The Two Greatest Days in Our Life

Well, happy day of Pentecost. Wasn't that beautiful? First, thanks to Mr. Graham and Stephanie for the offeratory. Stephanie's been performing a lot with the flute and special music in Cleveland, and we appreciate that very, very much. And what can I say about Mr. Blakey? What a great gift from God, and we so much appreciate all the contributions today in this beautiful music and our opportunity to worship God. What are the two greatest days in your life? I'm going to tell you what they are. It's the day that you were born and the day that you understood why. For you and I, as the firstfruits of God, the day of Pentecost reveals our why. And that why is different than most people who have ever lived a physical lifetime. Today, I would like to explore that why on this day of Pentecost. We'll begin by turning to Leviticus, Chapter 23, if you'll turn there with me, and we'll begin to get some background to understand God's firstfruits and what it means to be a firstfruit of God, and the unique why that it provides for us being a firstfruit of the living God. Leviticus, Chapter 23, we'll begin by picking it up here in verse 9. It says, And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted on your behalf. On the day after the Sabbath, the priest shall wave it. This was referring to a special wave-sheaf offering performed on the day after the Sabbath during the days of unleavened bread. And much like the term itself, it literally was an offering that was waved in the presence of God. And we don't know exactly what the ritual was, but it was symbolically lifting up this offering, offering it to God to be accepted by Him. A very special, a very beautiful offering was performed. Dropping down now to verse 15. And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought in the sheaf of the way of offering. Again, this is during the Sabbath of the days of unleavened bread. You shall count seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count 50 days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you will have a new grain offering to the Lord. So now it was a different type of offering, also with grain, but a different offering for a different purpose. Verse 17. You shall bake or you shall bring from your dwellings two wave-loaves of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be fine-floured. 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 blemish and one young bull and two rams. And they shall be a burnt offering to the Lord with the grain offering and their drink offerings and offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the Lord. Then you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats as a sin offering, two male lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a peace offering. All of these, of course, fulfilled in Jesus Christ and no longer necessary.

Now picking it up here in verse 20. And the priests shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits, those loaves made with fine flour, baked with leaven. As a wave offering before the Lord with the two lambs, they shall be holy to the Lord for the priest. And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation or a holy convention to you. You shall do no customary work on it. You won't do your normal job, your normal profession. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

So with the instructions here, the priest will count a total of 50 days beginning from the day after the Sabbath during the days of unleavened bread and begin to count 50 forward. And this fell on the first day of the week that we today called a Sunday. And that's why we're here today. And it was declared to be another festival, as it says there in verse 21. Called in Hebrew, Shavuot, oftentimes also referred to as the Feast of First Fruits, in Hebrew, oftentimes called the Feast of Weeks. Later in the New Covenant called Pentecost, among Greek-speaking peoples. And that's what we refer to it today. The word Pentecost is specifically counting the 50 days. Pentecost means counting 50. And that's why we observe this day today, as we see in Leviticus 23, and why we call it the Day of Pentecost.

In Palestine, there were two annual harvest seasons. The first one was a small spring harvest, followed by the winter rains. Or following the winter rains. It began on the day of the wave sheaf offering mentioned here during the days of unleavened bread. By this time, the shoots of grain that had been planted earlier were growing to maturity. They were now fruit-bearing stocks, ready to be harvested. And this early spring harvest continued, and it continued on for the 50 days and ended with the Day of Pentecost. The earliest part of the harvest was the barley grain, because it matured more quickly. Then later in the year, during the late summer and early autumn, a second harvest season occurred. It was followed by the latter rains that occurred in Palestine, and it ended with the Feast of In-Gathering, or Tabernacles. And the fall harvest was much larger, much greater, than the spring harvest. And we'll be talking about the fall harvest later this year during the Feast of Tabernacles itself. Well, let's get back to this first early harvest. It occurred in the following manner. On Sunday morning, following the weekly Sabbath during the days of Unleavened Bread, they would cut a small handful of newly sickled stems and heads of barley. And it was brought to the priest to be offered and to be accepted by God. And this was called, again, the Wave Sheaf Offering. And it was the first of the first fruits. And again, he would take that and he would wave it and lift it up and offer it as something to be accepted by God.

