Shavuot

Key Scripture:

Exodus 19:5,6 (KJV)   Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. 

SUMMARY

The Jews celebrate many festivals. The Day of Pentecost or Shavout is one such important day in their history. This sermon is an explanation of what this day means for the Israelites and what it means even today for those who have received Jesus Christ into their hearts.

SERMON POINTS

Shavout!

Exodus 19:5,6 (KJV) Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

The Bible records the miraculous and incredible way the Lord God Almighty brought His people out of Egypt. The night of their exodus was remembered as the festival of Passover. Every year the Jews celebrate Passover to commemorate the day they became a nation. Fifty days after Passover, the Israelites are camped at the foothills of Mt. Sinai. It is here God comes down on fire, thunder and smoke on Mt. Sinai with a proposal to make Israel His own bride. This day is celebrated every year as the Day of Pentecost or Shavout.

This is the day Israel became a spiritual nation. It is the day the Lord God wed Israel to Himself and took them as His bride.

This is not as easy as it is said. Like every marriage, accepting the Lord’s proposal to be His own people came with a marriage contract.

The Torah was the marriage contract God extended to His people. This was His condition that if Israel paid attention to keep His commandments at all times, the 613 commandments and obeyed them completely, they will always be His chosen people, His royal priesthood.

Moses as a representative on behalf of the people of Israel received this message from the Lord and presented it to the people (Exodus 19:7). He was to take back the response of the people to the Lord. The Jews believe that this proposal was extended to many nations around the world but they wouldn’t accept God’s call. Now it was Israel’s turn. Some were excited, others hesitated to accept God’s invitation to be His wedded society.

The Torah became the marriage contract between the covenanted parties. This didn’t hold the commandments Israel was not to violate, but, the Torah study was a sign of love rather than burden. It is the daily interactions between man and God.

Hosea 2:14,19,20 (KJV) Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.  I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the Lord. 

However the people of Israel went astray from the Lord God, her Husband and Maker. Many things like other gods, fame, money and power led them astray. But the Lord keeps alluring His people out of His love, to in turn make them store houses of His love.

This love is what made God break every protocol and descend into this sin-stricken world, in search of mankind, to win them back again.

However when He came to His own and His own did not receive Him (John 1:10). But to all who receive Him, He gives us the power and privilege to become His children (John 1:12).

Therefore Jesus Christ came into this world and died on the cross to redeem mankind through the shedding of His spotless precious blood and rising up from the dead on the third day. It is through His death and resurrection we have hope for an eternal life. He came in search of a bride, to take out a people for Himself as His own.

The feast of Shavout helps us understand this very reality.

Acts 2:1 (KJV) And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

Now to understand the depth of what Shavout means to us, as believers in Jesus Christ

We need to do a parallel study on what happened at Mt. Sinai on the first day of Pentecost and what happened in the Upper Room in Acts 2 on the Day of Pentecost.

Fifty days after the Passover when Jesus was crucified and ascended to heaven, on the day of Pentecost, the disciples were gathered together and praying, waiting for the gift from the Father which Jesus Christ had promised.

When they were in one accord praying in the Upper Room, the Holy Spirit descended into that room like the sound of a mighty rushing wind and descending as tongues of fire on each one gathered there, enabling them to glorify God in different tongues.

The day we learn about the Lord Jesus Christ is our Day of Passover, we are redeemed from death into life. But the day we receive the Holy Spirit is the day we become completely His own. The Lord knew we would accept His proposal to be His chosen person that’s why He came in search of us (1 Peter 2:9).

Just as the Torah was the sign of God’s love to His people, the Holy Spirit is the sign of our marriage to God, God’s sign of love to His bride.

He is the marriage contract between us. The Holy Spirit gives us that love, and passion drawing us to God at all times. He binds us as the wedding ring, to be one with the Lord on the earth. Once you have the Holy Spirit in your heart, you enter into a love relationship with God.

It is this passionate love for the lord that makes us work for Him, serve Him, seek and worship Him without having nothing to hinder us. We began to give all to Jesus all for Jesus. This love is what is echoed throughout the Bible.

Deuteronomy 7:7,8 (KJV) The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

The Lord’s proposal to be wedded to His people is this that He chose them not because they were qualified, though they were few in number He chose them out of so many. Just like He chose us because He loved us. This is what the Lord brings to the table that if you love Him back with the same passionate love, He makes His covenant of love with us for a thousand generations. No one can promise such faithfulness.

It is not a time bound love that God expects from us that blooms on a Sunday service and dwindles when troubles come. But a lifetime of commitment to Jesus; companionship with Jesus.

This commitment to the Lord draws you closer to Him. You begin to get to know the Lord in an intimate way. You become one with His spiritual body the Church of Christ (Ephesians 5:30).

You begin to do all you can to know the heart of this Husband and do all you can to expand God’s kingdom on earth.

  

Are you His bride today?

 2 Corinthians 11:2-3 (KJV) 

“I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”

We have seen the blessedness of being wedded to the Lord. To be the bride of Christ means to not give yourself to anything else except to the Lord. That means we function for Jesus Christ alone. Glorifying Him in all that we do becomes our top priority. We rise up to the work of God. Our God hates prostitution. He wants us completely for Him. He requires our best. At times we tend to give our best to the pressures of life. At times our family, work and the society we live in, steals our sincere and pure devotion.  This makes us lose out on the relationship we have with Jesus. Let our live be loyal (Isaiah 54:5,6).

John 15:12 (KJV) This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

Another thing to be a bride of Christ is to follow His commandment.

What did Jesus say?

His commandment is that in all that we do to one another, we are to do it out of the fullness of God’s love that He has poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5).

Because of this we begin to lead a life of love. Loving one another, loving our enemies and praying for our persecutors. This is the expression of God’s love. Making the love of God available for those really in need of it.

 

CONCLUSION.

Have you seen the Lord as your passionate Lover and Husband?

Have you experienced that love that transcends all barriers?

Like every marriage, knowing God is a journey a one in which you see Him everyday through the study of His word and prayer. You have to long to know more about this Lord as your Husband and do what pleases Him. This lifetime commitment begins with you accepting His marriage contract, who is Jesus Christ. Whoever accepts Jesus He promises to come and make His home with them.

“Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” -John 14:23.

What a beautiful promise and privilege! May we love the Lord with the same passion He loves us with.