Shavuot 5777
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Scripture Introduction
Scripture Introduction
Back in the 1960s — long before his name would be linked to sexual predatory behaviors, X-rated videotapes, and a still-unsolved murder — Bob Crane, the star of the popular sitcom Hogan's Heroes, seemed like the ideal leading man — handsome, clean-cut, likable.
As Col. Hogan, the wise-cracking leader of a ragtag group of Allied soldiers plotting subterfuge during World War II from inside a Nazi POW camp, Crane made Hogan's Heroes one of the decade's best-loved and highest-rated comedies … and remained well-liked on and off the set.
An old Peanuts cartoon shows Lucy, Linus, and Charlie Brown lying on the grass and looking at the clouds. “What do you think you see, Linus?” asks Lucy. Linus points at the clouds and answers, “Well, those clouds up there look to me like the map of the British Honduras on the Caribbean. That cloud up there looks a little like the profile of Thomas Eakins, the famous painter and sculptor. And that group of clouds over there gives me the impression of the stoning of Stephen, I can see the apostle Paul standing there to one side.” Then Lucy asks, “What do you see in the clouds, Charlie Brown?” Says Charlie, “Well, I was going to say I saw a duckie and a horsie, but I changed my mind.”
But after his tragic murder in a motel room, it came out that he was living this dark, sinister, twisted life. A married man with children, described by his children as an “ideal father.”
There were some interviews with Bob Crane’s children, who now are about my age. They said, “You know, the thing that was so bad was back in the 70s people thought that what he was doing was shameful. As a result, everybody made us feel the shame that our father did that sort of thing.”
If you ask a group of Jewish rabbis the question, “What is Chag Shavuot all about?” You will hear some great answers with a ton of Talmudic polish and if you are like me after you finish hearing all of the opinions you feel like Charlie Brown, “I was going to say duckie and horsie, but I changed my mind.”
Shame is a powerful thing, especially when it is not even a shame we earned but something inherited. Our story in Ruth is about a couple who had inherited shame, something from their past that only God could change to re-direct their future.
Today, I want to offer my best explanation for Shavuot’s ancient importance to it’s importance for us today. I want to show to you how the ancient story of Ruth, given pride of place on Shavuot, is the bridge that links the Hebrew Bible to and to our hearts.
Get your copy of the Scriptures and say it together with me.
Ha-Foke-Ba
May Adonai repay you for what you have done, and may you be fully rewarded by Adonai, God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
She said, “May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your maidservant, even though I am not one of your maidservants.”
[Analytical questions instead of a formal proposition]
The Bible uses the story of Ruth to unlock the mystery of Shavuot and at the same time ends shame.
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How does the Bible use the story of Ruth to unlock the mystery of Shavuot and at the same time end shame?
As Col. Hogan, the wise-cracking leader of a ragtag group of Allied soldiers plotting subterfuge during World War II from inside a Nazi POW camp, Crane made Hogan's Heroes one of the decade's best-loved and highest-rated comedies … and remained well-liked on and off the set.
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But after his tragic murder in a motel room, it came out that he was living this dark, sinister, twisted life. A married man with children, described by his children as an “ideal father.”
I guess that all depends on what you think the book of Ruth is all about. What is the story of Ruth all about?
There were some interviews with Bob Crane’s children, who now are about my age. They said, “You know, the thing that was so bad was back in the 70s people thought that what he was doing was shameful. As a result, everybody made us feel the shame that our father did that sort of thing.”
Bob Crane’s children who had nothing to do with the sin’s of their father point out something very powerful: they felt shame not guilt. If you read your Bible you will find there is a difference between guilt and shame.
Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).
In guilt you’re dealing with something very specific. “I broke a rule. I’ve done something I shouldn’t have done.” In shame it’s something different.
In shame we’re not so much saying, “I feel bad about something I’ve done.” With shame I feel bad about something I am. I feel bad about what I am. In guilt we’re concerned about the negative. “Here are the rules; I broke them.” In shame we’re saying, “I aspired to be something. I had a vision of what I should be. I have a sense of where I want to go, and I’ve failed.” With guilt the problem is obedience. With shame the problem is me.
