2014.6.8 礼拝

Today is Pentecost, the birth of the church. It is the day that the Spirit came down on God’s people and the church was born.
How do you become a member of God’s church? You believe. You choose. When you believe God, the Holy Spirit comes to live in you. It is not something that we do like baptism. That comes later. The thing you need to do to receive the Holy Spirit is BELIEVE.
Have you ever been in love? Some people get a boyfriend or girlfriend in order to “feel” in love. Receiving the Holy Spirit is similar to falling in Love. Some people want to “feel” like they have the Holy Spirit. Just like with a godly relationship between a man and woman, receiving the Holy Spirit is much more than a “feeling”.
Acts 1:8 – But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
This passage shows us that one of the purpose of the Holy Spirit is power to share the Gospel and be an effective witness.
Why did God choose the Jewish festival of Pentecost for the arrival of the Holy Spirit and birth of the Church?
What is Pentecost?
Wikipedia: Pentecost (Ancient Greek: Πεντηκοστή [ἡμέρα], Pentēkostē [hēmera], “the fiftieth [day]”) is the Greek name for the Feast of Weeks, a prominent feast in the calendar of ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai. This feast is still celebrated in Judaism as Shavuot. Later, in the Christian liturgical year, it became a feast commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ (120 in all), as described in the Acts of the Apostles 2:1–31.[1] For this reason, Pentecost is sometimes described by some Christians today as the “Birthday of the Church”.
One of the top 3 festivals: Passover, Feast of Tabernacles/Feast of Booths, and Pentecost
It was a harvest festival
The introduction of the OT Law. When Moses brought the down from Mt Sinai.
In the OT there are many teachings about it.
Commandment of God:
Exodus 20:2 – “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
NT too: Paul used it to teach about sin and righteousness:
Romans 7:7 – The Law and Sin What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
It is a celebration of God’s Word which points to the reality of sin and to God’s mercy.
God’s Word brings life
Psalms 119:92-93 – If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life.
What does the Holy Spirit do?
The Law and the Holy Spirit
Points to Christ
John 16:14 – He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
John 14:26 – But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
The Holy Spirit?
Teach us about Sin
John 16:8 – And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
Will bring life to people
2 Corinthians 3:6 – who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Not just words but words with Life, life giving power.
The birth of Judaism was with arrival of the Law. The birth of Christianity was with the arrival of the Holy Spirit.