This feast pictures to us the very first part of God's small spiritual harvest. It pictures the calling out of God's church. And similar to a physical grain harvest, this would involve a few people throughout history and represent a very small first harvest for God. He's not dealing with the vast majority of the world today. He never has. Most of the people who have lived and died throughout history were unaware of God and didn't have a relationship with God. Most frankly lived in nations where Christianity was never even preached, even in the smallest way in Asia and throughout Sub-Saharan Africa and many areas of the world.

Billions and billions and billions of people have lived and died their entire lifetimes and never even heard of the word of Christ. Never even heard of the Old Testament. Never even heard of a single God in their entire lifetimes. That was part of God's plan. And they were blinded for a purpose. So again, he's not dealing with the vast majority of the world, but he has made these wonderful truths that we're going to discuss today available and very clear to those of us who are part of his calling. I want you to notice what it said in verse 17. We find that the priests were performing this on the 50th day. We find the instructions to make two loaves and to put leaven into the loaves as part of the first fruit offering. The two loaves represent the Old Covenant congregation of God and the New Covenant Church. The fine flour that was mixed in represents ground grain to be of the finest quality. Fine flour was fully ground. It was sifted. It was free from impurities, free from coarseness, unevenness, or even empty husks that were left over. Fine flour, by the way, was offered by the poor as a sin offering, as mentioned in Leviticus 5 and also in Numbers 15. Jesus Christ, as the bread of life, was one, his life was one of passing through the grinding millstones of life, suffering trial and temptation.

He was, his life was sinless and was of the highest quality. But I want you to notice that within these loaves was also leaven. And for those of us who experienced a few weeks back the days of unleavened bread, we know that the Bible uses leaven as a type of sin. It candidly acknowledges that there is still carnality in sin in the first fruits that God was working with.

There was carnality in sin in ancient Israel. And in Cleveland we read about ancient Israel's example between crossing the Red Sea and the very first feast of Shavu that they experienced at the foot of Mount Sinai. We studied that yesterday and we saw the raw, naked carnality and selfishness of the ancient Israelites. And that's why one loaf had leaven in it. But the second loaf also had leaven in it. And that represents the New Covenant Church of God, as John said in 1 John 1 and verse 8, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

If any of us, if the Church of God claims and declares that sin isn't among us, then it says we're lying. And we're not lying. We're not telling the truth. Continuing, it says in verse 9 here in 1 John 1, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

So within that loaf, the purity of Jesus Christ represented by that fine, high-quality flower was also sprinkled the carnality of the human beings, of the people that God would work with because we are all a work in progress, aren't we? Now let's go to the New Testament, John chapter 19, if you'll turn there with me, to see how Jesus Christ fulfilled the role of the wave sheaf spoken of here in verses 11 and 15 that we just mentioned during the days of Unleavened Bread because He fulfilled a very important role.

Again, we're going to go to John chapter 19 and pick it up right after the resurrection of Jesus Christ beginning in verse 42. It says, So there they laid Jesus because of the Jews' preparation day, for the tomb was nearby. Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.

It had been over three days and three nights since Jesus was crucified. He had actually risen the evening before. But now that the Sabbath was over, at the early part of Sunday morning when she could see, Mary decided to go to the tomb on early Sunday morning. This would have been near the time when the priest in the temple were preparing to offer the wave sheaf, as was instructed and mentioned in Leviticus chapter 23 verse 11.

This was the day after the Sabbath from which one would begin to count 50 days until Pentecost. Let's pick it up now in verse 2. And she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved. Of course, John being a very humble man, this is referring to him, himself. But being as humble as he was, he didn't say, Jesus and me, Jesus and John.

