I Am Second Series

Have you noticed that all three members of the Trinity are present at the baptism of Jesus? We serve one God, eternally existent in three persons. The Son physically comes up out of the water. The Holy Spirit descends visibly and the Father speaks audibly in verse 11: “And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’” When God speaks it’s all about His Son. He’s not angry or upset but instead is delighted. The Father is actually quoting Isaiah 42:1: “My chosen, in whom my soul delights.”

Application

How do we apply this amazing passage to our lives? Let me offer four ways.

1. Repent and receive remission of your sins. Heaven is open to you! The way has been made straight and clear. It’s time to repent and have your sins forgiven.

2. If you’re a born again believer your next step is baptism. Did you hear about the Georgia high school coach who is in hot water after organizing a baptism service on the football field? 18 players were baptized in a big tub before practice! He explained that a couple football players had gotten saved and then led others to Christ. They then asked him if they could get baptized and he agreed. Baptism is a step of obedience. Don’t put it off any longer.

3. Consciously and continually tell yourself that you are second. The title of this sermon is “I Am Second.” John settled this because he was in submission to the Savior. Are you like John in this regard? Or are you more like another guy named Diotrephes? 3 John 9: “…Diotrophes, who likes to put himself first…” Listen. Either Jesus is first, or you are. It can’t be both of you.

4. Think of one person you will talk to this week in order to prepare the way for them to meet Jesus. See your conversations as ways to remove obstacles and to clear the path for people to see Jesus. Our purpose is to point people to Christ. See yourself as a messenger before Christ comes to them. You are part of the advance team. Who is that one person you will talk to this week?

I had lunch this week with Dennis Harker, the founder of the Quad Cities Missing Person Network to put together plans for our second annual memorial service to be held on Tuesday, September 29th at Lincoln Park in Rock Island at 8:30 p.m. We were talking about how to advertise the service when Dennis said something that really struck me: “This is not for our self-glorification but to spread the word so that more missing people can be found.” I love his humble approach and servant-like attitude.

A couple weeks ago a young woman went missing from Moline. We got a tip that she might be in Wisconsin so I sent Facebook messages to my family members who live in Packerland and asked them to spread the word. Others did the same. A couple days later a woman saw the information on Facebook and printed off the information because the picture reminded her of someone she saw at her next-door neighbor’s house. She took the picture over and sure enough, the young woman was there. She was told that her family was looking for her and she ended up being reunited with them.