Pentecost (2010)
Gen. 8:22
Season will remain
"As long as the earth endures,
seed-time and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never cease."
Here is a promise that flies in the face of apocalyptic, fear-based warnings about world-wide nuclear winters, permanent global weather change, and other paranoia. I'm a HUGE fan of fulfilling our God-given responsibility to replenish the earth, but I won't be moved by panic or fear-based initiatives that lack soundness. I could rant about this for a while, but the main message I am getting from these verses is this: seasons.
"Be instant in season and out of season." 2 Timothy 4:2
Jesus expects there to be fruit (of the Spirit) on our tree in every season, just like he expected the fig tree to have fruit on it, even though it wasn't even the "season" for the figs to be on the tree (Mark 11). It is important for us to know what season we are in and to “understand the times and know what to do.” (I Chronicles 12:32). However, we cannot excuse a lack of spiritual productivity based upon the apparent season in which we find ourselves.
We came out of a season of purging out leaven from the church (ie. sin, ungodliness, and false teaching) during Pesach (Passover). Sin is any departure from the glory of God, not just breaking an explicit command. This means there is a searching of the heart and motives, not just of the outward actions. "Ungodliness" means existing without depending upon God - it can be a form without power, words of man's wisdom without the power of the cross and resurrection, or anything that tries to use God's name in vain (ie. use His name, without His authorization). False teachers are marked either by their denial of certain truths (ie. the real human existence of the Messiah Jesus of Nazareth, the deity of Christ, requiring abstinence from certain foods, etc.) or by their blatant sin and disregard for holiness.
One of the sins that God is putting His finger on and purging out of the Church is unrighteous judgment.
There is a righteous form of judgment, which God requires of us.
"Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment." - John 7:24
Everyone in life makes judgments, whether they acknowledge it or not. But we are told to make "a right judgment". To refuse to make judgments at all shows ignorance and a lack of discernment. To say "I just don't judge anyone" is a form of flattery and deceit, because it is merely impossible to move through life without making judgments.
He that rebukes a man shall later find more favor than he that flatters with the tongue. -Proverbs 28:23
Is. 11:2-4
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -
and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
Unlike the "Word of Knowledge" and the "Word of Wisdom", the "Word of Gossip" is not a gift of the Holy Spirit, although it seems that some Christians act like it is. People can find out a lot by being around someone with a loose tongue. It gives some people a sense of power and influence to know everything that is going on in everyone else's life. It has been said, "Those who gossip to you will gossip about you." I have found this to be true. Most people make judgments out of what they hear, which comes mainly in the form of gossip; or by what they see (outward appearance). These both lead to unrighteous judgments.
We are called to be Christ-like, which means we judge by the Spirit, NOT by what we hear or see. This means we go home to our private prayer closet and pray about situations, removing the gossip we have heard and even what we have seen and ask God for His perspective. This will clear up most conflicts within the Church, and even in the world and give us righteous judgment.
People in authority are not exempt from the protocol of dealing with conflict (Matt. 18) - just because you have a position doesn't give you the right to gossip about the people under your care to another pastor or church leader. This is often seen in church prayer meetings where people share "prayer requests" naming specific people and situations, which really is a mask for a spirit of gossip and slander.
The answer to unrighteous judgments is apology and forgiveness, and there is no true forgiveness without an apology (1 Jn 1:9). The grace of God is not for the fugitive of the law (someone who is merely afraid of getting caught and who tries to use the grace of God as a cover-up for sin) - it is for the one who turns Himself into the law and pleads for the mercy of the court. It is not for those who defend their innocence when they have clearly done wrong. Do not defend a guilty man, who shows no apology. "A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty; if you rescue him once, you will have to do it again." But mercy and grace is in over-flowing abundance to the meek, the broken, and the poor in spirit.
Pentecost – a Harvest of the Word of God in People's Hearts
We count 50 days after Passover to the Feast of Pentecost (also called the Feast of Weeks/Firstfruits/Ingathering/Reaping). It does, of course, mark the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Church, but before that it was the Jewish festival of the harvest. It coincides with the wheat harvest (Passover coincides with the barley harvest). It corresponds to the book of Ruth (one of the Megillot), a beautiful portrayal of the redemptive work of God to someone who has experienced great loss.
Just like Ruth harvested in Boaz's fields, we are in a season of harvest. This is a harvest of righteousness, a harvest of the Word of God, which has been planted throughout the earth for centuries by our ancestors in the faith.
"Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest." - 1 John 4:35
This is not just about evangelism; it is about bringing people to wholeness, especially in their hearts.
I have felt again and again the need to pray for people's hearts to be strengthened. Heart-related illnesses account for over 40% of all deaths in the United States. I don't think that this is arbitrary or coincidental. Luke chapter 21 is a prophetic word of Jesus, which I believe was fulfilled within the generation of the people standing there (as he said in vs. 32), but it also has a further application to people in our time. This is a time when some people's hearts will fail them because of the culmination of both truth and evil. I have seen this in recent days -- some people lose hope, weighed down by worries and feel "pushed to the brink," where they make irrational and godless decisions.
verse 26
Men’s hearts will fail them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
verse 34
Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation (carousing), drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.
Psalm 27 illustrates the antidote for heart-failure.
13 I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.
"Put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." (Is. 61:3)
Waiting on the Lord. Praising Him out of a sincere heart.
Much of America has a broken heart because of unfulfilled hopes and dreams, failed expectations, and broken relationships. This is largely due to a lack of waiting for Him to show us HIS expectations and for HIM to fulfill the promises He has given us. The LORD is the strength of our hearts, and as we wait upon Him, He will answer and bring us hope and fulfill the dreams He has placed in our hearts.
