Pentecost Sunday
At Immanuel Fellowship, we are currently going through a series of studies called “Journey Through the Bible” in our weekly house churches. Yes, it is quite an endeavor, and one which will take us about four years to complete. However, we believe very strongly that all of us need to have a solid foundation of the Scriptures. We have been blessed with having so many among us who have only recently in the past year or so made commitments to follow Jesus. And we have found that even those who have been in the Lord for some time have major gaps in their understanding of the Word, especially in the Old Testament. We have not gone very far yet. Most of the house churches are in the book of Numbers, I believe. But the Lord is teaching us so much!
Recently, in our study of the book of Leviticus, we studied the three annual convocations that Israel was to observe. This turned out to be a fascinating study as we looked at both the historical significance and the prophetic aspects of the Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Booths. Pentecost, often referred to as the “Day of Firstfruits” in the Old Testament, was the time when Israel would gather to celebrate the coming harvest. It was a statement of faith as much as anything, to what Israel believed God would do in the coming months. It is no coincidence that the Lord decided to “kick off” the Church on the Day of Pentecost. Acts 2 records the story when God brought into the Church three thousand souls from all over the world. This, too, is prophetic of what God wants to do. There is a Harvest coming that will bring in people from every nation, tongue, tribe, and people.
This past Sunday was Pentecost Sunday. We didn’t plan it this way, but we happened to have scheduled a water baptism for that day. We didn’t have three thousand baptized, but we did have sixteen people baptized, which is one of the largest baptisms we have ever had as a local church. Because of our recent study on the Day of Pentecost, we were all fascinated with the promise that there is a Great Harvest coming! And we believe that we are already seeing the firstfruits! And, as a statement of faith, we celebrate what God has promised!
Abiding in Joy 