Theme: God shows approval through baptism
Text: Gen. 1:1-5; Acts 19:1-7; Mark 1:4-11
It is one thing to be accepted by God and quite another thing to be approved by Him. In Rev. 17:14 the Scriptures reveal that Jesus Christ has an army of followers through whom He fights and overcomes His enemies. “They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings - and with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful followers”. However¸ He can often only rely on those who are His faithful followers as seen in the example of Gideon. When Gideon gathered an army of 32,000 Israelites to fight the enemy he knew how few they were compared to the number of the enemy. But God also knew that not all of them would serve him wholeheartedly. He therefore first sent the fearful home. After testing the 10,000 remaining men only 300 met God’s approval and it was with these 300 faithful followers that Gideon fought and won the battle. In the same way there are many followers of Christ today who believe in Him and yet do not serve Him faithfully. It is often said that many are called, few are chosen, and fewer still are faithful. The faithful followers are the ones who have been tested through the ordinary circumstances of life and have won Christ’s approval. They are the ones that bear much fruit for the Kingdom of God. No employer would be satisfied with workers who do not bear fruit. The reason they were employed was to bear fruit for the company. Those who bear much fruit are entrusted with more responsibility. God shows approval through baptism when He entrusts His faithful Disciples with more responsibility.
Eph. 2:8-9 declares “For by grace we have been saved through faith and that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast”. After salvation, however, how can we gain God’s approval? We can gain God’s approval by living the life of Christ. This is a life that is freed from selfishness showing love and concern and meeting the needs of the needy. When Jesus Christ became flesh and lived amongst us the vast majority of those who believed in Him did so for selfish reasons. Today the situation is no different and many come to Christ only to meet their personal needs and for their own personal blessings. The only way to live the life of Christ is to set our minds on eternal things because we are where Christ is. We need to renew our minds and can not allow anything of this world to distract us from total devotion to the Lord. The cares of this world only weigh us down and we must be ready to forsake everything the world offers and be willing to endure difficulties if we are to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. We must also be diligent to present ourselves approved to God. In the words of Paul to Timothy “No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier”.
Seeking the good of others, setting our hearts on things above and being diligent is the way to gain God’s approval. This is clearly illustrated in the life of Abraham. Abraham and Lot were both rich in this world’s goods, but they had completely different attitudes toward their possessions. Abraham was heavenly minded, whereas Lot was earthly minded. Abraham, although the elder and the one who had brought Lot along, gave Lot the first choice when the time came for them to separate. Lot chose all the plain of Jordan because, according to the Scriptures, it was well watered everywhere just like the Garden of Eden. It would seem that Abraham came out second best because of his unselfish spirit in letting Lot have first choice. But God honours those who are unselfish, trust Him and put Him first. Abraham trusted God to give him his portion and he responded to God’s blessing by building an altar and worshipping Him. Lot eventually lost everything he owned which makes us realise that those who seek the things of this world end up empty handed. It is heartbreaking to think of what happened to Lot when members of his family were destroyed in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, but it is also heartbreaking to think about many present-day believers who are being destroyed with their families because they are more concerned about the things of time than about the things of eternity. Life is not about possessions and material goods but about our relationship with God and about our commitment and faithfulness to Him. Our heart is where our treasure is so each of us knows where our heart is? Is it set on things above or on things on earth?
God showed approval of the life of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. When Christ became flesh and lived among us He went through what all men go through. All of us find ourselves in 2 places during life, at home and at work and it is at these places that we are tested and approved. Christ faced temptations just like all of us but resisted them at every point. We know that Christ as God created all things and all things were available to him. But He was also fully man and the Scriptures declare that He was tempted in all ways as we are. The home of Christ was not a perfect one and He lived with a family that was also not perfect. He must have gone through all that is common to all homes, the fighting, the quarrelling, the teasing and the selfishness. Jesus was tempted in all ways as we are yet He did not sin. He never had the wrong attitude or motive in all He did, not even with His parents. As normal parents, they must have argued or quarrelled but Jesus never looked down on them or despised them. If He had He would have sinned. Jesus Christ being a Jew was brought up a Jew. Every Jewish boy spent time learning the Scriptures. They were taught by Rabbis and had to memorise large tracts of Scripture by heart. There were no books at the time and the handwritten scrolls that were available were too expensive for anyone to posses. Since Jesus lived a perfect life He definitely took His lessons seriously and did not have any problems with the other students or their Rabbis for if he had He would have sinned. Jesus also had to spend time as an apprentice to His father so that after the death of Joseph, He, as the eldest, could take over the support of His mother and of His younger brothers and sisters. He had to work. Being faithful at work is a temptation we all face when we engage in any form of business. Jesus must have faced the temptation to cheat and deceive especially when money was short. He must have faced the temptation to discredit His competitors when His goods were not being patronised. Finally when Jesus was freed to begin His life’s work of ushering in the Kingdom of God He faced those temptations that came with national fame.
