The Gospel According to Mark chapter 1, please meet me there.
The Gospel According to mark. In verse 4.
Lord, as we prepare to unpack your word, we asked with great
humility and with great need, please help us with the
scriptures. Lord, we pray that there would
be a sense of your power sense of your presence.
Lord draw our affections for Christ give understanding where
there is confusion. Let There Be Clarity, Let There
Be edification, Let There Be comfort that there be
conviction. Lord we just we recognize that
if you're not here with us we will fail.
And the purpose of this meeting will fail.
And so Lord we humbly tell you that we hunger.
We really hunger. For righteousness, we thirst for
holiness. And we are in need of Greater
revelation of Christ. Help us now in Jesus name, amen.
Mark 14. John appeared baptizing in the
wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the
Forgiveness of sins and all the country of Judea and all
Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him
in the River, Jordan confessing their sins.
Now John was clothed with camels hair and wore a leather belt
around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.
And he preached saying after me comes he who is mightier than I
the strap of whose sandals. I am not worthy to stoop down
and untie. I have baptized you with water
but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
There was a time in history when the God who spoke creation into
existence. And The God Who commissioned
meant to declare divine revelation on his behalf, chose
not to speak to his people for a startling, for centuries.
For 400 years, the people of Israel did not hear once a
genuine, thus, saith the Lord for 400 years.
God did not Inspire any man to record scripture.
For 400 years. There is no prophetic leadership
to help the nation of Israel, know what God desire for them.
In that moment, a people who were in Covenant with the Living
God, and that stretch of Silence defines the time, between the
Testaments in your Bible, it is known as the intertestamental
period and it really says something about why God did that
We may not know all of it, but we know to certain extent that
this world at that time, knew great shifts politically,
socially, even religiously. Because Israel throughout that
time was occupied by one nation after the other.
And this is what the Prophet Daniel foretold that, this would
happen. And we see that fulfillment
during that period where God seemed to be mute.
And with all the Transitions and wars and alterations that
Israel, There was no man, there was no guidance.
There was no voice, not one profit on the scene to bring
some kind of direction to God's people.
And this must have been a very strange thing for the nation of
Israel because they were used to Moses and they were used to
Elijah's and they were used to Isaiah's coming to the scene and
bringing some kind of light especially when there is
darkness and difficulty for the people of All.
But all for a sudden, It seems as though in that Bleak and dark
interval period. Everything changed, everything,
changed drastically, by two. Simple words that we have read
in our reading and verse 4, John appeared.
John appeared. And as we heard last week, the
significance of this man. John who appeared at this time?
Was that he had fulfilled some ancient prophecies many years
ago and that truth alone should tell us as the people of God,
Who Loved God's word, that who this man was and what kind of
ministry that he accomplished in the name of God was very
important to God. And if it was very important to
God to prophesy about and in to write about in terms of its
fulfillment, then it Be important to us.
And you and I got a glimpse of the importance of it.
When we just looked at the one, just one prophecy, just two,
that were so similar about how understanding who John was
helped us confirm the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
John's Ministry was so unique. It's almost like a flash in the
pan. It's almost like a firework in a
dark sky. He's there one moment and then
he seems to just disappear within a few pages.
But that Ministry, the ministry that this man, fulfilled was a
hinge between two eras. When he came on the scene, the
door of the law and Moses clothes, and this man paved the
way for the grace that is known in the Lord, Jesus Christ to be
ushered into the world. This man was so important.
Great significance. And as we look here, we realize
that we have great motivation. Great Motivation by the fact
that this is brought before us to discover what it is that God
has to say to us pertaining to this man.
What is it that we can discover about our faith?
What can we told about this historic moment for our lives
now today, and be assured that we will know something about our
faith in Christ. We will know something about our
walk, in our practice, for the name of Jesus Christ as well.
And we will do that by doing Being very simple as you and I
come to this text, we will understand it.
In three ways we will look at it through the ministry of, John,
the Baptist. And then after understanding
something of his ministry will know, something about his
manners, why are his manners important for us to understand?
And after his manners, we will know something a little bit
about his message. So we come to verse 4 and 5 and
we see the ministry or the Mandate of John, the Baptist.
There are many John's in the Bible you know that but there is
only one John the Baptist. The First Baptist really and the
original language would help us clarify it more and seeing that
it was actually John the baptizer.
That was his identity, that is what he was known for that.
