Pentecost Promises

Who came to the banks of the mighty Mississippi? And it was for the very first time. There was no bridge. It was early winter. And the surface of that mighty stream was covered with ice. The thought pounded in his head again and again. Would he, could he dare cross? Would the uncertain ice, or at least it appeared uncertain, would that uncertain ice bear his weight? Night was falling. It was getting colder. It was urgent that he might reach the other side. Finally, with much hesitation and with a whole lot of fear, he began to creep cautiously across the surface of the ice on his hands and on his knees. For some of you that have grown up around the Mississippi, you knew he had quite a task ahead of him the way that he was approaching the job. He thought that he might distribute the weight of his body as much as possible and thus keep the ice from breaking underneath him, which would have meant certain death. About halfway over, he heard the sound of singing behind him. And out of the dusk, there came a man driving a horse-drawn load of coal across the ice, singing merrily as he went along his way. He came off the slope and he came down on the river and hit the ice and went right across and whisked by the man that was down on his hands and on his knees, trying to displace his weight. Here he was, in that position, trembling, lest the ice not be strong enough to bear him up. And there, whisking by him, was another individual going along his merry way upon the same ice on which the man found himself and was caught creeping. What does this story have to do with you and me? How do we bring the Mississippi River together with us that are meeting here in Temecula today? Like the early travelers, some of us have learned only to creep on the promises of God. Remember, Pentecost, the Declaration is simply this. The promises will be to you and to your children. There's a lot happening on Pentecost. We've heard about repentance. Oh, we've heard about hope. Oh, we've heard about the Holy Spirit being given and the promise of that Holy Spirit and all the promises that become revealed to us as we read and as we learn about the promises of God. And like the early travelers, some of us have only learned to creep on those promises. Some of us, cautiously, timidly, tremblingly, venture across God's Word and God's promises as though the lightness of our step might make His promises a little bit more secure. As though we could contribute even in the slightest to the strength of His assurances.

Today on Pentecost, I'm here as well as the others to remind you of a fundamental truth that God wants us to walk differently than the man that crept across the ice on the Mississippi. We're not to creep on the promises of God as if somehow they're too fragile to uphold us. We are to stand upon them, confident that God is as good as His Word and that He will perform what He has stated. That's why we have the annual Holy Days to bring us back into remembrance that God has a purpose. That purpose is backed with a plan. That plan is backed with promises. And those promises are backed with provisions. And we put those four Ps together of God's purpose, of God's plan, of God's promises, and provisions.

And they're all laid out here right in the Scripture that we can stand on the promises of God. That's what we're going to talk about in the course of this message, the promises of God related to Pentecost that we need to understand as first fruits of God. Let's understand two fundamental, specific realities that I'd like to share with you on this day, because it's very important, while we've had different aspects talking about the day, that we cover the entire meaning of the day.

And I hope to do that in the course of also the discussion of promises. Pentecost, the Feast of First Fruits, brings us home to two specific realities. Allow me to share them with you. Number one, first fruits may be first, but we are not alone. That's the best news that I can offer you, that all of us have been offering you today as communicators from this stage. First fruits are first, and it can seem lonely just as much as that man that was crossing the mighty Mississippi.

But we are not alone. We have the most important guide and partner that anybody could desire. Point number two, allow me to share it with you. First fruits may be first. It's in the name, after all, isn't it? First fruits may be first, but they remind us others are to be added to the family of God, just as Mr. Howe was just outlining in the first message. Now, before I go any further, after establishing those two grand realities, before I go any further, I want to ask you a personal question, if I may, on this afternoon.

Do you fully realize and appreciate that being God-selected as a part of being first fruits of His spiritual creation is a wonderful opportunity, and that it is yours now to experience? This thing called first fruits cannot be taken for granted. It is a wonderful opportunity, and I hope to really bring that home to you by the end of this message. It is not something to just shove off, as Esau did, with his birthright long ago, with his brother, and gave it away without thinking about it, because of the pressures, the external forces that were upon him.

It is a wonderful opportunity. It's a calling, and I do believe, frankly, it is a calling in which we cannot be dismissive, in which we need to understand what it is.

It's granted by God. I want to share a thought with you. You might want to outline this. Maybe you've never heard these two words put together. Being a first fruit is a spiritual inheritance. It is a spiritual inheritance. Now, it's a little bit different than what you inherit from your parents or grandparents, because it cannot be earned. Neither is it merited by us of and by ourselves. But it is a spiritual inheritance that is granted by God as a gift.

Being a first fruit is a gift, not for us, not for ourselves, but that it might be to the glory of God. The Bible we read indicates that God is extremely merciful and that none might perish. But it doesn't indicate—and I hope you'll hear me for a second, please—it does not indicate that first fruits is a permanent entitlement to those who don't appreciate what God is desiring to perform through them for Him.

Knowing about first fruits, knowing that this is the face of first fruits, being surrounded by—are you with me? First fruits does not mean that you're a first fruit of and by itself. A first fruit is not about knowledge alone. It's about your actions day by day, moment by moment, as you do live Christlike. So today I want to focus on this subject about appreciating your role as a first fruit and the promises that God grants us to uphold us, to recognize it's all about Him, to recognize that in one— oh yeah, we have a responsibility to respond to God, but to recognize how thick the ice is underneath us.

That's why we have these annual holy days, because sometimes we can kind of, through the weeks and through the months, we can kind of creep along and kind of try to displace ourselves almost like a marine out on the sand in the desert, trying to crawl along, thinking that somehow, of and by ourselves, we're going to make it by what we do. The power of Pentecost is for me to remind you how thick the ice is underneath us and to recognize that God has that plan for us.

