(Matthew 16:18 NLT) ... I will build My church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.

Pursuing All that God has for us.

(1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NLT) ...Scriptures mean when they say, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God's deep secrets.

(1 Corinthians 2:4-5 NLT) And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.

(1 Corinthians 4:20 NLT) For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God's power.

• Baptism into the Body of Christ -- Salvation

(1 Corinthians 12:13 NLT) ... But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit ...

(Galatians 3:26-27 NIV) So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

• Water baptism -- Public declaration of my faith.

(Acts 2:41 NLT) Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day--about 3,000 in all.

(Matthew 10:32-33 NLT) "Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.

• Baptism in the Holy Spirit -- Living a Sprit Empowered life

(Acts 8:5 NIV) Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there....

(Acts 8:12 NIV) But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

(Acts 8:14-17 NIV) When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria... When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

(1 John 5:7-8 NKJV) For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.

Why are we so resistant?

• Ignorance

(Acts 19:1-2 NIV) While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."

Why are we so resistant?

• Apathy

(Romans 12:11 NIV) Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

Pursuit takes effort.

Apathy is spiritual numbness that covers up what God has for you.

• Fear

(John 8:44 NLT) (Devil)... for he is a liar and the father of lies.

(James 1:17 NIV) Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

If it is from God, I want it.

(Ezekiel 47:3-5 NLT) Measuring as he went, he took me along the stream for 1,750 feet and then led me across. The water was up to my ankles. He measured off another 1,750 feet and led me across again. This time the water was up to my knees. After another 1,750 feet, it was up to my waist.
Then he measured another 1,750 feet, and the river was too deep to walk across. It was deep enough to swim in, but too deep to walk through.

(Ezekiel 47:9 NLT) There will be swarms of living things wherever the water of this river flows. Fish will abound in the Dead Sea, for its waters will become fresh. Life will flourish wherever this water flows.