God's Two Great Pentecost Events

Wow! That was very beautiful. Thank you for that special music. It always amazes me how God can bring together individuals from two different congregations that are separated geographically, and they come together for basically one rehearsal. And it just blends so well. And what a very beautiful song on the Feast of Pentecost. Welcome to the Day of Pentecost, also known as the Feast of Weeks, the year 2014. It is a pleasure to have you with us celebrating Pentecost. By my count, looking out in the audience, we have about four to five people who this is their very first Day of Pentecost, so we would like to welcome you for joining us today.

Throughout human history, two significant events have occurred on the Day of Pentecost. Actually, both events were mentioned by Mr. Steve Nossel in the opening prayer today. And these events occurred approximately 1,500 years apart, which in human history is a long period of time.

And at first glance, they may seem to be very different, these two. As a matter of fact, some forms and types of theology say that one of these events replaced and superseded the other event. And we will see if that's true, if that's what God had planned all along.

Although separated by a very long period of time, these two events that we're going to look at today and understand their meaning and how they are connected, we're going to see that they occurred just when God wanted them to occur the way that He desired and had been part of His plan for humankind all along. So let's begin to understand the first event, and we'll begin to do that by going to book of Leviticus, Leviticus 23. And we will review some of the Scriptures here, even regarding the days of Unleavened Bread, which led us to where we are today in this part of the festival celebration. So we'll go to the book of Leviticus 23, beginning in verse 6. If you'll turn there with me.

Leviticus 23, verse 6, And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord. Seven days you must eat Unleavened Bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. In other words, you don't do your profession. You don't do your normal job on that day. Verse 8, But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord for seven days.

The seventh day shall be a holy convocation. So it too, like the first day, will be a holy convention in which God's people would assemble together to worship Him. It'll be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. A little over seven weeks ago we were celebrating this annual festival.

It pictures Jesus Christ as Savior and our needs remove sin from our lives. Let's drop down now to verse 15. And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, that is the Sabbath day during these days of Unleavened Bread that were just introduced in verses 6 through 8, from the day after the Sabbath you shall count from that day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering seven Sabbaths shall be completed.

So during the day after the Sabbath, which is a Sunday, a sheaf offering was brought in that represented Jesus Christ as the ultimate sacrifice being accepted by God as the complete total offering for sin and Him becoming our Savior. In Palestine, this initiated a small spring harvest that was now maturing, and barley grain stalks would be growing and harvested during this period of time, leading up for 50 days until it was time for another celebration of a successful harvest season. And this harvest could only begin after the priest presented the first bundle of grain to be accepted by God.

He did that on the day after the Sabbath during the days of unleavened bread. And this looked forward to Christ ascending to His Father and being accepted as the Redeemer and Savior of mankind. And we are all familiar with the Gospels that mention that Jesus Himself told Mary, It also pictured the beginning of this spiritual first fruit harvest of God's plan of salvation beginning with Jesus Christ. Now we're leading into what we're celebrating today. Verse 16, Count 50 days to the day after the seventh Sabbath, then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord.

You shall bring from your dwellings two wavelengths of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be a fine flower. They shall be baked with leaven. They are the first fruits to the Lord. And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year without a blemish, one young bull and two rams.

And they shall be as burnt offerings to the Lord and their grain offering and their drink offerings, and offering made by fire as a sweet aroma to the Lord. Very beautiful. Of course, we are part of God's new covenant church. We don't keep these offerings, but we certainly celebrate His holy days, and we appreciate and understand all that these sacrifices represented and all the symbolism in these sacrifices. So, counting fifty days from the morning after the Sabbath during the days of Unleavened Bread, on Sunday morning another grain offering was to be made, called a new grain offering here in verse 16.

The counting of the seven weeks led the Hebrews to designate this as the festival of weeks. Later on, the Hebrew translation of the Old Testament was translated into the Greek language, in the Greek language, called this Pentecost, count fifty. So that's why you'll interchangeably hear this referred to as the day of Pentecost or the feast of weeks. You may have noticed here in these verses that they were to bring two loaves of bread made with fine flour and leaven.

Again, the grain offering represented Jesus Christ as the resurrected bread of life, totally and completely accepted after His resurrection. And the two loaves represented the two congregations that God would work with throughout human history to complete His divine purpose and His will. They represented the physical Old Covenant congregation of Israel, the nation of Israel. That's what one of the two loaves represented. The other loaf represented the spiritual New Covenant Church of God established in 31 A.D. And you may have also noticed that these loaves had leaven, which pictures sin. They were used in the loaves to symbolize that God would work even through sinners, weak people who need Him.

