WHAT BAPTISM SAYS-II—Luke 3:21-23
Significance of Baptism
Attention:
Do Not Talk To My Parrot
Mrs. Lingle’s dishwasher quit working, so she called a repairman.
He couldn't accommodate her with an evening appointment, &, since she had to go to work the next day, she told him: "I'll leave the key under the mat. Fix the dishwasher, leave the bill on the counter, & I'll mail you the check. By the way, don't worry about my Rottweiler. He won't bother you.
But, whatever you do, do not under *any* circumstances talk to my parrot!"
When the repairman arrived at Mrs. Lingle’s apartment the next day, he discovered the biggest & meanest looking Rottweiler he had ever seen.
But, just like she had said, the dog just lay there on the carpet, watching the repairman go about his business.
However, the whole time he was there, the parrot drove him nuts with incessant cursing, yelling, & name-calling.
Finally the repairman couldn't contain himself any longer & yelled: "If you don’t hush your beak, I’m gonna wring your neck!"
To which the parrot replied: "SIC HIM, Brutus!!"
The repairman was ‘immersed’ in a very telling situation....Obviously did not do as he was told.
And likewise baptism is very telling & makes a significant difference in the life of the believer.
Need:
Public baptism revealed/secured Jesus’ significance.
Public baptism reveals/secures our significance.
What does baptism say about us/our significance?
Previously we looked at 3 statements of baptism, wherein Baptism says...
1. IDENTIFICATION BLESSES(:21a)
2. OBEDIENCE BLESSES(:21a)
3. PRAYER ATTAINS(:21b)
4—Baptism says that...
HEAVEN OPENS(:21b)
Explanation:(:21b)
:21—“When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; & while He prayed, the heaven was opened.”
Why “the heaven?” It is the heaven which is under authority of the Almighty God. It is the only heaven to which we look.
* “The heaven” encompasses all that is of God...It naturally assumes God’s perfection, goodness, grace, mercy, provision, omniscience, omnipotence, design, purpose, creative acts,
Jesus & John saw the heavens open(Mat. 3:16; Mk. 1:10).
In answer to Jesus’ prayer, the heaven(s) opened. This is an act of God as He enters His world, making inroads to a specific life in order to affect His will.
God speaks & acts in us individually.
*All Christianity holds that the God of the Bible is a personal God...
That He works in our personal lives & is available every moment of every day.
That our every conceivable benefit is thru Him alone.
*Baptism is the first step in obedience & setting ourselves apart(sanctification) for God’s use. It is a natural prerequisite for opening Heaven’s bounty(work & word) upon our lives.
“Heaven”—ouranov—1) The vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it—1a) The universe, the world, 1b) The aerial heavens or sky, the region where the clouds & the tempests gather, & where thunder & lightning are produced, 1c) The sidereal or starry heavens; 2) The region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of things eternal & consummately perfect where God dwells & other heavenly beings. Strong—(through the idea of elevation); The sky; by extension, Heaven (as the abode of God); by implication, Happiness, power, eternity; specifically, The Gospel (Christianity).
“Opened”—anoigw—Strong—To open up (literally or figuratively, in various applications).
Argumentation:
Eze. 1:1—“Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the river Chebar among the exiles, the heavens were opened & I saw visions of God.”
*Mal. 3:10—““Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, & test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, & pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.”
Our giving is Obedience, Prayer, Baptism! These open heaven for our ultimate benefit in Christ & thus God’s ultimate benefit!
Heb. 11:6—“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, & that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
Deut. 28:9-14—[to Israel, His chosen people]““The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God & walk in His ways. Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, & they shall be afraid of you. And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, & in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, & to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the LORD will make you the head & not the tail; you shall be above only, & not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, & are careful to observe them. So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.”
Jn. 1:47-51—“Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, & said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered & said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered & said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered & said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, & the angels of God ascending & descending upon the Son of Man.””
Illustration:
I worked for a small local company(Associate's Express) as a courier of parcels—much like UPS & FedEx/Charlotte business/Downtown skyscraper/I had to have an ID card—opened certain doors in that building that I needed to access/Opens all possibilities of job/HEAVEN OPENS
Application:
?Your Baptism tell others that HEAVEN OPENS?
?What does your Baptism say?
5—Baptism says that...
His SPIRIT FILLS(:22a)
Explanation:(:22a)
:22—“And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, & a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.””
1)In answer to Jesus’ prayer, the Holy Spirit descended (from heaven).
2)In answer to Jesus’ prayer, the Holy Spirit descended “in bodily form.” A visible & recognizable manifestation of the Holy Spirit “descended” “upon” Jesus.
3)In answer to Jesus’ prayer, the Holy Spirit descended “in bodily form” “like/as a dove.” A “dove” signifies purity, innocence, humility, vulnerability. Whenever the Holy Spirit assumes a physically tangible form, the form is always emblematic/symbolic of His ministry focus as in Hovering/Moving(Gen. 1:2), Noise(Acts 2:2) Fire(Acts 2:3) & Tongues(Acts 2:4).
4)In answer to Jesus’ prayer, the Holy Spirit descended upon OR was “coming upon” Jesus(Mat. 3:16).
Jn. 1:31—“ “And I did not recognize Him, but in order that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.””
Argumentation:
*Eph. 5:18-21—“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms & hymns & spiritual songs, singing & making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; & be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.”
Rom. 7:6—“But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit & not in oldness of the letter.”
*Rom. 8:5-8—“For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life & peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; & those who are in the flesh cannot please God.””
Rom. 8:13-14—“For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
1Thes. 5:19—“Do not quench the Spirit;”
1Pet. 4:14—“If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory & of God rests upon you.”
