Sunday, April 8 Sunday, May 27 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Acts 2:1-2 A Corporate Prayer and Fasting Experience Culminating with: Fresh Anointing Service - On the Day of Pentecost Sunday, May 27 @ 9:00 AM New Birth Missionary Baptist Church 6400Woodrow Road Lithonia, GA 30038 770.696.9600 www.newbirth.org
Greetings in the Name of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! In Acts 2:1-2, Disciples of Christ gathered in one place on the Day of Pentecost. As they waited on one accord, the Holy Spirit, as promised by Jesus, came upon them. Over the next 50 days we will again embark upon the Road to Pentecost. The Holy Spirit will take us on a journey that leads to an incredible encounter on Pentecost Sunday, May 27. Remember, the journey is just as important as the destination. Our journey will lead us along the path to Pentecost with a focus on The Power Of One: Praising God, Loving People and Producing Power! Please follow along in this devotional so that we can all grow together on one accord and experience the signs, wonders and miracles that God has designed for us. As you set aside consecrated time with Him, He will give illumination and impartation in ways beyond your imagination. Amazed By His Grace! Bishop Eddie L. Long Senior Pastor, NBMBC Page 1
Pentecost Pentecost, which means the 50th day, is one of the prominent feasts in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection. Pentecost is celebrated seven weeks (50 days) after Easter Sunday, hence its name. Pentecost is historically and symbolically related to the Jewish harvest festival of Shavuot, which commemorates God giving the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai fifty days after the Exodus. Pentecost celebrates the arrival of God s Word and His Spirit. Attire for Fresh Anointing Service (May 27, 9:00 AM) As we celebrate The Power Of One in our May 27 service, we will wear all white, which symbolizes the purity, holiness and sanctity of God. We are committing to holiness and are in anticipation of His glory! Fresh Anointing Seed Each person is asked to sow a seed of $50.00 during the May 27 service ($1.00 per day). These seeds are being sown towards the harvest that we are praying for in our families, government, schools, churches, and children. 6:30 AM Morning Prayer Call Join us Monday - Friday for our Prayer Call @ 559-726-1050 or Overflow line: 530-881-1050 Page 2
The 50 Days to Pentecost: Praising God, Loving People, Producing Power Let s follow the footsteps of the Apostles and take a look into how they praised God, loved people, and produced power during and after their journey on the Road to Pentecost. For forty days after His crucifixion, burial and resurrection, Jesus Christ spent time with the Apostles speaking with them about the Kingdom of God before He ascended to Heaven. Over the next ten days, 120 of His Followers gathered together and they agreed that they were in this for good, completely together in prayer (Acts 1:14, The Message Bible). On the 50 th day after Christ s resurrection, When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting (Acts 2:1-2). This tight-knit group of believers had an incredible encounter with the Holy Spirit because they were full of passion, fully committed and unified in their devotion to the Lord. They prayed together, they worshipped together, and together, they received power. Together, they witnessed. Together, they overcame every obstacle. As one, they gained greater strength. Unified, they increased exponentially. In solidarity, they impacted nations for years to come. Page 3
This early church was characterized by signs and wonders. God constantly met their needs and the needs of those to whom they ministered. Miracles were common occurrences because they believed that God could do the impossible. The Apostles and the Church loved people. They were not afraid to share their testimony so that others would come to know and believe in the Lord just as they had. Through their openness and transparency, multitudes were saved. The unusual power displayed in and through the lives of the believers gave them influence in the nations. They became a beacon of hope to those near and far. God used a small committed, unified band of 120 people to turn the world upside down! (See Acts 17:6). May our lives so reflect the power of Christ that we truly become His duplicates in the earth, as a visible manifestation of our invisible God. People are looking for Christ. May they find Him in us and may He use us to impact the world with His Resurrection Power. As we embark upon this 50 day journey, this devotional will be our road map and the Holy Spirit will be our guide. Each day we will pray together in The Power of One. For the first two weeks, we will focus on The Power of One: Praising God. Prayer and fervent belief in our Lord will be our compass. During the following two weeks, our path will lead us to The Power of One: Loving People as we deepen and widen our love and extend Christ s salvation to those in need of a Savior. In our final three weeks, we will turn our attention to The Power of One: Producing Power and develop stronger unity, take Christ to the nations, and experience miracles. Page 4