Shame is not always negative. A soldier, stays on the battle field and fights to his death, knowing full well this battle can’t be won, rather than walking away and going A.W.O.L because of the shame that might bring. I am not talking about the positive kind of shame today which is a positive biblical idea see Proverbs.
I am talking about the negative shame. The shame that has caused everyone at some point in time to say, “What is wrong with me? I feel ashamed of myself.” Not ashamed of what just I did but I feel ashamed of myself, who I am. Sometimes that sense of shame has nothing to do with sin. Sometimes, like Crane’s children, it was the sin’s of the fathers. Other times it might be sense of shame because you did not get that job promotion and you think, “what was wrong with me?” Other times it could be something beyond your control all together like your physical build or lack thereof.
Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).
Shame, that sense of what is wrong with me, picks up emotional rocket fuel when the culture you live in enforces the shame cycle. If you have ever felt this kind of shame you know there is not a man made bar of soap large enough or potent enough to rid the conscious of that feeling, that moment of shame, “What is wrong with me?”
That is actually the hope of Shavuot: the end of shame. And, understanding how the Book of Ruth fits into all this is really the key to gaining the assurance that our time of shame is over.
It all depends on what you think the book of Ruth is all about. Some people think the book of Ruth is about the conversion of Ruth to the religion of Israel. The problem with this is that happens in (On Screen Bible). If that was the whole point, end the book there. Have a party, threw some confetti into the air and say, “Ruth is one of us. And she lived happily ever after.”
Ruth replied,
“Do not plead with me to abandon you,
to turn back from following you.
For where you go, I will go,
and where you stay, I will stay.
Your people will be my people,
and your God my God.
Where you die, I will die,
and there I will be buried.
May Adonai deal with me, and worse,
if anything but death
comes between me and you!”
Ruth replied,
“Do not plead with me to abandon you,
to turn back from following you.
For where you go, I will go,
and where you stay, I will stay.
Your people will be my people,
and your God my God.
Where you die, I will die,
and there I will be buried.
May Adonai deal with me, and worse,
if anything but death
comes between me and you!”
The point of Ruth is not about this but about what she does after this. More specifically, what is she doing when it says in
After Boaz ate, drank, and was in a good mood, he went to lie down at the far side of the grain pile. So she came to the grain pile quietly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.
If we had never read through the Book of Ruth and Ruth was being made into a modern day television show it would be right here that they would go to flashback. This moment is potentially very scandalous. And, many people read a scandal into this moment. A scandal that was instigated by Naomi and implemented by Ruth. If you were a filmmaker you would want to show how scandal was in their blood, it ran through their veins.
What do we know about Ruth’s background that might determine her present?
What do we know about Ruth’s background that might determine her present?
The answer begins to unfold when we get our first introduction to Ruth: she is a moabite woman. Seven different times, the author felt it necessary to remind the reader that was a Moabite: “Ruth the Moabite.” Compared to Elimelech’s family that are only one time referred to as Ephratites . Ephratithes were those living in the Bethlehem area in the ancient days of Judah.
[Analytical question setting up inductive discussion of first main point] What do we learn about our “hero’s” nerve in this earlier account
Bryan Chapell, Christ-Centered Sermons: Models of Redemptive Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013), 43.
Ruth was a descendant of Moab. You remember what brought Moab into existence? Let me tell you the short version of the story.
It all started when Abraham was about 99 years old, the scriptures say, and he was recovering from a medical procedure he performed on himself called circumcision (). While he was healing, three visitors came to his tent and though he was in recovery he serves his guests a meal and discovers that one of the angels is the Lord himself. He has a kind of chesed, kindness that is almost other worldly After this visitation, we see that Abraham has such a special relationship with God he can barter God down for the salvation of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Two of the angels go to Sodom and Gomorrah where Lot finds them in the plaza and urges them to stay at his home and be his guests. Like Abraham, he also prepared a feast for his guests. Which the Rambam suggests this act of kindness broke with town policy of raping visitors to the city if they wanted to enjoy the pleasures and riches of Sodom. Rambam suggests this is why the convened a town meeting at his door with all the city’s inhabitants ()
They had not yet lain down when the men of the city (the men of Sodom) surrounded the house—from youth to elderly, all the people without exception. And they called out to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have relations with them!”
