Words of encouragement and wisdom: We are still praying for the Spirit of Leadership and Vision and Wisdom and Knowledge and Understanding. We always want to keep Hosea 4:6 and Isaiah 5:13 in mind as we approach the throne of grace. He said His people perish because of the lack of the knowledge of God. He has asked us to call on Him and when we do, He has promised to show us great and mighty things that we do not know (Jeremiah 33:3). Amen! Our prayer is that we will be like the children of Issachar, who according to 1 Chronicles 12:32 understood their times and so knew what to do. We are living in the end times and as Christians celebrate Pentecost this week (50 days after Easter), when Spirit of God came down in the Upper Room in Jerusalem, and Jews celebrate the festival of Shavuot, which is also 50 days after Passover we want to look at the connection between the two and the spiritual implication for us, the bride of Jesus Christ. The connection between Jesus, the Passover Lamb and the Passover that was celebrated in Egypt and still celebrated today by God’s people is clear. Then 50 days after they left Egypt, they reached mount Sinai, and our God did something that no other God has been able to do throughout history. It was when God gave Moses the 10 commandments and the Torah, or the first 5 Books of the Bible. Every civilization today is governed by these commandments, even if they acknowledge God or not. Without it there would be no civilization. It was when the Law was given to Moses. The parallel is clear. One thing we said in our faith is clear. Nothing happens for nothing. We may not know the reason, but nothing happens for nothing. In the case of Pentecost, the disciples were gathered in the upper room. Why? Some scholars believed that they were gathered to celebrate the festival of Shavuot. When Jesus Himself walked on this earth He kept all the festivals of the Jews and so this is very possible. On Pentecost the Holy Spirit came down. On Shavuot on Mount Sanai God came down to meet with His people. The only difference is in the case of Mount Sinai the law was given and it was followed by death and in the case of Pentecost it was the Spirit of God that came down under the new covenant initiated by the death of our Lord Jesus Christ and it gave life after the people repented and accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. What is stunning is the number of people who perished or died on Mount Sinai when they worshipped the golden calf and those saved during Pentecost. The same number-3000. Some will say that this too is a coincidence. That there is no connection between the two. God is saying there is no way anyone can keep the law. The law cannot save us. It brings death but grace and the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ under the new covenant brings life. Amen! See Exodus 32:28: “So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day.” Amen! And Acts 2:41: “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day of about three thousand souls were added to them. Amen! And Amen!
According to Exodus 19:16-19 God’s presence on mount Sinai was accompanied by fire, smoke, thunder. At Pentecost His presence was accompanied by the sound of wind, tongues of fire and the gift of different languages (Acts 2:1-3). Amen!
God’s presence was symbolized by fire and cloud, which led His children out of Egypt and later God moved His presence into the temple (2 Chronicles 5:7-8 & 13-14). During Pentecost, God’s presence moved into a new temple, the followers of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:9). This was the beginning of Christianity. Amen!
In the Old Testament the Torah became the teacher of God’s children and at Pentecost the Holy Spirit became the teacher (John 14:26).
The implication for us spiritually today is in Joel 2:28 and Acts 2:17: The same Spirit that was at work in the prophesy in Joel 2 was at work in Peter in Acts 2, hence we have Peter quoting the prophet Joel. It says in the latter days God will pour down His Spirit upon all flesh. The question is do we have the Holy Spirit? When we come to Christ, we go through three major phases: We believe in Jesus and we are Justified by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and we are saved, then come Sanctification, where we give up our old way of living and turn to living a holy life and then the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In Martin Luther’s time in the 16th Century, just having justification was going to do because the people then were caught up in the denomination of Roman Catholicism and their belief was in the dogmas that was instituted by that Church-Some thought that having the Cross around their neck would save them, some by burning incense, etc, etc. And God said no, the message was: The Just shall live by faith and not the rituals they were following (Romans 1:17 & Galatians 3:11). Amen! Then came John Wesley and his doctrine was holiness because morally people were having problems living holy lives. God’s message then was clear, without holiness no man shall see Me (Hebrews 12:14). It means in addition to having faith and being justified by it the people needed to be sanctified. Amen! And now we have Laodicea, the 7th Church Age, where the enemy is on the loose and things are falling apart. The implication for us is clear. Without the Spirit of God or the Holy Ghost it will not be possible to overcome this evil age. This is the final Church age, and we need all the three to be able to overcome this age. As it was in the beginning so shall it be at the end. At the beginning of the Church Ages or Christianity God pour down His Spirit at Pentecost. So too at the end time He has promised to pour down His Spirit upon ALL FLESH. Are we ready for this revival? May God help us to tune our minds to His move in the latter days so we can be part of this revival. In Jesus name, amen!
In closing, I will leave you with the priestly blessing taken from Numbers 6:24-26 that reads: 24 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.” Amen! Shalom!
BRO. JAMES WILLIE, Schopfheim GERMANY.
AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST 