Preparation for Pentecost 6-1-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I watch and wait for the coming of Your Spirit afresh in my heart again today. You are always with me, always within me, but in these moments of deliberate surrender, I am more with You. Help me decrease as You increase more and more each day. ... "While staying with them, He ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. 'This,' He said, 'is what you have heard from Me; for John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now' " (Acts 1:4-5). There are fifty days of preparation from Passover to Pentecost. These are days of preparation in the seasons of our heart in faith from the crucifixion of our flesh, the cleansing of the blood of the Lamb, and the resurrection of new life at Easter until the fresh filling and baptism of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. It speaks of the life-long process of spiritual transformation -- being sanctified in spirit, soul, and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23). We must continue to decrease as You continue to increase in every area of our lives (John 3:30). As we are continually emptied of ourselves, You are continually filling us with You -- baptizing us, immersing us, saturating us in the fullness of Your Holy Spirit to transform us into Your holy nature layer by layer, step by step, "from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18). This coming Sunday, we will join the body of Christ throughout the earth to celebrate the day of Pentecost. Again this year, there is also a call going out to the nations for a Global Day of Prayer. You will be glorified in our prayer and worship so that on this Pentecost Sunday "the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Habakkuk 2:14). But there is a preparation before Pentecost. You continue to call Your disciples "to wait for the promise of the Father." There is something in the waiting that causes us to focus on the One we are waiting for, the One who comes to baptize us with His Holy Spirit not many days from now. In the watching and the waiting, we begin to hunger and thirst in growing anticipation for a fresh encounter of Your living presence where we "may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:19). Your first disciples heeded Your call and obeyed Your command. They pulled away from the labors of life and ministry, "constantly devoting themselves to prayer" (Acts 1:14). Prayer is the preparation for Pentecost. Watching and waiting in constant devotion is the attitude of heart You long to fill with the fullness of Your Spirit. Let me sense Your leading and obey Your commands for the ways You are calling me to watch and wait in constant devotion for a deeper baptism of Your Holy Spirit in my life. "When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability" (Acts 2:1-4). On Sunday, let Your people who are called by Your name throughout the earth gather "together in one place" -- the place of prayer, the place of surrender, the place of hungering and thirsting for more of You, more of Your nature, more of the fullness of Your presence and power in our lives. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled" (Matthew 5:6). Let Your mighty rushing Wind come set our hearts ablaze with the Fire of Your Spirit 'til we run out of our own words to praise Your holy name! In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please check out the Global Day of Prayer events this Sunday June 6th in your area: http://www.gdop-usa.com/ Our events in the Lexington, Kentucky area for the 3:00 gathering at Rupp Arena and the prayer sites across town for the 10 Days of Preparation are at: http://www.metrolexprayer.org/ Messiah Ministries will host the Friday prayer time focused on healing at 12:00 noon at the Prayer Tower at Centenary United Methodist Church, 2800 Tates Creek Rd. Please come join us! Also, I am very excited to be joining in the preaching on Pentecost this Sunday at Centenary for all three services -- please come join us if you can and pray for us if you can't. To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's (and now cd's) for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, write to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com"Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502: www.messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Daily archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com