I remember the years we spent at Mfantsipim where we made life difficult for some and frequently ridiculed others. It did not matter how badly and miserable we made them feel. What mattered was that we had our fun. Jesus would have done no such thing. I remember an incident at School that I am sure many of us still remember. In January, fifty years ago, some of us gathered on that famous hill kwabotwe to begin our teenage years. We had come from all over the country and entered Mfantsipim as greenhorns, young immature boys but left as mature men well equipped to face the world. The transformation has always been quite incredible and today we are all filled with joy and thanksgiving to the Lord for how He has blessed and transformed us. During that time some of us will remember what happened while members of a class were acting a play in one of the classrooms. It came to the part where one of the actors was directed to take his seat. What he did was to literally take his seat by lifting the chair up into the air. The laughter that erupted and that continued with constant teasing must have been a source of embarrassment to him for a very long time. But just as our class mate in those days did not really understand what he had to do so many of us today fail to understand what Christ demands from us. He demands our faithfulness. It is not enough that we are chosen and accepted, we need to be approved as well. Jesus Christ lived a perfect life without sin to make our salvation possible. The only way to respond to what Christ has done for us is to surrender our lives to Him. When we are fully surrendered to Christ we will be only concerned about pleasing God and not ourselves or our friends.
To live a life pleasing to God is to live the life of Christ. This life is only possible when we are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Just as Jesus did we also are to experience in a deep, inward and personal way the infilling of the Holy Spirit. We are also to demonstrate His power in our life and ministry by meeting the needs of the sick, the suffering, the neglected, and those without hope. The Holy Spirit is the only One who can give us the right perspective of life. He brings us into the depths of God, the holiness of God and the power of God. He brings a new dimension of reality and life to the Christian experience. It is this reality that leads us to a life of total trust in Christ and enables us focus on Him no matter our situation. The Holy Spirit enables us to lead a life of service to God. God is a God of power and purpose and our creation is to glorify Him. We can do this because of the presence of the Holy Spirit we have God living within us. We may be walking here on earth but we have heaven within us.
Our relationship with the Holy Spirit should be pure, honest, deep, enduring, and sincere. These are the relationships that stir up our spirits and leave a lasting impact on our lives. There is no room for a superficial relationship with the Holy Spirit. However, as human beings, we decide what kind of relationship we want. We can open or close our inner being to the Holy Spirit and to one another. Just imagine walking down the street and you come across someone you know but to be truthful you cannot stand. What do you do when that person greets you? You cannot just ignore the person and pretend he or she has not said anything. You respond to the greeting, smile, say a few words and probably shake hands. Although some exchange has taken place, no deep personal encounter took place because you have already decided to keep yourself closed to that possibility. On the other hand imagine seeing someone on the same street who is very close to you. You greet each other with the same handshake and the same conversation but something very different happens. It is as if a deep spiritual meeting had taken place. Perhaps it is only for a minute and then you leave but it seems as if part of you had gone with the person. Our friendship and openness to the Holy Spirit should show such a depth of personal commitment. The Holy Spirit as a person has the same capacity to open Himself into a situation or to withhold Himself from it. He is right inside our life situations, communicating with us, opening Himself to us and looking for us to open ourselves to Him in response. As faithful followers of Christ we should be open to the Holy Spirit and be involved in those activities that please Him – serving Christ not only in the Church and also outside the Church.
Jesus Christ came and lived among us. At thirty, during His baptism, the heavens were opened and the Spirit of God descended on Him like a dove and God, the Father spoke these words about Him from heaven “This is my beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased.” This was before Jesus had performed a single miracle or preached a single sermon. God was pleased with the life He had lived, both at home and at work before He began His ministry. Jesus became the Saviour of the world after He had been approved at home and at work. We also are to follow His example so that we can be blessed with every spiritual blessing. The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is necessary for an abundant life. A glass is made for a specific purpose – to hold water so that we can drink from it. Similarly, the purpose of our lives is to hold God – to be filled with the Holy Spirit. God made us to be channels and expressions of His life here on earth. He made us to live in His power, to work in His power and to operate in His power for the good of all creation. Sin dirtied and caused a crack and we started to leak. As damaged vessels we could no longer hold the power of God within us. God could not refill us with the living power of the Holy Spirit until some restoration had taken place. You would never think of using a dirty glass with a crack to offer anybody a drink of water. Neither would you accept a drink of water in such a glass. That glass needs to be made new and cleaned before it can be used. It is just the same with us. Many people cannot experience the power of the Holy Spirit because their lives are like cracked, dirty glasses. They need to be made new and cleaned before they can be filled and used. Some of us may look spotless on the outside, but we all need cleansing deep inside our hearts. God has made this possible through Jesus Christ. He restores and cleans us from all filth and fills us with the pure water of the Holy Spirit. Glasses are made so that they can be filled with something to drink. A glass that has never held water has never fulfilled the purpose for which it was made. We are to be filled with the Holy Spirit. A person who has never known the fullness of God’s power through the Holy Spirit in his or her life has, likewise, never fulfilled the purpose for which he or she has been created. You were made to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that you can live the life of Christ and share the good news. Yet today the majority of the people in the world, in our nation, and in our community continue to live in darkness. Christ has done all that is necessary and He has left the rest up to His followers. Let us be faithful and go to those who need to hear the good news so that they also will be translated from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of God. Amen!