Jesus and John, he was a man of great humility, so he just often referred to himself as the other disciple. Whom Jesus loved said to them, They have taken away the body of the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have lain him. Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb.

So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter, and came to the tomb first, and he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying there and did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb where he saw the linen clothes lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but folded together in a place by itself.

Now, right now, they didn't really believe that Jesus had yet been resurrected. But looking back on it, the book of John was the last Gospel written, looking back on it, about 50 years after the event, as John is recalling his discussions with Peter. He, in his discussions with Peter, recalled something that was quite significant, and that is that the handkerchief that had been around his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but folded together in a place by itself.

You know, when thieves come in to rob something, whether it's a body out of a tomb or something in your home, they're in a hurry. They ram-sackle the place. They're afraid of being caught, so usually they just tear the place apart. They're in a rush. And looking back on what they had discovered, they realized that when they looked into the tomb, that that linen hand that had been around Jesus' head was as if someone who came to an awareness, casually and calmly, sat there without being in a hurry, perhaps through prayer, perhaps through meditation, neatly folded together that apron and set it aside in an organized, prepared way, apart from the linen clothes.

And it represented a deliberate Christ taking the time praying and meditating in that tomb, not in a hurry, but thinking about His role and what He had just done and the joy of the Father resurrecting Him from the dead. Let's pick it up here now in verse 8. Then the other disciple who came to the tomb first went in also, and he saw in belief, for as yet they did not know the Scripture that he must rise again from the dead.

Then the disciples went away again to their own homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb weeping as she wept and stooped down and looked into the tomb, and she saw two angels in white sitting one at the head and the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain. And then they said to her, Woman, why did you weep?

Then they said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? And she said to them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him. Now when she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? And she, supposing him to be the gardener, said to him, Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away. Why did she assume he was just the gardener? Because in that culture, that was a very low-level job.

Corpses were unclean. You didn't want to work in a cemetery, in a place that had tombs. That was not a prestigious job. Oftentimes it went to someone who was disfigured, someone who was handicapped, someone who didn't move very quickly and was in the lower strata of Judean culture. It could very well be that Jesus Christ, as He later showed the wounds that were in His sides and in His hands, His face may have been covered with scars from the scourging and terrible beating that He received. He may not have been much to look at, and she may have just assumed, because of His appearance, that He was a gardener.

But then something happened. One word. Wasn't the inflection of His voice? Was it just the way that He said His name? But though she at first didn't recognize Him, Jesus said to her, Mary. And she turned to Him and said, Rabboni, that is to say, Teacher, and Jesus said to her, Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father, but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and to your Father and to my God and to your God.

And with that culture, she would have naturally desired to give Him a big hug, enjoy radiating the fact that He was alive. And He basically said, Don't hang on to me. I've got something that I've got to do. I've got an important task that I need to fulfill.

Because Jesus Christ was a holy sacrifice and His blood had been shed for the sins of the world, He fulfilled the symbolism of the wave sheaf offering. This very morning, after He was resurrected, He had to go to God the Father to be accepted as the Savior of humankind, as the first of the first fruits. He was doing this just as the high priest, as instructed in Leviticus chapter 23 and verse 11, was waving the sheaf of barley to be accepted by God before the spring harvest could begin.

When Mary met Jesus in the garden, she couldn't help but cling to Him, but hug Him. But because His sacrifice had not yet been presented and acknowledged in heaven, He said to her, please, don't cling to Me. Yet, because God is not restrained by time like human beings are, He was accepted in heaven. He returned to earth the very same day because later, as recorded in John chapter 20 and verse 19, He permitted His disciples to touch Him and see the wounds that were in His body.

