35 DAYS TO PENTECOST

TEXT: LUKE 3:15-

¹⁵And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;

 ¹⁶John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

 ¹⁷Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.

KEY TEXT: Luke 3:16  “…he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.”

REFLECTION:   John the Baptist, the last of the Prophets, announced that Christ would baptize His followers with the Holy Ghost and with fire. What is the connection between the Holy Ghost and fire?  The natural properties of fire are remarkably analogous to the supernatural power of the Holy Ghost.

We recall that under the Old Covenant God Himself sent fire down from heaven to ignite the fire on the altar of Sacrifice in the Holy Place.   When the fire fell God’s people knew that God had ordained and honored the sacrifice. At the first Christian Pentecost, we read of “cloven tongues of fire” that sat on the heads of the disciples in the upper room.  FIRE SIGNIFIES GOD’S APPROVAL.

FIRE ILLUMINATES.  Fire dispels darkness and enlightens our path.  The Old Testament Church in the Wilderness followed a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.  That fire not only led God’s people, it also brightened the night sky so that God’s people could see in the darkest hours. The Holy Ghost brings light to the sin darkened soul.

FIRE WARMS. Apart from the influence of the Spirit, human hearts are cold.  But when the Spirit of Holiness infuses the heart, there is warmth.  Icy hatred is melted when “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.” (Romans 5:5). 

FIRE PURGES. Gold that is tried by fire is purged of all dross. Likewise the Spirit purges all that is ungodly and carnal from our hearts. It is this purging influence of the Spirit that is resisted by the carnal heart.  The self-centered, proud man recoils when the fire of God races to consume his natural inclinations.  The spiritually minded long to be pure.  When Isaiah saw the holiness of God, he saw himself and cried, “Woe is me, I am a man of unclean lips!”  (Isaiah 6:1-8). But when the fiery coal taken from the altar of sacrifice, touched his lips his sin was purged.  Instantly he volunteered, “Here am I, send me!” 

While the Scriptures compare the trial of our faith to gold that is tried by fire (see 1 Peter 1:7), John the Baptist declared that the Baptism “with the Holy Ghost and fire” would come from Christ and should  be expected in a moment. Just as those seeking to be baptized in the Jordan would be baptized in water at a specific moment of time, those who would be baptized into Christ would be baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire in a specific moment of time.  The Jerusalem Pentecost would be their moment.  When and where was ours?

PRAYER: Our Lord God, Glory be to the Father, Glory be to the Son, and Glory be to the Holy Ghost—God in three persons, blessed trinity!  Our hearts long for the Baptism of Christ, the mighty baptism with the Holy Ghost and with fire.  We pray that thy Spirit would shine in us, warm our cold hearts, and purge us of every vestige of pride and self-centeredness.

Descend O Spirit, Purging flame,

Brand us this day with Jesus name,

Confirm our faith, consume our doubt,

Sign us as Christ’s within, without!

In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen. “Our Father, &c.”