The Power of One: Praising God The Power of One: Praising God focuses on Praying and Believing. Through prayer and believing we are fully persuaded that God can do all things. Our confidence is in Him and His Word. It gives us the reassurance that God not only has the ability to perform His Word but He will do it for all of His children. It causes us to expect that whatever we pray for will manifest. Through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ we have been justified, sanctified and restored to our original state as Kings and Priests (see Revelation 1:4-6). And because we have come into agreement with what God has already spoken, when we are on one accord and in one place nothing is impossible. Week One Focus: Prayer Scripture: Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. Day One: Sunday, April 8 (Acts 1:9-14) Prayer: Abba Father, we enter Your gates with thanksgiving and praise upon our lips for Your Goodness and Mercy endures forever. We come into agreement that we will commit ourselves to putting You first. We commit to seeking Your Kingdom and drawing near to You. We have accepted Your Invitation to know You more intimately. We declare we will not be distracted by our schedules or agendas, but we will set aside time each day to sit at Your Feet. We are expecting to receive revelation, knowledge and wisdom like never before. With one voice, we declare it is so in Jesus name. Amen. Page 5
Day Two: Monday, April 9 (Acts 4:24-31) Prayer: Father, we give all glory and honor to You. How magnificent are Thy Works. With a voice of unity we declare that prayer will become the foundation in our families, communities, marketplace, government and schools. Your Kings and Priests command order wherever our feet tread. We declare that our prayers in unity will cause every foundation that is built on sand to be shaken and be replaced with the solid rock of Christ. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Day Three: Tuesday, April 10 (Acts 2:17-18) Prayer: Lord, Our King, we cry Holy, Holy, Holy for You are Lord God Almighty. Pour out Your Spirit upon us, young men shall see visions, old men shall dream dreams, Your Sons and Daughters shall prophesy. Your fresh anointing rests upon us that we may do the work of the ministry. We boldly go where we have never been before trusting You and standing on Your Word. We do not look back, but continue to press forward. We are seeking Your perspective on every situation we encounter; decreeing and declaring that what You have revealed to us in the Spirit realm will be manifested here on Earth. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Day Four: Wednesday, April 11 (Acts 10:44-48) Prayer: Our Lord and Savior, we honor You this day with the fruit of our lips. We acknowledge that You are All Knowing, All Seeing, All Mighty and All Powerful. You will not withhold any good thing from us. You chose us before the foundation of the world to do Your good pleasure. We seek You early, we hear Your Voice, leaning not on our own understanding but in all of our ways we acknowledge You. Boldly we proclaim the goodness of our Lord to all we encounter. Allow the fire that burns within us to ignite those around us. Let our songs of praise be contagious, let it reach to the farthest ends of the Earth. Page 6
No longer can we contain our joy, praise and worship of who You are, in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Day Five: Thursday, April 12, 2012 (1 st Corinthians 12:12-27) Prayer: Father, we are one, made of many members of different functions knitted together for edification, exaltation, encouragement and comfort. We meditate and speak on whatever things are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report and of virtue. Esteeming others higher than ourselves, speaking to one another in songs and hymns and declaring the Word of God is manifested in each others lives. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Day Six: Friday, April 13, 2012 (Acts 1:4-8) Prayer: Great King, we delight in Your Word, meditating on it day and night. We acknowledge, apply and heed the patterns demonstrated throughout the Scriptures. During the next 44 days we will wait with great expectation through prayer and supplication on Your Spirit to manifest the same power that fell on the day of Pentecost. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Day Seven: Saturday, April 14, 2012 (Acts 12:5-18) Prayer: Lord, we have positioned ourselves in a posture of prayer and worship. Our hearts have been tenderized by Your Word. Our seed will bring forth good fruit and that fruit shall remain. We have been elevated to a higher level of thinking, no longer restricted or confined to limitations. Your Word will be action and a living demonstration of Truth in our lives as we stand on one accord now and forever more, in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Page 7