It goes a long way back, and I'd like to share that with you for a few moments. The biblical concept of first fruit is first discovered in Scripture in conjunction, interestingly, with what is called a feast to harvest. Join me, if you would, in Exodus 23.

This day, unlike a lot of the other holy days, just has so many names and titles associated with us to allow us to look into the many facets of what God wants us to understand on this day. In Exodus 23 and verse 14, Three times you shall keep a feast to me in the year, and you shall keep the feast of unloved bread. You shall eat on love and bread seven days as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib. For in it you came out of Egypt, and none shall appear before me empty. Now notice, focus please on verse 16, and the feast of harvest.

The firstfruits of your labors, which you have sown in the field. So what we find here, then, is in this holy day, this annual festival that stands out on its own, it's called a feast of harvest. It's also associated there with the firstfruits of your labors, which you have sown in the field, and the feast of ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.

Now let's understand something. Some of you are hearing about the magnitude of this day for the very first time. These harvest festivals, and that's what they were, that's what God granted His covenant people, these harvest festivals were given to covenant peoples, both in the Old Testament and, yes, in the New Testament, that were invited into a special compact with God to remind them and to reveal to them God's active force in their lives as well as in the lives of nations, that He's gathering a people, that He is gathering a group that He calls firstfruits.

And two things are involved in that gathering. Allow me to share them. You might want to jot them down to stay with me. There are two things. One is a rescue, and the other is a harvest. Whenever you read the Word of God, as He reveals what the Holy Days are about, He always brings them back to two powerful subjects. He deals with the rescue, and He deals with a harvest. In other words, God is growing something down here in you, God willing, in me. He's planted something, and He is harvesting.

But it starts, first and foremost, with a rescue. Join me, if you would, in Deuteronomy 16. In Deuteronomy 16, again, let's focus on how God frames these Holy Days. Not just what I say, but what does Scripture say to allow us to understand more about this day that, in the New Testament, we call Pentecost. Deuteronomy 16. And let's pick up the thought, please, in verse 10.

Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks. Now, before it was called the Feast of Harvest. Now it's called the Feast of Weeks, and that was explained to you this morning why that comes about by Mr. Coel in the first message. You shall keep the Feast of Weeks. Why? That we all gather just because we like one another here in the middle of Temecula? No, it's to the Lord, your God. And you'll bring a tribute of a free will offering from your hand, which you shall give as the Lord your God blesses you.

Verse 11. You shall rejoice before the Lord your God, and you and your son and your daughter and your male servant, your female servant, the Levite who is within your gate, the stranger, the fatherless, the widow who are among you. God did not want to leave anybody out as to what he was performing at the place where the Lord your God chooses to make his name abide. Now, one thing I'd like to share with you, if you've never focused on how God frames the Holy Days and these annual festivals, he always ties it tight to the rescue.

Why do you do this? And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe those statutes. God always takes us back to his rescue, whether it be the rescue that God performed with the slaves in Egypt, or whether the rescue that God performed in Jerusalem in 31 A.D. when there were the helpless and the hopeless men that in the weeks before had crucified the Son of God, and they were without hope.

They didn't know what to do. They couldn't believe it. When Peter began to open up that story, they said, what have we done? We've crucified God in the flesh. And at that point, Peter, who had now been mentored by Jesus, now full of the Holy Spirit, offered rescue from God, offered hope from God, gave them something that they didn't deserve, and the rest is history. The Holy Days, friends, whether it be in the spring, whether it be in the middle, whether it be at the Feast of Tabernacles, always takes us back to two things.

Number one, the great rescue. We're not here because of our good looks, our good minds, of where we were. God reached down and drew us at a very vulnerable moment in our life, began to work with our minds, began to work with our hearts, and said, I want you to be a part of my family. Now, with all that stated, allow me to be perfectly clear. And we need to remind ourselves of this as we are here on the Day of Pentecost. This rescue, this harvest, this understanding, this framing of the Holy Days is not about what we bring to the table.

The Holy Days is not about what we bring to the table, but what the Almighty desires to do with us, for us, through us, by His initiatives in our life. Remember the guy that was out there on the Mississippi, and he was kind of placing himself? I'm not the Spider-Man, by the way. You know how he's kind of trying to move his body out, as if he could do something to make that ice thicker. Sometimes, have you ever noticed that we do that, we fall into that trap, that we position ourselves like, if I do this, if I do that, if I do this, if I just do that, that somehow the promises of God might be a little bit more real, might be a little bit thicker, might hold a little bit longer, might not wilt under the temperature of the worldliness that is all around us?

No, no, no, no. It's what God is doing with us. To do all of this, God used, back in the Old Testament, we continue to understand it, the material harvest seasons of Palestine as a picture lesson of what he is performing. Join me back again just for a moment. Let's go back to Exodus 23 and notice something here. In Exodus 23 and verse 14, we find again the mentioning of the three seasons of the year.

Verse 16, I'm going to move right into it, talks about a feast of harvest. That's this time of the year. In Palestine, that was the spring harvest. That was the smaller harvest. It would be the time of the barley harvest. There was a harvest because the people had to get through late spring and early summer before that greater harvest would come in the fall. Traditionally, what you and I would think of, in North America at least, has around Thanksgiving time and the harvest festival and bringing in the crops and bringing in the field, etc., etc.

