Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 53

February 22;      Matthew 3:11;       3/260(IV);        ‘The Holy Spirit & Fire’

Matt 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.

John the Baptist was preaching to everyone who came to him, their need to repent of their sins and be baptized in water.  This is obviously a type of being born again.  His ministry was also to ‘pave the way’ for Jesus who would not only save them, but empower them when they were baptized in the Holy Spirit.  This thrills me.  The Lord Jesus’ ministry not only saved us from our sins, so that we could spend eternity with Jesus, but the baptism in the Holy Spirit empowers us to flow in the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit now, in this lifetime.  The empowerment of the Holy Spirit when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, makes our lives here so exciting and rewarding.  There is nothing better than to sense the Holy Spirit flow out of us into someone needing healing or any other manifestation of His power.  God’s Word tells us how to receive genuine supernatural power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us for ministry.  This is not the counterfeit, ridiculous depiction of power in these ‘science fiction’ movies that make no sense.  The Lord has put inside of us the desire to experience the supernatural.  Knowing this, satan has deceived people, encouraging them to open themselves up to the new age and astrology, and things that can lead to demonic oppression.  The devil offers nothing to bless you.  His ultimate goal is misery and destruction for those he can deceive.  Jesus also baptizes with fire.  Fire will purify those who accept Jesus as Lord.  Fire will destroy those who reject the Lord and His Word.