Week Two Focus: Believing Scripture: Acts 11:21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. Day Eight: Sunday, April 15, 2012 (Mark 9:24) Prayer: Thank You Lord, for we are fully persuaded that there is no greater and mightier God than You and that You are the Great I AM. For we know that believing is the beginning of a glorious relationship with You as Abba Father. We thank You for the ability to model after You so that multitudes will come into the full knowledge of who You are through our faith and belief in You. We pray that we will not only say that we trust You, but will truly trust and place our hope in You without wavering or being double minded (believing one day and doubting the next). Lord, we declare that we are deeply rooted like the palm tree that cannot be uprooted or broken. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Day Nine: Monday, April 16, 2012 (John 20:29) Prayer: Father we believe in Your Resurrection Power and the same power that raised Jesus from the dead has raised us. For we are not like doubting Thomas who needed to see the nail prints in Jesus Hands or His Side. We know that You can do exceedingly above what we may ask or think. Your Word says: Blessed are the ones who believe, but have not seen. We declare that we are the blessed ones who believe; although we may not have not seen the blessing manifest. We trust You and we know that it will surely come. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Day Ten: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 (Luke 17:5) Prayer: Heavenly Father it was by believing with our heart and confessing with our mouth that we first accepted eternal life with You and were received into Page 8
Your Kingdom. The same believing or faith that got us into your Kingdom now has to keep us in Your Kingdom. Lord, increase this faith in us so that we are steadfast, consistent and committed to bringing multiplication to Your Kingdom. Lord, thank You for increasing our faith in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Day Eleven: Wednesday, April 18, 2012 (John 11:25-27) Prayer: Lord we believe. In the power of one, we have all things in common with Jesus Christ who Himself lived by faith here on Earth. So shall we live by faith. We thank You for the multitudes who have been given eternal life because of Jesus model of faith. We will continue to believe and have faith in the midst of every struggle as we remember Your Word which says that all things work together for the good of those who love You. Thank You, Lord, for being our Kinsmen Redeemer who paid the price for us as the Resurrection and the Life. We have been redeemed from the curse of the law, forgiven, justified and sanctified in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Day Twelve: Thursday, April 19, 2012 (Acts 13:48) Prayer: Gracious Father in heaven, we believe that You are Sovereign, on the throne and reign forever. We know as we grow in wisdom, stature and in favor with You and all men that Your Kingdom will increase. Then many will come to know You and Your goodness that endures forever. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Day Thirteen: Friday, April 20, 2012 (2 nd Corinthians 5:7) Prayer: Father as we enter into the Power Of One, we understand how essential believing every word that proceeds out of Your Mouth is to our walk with You. We declare and decree this day that we, individually and corporately, will walk by faith and not by sight. We will be led by the Your Spirit, destroying the power of lack by becoming the givers that sold and gave to those in need. We refuse to be moved by what we see; but only moved by Your Word. Partakers of your divine Page 9
nature, strong in You Lord and in the power of Your might and doing all things through Your Son who has strengthened us. We believe that through the power of one nothing is impossible for Your Believers. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Day Fourteen: Saturday, April 21, 2012 (Acts 16:4-5) Prayer: Lord, You have proven that Your Word is true over and over again and that we are more than conquerors. We thank You Father, as we increase in our faith others will be compelled to believe and have faith in You. Open our eyes and allow us to see that the tomb is empty and the large stone has already been rolled away allowing us to enter into Your Presence. We believe that as we have faith in You and in Your Word increase will flood our gates and the windows of Heaven will open and pour out blessings that we will not have room enough to store them. We believe that the blessings are about to overtake us in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Page 10