You see that mention in verse 16. And then it talks about, further on, about a feast of ingathering at the end of the year. The ingathering is where you really gather and you bring it all in. It is the major harvest. Even at this time, 3,500 years ago, God was giving a hint of what He wants to do with all of humanity. The first harvest in the spring, being smaller, the second harvest in the autumn, larger, represents spiritual harvest. I mention that in the plural. Allow me to be firm, allow me to be clear to outline the plan of God. What we find here in the revelation of the Holy Days is that God has a plan and has a timing.

That there is a small harvest now called first fruits that He is dealing with. But again, like I first mentioned, they're not alone. That means that there are more coming. Because when you use the very term, what? First fruits? First fruits, by its very nature, means something else is coming on the vine or down the line in God's hands. That there's a greater harvest. That's why we're going to come back in the fall and we're going to go through the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles. To understand that God has a plan for everybody. The very thought of Pentecost, the Feast of First Fruits, brethren, is a marvelous truth.

And sometimes we forget it. And thus we remember it on the Holy Days. That this is not the only day of salvation. Do you remember when you first came to that understanding and began to understand the length and the breadth and the dynamism and the fullness of God? To recognize that God was, in a sense, not a butterfingers. That he wasn't allowing the souls of man to slip through his fingers.

Or that somehow some people were just vessels of honor versus some people just vessels of dishonor. But to recognize that God has a purpose and a plan for every human being. That to recognize that maybe Uncle Harry or Auntie Matilda too. Matilda, not Matilda too, that's another family. Matilda, that you always worried about, you can worry about Matilda too. But that you always kind of worried about them. There is always, you know, that grandfather, that uncle that never went to church. And you have relatives that were very, very concerned about which direction they were headed after they died. That if they did not espouse the name of Jesus Christ, if they were not going to church, they were being roasted.

That their turn was up. I remember that I grew up in a fundamental background.

And when we first time I heard this message on Pentecost in 1963. And to understand that this is not the only day of salvation. Do you understand, friends? That there is nothing old about Pentecost. That what we are talking about right here is one of the great franchise truths that God has revealed to the church of God community. That he is in charge, he is on the job, he knows what he is doing, he loves every human being made in his image and after his likeness. And I don't know why today you are here, I am here, why others are someplace else, and they are the first fruits of God. Because only God knows who are his first fruits. Just as Mr. Howe brought out in his fine message. I don't know why I am here and somebody else isn't. But God has given me, at this time, given you, if you act upon it, an inheritance that we don't deserve by merit or anything that we can do of and by itself. But beyond that, it grants us a comprehension of God that is so big.

To recognize that he is not a cosmic, absentee landlord that has gone off, that he was the first cause. Gone off. No. Pentecost reminds us that God is an active force, a sustaining power in our lives. Let's talk about, for a moment, just what is a first fruit and who are they and why. And let's put some words together. Let's do a little dictionary mixture for a moment. Number one, simply put, when in doubt, go to a dictionary. What does the word first mean? First means to recede all others in order of numbering, taking place or acting prior to all the others, the earliest.

You say, well, I hope Mr. Weber, why don't you just give me that definition? I knew that already. It's good to be reminded. Number two, let's look at fruit. What is fruit? Fruit is the ripened, mature, seed-bearing part of a flowering plant that is edible.

It's that good part of a plant that is edible, unless you like to eat the trunk, the stem, or the stalks. And there are such people. And some people probably tell you that's the best part of the plant. Kind of like tofu.

Which is a four-letter word in my diet, just teasing Jim. I've seen Jim eat lots of tofu over the years. Good for you.

But notice the very term fruit. Fruit has a purpose beyond itself. It was designed to serve, to nourish, to offer refreshment to others. Now, let's take first over here. We've defined fruit over here, and let's put them together. Thus, when we do put it all together, here it is. A first fruit is a ripening, maturing, growing individual ahead of others yet to come, who develops to serve and benefit others in a tangible and in a nourishing way. You know, when I go to a fruit bowl, and there's a fruit bowl, and there's bananas, and there's oranges, and there's grapes, I know what I'm dealing with. It's called fruit. It has size, it has shape, it has color, it has aroma, there is substance. And I go to take it expecting to receive something sweet, delightful, succulent, nourishing, beneficial. That's why you've been called as a first fruit. That's just simply for yourself, but to serve others. Do you know the children of Israel of old were called to be such a people before their God and before the nations of this earth? Jeremiah 2 and verse 3, join me there for a second. This term of first fruits pops out of the Bible here and there. You find it in the book of Jeremiah. Israel was holiness to the Lord, the first fruits of his increase. The nation was looked upon as a type of first fruits.

Now, when we talk about that and we understand where the children of Israel came from, and if I must to remind you of where perhaps we came from before God first began dealing with us, let's understand something about first fruits. First fruits at first glance don't on the surface look first rate. First fruits basically don't get a second look.

First fruits were designed for Mr. Colwell's message this morning. First fruits are designed for hope that something else is coming along. I know you, brethren, over the years at times follow the example in the Old Testament about bringing a man of God, a family of God, your first fruits. We've all seen that. Many of you have experienced that before. People will come up to me at times and say, Oh, look, Mr.

Weber, look at my first fruits. I want to give them to you. That's a beautiful thing. But basically the desire looks more beautiful than what's in their hands sometimes. You have to understand that. But God, but please keep on bringing those first fruits. No, here's the fact. But God was designing that for a purpose.

He wanted us to understand first fruits. He wants us to have that desire. And he wants to understand that God is calling us not because of what we look like, but because of what He wants to perform in us to His glory. Come with me, if you would, to Deuteronomy 7 and show what God did with this nation of first fruits and what He tried to do with them. If only they would yield themselves to Him.

