Episode Transcript
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The Bible is a unified story of a holy God and his beloved creation.
Each story, personality, are all beautifully woven into the DNA of this love story.
Creation will transgress its creator and the creator will come with compassion to save
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and restore creation.
Welcome to the HHP Podcast.
My name is Chris Franke and I am the Senior Pastor of HFF Church in Oklahoma City.
Join me and others from around the country as we talk all things Bible, Church, and family.
We may be right, we may be heretical, but that's for you to decide.
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Drop a like, a share, a comment, subscribe, and let's get to it.
Last week, this week, a couple more weeks, we're going to be looking at the concept of
the Omer, the preparation for the Feast of Pentecost, the miraculous things that happened
in the history of the Church, the history of Israel, and then some real life applications
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for what do we do with that.
This week we're going to look at the Omer and the New Covenant, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
Jesus was crucified during Passover.
He rose on first fruits.
The same day that the Omer offering was to be presented.
This isn't a coincidence.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15-20, "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the
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first fruits of those who have fallen asleep."
There is some argument, there's some debate, some discussion, whether Jesus rose exactly
on first fruits or not.
I personally think most of that is irrelevant to the testimony of why it's important.
Everything in the scripture is to testify to the Creator in the perfect will of the Creator's
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creation.
So whether it was exactly that date or it wasn't is really irrelevant to the point that's
being made.
The point is that God is first in all things.
He was first when He hovered over the waters.
He was first when it says Jesus was slain before the foundation of the world.
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He was first.
And so by Him are all things.
Through Him all things are created.
In the perfect design, He is the essence of all we should be seeking.
So Jesus is the first fruits.
He is the Omer offering.
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He is presented to God as the first and the best of all creation.
Something that Adam couldn't do, something that Moses couldn't do, something that I
cannot do.
He is the first and the best of all who have been fully human.
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Now unlike us, He was also fully God.
This is a concept, a portion of a concept known as Christology.
100% fully human, 100% fully God.
And in His resurrection is the pledge that a greater harvest for those who believe in
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Him is yet to come.
Terminology like "sons of the kingdom" are used throughout the Gospel to talk about the
Jews in the first century.
We find the kingdom as a whole is a concept that is used a lot.
The kingdom is not the kingdom of Israel per se on the earth.
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It is the kingdom of heaven.
And Jesus is the first of all things.
And His resurrection as a pledge to a greater harvest was for a kingdom harvest that has
not happened yet.
We then see that exactly 50 days later from His resurrection, that pledge of a greater
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harvest on what was traditionally known as Shavuot, which is now called by many Pentecosts.
The Holy Spirit or in Hebrew known as the Ruach HaKodesh was poured out on believers
as we see Luke write about in Acts chapter 2.
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Just as the Israelites had received the Torah, the teachings of Moses given from God to Moses
on Mount Sinai on the same day back in the Old Testament, the early church received the
Holy Spirit in Jerusalem.
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Pentecost wasn't just an invitation.
It was a fulfillment of a feast that had already been established in the Torah.
This is just another way that Jesus kept His word when He said, "Do not think that I have
come to abolish or nullify the law and the prophets."
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I surely have not.
I've come to make them full.
I've come to bring them to their fulfillment.
I've come to bring them to the fullness.
I've come to bring them to be complete.
Pentecost wasn't an invitation that came after the resurrection.
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It was Shavuot.
It was established in the Old Testament.
The Holy Spirit wasn't something that came after the resurrection.
The Holy Spirit in the Bible shows us His involvement in interactions with creation
all throughout the Torah, the prophets, and Jesus Himself in the book of Hebrews tells
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us that there has been forever, once and for all, the living.
How do we live the Elmer today?
If you're listening to this podcast, I think it's pretty safe to say that you believe that
Jesus is the Messiah.
The Elmer shouldn't just be some, "Oh, every day I count the Elmer.
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Yea, it's day five.
Yea, it's day six.
I've done the commandments of what the Lord said.
Good for you.
Awesome."
It should be deeper than that.
The Elmer should remind us that God is a God of process.
God is a God of process.
We live in a world that demands instant results.
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We want to lose weight instantly.
We want to get in shape instantly.
We want to get a promotion instantly.
But the Bible teaches that growth takes time.
From salvation to transformation, from deliverance to discipleship, we are invited to walk with
God day by day, trusting that He is shaping us into the image of His Son.
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I personally believe, from what I see in Scripture, we never actually accomplish the goal.
We are a part of the process with God, but ultimately we are supposed to be growing and
learning and evolving and being more like the new creation every day of our life until
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we cease to exist from this life.
The counting of the Elmer is an invitation to one, reflect on God's provision; two,
prepare for His promises; three, recommit to His purposes.
Just as the Israelites counted each day in anticipation of receiving the Word of God,
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we too can count each day, looking toward spiritual growth, greater understanding, and
a fresh outpouring of His Spirit.
We must find value in the testimony of Jesus as the King of our lives, and then we must
walk in the testimony of the King's authority.
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This testimony should have us preparing and cultivating our hearts, minds, and lives.
Not just counting days.
After all, the time between planting and harvesting is when you nurture and maintain so that growth
can happen and that growth should produce fruit.
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you