Shavuot 5782

Me

I don’t know how many of you have ever ridden a motorcycle, but it is—as most of you know—one of my favorite things to do. But, as freeing as it is to ride on a motorcycle and feel the wind blowing through your beard (keep in mind, I don’t have hair anymore), it is actually a pretty complicated feat of physics and dexterity to ride a motorcycle.

When I ride my motorcycle I am constantly having to counter-steer to turn the bike in whatever direction I am wanting to go. When standing still at a traffic light I have to have a foot on the ground to not let the bike fall over. When taking off I have to pic my feet up and roll on the throttle in such a way to get it moving forward before the bike tries to tip over…

Then I’ve got the reality that every limb is involved in riding… The throttle grip and front break lever is on my right hand, the clutch is on my left hand, and I have various controls for lights and blinkers and horn and such beside each hand. My rear break lever is on my right foot, and my gear shifter is on my left foot. So, in order to control the bike all four limbs have to work in perfect unity at all times…

And trust me, I have made the embarrassing mistake of letting off the clutch before I had the bike fully kicked into second or third and almost popped a wheely unexpectedly because of too much throttle in too low a gear. I’ve also made the mistake of not giving enough throttle before releasing the clutch trying to take off at a light and stalling the bike… That is always extremely embarrassing.

But, when all the physics and dexterity come together perfectly, riding a motorcycle is one of the most exhilarating and freeing feelings in the world.

We

The communal aspect of the Body of Messiah is much like this. We are all brought into the Body of Messiah by the same sacrifice, so we all have equal grounding in the Body. And we are all filled with the same Ruach HaKodesh. But, we are all individuals with different backgrounds, life experiences, years of faith, education backgrounds, and so on… And we all may have different gifts of the Spirit which are active in our lives. But, our differences don’t make us better or worse than anyone else in the Body. Instead, our differences make us each the exact unique key to the puzzle when we are all focused on unity in the Ruach HaKodesh. When we all come together in the power of the Ruach and play our own special part in unity with everyone else, we are unstoppable for the Kingdom of Messiah.

And the enemy knows this… and he hates the very thought of our unity… And he loves to do anything he can to tear down our unity in the Ruach.

God

This evening we begin the celebration of Shavuot, also known as Pentecost. For the past seven weeks the entire Jewish world has been counting the Omer with great expectation from Pesach to Shavuot. This, by the way, is also where the word Pentecost comes from… We count the Omer for 49 days, exactly seven weeks and Shavuot means weeks. In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Tanakh for Hellenized Jews, the word for Shavuot is Pentekostes which means 50 days. And Pentekostes is the same word used in Acts 2 when the disciples were gathered for Shavuot at the Temple and encountered the outpouring of the Ruach HaKodesh. And Pentekostes is where we get the transliterated word Pentecost in English.

Now Shavuot is an extremely important and prophetic Moed of Adonai. It is one of the Shalosh Regalim in which all of Israel was to appear before the Lord at the Temple in Jerusalem. It is the day in which the events of Exodus 19 and 20 occured, with the Lord revealing His Shechinah to B’nei Yisrael in the fire upon Mount Sinai and B’nei Yisrael heard the Baht Kol speak forth the Aseret HaDibrot. It is also the exact same day that we read about in Acts 2 in which the Body of Messiah first experienced the outpouring and indwelling of the Ruach HaKodesh.

Within Judaism there are two differing approaches to counting the Omer. The Torah tells us to count the Omer during the week of Unleavened Bread, or Passover, beginning with the first day after the Shabbat. First is the Pharisaic tradition which begins the count on the first day after the High Shabbat, which would be the 16th of Nissan every year, which has Shavuot land on a floating day on the Gregorian calendar in the same manner as all the other Moedim. The second is the Sadducean tradition in which the Omer count begins on the day after the weekly Shabbat during Unleavened Bread or Passover, which has Shavuot land on a Sunday every single year, no matter what.

