Feast of Pentecost 2025
(Sermon Notes) By Warren Zehrung 6/1/2025
Part One
We begin with the Offertory service: On this Feast of Pentecost, we will be looking at God’s Holy Spirit at work.
All the annual Holy Days — the Feasts of the Lord — point to God. We recognize the works of God on these Holy Days.
Feast Days, like Pentecost, reflect God’s worthiness of adoration and the divine Honor and Glory that is due only to God. These Holy Days are special days.
Pentecost is a Feast to the Lord (Leviticus 23:4, 15).
Pentecost has to do with God’s Holy Spirit; …it has to do with God’s Law; …it has to do with God’s Covenant, …and it has to do with the harvest of the Church of Firstfruits. It is about God the Father and Jesus Christ sharing their one Spirit with us. The world at large has no concept of this truth.
Pentecost is called the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Firstfruits—as we see in:
Exodus 34:22 You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest.
This is pointing to the fact that the people of God will be harvested. From the Wave Sheaf (Jesus Christ) to Pentecost is seven weeks. A time of maturing and growing — ready for the harvest.
Deuteronomy 16:9: “You shall count seven weeks to yourselves. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time you first began to put the sickle to the grain (the time of the wave sheaf). [Signaling to all Israel that they may begin their harvest season]
In the New Testament, we call this Day—the Feast of Pentecost, which means to count 50 days.
Picture this, if we could step back to a place—a vantage point where we could see the entire Plan of God from the very beginning, what would we see?
We would be able to witness the Pre-creation events as in John 1:1, all the way forward to the Throne of God in the New Heavens and the New Earth Revelation 22).
The beloved apostle John speaks of Pre-creation—way before Genesis 1:1.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word (Jesus Christ), and the Word was with God [the Father], and the Word was God.
John 1:2 The same [Jesus Christ] was in the beginning with God.
Jesus is the hands-on creator God – at the behest of His Father.
‘Behest’ means – at another’s orders, authority or command (Hebrews 1:2).
Isaiah 45:18 For thus says the LORD that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. [Jesus affirms that He is the Creator God.]
John 1:3 All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. [If it exists, Jesus made it.]
John 1:4 In Him [Jesus Christ] was life; and the life was the light of men.
Jesus, Himself is the light of men. Light in the Bible is often used as a metaphor for life, happiness, righteousness, and understanding – especially spiritual understanding and spiritual wisdom which reflect God’s character and attributes. Light is often a symbol for righteousness and goodness. God is life-giving spiritual enlightenment – and Jesus Christ is the epitome of that Light. The light of God has far-reaching connotations. This light is the wisdom of God, it is His truth and His law; it represents His perfect way that leads to life everlasting.
The Best Examples of Creation at the Hands of Jesus
John 1:5 And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
Colossians 1:16 For by Him [Jesus Christ] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Colossians 1:17 And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.
Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hidden in God [the Father], who created all things by Jesus Christ:
The “fellowship of the mystery!” Pick up on the fellowship concept. Pentecost has a lot to do with Christian fellowship and the caring and service to one to another, looking out for each other — the Christian love of one another.
Now, “the light shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not,” is a strange saying with a lot of meaning. First of all, the words of Jesus were not well received by a spiritually darkened world…
But this phrase, “the light shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not,” also harkens back to Genesis 1:2 where we read:
Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [chôshek] was upon the face of the deep.
That refers to a very early time in creation when the earth was still mostly un-formed yet consisting mostly of dust, debris, and disarray – before Jesus formed the beautiful earth that now exists. We will see that this earth and all that is in it, was created in distinct steps. Genesis Chapter One clearly shows that Jesus didn’t just suddenly “poof” this earth and all that is in it in a single moment. God reveals that He created in separate distinct steps day-by-day: Day 1: Light, Day 2: The sky and heavens, Day 3: The earth, and vegetation, Day 4: The Sun, moon, and stars, Day 5: Living animals, fish and winged fowl, Day 6: Land animals and humans.
From our vantage point overseeing entire Plan of God we would next observe creation itself – as described mostly in Genesis Chapter One.
I might point out to you that there is a lot of light – even 4 days before our Sun was in its place:
Genesis 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven [that refers to the Sun, Moon and stars] to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: [That is how we are able to determine by the lunisolar calendar when the various appointed Feasts of the Lord are.]
Genesis 1:15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
Genesis 1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also [to measure the years].
Genesis 1:17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, [repetition for emphasis!]
Genesis 1:18 And to rule over the day [the Sun] and over the night [the Moon], and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. [Again as in v. :16, repetition for emphasis!]
That comes as a little bit of a surprise because the Sun (which gives us daylight), Moon and stars were not even in their places until the Fourth day of creation.
From God’s perspective, the Sun, the Moon, and the stars were not set in their respective places until the Fourth day according to God’s timing. God had said, “Let there be light,” before the First day was completed (v. 3). Cosmology is the physical science of the creation, origin, and development of the universe.
Genesis 1:19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
Genesis 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.
The fourth day was the time God established the Sun and the heavens as we know them, and yet the first words of Jesus Christ in the Bible are His command on the First day:
Genesis 1:3 God said, “Let there be light:” and there was light.
Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament show His handy-work.
Psalm 8:3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
Psalm 8:4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visit him?
Continuing, from our wonderful vantage point of overseeing the entire Plan of God: A great deal – a whole lot, had to have occurred before the physical universe came into being. It was the manifold gathering of all-encompassing Wisdom God had even before Jesus said, “Let there be light.” (Genesis 1:3)
God refined His Wisdom to the Nth degree—even 7 times the Nth degree (Psalm 12:6)—to perfect Godly Wisdom.
O, Divine Redeemer
Special Offertory Music by Todd Thatcher Vocalist
O, Divine Redeemer — Words and Music by Charles Gounod:
Lyrics:
“Ah, turn me not away, receive me though unworthy.
Ah, turn me not away, receive me though unworthy.
Hear Thou my cry, hear Thou my cry,
Behold, Lord, my distress!
Answer me from Thy throne,
Haste Thee, Lord, to mine aid!
Thy pity show in my deep anguish, Thy pity show in my deep anguish.
Let not the sword of vengeance smite me,
Though righteous Thine anger, O Lord!
Shield me in danger, O regard me!
On Thee, Lord, alone will I call!
O divine Redeemer, O divine Redeemer!
I pray thee grant me pardon, And remember not
Remember not my sins!
Forgive me!
O divine Redeemer! I pray Thee, grant me pardon
And remember not, remember not, O Lord, my sins!
Save in the day of retribution
From death shield Thou me, O my God!
O divine Redeemer, have mercy!
Help me Savior!”
END: Offertory
Recent Comments