had the remainder of his supply as they went out in the morning and gathered manna off of the ground. God provided that for them. And as God provided these things for them, He also was preparing them for the day when they would enter into the promised land, Canaan. They were supposed to enter in not long after their deliverance from Egyptian slavery. But because of their unbelief, And fear.
Not trusting God to deliver the Canaanites into their hands. They rebelled and were consigned to die in the wilderness in a 40-year judgment of wandering there. And during those 40 years, they could not plant any crops nor harvest them. Not only were they in a desert and barren wilderness, but they were in a nomadic existence like Bedouins. Being moved from place to place whenever the pillar of fire before them at night or cloud in the day would move, they had to follow.
And so there was no opportunity to cultivate ground. But when they would enter into Canaan, They would become very much an agricultural society. And the harvests that they would take from the ground in Canaan. were to be done With A holy recognition of the God who was their ruler. And it is out of those circumstances.
that the Feast of Pentecost arose. The feasts That God assigned to Israel, there were seven of them. We'll not consider them all this morning by any means, but. Those feasts coincided with the various harvests of the year. The first harvest would be The Barley Harvest.
And then there would be a feast of the first fruits in connection with that. There would then be sometime later The ripening of the wheat. and the wheat harvest. And there would be a feast of first fruits in celebration of the wheat harvest, and with each of these there was to be an offering presented to God. an acknowledgment that the harvest that they have received is out of land which he has given them And by the rain and the sun which he has provided for them.
And this sequence of feasts involved a Seven times time-repeated worship through the year. And three of those times, all of the men were to come To Jerusalem and present themselves before the Lord. And as we've read this morning, they didn't need to worry about the security of their property at home. As they journeyed on their pilgrimage to Jerusalem, if they were doing that, God would keep the things at home in order for them. No enemy would come against it.
No one would long for it. He was their provider. He was their protector. And three times a year they were to come together.
Now when we use the word feast, If you're anything like me, you think about Thanksgiving dinner. Or something of that magnitude that we have in our homes. And I think that might be a misconception with regard to the feasts spoken of here. I don't think these were occasions when they got together and gorged themselves and then went about for thirds and fourths and whatever else. They were ceremonial feasts.
The food that was to be partaken of provided. It's not that they left the table hungry. But it's a different concept than what we have as the concept of a feast today. We think of something like Thanksgiving. For them, the feasts were worship ceremonies.
They were living in a theocracy. God would have them three times a year. At the time of the Passover feast, at the time of the feast of weeks, and at the end of the year, the time of in-gathering, a feast celebrating all of the harvest, men were to come and appear before God because God had provided these things, and they were to offer unto him worship and praise and sacrifice. Yea, they were to offer themselves unto him. And that was all a part of those feast days and more so on the three pilgrimages per year that they were to make to Jerusalem for that purpose.
And so I want to consider with you that Uh well one other thing let me just mention uh Whereas we have a calendar year, the 12 months that we recognize and the different things that Take place each month, you know, winter, January, February, and March, springtime, and the blooming, and Easter, and we go in that kind of a calendar. The calendar for the people of Israel, it appears to me, was set by these feasts. By these events that God had prescribed for them. And that was how they operated. year round.
I I think of myself uh An agricultural society like that indeed functions not so much by the month, but by the crops, by what's happening in the fields. I remember when I was just a young boy, my family would go with my father. To a church in the northwest, northeast corner of Arkansas. West. Rector, Arkansas was the community.
And the meetings they would have, where my father would preach, were always in the hottest part of the summer. Which seems kind of unusual as I reflect back upon it because, I mean, you have a fall Bible conference, you have a spring Bible conference, and summer's not the time when it's done here, but there, The winter months In an agricultural society, all of the farmers, the part of the congregation, they're in the sheds, in the garages and the barns. repairing machinery. getting equipment prepared for the coming planting season. And when springtime comes, they're in the fields, sun up to sundown, sometimes before it's up and after it's down, planting their crop.
And in the autumn of the year, they've got time for nothing but the harvest. Huge, huge cotton. Fields stretching as flat as your kitchen table for miles across that region of the state. And the equipment to harvest that. In other words, the only time of the year.
when they were not totally consumed with farming, was in the heat of summer. The crops have all been planted. They're growing in the field. The only agricultural thing you might see happening then is the crop dusters who come in with aircraft aerobatics to spray the crops in the field and after zipping across it a couple miles up in a strange way and turn around and come back again. That's the only farm people that are actually in the work at that time.
And so that's an ideal time for the church to have its special meetings of the year. And the meetings would be at 10 o'clock in the morning. And again that evening. And usually, after the 10 o'clock service, everybody went to somebody's home for lunch and a great. Celebration, but it was set.
by the agriculture. The calendar of the year is set by that. The Feasts of Israel. were with regard to the growth of their crop and then when they're harvested the acknowledgement of that. And the joy and rejoicing of God's provision.