Judaism has debated which of these is accurate for centuries… However, the majority of Judaism has accepted the Pharisaic tradition beginning on the day after the 15th of Nissan. This is also what I believe to be the accurate interpretation as well and what we do here at CMC. However, within Messianic Judaism this debate is still long standing with some rabbis holding firmly to one while others hold firmly to the other. Yet, this year is a very interesting year, this year both the day after the 15th of Nissan and the day after the weekly Shabbat of Passover were on the exact same day… This year all of Judaism and Messianic Judaism began their counting of the Omer on Yom Rishon, the first day of the week, Saturday night and Sunday. This means that all of Judaism is celebrating Shavuot on the exact same day this year, Saturday night, June 4th and Sunday June 5th.

To add to this, the church’s celebration of Pentecost, which Biblically and historically is the same celebration as Shavuot and celebrates the same events (whether the church is fully aware or not), this year is also celebrated on Sunday, June 5th. And this is important because often Pentecost in the church can be as much as a month before or after Shavuot is observed in Judaism. So, not only is all of Judaism (including all of Messianic Judaism) celebrating Shavuot as one, in unity this year… But the church is also celebrating Pentecost (which is really Shavuot) on the exact same day as well. This means that all of the Body of Messiah, both Messianic Judaism and the church, will be celebrating the events of Shavuot/Pentecost in unity. Now, most of the rest of the Body of Messiah may not realize this, as most of the church may not even recognize the connection between Shavuot and Pentecost, or even between Exodus 19 and 20 and Acts 2. But, when the Body of Messiah is in unity there is always something special and powerful available.

With this in mind, I want to focus on this idea of Unity and the true value of Unity for the Body of Messiah as we consider Shavuot this evening. But we’re going to approach it perhaps from an angle maybe you’ve never thought of before. As we dig in, I want us to consider this principle this Shavuot…

One of the most important tools the Body of Messiah has available to us is unity, and the enemy is likely more afraid us being in unity than we are hungry for it…

(Repeat)

Let’s take a look at Exodus 19 and the original Shavuot together.

Exodus 19:3–8 TLV

Moses went up to God, and Adonai called to him from the mountain saying, “Say this to the house of Jacob, and tell Bnei-Yisrael, ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagle’s wings and brought you to Myself. Now then, if you listen closely to My voice, and keep My covenant, then you will be My own treasure from among all people, for all the earth is Mine. So as for you, you will be to Me a kingdom of kohanim and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you are to speak to Bnei-Yisrael.” So Moses went, called for the elders of the people, and put before them all these words that Adonai had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, “Everything that Adonai has spoken, we will do.” Then Moses reported the words of the people to Adonai.

Here at Mount Sinai we witness the fledgling B’nei Yisrael becoming a nation, but even more so we witness Israel being betrothed to Adonai. Tradition tells us that the events of Mount Sinai were actually that of a wedding between Israel and Adonai, that the cloud of fire over the Mountain was a Chuppah, and the B’nei Yisrael proclaiming all together, in unity, Kol d’ber Adonai na’aseh (Everything that Adonai has spoken, we will do) is equivalent to the bride and groom saying “I do”. Lastly, the Aseret HaDibrot were something akin to wedding vows or a ketubah, a covenantal document rather than just a list of do’s and don’ts.

With that said, aside from Israel as a whole hearing the audible voice of God altogether, I think one of the most important details of Exodus 19 and 20 is actually the reality of unity that we see in B’nei Yisrael. Here they are, several million strong (if you figure 603,550 men of fighting age, plus those guys younger and older than fighting age, plus women and children, plus those of the nations that left Egypt with them) and all in unison, all in unity proclaim, in preparation for a powerful, world altering move of God, that everything God says we will do.