He would work through sinners to accomplish His plans for mankind. The bread had leaven, which symbolized sin, but it also had a large amount of choice grain showing that Christ works in us and through us as His people in spite of our weaknesses, our limitations, in spite of our shortcomings. God would love both His physical and His spiritual congregations because He accepted both of these loaves as a gift, and they were honored. And of course, these loaves represented, along with the other offerings, the process of reconciliation for mankind with its Creator God, because of the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

As I say so many times, the Holy Days are all centered about what Jesus Christ did, what He's doing today, and what He will yet to do. We must never forget that we observe the New Covenant Holy Days, not the Old Covenant Holy Days. So they represent for us forgiveness and fellowship with God as His children.

You may have also noticed the Scripture said there was a sweet aroma or a pleasing smell that represented the acceptance of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for the Church of God and His prayers for His Church. God is very well pleased with His Son and His sacrifice and what He has been willing to do because of His great love for humankind.

The entire instruction in Leviticus pointed to Jesus Christ and what He would do as our Savior forever. So with that little bit of a background, that is what leads us from the Days of Unleavened Bread symbolically to the Day of Pentecost. We know that Israel crossed the Red Sea during the seventh day of Unleavened Bread, and that was mentioned when we celebrated that day right here in this very facility. But where were they on their first observance of the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost, approximately 50 days later after they had departed from Egypt as slaves? Where were they and what happened? Well, Jewish tradition always believes and has always believed that Israel was at Mount Sinai on that very first Pentecost or Feast of Weeks, and they received the Ten Commandments on their first observance of this festival. Let's take a brief survey at some scriptures and see if this is possible. I want to mention that the Bible, which is actually not a book but is a library of books, of God's Word, the Bible does not claim to be a chronological history book. It tells us about history, it tells us about significant events, but it does not claim to be a chronological history of the world or of all events that have ever occurred. But let's take a look quickly at some scriptures and see how it indeed is possible. It's very feasible that they were on that original day of Pentecost, the first that they were observing, on Mount Sinai and did receive the Ten Commandments at that time. We'll begin by going to Numbers chapter 33 and verse 8. Numbers chapter 33 and verse 8. If you'll turn there with me. It says here Numbers chapter 33 and verse 8. They departed from before Ha-Hairah and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, went three days' journey into the wilderness at Etham and camped at Marah. So Israel passed through the Red Sea, did some marching, and rested on Marah. And this may have very well been the first Sabbath after the Feast of Unleavened Bread was completed. Moses' commentary often in these early travel records would record the fact that Israel typically traveled for six days, and they would camp, and they would rest on the weekly Sabbath. This was the first of the seven Sabbaths leading to the Feast of Weeks that had been instructed. We just read a few minutes ago. Now let's drop down to verse 9. And they moved from Marah and came to Elam. At Elam were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, so they camped there. This very well could have been the second Sabbath leading to the Feast of Weeks. Verse 10. And they moved from Elam and camped by the Red Sea. By the Red Sea was the third Sabbath leading to the Feast of Weeks. Verse 11. They moved from the Red Sea and camped in the wilderness of sin. Now, at this point, Numbers begins to list short journeys that occurred during this time. So we're going to remember this phrase here, that they were camped in the wilderness of sin. And now we're going to go to the book of Exodus and pick up these travels. Exodus 16. If you'll turn there with me. And we will complete our travels. Exodus 16 and verse 1. Remember, they are camped in the wilderness of sin.

Exodus 16 and verse 1.

And the journey from Elam and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of sin. So we've connected the dots together between Numbers and Exodus, which is between Elam and Sinai. On the 15th day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt. So this was the fourth Sabbath leading to the Feast of Weeks. The second month, the 15th day of the second month. Of course, the 15th day of the first month was a high day. They had celebrated the days of unleavened bread. Now let's drop down to verse 23. Then he said to them, this is what the Lord has said. Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath that the Lord bake what you will bake today and boil what you will boil and lay up for yourselves all that remains to be kept until morning. So this was an abbeth instruction. This was the fifth Sabbath leading to the Feast of Weeks, the second straight Sabbath in the wilderness of sin. Now let's go to chapter 17 and verse 1. Then all the congregation of Israel set out on their journey from the wilderness of sin according to the commandment of the Lord and camped in Rephidim where there was no water for the people to drink. And this was the sixth Sabbath leading to the Feast of Weeks. Remember, seven Sabbaths and the day after that Sabbath is when the day of Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks would occur.

