Tuesday May 8, 2012

Spend today seeking to live by the Spirit. That means the Word must be in your head/heart and you need to be listening to His voice.

 

Read Deuteronomy 16:9-12;  Acts 2

 

Imagine having a birthday that was not actually marked off with a date in the calendar. Imagine for example, if your birthday was 68 days after the day uncle Eddie had his infamous car crash. Every year you would be compelled to remember that infamous crash Uncle Eddie had. You would never forget it because on the day of that crash, you’d start counting for 68 days and then you’d celebrate.

 

The feast of Weeks or Shavuot (which means ‘weeks’ in Hebrew) has no date set to it. It was counted off seven weeks plus one day or 50 days after the Sabbath of Passover. Traditionally this was the same time that the Law or Torah was given. Israel could easily fall into believing that this was the true birth of the nation. But Shavuot would always remind them that the true birth of the people of God was at the Exodus and redemption by God through the plagues. Every year she would be compelled to remember the Passover because Shavuot was counted off 50 days from Passover.

 

Interestingly, during feast of Pentecost (ie the Feast of Weeks, Pentecost meaning 50) the Holy Spirit was poured out on believers and the church was born. Luke tells us in no uncertain terms that here, with the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, the feast of Weeks was fulfilled. Literally, vs 1 reads,‘When the day

of Pentecost was fulfilled...’  The word for ‘fulfilled’ means to be filled completely. The Old Testament celebration, 50 days after Passover was fulfilled by the pouring out of the Holy Spirit.

 

God had brought His people together as one. And by His Spirit, He gave birth to the Church.  But just as with the feast of weeks, the pouring out of Holy Spirit was constantly tied to the death and resurrection of the Lamb of God, the Messiah. Believers should always look back to Messiah’s work at Calvary as the foundation of their faith and salvation. We should never forget that we have the Spirit because of what Messiah achieved for us on that day when He died and rose again.

 

Prayer:

¥ Pray for a filling of the Holy Spirit for your leaders, your elders and for those who teach in the congregation. Pray that God would grant these people great wisdom, skill in teaching and a deep knowledge of the Word and how it applies to our lives. Pray that we would be a people holy to the Lord our God.

¥ Pray that believers in Vietnam would continue to be holy amidst harsh treatment, economic sanctions and harassment by the authorities. Pray that their holiness would draw others to the Lord in repentance and faith.