Remember what Lot does in response?
Look, I have two daughters who haven’t been intimate with a man. Please let me bring them out to you—do to them whatever is good in your eyes! However, do nothing to these men—since they have come under the protection of my roof.”
The best the Christian world can do with this is say that Lot was being a super great host to his guests and preferring his guests even over his own children even at the cost of his daughters facing a gang rape.
This is not noble, this is twisted kindness. Abraham is begging for a child and Lot is willing to hand his daughters over to a gruesome act. You do realize, Lot could have said, “I will give you neither guest nor child and I trust in the Lord.” The angels were going to defend Lot. Do you understand what this teaches his daughters about “chesed” about kindness. It is a twisted chesed that breaks the biblical mandate that starts with kindness to family first, then to neighbor, then to public and then to the world. He literally put his family last. What does that do to the psyche of a person when Dad is ready to hand you over to the mob for the sake of his guests?
Lot is instructed to flee with his family, so he does. His wife looks back, breaking the command of God, and she is turned into a pillar of salt. Lot and his two daughters flee to Zoar, to a cave, where the daughters launch an insidious plan to have offspring because in their mind the world has come to an end ().
So, the firstfruits of his daughter’s womb is named Moab meaning “from dad.” That is the equivalent of naming your child “incest.” Can you imagine her saying, “Come here incest it is time for dinner.” He is a a child born out of twisted chesed. A child whose name will cast a shadow of shame over all generations after.
There legacy was a legacy of twisted chesed and sexual scandal
On that day, the scroll of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people. The command was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should enter into the assembly of God forever. For they did not meet Bnei-Yisrael with bread and water, but instead hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing. When they heard the Torah, they separated from Israel all of mixed ancestry.
In Ruth’s day they still were not giving bread to Israel in their time of need and that is why it says Elimelech had to go to Moab
It came to pass in the days when judges were governing, there was a famine in the land. A man went from the town of Bethlehem in Judah to dwell in the region of Moab with his wife and his two sons. The man’s name was Elimelech, his wife’s name was Naomi, and his two sons were named Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephratites from Bethlehem in Judah. They came to the region of Moab and remained there.
Then Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, so she was left with her two sons. They married Moabite women—one was named Orpah and the second was named Ruth, and they dwelt there about ten years. Then those two, Mahlon and Chilion, also died. So the woman was left without her children and her husband.
Then she got up, along with her daughters-in-law to return from the region of Moab, because in the region of Moab she had heard that Adonai had taken note of His people and given them food. So she left the place where she was, along with her two daughters-in-law, and they started out on the road to return to the land of Judah.
So Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to your mother’s house. May Adonai show you the same kindness that you have shown to the dead and to me. May Adonai grant that you find rest, each of you in the house of her own husband.” Then she kissed them and they wept loudly.
“No!” they said to her, “we will return with you to your people.”
Now Naomi said, “Go back, my daughters! Why should you go with me? Do I have more sons in my womb who could become your husbands? Go home, my daughters! I am too old to have a husband. Even if I were to say that there was hope for me and I could get married tonight, and then bore sons, would you wait for them to grow up? Would you therefore hold off getting married? No, my daughters, it is more bitter for me than for you—for the hand of Adonai has gone out against me!”
Again they broke into loud weeping. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye. But Ruth clung to her. She said, “Look, your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Return, along with your sister-in-law!”
Ruth replied,
“Do not plead with me to abandon you,
to turn back from following you.
For where you go, I will go,
and where you stay, I will stay.
Your people will be my people,
and your God my God.
Where you die, I will die,
and there I will be buried.
May Adonai deal with me, and worse,
if anything but death
comes between me and you!”
When she saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she no longer spoke to Ruth about it.
So the two of them went on until they arrived in Bethlehem. As soon as they arrived in Bethlehem the whole city was excited because of them, and the women asked, “Is this Naomi?”