Then there's a little bit of a gap between Exodus, chapter 17 and 19. If you read it, you will see there was a defeat of Amalek. They're not journeying. There are events going on there. The defeat of Amalek. There's the visit of Jethro. What I refer to is the Father-in-law visit. You know what the Father-in-law visit is? The Father-in-law visit is when he shows up unexpectedly, he kisses his daughter, he hugs his grandchildren, he eats your food, he tells you that you're wrong, and he leaves.

This was the Father-in-law visit, and this is what Jethro did. And that led to Moses appointing judges because his Father-in-law actually gave him some very wise advice. So we'll pick up this story here in Exodus, chapter 19 and verse 1. In the third month, the third month after the children of Israel had gone out from the land of Egypt, this is the third new moon, on the same day they came to the wilderness of Sinai, for they had departed from Rephidim and had come to the mountain or the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness, so Israel camped there before the mountain. So again, this is speaking to the third month or the third new moon since they had departed Egypt. I want you to notice they came to the wilderness of Sinai on the same day, it says, that's the same day of the week, they had left Egypt almost seven weeks earlier. This, we believe, is the fifth day of the week that this occurred in our modern Western English vernacular. We refer to the fifth day of the week as Thursday. And it's fair to assume that the many tribes slowly gathered before the mountain to set camp on this day. The next day would have been Friday, a preparation day for the Sabbath, and we can expect that Moses, after all of these travels, would have desired to go to the Mount and to communicate with God. And that's what he does. Let's pick it up here, Chapter 19 and Verse 3. Chapter 19 and Verse 3. And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called him from the mountain, saying, Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel, You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagle's wings, and brought you to myself. God said, These journeys weren't by accident. This huge flock of people that you have been brought here through these journeys at this place, at this time, at my presence, for a divine purpose and a divine reason. Verse 5. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenants, then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people. For all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. God said, I want you to be a model nation with these laws that I give you and the covenant that I establish with you. You can be a model for the rest of the world to admire. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel. So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all the words which the Lord commanded him. Now, verse 8. Then all the people answered together and said, All that the Lord has spoken we will do. They said, we're all in, to use a modern phrase. Yes, we will obey your voice. Yes, we will keep your covenant. Yes, we want to be your special treasure and special nation.

So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord, and the Lord said to Moses, Behold, I come to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak to you and believe forever. So Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, and the Lord said to Moses, Go to the people, consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes, and let them be ready for the third day, for on the third day, the Lord will come down from Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

So Moses spoke to God and was told to consecrate the people on this day. This very well may have been the sixth day in preparation day for the Sabbath. He was also told to consecrate them tomorrow, which would have been the Sabbath day. This was the seventh and final Sabbath leading up to the Feast of Weeks. And finally, on the third day, which just God said for them to be ready, on the third day, which we today in our Western world call Sunday, God would reveal Himself to the people. Let's read about this in verses 16. Then it came to pass, on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud in the mountain, and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, and that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long, it became louder and louder. Moses spoke, and God answered Him by voice. So sure enough, on this third day, that God had told them to be ready, to be prepared. His presence was powerfully revealed by loud noise and quaking and lightning. On the Feast of Weeks this very year, this very first Feast of Weeks that they observed, as a nation and as a people, God gave His law to Israel, His physical congregation. Remember one of the very loaves, those two loaves spoken of in Leviticus 2317, both of those loaves had lemons, including the one loaf that represented His relationship with His people, Israel, with a nation, a physical nation. God gave them His law written on tablets of stone, and His intent was for them to be a model nation. Physically speaking, they were to be a first-fruit example. That would lead other nations to desire to know God and His laws. For the sake of time today, we won't go through Chapter 20, but in Chapter 20, God gave His ten commandments to the nation. But unfortunately, as we know the history, they soon sinned, and they sinned greatly. Moses became so angry that he broke the first two tablets.

The first two stone tablets that God had written upon, he did it out of anger. But this law was so important that God wrote a second copy in stone, and they were to be stored in a very special place. And this ties together why this first significant event is so important to God. Let's go to Deuteronomy Chapter 10, beginning in verse 1, and we're going to see why this law was so important that God wrote a second copy in stone, and why it was put in a very special place. Deuteronomy Chapter 10, beginning in verse 1.

