By Toni Ford
Over the last six to eight weeks, I have encouraged many people to join the Unite714 prayer movement that began the first week of the coronavirus pandemic. If you have not joined, it is definitely not too late! Simply visit www.unite714.com.
Unite714 began one afternoon with 25 ministry leaders on a conference call. Throughout this pandemic it has grown into a global prayer movement and includes tens of thousands of churches and millions of believers from all over the world.
One of the focuses of this prayer movement is praying and believing that this virus will be eradicated in the name of Jesus and that we will see a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Unite714 will host a Global Prayer Event on Friday, May 29, at 10 a.m. Central Time via Facebook Live on our Facebook page, as well as YouTube Live.
The event will also be broadcast on multiple television networks throughout the week. Whether you have joined Unite714.com throughout this pandemic or not, we hope you will join us on May 29 as we unite in prayer.
Some people may ask what the meaning or the significance of Pentecost is, called “Shavuot” in Hebrew. Pentecost is one of the three spring pilgrimage festivals mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures when God commands the Jewish people to go up to Jerusalem and worship at the temple (Exodus 23:14-17). The first two spring festivals are Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The offering of first fruits is also mentioned in Leviticus 29:9-13. Each of these festivals were designed by God to focus the hearts and minds of the Jewish people on His redemptive message.
Passover is a beautiful prophetic portrait of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The Feast of Unleavened Bread reminds us of the sinless nature of the Savior, and the offering of first fruits points to a Messiah who would rise as the first fruit from among the dead. The final spring celebration is Shavuot, which literally means “weeks” in He-brew, from the root word for “seven.” We read this in Leviticus 23:15-16: “From the day after the Sabbath – the day you bring the bundle of grain to be lifted up as a special offering – count off seven full weeks.
Keep counting until the day after the seventh Sabbath, 50 days later. Then present an offering of new grain to the Lord.” Shavuot is celebrated on the 50th day, which in Jewish tradition is the day when Moses received the Ten Commandments from God on Mt. Sinai. In Christian tradition, this same festival is called Pentecost, which is the Greek term for “fifty.”
Therefore, if Passover was fulfilled in the death of the Lamb of God, the Feast of Unleavened Bread in His sinless character and the first fruits offering in His resurrection, how does the first coming of Jesus fulfill Pentecost? It was on this day that God selected this Jewish festival as the day He would send His Holy Spirit.
In Acts 1:4-5 we see where Jesus had commanded his disciples and other believers to wait in Jerusalem, “until the Father sends you the gift He promised.” We then read in Acts 2:1-4 that after many days of waiting, the presence and power of the Holy Spirit fell upon the disciples on the 50th day after Passover, on Pentecost!
We might not know for sure when this pandemic will end; however, we do know that God is at work in the waiting, and that was one of the lessons of Pentecost. Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord.”
We also know that our God is greater than any pandemic and that He longs for His children and His world to receive a fresh outpouring of His Holy Spirit if we are willing to receive!
Please join us on May 29 and every day leading up to Pentecost as we continue to pray for the spiritual and physical healing over our land!
If you would like me to join you in prayer please email me at tonif77@gmail.com. I would love to pray for you!