April 26, 2024
Pastor Darin Youngberg
<< Next Entry Previous Entry >>
Daily Bread
Posted on Monday, October 30, 2017 by Bro_D
Daily Bread Oct. 30, 2017
Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.
The day of Pentecost of 1 of 3 annual feasts (or as we would call it, a holiday) --- a day the people set aside for a special purpose. The day of Pentecost came 50 days after Passover – a specific day to celebrate that was set aside by the LORD in Lev. 23. It was ordained by God as an offering of sacrifice of first-fruits.
This day, the disciples were gathered together, probably in the same upper room they had celebrated the Last Supper. It was a room they gathered in frequently (Acts 1:13). They weren’t in the city to celebrate Pentecost, they were gathered waiting, waiting to see what would happen next – perhaps waiting for a sign from the LORD. We know that the Holy Spirit came that day and filled the believers, and we know that Peter seized this opportunity to preach the Gospel and we know that the LORD saved over 3000 people that day --- it was a wonderful day in the life of the disciples – it was the birth if you will of the New Testament church.
What caught my attention was the fact that so many people gathered for the day of Pentecost. In their mind it was a day to celebrate. It wasn’t just another day – it was a specific day the LORD had ordained. It got me to thinking, there are many holidays we celebrate – Christmas is one that is fast approaching. I can’t think of a single family at FBCO that won’t celebrate Christmas – that won’t set aside some time, maybe even a whole day, to celebrate with family what we call the Birthday of Jesus. I will! I will celebrate with family on Christmas eve and most likely on Christmas Day as well – nothing wrong with it. However, celebrating Christmas is not a celebration ordained by God. How about Easter, I know FBCO will have a big time celebration on Resurrection Sunday, we are even planning a community outreach to share the Gospel with Oronogo – nothing wrong with those things either. Except we don’t see a biblical mandate that calls for us to do those things. As a matter of fact, really, there are only two ordinances (mandated activities of the church) in the New Testament – baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Yes, the New Testament church is given commands on how to conduct their lives and ministries, but there are only two ordained “celebrations” the church is to observe. We observed the Lord‘s Supper yesterday – IT WAS AWESOME! If you have been at FBCO for any length of time, you know we rarely do things the same way twice! As we took a stroll thru the Word of God, we could see the Spirit of God leading people, falling upon them in both conviction and great joy! Two weeks ago, we had scheduled the Lord’s Supper, but the LORD convicted me that as a church, we weren’t prepared. So, we spent 2 weeks preparing as a church, thru prayer and meditation on God’s Word. Many of you commented on what the LORD revealed to you during those two weeks, and how wonderful it was to be so close to Him --- it is awesome to hear those testimonies! I know for me personally, it was a time when the LORD led me to fast & to pray --- which led to a deeper relationship with Him. We don’t observe the Lord’s Supper every Sunday, that is neither here or there, the Bible says, “as often as you do…” – I pray that each and every time FBCO celebrates the Lord’s Supper, we are prepared to experience an encounter with our Lord and Savior. I pray that FBCO understands the magnitude of what it means that the LORD has ordained this celebration – that we never take it lightly, that we never see it as trivial and that each and every time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, there is nothing that would cause us to miss the celebration – for each and every time we celebrate, we are proclaiming His death, His burial, His resurrection AND HIS RETURN! IF we don’t celebrate, then what are we proclaiming?