THE
MEANING, MESSAGE AND MANDATE OF PENTECOST (Part II)
[Scripture Text: Hebrews 12:18-24]
[Scripture Text: Hebrews 12:18-24]
Leading
up to PENTECOST, we are presenting a three-part sermon series, with the intent
of serving as resource material for the ministers who are readers of our
devotional. Others should find this
information beneficial as well. Please
pardon the length of these posts as we explore the meaning, message and mandate
of Pentecost, while offering insight on the origins of the Jewish Feast of Pentecost which
divinely sets the stage for the “DAY OF PENTECOST,” which is the ‘birthday’ of the Christian Church.
(Acts 2:1-4)
In
order to successfully find our way back to the spirit and power of this
Christian Day of Pentecost, there are THREE MOUNTAINS that we must
traverse. First of all, we must scale
MOUNT SINAI to ascertain the facts and foundation of Pentecost. Secondly, we must climb MOUNT CALVARY to meet
the Messenger and message of Pentecost. Thirdly, we must make our ascent to
MOUNT ZION to receive the mandate and the power of Pentecost.
Today (in
Part II), let us begin our pilgrimage to MOUNT CALVARY. First and foremost, we should recognize that whatever
GOD, THE FATHER authorizes and executes in human history, it is ALL ABOUT GOD,
THE SON. IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS CHRIST! This principle holds true in every part of
the biblical record. Hence, the Old
Testament is the New Testament concealed; and, the New Testament is the Old
Testament revealed.
It’s so
important that it bears repetition. IT’S
ALL ABOUT JESUS! EVERYTHING…ALL THINGS…POINT
TO THE CROSS! Even when God instructed
Moses to construct THE TABERNACLE as a temporary dwelling place in the
Wilderness of Sin, it was ALL ABOUT JESUS!
Every single thing that God ordained and organized in THE TABERNACLE was
a clear reflection of the coming age of grace and truth. Every single thing in THE TABERNACLE was a
prophetic precursor of JESUS CHRIST, THE LAMB OF GOD who would take away the
sins of the world. (John 1:29 – Romans 11:27)
JESUS CHRIST
IS IN THE TABERNACLE…from the LAVER for cleansing…to the DOOR of entry…to the
TABLE OF SHEWBREAD…to the GOLDEN LAMPSTAND…to the ALTAR OF INCENSE…to the ARK
OF THE COVENANT…to the MERCY SEAT…from the OUTER COURT…to the INNER COURT…to
THE HOLY PLACE…to the MOST HOLY PLACE. Every
single thing in the tabernacle’s meticulous construction speaks volumes about
THE COMING REDEEMER. Even THE VEIL that
separates THE HOLY PLACE from THE HOLY OF HOLIES reveals THE PERSON and THE
WORK of JESUS CHRIST, i.e. HIS LIBERATING AND REDEEMING POWER that would ultimately
free us from the curse of the law and deliver us into a more merciful era of
GRACE AND TRUTH.
Indeed,
JESUS CHRIST was ‘with them’ all the way through their Sinai wilderness journey. When the Israelites were dusty or thirsty, JESUS
CHRIST was THE ROCK that gushed forth purifying and cooling water. When they were hungry, JESUS CHRIST was the BREAD
OF HEAVEN that rained down freely as MANNA FROM ON HIGH. (Exodus 16:4) And even
today, whenever any are spiritually famished, JESUS CHRIST is “THE BREAD OF
LIFE, the living bread which comes down from Heaven.” (John 6:51)
Even
the CAMP CONFIGURATION of the twelve tribes of Israel – even the way that God
positioned the tribes as they camped out in the wilderness – was ALL ABOUT
JESUS! The camp configuration had been divinely
designed so the twelve tribes would be aligned and situated in THE SHAPE OF THE
CROSS! This was an awesome prophetic revelation
of the grace of God. Yes, at that time,
the Israelites were operating under THE LAW OF MOSES. But in the midst of the apparent
insufficiencies of THE LAW, God provided a pictorial manifestation that THE LAW
IS MERELY A SCHOOLMASTER to train you for THE NEW COVENANT, THE ATONING GRACE
OF JESUS CHRIST! Even there, in the
wilderness of sin, under the curse of the law, God shared signs and signals that
the future hope of His people would be built on nothing less than JESUS’ BLOOD
AND RIGHTEOUSNESS!
It is
true that God had appointed HUMAN HIGH PRIESTS for His people, but these
persons would only be PROPHETIC FORESHADOWINGS of the HEAVENLY HIGH PRIEST who
was yet to come. According to Hebrews
4:14;16: “Seeing then that we have great high priest, that is passed into the
heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our professions. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne
of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
And unlike
any HUMAN HIGH PRIEST…our HEAVENLY HIGH PRIEST will not enter into the Holy of
Holies once every year on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, to reconcile the
people back to God. Our HEAVENLY HIGH
PRIEST stays constantly connected to us.
HIS CROSS is a clear representation of our spiritual connection, because
its VERTICAL POST REACHES UPWARD TO GOD…and its HORIZONTAL BEAM REACHES OUTWARD
TO MAN. This EXALTED HIGH PRIEST is
intimately and eternally interconnected with GOD and MAN. For at the heart of the cross, ETERNITY
TOUCHES TIME and TIME TOUCHES ETERNITY.
JESUS CHRIST becomes our compassionate INTERCESSOR and the MEDIATOR OF
THE NEW COVENANT.
Hebrews
7:25
He is
also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He
always lives to make intercession for them.
For
there is one God,
and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus.
How cOULD this possibly
be?
Isaiah
9:6
For
unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government
will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful,
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of
Peace.
How cOULD this possibly
be?
