Scriptures: Luke 3 v 16 - 17; Jeremiah 1 v 10
When we think of someone going through a baptism of fire
in a worldly way we see them facing huge challenges that must be overcome. In
the spiritual sense John the Baptist said that Jesus the Lamb of God was coming
to baptize people in the Holy Ghost and fire.
This fire is a purging fire that the Holy Spirit begins
in you to burn up all the worldliness you have accumulated over the years. Your
sins have been forgiven but the residue of consequences needs to be purged. We
see the pattern of it in Jeremiah 1 v 10: "See I have this day set thee
over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, to pull down, and to
destroy, and to throw down, to build and to plant." It is useless to build
a foundation on top of rubble. It must be removed completely or everything will
be unstable. So the fire of the Holy Spirit gets into every nook and cranny in
the kingdoms of our hearts and destroys all that we burdened ourselves with in
the world in which we are now strangers passing through.
As Christians we are no longer part of the world system
we are citizens of Heaven and ambassadors of God. We have crossed the floor and
all our loyalties must be to our Father and Jesus. So the fire will devour our
bondage to this world and then the real building and planting will begin.
In Peter we are called peculiar people! This is because
through being born again, baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit and now His
fire going deep into our souls we are changed and become "different".
We are a new creation in Christ, no longer "just human". We have the
divinity of Jesus within us and we are spiritually seated in Him in heaven at
the right hand of the Father.
We have unlimited access to the power of God for any
situation. We don't need lawyers, doctors, consultants or advisers. Jesus is
our Advocate, our Healer, our Teacher.
So the worldly people hate us because we are not like
them. They will mock, persecute, stone, kill and threaten us. We must stand
firm and use every opportunity to show or tell them about Jesus. As good
ambassadors.
Elijah and the 200 prophets of Baal had a baptism of fire
in 1 Kings 18 v 21 - 40. In the end the fire of the Lord fell upon the prophets
of Baal and their rejection of the true and living God, and they were devoured
by the flames. So the Lord will bring judgment by fire too.
About 40 years ago when Pastor Richard Wurmbrand and his
wife Sabrina escaped from Communist Russia where he had been imprisoned and
tortured for preaching the gospel, they visited India. They saw Hindus in a
fire walking ceremony running over hot coals. They taunted him that his God was
not so powerful. Richard removed his shoes and socks and stood on those coals
for 45 minutes and preached the gospel to them. They all got saved.
There is another side to this story concerning those
involved in Catch the Fire meetings or Toronto Blessing. This is a false
spiritual experience which has a serious consequence. The spirit involved is
called the Kundalini and it is a deadly evil. They believe its the true revival
but it is not. It has been sent by Satan to undermine the church before the
true world revival can begin.
The Baptism of Fire never ceases. The Holy Spirit
empowers you with a passion for Jesus in which He becomes your all in all. You
may say it often but there comes a day when you truly know it.
I had my Baptism of Fire with the ministry to Karen Ann.
It was beyond human possibilty but God has achieved so much through it. It was
28 years since her death this week and I remember that moment so clearly. The
Lord had just given me a verse of scripture for her: "Unless a grain of
wheat falls into the ground and dies it abides alone, but if it dies it will
bring forth much fruit." It has.
The promises of God are true and nothing is too difficult
for Him. The baptism of fire is sometimes painful and intense but it does a powerful
inner work that no human hand or mind can achieve. When the vessel goes through
the refining fire and is glazed it becomes fit for the Master's use.
The Miracle of Karen Ann can be found in two parts on the
blog.
Prayer: Father God nothing escapes Your eye in
the forming of a soul to become like Jesus. You make it perfect in Your time.
Father there is much in me still needing Your refining touch. I yield to Your
holy way to change me into the likeness of Your Son. In Jesus' name. Amen