Prayer Works Morning Devotion: May 1, 2025

"Waiting On The Holy Spirit - Getting Our Hearts Ready for Pentecost"

"Numbers 11:16-17"

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Good morning, good morning my brothers and sisters in Christ. Let us go before the Lord in prayer.

Heavenly Father, we are so thankful for this new day. We're so thankful that we have this opportunity to assemble together, even virtually heavenly Father, but nevertheless, we are together seeking your word.  

So, Father, I make myself available to you, Heavenly Father. And I pray that you will help me to not be self-conscious but God conscious. So be with me, Heavenly Father, as I seek to bring a word of encouragement.  

And I pray that you allow your Holy Spirit to speak through me heavenly Father and I pray this with gratitude and thanksgiving in Jesus name, Amen.

So once again, good morning my brothers and sisters in Christ for the past few weeks, we have been preparing our hearts for Pentecost by studying who the Holy Spirit is.  

And we continue to study what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit this morning. And this morning, we're going to focus on Numbers 11:16-17, which says so the Lord said to Moses, gather to me 70 men of the elders of Israel whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them.  

Bring them to the Tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you. Then I will come down and talk with you there.

I will take of the spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you that you may not bear it yourself alone.  

Before I share my reflections on this morning's focus Scripture, I'll give a quick recap of what we've been studying this week. The week began with Pastor Zee walking us through Acts 1:1-11.  

When Jesus instructs his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father, which was that they would be baptized in the Holy Spirit and receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them to be witnesses to Jesus in Jerusalem and to the end of the earth.  

Afterwards Pastor Zee walked us through Genesis 1:1-2, which first teaches us who the Holy Spirit is, as revealed in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit has been present with God from the beginning, covering over the Earth and working with God throughout the creation of everything on Earth.  

Calvin walked us through Exodus 31: 3-5, which tells us how God filled his chosen artisans with the spirit of God, which equip them with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge in all manner of workmanship, to design and create all the artistic work for the Tabernacle.  

So now we're here at Numbers 11 and a lot has happened since Exodus. The Holy Tabernacle has been constructed.

God has given the Israelites the law as part of his covenant with them, and the Israelites have agreed to obey God's commandment. 

However no matter all the miracles, provision and victory God gave them over their enemies, and despite them witnessing and experiencing God's judgment for rebellion and disobedience. 

As soon as they got hungry or got thirsty, they started crying and complaining. I pulled out a few verses As examples of the people's complaints. Exodus 15:24 and the people complained against Moses saying, what shall we drink?  

Exodus 16:2, then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. Exodus 16:7-9. And in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, for he hears your complaints against the Lord.  

But what are we that you complain against us? Also, Moses said this shall be seen when the Lord gives you wheat to eat in the evening and in the morning bread to the full. For the Lord hears your complaints which you made against him.  

And what are we? Your complaints are not against us, but against the Lord. Then Moses spoke to Aaron say to all the congregation of the Children of Israel. Come here before the Lord, for he has heard your complaints.  

Exodus 17:3 is another example. And the people thirsted there for water and the people complained against Moses and said, why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?  

To say that Moses was annoyed with the people's complaining would be an understated. Moses was weary, stressed out and preferred that God kill him rather than expect him to leave these complaining and rebellious people.  

Here's what Moses said in a few verses before our focus Scripture. Numbers 11:10-15 says then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families. 

Everyone at the door of his tent and the anger of the Lord was greatly aroused. Moses also was displeased. So Moses said to the Lord, why have you afflicted your servant and why have I not found favor in your sight that you have laid the burden of all these people on me? 

Did I conceive all these people? Did I be get them that you should say to me, carry them in your bosom as a guardian carries a nursing child to the land which you swore to their fathers.  

Where am I to get meat to give to all these people for they weep all over me saying give us meat that we may eat. I am not able to bear all these people alone because the burden is too heavy for me.  

If you treat me like this, please kill me here and now. If I have found favor in your sight and do not let me see my wretchedness. Moses felt wretched, miserable, overwhelmed and profoundly distressed.  

I'm sure everyone of us can think of times when we have felt like Moses, times when we have not just been tired, but tired in our bones, the kind of tired when you feel like you just can't take one more thing going wrong in your life or you will break under the weight of your anguish.  

But what did Moses do? He cried out to the Lord. He was honest with God. Moses admitted that he felt that he had reached his limit and couldn't bear to go on and what did God do?  

He responded to Moses's plea and delegated the responsibility of bearing the burden of the people to others so that Moses wouldn't have to bear it alone. I'll read the passage again.  

So the Lord said to Moses, gather to me 70 men of the Elders of Israel whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them. Bring them to the Tabernacle of meetings, that they may stand there with you.  

Then I will come down and talk with you there. I will take of the spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them and they shall bear the burden of the people with you that you may not bear it yourself alone.  

There are at least five things that leaked out to me as I read this scripture passage. One, when Moses felt like he couldn't go on, he cried out to God. 2,God responded with a strategy. 3, Moses had to partner with God and implementing this strategy.  

4, the measure of God's spirit, or anointing that was on Moses, required 70 elders to carry. And 5, God is compassionate.

As we are preparing our hearts for Pentecost and remembering that Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit as the promise of God, let us also remember that what God calls us to do will be difficult.  

We will suffer but God has given us a measure of his spirit to match the responsibility of what he has called and anointed us to do through God's spirit, we have all the power, wisdom, understanding, and knowledge we need to fulfill as well.  

We have everything we need, family, everything we need through God's spirit. There will be times in doing what God has called us to do that we will feel like Moses, especially when God is preparing and pruning us for something greater.  

