Pentecost Speaks to the "Heart" of Being Firstfruits
In revealing His plan for mankind, God chose Holy Days focused on the harvest seasons of Palestine (Exodus 23:14-17). Reaping crops at three festival seasons provided spiritual symbolism for God's people. For us, Pentecost shows how God is harvesting people for eternal life in His Kingdom. Jewish tradition connects Pentecost with the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai. For New Testament Christians the meaning is how to keep the spiritual intent of God's law. Pentecost shows we need God's Spirit to keep the law in our hearts. No matter how hard we try to avoid it, we still sin (Romans 3:10-18, 23). Acknowledging this inherent human weakness, God lamented in Deuteronomy 5:29, "Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!" Oh, how we can agree. If only we had a heart in us that would willingly always do what Jesus did. God shows we have a heart problem. Merely doing our human best to keep God's law does not enable us to think like God. Becoming godly in thought, attitude and action is beyond the ability of men and women without the additional ingredient of God's Spirit. God reminds us every year through Pentecost that He is now dealing with only a few people—just a small part of the huge spiritual harvest to come. All who have ever lived will in their own time have the opportunity to know God. But for now God extends His truth only to a few—the firstfruits of His plan. That's a miracle too, because only God can unlock the human mind so it can comprehend spiritual understanding (1 Corinthians 2:14). The firstfruits have the awesome responsibility of possessing God's truth. Such knowledge must be used well. Pentecost - May 23, 2010
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