The simple reason that people saw that the main tenets of this
man's Ministry was that he had his radical charge for people to
join this. Fire-breathing profit in water
and it to be immersed in that water as a sign of something
that is very significant to the Jewish people especially And it
was really a symbol of people saying something happened here,
I'm participating because there's something that happened
here first and I want to show that and declare that and it's
so so incredible. When we really understand the
significance of this man's mandate because I hope you and I
would be able to answer as Christians.
Why baptism is important? I hope you would be able to
answer that and I hope your answer would be something along
the lines of well, Jesus commanded us to be baptized and
it's a way of identifying with his death burial and
resurrection and that would be right.
And they'll baptism is a non-negotiable ordinance for the
Christian, and in the Christian faith, it did not begin with
Christians. Didn't start with Christians the
series. Simple reason that John here
seems to introduce the concept and the physical act of baptism
is very similar to the same drama that we experience.
When a Believer gets baptized, the very word, baptism means to
be immersed to be, dipped to be consumed, to be enveloped by a
substance. And the substance is water, John
was doing that and if you've been baptized, you know what
that's like, But I want you to think for a moment without
answering out loud. What is the difference between
John's baptism and the baptism that we partake in the name of
Jesus Christ? Is it important to know that
distinction? Well, it was important to Paul
because he found some disciples In Acts 19.
Remember that, and he asked them.
What baptism were? You baptized into?
Well, John's and he goes well, that was a baptism of repentance
and then he baptizes them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
So, clearly clearly there is some kind of distinction between
the two and does it really matter to know, if you want to
know God's word, it does. And I think there is one way of
knowing at least being guided into the direction of Greater
Clarity and it is by understanding the primary
audience of John's Ministry. John the Baptist his ministry
was targeted towards like the Lord.
Jesus Christ in his initial arrival towards the Jewish
people primarily not Gentiles and when John here is preaching
to these Jews This call to baptism was absolutely
scandalous. Because these Jews in Jesus time
believe that their access to God's favor and then being able
to secure, his saving work, was completely connected to their
race. Everything about their stand,
everything about their security, everything about their their
enjoyment of God and their minds was completely connected to.
The fact that Abraham was our father God, call the man Abraham
and he called them. Yes.
But he also made a covenant with his descendants and we are his
descendants, and because we are his descendants, we enjoy
certain Privileges and certain promises, that's it.
They boasted in that they taught that they believed that it was a
cultural thing. It was even a spiritual thing,
those false. So when John comes on the scene
he's calling the chosen people of God to do what?
Repent Repent and confess your need to be forgiven by God and
Johnson just say repent. You're going to experience the
wrath of God, hold on for a second where the people of God
you're telling us that God will pour out his wrath on us.
Who do you think you are? And so this is startling, this
was this was something that really shook the nation and
actually brought the nation to its knees.
And so when he, when he calls them to do this, you have to
understand that there was a great sacrifice, a great
humility to respond to it. And I looked, and I said, well,
haven't many prophets in the Old Testament called the same Nation
to repentance? Haven't they call them to
confess their sins? What's different with John isn't
John? Just like any other man?
Who said, Isaiah Ezekiel, Jeremiah, repent, repent you
have turned from God one main difference.
Yes, repent. But get in this water.
Get in this water and declare your repentance.
Meaning what? You're going to have to, you're
going to have to participate in a symbol.
You're going to have to participate in a sign and what
is that sign? Remember, he's speaking to a
people who already have his sign and the sign was circumcision.
We are connected to God through that and now for a sudden, John
comes and he speaks about this other side baptism.
And what does it signify that you must renounce any trust that
your entrance into the kingdom of heaven?
What's secure because of your ethnicity or your ancestral
identity. That as you come into this
place, you are instead making a personal commitment to God and a
declaration to everybody else that I am dependent alone upon
the mercy of God, the mercy of God, not because of Abraham, not
because of the covenant, not? Because of the things that we
have in history. No.
Simply because I need his mercy. And that was the sign-in.
Autism. That was what John was calling
him to do, and the purpose. There was to invite people to no
longer rely on the false. Hope that just because they were
born into a Jewish family that they could evade God's Wrath.
And they automatically had the kingdom of heaven. and so you
can imagine how this was so stirring and upsetting to some
John said, the Messiah is coming and your good standing with the
Jewish Messiah is not because you're Jewish You're standing
before the Messiah will be dependent upon your realization.
