TUESDAY, APRIL 4
Scripture: Matthew 3:7-17

In Matthew 3:7 John the Baptist was preaching about Jesus and he was preaching about Jesus the Judge. He says here that the axe is laid to the root and every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. He said in verse 11, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” When Jesus baptized the church with the Holy Spirit and fire in the book of Acts, how did that manifest? It manifested with a language called tongues. John went on to say in verse 12, “His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Not only did they receive the prayer language of tongues in the Book of Acts, but when those tongues rested upon them so did a manifestation of fire. We read in Matthew 3:13-17 about the baptism of Jesus. Was it optional? Apparently not! In this passage Jesus said, ‘No John, we have to do it. It is an issue of fulfilling all righteousness.’ When He was baptized in water, then He was endued with power from on High because the Holy Spirit came and rested on Him. Matthew 3:16-17 says, “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’” Now there is a testimony on which you can start a ministry! Where is that testimony in our life? Does it come through tongues? The only way we will ever know is if we start to use it the way God intended. If receiving the Holy Spirit was not optional for Jesus and it was not optional for the 120 disciples who waited in Jerusalem until they were endued with power, why should we presume it would be optional for us. Have we welcomed the Holy Spirit into our lives in this dimension? The question is simple, are we using the power that is available to us? Have we made it a priority? Do we use our language to pray in the Spirit? It is God’s open door to the full spectrum of His power.