And the calendar year for them was set. Bye. Those Feasts. And so the people of Israel with their work were given these three feasts which were pilgrimage feasts. The first one which is referenced in the text we read.
What's the Called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This one actually was in connection with. The Passover. And you're familiar with what the Passover was. The people of Israel had been enslaved for centuries in Egypt, As there arose a Pharaoh who knew not Joseph their forefather, by whose events of life they had been brought by God into Egypt.
And so they cried out to God in their affliction. God provided Moses as a leader. The plagues came upon Pharaoh and his people because they would not let the people of Israel go. And finally, the greatest of the plagues, which broke Pharaoh's will and broke his heart, as well as people across Egypt. was The night that God came through and destroyed the firstborn in any home that did not have.
The blood. of the Passover sprinkled on the door posts. The Passover was to be a lamb. the best of the flock. It was to be a feast that would continue with the people of Israel throughout their history.
Get the connection there. The best of the flock is part of the whole. Whole agricultural undertaking, which will be Israel's life when they get into the promised land. They're to offer that lamb roasted with fire, If two families are small, and don't have the means for one, they can go together, They simply have to have the blood of the Lamb spilt And sprinkled on the doorposts, and then partake in eating. of the roasted flesh of the lamb.
Bitter herbs. and unleavened bread, that was the feast of the Passover. And you know how that that night in Egypt God passed through and wherever the blood was not applied, Death. Entered. The death of the firstborn.
And Pharaoh was ready. to see Israel Leave. Didn't last long.
Soon he has a change of mind. Hardness of heart. stubbornly pursues delivered Israel to the Red Sea, where God delivers them by the mighty dividing of the sea that swallowed the Egyptians who tried to follow. And then they are at Sinai. Mount Sinai.
where God gives to Moses the Ten Commandments, and much of the instruction that we've read this morning. And he elaborates further on the Passover there. Once the people of Israel enter the Promised Land, they are to continue the Passover. But on the third day after Passover, there is to be another feast. A feast of the first fruits.
Because that is the time of the year when their first harvest begins to be ready to take in. the barley harvest. They were to take the first strands of barley. that they had taken, received, And it was to be given unto God. Taken to the priests and given unto God, who would wave.
this before God Himself, For it was God who had given them the land where that barley grew. It was God who had given them the rain and the sun by which that barley grew. It was God who in his amazing creative wonders had placed within every dead barley seed the life that would spring forth at his own bidding by the rain and the sun. It was God who had given them that crop. And as they began to take it, they were to take the first of it and present it to God.
the feast of first fruits from the barley harvest.
Now in these two events at Passover time, We dare not miss the beauty of the picture that is being given us there. For indeed the writer of Hebrews tells us That these things from the old economy of Israel were shadows. And types. They were pictures. We are well acquainted, I believe.
with the picture of the Passover lamb slain. Christ The Lamb of God, introduced as thus by John the Baptist in the plains of Jordan with the words: Behold, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. And there in the Passover, The picture of Christ himself. a lamb without spot and without blemish. whose blood was shed that it might be the deliverance of all of his people.
The absence of that blood applied is the death, the everlasting death. of any outside of Christ. But the applied blood of the Lamb of God is our only hope are cleansing our confidence. our comfort forever. The bitter herbs consumed in that feast.
bespake the bitterness of the people of Israel's existence in the Egyptian slavery, but beyond that the bitterness that our Christ endured as He drank the cup of woe that was due unto us, when He who knew no sin was made to be sin. For us who know only sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God through him. and the unleavened bread that they were to eat, A picture of the sinless, pure bread of life, leaven symbolizing evil that spreads with ease throughout any body that it's injected into, but unleavened bread, The righteous, sinless Son of God, The Lord Jesus Christ, the bread that we feast upon by faith, of whom we partake to the rich nourishment of our own souls now and forevermore, all of that was in the Passover feast. Passover was slain. and consumed.
Three days after the Passover feast would be the beginning of the barley harvest, and so. The first fruits of the barley harvest was then, as part of the week of unleavened bread associated with the Passover, the barley harvest first fruits would be brought in to be presented. Unto God. And what the barley harvest first fruits. exhibited was The fact that out of the deaths of the soil and the death of the seed that was planted there comes forth new life and fruit.
Three days after Passover, here is the resurrection of Christ. portrayed in symbol. As Christ himself is described. by Paul as the first fruits. of them that slept.
And so you have In the Passover, the portrayal of the death of Christ, the shedding of His blood. and the deliverance wrought by that blood shed and applied. You have Days later in the feast of of the first fruits The first of the barley harvest The resurrection of Christ. The death will not hold its prey. That out of that which is truly dead springs life.
