Today, May 16 is
the Feast of First Fruits. The following
is an excerpt from my new book due out later this fall, Larry Teaches the
Children, and explains this celebration.
Feast of Pentecost
(First Fruits of God’s Harvest)
“Mizzur Perry,” said Lucas, one of the children visiting Eloise and I one day after school. “My friend in school was talking about Pente.. something in the Bible. “What is Pente...something and First Fruits?” he asked.
“Oh, your friend was probably talking about the Feast of Pentecost or the Feast of First Fruits,” I said. Continuing, “the Feast of Pentecost or First Fruits is celebrated 50 days from the day Jesus was crucified each year.”
“Whatiszat,” asked Julie another of the children.
“Well a long time ago most of the people were farmers or sheep herders. As farmers they planted the seeds of vegetables and fruits in the spring so that they would grow for the summer and fall,” I explained.
“You mean like the farmers in our country do today?” asked Lucas.
“Exactly,” I replied. “In the Bible days there were 7 Feasts or we would call them celebrations today.”
“Oh, you mean kinda like Christmas or Easter?” asked Julie.
“Why?” asked Michael another of the children.
“These festivals were reminders of the people of important events in history. Kinda like a link between the past and the present,” I explained. “In the Bible, God told everyone to celebrate these Festivals.”
“Why, are they important today?” asked Michael again.
“ Some people today believe these Festivals were only meant for the early Biblical times and that the need for them stopped when Christ was crucified on the cross. Believe it or not the Bible itself clearly contradicts this view,” I said.
“Whatdoya mean?”
asked Julie.
“Well, these festivals are called God’s Holy Days and He wants us to celebrate them, because He wants us to know about our future. He tells us his great purpose for our lives and reminds us how to live them. When we celebrate God’s festivals He explains His plan for our future. The biblical festivals and the Holy Days within them fall during three harvest seasons of the year…early spring harvest, the late spring harvest and the late summer to early fall harvest in the biblical countries of a long time ago,” I explained.
“Then why do we need to celebrate these today?” asked Michael.
“We need to celebrate these today to show God’s spiritual harvest of all of us to eternal life by Jesus Christ,” I said. Continuing I said, “ God’s Holy Days help us to understand His master plan…the way to truly become His people and to be with Him when we die and go to heaven.”
“Hey,” asked Lucas, “you said there were 7 festivals in the Bible.
What are they?”
“Good question, “ I said, “They are Passover, Feast of the Unleavened Bread, Pentecost that we are talking about today, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles, and the Eighth Day. We’ll talk about the others later, but for now let me try to explain Pentecost.”
“Why 7,” asked Michael. “Why not 10 or 12 or some other number?”
“Seven is a very strong biblical number meaning ‘complete,” I explained.
“Anyway these Holy Days have meaning that build upon each other. Together they reveal how God works with us and guides us to be
with Him when we die.
Let me tell you a
story,” I continued.
“This is a story about a great miracle that happened on the first Pentecost Festival way back in bible times. Remember Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead, but He didn’t go straight to heaven. The Bible teaches it was 50 days from when He rose from the dead. During these 50 days His disciples or students started telling people about Jesus and all that He did and said. In this period the Bible tells us there were 120 believers that His disciples had taught and who believed in Jesus. But on this 50th day Jesus wanted to pour out His Holy Spirit to these new believers before He went to be with His father in Heaven. So these new believers from all over the biblical world came together in one place, even though many spoke different languages and could not understand each other, they joined together in celebration of Jesus. Suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled the whole house where the 120 were sitting. They were filled with God’s Holy Spirit and began to speak with other languages as the Holy Spirit gave them that ability. The interesting thing was that the people who were speaking in different languages were gathered together hearing and understanding the speech of the disciples. This demonstrated the presence of the Holy Spirit.
At first the people who saw this miracle were astonished and some thought the statements made by the disciples as being drunk. Then one of the disciples named Peter, now filled with the Holy Spirit, explained the event to the crowd as a fulfillment of the prophet Joel’s prophecy, when he said, ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out My Spirit on all.’