And when we're feeling the tremendous weight of the responsibility that comes with anointing. But God understands our humanity. He knows there will be things we just can't do alone.  

But he won't preemptively intercede. God waits until we come to the end of ourselves and cry out to him. Moses had to come to the end of himself and that's when he earnestly cried out. Here are a few questions for us to consider.  

What is a circumstance, situation, problem or challenge you're facing that you've been trying to solve in your own strength? What is a circumstance, situation, problem or challenge you're facing that you haven't cried out to God about?  

Or what is a circumstance, situation, problem or challenge you're facing that you've cried out to God about, but don't feel that he's responding to? No matter which question you're dealing with hearing, seeing and receiving wisdom and understanding requires the Holy Spirit.  

Patience and total dependence and faith in God as we the claim are being shaped and transformed by God into the likeness of his son Jesus.

Something else I began to wonder as I was reading today's scripture passage was, Moses aware of the level of anointing God had given him? And did he know when he had received it?  

I don't know. But wondering about Moses's awareness of his anointing also led me to another question for us to think about. Are you aware of your anointing? Jesus says in John 14:11-13.  

Most assuredly I say to you. He who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also and greater works than these he will do because I go to my Father and whatever you ask in my name, that I will do that the Father may be glorified in a Son.  

Do you know that we glorify the Father when we walk in our anointing? An anointing that equips us to do greater works in Jesus's name. Not in our name, but in the name above all names Jesus Christ. Our anointing points others to God, not to ourselves.  

This morning I heard a pastor say a tree doesn't eat its own fruit. Let that stick with you. A tree doesn't eat its own fruit.

Evidence of anointing is in the fruit we give for the benefit of growing the body of Christ and not to store up for ourselves, while those around us starve physically and spiritually.  

A word of caution. God anoints us Not man. The anointing of the Holy Spirit is not magic. It's not inherited from any man or woman. It's not conjured up, it can't be manufactured, it can't be bought. It can't be sold.  

It's a gift from the Almighty God. Let the sin of Simon the Sorcerer serve as a warning to us. Acts 8:14-23, now, when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God. 

They sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them. That they might receive the Holy Spirit for as yet he had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of The Lord Jesus. 

Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. And when Simon the sorcerer saw that through the laying on of the apostles hands, the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.  

But Peter said to him your money perished with you because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money. You have neither part nor portion in this matter for your heart is not right in the sight of God.  

Repent, therefore, of this your wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity. 

Don't be deceived my brothers and sisters in Christ, the gift of God, the Holy Spirit, cannot be purchased, and it can't be absorbed by osmosis through any person, place, or thing. As Peter told Simon the sorcerer receive the word,  repent, pray and be free of the poison of bitterness and sin.  

Getting back to our focus scripture, Moses couldn't give away the spirit that God had upon him. God did it. Don't be deceived.

I'm so thankful that we're spending time in the weeks leading up to Pentecost to develop a deeper understanding of who the Holy Spirit is so that we will not be misled.  

God alone calls, God alone, sanctifies, and God alone transforms his people through his spirit.

My prayer is that just as he did for the disciples of the world to amaze, Jesus will open our understanding so that we also might comprehend the scriptures and our hearts also will burn within us.  

And we too, will spread the joy of foundation, truth and peace that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. And through the power of the Holy Spirit. Let us pray. Gracious, loving, compassionate, patient, long-suffering Heavenly Father we thank you.  

We thank you that every time we go to your word and we diligently seek you in hunger and thirst for the knowledge and understanding that can only come through the Holy Spirit.  

Thank you that every time we do this, every time we approach your word with open hearts He will open our minds and deepen our understanding. You will help us, Father God, to stand as these days grow even more wicked.  

You will help us to not be numbered above among those who will be deceived by false prophets, teaching false doctrines, offering false hope in themselves and not often the truth, the pure truth that only comes from your word.  

Help us to not be lazy. Help us and not be content. Help us to not be complacent. Help us and not be satisfied with having the word chewed and digested for us. Father, God help us to pick the word ourselves.  

To go to the harvest that is in the word and the word alone. To not be satisfied with just sitting in a pew or sitting watching online. But going out, learning for ourselves. Learning how to rightly divide the word of truth so that we can readily recognize when someone is preaching false doctrines.  

How we need this so much Heavenly Father, especially in this day as Jesus prophesied the days, will grow more wicked and more and more false prophets will arise.  

Father, we need your Holy Spirit. We need a fresh feeling of your Holy Spirit every day, Heavenly Father. Let us not try to do anything, Father God without first calling upon you and seeking the guidance of your Holy Spirit.

Help us to hear better from your Holy Spirit. Help us to walk in the power that can only come through your Holy Spirit.  

I pray your blessing. I pray you're feeling. I pray you're covering. I pray you're leading upon all who are on this call and all who would share with Father God. Let us not be deceived.  

Let us today walk in the power and the strength and the anointing that Jesus promised we would have through repentance, through faith, through waiting on the Holy Spirit to come. So come Holy Spirit, come.  

We thank you, Heavenly Father, that we can pray this prayer that we can wait in expectancy and that we will walk in the anointing that you have given each and everyone of us.  

To do your will, to be witnesses for Christ and to stand strong in this day. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for this day we ask you to bless it. We ask your covering upon it.  

We give you all glory and honor in Jesus name, Amen. Amen family, God bless you. Go in peace. We love you and keep pursuing the word of God with all earnestness. Have a beautiful, have a blessed day. Goodbye.