And as the single grain of barley is planted in the ground and produces A full head of barley, so Christ's death. is unto the production of a whole body, Of believers, the bride of Christ, the church of Christ. After that First fruits feast in connection With The Week of unleavened bread. They were to count Fifty days. That would be Seven weeks.
And they were then to observe The Feast of weeks. Anybody want to guess why it's called that? Seven weeks, seven times. Times seven. brings about The occurrence of the feast of weeks.
which goes by several names in the scriptures. It's called the Feast of Weeks in Leviticus 23. It's referred to as the day. of the first fruits in Numbers chapter 28. and referred to as the Feast of Harvest.
that we've read from Exodus 23. But it's all speaking about the same thing. This Feast. of weeks.
Now the Feast of Weeks was in celebration of the beginning of the wheat harvest. The barley barley has grown. Been harvested, that's past. But now with the feast of weeks. The barley, the wheat harvest begins in the first grains, the first fruits of that harvest.
Are brought unto the priest, unto the temple, and there is the worship that takes place in connection with that. And the Feast of the barley or of the wheat The wheat harvest, the Feast of Weeks, involved Additional sacrifices. There was to be the sacrifice of one young bull. of two rams of seven lambs, In other words, the blood and the offering are still there. the recognition Of what is due to God in Gratitude and worship.
for the supply he has made. Without the harvests there would be none of those animals. That's what they feed upon. That's what will sustain the people throughout the year. And so the first fruits include giving of them as well as of some of the harvest of the grain.
There The new grain was to be given.
So Loaves. were to be made. With leaven. These loaves symbolizing Flesh. in which there is yet the leaven rather than the unleavened and Various Bible teachers have speculated whether regarding the significance of that symbolism.
Uh some suggest that the two lev loaves represent the fact that there will be from Jew and from Gentile those who are brought together in one work of God. That is for their cleansing of the leaven of the sin in their own hearts. Their debate about that and different thoughts with that regard. But those were the elements that were to be brought together for the Feast of Weeks. Fifty days.
After The Feast. of first fruits with the barley harvest. The word 50 is where the word Pentecost comes from. This was the feast of Pentecost. and in its coming at that time It was symbolic of what we later recognized took place.
on the day of Pentecost. Fifty days after The Harvest feast in connection with the Passover, the Spirit of God. was sent as Christ had promised, upon the apostles, the believers, at Pentecost. And thus The harvests that God has gave to the people of Israel throughout the Old Testament. Each portrayed A far greater and more glorious harvest to come.
And thus on the day of Pentecost Peter preached. And 3,000 souls were saved. What did he preach?
Well that will be one of our messages this week, I trust. But as I have contemplated these things, There has been brought to my mind again and again the words of the hymn. that we often sing In the autumn at Thanksgiving time. I don't know. I know in the congregation where I've been for the past 30-some years, we do every autumn.
Come ye thankful people, come. I'm sure you're familiar with it. And I think of the words there in connection with what we've considered this morning, It's annoying. is God's. Green field.
Fruit unto his praise. to yield. Wheat and tares. Together sewn. Unto joy or sorrow grown, First the blade and then the ear, Then the full corn shall appear, Lord of harvest, Grant that we Wholesome grain.
and pure Maybe. For the Lord our God shall come and shall take his harvest home. From his field shall in that day all offences purge away. Give his angels charge at last In the fire the tares to cast But the fruitful ears to store. in his garner Evermore.
Even so, Lord. Quickly come to thy final harvest home. Gather thou thy people in. Free from sorrow Free from sin. Therefore ever purified in thy presence to abide.
Come. With all thine angels Um The rays The glorious harvest's home.
Well, may that be a prayer. that leaps from our hearts. as we consider The great harvests that God has given, the greater harvests yet to come. all of which Our Inseparable. from their imagery and their shadows, In the Old Testament.
as we've considered today. Shall we bow together? as we pray. Our God and our Father in heaven, as the people of old in Israel were instructed how they might come. In these feasts throughout the year to present themselves and their harvest unto thee.
and acknowledging thee as the source of it.
So may we in this day. Yearn to be wholesome harvest to our great king and our God. Acknowledging our absolute dependence upon Thee for all things. Rejoicing with sincere and incessant thanksgiving. For all of the favors we receive.
at your gracious hand. And as we consider This week. The boundless favour In sending the Holy Spirit to be with us. and in us. May our love for Christ be engendered to a greater, greater harvest than ever before.
And may our lives be claimed by the Spirit of God For the garners of Christ our great King, And may we go forth from these meetings this week. invigorated by the truth, Both the truth revealed in Scripture and the living truth who is our Savior and our God. And grant that in all of this We not only have pleasure and delight, But especially Pleasure comes to thee. through our meagre efforts here. We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