God used these miracles and Peter’s preaching to add 3,000 more people to His Church in one day! These people were converts and were all baptized and received the Holy Spirit! The day of Feast of Pentecost is an annual reminder that God poured out His Holy Spirit to establish His Church, the group of believers who are led by His Spirit.”
“Whoa,” said Lucas. “What is the Holy Spirit?”
“The Holy Spirit is how God talks to us or His power if you will. Think of the wind. Can you see it? No. Can you taste it? No. But you can feel it, right? That is how God talks with us, through the Holy Spirit. We can’t see it, we can’t taste it, but when we read the Bible or learn from a religious leader we can feel it. So it is one way that God guides us,” I answered.
“Remember that God’s way of thinking makes peace, happiness and concern for others. Jesus once complimented a religious scholar who correctly quoted the basis of God’s law: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,, with all your strength and with all your mind’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ The man quoted from two books in the Old Testament, Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
Jesus confirmed in
the New Testament book of Matthew that the Old Testament scriptures are based
on these two great principles of love. Because after Jesus’ resurrection, God
lived in the Church, its members could express genuine love for one another.
Jesus said, ‘ A new commandment I give you…that you love one another as I have
loved you…’ . By this all will know that you are My disciples, ‘if you have
love for one another.’”
“So what does all this mean the Festival of First Fruits or Pente…what did you call it?” asked Lucas.
“Well remember that Pentecost or First Fruits are the first farm products to mature and open. Throughout the Bible, God uses stories of the harvest--- particularly on First Fruits or Pentecost to give examples of His plan to get us to heaven. This spring harvest of wheat and barley was the first fruits of the yearly agricultural cycle. One of the first harvest lessons of the New Testament is that Jesus Christ ‘is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.’ Pentecost serves as an annual reminder that God still works miracles, granting His Holy Spirit to those called to be the first fruit of His spiritual harvest, giving them the power to carry out His work in this world. In this world we are simply at the beginning of the harvest for the Kingdom of God.”
“So-o-o-o-o what you are saying is that God wants us to love each other as we love Him, and that He talks to us through the Holy Spirit and we celebrate that on First Fruits or Pentecost to remind us of all that.” said Julie.
“ I think you’ve got it,” I said, “now lets get some milk and cookies Eloise has made for us.”
*****
May God Bless and keep you and yours!!!
Larry
Feast of Pentecost
(First Fruits of God’s Harvest)
“Mizzur Perry,” said Lucas, one of the children visiting Eloise and I one day after school. “My friend in school was talking about Pente.. something in the Bible. “What is Pente...something and First Fruits?” he asked.
“Oh, your friend was probably talking about the Feast of Pentecost or the Feast of First Fruits,” I said. Continuing, “the Feast of Pentecost or First Fruits is celebrated 50 days from the day Jesus was crucified each year.”
“Whatiszat,” asked Julie another of the children.
“Well a long time ago most of the people were farmers or sheep herders. As farmers they planted the seeds of vegetables and fruits in the spring so that they would grow for the summer and fall,” I explained.
“You mean like the farmers in our country do today?” asked Lucas.
“Exactly,” I replied. “In the Bible days there were 7 Feasts or we would call them celebrations today.”
“Oh, you mean kinda like Christmas or Easter?” asked Julie.
“Why?” asked Michael another of the children.
“These festivals were reminders of the people of important events in history. Kinda like a link between the past and the present,” I explained. “In the Bible, God told everyone to celebrate these Festivals.”
“Why, are they important today?” asked Michael again.
“ Some people today believe these Festivals were only meant for the early Biblical times and that the need for them stopped when Christ was crucified on the cross. Believe it or not the Bible itself clearly contradicts this view,” I said.
“Well, these festivals are called God’s Holy Days and He wants us to celebrate them, because He wants us to know about our future. He tells us his great purpose for our lives and reminds us how to live them. When we celebrate God’s festivals He explains His plan for our future. The biblical festivals and the Holy Days within them fall during three harvest seasons of the year…early spring harvest, the late spring harvest and the late summer to early fall harvest in the biblical countries of a long time ago,” I explained.
“Then why do we need to celebrate these today?” asked Michael.
