Part 2: PREPARED AND EMPOWERED– FROM CLEANSING TO FILLING

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 3:11 - "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I... He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."

Imagine a dusty, empty jar sitting on a shelf. It's been neglected for years—filled with grime, cobwebs, and the residue of old contents long gone. One day, someone comes along and gently begins to clean it. The outside is scrubbed. The inside is rinsed. Little by little, the stains are washed away. The jar is no longer dirty—it's clean. It's ready.

But it's still empty.

That's what John the Baptist's role was. His baptism with water was a cleansing, a preparation. Like the jar, hearts were made clean—through repentance, through turning from sin and toward God. But John didn't come to fill; he came to prepare the way for the One who would.

Then Jesus comes.

He doesn't just look at the clean jar and admire it. He pours in new life. His Spirit fills every corner, every crack, every space where emptiness once lived. Now, the jar isn't just clean—it's useful. It's full of power, presence, and purpose. It can be carried. It can be poured out. It can overflow.

Being born of water is like the jar being washed.
Being born of the Spirit is like the jar being filled.
Both are necessary. One prepares; the other empowers.

Have I stopped at the cleaning stage, satisfied with outward change but lacking inward power?
Have I invited Jesus to fill me with His Spirit so I can live the life He's called me to?

PRAYER

Lord, thank You for cleansing me. But I don't want to remain an empty vessel. Fill me with Your Spirit—fill me until I overflow. Use me to pour Your love, grace, and power into the world around me. Amen.