Ready… Set… Go!
April 29, 2007
Luke 3:21-22
21. When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.
22. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
DO NOT PASS GO
(comment “faith and practice”)
Important Part of Believer’s Life
Intended to be the initial act of Christian obedience
Must follow Spiritual Reality of Believing
Very VISIBLE and TANGIBLE Experience that DEMONSTRATES and PROCLAIMS
The Spiritual Reality of the NEW BIRTH by PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION with
The Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus
(A Physical Counterpart to the SPIRITUAL OCCURANCE)
Acts 10
47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
Salvation Clear
Hear the Word (in order to Have Saving Faith)
Romans 10
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it this gift of God, not of works that no man should boast.
Holy Spirit uses Word to Reveal
Fact of Sin
John 16
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
Powerlessness to Overcome or Eradicate Sin
Romans 7
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Need for a Savior, Substitute, Sacrifice
Prompt and Provide REPENTANCE
Confess Publicly and Verbally PERSONAL FAITH IN CHRIST
Romans 10
8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”(that is, the word of faith which we preach):
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.
13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
Proclaim and IDENTIFY through OBEDIENCE – LORDSHIP
Romans 6
3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
Jesus set example
Not of Repentance (sinless)… but of OBEDIENCE
Identified with Teaching and Ministry of John
Accepted by God
OPENING HEAVEN’S DOOR
PRAYER
and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.
We tend to SEPARATE “Christian Disciplines” -- “ALA CARTE” Cafeteria
Prayer
Bible Study
Giving
Ordinances
Worship
Etc.
Hand in Hand
Prayer is FELLOWSHIP – LORD’S PRAYER – Parts of Prayer
Glorify God
Thanksgiving
Confession
Requests
Also
Intercession
Impartation
Warfare
NOTICE: Heaven Opened
Prayer of Faith
God Meets Us
ALL PRESENT AND ACCOUNTED FOR
Trinity
Always OMNIPRESENT
But Christ while on Earth: Limited… emptied Himself (Phil. 2)
Here MANIFESTED
The Father – Proclaiming Love & Identification
…and a voice from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
Luke 9
34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud.
35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” 36 When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.
The Son – Demonstrating Obedience and Fellowship
The Holy Spirit – Anointing
Holy Spirit in Christ’s Life
In His virgin birth
In His Life
Anointed
Luke 4:18
“ The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed…”
Acts 10
37 that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached:
38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
Anointing means “Empowered for Service”
Matthew 12:28
But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
PASSING THE TORCH
Dove for John’s Benefit
John 1:32
And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.
His mission COMPLETE
Matthew 3
1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:
“ The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘ Prepare the way of the LORD;
John 3
27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.
28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’
29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.
30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
31 He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.