“Do not call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara—since Shaddai has made my life bitter. I went away full, but Adonai has brought me back empty. Why should you call me Naomi, since Adonai has testified against me and Shaddai has brought calamity on me?”
So Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabitess returned from the region of Moab. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
It came to pass in the days when judges were governing, there was a famine in the land. A man went from the town of Bethlehem in Judah to dwell in the region of Moab with his wife and his two sons.
What do we know about Ruth’s background that might cause us to be ashamed of her before we know all the facts? The firstfruits were born out of twisted love, the rest of the harvest reflected that same twisted love, so why expect any more from this Moabite.
After Boaz ate, drank, and was in a good mood, he went to lie down at the far side of the grain pile. So she came to the grain pile quietly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.
We can estimated with pretty good odds based on the origins of Moab and the history of the Moabites what Ruth is going to do. Everything says we should already be ashamed of her because of course she is going to act out of twisted love, twisted kindness?
[Analytical question setting up inductive discussion of second main point] It is not just Ruth, we need to be concerned about. What do we know about Boaz’s background that might determine his present?
What do we know about Ruth’s background that might determine her present?
Remember, Boaz has not read 1 and 2 Samuel or 1 and 2 Kings because that will not happen for another three generations. Boaz has read to the end of his own story. He does not know his great grandson will be the King of a United Israel. The lineage of kingship within Judah had not been solidified at this point. We knew the kingship was with Judah but we had no way of knowing which of Judah’s descendants would be that king.
Historically and Textually, the only books of the Bible that were available to Boaz was the Torah and possibly Joshua. Judges was still going on at this point in time. And if any family in Judah held pride of place for kingship it would have been Caleb the son of Jephunneh () of Judah one of the faithful two spies.
After all, Boaz was the son of a former hooker from Jericho named Rahab. To Rahab’s credit, she was faithful to the God of Israel and the people of Israel and I am sure nobody in Israel held her suspect of anything. Or the son born to her.
But even before Rahab there is still something even more sinister. Another sexual scandal, not a scandal involving incest but an illicit encounter wrapped up in unrighteousness.
It was an older story that was dealing with the same problem that Ruth is dealing with, actually the same problem that Lot was dealing with. In Hebrew we call it Yebum. The person responsible for raising up descendants from the widow of a deceased relative.
Remember in , Judah has three sons. The firstorn Er he gives to wed to a woman named Tamar. He dies before they have children because he was evil. So, Judah has Onan step in to do the duty of Yebum and raise up seed but he to was evil and died because of Adonai. Then Judah promises the last child, Shelah, to tomorrow once he comes of age but Judah thought the problem was with Tamar not his boys so he keeps Shelah back from Tamar. it is a scandal in the making.
Tamar takes matters into her own hands, plays the part of a prostitute and Judah is more than willing to engage in this illicit sexual act sense he is away from home in to shear the flock.
You remember, Judah can’t pay for the act so he has to give a pledge
“What kind of pledge shall I give you?” he asked.
“Your seal, and your cord, and your staff in your hand,” she said. So he gave them to her and he slept with her, and she got pregnant by him.
You may not realize this but for Judah to have the seal, the cord, and the staff means he was already serving as a ruler figure amongst his brothers. His plot worked when he threw Joseph to the pit, Judah arose at the ruler not having the seal, the cord and the staff. All of these are symbols that rulers had in the ancient world. He is a king but an unrighteous king.
We know he has authority because he takes the initiative to try Tamar when he finds out she is pregnant a breach of the law of Yebum, even though he is in violation himself. And he will have her burned alive.
Do you recall the words she says to Judah?
As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law saying, “I’m pregnant by the man to whom these things belong.” Then she said, “Do you recognize whose these are—the seal, the cords and the staff?”
The only other time this exact expression occurs, haker-na, is on the lips of the brothers led by Judah when they say to his daddy Jacob:
In order to rescue him from their hand and to return him to his father, Reuben said to them, “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him!”
Then they sent the long-sleeved tunic, and it was brought to their father, and they said, “We found this. Do you recognize whether or not it is your son’s tunic?”