Moses writing here, The rock of Acacia wood hewed two tablets of stone like the first, went up to the mountain, having the two tablets in my hand, and he wrote on the tablets according to the first writing. The ten commandments which the Lord had spoken to you in the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. And the Lord gave them to me. And I turned and came down from the mountain and put the tablets in the ark which I had made, and there they are, just as the Lord commanded me. At the time this was written, those two stone tablets were still in that ark. This ark was a special piece of furniture that was residing in the Holy of Holies. It was called the Ark of the Covenant. It was an area that was sectioned off in the original tabernacle later in the temple, and only one time of the year could the high priest even enter that area. And this particular ark, this piece of furniture, represented God's literal presence and His very mind in the nation.

The stone tablets were placed there because they are God's value system, and they were to be placed where the presence of God is, because if you want to know who and what God is, the way that you discover who and what God is, is by His commandments. They are the essence of love for the Creator and love for His creation. These commandments are the heart and the core of God's character. The Law of Moses, which was something separate, the Law of Moses were all of the other books that Moses wrote as part of that covenant, were placed outside of the ark. And you could read that in Deuteronomy chapter 31 and verse 26. They were not placed inside of the ark to represent the mind of God, the unchangeable values of God, but they were placed outside of the ark because they were simply part of an agreement between God and the nation of Israel. So this Law was so important that God wrote another copy after the first stones were broken, and He instructed Moses to put that Law within the very ark of the covenant that represented His presence, His influence, the mind of God within the community of Israel. So we see here on this very first established Feast of Weeks in approximately 1487 B.C. that God gave Israel His moral law. This is the first event, and it's very important. But what about the second event that would occur on the day of Pentecost, that second event in human history? What did God give to His disciples, the disciples of Jesus Christ, over 1,500 years later from the time when God gave His Ten Commandments to the nation of Israel? Well, to understand what it represents for us today, this second event, let's see the promise given about this event to Jesus Christ. We'll go to John 14 and verse 14. If you will turn there with me, John 14 and 14.

John 14 and 14.

Jesus said, If you ask anything in my name, I will do it. If you love me, keep my commandments. This is the very first same commandments that Jesus Christ Himself, before He became Jesus Christ, instructed the nation of Israel to observe and keep. Verse 16, And I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another helper, that Greek word perclettos, which means comforter, one alongside to help you. That He, and I won't go into all the nuances of Greek grammar, but this should be a neuter, should be it, may abide with you forever, rather than assigning a personage to the Holy Spirit. That it may abide with you forever, the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees it nor knows it, but you will know it, for He dwells with you and will be in you. So Jesus said, At this time in your lives, disciples, because of my presence, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit is dwelling with you, but is not inside of you as of yet. Dropping down to verse 23, a very beautiful scripture, and I never get tired of reading this. It is so encouraging. John 14, verse 23, regarding a statement that was brought up by Judas, not a scariot, who asked Jesus a question. Jesus answered and said to him, in verse 23, If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home in him. Wow! To me, that still tingles up and down my spine. The promise that the very same Spirit that resides in Jesus Christ and resides in the Father can reside in us. The presence of Jesus Christ, the presence of the Father, can reside in us. Jesus was able to do the works he did because his Father's Spirit was in him, and that same Spirit is offered to us, as proclaimed on the day of Pentecost. This Spirit, this Holy Spirit, is God's down payment of our salvation. It's his down payment for our future resurrection. It is a down payment of our sonship in God's family because we literally have Jesus Christ and the Father's presence residing in us through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Let's now take a look at John 20. Go forward a few chapters and see an unusual thing that Jesus did because, again, he wanted to reinforce the fact that they would soon receive the Holy Spirit. John 20. This is about 24 hours after he was resurrected, the evening after that day. This is then the same day at evening. This was the Sunday that he appeared to Mary and others, being the first day of the week when the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them, peace be to you. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side, and the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, peace to you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you.

And then he does something that's really unusual. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. And if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.

You see, the recently resurrected Christ wanted to give them a foretaste of what they would receive approximately 50 days later on the day of Pentecost. He wanted to reinforce the promise that he'd made to them in John Chapter 14. And that is why he did that.

This was a reminder to them that the Spirit of God was dwelling with them, but very soon on the day of Pentecost would literally be inside of them.

