Thank you for joining today as we seek God’s wisdom together. Let us begin with prayer.
“Lord Jesus, I ask that you search our hearts and see if there be anything wicked in them. We ask that your Holy Spirit show us what you are saying to us today. I ask that the words on this page would jump out to us as you speak to our hearts and minds truth and life. In Jesus name, Amen.”
Matthew 3:7-12 NASB
“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Thereforeproduce fruit consistent with repentance; 9and do not assume that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you that God is able, from these stones, to raise up children for Abraham. 10And the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire. 11“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
What the Word is Saying
The first part of the passage today deals with John addressing the Pharisees and Sadducees about them coming. He emphasizes that they are not coming to be baptized for repentance. Rather they are coming to perform the religious act of baptism or to criticize it. He points out to them that their position as descendants of Abraham is insufficient without a change of heart. They suppose that because their Father is Abraham they are automatically in the family of God. However, John is announcing the change of the covenant that is coming. Whether he intended to or not very soon after Jesus is rejected put to death and crucified the requirements for inclusion in the family of God will change. No longer is being a descendant the deciding factor. Now it is submission to the Lordship and authority of Christ and the belief that though He died God raised Him from the dead.
The church being built on the rock of revelation of Jesus from the Father and faith in who He is and what He did changed the eternal roadmap. However, the piousness and assumption of those who do not know Jesus continues. Jesus said many will come to Him talking of deeds and miracles done in His name. He said he will tell them depart from me for I never knew you. As I pointed out yesterday a better wording of this is that they did not know Him. But I digress, the important factor here is the Lordship of Christ. If you truly believe He is Lord, you will serve Him. You will recognize your place in relation to Him and truly repent of your sins you committed against Him. This is not simply going through the motions and reciting the words written in church doctrines and creeds. Rather it is personal responsibility taken for the wrongs you have done, and sincere effort given to change your behavior. This is the “fruit of repentance” that John is talking about.
Therein lies the rub for pastors and believers. We cannot know the heart of man. We can suspect and pray what we think needs to happen. But only you know your heart and your motivation. This is why John talks of the winnowing fork in this passage. Because the wheat (or seed) is intertwined with the chaff. The fork then picks up the harvested stalks and throws it into the air. The seed falls to the ground and the chaff blows away. The chaff then is gathered up and thrown into the fire. God knows your heart. He is not fooled by your piety. Repent then and produce fruit. If you thought, you knew Him and realize you do not; seek Him now.
John speaks of Jesus coming, who will baptize you with the Spirit and with fire. This is the second baptism. The first is in water when after confession you submerge under the water and die with Him and leave your sins on Him as HE takes them out to the wilderness. Then you raise out of the water symbolizing your resurrection with Him to a new life. You are no longer chained to the sin nature. You are set free and able to live differently. You serve a new master. Your new lord does not chain you to destruction. Rather he has freed you to live a life worthy of your calling in Christ Jesus. The second baptism is about power and fire.
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit and Fire is a baptism of a different sort. First of all, I would say this is a separate event from conversion or even water baptism though they can occur simultaneously. The fruit shows if you have received it. Remember, the apostles had to wait in Jerusalem for it to arrive. When you do receive it first you are empowered by the Holy Spirit to overcome the sin in your life. Secondly, his fire reveals your sins to you and enables you to seek forgiveness and freedom in Christ. Lastly, as occurred with the Apostles on Pentecost you are empowered to preach the gospel to the nations. Contrary to the charismatic movements the Baptism is not for us to indulge in. We are not to get drunk in the spirit as some have said. Rather, a fire should be ignited inside of us to reach the lost for Jesus. That is our mission as Christ followers. We are to go and tell them about Him and what He did for us and them.
Our focus should not be on a comfortable life. More of this or that. A big retirement fund or any number of luxuries the world offers. Rather our focus should be on spreading the message to the lost. People we know are going to die without knowing Jesus. Do not let the reason be that no one told them about Jesus and a new way of life. DO YOUR JOB! It is not acceptable to rely on others to speak for Him. Jesus did not say give to the church so that you can live a life of luxury while someone else fulfills the great commission for you. If this is you, ask Jesus; do you know me? Ask yourself; do I truly know Him? Be honest with yourself while you can still do something about it. Don’t be one of those whom the Lord says depart from me I never knew you.
If you have not received Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I implore you to do so now. All He asks for is for you to accept the free gift He gave you. Therefore, humble yourself and acknowledge that Jesus is Lord of all. He alone is all powerful and you submit to His authority. Next you must believe He did what He did. That is; die on a cross and rise again from the dead. These are both actions of faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for with evidence not seen. Meaning you believe even though you don’t have physical evidence to prove it. I know you made it to this page for a reason and the Holy Spirit is working on your heart. The Father has drawn you and He alone can reveal to you the truth of what I am saying. I know that He is now, and you need to take a step of faith and pray these words with me.
Right where you are; say these words out loud: “Jesus I confess that you are Lord of all, I yield my will to your will for you are greater than me. I believe you came to this world and lived a sinless life; I believe you suffered and died on cross for my sins, I believe they put your lifeless body in a tomb, and three days later you rose from the dead. I confess to you that I am a sinner and ask you to forgive me. I also ask that you send me your Holy Spirit to give me power to live a sanctified life and to lead me into all truth. In Jesus name, Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer, I urge you to contact us here so that we might come beside you and hold you up in prayer as you begin your journey with Jesus. I assure you that we have all been where you are. We may have committed different sins, but we are just as guilty, nonetheless. We all needed forgiveness and someone else supported us as we began our Journey with Him.
Thank you for joining me today as we searched the scriptures for What the Word is Saying. I pray that God will send His Holy Spirit into our lives anew and fill us again with His love and His purpose for us. So that we can fulfill the mission He left us in bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world.
“Scripture quotations taken from the NASB (New American Standard Bible) Copyright 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.” lockman.org
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