*Gal. 5:17-25—“For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, & the Spirit against the flesh; & these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, & the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions & desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
Illustration:
*Insulin/Released into body/Changes reactions/Gets the body to where it needs to be before ability was lost/His SPIRIT FILLS gets us to where we need to be beofre lost innocence
Adrenaline/Grants you an ability to do what is humanly impossible/
Likewise, When we are filled with the Holy Spirit of God, we are enabled to accomplish what is humanly impossible but only supernaturally possible/To fully bring about God’s will in our unique way/His SPIRIT FILLS
Application:
?Your Baptism tell others that GOD’s SPIRIT FILLS??
?What does your Baptism say?
6—Baptism says that...
ASSURANCE Is SEALED(:22b)
Explanation:(:22b) Confirmed/Settled/Established
:22—“And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, & a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.””
PERSONAL— “Thou art...in Thee”
PUBLIC— “This is...in whom”—Mat. 3:17
5)In answer to Jesus’ prayer, a “voice” accompanied the appearance & descent of the Holy Spirit.
The voice was “out of heaven/from the heaven.”
Along with the descent of the Spirit of God, came a “voice.” The declaration was spoken directly to Jesus in the 2nd person. God declared Jesus to be His “beloved Son.” The voice of God also directly declared to Jesus that He was “well pleased” with Him.
The voice was of God the Father who proclaimed both to Jesus personally & to those present, “You are /This is My beloved Son.” God has a Son who is beloved by Him. God’s Son is named Jesus. God’s Son is Jesus of Nazareth, son of Joseph & Mary.
God the Father was “well-pleased” with His Son, Jesus.
This declaration revealed the identity of the Coming One specifically as Jesus.
Both the presence of the Holy Spirit & the Father’s(implied) declaration are an undeniable endorsement of Jesus as the Divine Anointed Son of God. There is no other.
Argumentation:
Mk. 16:20—“And they went out & preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, & confirmed the word by the signs that followed....”
*1Cor. 1:4-8—“I thank my God always concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech & all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
*1Pet 5:9-10—“But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen & establish you.”
Mat. 25:14-21—““For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants & delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, & to another one, to each according to his own ability; & immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went & traded with them, & made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went & dug in the ground, & hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants came & settled accounts with them. So he who had received five talents came & brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good & faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’”
Illustration:
Drew Brees—Current quarterback for the New Orleans Saints/Previously with the San Diego Chargers from 2001-2005/The Chargers offered Brees a 5-year, $50 million contract that paid a $2 million base salary the first year with the remainder based on performance incentives...But Brees saw it as a sign of ‘no confidence’/Brees signed a 6-year, $60 million deal with the Saints on March 14, 2006/His ASSURANCE was SEALED
Application:
?Your Baptism tell others that your ASSURANCE Is SEALED?
?What does your Baptism say?
7—Baptism says that...
MINISTRY BEGINS(:23)
Explanation:(:23)
:23—“And when He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being supposedly the son of Joseph, the son of Eli,”
Jesus had not yet entered His public ministry at this time.
Jn. 1:29-36—“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, & said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! “This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ “I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, & He remained upon Him. “I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, & remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ “And I have seen & testified that this is the Son of God.” Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!””
Jesus public ministry began after His public baptism.
“About thirty years of age”—Age for beginning priesthood(Num. 4:3)/Prophet(Ezek. 1:1)/King David(2Sam. 5:4)/U.S. Senate—prayerfully by then there is some common sense about us. What we do from that point on is no longer borne of childish lusts but is accomplished in all seriousness.
When prayer opens heaven the Spirit assures our place in ministry.
Argumentation:
2Cor. 5:19-20—“...God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, & He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
Rom. 6:10-11—“For the death that He died, He died to sin, once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
Rom. 12:3-8—“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, & individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”
Rom. 15:15-16—“Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God, that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”
*Acts 1:8—“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; & you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, & in all Judea & Samaria, & even to the remotest part of the earth.”
2Tim. 4:5—“But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
*2Cor. 9:10—“Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, & bread for food, supply & multiply the seed you have sown & increase the fruits of your righteousness,”
Heb. 6:9-12—“But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. For God is not unjust to forget your work & labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, & do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith & patience inherit the promises.”
1Pet. 4:10-11—“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory & the dominion forever & ever. Amen.”
Illustration:
My first job at Food World, Salisbury, NC/I sought employment & filled out an application/I was contacted & accepted as employee/I then accepted & committed myself be fully ‘on the team’ as it were/My commitment was settled, as was their’s/MINISTRY BEGINS
Application:
?Your Baptism tell others that MINISTRY BEGINS?
?What does your Baptism say?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
The repairman was ‘immersed’ in a very telling situation. Obviously did not do as he was told.
And likewise baptism is very telling & makes a significant difference in the life of the believer.
Holding back from God’s purpose?
Embarrassed to get involved?—No membership/commitment/power due to no baptism?
?Do you need to be baptized?
Action:
Baptism says that...
4. HEAVEN OPENS(:21c)
5. The HOLY SPIRIT FILLS(:22a)
6. ASSURANCE Is ESTABLISHED(:22b)
7. MINISTRY BEGINS(:23)
1. IDENTIFICATION BLESSES(:21a)
2. OBEDIENCE BLESSES(:21a)
3. PRAYER ATTAINS(:21b)
Do you believe this?
CHILDREN’S— ‘The Heavens Open’
Lead children to sound room door.
Tell Mike not to unlock it until we ask politely
Say to the children, “Its locked. How do we get in?
Very easy. Ask Mike.
Presented 03/04/01am to:
Providence Baptist Church
975 Providence Road
Whigham, GA 31797
Presented 02/12/2012pm to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