In Deuteronomy 7 and verse 6, He reminded them that you're a holy people to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the people on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love on you, nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people. For you were the least of the people. Remember, first fruits basically, of and by themselves, look second rate.

But take the words that God is speaking to Israel of old, a first fruit people, and consider what He is thinking and lavishing on us with His attention and with His promises. Notice how He talks about these people that He says here that He did not choose you because you were more in number than any other people.

No, I... Oh! He set His love on us. He set His affection on us, on them, on the Israel of old, the Israel of God today, which is the church. But because the Lord loves you and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of bondage from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Israel, king of Egypt.

Join me in chapter 4, verse 6. In chapter 4, again, we find that these first fruits were put right in the midst of humanity for a purpose, not just simply for themselves. A first fruit does not live a self-existence, but lives towards God and for others. Where God is speaking about how He took these people. And in verse 6 it says here, Therefore, be careful, obtain them. For this is your wisdom and your understanding, and the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, Surely this great nation is wise and an understanding people.

For what great nation is there that God has so no near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? And what great nation is there that as statutes and righteous judgments, as are in this law, which I set before you this day, the first fruits of antiquity, the children of Israel, were not put off in the deep freezer, off in a corner, but put right in the midst of the Fertile Crescent, right in the way of the sea, with all of these nations around it, because they were to be edible. They were to be nourishing. They were to be noticeable.

Everybody knew where they came from, the other side of the tracks, the other side of the sea, down Egypt way, out of the mud of the Nile. But God is doing something with them. And it wasn't to draw attention to them. It was always, Who's running this show? Who is the God of these people that brings this to them? But you know and I know what happened to ancient Israel. Just understand something about first fruits, and you might want to jot this down, because it's a part of your responsibility. Please, if you want to. First fruit, first meant first to be guided by God, first to be protected by God, first to be blessed by God. And yes, and yes, first to be judged by God.

There is judgment on covenant people, whether of the old or whether of the new covenant. The church founded by Jesus Christ on this day that Mr. Smith smiled with, and true birthday of the church in that sense, would inherit the mantle of being the first fruits of God. In fact, do some of you realize that the church is actually called the first fruit people? Join me if you would in James 1. In James 1 and verse 18. And again, it's not what Mr. Weber is saying up here. It's how God identifies us through his servants of old.

James 1 and verse 18. Of his own will. It wasn't what we thought of. It wasn't our good ideas. It wasn't us putting ourselves down on the ice and displacing our weight and doing everything that we could. But of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth. Notice that we might be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. That's the role of the saints. It's always very interesting, different terminologies that are used in the New Testament about the people of God. The elect. The saints. The church. Not a building. The church is not a building. The saints of God, the elect of God, those that are the first fruits of God, don't go to church. They are the church. They are the ecclesia. They are the called out ones. They are those that are to develop and grow. As they have had the revelation of God planted in them, they thus have a responsibility through God to bring forth harvest. But the big lesson that I want to share with you about Pentecost is this. It is not, you know, Pentecost has so many meanings. That's why we have to come back again and again. But hear me through on this. The lesson of Pentecost is simply this. It is not enough to receive the law on tables of stone, as is the tradition that the law on Sinai was given on this day. Or for that matter, even the Spirit of God that was given on this day. Two incredible instruments were given. The law was given. The Spirit of God was given. But the law of God, the Ten Commandments, and even the essence of God, the power of God, this is not an end of and by itself. These are instruments towards God's ultimate intent. That we have a relationship with Him that is based on faith, that glorifies Him. And faith is not based upon how things look, but what God says about you, has in store for you, and has in supply to assist us as we come up against the passages and the hurdles that lie before us. Now, you remember the story that I shared with you at the beginning about the mighty Mississippi and how the guy got down on all fours, slithered across, trying not to displace that which is under him. And I can only ask you with some of the challenges that face you today. Your relationship with God, can we talk? Your relationship with your spouse? Your relationship in that vast world that's between these two ears of the challenges that are facing you that only you know? Maybe it's something with an adult child. Maybe it's something with the teenager that is in your house right now. Maybe it's a chemical dependency. Maybe it's another kind of dependency. I want to bring all of you into this because we want to put that in that really wide to snare, all of us, including myself. And we can come to church either in Redlands or in San Diego. We can come to a Holy Day beautiful Timacoo Country Club, drink Larry's good coffee over here and Vicki's good coffee over here on the right. Have a really wing-zing-zang day. Hear about hope. Hear about how people are being called in the church. Hear about the message that Mr. Sharp gave us. And then we go out on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday, and we're crawling, creeping on the promises of God just as if we're like anybody else and really wondering how thick God's assurance, God's love, God's favor is that's been poured out on us.

We need to understand something, friends, that we have been given a tremendous privilege to be first fruits. We're going to talk about some of the really neat things that first fruits are going to experience first. But do not think, just simply because you can spell the word, provide the definition, be in a certain organization, then now or some other time, that that makes you a first fruit. Remember what the Declaration is of the Book of Revelation.