That you need to be forgiven for your sins and despite your
lineage, you will come personally and say I repent and
I will get into this water and make it a sign to whoever wants
to see it that I do. Need God's mercy.
So this is contrary to the common false concept that each
son of Abraham, each son of Abraham needed to make that
decision. And join this man to participate
in this wonderful act. Perhaps we may not see that but
you actually do, I'm not reading that into the text and we you
see it in Matthew's gospel, turn there, just to just to get a
final confirmation of why John's baptism has a different emphasis
than Jesus is baptism. At least baptism in Jesus name.
In Matthew 3. Look at verse 7.
Matthew 3729. But when he saw many of the
Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them,
you brood of vipers who warned you to flee from the Wrath to
come? I love John.
I love this guy. We can use a few of them today.
I don't know about you. This man saw these pompous
Pharisees. These religious leaders and
teachers nicely dressed with their groom beards and their
head stuffed with Theology. And here they are attending, the
baptism service. And John looks at them.
He said, doesn't say, welcome to Maranatha.
Bible Church? hey, you snakes who warned you
to flee from the Wrath to come? Can you imagine These men were
at John service but they had no intention to change.
Do you think that's common in church services today?
You think that it's possible that today there are people who
like to hear in your face preaching but have no desire to
be conformed to Christ likeness. I think, you know, the answer to
that. John confronts them.
And look what he says in verse 8, bear fruit in keeping with
repentance and do not presume to say to yourselves, we have
Abraham as our father For I tell you God is able from these
stones to raise up children for Abraham.
That is exactly what was going on through their minds as they
were seeing this strange man in water, plunging people one.
After the next we have Abraham our fuck.
We have circumcision. We are Jews.
We are God's chosen people. And then this man, the son of a
priest looks at me says, are you, are you relying on the fact
that you are son of Abraham? You're a brood of vipers instead
get in this water. Declare your need for the mercy
of God to be shown on you. some did some didn't Now to make this
message even stronger, when you go back to verse 4 of Mark 1, we
read John appeared baptizing in the wilderness.
In the wilderness. Probably because nobody would
invite this guy to their conferences or their synagogues.
More than that. Not just because there was
plenty of space for people to come.
There was no padded pews in the wilderness.
My brother, my sister. But Israel was very familiar
with wildernesses weren't they did a history with the desert.
It covers most of the themes of the Old Testament.
And the significance of the Wilderness was that God I one
point called the nation of Israel out of slavery,
delivering them from Pharaoh's grip and brought him into this
Wasteland so that he can make a covenant with them so he can
bring them to a certain mountain and appear on that mountain and
give a law and give instructions to this people who have known
their redemption. In this, God can be identified
with him in a certain way and it was it was external. and here's
John, after 400 years of Silence, and the streets of
Jerusalem can hear the echo of a wild, man.
Who's preaching in the desert and drawing people out of their
homes, drawing people out of the temple drawing people out of
this synagogue to see this man who was on fire preaching fire.
And as they come perhaps not knowing the significance of
what's happening. I believe to a certain extent
here is God through his Prophet, John leading His People Israel
again Into the Wilderness not for the old Covenant but to
establish a new one. I'm ready to make a New Covenant
with my people. And I'm going to send my
4Runner, he's going to be in the wilderness.
I'm going to bring my people there and hopefully they'll
catch on So, John here in his baptism. is very important
because it has a different emphasis, very similar in many
ways, but still a different emphasis, it had a shock value
to the Jewish people and in Christ comes and he gives new
instructions to his church. And we are baptized in the name
of the father, Son and the Holy Spirit and we identify with his
work on this side of the Cross. Now, hopefully that brought
about some clarity to you. And I just because we want to be
sharper and truth but I would like to take this time to speak
on something. Else.
I would like to take this time to mention a point of where we
stand as a church and why we believe and Believers baptism,
one of the reasons why we do not hold to infant baptism.
And there are many reasons for that is because that practice of
baptizing, a child or a baby in, in particular, sends a message
that God is establishing a covenant with a new people in
the same way that he formed a people in the old Covenant Let
me say that again. When we practice the baptism of
infants, many reasons why I believe theologically it doesn't
line up. And one of them is that we are
conveying a message that God in the New Covenant is forming a
people and a very similar way that he did in the old.
What do I mean by that? In Jesus Christ, God has been
and continues to gather people from All Nations.
