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Shavuot (Pentecost) – A Time of Equipping and Empowering – Lev 23:15-
Seven weeks after Unleavened Bread, the feast of Shavuot (Pentecost) is the next appointment on the calendar. It is a celebration of God’s Spirit revealing His Word. At the first Shavuot, the Lord gave the Torah to Moses at Sinai. Fourteen hundred years later, the disciples of the Master were honoring the command and celebrating Shavuot at the Temple in Jerusalem when God’s Spirit came and empowered them to take the message of the Torah (the Gospel) and the revelation of the Messiah (the way to God) to the Nations.
In our individual lives, Shavuot marks the culmination of the greater work that began
in us at Passover and followed us through Unleavened Bread and the counting of the
Omer. Just as the first fruits of the wheat harvest are harvested at Shavuot, so
too the first fruits of Yeshua’s ministry were made evident when the Holy Spirit
was poured out on all believers during Shavuot in Acts 2.
As believers in Yeshua, the sanctification process of the Spring Feasts prepares
us to receive a new life-
Each year through this process we are reminded of our covenant relationship to God, our betrothal to Messiah, and our role as believers. Shavuot reflects the evidence of our initial fruits of growth. We are now prepared to receive an expanded message of truth and a greater revelation from God.
As the Lord’s redeemed people, obeying God’s commandments and meeting with our Master
during HIS Appointed Times provides an opportunity to experience a renewed joy of
our salvation. We are equipped again and again, year after year, with a deeper understanding
of God’s Torah message (i.e. the Gospel and God's will and wisdom for our lives)
as well as our salvation in Messiah. Having received a fresh empowerment of the Holy
Spirit during this season, we can overcome the areas of significant weakness and
sin that previously held us back from being effective witnesses of our Master. This
is the fundamental function of these Spring Appointed Times (Passover, Unleavened
Bread, First Fruits, Counting the Omer and Shavuot) in our lives today.
Pentacost (Shavuot):