Jesus is not looking for individuals that have some organizational brand on their back. He is looking for those that walk with white robes. That's how the Bible puts it. Those that walk with white robes. Those that, in spite of themselves, appreciate God's calling. In spite of their background, look ahead and see what God promises them. In spite of all the pressures that are upon us, they put God's spirit, God's love, God's word first over the external pressures that are affecting their life. I know some of you are really going through it, but I want you to recognize something. This thing called first fruit. You don't want to back away from it. You do not want to miss it because of what lies out ahead in your service to God, your service to others, in times, not only in the millennium. We don't want to mortgage off into the future what God wants us to be performing now to one another. What God has in store for us is going to be, oh, so tremendous. We don't want to forget that. Let's understand something. God has planted us in the soil of His identity. He is reaping a harvest. That doesn't mean that some of the challenges that we have right now, some of those ice fields that are out ahead of us, some of the breadth of the river that's ahead of us, doesn't look challenging. Doesn't mean that we're not going to feel pain. Doesn't mean that we're not going to feel hurt. Doesn't mean that we're not going to feel discomforture. Let's understand something. Are you with me? That when God's purpose came to this earth, He planted His Son in Bethlehem to begin a harvest. But that wasn't enough. You'd say, well, that's enough to be God, to come down and be in a bunch of straw. No, there was more. Have you ever thought of it this way, that Jesus, who is the first of the first fruits, as it says in 1 Corinthians 15, 20-24, that Jesus was planted into the earth? Have you ever thought about that before? Jesus, upon His death, was planted into the earth.

Why? That He might be raised from the dead. He was the first of the harvest. He is the first of the first fruits. That harvest analogy was that God allowed His Son to die for us, and that Son was planted into the soil of God's purpose, but did not remain there. But as the first of the first fruits, God reaped Him from this earth, harvested Him, and now He is at the right hand of God. And if He is so what we shall be.

We, as first fruits in the making, must be planted into the soil of God's identity. I have a question for you as we begin to conclude. I want to encourage you, because sometimes I know it can look like a stretch. It can really look big out what's ahead of you. I want to share with you how thick the ice is underneath us with the promises and the assurances of what God wants to give you. If only we will surrender and give our lives to Him. Just as Mr. Colewell said today, that Pentecost is a day to focus on baptism. It is a day of surrender. It is a day of conviction. It is a day of faith. And as we do, what does God want to give us? Have you ever considered some of the wonderful things that God wants to give us in the future? Join me if you would for a moment, 1 Thessalonians.

1 Thessalonians 4 This is not just something that we read. Friends, this is something that you and I, by God's grace, are going to experience one day. I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. And today, of all days, based upon how Mr. Colewell started us out, we know we've got hope. 2 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who sleep and are dead in Jesus. 3 For this we say to you, by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means receive those who are asleep. 4 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven, and with a shout, and with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise forth. But that's not it. That's not all Paul is saying. Hey, I've got good news for you. There's even more coming. 5 Then we who are alive and remain shall be called up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. 6 Firstfruits are the first to experience resurrection. 7 I want you to just think about that for a moment. I'm going to linger on that one for a moment.

8 To experience resurrection. 9 And because of God's spiritual inheritance, not that you even considered it first, but that he has bequeathed to us because he showers us with his love and attention and his assurances and promises, that you and I are going to be there at that moment. Can I tell you something, friends? No matter what you're going through right now, you don't want to miss that one. Let's go to Matthew 25 and verse 21. Matthew 25 and verse 21. I'm going to move right into the scripture. This is talking about faithful servants versus those that have not been faithful. Listen to this. Listen to this. His Lord said to him, that is, to the faithful servant, or the faithful first fruit, well done, good and faithful servant, you who were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things and enter into the joy of the Lord. Do you realize, friends, fellow brethren, saints of God, the elect? That we have the privilege of being the first to hear that from our Father and his Christ at that time when we are resurrected.

I suggest that that's going to be very audible.

It's not going to be sign language. We are going to hear our Father above.

He's going to say, well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord. There's going to be Christ right by him saying, come on in. As a first fruit, you are going to be the first of the harvest to experience that incredible moment. You're talking to me? You know, who's talking to me? Yeah. If you're a first fruit, God is going to say that to you. One on one. You know, if God all eternity, he's got time to welcome each and every one of you. Okay? He's got the time. Let's consider something else that's going to happen here. Revelation 21 and verse 4.

We often read this in the fall festivals, but I want to share a thought with you here. In Revelation 21 and verse 4.

We gave an announcement this morning about death and about sorrow.

And there's going to be no more crying. And there shall be no more pain. No more emotional pain. No more physical pain. No more separation, for the former things have passed away. These are the new emotions of the world to come.

Firstfruits, you, me, my God's grace, are going to be the first to experience the new emotions. I'm tired of these old emotions. I want... Don't you, friends? Don't you want to experience the new emotions that God wants to bequeath upon us? Uh-oh, my, my. Don't turn your back on being a firstfruit. I think God is very, very generous. He's very, very, very merciful. And I think He does have a plan. We do know that there are going to be some that do perish. We know that by the words of Peter and other places.

And even those that might walk away from a firstfruit, God may have mercy. That's His business, not mine. He sits on the other side of the judgment seat. I don't. But I'll tell you something. I'll tell you something.

Remember something. Being a firstfruit is not an entitlement. It's a privilege. Don't, don't treat it callously. Don't you want to hear those words? Don't you want to experience that resurrection? Don't you want to be a part of the new emotions? Join me, if you would, for a moment in Matthew... Excuse me. In Revelation 19. In Revelation 19, verse 5. Then a voice came from the throne. Revelation 19, verse 5, saying, Praise our God, all you His servants, and those who fear Him, both small and great. And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters, and as the sound of mighty thundering, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigns.