They were to be given not simply the breath of physical life like Adam was given, but they were to be given the breath of eternal life through Jesus Christ himself, through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Very beautiful Scripture as well. And he was telling his disciples, as they would baptize others, that as people were baptized, they would have the authority that when someone said, I repent of my sins and I accept Jesus Christ as my Savior, and I want to be his disciple, that they would have the authority to forgive sin and say, in the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven when someone would be baptized and would receive the Spirit.

Now let's go to Acts Chapter 1, Verse 1.

Acts Chapter 1, Verse 1. This is Luke writing.

He says, The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and to teach, until the day that he was taken up, after he, through the Holy Spirit, had given commandments to the apostles whom he had chosen, to whom he also presented himself alive after his suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, and being assembled together with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, You have heard from me, for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.

And of course, we know that he also had called the Holy Spirit to comfort her, to help her, the one alongside to help.

So Jesus was with the disciples forty days, forty of the fifty days after his resurrection, and they had a period of time, after he was ascended to heaven after forty days, to think about and to ponder what would happen on that day of Pentecost in 31 A.D.

Let's go to Acts chapter 2 and verse 1 and read about what occurred.

Acts chapter 2 and verse 1.

When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all in one accord in one place, and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing, mighty wind.

And it filled the whole house where they were sitting, and there appeared to them divided tongues of fire, and one sat on each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

You see, they had a gift from God's Spirit, and that gift was to do something they had never done before, to step outside of the box and do something that they were not trained to do.

And in this case, they were speaking in other languages. They had not been trained to speak in other languages, but this spiritual gift gave them the ability to do that.

Verse 5, And there were dwelling in Jerusalem, Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven, and when this sound occurred, the multitude came together and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language, and they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, Look, are not all of these who speak Galileans?

That's what it means, like modern vernacular would be.

Look, this is impossible. They're incapable of doing this.

Aren't the people who are doing these things from Cleveland?

Impossible. Can't happen.

That's what it meant when they're phrased. Aren't they just simply simple, uneducated Galileans?

And how is it that we hear, each on our own language in which we were born, Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judean, Cappucia, Pontius, Pontus and Asia, Virgia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya, adjoining Cyrene visitors from Rome, both Jews and Prostolites, Cretans and Arabs. We hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.

So this was a twofold miracle. Not only were these disciples speaking in foreign languages that they didn't know until this time, but the hearers were each hearing that same speaker speak to them in their own native language.

Just an absolutely incredible miracle. So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, Whatever could this mean?

So, brethren, on the day of Pentecost in 31 A.D., God gave His Holy Spirit to His spiritual children, the Church of God.

As on Mount Sinai, God's presence was powerfully revealed through similar symbols. There was a loud noise in both incidences. There was wind in both incidences.

There was lightning on Mount Sinai. There was flames of fire in this room in the day of Pentecost in 31 A.D.

This represented that second loaf that we had read about in the book of Leviticus. Remember, the other one of the loaves spoken in Leviticus 23, 17 represented the New Testament Church, and it was made also with leaven.

Because, brethren, you and I are imperfect, and we struggle with our weaknesses, we struggle with our sins, we struggle with our flaws, but in spite of that, God continues to love us and work with us and use us so that we can preach the Gospel and do His work.

His intent was for His Church to do His will. So what is the connection between these two events?

The first event, the revealing of the Ten Commandments, the ancient Israel. The second event on the day of Pentecost in 31 A.D. when God gave His Holy Spirit to His Church.

Well, first of all, let's dispel any myths. Some incorrectly say and believe that the Holy Spirit replaced the need for the commandments of God. And they will go to Paul's writings in the book of Romans, and they will do all kinds of contortions to say that the Ten Commandments were superseded by the Spirit.

And the Spirit has replaced the Ten Commandments, and you don't have to worry about the Ten Commandments because the Spirit is something that's more magnificent and wonderful and replaced the need for God's law.

Well, this, of course, is ridiculous because it's like saying that God has a value system that changes. That something that God lives by, part of His character, His definition of right and wrong, can just be changed at any time.

And, of course, that is ridiculous thinking.

God gave His law to Israel as part of His covenant with them. It was a covenant based on physical blessings and cursing. The covenant failed because of the people, because they were incapable of keeping that covenant.

As limited human beings on their own, they were incapable of keeping His commandments for an extended period of time.

To them, the law was not written on their hearts. It was written on those stone tablets that had been put in the Ark of the Covenant.