The Lord spoke the Ten Words to all of Israel, they were Ahm Echad (One People) in unity as they experienced a divine encounter at Sinai. But, they were also in unity as they rejected hearing His voice any more out of fear of dying if they hear it again. They were unity after Moses began, at their request, to receive further download of the Torah that was originally meant for the whole nation to hear but they rejected it. They were in unity when Adonai called Moses, in Exodus 24, to come up the mountain to receive the covenant and Israel proclaimed, multiple times, everything Adonai says we will do…

But, unfortunately, Israel was also in unity as they demanded Aaron to build a golden calf, declared it as the god that brought them out of Egypt, and then began to worship it… So we can see, not just here in Exodus, but throughout the history of our Jewish people that Israel had figured out that unity works both ways… Unity can be used in faithfulness to Adonai and be a powerful resource, but unity can also be used to run from the arms of God and into the arms of the world and be a destructive resource.

But, Exodus 19 and 20 and Acts 2, which are both absolutely important passages to focus on on Shavuot as they both occured on Shavuot, but even more so they are prophetic mirrors of each other. The events of Mount Sinai were a prophetic foreshadowing of an even greater divine reality. And, as I said earlier, the Mount Sinai was a betrothal ceremony between Israel and God and we see that in Acts 2 we see a reenactment of the betrothal ceremony at Sinai.

Let’s take a look at Acts 2 for a moment…

Acts 2:1–4 TLV

When the day of Shavuot had come, they were all together in one place. Suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And tongues like fire spreading out appeared to them and settled on each one of them. They were all filled with the Ruach ha-Kodesh and began to speak in other tongues as the Ruach enabled them to speak out.

This is important for us to grasp… In Exodus 19 we see fire upon the mountain and in Acts 2 we see tongues like fire upon the disciples filled with the Ruach HaKodesh. In Exodus 19 Israel hears the sound of a heavenly shofar blast and in Acts 2 the disciples encounter a sound like a mighty rushing wind (which if you’ve ever been through a hurricane or a severe thunderstorm, you’d recognize can sound very much like a shofar). In Exodus 19 Israel encounters thunder and lightning and from the thunder hears the Baht Kol and in Acts 2 the disciples were all filled with the Ruach HaKodesh and began to speak in other tongues as the Ruach enabled them. So much like at Sinai, all those present at the Temple on Shavuot in Acts 2 heard the divine voice speaking through the talmudim as the Ruach empowered them.

But verse 1 of Acts 2 is key…

Acts 2:1 TLV

When the day of Shavuot had come, they were all together in one place.

They were all together in one place… The early Body of Messiah were all together in unity in one place. Yeshua had told them not to leave Jerusalem before His Ascension to wait on the Ruach HaKodesh.

Acts 1:4–5 TLV

Now while staying with them, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father promised—which, He said, “you heard from Me. For John immersed with water, but you will be immersed in the Ruach ha-Kodesh not many days from now.”

So they already had a great expectation for something world altering on the horizon. Not only were they waiting patiently with great excitement because Yeshua told them to, they were waiting with expectation because they were counting the Omer awaiting Shavuot and it is likely that Yeshua ascended into heaven on the 40th day of the Omer, ten days before Shavuot.

And at the command of Yeshua the disciples remained in Jerusalem, they continued counting the Omer awaiting Shavuot, and they knew to expect the outpouring of the Ruach HaKodesh. They may not have understood how or what it would look like, but they knew something huge was about to happen, and I’m fairly confident we can safely assume they knew it would occur on Shavuot.

So, they’re altogether in unity in Jerusalem at the Temple for Shavuot which is one of the Shalosh Regalim (not some random upper room in an apartment in Jerusalem). They know Yeshua told them that in a few days they would be immersed in the Ruach. They have remained together in unity, praying together, studying together, eating together, teaching together since Yeshua ascended. This earliest Body of Messiah is perhaps the most unified it has ever been.