We sang it all tribes all tongues different, cultures,
different backgrounds, Who all share one thing in common faith,
in the Son of God trust and his saving work.
But in the Old Testament, God primarily had a people with one
specific race who identified with them through familial
descent. if you were born to a son of Abraham, if you were born
to this specific Nation, then you automatically at least if
the parents are faithful. Are in Covenant with God.
And that Covenant is in a sense sealed through at least for the
male's circumcision. Now here's the point, I'm trying
to make if water baptism as the argument often goes is a
continuation. Of circumcision from the old,
right? It replaces that sign of the
Covenant and now it becomes something that Believers partake
and and initiate With their own children.
Then what are we telling to a watching World about how God
forms a covenant with his people?
I argue that we send a very similar message that
circumcision did which is what He belongs to Christ.
She is identified with Christ. He or she has died with Christ.
Why? Because they were born to
Christian parents. There are born to Christian
parents. I'm not saying that those who
hold to that view paedo. Baptism, are intentionally
conveying that message? What I am saying is that the
practice can send a confusing idea.
And we have to understand that we may be undermining a certain
element of gospel witness. That is very powerful when it is
honored in the right way. So, if we can all agree that
Covenant with Christ in the New Covenant is exclusively for
those who are born again. They can.
We all agree that the New Covenant, Covenant sign should
be reserved for those who have proven evidence of a spiritual
rebirth And so I'm persuaded that if we do not interpret
baptism correctly, not just in its definition, but in its
application that we might, we might be blurring something that
God intended to be. A dramatic demonstration of
awesome witness to his saving power and what it means to be in
Covenant with him. It's not through familial
descent, it's not through. What kind of home you were born
into It's because you were born again.
And here's the sign that someone has been born again.
More of that to come in a future time.
John called this people to be baptized and it was a very
public thing very public. And he was speaking to a people
who already had tradition who had a sign.
And so there was friction there but there are people who felt
the piercing conviction of his word.
And so they flooded Into the Wilderness, they came to receive
this at the participate in it. And though, the emphasis is
different, may I bring this to you as well, the challenge is no
different in the New Covenant. It's still a challenging call to
be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, in our day, we had different practices especially
in our evangelism, in one of them is inviting people to the
front if they want to receive Jesus Christ as Lord, some of
you have done that. Some of you have a testimony
where that is where you have received Christ and you have
people who debate that kind of model and one of the arguments
is you never see an altar call in the Bible.
You never see. People the pulsing, come forward
come to the front and you'll receive Christ and repeat after
me. And so there's great debate
about this. But if there is anything in the
Bible, in the New Testament, Are there being a public
demonstration or display of one's faith?
It was water baptism. It was water bath.
That's how your faith went public.
That's how, what God did in your heart.
Now goes before people. And so we need to be serious
about water. Baptism, it shouldn't be a side
issue. It's amazing how casual we
become with the ordinances of the Lord Jesus Christ for his
church. We become light with the
breaking of bread and we come almost become very loose about
what baptism is and and why we should take it as serious that
we have to take it seriously. Because the church took it
seriously, at least the early church.
Yes, it was a step of obedience but it was also a demonstration
to a watching world. I I mean, Covenant with this
Jesus. That was his mandate.
That was what really made him stand out as a prophet among
many other things. But we come to his manners and
verse 6. We're told that he called people
to be baptized but for some reason, the Holy Spirit wants to
tell us about his dress and his diet.
Now, John was clothed with camels hair.
That wasn't luxurious by the way, and wore a leather belt
around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.
His manners, a short portrait, gives a student of the Old
Testament and understanding that John, the Baptist is following
in his footsteps of one of the greatest prophets that Israel
has ever known. Elijah Elijah you got a second
Kings chapter 1. You see that Elijah where
similar a tire You see that even John?
Really Echoes Elijah's kind of preaching because he was
confrontational, he was bold. He was Fearless.
And so when we see that we go wow okay this is what we're told
about. John that he was the he was the
one who came into the spirit and power of Elijah.
He's gonna he's gonna preach like Elijah is going to minister
like Elijah. And would you know what?
He brought about various similar results as Elijah.
He brought a nation to its knees and mind you John the Baptist
never perform one miracle. You can't find one miracle that
John the Baptist performed and you have many people who think
that we're going to get the world's attention.