So Jesus went to heaven as the first resurrected Son of God, the first harvested product of God's Master Plan, and He returned to His disciples the very same day. Very interesting, fascinating, but Jesus Christ fulfilled that rule spoken up in Leviticus chapter 23. I wonder if we realize that even before He died, He promised something very special to His disciples that this day is all about.

Let's read about what His promise was in John chapter 14. He told His disciples He would not leave them alone to struggle through the challenges of life as orphans, all by themselves, without any help. John chapter 14 and verse 15. Jesus said, if you love Me, you will be able to keep My commandments, and I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another helper. It's the Greek word perclettos, which means a comforter, a helper, one who's alongside to help you, an advocate, that He may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him, but you know Him, for He dwells in you and will be in you.

And of course we know the gender of the Holy Spirit is not a he or a she, but I will just read it as the New King James has it here. I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you a little while later, a little while longer, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me, because I live, you will live also. And at that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.

He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is He who loves Me, and He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love Him and manifest Myself to Him. Very powerful words. In verse 22, Judas, not as scary, it said to Him, Lord, how is it that you will manifest Yourself to us and not to the world? And Jesus answered and said to Him, this is, by the way, my favorite verse in all of the Scriptures.

I still get goosebumps every time I read this. Verse 23, Jesus said to Him, if anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love Him, and we will come and make our home with Him.

The Father and I will take the very same Spirit that we share, and that Spirit will come and dwell inside your mind, dwell inside of you. Remember that loaf that represented the New Testament Church of God? It had leaven in it, did it not? But it also had fine flour that represented the presence of Jesus Christ, the highest quality that also was inside of that loaf. Verse 24, He who does not love Me does not keep My words, and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me.

These things I have spoken to you while being present with you, but the Helper, again, the Pericletos, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. So in this very beautiful Scripture, Jesus promised that He would send the Holy Spirit and put it within them. Right now, it was only among them because of the presence of Jesus Christ Himself, but He said that Spirit would be within them and would be a comforter.

So that was a promise even before He died. And shortly after His resurrection and before the day of Pentecost itself in 31 A.D., He reinforced that promise once again. Let's go to Acts 1 and verse 6 and see what He promised them. Acts 1 and verse 6. Again, He promises the gift of the Holy Spirit, but He didn't explicitly tell them when they would receive it.

Acts 1 and verse 6. It says, Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? And He said to them, It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. So like many of us, they wanted to know about prophecy. Give us dates. Give us coordinates. Give us the GPS coordinates of what future prophecy is going to happen. Get us all excited about the future.

And Jesus said, You leave that in the Father's hands. You have a job to do. You have something you need to do right now. Let the Father deal with the future. He says here in verse 8, But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be witness to Me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the end of the earth.

He said, So don't focus on prophecy. Focus on the job that you have to do right now. That's His message. And after Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, it was approximately 10 days later that the day of Pentecost occurred. And by the day of Pentecost in 31 A.D., it obviously had been 50 days since the day after the Sabbath during the days of Unleavened Bread when Jesus had been accepted in heaven to fulfill the role of the ultimate wave-sheaf offering.

Let's read about this day of Pentecost in Acts 2, verses 1 through 4. This day of Pentecost in 31 A.D. Just another chapter back. It says, And when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place, and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled a whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, and one sat upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

And as we learned through the sermon at today, they spoke known languages. They didn't speak gibberish. They didn't speak something that was from another world. They were able to speak known languages that existed in the world on that time, and that was an absolute miracle. You know, if Christ's disciples had not obeyed him, if they had not been observing the Feast of First Fruits or Pentecost, they would not have received God's Holy Spirit. They received God's Holy Spirit on that day of Pentecost because they were obedient to God's instructions in Leviticus 23.

God's Holy Days are not offered buffet style. That's what a lot of the world thinks today, including a lot of Protestant churches, that God's Holy Days are buffet style. Well, we like Pentecost because that's nice. We get to wear white, and it's nearly summer, and it's warm. Yeah, we'll take that one, and we'll merge that with Easter, which is the name of a pagan sun goddess.