They had stony hearts, not hearts of flesh. The law to them was a burden. The law to them was something that was difficult, impossible, something that they didn't love.

But on the day of Pentecost in 31 A.D., God gave His Holy Spirit to His children, not so they could reject the commandments.

But to help them to have this value system, this law of God, written on their hearts, written in their minds. God's values were to become their values, no longer locked away in a wooden box, but something they would live by, something that would be inside of them.

And this time, however, the difference was that God would not let them be alone. They would have part of God Himself in them through the power of the Holy Spirit. Let's go to Romans 8 and verse 1, one of the scriptures that many use to attempt to say that somehow what occurred on the day of Pentecost replaced the Ten Commandments, or the need to respect or observe the Ten Commandments. Romans 8 and verse 1.

Romans chapter 8 and verse 1. Paul says, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

For the law of the Spirit of life, interesting phrase, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

That was Paul saying that the law is done, that he's free from God's value system. No, he's saying that what he is free from are the effects of breaking God's law, because there's forgiveness.

When you sin, the ultimate result is death, eternal death, unless God pardons that sin.

And Paul was saying, because of what Jesus Christ did, the law of the Spirit of life that resided in Jesus Christ, that he was now free from the penalty of sin, which is death.

Verse 3. For what the law could not do, and that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh.

On account of sin, he condemned sin in the flesh. He said, what man was unable to do, God sent his Son in human flesh with the same fleshly weaknesses that we have.

And his Son kept the law. His Son was righteous. His Son was perfect. And he condemned sin in the flesh, because in the flesh he never broke God's law.

Verse 4. And this is the key to this whole Scripture.

So what is Paul saying here? Well, he's saying the inadvertent breaking of the commandments does not condemn us any longer. The law of the Spirit in us frees us from the penalty of sin. That penalty is eternal death. The commandments can only show us where we fall short. When the commandments say, thou shall not covet and we covet something, it only shows us where we fall short.

It can't make us righteous. The law cannot save us.

Like a mirror, the law reflects back to us our sins. Yet because the Holy Spirit resides in us, the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled, where we are weak and flawed and struggle with sin.

Fellow Leventh loaf, where we struggle, Christ in us fills the requirement for righteousness because the Father and because Jesus Christ made their home in us when we received His Spirit after the repentance of our sins.

He fulfilled that requirement for righteousness.

Where we are weak and flawed, Christ makes us full and righteous in the eyes of the Father. And this is all made possible by the gift of God's Holy Spirit, represented first by that day of Pentecost on 31 A.D.

So, 1983 years later, which is where we are today after 31 A.D., the year 2014, what should we remember as New Testament Christians regarding this day of Pentecost?

Well, on that day, God took His law and He wrote it on the hearts and on the minds of His children.

That law is still His value system. That law still reveals who and what God is. If you want to know what love is, you need to understand His law. If you want to know what God is, you need to understand His law.

Many years ago, in the Middle Ages, Michelangelo was given a huge block of marble, and he chiseled, and he chiseled.

And eventually, he created a beautiful angel from that block of marble. I've seen that statue in Rome.

And someone asked him, Michelangelo, how in the world did you create something that beautiful?

And Michelangelo said, oh, that was easy. I just chipped away everything that wasn't an angel.

Brethren, in your life and in my life, God is just chipping away everything that isn't God.

Everything about us that doesn't reflect the will and the character and the value system that God has.

But unlike ancient Israel, He has given us hope, and He has given us help.

He gave us His very Spirit to help us to integrate His commandments into our character.

And these are known as the fruit of the Spirit. God would use His Spirit, His presence, to be their righteousness, so that the requirement of the law is fulfilled in us.

So, brethren, let us go forward with confidence. Let us go forward knowing that we are part of a divine plan.

And God offers us the most incredible power of the universe, His very presence, His very influence in our lives through the pouring out, the gift of the Holy Spirit. Let us use that gift.

Let us use the Spirit that God gives us to continue to grow and continue to integrate God's commandments into our hearts and into our lives.

Let us chip away everything about us that does not represent the nature and the character and the glory of God.

And He hasn't left us alone in that task. He's given us His Holy Spirit. He has made His home in us.

So, this is a beautiful Holy Day, in part, of God's plan for our salvation.

The spring Holy Days remind us of our need for a Savior, the need to get sin out of our lives. Pentecost reminds us that God gave us His Spirit so that we can love Him, so that we can love His law, and so we can be righteous in His sight.

Have a wonderful day of Pentecost.