Water – Baptism

Matthew 3:11-12

“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. “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

- The kingdom life is a fire; fire in our hearts for the things of God
- Fire is a common theme in the Bible, both Old and New Testament, often joined with a relationship with the Holy Spirit
- Fire represents the presence of God: it purifies
- We don’t get our lives together and come to God; we come to God and He puts our lives together

Hebrews 12:28-29

“Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander. He’s actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won’t quit until it’s all cleansed. God himself is Fire!”

- God will shake out whatever can be shaken so that the unshakable will remain

Acts 2:1-4

“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.”

- Baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire; this was the birth of the church
- When fire shows up in a person’s life it looks like passion

Leviticus 6:12-13

‘The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it. It shall not go out, but the priest shall burn wood on it every morning; and he shall lay out the burnt offering on it, and offer up in smoke the fat portions of the peace offerings on it. ‘Fire shall be kept burning continually on the altar; it is not to go out.

- Aaron was called to keep the fire going; put wood on the fire every morning
- There is always the potential that the fire can go out; keep your fire going!

2 Chronicles 7:1-2

“Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the house. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house.”

- The prayers of a leader can release heaven – fire – into the earth
- Wherever God grants you leadership responsibilities, your prayers make a difference
- Churches are sometimes filled with people who are tired and bored with no margin for God
- Get back to being on fire for God and the things of God