Luke
1:34-35
Mary
said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy
One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”
Matthew
1:20-21
But
while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to
him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you
Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you
shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people
from their sins.”
How cOULD this possibly
be?
John
3:16
For God
so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in
Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God so loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life.
John
1:1;14
In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full
of grace and truth.
JESUS IS
THE ONE WHO GIVES LIFE TO US!
John
4:14
But
whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the
water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up
into everlasting life.
John
7:38
He who
believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of
living water.
JESUS IS THE ONE WHO ABIDES WITH US AND IN US!
John
15:1-6
I am
the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit
He takes away; and every branch that
bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word
which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me,
and I in you. As the branch cannot bear
fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you
abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides
in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
But in order
to pave the way to our Pentecostal power, JESUS CHRIST had to go by the way of
MOUNT CALVARY. Indeed, JESUS CHRIST is
our Conqueror at Calvary! At the cross, He conquered Satan, sin, guilt,
doubt, death, hell and the grave!
JESUS is ONE WHO IS our Savior, our Redeemer, our
All-in-All!
Colossians 2:9-15
For in Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all
principality and power. In Him you were
also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the
body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of
Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised
with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from
the dead. And you, being dead in your
trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together
with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of
requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it
out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and
powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
JESUS IS THE ONE WHO LEADS US TO SALVATION!
Hebrews 10:17
And their sins and iniquities will I
remember no more.
JESUS
IS THE ONE WHO BAPTIZES US IN THE HOLY GHOST!
Matthew 3:11
I indeed baptize you with water unto
repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I
am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
JESUS
IS THE ONE WHO ENLIGHTENS US AND INFLUENCES OTHERS THROUGH US!
John 9:5
As long as I am in the world, I am
the light of the world.
Matthew 5:13-15
You are the salt of the earth; but
if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for
nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the
world. A city that is set on a hill
cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a
lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
Matthew 28:19-20
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded
you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.
Mark 16:15-18
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every
creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who
does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name
they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything
deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and
they will recover.”
On MOUNT CALVARY, we encounter JESUS
CHRIST, the MESSENGER and MESSAGE of PENTECOST!
What can I testify about HIM? As the old gospel hymn says so well…
LIVING…HE LOVED ME…
DYING…HE SAVED ME…
BURIED…HE CARRIED MY SINS FAR AWAY…
RISING…HE JUSTIFIED ME FREELY
FOREVER…
ONE DAY HE’S COMING…OH GLORIOUS DAY!
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE HOLY GHOST BAPTIZER…IT’S
ALL ABOUT JESUS CHRIST!
HE IS…THE
CAPTAIN OF MY SALVATION...THE BISHOP OF MY SOUL!
HE IS…THE
SEED OF ABRAHAM…THE STEM OF JESSE…THE ROOT OF DAVID!
HE IS…THE ROCK OF AGES…THE STONE HEWED OUT OF THE
MOUNTAIN!
HE IS…THE
SURE FOUNDATION IN ZION…THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE!
HE IS…THE
SEED OF ABRAHAM…THE STEM OF JESSE…THE ROOT OF DAVID!
HE IS…THE GOODMAN OF THE HOUSE…THE GOOD SHEPHERD!
HE IS…THE
LAMB WHO WAS SLAIN BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD!
HE IS…THE
LAMB OF GOD WHO TAKES AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD!
HE IS…THE
LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH!
HE IS…THE
LORD GOD OMNIPOTENT WHO REIGNS!
he is…the head of the body…the heir of all things!
he is…the joy of my salvation…the hidden manna!
HE IS…THE
HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL…THE LIVING WORD!
HE IS…THE ONLY WISE GOD…THE TRUE AND LIVING GOD!
HE IS…THE ROCK THAT IS HIGHER THAN i!
HE IS…MY
PLENIPOTENTIARY…MY SIN BEARER…MY PASSOVER!
HE IS…MY
DAYSTAR…MY BRIGHT AND MORNING STAR!
HE IS…MY
DOOR…MY WAY…MY TRUTH…AND MY LIFE!
HE IS…MY
PROBLEM-SOLVER…MY BURDEN-BEARER!
HE IS…MY
FAITHFUL WITNESS…MY LILLY OF THE VALLEY!
HE IS…MY
FRIEND WHO STICKS CLOSER THAN ANY BROTHER!
he is…my refining fire…my fuller’s soap!
he is…my good shepherd…my great physician…my healer!
HE IS…MY HIDING PLACE…MY HIGH TOWER…MY DEFENDER!
HE IS…MY MIGHTY BATTLEAXE…MY MIGHTY DELIVERER!
HE IS…MY SHIELD…MY SWORD…MY SHELTER…MY SAVIOR!
HE IS…MY SHEPHERD…MY MASTER…MY TEACHER…MY FRIEND!
HE IS…MY REDEEMER…MY MESSIAH…MY PASSOVER!
HE IS…MY WATER IN A DRY AND THIRSTY LAND!
HE IS…MY JOY IN SORROW…MY HOPE FOR TOMORROW!
HE IS…MY PRINCE OF PEACE…THE KING OF KINGS…THE LORD
OF LORDS!
HE IS…THE CREATOR OF ALL THINGS…THE GREAT I AM!
HE IS…THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF MY FAITH!
HE IS…THE ALPHA AND OMEGA…THE FIRST AND THE LAST!
he is…the same…yesterday…today…and forever!
HE IS…MY
SOON COMING KING!
John 14:1-3
Let not your heart be troubled; you
believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
Revelation 22:12
And behold, I am coming quickly, and
My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
Stay tuned…more to come tomorrow!
Sisters
and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU
ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!
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