Just don't ask too many questions about that one. And we'll sandwich some of these in. No, it doesn't work that way. God's Holy Days are a package. They're not buffet style. You can't pick and choose the ones you want to observe. They come as a package that reveals God's plan for all of humankind. And I would search for a church that observes the entire package of Holy Days, of feast days of God, outlined in Leviticus 23, and not one that just simply picks and chooses conveniently the ones it wants to acknowledge. So when the apostles received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, what made them different?

Were they immediately different? Could you notice something different about them? You know, as Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 2, and again we covered this in Cleveland yesterday, ancient Israel was baptized when they walked through the Red Sea. And Christ, it says, according to Paul, was their spiritual rock. Did you know what they didn't receive when they walked through the Red Sea? And in essence were baptized. They did not receive God's Holy Spirit. And therefore, what we see, they demonstrated, was carnal complaining, accusations against Moses, and disobedience.

When God would say, do something to prepare for the Sabbath or do this, they would do something different. They would do something opposite. In contrast, what made the apostles different was they had received the gift of the Holy Spirit. They were first fruits. Let's see an example of how changed they were early on. Let's go to Acts 5 and verse 34.

I find this just such a remarkable story. The apostles had been arrested for preaching the gospel after the day of Pentecost. They had been put into prison. God opened the prison doors. So they walked out of prison. They went right back to the temple and began preaching again. And once again, they were arrested and they were brought before the Jewish council.

And the Jewish council was trying to decide, what are we going to do with these guys? Acts 5 and verse 34 says, then one in the council stood up a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while. They said, we want to have an executive session. So remove these guys from about what I'm about to say, because I don't want them to hear it. And he said to them, men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men.

For some time ago, Thutis rose up, claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about 400, joined him. He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing. And after this man, Judas of Galilee, rose up in the day of the census. And he drew away many people after him. He also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed. Verse 38, And now I say to you, keep away from these men, and let them alone. For if this plan or work is of men, it will come to nothing.

But if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it, lest you even be found to fight against God. Verse 40, And they agreed with him. And when they had called for the apostles, so they called them back in, when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. So they departed from the presence of the council. And what was their attitude? Remember the attitude of ancient Israel, constant whining, harping, Moses, why are we going through all these trials?

We want water. We want food. It's all about me. It's all about why. So what was their attitude? And I might say that these weren't exactly the 12 most harmonious men in history either. Before Jesus died, they argued about who was going to be greatest. They had a terror among them, Judas Iscariot, who was a thief. So they had their challenges too, as disciples. So what's different? Well, it says here, So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame in his name.

They didn't leave there complaining. They didn't leave there judging the council, angry, bitter, resentful, strapping a suicide bomb on their chest and going back into the council. It says that they rejoiced over the fact that they had been publicly humiliated by a beating because they could accept that for the Savior, for Jesus Christ himself. It says, and daily in the temple, not weekly, not looking around as there's nobody here. Okay, let's sneak up there and preach the gospel. They didn't care.

It says, and daily in the temple and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. What a transformation from these 12 men who had been so carnal, argumentative, didn't get along with one another. One of them was a thief. Peter was too bold and often put his foot in his mouth.

Two of them were the sons of thunder. They were highly emotional to the point of being unstable sometimes, arguing about who was going to be greatest. Look at the transformation that has taken place. What did they have that gave them this level of passion and dedicated? What they had is they now knew why they were born. They were the firstfruits of God with a precious, special calling. They were part of a small first harvest of God who would change the world first in preaching the gospel and later in building a kingdom for a millennium and beyond. That was their why.