Let us be glad and rejoice and give glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be a raid in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Those firstfruits that not only know how to spell the word, define the word, but live the word by every thought, every word, every deed, every action, every emotion surrendered to the will of God today are going to be participants first and invited to this grand marriage ceremony with the Lamb. Have you ever gotten an invite to some place that you thought, Who me? Told you, Hey, look what showed up in the post box today. Can you believe it? We've been invited. We have arrived. Can you just even begin to imagine what that's going to be like to be invited to the wedding supper, to be there, and to know that none other than God Almighty has invited you to be there, that you're going to be a first, not because of who you are, but because of what God has done in His infinite mercy and wisdom.

I want to share one last thought, and then I'd like to include. Join me if you would in John 17. I had about five more I wanted to share with you, but I think I've got your excitement level up already that you want to be a firstfruit. But join me in John 17, because it's what I want to conclude with.

In John 17, verse 25. On the last night of His life, Jesus looked up and offered this prayer as the saints, the disciples, were listening to Him. O righteous Father, the world has not known You, but I have known You, and these have known You, that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.

As firstfruits, we have the incredible privilege, friends, of being the first of humanity to experience the love of God. You and I, as firstfruits, have the first opportunity to experience agape, the love of God. What does that mean? The love of God is selfless. It's outgoing, affection. It moves away from self. It's initiated by God's Holy Spirit in us. It's a love that transcends humanness. I know sometimes I know Suzy and I in our talks, we get frustrated because we are trapped in these physical pints.

There's yet so much that we want experience of God in us and for us, to Him, for you, for others. And yet we remained trapped. And yet, even in this state of being in this physical pint, as Peter would call it, nonetheless, God has bequeathed on us through Christ. This incredible opportunity for a moment to shove our humanness aside and allow the love of God in us that moves out away from you, from me, from you, and from you, to others without any thought of return.

And not only to others without any thought of return, but ultimately we come to the point, hear me please, that we come to have an affection and we come to have a love for God, not simply out of duty, but out of desire. That if He gave us not one more thing in this lifetime, that we would love Him simply for who He is.

And not what He will yet perform, but that His grace is sufficient, that what He has done for us through His Son is enough. And that rather than being expectant, we are satisfied, having experienced a relationship with the Creator of the universe.

I want you to think that one through. For it is only when we think that through and we live that through, and we exist with that reality, and that is our goal, that we can truly be that edible portion of the plan of God that is so contagious, that is so visible to the darkened world around us. And that you and I treat every human being with love, with dignity, with the kindness that Jesus Christ did as He walked this earth. That we remove that negativity and that criticalness from our spirit that does not behoove the high calling of a first fruit, but that when we see somebody, just as was mentioned today, we don't say, oh, what are they doing here? Come on! Wasn't Gary Beal on the job at the door? How they get past Gary? But to recognize that every human being has worth, every human being has value, every human being is made in the physical similitude of God and ultimately has that privilege, that opportunity and that calling to be in the spiritual image of God. But that will be in His time and in His way. Brethren, we do not want to forsake. We do not want to lessen the high privilege, the incredible calling that God has granted us because of His incredible and overwhelming love. As I say that, you are here today, not by mistake. You didn't bump into God. God's been waiting for you a long time. He wants you to be His first fruit. Let's rejoice. May I make a comment just to conclude as your pastor? I enjoy every holy day, but I'll tell you one thing. This one has had a lot of pop today. I hope you have. All of us, from the very beginning, I think God has blessed us with spirit and happiness and joy. He's given your elders and deacons here a full measure of His spirit. He even kept Mr. Smith on course when he could not hear the music. Paul had to exercise God's Holy Spirit up here to keep that smile going. You never know when you're going to be tested throughout the day, whether it's on stage or in the aisles. Let's give God praise. Let's be thankful for His spirit, His truth, and His revelation that has molded us together today. God's blessings upon each and every one of you. We'll look forward to hearing from you or seeing you in the course of the week. Please take care. Protect it by God. First to be blessed by God. And yes, first to be judged by God. There is judgment on covenant people, whether of the old or whether of the new covenant. The church, founded by Jesus Christ, on this day that Mr. Smith smiled with, and true birthday of the church in that sense, would inherit the mantle of being the firstfruits of God. In fact, do some of you realize that the church is actually called the firstfruit people? Join me if you would in James 1. In James 1 and verse 18. And again, it's not what Mr. Weber is saying up here. It's how God identifies us through His servants of old. James 1 and verse 18. Of His own will. It wasn't what we thought of. It wasn't our good ideas. It wasn't us putting ourselves down on the ice and displacing our weight and doing everything that we could. But of His own will, He brought us forth by the word of truth. Notice that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. That's the role of the saints. It's always very interesting, different terminologies that are used in the New Testament about the people of God. The elect, the saints, the church. Not a building. The church is not a building.

The saints of God, the elect of God, those that are the firstfruits of God don't go to church. They are the church. They are the ecclesia. They are the called out ones. They are those that are to develop and grow. As they have had the revelation of God planted in them, they thus have a responsibility through God to bring forth harvest. But the big lesson that I want to share with you about Pentecost is this. Pentecost has so many meanings. That's why we have to come back again and again. But hear me through on this. The lesson of Pentecost is simply this. It is not enough to receive the law on tables of stone, as is the tradition that the law on Sinai was given on this day. Or for that matter, even the Spirit of God that was given on this day. Two incredible instruments were given. The law was given. The Spirit of God was given.

