Holy Ghost Fire

Holy Ghost Fire!

By Pastor Jim May

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 came preaching that the Baptizer in the Holy Ghost was coming. Not only would He baptize with the Holy Ghost but with Fire. Why should we, as disciples of Christ, seek after and be baptized with the Holy Ghost and Fire?

We need the Holy Ghost for Boldness to speak what God wants us to say 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 within them that had transformed these disciples from fear to having 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 of the Holy Ghost that gave them the ability 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 make you that Bold and give your words that kind of power to strike at the heart of sinful man. The disciples went into their time of prayer and this verse describes what happened.

Acts 4:31, "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."

So we, as Christians, must have the Holy Ghost if we want to have POWER and BOLDNESS to witness, to preach and to minister to the lost.

Secondly, we need the Holy Ghost baptism to be filled with the Spirit of God and to have a closer walk with Him. We must allow Jesus to breathe the Holy Ghost upon us to give us the breath of spiritual life in Him.

John 20:21-22, "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:"

I want 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 live in them 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 the heart of stone, turns it into a heart after God. 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 dross (filthiness) 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.

Deuteronomy 4:24, "For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God."