They understood their physical birth. That was one of the first important parts of their life. But now they understood why they were born. Let's take a look at the example of Paul in Acts, Chapter 20. We'll go back a number of chapters. This is about 25 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul obviously was called later. He wasn't even there with the disciples in Acts, Chapter 2. Let's see what he writes, or actually what Luke writes about Paul. Luke was his beloved physician, his personal physician, who was there with him, wrote the book of Acts. Did Paul have passion? Did Paul have dedication? First of all, you cannot live like Paul lived unless you have passion and dedication. You can't get up every morning and walk into a strange city and not know whether you're going to be welcomed or more likely you're going to be humiliated, persecuted, perhaps physically beaten within an inch of your life and left for dead. And he did that day after day walking into strange cities. So you don't do that unless you're passionate about what you believe, unless you have a deep sense of commitment. Here's what Luke wrote, Acts, Chapter 20, Verse 13. Then we went ahead to the ship and sailed to Essos, there intending to take Paul on board. For so he had given orders, intending himself to go on foot. And when he met us at Essos, we took him on board and came to Michaelin. We sailed from there, and next name came K. De Kios. The following day we arrived at Samos and stayed in Trigilium. The next day we came to Miletus. Notice all these little stops they're making, the cities. For Paul, here's why. Verse 16, for Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost. What? Isn't this guy a missionary? Isn't his primary job to go from city to city and preach the Gospel? That's important to him. That was his main role. Yet, he stops and he decides that he wants, if at all possible, to go to Jerusalem to observe the day of Pentecost. This event occurred 25 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul is even leaving his mission field to observe the Feast of Pentecost. Why is Paul so passionate? Why is he so committed to make a dangerous journey to Jerusalem to observe the day of Pentecost?

Because Paul understood he was one of the first fruits of God with a special, precious calling. He was part of a small first harvest of God who would help change the world. First, in preaching the Gospel, which was what he was doing every day, and later in building a kingdom for a millennium and beyond.

He had discovered his why. Later, he also wrote to a Gentile congregation in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 16. I'll just read what he told to Corinthians here in verse 8. He's commenting that he would love to visit them. He wanted to see them as soon as he could. But he said in verse 8, So why would he be telling a Gentile congregation at Corinth that he was keeping the day of Pentecost? How would they even know what the day of Pentecost meant? They were pagan in background unless someone taught them the meaning of the day of Pentecost.

This is the level of passion and commitment he had because he had discovered his why. He was a first fruit, part of God's small, early harvest of souls that were called to change the world. Romans 16. Let's see another comment that Paul makes here to one of the individuals as he wrote the letter to the Romans. Romans 16.

We'll pick it up here in verse 3. He says, Paul says about this believer, Ephenetus, that he was a first fruit because he was one of the first called by the Father in this part of the world. And Paul acknowledged that he too, like Paul, was one of the first fruits. Well, this isn't just simply Paul's understanding. It was also James' understanding. Let's turn there. James 1.17.

So this wasn't just some unique theology that Paul himself had. James also, the half-brother of Jesus Christ, understood the understanding of God calling his first fruits. James 1.17. James writes here, of his own will. Alright, here's what God's will is. Of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. He says, you're special. God, by his own will, brought you forth from this world, called you at this time, and has made you a kind of first fruits of his creatures. After the millennium, he has a much, much larger harvest to begin reaping. But they won't be around during the thousand years when he is building a new kingdom.

