Port City Faith Church
Sunday Morning - May 24th, 2026
  • Battle Belongs
  • Shout To The Lord
  • What A Beautiful Name
  • This is Pentecost Sunday, the Birthday of The Church. It is the day that the Holy Spirit came upon the Disciples.
    And there is a rich history behind Pentecost.
    In fact Pentecost was one of the Three biggest Feasts in Jerusalem, one of the pilgrimage festivals, when everyone was required to come to Jerusalem to make an offering.
    In the Old Testament it is called Shavuot/the feast of Weeks.
    It takes place 7 weeks after Passover - 7 weeks is 49 days, the festival takes place on the 50th - Pente in Greek.
    And on that day they were supposed to make an offering of grain to the Lord, and provide the priests with flour and bread, and make sacrifice, it was a early harvest festival.
    Other than these sacrifices, the Bible Doesn’t say what was being celebrated, unlike every other festival.
    But there are clues that when you do the math, reveals something interesting.
    Exodus 19:1–2 ESV
    On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain,
    On the 3rd New Moon, basically at the start of the third month,
    Israel left Egypt on the 14th or 15 day of the first month - at passover.
    So some simple math says ~60 days (two full months) - 15 days = 45ish days.
    Then Moses goes up and down the mountain to talk with God and then with the people, so add another day,
    then this happens Exodus 19:10-11
    Exodus 19:10–11 ESV
    the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
    God tells people to wait for the third day, so add three more days - we are now at 49 or 50 days from passover.
    Exodus 19:16–20 ESV
    On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
    God shows up to make a covenant with the People of ISrael, appearing in visible from at the top of the mountain,
    and then God Speaks:
    Exodus 20:1–17 ESV
    And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. “You shall not murder. “You shall not commit adultery. “You shall not steal. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
    On the very first Pentecost, God gave the 10 commandments, and established the Old Covenant.
    And the Jews of Jesus’s time had this figured out, and so the celebration of Pentecost was the celebration of the establishment of the Old Covenant, and God giving them the 10 commandments.
    Knowing this, Let’s look at what happened on THE DAY of Pentecost when the Church was Born.
    The Disciples are in Jerusalem, they have been told to wait here after Jesus ascended into heaven,
    Acts 1:8 ESV
    But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
    So they know they are waiting for the Holy Spirit to come, and empower them.
    they have been here about 10 days, the day of Pentecost when the people of ISrael celebrate the giving of the 10 Commandments and the Establishment of the Old Covenant is here
    And the Holy Spirit arrives.
    Acts 2:1–13 ESV
    When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”
    And then the Holy Spirit rushes upon them with several signs, there is a sound of wind - like a storm, similar to how God appeared at Sinai, and the Spirit appears like fire, and the disciples begin speaking in new tongues.
    Which then allows visitors from all over the world to hear the Disciples speaking and preaching in their native languages.
    Nearly 1500 tears after the giving of the 10 commandments at the first Pentecost, now God gives the Holy Spirit and establishes the New Covenant with His Church.
    Now Why tongues of fire? why that specific sign?
    well this is How John the Baptist Described what Jesus would do:
    Matthew 3:11 ESV
    “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
    So the Holy Spirit was supposed to baptize people with Fire.
    The Holy Spirit often appears in the Old Testament as fire or a cloud, that’s how He guided the people of Israel through the wilderness.
    But Fire from heaven appears in a couple of interesting places in the Old Testament,
    Back at Mount Sinai, Exodus 40:34-38
    Exodus 40:34–38 ESV
    Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.
    Once the Tabernacle was completed the Glory of the Lord filled it, and no one could enter, to perform the duties of worship, they had to undergo a purity ritual, and So in Leviticus chapter 9, we see the priests being dedicated to the work within the tabernacle,
    And they make their first offerings to the lord on the Bronze Altar,
    Leviticus 9:22–24 ESV
    Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he came down from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.
    And when they put the offering on the Altar fire from God, that is fire from heaven consumes it,
    God himself lit the fire for the bronze altar, and then the preist were commanded this:
    Leviticus 6:12–13 ESV
    The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not go out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall arrange the burnt offering on it and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.
    God Provided the fire, the Priests were to keep it burning. It was a sign that God accepted the tabernacle as his dwelling place with man, his temple, his place of worship,
    Fast forward over 400 years.
    King Solomon builds the temple in Jerusalem, and everything is bigger and grander, and he gets everything ready and holds a celebration with the people, and once it is ready he prays a prayer of dedication and then:
    2 Chronicles 7:1–4 ESV
    As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house. When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the Lord.
    The Lord sends fire from heaven to consume the offerings on the altar, Igniting the fire of the altar, which again the priests were commanded to never let it burn out.
    It was a sign that God accepted the temple as his new dwelling place on Earth, as his place of worship
    So going back to the day of Pentecost, and the Holy Spirit comes and fire rests on each and every one of the disciples, it is the sign that God has accepted each follower of Christ as his dwelling place, his place of worship, his temple.
    And so once that fire is burning within us, we cannot let it go out.
    Paul Explicitly says this in his letter to the Corinthians
    1 Corinthians 6:19–20 ESV
    Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
    So Pentecost was 3 things: It was the establishment of the Church - that is each and every believer in unity with one another - as the new dwelling place for God on earth, as His temple, It was the giving of the Holy Spirit to empower believers for ministry, and it was the establishment of the New Covenant.
    And Peter on the day of Pentecost points this out in his sermon:
    Acts 2:14–21 ESV
    But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: “ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
    Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
    No longer do we have to offer sacrifices,
    No longer do we have to perform rituals,
    No, we simply need to call upon the name of the Lord.
    Well how do we do that?
    That’s exactly what those listening to peter asked.
    Acts 2:37–41 ESV
    Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
    Repent and be baptized, and you will receive the Holy Spirit.
    Repent means to turn around - turn your back on your old life of sin, and turn toward Jesus,
    Be baptized - for the forgiveness of your sins.
    Now Church, the Bible is clear it is faith in Jesus that saves you,
    But one of the first things that Jesus calls you to do once you repent and put your faith in him is to be baptized
    We have a baptism service next week. We will baptize with water for repentance - like John the baptist did.
    Receive the Holy Spirit
    Jesus then promises to give you the Holy Spirit, to baptize you with the Spirit, with fire, to empower you with gifts to share the Gospel.

      • Exodus 19:1–2ESV

      • Exodus 19:10–11ESV

      • Exodus 19:16–20ESV

      • Exodus 20:1–17ESV

      • Acts 1:8ESV

      • Acts 2:1–13ESV

      • Matthew 3:11ESV

      • Exodus 40:34–38ESV

      • Leviticus 9:22–24ESV

      • Leviticus 6:12–13ESV

      • 2 Chronicles 7:1–4ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 6:19–20ESV

      • Acts 2:14–21ESV

      • Acts 2:37–41ESV

  • Oh What High And Holy Privilege
Port City Faith Church
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