But the law of God, the Ten Commandments, and even the essence of God, the power of God, this is not an end of and by itself. These are instruments towards God's ultimate intent that we have a relationship with Him that is based on faith, that glorifies Him. And faith is not based upon how things look, but what God says about you, has in store for you, and has in supply to assist us as we come up against the passages and the hurdles that we apply before us. Now, you remember the story that I shared with you at the beginning about the mighty Mississippi, and how the guy got down on all fours, slither to cross, trying not to displace that which is under Him. And I can only ask you, with some of the challenges that face you today, your relationship with God, can we talk? Your relationship with your spouse? Your relationship in that vast world that's between these two ears of the challenges that are facing you that only you know? Maybe it's something with an adult child, maybe it's something with the teenager that is in your house right now. Maybe it's a chemical dependency. Maybe it's another kind of dependency.

I want to bring all of you into this, because we want to put that in that really wide snare, all of us, including myself. And we can come to church, either in Redlands or in San Diego. We can come to a Holy Day beautiful Timacoo Country Club, drink Larry's good coffee over here, and Vicki's good coffee over here on the right. Have a really wing-zing-zang day. Hear about hope. Hear about how people are being called in the church. Hear about the message that Mr. Sharp gave us. And then we go out on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday, and we're crawling, creeping on the promises of God just as if we're like anybody else and really wondering how thick God's assurance, God's love, God's favor is that's been poured out on us.

We need to understand something, friends, that we have been given a tremendous privilege to be firstfruits. We're going to talk about some of the really neat things that firstfruits are going to experience first. But do not think, just simply because you can spell the word, provide the definition, be in a certain organization, then now or some other time, that that makes you a firstfruit. Remember what the Declaration is of the Book of Revelation.

Jesus is not looking for individuals that have some organizational brand on their back. He is looking for those that walk with white robes. That's how the Bible puts it. Those that walk with white robes, those that, in spite of themselves, appreciate God's calling. In spite of their background, look ahead and see what God promises them. In spite of all the pressures that are upon us, they put God's spirit, God's love, God's word first over the external pressures that are affecting their life. I know some of you are really going through it, but I want you to recognize something. This thing called firstfruit. You don't want to back away from it. You do not want to miss it because of what lies out ahead in your service to God, your service to others in times, not only in the millennium. We don't want to mortgage off into the future what God wants us to be performing now to one another. And what God has in store for us is going to be, oh, so tremendous. We don't want to forget that. Let's understand something that God has planted us in the soil of His identity. And He's reaping a harvest. And that doesn't mean that some of the challenges that we have right now, some of those ice fields that are out ahead of us, some of the breadth of the river that's ahead of us, doesn't look challenging. Doesn't mean that we're not going to feel pain. Doesn't mean that we're not going to feel hurt. Doesn't mean that we're not going to feel discomfiture. Let's understand something that when, are you with me? That when God's purpose came to this earth, He planted His Son in Bethlehem to begin a harvest. But that wasn't enough. You'd say, well, that's enough to be God, to come down and be in a bunch of straw. No, there was more. Have you ever thought of it this way, that Jesus, who is the first of the first fruits, as it says in 1 Corinthians 15, 20 through 24, that Jesus was planted into the earth? Have you ever thought about that before? Jesus, upon His death, was planted into the earth. Why? That He might be raised from the dead. He was the first of the harvest. He is the first of the first fruits. That harvest analogy was that God allowed His Son to die for us, and that Son was planted into the soil of God's purpose, but did not remain there. But as the first of the first fruits, God reaped Him from this earth, harvested Him, and now He is at the right hand of God. And if He is, so what we shall be.

We, as first fruits in the making, must be planted into the soil of God's identity. I have a question for you as we begin to conclude. I want to encourage you, because sometimes I know it can look like a stretch. It can really look big out what's ahead of you. I want to share with you how thick the ice is underneath us with the promises and the assurances of what God wants to give you. If only we will surrender and give our lives to Him. Just as Mr. Colewell said today, that Pentecost is a day to focus on baptism. It is a day of surrender. It is a day of conviction. It is a day of faith.

And as we do, what does God want to give us? Have you ever considered some of the wonderful things that God wants to give us in the future? Join me, if you would, for a moment, for Thessalonians.

This is not just something that we read. Friends, this is something that you and I, by God's grace, are going to experience one day. I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. And today, of all days, based upon how Mr. Colewell started us out, we know we've got hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep and are dead in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means receive those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven and with a shout, and with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise forth. But that's not it. That's not all Paul is saying. Hey, I've got good news for you. There's even more coming. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Firstfruits are the first to experience resurrection. Firstfruits are the first to experience resurrection. I want you to just think about that for a moment. I'm going to linger on that one for a moment.

To experience resurrection. And because of God's spiritual inheritance, not that you earned, not that you even considered at first, but that He has bequeathed to us because He showers us with His love and with His attention and His assurances and His promises, that you and I are going to be there at that moment. Can I tell you something, friends? No matter what you're going through right now, you don't want to miss that one. Let's go to Matthew 25 and verse 21. Matthew 25 and verse 21.

I'm going to move right into the Scripture.

This is talking about faithful servants versus those that have not been faithful. Listen to this. Listen to this. His Lord said to him, that is, to the faithful servant, or the faithful first fruit, well done, good, and faithful servant, you who were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things and enter into the joy of the Lord. Do you realize, friends, fellow brethren, saints of God, the elect?

That we have the privilege of being the first to hear that from our Father and His Christ at that time when we are resurrected.

I suggest that that's going to be very audible. It's not going to be sign language. We are going to hear our Father above.

He's going to say, well done, thou good and faithful servant.