“We need to celebrate these today to show God’s spiritual harvest of all of us to eternal life by Jesus Christ,” I said. Continuing I said, “ God’s Holy Days help us to understand His master plan…the way to truly become His people and to be with Him when we die and go to heaven.”
“Hey,” asked Lucas, “you said there were 7 festivals in the Bible.
What are they?”
“Good question, “ I said, “They are Passover, Feast of the Unleavened Bread, Pentecost that we are talking about today, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles, and the Eighth Day. We’ll talk about the others later, but for now let me try to explain Pentecost.”
“Why 7,” asked Michael. “Why not 10 or 12 or some other number?”
“Seven is a very strong biblical number meaning ‘complete,” I explained.
“Anyway these Holy Days have meaning that build upon each other. Together they reveal how God works with us and guides us to be
with Him when we die.
“This is a story about a great miracle that happened on the first Pentecost Festival way back in bible times. Remember Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead, but He didn’t go straight to heaven. The Bible teaches it was 50 days from when He rose from the dead. During these 50 days His disciples or students started telling people about Jesus and all that He did and said. In this period the Bible tells us there were 120 believers that His disciples had taught and who believed in Jesus. But on this 50th day Jesus wanted to pour out His Holy Spirit to these new believers before He went to be with His father in Heaven. So these new believers from all over the biblical world came together in one place, even though many spoke different languages and could not understand each other, they joined together in celebration of Jesus. Suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled the whole house where the 120 were sitting. They were filled with God’s Holy Spirit and began to speak with other languages as the Holy Spirit gave them that ability. The interesting thing was that the people who were speaking in different languages were gathered together hearing and understanding the speech of the disciples. This demonstrated the presence of the Holy Spirit.
At first the people who saw this miracle were astonished and some thought the statements made by the disciples as being drunk. Then one of the disciples named Peter, now filled with the Holy Spirit, explained the event to the crowd as a fulfillment of the prophet Joel’s prophecy, when he said, ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out My Spirit on all.’
God used these miracles and Peter’s preaching to add 3,000 more people to His Church in one day! These people were converts and were all baptized and received the Holy Spirit! The day of Feast of Pentecost is an annual reminder that God poured out His Holy Spirit to establish His Church, the group of believers who are led by His Spirit.”
“Whoa,” said Lucas. “What is the Holy Spirit?”
“The Holy Spirit is how God talks to us or His power if you will. Think of the wind. Can you see it? No. Can you taste it? No. But you can feel it, right? That is how God talks with us, through the Holy Spirit. We can’t see it, we can’t taste it, but when we read the Bible or learn from a religious leader we can feel it. So it is one way that God guides us,” I answered.
“Remember that God’s way of thinking makes peace, happiness and concern for others. Jesus once complimented a religious scholar who correctly quoted the basis of God’s law: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,, with all your strength and with all your mind’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ The man quoted from two books in the Old Testament, Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
“So what does all this mean the Festival of First Fruits or Pente…what did you call it?” asked Lucas.
“Well remember that Pentecost or First Fruits are the first farm products to mature and open. Throughout the Bible, God uses stories of the harvest--- particularly on First Fruits or Pentecost to give examples of His plan to get us to heaven. This spring harvest of wheat and barley was the first fruits of the yearly agricultural cycle. One of the first harvest lessons of the New Testament is that Jesus Christ ‘is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.’ Pentecost serves as an annual reminder that God still works miracles, granting His Holy Spirit to those called to be the first fruit of His spiritual harvest, giving them the power to carry out His work in this world. In this world we are simply at the beginning of the harvest for the Kingdom of God.”
“So-o-o-o-o what you are saying is that God wants us to love each other as we love Him, and that He talks to us through the Holy Spirit and we celebrate that on First Fruits or Pentecost to remind us of all that.” said Julie.
“ I think you’ve got it,” I said, “now lets get some milk and cookies Eloise has made for us.”
May God Bless and keep you and yours!!!
NOTE: This letter is sent to anyone interested in receiving these inspirational notes. There is no charge and you are encouraged to forward these to anyone you think would benefit from reading them. If you would like to receive them direct, just send an email to me at larryperry@att.net and ask.
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