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.”
Luke 3:21-22
“Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, 22and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well pleased.”
The story goes that Jesus went down to the river Jordan to be Baptized by John the Baptist. Matthews Gospel tells us that John balks and suggest that he should be baptized by Jesus not the other way around. “But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he *allowed Him (Matt. 3:15). Two things pop out here: first that John had to allow Jesus to be Baptized. I think it would be better said “and then John obeyed Him and baptized Him,” but I digress. The second thing is that it had to be done to fulfill all righteousness. What does that mean? What are we talking about here? It is likely this is referring to the example He is trying to set for those who follow Him. Even though Jesus Himself did not baptize His followers that we are aware of in the biblical account. Matthew 28:19 in the great commission Jesus tells His disciples to go and “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Therefore, the act of baptism was of importance to the process of salvation. The baptism of Jesus is followed by the Holy Spirit descending upon Him in the form of a dove. Also, there is a natural phenomenon in the “opening of the heavens” followed by the voice of the Father telling Jesus (Mark and Luke’s versions say “In you I am well pleased”) or telling the witnesses including John (Matthew's version says “In Him I am well pleased”). Nevertheless, this is a joint venture of the Trinity of God. All three persons are present: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and it launches Jesus’s ministry.
“And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him. And He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: 18“THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO BRING GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, 19TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” 20And He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all the people in the synagogue were intently directed at Him. 21Now He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing (Luke 4: 17-21).”
A few things to take notice of here. First, that this all begins after Jesus is baptized in water. For Him it is to set an example for His followers. For us it is a public showing of our repentance for the sins we have committed. As I mentioned in previous posts it is through the shed blood of Jesus that the propitiation (payment) for our sins is paid on the mercy seat. This occurs when we confess Him as Lord and believe He died and rose from the dead. Our sins are carried away to the wilderness when we are baptized and “die” with Him when we are submerged under the water. They are left there, and we are raised with Him and thereby conquering sin and death (separation from God).
It is in that exchange that we are now able to have the presence of God living within us. It is at this point that Jesus is “baptized” in the Holy Spirit. Meaning HE possessed the power of God to do signs and wonders, healings, deliverances, and obey the Father even to the point of death on the cross. It gets glossed over but, Jesus had the power to force submission to Him by all of Humanity. However, just as He voluntarily set aside His place in Heaven with the Father to save us from our sins. He also resisted the temptation to forego the passion that awaited Him at the cross. Again, what an amazing love that is. Perhaps the most important thing that should be taken from this is that the power he received when the Holy Spirit descended on Him is the power to witness.
“THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO BRING GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, 19TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD (Luke 4:18-19).”
The baptism of the Holy Spirit for Him was not for Him. It was for us. He was gifted to bring the Gospel to us, and the signs and wonders proved to the people it was Jesus, that was the Messiah. It is no different for us. I think we as a church have missed the point of the Baptism of the Spirit. This is due to the overemphasis on the emotional response or euphoria associated with those who call themselves Pentecostal. Just as guilty are those who have asserted that the Baptism of the Spirit and the gifts associated with it have ceased with the written word. People do not come to Jesus and emerge with a Hunger to preach the Gospel to all the nations in either example. We need the power of the Holy Spirit in order to witness to the lost. He gives us the words to say, the boldness to stand up against the enemy, and strength to face persecution when we do. Likewise, just as it was for Jesus, we cannot be a dead sea. The baptism is not for us. We can’t run from event to event seeking an “experience” of the Holy Spirit for ourselves. The Baptism is for them. We are filled with the Holy Spirit to testify to the gospel that we are preaching to the poor, the lost, and in need of hope.
“but this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel: 17‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says, ‘THAT I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS WILL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN WILL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN WILL HAVE DREAMS; 18AND EVEN ON MY MALE AND FEMALE SERVANTS I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT IN THOSE DAYS, And they will prophesy. 19AND I WILL DISPLAY WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE. 20THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD COMES. 21AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED (Acts 2:16-21).’”
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was for the Lost! Peter points it out right away saying “this is what has been spoken by Joel.” Why? So “that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” They weren’t in their houses afterwards boasting to each other about what the Lord gifted them to do. They didn’t sit in the midst of each other lost in euphoria and gluttonously soaking up the presence of God to themselves. They went out and preached the gospel, they shared their resources to ensure the mission Jesus left to them was fulfilled. Most importantly the Power of God through the Holy Spirit was evident in them:
“And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. 9But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen. 10But they were unable to cope with his wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking (Acts 6:8-10).” “And all who were sitting in the Council stared at him, and they saw his face, which was like the face of an angel (Acts 6:15).”
Stephen was not eve none of the twelve who were Jesus’s disciples. Yet he was filled with the Holy Spirit in Baptism and because He did, he was empowered to witness in the midst of persecution with boldness. Lest you say well this is before the written word existed. Take note these were Torah trained Jewish Christians speaking to Torah trained Jewish Pharisees and Sadducees. They knew the Law, front to back, and back to front. But just like today it is not the written word that changes lives it is the words spoken under the power of the Holy Spirit that pierce the heart.
We as a church must repent and seek forgiveness. Ask the Lord to fill us with His Holy Spirit again. The world is turning away from God, and we are partly to blame. We do not show them anything different. We either don’t go where they are and be among them as Jesus did. Without judgement and expressing the Love of God to them. We lack the power of The Holy Spirit in our witnessing to actually lead people to the cross. Lastly, we are also guilty of showing an emotional gospel in which we don’t seek the lost but attempt to outdo each other in our Spirit filled acts.
Let's repent as a church and turn back to Him. Let Him decide what is and what is not of the Lord. Let's do it for the lost because he has commissioned us to reach them. Then we will be able to say about us as they said about the first Christians: “And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and preaching the good news of Jesus as the Christ (Acts 5:42).
If you are not yet a Christian, I encourage you to do so now. Jesus is standing at the door of your heart knocking and asking you to let Him in. Pray this prayer with me right now: “Jesus I confess that you are Lord, I believe that you came to earth and lived a sinless life, you suffered and died on a cross for my sins, were buried in a tomb, and three days later you rose from the dead. I confess to you I am a sinner and ask you to forgive me. I ask you to send me your Holy Spirit to give me power over my sin and to lead me into all truth. In Jesus Name, Amen.” If you prayed that prayer, please contact us we would love to stand beside you and hold you up as you begin your journey with Jesus. I also encourage you to join a church. One where the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached. I pray the Holy Spirit would quicken your mind with a name or lead you in the direction of the church He would have you attend. In Jesus Name, Amen.
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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