Enter into the joy of the Lord. There's going to be Christ right by him saying, come on in. As a first fruit, you are going to be the first of the harvest to experience that incredible moment. You're talking to me? You know, who are you talking to me? Yeah. If you're a first fruit, God is going to say that to you. One on one. You know, if God all eternity, He's got time to welcome each and every one of you. Okay? He's got the time. Let's consider something else that's going to happen here. Revelation 21 and verse 4.

We often read this in the fall festivals, but I want to share a thought with you here. In Revelation 21 and verse 4. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death. There shall be no more sorrow. We gave an announcement this morning about death and about sorrow.

And there's going to be no more crying. And there shall be no more pain. No more emotional pain. No more physical pain. No more separation, for the former things have passed away. These are the new emotions of the world to come. First fruits. You, me, by God's grace, are going to be the first to experience the new emotions. I'm tired of these old emotions. I want... Don't you, friends? Don't you want to experience the new emotions that God wants to bequeath upon us?

Oh, oh, my, my, don't turn your back on being a first fruit. I think God is very, very generous. He's very, very, very merciful. And I think He does have a plan. We do know that there are going to be some that do perish. We know that by the words of Peter and other places. And even those that might walk away from a first fruit, God may have mercy. That's His business, not mine. He sits on the other side of the judgment seat. I don't. But I'll tell you something. I'll tell you something. Remember something. Being a first fruit is not an entitlement. It's a privilege. Don't... Don't treat it callously. Don't you want to hear those words? Don't you want to experience that resurrection? Don't you want to be a part of the new emotions? Join me, if you would, for a moment in Matthew... in Revelation 19. In Revelation 19, verse 5. Then a voice came from the throne. Revelation 19, verse 5, saying, Praise our God, all you His servants, and those who fear Him, both small and great. And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters, the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice and give glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be a raid and fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Those first fruits that not only know how to spell the word, to find the word, lived the word by every thought, every word, every deed, every action, every emotion surrendered to the will of God today are going to be participants first and invited to this grand marriage ceremony with the Lamb.

Have you ever gotten an invite to some place that you thought, who me? Told you, hey, look what showed up in the post box today. Can you believe it? We've been invited. We have arrived.

Can you just even begin to imagine what that's going to be like to be invited to the wedding supper, to be there, and to know that none other than God Almighty has invited you to be there, that you're going to be a first. Not because of who you are, but because of what God has done in His infinite mercy and wisdom. I want to share one last thought, and then I'd like to include. Join me if you would in John 17. I had about five more I wanted to share with you, but I think I've got your excitement level up already that you want to be a first fruit. But join me in John 17 because it's what I want to conclude with. In John 17, verse 25, On the last night of his life, Jesus looked up and offered this prayer as the saints, the disciples, were listening to Him. O righteous Father, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these have known you, that you sent Me. And I have declared to them your name, and will declare it, that the love with which you loved Me may be in them, and I in them. As first fruits, we have the incredible privilege, friends, of being the first of humanity to experience the love of God. You and I, as first fruits, have the first opportunity to experience agape, the love of God. What does that mean? The love of God is selfless. It's outgoing, affection. It moves away from self. It's initiated by God's Holy Spirit in us. It's a love that transcends humanness. I know sometimes in Osoz and I in our talks, we get frustrated because we are trapped in these physical pints. There's yet so much that we want experience of God in us and for us, to Him, for you, for others. And yet we remained trapped.

And yet, even in this state of being in this physical pint, as Peter would call it, nonetheless, God has bequeathed on us through Christ. This incredible opportunity for a moment to shove our humanness aside and allow the love of God in us that moves out away from you, from me, from you, and from you to others without any thought of return. And not only to others without any thought of return, but ultimately we come to the point, hear me please, that we come to have an affection and we come to have a love for God, not simply out of duty, but out of desire. That if He gave us not one more thing in this lifetime, that we would love Him simply for who He is. And not what He will yet perform, but that His grace is sufficient, that what He has done for us through His Son is enough. And that rather than being expectant, we are satisfied, having experienced a relationship with the Creator of the universe.

I want you to think that one through. For it is only when we think that through and we live that through, and we exist with that reality, and that is our goal, that we can truly be that edible portion of the plan of God that is so contagious, that is so visible to the darkened world around us. And that you and I treat every human being with love, with dignity, with the kindness that Jesus Christ did as He walked this earth. That we remove that negativity and that criticalness from our spirit that does not behoove the high calling of a first fruit, but that when we see somebody, just as was mentioned today, we don't say, oh, what are they doing here? Come on! Wasn't Gary Beale on the job at the door? How they get past Gary? But to recognize that every human being has worth, every human being has value, every human being is made in the physical similitude of God and ultimately has that privilege, that opportunity and that calling to be in the spiritual image of God. But that will be in His time and in His way. Brethren, we do not want to forsake. We do not want to lessen the high privilege, the incredible calling that God has granted us because of His incredible and overwhelming love. As I say that, you are here today, not by mistake. You didn't bump into God. God's been waiting for you a long time. He wants you to be His first fruit. Let's rejoice. May I make a comment just to conclude as your pastor? I enjoy every holy day, but I'll tell you one thing. This one's had a lot of pop today. I hope you have all of us from the very beginning. I think God has blessed us with spirit and happiness and joy. He's given your elders and deacons here a full measure of His spirit. He even kept Mr. Smith on course when he could not hear the music. Paul had to exercise God's Holy Spirit up here to keep that smile going. You never know when you're going to be tested throughout the day, whether it's on stage or in the aisles. Let's give God praise. Let's be thankful for His spirit and His truth and His revelation that has molded us together today. We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you in the course of the week. Please take care.