One of the most important tools the Body of Messiah has available to us is unity, and the enemy is likely more afraid us being in unity than we are hungry for it…

Then, while they are altogether in unity at the Temple on Shavuot all of the sudden a Sinai-eque event occurs and they are filled with the Ruach HaKodesh and everyone witnesses it happen. Keep in mind, Shavuot is a pilgrimage feast, there were thousands upon thousands of Jews and proselytes at the Temple celebrating Shavuot, so it is no surprise this huge commotion was witnessed by thousands. Then we read…

Acts 2:5–13 TLV

Now Jewish people were staying in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. And when this sound came, the crowd gathered. They were bewildered, because each was hearing them speaking in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “All these who are speaking—aren’t they Galileans? How is it that we each hear our own birth language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and those living in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and parts of Libya toward Cyrene, and visitors from Rome (both Jewish people and proselytes), Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring in our own tongues the mighty deeds of God!” And they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to each other, “What does this mean?” Others, poking fun, were saying, “They are full of sweet new wine!”

As the Ruach came upon them they began to speak in tongues and there were Jewish people and converts from many different tribes and languages hearing these guys from the Galilee suddenly start speaking in their own languages after having witnessed the Ruach fall on them. And they were likely extremely confused because these guys from the Galilee likely only spoke Hebrew and/or Aramaic… Yet thousands upon thousands are hearing them speak clear as day in their own native tongues.

I don’t believe that what was being heard was jibberish and random noises… I don’t believe Peter and the other disciples suddenly began to speak hundreds of other languages miraculously… No, instead I believe that what occured in with the outpouring of the Ruach HaKodesh was a reversal of the curse of Babel.

Genesis 11:1–9 TLV

Now the entire earth had the same language with the same vocabulary. When they traveled eastward, they found a valley-plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. They said to one another, “Come! Let’s make bricks and bake them until they’re hard.” So they used bricks for stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come! Let’s build ourselves a city, with a tower whose top reaches into heaven. So let’s make a name for ourselves, or else we will be scattered over the face of the whole land.” Then Adonai came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of man had built. Adonai said, “Look, the people are one and all of them have the same language. So this is what they have begun to do. Now, nothing they plan to do will be impossible. Come! Let Us go down and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand each other’s language.” So Adonai scattered them from there over the face of the entire land, and they stopped building the city. This is why it is named Babel, because Adonai confused the languages of the entire world there, and from there Adonai scattered them over the face of the entire world.

Adonai said the people were all one, in other words they were in unity, and they all spoke the same language and nothing they could plan would be impossible because they were in unity. God is setting a powerful spiritual precedent here in Genesis 11, when we are in unity—most importantly in the Ruach HaKodesh--we are unstoppable. But, because the people in Genesis 11 were in unity for a purpose that was not glorifying to God. So, He confused their language so they would not understand each other any longer. He confused their hearing so they could no longer be in unity.

Then in Acts 2 after the Ruach is poured out He reverses the confusion of their hearing, and when Peter and the others were filled with the Ruach and began to speak in Hebrew and Aramaic, God reversed the confusion of those hearing them so that they could hear exactly what was being said. And I believe in complete faith that what the disciples were speaking in these tongues was the Gospel message.

Amidst all the hysteria at the Temple Peter begins to preach about what was taking place. As he does he tells those listening that what had just happened was exactly what God had promised in Joel 2…

Acts 2:14–21 TLV

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. These men are not drunk, as you suppose—for it’s only the third hour of the day! But this is what was spoken about through the prophet Joel: ‘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. And I will give wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth beneath— blood, and fire, and smoky vapor. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and glorious Day of Adonai comes. And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of Adonai shall be saved.’

He continued to share more about what was happening and continued to preach the Gospel to all who would listen. Then we read...

Acts 2:37–41 TLV

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the emissaries, “Fellow brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and let each of you be immersed in the name of Messiah Yeshua for the removal of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Ruach ha-Kodesh. For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far away—as many as Adonai our God calls to Himself.” With many other words he warned them and kept urging them, saying, “Save yourselves from this twisted generation!” So those who received his message were immersed, and that day about three thousand souls were added.