If we just have more miracles here, you have a man who is just
drenching the power of God, he spoke the word and the people
came. This man.
Was like, Elijah. But interestingly enough were
told that he ate locusts and honey.
We have no idea what Elijah date.
So why do we need to know that? And I believe the Holy Spirit
wants to tell us more than just. He was a fulfillment more than
just. He was like someone but there is
something here about his custom about his lifestyle that teaches
us. As Servants of God, the great
the Great Lengths that he went to to fulfill his calling for
the Lord. And that this man really, really
believe what he preached. Let me explain.
John's display here was not a call.
Then nor is it a call? Now that the children of God who
want to serve, God should deny any delight and material
blessings that God would gift and God would give that would be
wrong. To be Hermits or to just eat
crumbs off of Old piece of bread and water as your regular diet.
That is not, that's not what's happening here.
But at the same time, the strategy behind this man's
apparel and his appetite was a radical visualization to a
people who heard him preach that these things.
These disciplines were molded by a certain truth that I believe.
What was it that John believed, what was it that he was aware of
and made other people aware of Jesus coming?
The Lord of Isaiah 40. The Lord of Molokai 3 is on his
way. And John was.
So convinced of that, that even when he was arrested, you seem
to feel like this was a contradiction, because he
really, really trusted that the kingdom was going to be ushered
in his lifetime. He knew his call and though, his
understanding wasn't complete in the 1st and 2nd Avenue Christ,
he still had that Faith. The Messiah is on his way.
He's on his way in my lifetime. Time.
And perhaps she is doing what he is doing here in verse 6 to show
a people. That his life was not all about
what Jesus said, you and I can make our life all about.
Remember what Jesus said is not life more than food and the body
more than clothing. Is not life more than some of
you need to hear this. Is not life more than food.
Is it not more than clothing and Our Generations?
Instagram would say otherwise Nothing wrong with food.
I love it. Nothing wrong with clothing, we
need it. But when life becomes about it,
then there is something wrong. John the Baptist had an
effective Ministry. And as strange as he might have
seemed when he approaches audience, he was a man who
showed them. I actually believe what I'm
saying. I don't get caught up in the
Comforts of this world of the luxuries of this world.
I really, really believe Jesus is on his way.
And so, and so look at my priorities, look at my proud
radical. Yes, And he never pushed that
standard on others, but he did teach it by way of example.
And I want to prove that to you Because there was a time, when
the people in the crowd asked, John, what do we need to do?
That's how you know, Revival has hit a place when the crowd
begins to ask the preacher. What do we need to do?
And I want you to see it for
yourself and Luke chapter 3, how John begins to give instructions
about how they should live in light of the fact that the
Messiah was coming in light of the fact that he was on his way
and he's going to usher in his kingdom and some will know the
Saving Grace and some will know his wrath.
So this crowd of people after hearing that, there was Wrath
coming in verse 9 and verse 10 of Luke 3, the crowds asked him,
what then shall we do? And he answered them.
Whoever has two tunics is to share with him.
Who has none? and whoever has food is to do
likewise, Tax. Collectors also came to be
baptized and sit down with tax collectors.
Come to your church. You know, the spirit of God is
moving Tax Collectors come. Okay.
What do we need to do the crowd already spoke up the general
public. Now the tax collectors, come the
cheaters, the ones who would take more than what was required
when they work for Rome so that they can have an extra buck in
their pocket. John looks them and he says,
collect no more than you are, authorized to do.
Soldiers and verse 14 soldiers, which soldiers Roman soldiers.
Roman soldiers, who could care less about Jewish.
Religion are now, so pricked in their hearts, by John's
preaching that they come and ask him and we and we, what shall we
do? And he said to them, do not
extort money from anyone by threats, or by false accusation
and be content with your wages, be content with your wages.
Notice that John didn't say to the crowds when they said, what
shall we do, sell all your tunics, and only have one outfit
like me. I didn't say that.
He's if you have more than you need, would you look Beyond
yourself and stop hoarding. Your possessions and be a person
who serves in sacrifices and helps others who may not be as
As prosperous as you would, you look Beyond yourself, which
tells me something very, very, very important about repentance.
Remember, that's what he preached and the general crowd
says, what shall we do in light of what, is it look like to
repent? John what does it look like to
be in right standing with the Lord.
And, you know what? He highlights out of everything,
he gets to the core of the matter.
The thing that the general public then, and today need to
continually repent of his selfishness.
