Sunday Sermon: The Comforter, August 23rd, 2020
Sunday Sermon at Grateful Church in Phoenix
The Comforter
God reserved time and season in His own power Act 1:7 and made all things beautiful in its season. In this season of grace and God is pouring His spirit on all people Joel 2:28. We are encouraged to seek God in season while He may be found, ask for the Holy Ghost in season of grace Zech 10:1, and seek Him in acceptable time 2 Cor 6:2. Act 3:9 reveals that rest comes from being in the presence of God, and Deut 12:9 and Heb 4.9 imply that rest is a future thing for the people of God though they rest on Saturday the Sabbath. At the very core of “Rest” is the comfort of hope for a better future, freedom from grief, fear, painful, and difficult life experiences. In John 14:26, the Holy Spirit is called the comforter and on the day of Pentecost, 120 people, including Mary the mother of Jesus and the 12 apostles were comforted with
Unspeakable joy with pleasure forever
Increased capacity, power, and ability than before
Freedom from lusts, grief, fear, and fills us with the love of Christ
Hope of heaven and boldness for the furtherance of the gospel
Reading from:
Acts 2:1-4
1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The Holy Spirit inspired the 120 people on what to say and framed the words to form the language as a sign of they have God’s Spirit. The norm is that words are framed in the human mind with languages we have learned or native to us. This incredible baptism occurred at a certain season (feast of Pentecost), time (The day was fully come), attitude (one accord in one place), and evokes powerful experiences in the seekers.
Season - The feast of Pentecost:
Pentecost is 50th day from the feast of first fruit Sunday – meaning there is more to come because Jesus rose again.
The preaching of Jesus was a wave offering of the first fruit from the dead on the day of Pentecost. A wave is a movement of triumph, joy, pomp, and gratitude in celebrating the victory of the cross
Lev 23:10-11
10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest unto the priest:
11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.
The first fruit celebrates the death, planting, regenerated, and resurrected to new plant - the beginning of the barley harvest Jewish tradition
Lev 23:15-16
15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:
16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord.
1 Cor 15:20-23
20 But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept.
23 But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
Pentecost is connected to thanksgiving for the first harvest of wheat and the giving of the Law to Moses at Mt Sinai – (the incorporation of the Jewish church) and 1447 years later the Pentecost Sunday (incorporation of the Gentile church). On Pentecost a great harvest of people was gather into the church when Peter cast and lunched his fishing net (the gospel) in the sea of many weary and fearful people for a draw into the church for rest and worship
Time: A full light like a noon day:
In the Gen 1:1-4 when the night proceeding was fully past, the day was full of light. The day referred to spiritual lighting of the church for gentile access as they gather in Jerusalem from over the world on Pentecost Sunday
Attitude or frame of mind:
The church age was born in unity of mind and purpose: one place, one accord, and praying together. Not in confused sentiments or interest
The Spirit of God move upon them as at the beginning of time when the spirit moved on the face of the water to introduce light in a dark world
Experiences of the seeker:
The outpour was not gradual rather suddenly at the:
Height of impact on the soul of men and startling to seekers
With a unique sound of wind that fills the space in our lives and awakens the dry bone of Ezekiel 37 with unspeakable joy and peace, as in the beginning when God bread on Adam to awakening our conscience
Rushing mighty wind, powerful, strong, violent, with great noise, or force upon the mind of seeker to cast down imaginations and thoughts
With an Awe that demands reverence, submission, seriousness of purpose, and a composed frame of mind
The cloven tongue like fire:
It is the conviction of the Holy Ghost that makes way for the comfort and gentle rest of God’s spirit – fire
Like Isaiah 6, the coal of fire touched his lips and purged his sins
The melts the hearts and burns up the dross to:
Separate the soul of the seeker from the grip of sin
kindles passion and devout affection in the soul.
Matt 3:11
11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, … he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
The tongue is not only cloven, but unifying, and singled out as a sign of the presence of the Holy Ghost
It is a comforting and non-threatening expression of the spirit
The dividing tongue of Babel led to the dispersion of the people, while the diversity of tongues on Pentecost, restores the knowledge of God to all nations and the return to worship and faith in Him
Application:
God reserved time and season in His own power Act 1:7 and made all things beautiful in it season. This is the season of grace and the church age, is pour his spirit on all people Joel 2:28.
We are to seek God in season while He may be found
Isa 55:6
6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
Ask for the Holy Ghost in season of grace –
Zech 10:1
10 Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.
Seek Him in acceptable time
2 Cor 6:2
2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
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