Season will remain
"As long as the earth endures,
seed-time and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never cease."
Here is a promise that flies in the face of apocalyptic, fear-based warnings about world-wide nuclear winters, permanent global weather change, and other paranoia. I'm a HUGE fan of fulfilling our God-given responsibility to replenish the earth, but I won't be moved by panic or fear-based initiatives that lack soundness. I could rant about this for a while, but the main message I am getting from these verses is this: seasons.
"Be instant in season and out of season." 2 Timothy 4:2
Jesus expects there to be fruit (of the Spirit) on our tree in every season, just like he expected the fig tree to have fruit on it, even though it wasn't even the "season" for the figs to be on the tree (Mark 11). It is important for us to know what season we are in and to “understand the times and know what to do.” (I Chronicles 12:32). However, we cannot excuse a lack of spiritual productivity based upon the apparent season in which we find ourselves.
We came out of a season of purging out leaven from the church (ie. sin, ungodliness, and false teaching) during Pesach (Passover). Sin is any departure from the glory of God, not just breaking an explicit command. This means there is a searching of the heart and motives, not just of the outward actions. "Ungodliness" means existing without depending upon God - it can be a form without power, words of man's wisdom without the power of the cross and resurrection, or anything that tries to use God's name in vain (ie. use His name, without His authorization). False teachers are marked either by their denial of certain truths (ie. the real human existence of the Messiah Jesus of Nazareth, the deity of Christ, requiring abstinence from certain foods, etc.) or by their blatant sin and disregard for holiness.
One of the sins that God is putting His finger on and purging out of the Church is unrighteous judgment.
There is a righteous form of judgment, which God requires of us.
"Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment." - John 7:24
Everyone in life makes judgments, whether they acknowledge it or not. But we are told to make "a right judgment". To refuse to make judgments at all shows ignorance and a lack of discernment. To say "I just don't judge anyone" is a form of flattery and deceit, because it is merely impossible to move through life without making judgments.
He that rebukes a man shall later find more favor than he that flatters with the tongue. -Proverbs 28:23
Is. 11:2-4
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -
and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
Unlike the "Word of Knowledge" and the "Word of Wisdom", the "Word of Gossip" is not a gift of the Holy Spirit, although it seems that some Christians act like it is. People can find out a lot by being around someone with a loose tongue. It gives some people a sense of power and influence to know everything that is going on in everyone else's life. It has been said, "Those who gossip to you will gossip about you." I have found this to be true. Most people make judgments out of what they hear, which comes mainly in the form of gossip; or by what they see (outward appearance). These both lead to unrighteous judgments.
We are called to be Christ-like, which means we judge by the Spirit, NOT by what we hear or see. This means we go home to our private prayer closet and pray about situations, removing the gossip we have heard and even what we have seen and ask God for His perspective. This will clear up most conflicts within the Church, and even in the world and give us righteous judgment.
People in authority are not exempt from the protocol of dealing with conflict (Matt. 18) - just because you have a position doesn't give you the right to gossip about the people under your care to another pastor or church leader. This is often seen in church prayer meetings where people share "prayer requests" naming specific people and situations, which really is a mask for a spirit of gossip and slander.
The answer to unrighteous judgments is apology and forgiveness, and there is no true forgiveness without an apology (1 Jn 1:9). The grace of God is not for the fugitive of the law (someone who is merely afraid of getting caught and who tries to use the grace of God as a cover-up for sin) - it is for the one who turns Himself into the law and pleads for the mercy of the court. It is not for those who defend their innocence when they have clearly done wrong. Do not defend a guilty man, who shows no apology. "A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty; if you rescue him once, you will have to do it again." But mercy and grace is in over-flowing abundance to the meek, the broken, and the poor in spirit.
Pentecost – a Harvest of the Word of God in People's Hearts
We count 50 days after Passover to the Feast of Pentecost (also called the Feast of Weeks/Firstfruits/Ingathering/Reaping). It does, of course, mark the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Church, but before that it was the Jewish festival of the harvest. It coincides with the wheat harvest (Passover coincides with the barley harvest). It corresponds to the book of Ruth (one of the Megillot), a beautiful portrayal of the redemptive work of God to someone who has experienced great loss.
Just like Ruth harvested in Boaz's fields, we are in a season of harvest. This is a harvest of righteousness, a harvest of the Word of God, which has been planted throughout the earth for centuries by our ancestors in the faith.
"Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest." - 1 John 4:35
This is not just about evangelism; it is about bringing people to wholeness, especially in their hearts.
I have felt again and again the need to pray for people's hearts to be strengthened. Heart-related illnesses account for over 40% of all deaths in the United States. I don't think that this is arbitrary or coincidental. Luke chapter 21 is a prophetic word of Jesus, which I believe was fulfilled within the generation of the people standing there (as he said in vs. 32), but it also has a further application to people in our time. This is a time when some people's hearts will fail them because of the culmination of both truth and evil. I have seen this in recent days -- some people lose hope, weighed down by worries and feel "pushed to the brink," where they make irrational and godless decisions.
verse 26
Men’s hearts will fail them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
verse 34
Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation (carousing), drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.
Psalm 27 illustrates the antidote for heart-failure.
13 I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.
"Put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." (Is. 61:3)
Waiting on the Lord. Praising Him out of a sincere heart.
Much of America has a broken heart because of unfulfilled hopes and dreams, failed expectations, and broken relationships. This is largely due to a lack of waiting for Him to show us HIS expectations and for HIM to fulfill the promises He has given us. The LORD is the strength of our hearts, and as we wait upon Him, He will answer and bring us hope and fulfill the dreams He has placed in our hearts.
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