It says in
Then Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I didn’t give her to my son Shelah.” He was not intimate with her again.
Judah got to a position of authority through unrighteousness. By that same unrighteousness he had an illicit relationship with Tamar that resulted in the birth of Perez. Another child, born from another scandal. The firstfruits came from scandal from twisted righteousness. Judah does not receive the emblems of his kingship back again until he recognizes (haker-na) his unrighteousness, his shame.
Boaz a descendant of Perez, the firstfruits of twisted righteousness, and Ruth the the descendant of Moab, the firstfruits of twisted chesed/kindness, it appears the scandal is inevitable.
Two descendants of people when faced with the legal matter of Yebum, raising up seed the right way twisted both chesed and righteousness. From Lot and his daughter, the firstfruits are “moab” from Judah and Tamar his daughter-in-law, the firstfruits are twins but Peretz is the relative of Boaz.
Back from our flashback. Would there be a scandal again?
“Who are you?” he asked. “I am Ruth, your handmaid,” she answered. “Spread the corner of your garment over your handmaid, for you are a goel.” “May you be blessed by Adonai, my daughter!” he replied. “You have made the latter act of loyalty greater than the first, by not running after the young men, whether rich or poor. Now my daughter, do not be afraid! Everything you propose, I will do for you, for everyone in town knows that you are a woman of valor. Although it is true that I am a goel, there is one who is a closer goel than me. Stay here tonight, and in the morning, if he will be your goel—good! Let him do so. But if he is not willing to be your goel, then I will be your goel myself, as surely as Adonai lives. Lie down until morning.”
[Analytical question setting up inductive discussion of third main point] What does this have to do with Shavuot?
Glad you asked, Shavuot is a festival that celebrates firstfruits and culmination of the harvest
Adonai spoke to Moses saying: “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael and tell them: When you have come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you are to bring the omer of the firstfruits of your harvest to the kohen. He is to wave the omer before Adonai, to be accepted for you. On the morrow after the Shabbat, the kohen is to wave it.
It starts with the firstfruits of the Omer and then at Shavuot you bring a new grain offering and bake it into two loaves with chametz and wave it before the Lord as firstfruits:
You are to bring out of your houses two loaves of bread for a wave offering, made of two tenths of an ephah of fine flour. They are to be baked with hametz as firstfruits to Adonai.
On Shavuot, we are standing before the Lord and saying you have clothed the land with food, you have taken away the shame of its nakedness and given us a bountiful harvest look at the firstfruits because the firstfruits are a great indicator of the rest of the fruit. Firstfruits are an indication that the shame of the land, its nakedness, has been removed.
The book of Ruth prepares us for shame to come to an end on Shavuot and there to be a new firstfruit to be offered. For Ruth and Boaz, the firstfruit would be Obed and the harvest would result in King David.
Back
[Analytical question setting up inductive discussion of last main point] How does Ruth unlock the mystery of Shavuot in Acts and for us? I am so glad you asked me that question.
after the Spirit falls on them and they begin to speak in other languages the people who witness this are amazed and said
And they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to each other, “What does this mean?”
Remember what Peter says in response
But Peter, standing with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: “Fellow Judeans and all who are staying in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words.
If Peter was speaking in Hebrew it would have said, “Fellow Judeans and all who are staying in Jerusalem, Haker-Na “recognize this.”
The Greek has to use this whole expression to convey the one idea in Hebrew: Haker-na.
He wants them to recognize that this event is the fulfillment of the great prophecy of but read
‘And it shall be in the last days,’ says God,
‘that I will pour out My Ruach on all flesh.
Your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy,
your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even on My slaves, male and female,
I will pour out My Ruach in those days,
and they shall prophesy.
What does that have to do with Shavuot and ending shame?
The threshing floors will be full of grain
and the vats will overflow
with new wine and fresh oil.
“I shall restore to you the years
that the locust, the swarming locust,
the canker-worm and the caterpillar
have eaten—
My great army that I sent among you.”