Me me more more pilot, all up. And, you know, that a work of
repentance is becoming real in your life, when you begin to
look outward and you begin to see the needs of others and you
want to use your resources to be able to extend the grace of God,
to those who are in need of it. Then the tax collectors come and
they said, well, what do we need to do?
He didn't say quit your jobs, he didn't say, quit your jobs,
Leave everything. Sell your homes and come live in
the desert with me. There's plenty of space.
He didn't say that. And then the Romans come and
they say what do we need to do and he doesn't command them to
no longer work for Rome. Didn't say you work for an evil
government. Leave it even if you don't have
any income, just get out of there.
He doesn't say that. I mean, as radical as John, the
Baptist was, he was very realistic.
You know what he tells him to do just be content with your pay
man and stop manipulating the system and being ugly with
people so that you can get a promotion be content with your
wages. And I think this is a wonderful
insight to apply to my own life. Because I realized that, as John
Was preparing the way for the first coming.
Jesus is planning and preparing to come again.
And I want to know, Lord, what do I need to do to prepare for
your arrival? Be less selfish.
Learn to be content in Christ. Do not do not be abusive to
people do not do not be harsh with people.
Do not try to trick people. Do not try to make this life
about how you can gain the most in this life live in light of my
return. and I tell you today, live in light of the return of
Jesus Christ, it will look like something But this was not
John's core message. John didn't come on the scene to
give behavioral modification tips.
People ask practical advice, he gave it.
John was very, very specific and how people should live and he
was inspired by the Holy Spirit but John's core message, was not
about you need to do this, it was about a person who will do
something in you. That's what he says in Mark,
178. We looked at his, his ministry,
we looked at his manners and now you and I look at his message
and Mark chapter 1 verse 7, And he preached.
And he preached saying, after me comes, he who is mightier than I
The strap of whose sandals, I am not worthy to stoop down and
untie. I have baptized you with water,
but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
John as you can imagine was successful in his ministry but
as successful as he was never gave the impression that he was
somebody who was mighty. He never failed to clarify to
his people. Those who are even blessed by
his ministry, that there was somebody more significant and
more Mighty than him and he always pointed to him, he always
declared him in John's message, clarified, any confusion.
But additionally, as we read here, he never failed to
declare. Also not just the superiority of
Christ, but the superiority of his ministry.
His work. He says I baptize you with water
but he was coming. The Eternal King is on his way
and by position he is far greater than me and so great.
Is he that I not even worthy to take up the task of the lowest
slave and that was to untie the dusty shoe of a master and then
wash the feet. Of that man.
I can't even do that. That's how awesome Christ is to
me. I don't even deserve to serve
him in such a way. But he is also Superior and that
his baptism is much more powerful and needed than mine.
I baptize you with water. She will baptize you with the
Holy Spirit. In other words, I I do an
external symbolic work with you guys.
He's going to come in and do a spiritual work.
Inside of you guys. My work is symbolic Christ.
Work is Supernatural. And he's on his way to do it and
I'm trying to get you all ready for it to happen.
And so, as he looks to them, he is saying very clearly that I am
inferior that I am not the one that you are looking for.
I am not the Christ, I'm just the messenger, he made that
clear in different places and what's so important to
understand again with this audiences as they heard John the
Baptist declaring that there is this Messiah on his way, who
will do a baptismal work in the Holy Spirit?
It was not a foreign concept. They knew it because the
prophets declared as Joel did. For example, I will pour out my
spirit on All Flesh, that there would be a spiritual work in the
heart, that will take that Heart of Stone, and make it into a
heart of Flesh that the law will be written on your hearts.
They knew that and they knew that it wasn't just going to be
for a limited men. Limited people limited
Messengers that it was going to be available to all to servants
men and women, young and old So you can just imagine the
excitement in that desert in those Services is John would say
he's coming, the ones are the prophets said, would come, he's
on his way and he's going to baptize all of you at least
those who had believed on his name.
And this is what's so significant about the baptism of
Jesus, we do not have time today to dissect and to unpack all the
blessings of spiritual blessings that come from the gift of the
holy spirit, that is only accessible through faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Look at the imagery and consider
the implication of what would happen to someone who does
connect to this Messiah by faith and then receive the holy spirit
that is Promised through him. You will be baptized with the
Holy Spirit. It's the same word that you and
I believe about water baptism. and when you, and I understand
water baptism, which means to dip or to be immersed in, that
tells us something about what baptism in the holy spirit is It
means that the believer who is connected to Christ will be
immersed. With the Holy Spirit.