They're not preaching the gospel now like we are. I'd like to read this from another translation here, the New American Standard Bible, verse 18. It says, Again, I want to reinforce, as James states here, it's God's will that we are chosen. It's God's will that we've been selected to become the first fruits of the harvest of his creation. Do we view this awesome calling with excitement and joy? Do we radiate that passion, that commitment, that excitement, and that joy in our lives? Are we passionate about this privilege and this opportunity? Or are we just coasting? Like it's all too typical in human nature. And again, Mr. Coons mentioned it this morning. I've just taken it for granted. It's no longer exciting. It no longer registers with us just how great and wonderful and awesome this calling is. So what is it about first fruits? Why are they so important? Let me draw a metaphor, if I can. A farmer waits patiently for a long winter to end. And then when the time is right, when the springs have come, and the conditions, and the soil conditions, and everything's right in the spring, he prepares the soil. And he plants his crop. He must make sure that birds don't come and eat the seeds or the sprouts. He must observe the health of the crop because it's vulnerable to environmental conditions. And maybe it's too much rain. Maybe there's too little rain. There's drought. The farmer must watch out for possible diseases that can influence his precious crop. He must ensure that weeds don't spring up everywhere and stunt the growing plants. Just literally take over the field. He must make sure that rodents and mammals don't eat the crop while it's maturing. And after all that, finally, after a great investment of his time and resources and experience as a farmer, the anticipated first fruits will usually appear in maybe just one or two plants. And you know what it's like if you planted a tomato plant by seed or pepper plant, and it slowly grows. And what's it like to go out there and see that first tomato of the season hanging off the vine? Don't you just instinctively want to just pull that off and sink your teeth and taste that natural, wholesome tomato taste in your mouth? Sure you do. We all do. And a farmer enjoys savoring the first plants that ripen, enjoying the fruit of his labors. Now the analogy. God, our father, is a husbandman. He's a farmer. And he decided millennia ago that he wanted to expand his family by adding spiritual sons and daughters just like you. He created the earth, and he created humans as physical beings so that they could experience good and evil and learn to desire good and righteousness. He voluntarily accepted his son's desire to come to earth and live a perfect life to redeem sinners by his death, by his resurrection. Those who would respond to God's calling in their physical lifetimes have become his early spring harvest, his precious first fruits. He observes their spiritual health. He knows they are vulnerable to their own human nature, to Satan as a roaring lion, and to the influences of the world. He knows that there are tares that also deceptively are in his church, tares are weeds, and if not careful, the tares can take over, and they can have a negative influence on the precious first fruits that God is growing within his flock.

All of these things God knows and understands. Then after thousands, perhaps millions of years, when the time was right in his plan for his first fruits to begin to be harvested, first, his son Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead, the first of the first fruits.

Then beginning on Pentecost in 31 A.D., the rest of the early spring harvest began, and it continues right up until today, and will continue until the return of Jesus Christ.

Imagine the joy that the Father has to see all of his investment in time, and in love, and in his resources, the bring to fruition, his very own sons and daughters. That's you. That's why his first fruits are so precious and so important to him.

As Jesus said in Luke 12, 32, Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. He has anticipated for a long time the ripening, the maturing of his first fruits. One final scripture this morning to remind us of God's love for his first fruits as revealed in prophecy.

If you'll turn with me to Revelation 14, verses 1-4, we'll read again Revelation 14 beginning in verse 1.

Revelation 14, beginning in verse 1, it says, And with him 144,000, having his Father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, like the voice of loud thunder, and I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. They sang as if it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures and the elders, and no one could learn that song except the 144,000 who were redeemed from the earth. Who are these? It says, These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. They did not commit fornication with the religions of this world. They did not defile themselves to their espoused bride, being the bride of Christ. They did not defile themselves with false religion. It says, These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. Today is a holy day and an anniversary of the birth of the New Covenant Church of God. On this day in 31 A.D., God gave His Holy Spirit to repentant men and women, and He made them His firstfruits. He's still doing the same thing today. The two greatest days of your life are the day that you were born and the day that you understand why. The day you were born, your existence began. You emerged from an intangible nothingness and received a gift. That's called the gift of life, including your own awareness and consciousness. The day God gave you His Holy Spirit is the day that you knew your why.

You are one of His treasured firstfruits, called in this lifetime to proclaim the good news to the ends of the earth and to be part of building a new kingdom for a thousand years and beyond. On this day of Pentecost, in the year 2017, I encourage all of you as God's firstfruits to keep growing, keep ripening, and keep bearing much fruit. Have a wonderful and fulfilling day of Pentecost.