A Fresh Outpouring

Matthew 3:11-12

"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

John the Baptist proclaimed that the Baptizer in the Holy Ghost was coming. Not only would He baptize with the Holy Ghost but with Fire. Why should we seek after and be baptized with the Holy Ghost and Fire?

First, we need the Holy Ghost for Boldness, to speak what God wants us to speak, and do what God wants us to do.

In Acts Chapter 4, Peter and John were entering the temple to pray when they passed by the crippled beggar. It was the power of the Holy Ghost which they had received on the day of Pentecost that had moved them from fear to boldness. They were baptized in the Holy Ghost and fire and they had the boldness to speak to the beggar these words, “in the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk.”

It was the power of the Holy Ghost that moved upon the disciples and it was the power of the Holy Ghost that moved upon the beggar to heal him and give him strength to begin walking and leaping and praising God.

It was that same power that gave them the boldness to answer the Jews who questioned how this miracle had taken place. These disciples answered by calling them murderers, witnesses to murder and ignorant because they had crucified the Lord Jesus Christ. Only the power of the Holy Ghost can give your words the power to strike at the heart of sinful man. The disciples went into their time of prayer and this verse describes what happened, "And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness." – Acts 4:31

We must have the Holy Ghost if we want to have the power and boldness to witness, to preach and to minister to the lost.

Secondly, we need to be filled with the Holy Ghost to have a closer walk with Jesus. We must allow Jesus to breathe the Holy Ghost into us to give us spiritual life.

"Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:" – John 20:21-22

I need the Holy Ghost within me, giving me the breath of eternal life, and I want all that God has to offer for me to be an over-comer. I want the Holy Ghost to breathe in me so that these old dead bones of flesh can have life again through the power of God. I want that breath of God that gives me eternal life and will raise me in the Resurrection.

I want that Holy Ghost power, with the evidence of Speaking in other Tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance. I want God’s power and I want God’s fire!

What does the Fire of God that comes with the Holy Ghost do for us?

The Fire of the Holy Ghost melts our heart of stone and turns it into a heart after God’s heart. Like the heat of a volcano on molten lava, our heart begins to flow with the guiding Hand of God to follow the paths that He has made for us.

The Fire of the Holy Ghost brings to light the darkness of our soul and causes us to repent of the sin in our lives. Little by little, the Fire of the Holy Ghost burns away those things that beset us, those “little foxes that spoil the vines” in a constant refining process that brings us closer to a holy and sanctified Christ-centered life.

The Fire of the Holy Ghost will light your fire after God’s own heart and kindle a love for Jesus Christ that you never knew could be possible. Just as the fires of passion in a marriage relationship should never grow common or be taken for granted, the Fire of the Holy Ghost will keep your love and passion for Jesus fresh and new and growing.

The Fire of the Holy Ghost marks the very presence of God in our life, "For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God." – Deuteronomy 4:24

The all-consuming Fire of the Holy Ghost will consume your life and immerse you in service for the Kingdom. God is a jealous God, not like men are jealous, but His greatest desire is to see each of us enter our reward in the Kingdom of God and He will not tolerate anything in our lives that will keep us from that goal.

The Fire of the Holy Spirit will get you moving. You can’t be full of the Holy Ghost and be a bench warmer, any more than you can stand barefoot on hot coals and not jump around and try to get away from them. The Prophet Jeremiah said, "Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay." – Jeremiah 20:9

I believe that anyone who is full of the Holy Ghost and Fire will have to be on the move, ministering to someone, doing something to further the Kingdom, proclaiming the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. You can’t help but do so because it is in you and what is in you will come out!

I long for the day to return when the manifestations of the Holy Spirit within the church will become a normal occurrence, instead of a rare commodity.

I believe that the scripture is still true, "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

Why don’t we have those things happening as much as they used to? Because we don’t put ourselves in a place for these kinds of things to happen! Because so many don’t have the passion for working of the Lord and for lost souls that we should. Because they don’t have a passion for His presence!

We talk about it, preach about it, think about it – but we don’t really have it! If we did, we would see more signs, wonders and miracles because Jesus said that’s the signs that would follow those who believe. We may speak in tongues occasionally, even shout occasionally, but there isn’t much FIRE anymore because we have become too accustomed to the presence of God and we take Him for granted.

It’s time for the church to wake up to our condition! It’s time to cry out to Jesus and asked to be filled with the Holy Ghost and fire again! Just like the disciples that were filled in Acts 2, and then again in Acts 4, we need a fresh outpouring. We must do like Elijah and call down the fire from Heaven to consume us as living sacrifices, cleanse our hearts, and allow the Lord Jesus Christ to fill us again.