On June 8th, we are Church Universal will be celebrating Pentecost. Pentecost or Shavuot was a feast instituted in the Old Testament period, when the Lord ordained feasts. It is a fifty day agricultural feast after Passover that is also known as the Festival of Weeks, "Count off seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain. Then celebrate the Festival of Weeks to the Lord your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the Lord your God has given you. And rejoice before the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites in your towns, and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows living among you." (Deuteronomy 16:9-11). It is an Agrarian Festival that the Hebrews celebrated according to the Lord's decree to give their first fruits to the Lord, "You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end." (Exodus 34:22).
In the New Testament during this Feast of First Fruits, another kind of first fruits was achieved, one of the Spirit not of grain,
"When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” 13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
Peter Addresses the Crowd
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him:
“‘I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.’[e]
29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”’
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day." (Acts 2:1-41)
The three thousand saved from hearing their own tongues from the apostles via the Holy Spirit and St. Peter preaching was the first fruits of the outreach to make "disciples of all nations," () as Jess had commanded. It was a moment when the promise of John the Baptist came, "One who comes after me will baptize with fire and the holy spirit." (). Pentecost is the watershed moment in Christian History, when the Church grew exponentially in a day! It was the first fruits of God's plan to reach the entire world, for many people from Turkey, Iran, Spain, and other places had come to Jerusalem on Pilgrimage for Passover and the Feast of Weeks. Pentecost was a moment of expansion, when the church went from twelve disciples and the Seventy and One Hundred Followers, to Three Thousand in a day! And it increased exponentiation as those three thousand went back to their home countries with the gospel.
As we approach this Pentecost, we need to ask the Lord to bring about a refreshing, a revival of this sort. There is revivals burning in the US and UK, with many young men getting saved. That is good, a foreshadowing one hopes of what could be around the corner, A Third Great Awakening. I know I have been rather critical of revivals, even making a post, "You keep using that word," and I stand by that we need to be cautiously optimistic, and not believe every fire is going to become the next Jesus Revolution. At the same time we should not hinder the Holy Spirit with doubt and stand in His Way when a work to reach people en masse is happening. We should ever as Christians no matter our denomination, rejoice when souls are coming to salvation in Jesus Christ. Even The Apostle Paul goes on to say the motive for outreach and evangelism does not matter, " It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice." (Philippians 1:15-18).
This Pentecost 2025 I think there is an approach we can take as believers. Firstly, for those of us already saved a renewal, that we bring out first fruits to the Lord, not grain offerings, but ourselves to Him and rededicate ourselves to Him and His Kingdom. It is very easy to get adrift as a Christian these days, and sometimes we need a moment to re kindle the fire, and what better day than when Tongues of Fire came down on the Apostles? Secondly, let us be open to this being a time to pray for revival, to pray that as during Pentecost of the Apostles, we see many come to faith in Jesus Christ as Son of God and Lord. Why not seize this opportunity to knock of heaven that God step down into all chaos in our world and give people solace in Christ? And why not renew our own commitment to Him and present ourselves as a living sacrifice, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your
spiritual service." (Romans 12:1-2). I am not saying this only to those of you who read, I myself am going to do this, I need to get in the Spirit of Pentecost, and bring my first fruits to the Lord. Amen.
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