And the same way that every part of your body is drenched when
you get into a body of water, and somebody helps you obey the
Lord Jesus Christ, and that matter.
In other words, this work of Christ by the spirit, will
consume every part of Who You Are.
No, part will be untouched. Nothing will be left out from
head to toe. You will be affected by the
influence of the Holy Spirit. Once Christ plunges, you in his
power and his presence. More specifically.
We learned later on that the Holy Spirit does many things and
he has a specific Mission and the main mission, the umbrella
mission of the holy spirit is that he will, what glorified me?
Jesus said he will glorify me. And so I like to take that truth
and related to this that when Christ will come and take that
heart of faith. And then pledge it completely
into the reality of the Holy Spirit, his power, his wisdom,
his grace His blessings, then every part of you will.
To glorify Christ. Okay, why am I bringing this up?
Let me tell you why I'm bringing it up because this is the
standard of the work of Christ. This is the extensive work of
Jesus Christ in a Believers life.
It's not a sprinkled work. It's not a part work.
It's not like some of you gets wet.
No, it's a plunging work. Where every part of you is
profoundly affected by God's power in the Holy Spirit.
And I bring that up because salvation is a miraculous work.
It's miraculous work. It affects everything about who
you are. and I want to ask you today according to John's word,
According To Jesus word. Echoing.
John's word, has that been true of you.
Could you say that when when I understood my need of Christ and
Christ took my heart and unified it and allowed the indwelling
work of the Holy Spirit to be real.
In me that from head, to toe something happened.
I think differently, I see differently.
I hear differently. I move differently.
I react differently, not perfectly differently.
The very suggestion of what will happen in relation to the Holy
Spirit suggest that it will be a wonderful thing.
An observable thing. A tangible thing.
A seeable thing. Somebody goes in the water and
comes out, you've seen it just a few weeks ago, you know, that
person just got baptized no question about it.
Should it be any different when somebody comes into Faith with
Christ? Something happened.
You were immersed. Who are you?
You are one person two weeks ago now you're someone else.
And yes it's not a perfect thing, but it is a new Direction
thing. And that you begin to grow and
walk in that more and more and more, and there is hours worth
of study to see the spiritual blessings that come that makes
this promise so exciting. But in summary, what John is
saying is that this reality this experiential thing in the Holy
Spirit can only be accessed by one person that is Jesus Christ.
This alteration this transformation.
This spiritual work. Cannot be known and less Christ
is known. He's the only one that can take
you and then baptize you in the Holy Spirit.
And I want to make that call to you today.
Because they're there could be some in here who are satisfied
in their tradition. Like the Jews were And there
could be some who who understand the principles of Christianity
and the tenets of the Christian faith.
But they cannot say That I've collided with the Holy Spirit.
That Jesus Christ changed me. He took me and he buried me and
he brought me up and there's something new in me.
We cannot minimize as simple as salvation is in terms of how we
come to it, we cannot minimize the miraculous in it.
John the Baptist. The ministry, the manners and
the message. May God use us to prepare people
for the return of the Lord. Let's pray.
For we ask In This Moment. That you helped us realize what
Christ has made possible. And then we thank you that there
is an indwelling work of the Holy Spirit, but you call us for
continual fillings of the Holy, Holy Spirit.
And Lord, if there's any part of us, that's dry. if there's any
part of us that has become contaminated or dominated by the
flesh, Lord Phyllis afresh, Phyllis afresh.
Lord help us live in light of your return.
Thank you for your clarity. Thank you o God for teaching us
what we need to know. Because with every detail of
this book, we realize that we have a greater understanding of
you and that is what we want in this life fellowship with you.
and so Lord, As we sing to you, we Rejoice, we rejoice in the
knowledge that there is a New Covenant people that you are
creating And it will not come through familiar this and it
will come through the rebirth by the spirit of God.
And Lord, you are still calling people.
To join your family. And if there's anyone in here
that there's a know, you may they know that they cannot rely
on their parents salvation is not a package deal.
They realize that they cannot rely on even tradition that they
have observed. But that it must come from a
work of the Holy Spirit and the heart.
You can make that known, we ask that you would in Jesus name.
Amen, standing Worship the Lord.