See, the key to all of this, as we see at the tower of Babel, as we see at Mount Sinai, and as we see at Shavuot in Acts 2, is God’s people in unity for a divine purpose. The disciples stayed in Jerusalem after the ascension for another ten days, in perfect unity together, encouraging one another, teaching one another, praying for and with one another, breaking bread together, and counting the Omer together. And when Shavuot finally approached, the fruit of their labors in unity paid off and a move of God occured that has shifted the very foundations of the world around us.

Now, we don’t need Moses or a prophet to receive God’s word and deliver it to us… We no longer need to be afraid of hearing the Baht Kol again… Now the Rauch HaKodesh is alive and well within the Bride of Messiah. What’s sad is that since the first century the Body of Messiah has only become more and more fractured and less and less united. Despite the evidence of the power of unity in the Ruach HaKodesh we have broken down nearly every ounce of unity imaginable. And little by little each denomination, each individual has made their small impact for the Kingdom of Messiah… But we are divinely destined to be a part of something so much greater than a small impact.

As the Bride of Messiah we have been bought by the Blood of the Lamb to change the world. We have been empowered by the Ruach HaKodesh to change the world. We have each been blessed with gifts and talents in the Ruach to change the world. But, all the while we ignore the most important piece of the puzzle… We are called to be in unity in the Ruach HaKodesh. And to paraphrase what is said in Genesis 11 at the Tower of Babel, when we are in unity we are unstoppable.

One of the most important tools the Body of Messiah has available to us is unity, and the enemy is likely more afraid us being in unity than we are hungry for it…

You

If you were to take an audit of your walk with the Lord thus far today, would you say you’ve spent more time legitimately seeking unity in the Ruach in your local congregation and in the greater Body of Messiah? Or would you realize that unity really wasn’t a big priority, rather being seen, or validated, or recognized or just proving yourself right was of more importance?

If Yeshua were standing here today telling you, as He did the disciples in Acts 1, to remain put and in unity in a small nit group and wait for a tremendous outpouring, would you be able and willing to do so? Or would you be more focused on a personality in the group you don’t like? Or how someone in the group dresses weird? Or how some of these people have different gifts of the Spirit than I do and I don’t understand theirs? Or maybe focus on someone else getting more face time or recognition than you? Or any of literally thousands of other useless distractions the enemy wants to derail you with...

We

If our worship team will make their way back up to the stage.

The Lord pointed out our greatest strength in Genesis 11 and the Tower of Babel… Unity… But, as we study the Bible we realize that they only beneficial and Kingdom worthy manner of unity is unity in the Ruach HaKodesh. When we set aside all the random things that we allow to divide us and strive for unity, true unity in the Body of Messiah we become powerhouses for the work of the Kingdom of Messiah. Much like Sinai in Exodus 19 and Jerusalem in Acts 2, we we come together as Ahm Echad (One People) in unity in the Ruach HaKodesh the ground will quake, the heavens will open up, the Voice of God will be heard through us, and the harvest laying right before us is immeasurable.

1 Corinthians 12:4–13 TLV

Now there are various kinds of gifts, but the same Ruach. There are various kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are various kinds of working, but the same God who works all things in all people. But to each person is given the manifestation of the Ruach for the benefit of all. For to one is given through the Ruach a word of wisdom, to another a word of knowledge according to the same Ruach, to another faith by the same Ruach, to another gifts of healings by the one Ruach, to another workings of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Ruach activates all these things, distributing to each person individually as He wills. For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of the body—though many—are one body, so also is Messiah. For in one Ruach we were all immersed into one body—whether Jewish or Greek, slave or free—and all were made to drink of one Ruach.

This Shavuot, let us begin to put unity in the Ruach HaKodesh, being Ahm Echad in the Ruach HaKodesh above all else. Our unity in the Ruach is the key to revival… and it is the key to making the enemy mad and the world awaken to the truth of Messiah Yeshua.