(Mat 3:11) "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Have you ever heard of the term “on fire for the Lord?” It’s not found in the Bible but the idea is. John the Baptist foretold the coming of the Messiah who would baptize His own with the Holy Spirit and fire. Then on the day of Pentecost it happened. The Spirit came and filled the followers of Jesus there in that upper room. There were divided tongues as of fire that sat upon each of them and they spoke in new tongues as Jesus had said they would (Mark 16:17). So now you know why people say they want to be “on fire for the Lord”. They want that power of the Holy Spirit in their lives to live for Jesus and be a witness for Him.
How’s your fire lately? Need a little stoking? We all know how easy it is to cool off in our fervency for Christ. But the Bible says to keep the fire burning and warns us against living a tepid Christian life:
- (Rom 12:11) not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.
- (Rev 3:16) "So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
What usually puts a wet blanket on that fire of the Spirit in our hearts? Paul says the Spirit in our lives can be quenched (1 Thes 5:19). He then tells the Ephesian Christians how it all begins:
- (Eph 4:30-31) And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
It’s the sin in our lives that we allow to creep in. It’s the cool water of the world that mixes with our being hot for the Lord and it brings down the temperature and sometimes we don’t even know it’s happening.
Let’s pray that we will be “on fire” for the Lord. Let’s turn off the cold tap water and get that heart fervent again. Let’s join with the early disciples and let the fire fall on us, to consume that chaff in our lives and to let the Spirit drench us so people can come and watch us burn for Him!
Louie