Jesus came to baptize us with Fire…

The King Is Introduced…

Read Matthew 3:1-17 (ESV)

In Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist makes a profound declaration about the coming Messiah:

“I baptize you with water, 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” (ESV).

John baptized with water to signify repentance, but he was preparing the way for One who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire—a spiritual baptism, not a physical one.

John baptized people as a sign that they had asked God to forgive their sins and had decided to live as He wanted them to live.

Water baptism is an outward sign (public declaration) of our decision to follow Christ.

The first step in this process is to repent, which means to change the way we think.

True repentance prepares the way for Jesus in our lives.

And our baptism is an outward sign of our commitment to Christ.

To be effective, it had to be accompanied by an inward change of attitude leading to a changed life—the work of the Holy Spirit.

John said that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.

This looked ahead to Pentecost (Acts 2), when the Holy Spirit would be sent by Jesus in the form of tongues of fire, empowering His followers to preach the gospel.

John’s statement also symbolizes the work of the Holy Spirit in bringing God’s judgment on those who refuse to turn from their sins.

Everyone will one day be baptized—either now by God’s Holy Spirit or later by the fire of his judgment.

SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things)
____

Sunday, Sept 01
cFaith Devotion

JESUS BAPTIZES ME WITH THE SPIRIT
by Tim Davidson

“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
— Matthew 3:11 (NASB)

John the Baptist said he could baptize with water but Jesus was going to be the one who would come to baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.

This baptism with the Spirit immerses us into the person of the Holy Spirit.

He then fills us and empowers us.

The Message Bible says: “I’m baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life.

The real action comes next: The main character in this drama—compared to him I’m a mere stagehand—will ignite the kingdom life within you, a fire within you, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out.”

We are born of the Spirit the moment we are born again.

We have the presence of the Holy Spirit in us. Yet, Jesus will totally saturate us in this baptism.

Another phrase for baptizing us with the Spirit is “filling us with the Spirit.”

We are to be filled to overflowing with the Spirit of God.

We must be baptized in the Holy Spirit to have the power to successfully live out our Christian life.

Life is better with God’s power.

Today’s Thought to Take With You:
Jesus, I look to you to fill me with your Spirit and to empower me for success.

[Source: A Verse A Day
by Tim Davidson]
____

Come join the Adventure!

Skip 🕊️