“You will surely eat and be satisfied,
and praise the Name of Adonai your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
Never again will My people be shamed
You will know that I am within Israel.
Yes, I am Adonai your God
—there is no other—
Never again will My people
be shamed.”
“So it will be afterward,
I will pour out My Ruach on all flesh:
your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
“Also on the male and the female servants
will I pour out My spirit in those days.
I will show wonders
in the heavens and on the earth—
blood, fire and pillars of smoke.
The sun will be turned into darkness
and the moon into blood,
before the great and awesome
day of Adonai comes.
Then all who call on Adonai’s Name
will escape,
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
there will be rescue, as Adonai has said,
among the survivors
whom Adonai is calling.”
“For behold, in those days
and at that time, when I restore
Judah and Jerusalem from exile,
T
“You will surely eat and be satisfied,
and praise the Name of Adonai your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
Never again will My people be shamed
You will know that I am within Israel.
Yes, I am Adonai your God
—there is no other—
Never again will My people
be shamed.”
“So it will be afterward,
I will pour out My Ruach on all flesh:
your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
“Also on the male and the female servants
will I pour out My spirit in those days.
I will show wonders
in the heavens and on the earth—
blood, fire and pillars of smoke.
The sun will be turned into darkness
and the moon into blood,
before the great and awesome
day of Adonai comes.
Then all who call on Adonai’s Name
will escape,
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
there will be rescue, as Adonai has said,
among the survivors
whom Adonai is calling.”
“For behold, in those days
and at that time, when I restore
Judah and Jerusalem from exile,
How does the Bible use the story of Ruth to unlock the mystery of Shavuot and at the same end shame?
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Shimon Cepha cites Joel because his prophecy confirms that the experience of Ruth and Boaz's is now the world's experience on Shavuot.
Shimon Cepha cites Joel because his prophecy confirms that the experience of Ruth and Boaz's is now the world's experience on Shavuot.
On Shavuot, the determining factor of your relationship to God, and your own future, is no longer your past; but, your faith in the Messiah's past and the present filling of the Holy Spirit.
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Conclusion
Conclusion
On Shavuot, the determining factor of your relationship to God, and your own future, is no longer your past; but, your faith in the Messiah's past and the present filling of the Holy Spirit. Conclusion
We said at the start of this message. In guilt you’re dealing with something very specific. “I broke a rule. I’ve done something I shouldn’t have done.” In shame it’s something different.
We said at the start of this message. In guilt you’re dealing with something very specific. “I broke a rule. I’ve done something I shouldn’t have done.” In shame it’s something different.
In shame we’re not so much saying, “I feel bad about something I’ve done.” With shame I feel bad about something I am. I feel bad about what I am. In guilt we’re concerned about the negative. “Here are the rules; I broke them.” In shame we’re saying, “I aspired to be something. I had a vision of what I should be. I have a sense of where I want to go, and I’ve failed.” With guilt the problem is obedience. With shame the problem is me.
When the Messiah died he took our sins and dealt with the guilt problem by taken the penalty we deserved. Most people considered this a scandal by a later descendant of Ruth and Boaz, Yeshua our Messiah. Yet, it was not scandal that this was God’s way of solidifying his Union with His people Israel and all the nations of the world. Even more so, Scriptures say he became our firstfruits of those raised from the dead; but, it also says he took the firstfruits from His country, from the Kingdom of God and sent the firstfruits of the Holy Spirit () to bring an end to our shame and show us that God was with us in a deep union that would penetrate the outer walls of our being and enter into our hearts where he would write his Torah on our hearts and give us honor we do not deserve, an honor by association with the one who has taken up residence inside of our hearts and inspires us to speak the wonders of God.
That filling of our hearts with the Holy Spirit comes with gifts that declare his glory and benefit one another. That is next week’s message: the operation of the gifts. This week we will stop here and pray together. A body of Jews and non-Jews the two loaves offered up. I also want us to pause and I want to offer a time of prayer at the altar for those who are seeking the immersion of the Holy Spirit, for those who need a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit to bring an end to shame, to break its curse and grip and to start a new harvest, a new ground, a new firstfruits to the Lord.