Scripture: Luke 3:1-6, 15-22; Isaiah 43:1-7; Psalms 29
Theme: Post Baptismal Life
Proposition: Luke shares with us what a Christ centered post-baptismal life involves: 1. A life of intimate prayer 2. A life empowered and led by the Holy Spirit 3. A life that reveals in its true identity and mission as a child of God
INTRO:
Grace and peace to you from God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ who came to take away the sin of the world.
What a joy it is to worship with you and your family this morning. Thank-you for being here. If you would please, turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter three where we see Luke sharing with us some new and exciting events that were taking place near the Jordan River around 26/27 AD. After many years of silence, God had raised up a Spirit-filled prophet among the people of Israel. This prophet's was the only son of a Levite couple named Zacharias and Elizabeth who went by the name John the Baptist.
John the Baptist proved to be a most unusual prophet. First of all, John was the son of a religious insider. He was the promise child of a Levite couple. All of his life, John had been raised in and around the Temple. He had been taught the ways of a priest and skilled in what it meant to serve as a mediator between God and man. He was well acquainted with the intricate rituals, prayers and sacrifices of the Temple. Everything about being a priest was second nature to John. He was a man of all the smells, bells and whistles so to speak.
No doubt, Zacharias and Elizabeth thought that their promised son John would live out his life as a faithful Levite priest serving in and around the Temple. They probably thought John would proclaim the coming of the Messiah in some type of major Temple event. And yet, as Luke writes, John being led by the LORD was told to live out in the rugged wilderness and proclaim a powerful message centering on repentance, forgiveness of sin and water baptism.
John traded in his priestly robe for the prophet's camel haired garment. John traded in his comfortable room for camping out in the wilderness and desert area near the Jordan River. John traded working inside the hallways of the Temple for the waters of the Jordan River. And John traded in a daily diet of bread, fish and the occasional lamb or goat feast for a meager diet of locust and wild honey.
John's message was simple, to the point and packed with supernatural power - "Repent of your sins, seek God's forgiveness, submit to water baptism and follow it all up with a life dedicated to holy living". John's message of repentance of course was not new; plenty of prophets, priests and scribes had proclaimed, prayed and penned down the message of repentance. John's message centering on the need for the forgiveness of sin was not new. That too, had been proclaimed by all the ancient men and women of God. And of course the challenge to live a holy life was not new either. Even the ritual of water baptism was not new. So, what was new? The newness was how John employed the ritual of baptism and to the audience he was calling to experience water baptism.
Commonly, water baptism was seen as a ritual set aside for Gentiles seeking to become followers of YHWH. Water baptism was one of the initiation rites that non-Jewish believers would do to publicly proclaim that they were leaving behind their old life and becoming a follower of the Torah. Through the ritual of water baptism they would publicly display to the world that they had forsaken their pagan gods and had accepted YHWH as the one and only true God. Water baptism was a way for Gentiles to become a part of God's Holy People.
But here was John, proclaiming the need for everyone, both Jews and Gentiles to repent, be baptize and live a holy life. And people from all walks of life were responding to that call. Tax collectors, shepherds, soldiers, stone masons, carpenters, fishermen, scribes and people everywhere were coming out to hear John preach. They would then repent of their sins, seek God's forgiveness, immersed themselves in the waters of the Jordan and then go about doing all they could to live a holy life for the glory of God.
God had greatly anointed and empowered John's ministry. Everyone who heard him speak knew that John was filled with the very spirit of God. People were seeking and finding salvation outside the doors of the Temple at Jerusalem. People were being delivered and liberated from their sins outside the rituals and sacrifices of the Temple. Hundreds were passionately asking God to forgive them of their sins outside the norm of sacrificing a lamb, a bull or a goat. They were seeking God with all their heart, mind and soul. They were choosing to have their sins washed away in the Jordan River rather than traveling to the Herod's Temple and going through all the rituals and rites. They believed that John held the key to salvation and newness of life rather than those serving in Herod's Temple in Jerusalem. There was the excitement of God doing a new work among His people.
All of this was causing quite a stir. No one really knew what to do with John and his growing crowd of followers. John's preaching came with great power. He had the backing of a Levite pedigree and he spoke with a Holy Spirit anointing. People's lives were being transformed in ways not seen since the time of the prophets Zachariah and Malachi.
In verses 21-22 Luke tells us that Jesus Himself came to John to hear his message and to be baptized in the Jordan River. Of course, Jesus did not need to repent of any sin, for the Bible is clear that Jesus was sinless ( 1 Peter 2:22; 2 Corinthians 5:21 and 1 John 3:5). It is true that Jesus was tempted but it is also true that Jesus never yielded to any temptation (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus lived a sinless life, pure and holy.
So, why does Jesus step into the water to be baptized? In being baptized, Jesus indentifies with all humanity. He choose to walk the same walk of salvation that we all have to walk. By submitting to water baptism, Jesus affirms and validates the ministry and mission of John the Baptist. By being baptized Jesus begins the process of merging the major images of salvation; the cross of Calvary, repentance, forgiveness, redemption, water baptism and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Let's take a few moments this morning and look intently at verses 21-22. Luke shares with us three vital and crucial pictures of what happens in the life of Jesus post baptism. Luke shares with us three distinct pictures that inform, encourage and challenge us to share the same experience as Jesus did following His baptism. It is those three pictures that I believe that the Holy Spirit is wanting us to examine this morning. For I believe Luke reveals to us through Jesus exactly what type of abundant life we are to enjoy following our own baptism.
I. The first picture Luke shares with us is of Jesus immediately praying following His baptism. "AND AS HE WAS PRAYING"
Don't miss this crucial and vital picture that Luke desires to impress upon our hearts and minds. Luke throughout His Gospel takes great pains mentioning to us how Jesus baths his life in prayer. Prayer was like sweet honey in Jesus' life. Luke tells us in Luke 6:12-16, that Jesus spent the whole night in prayer before He made his final decision on which 12 men would be His disciples. This means that Jesus spent around eight hours talking to His Heavenly Father to understand who He should choose to be among The Twelve. Jesus did nothing without taking to His Heavenly Father.
Luke shares with us in Luke 9 all about the three day trip up and three day trip back down that 9,000 foot mountain Jesus and three of his disciples took to have a special prayer meeting. Six days of traveling these four men did to spend some special time in prayer with God the Father. That is how important Luke wants us to understand the value of prayer. And you may remember it is on that mountain during that prayer meeting that Jesus experiences the Transfiguration.
Luke shares with us in Luke 19:45-47 that Jesus went to the Temple in Jerusalem to spend some special time in prayer. It was Jesus' belief that the main function of the Temple was to be a place dedicated to prayer. More important than worship, sacrifice or anything else was the fact that when one is in God's House there must be concentrated times dedicated for prayer. Jesus knew that without prayer there is no worship. Jesus knew that without concentrated prayer there is no presence of God.
Jesus prayed and therefore we pray. It is just that simple. Prayer, spending time with His Heavenly Father was how Jesus was able to live and accomplish His mission here on earth. Prayer is the only way that you and I can successfully live here on earth. Prayer is the only way we will be able to do all the LORD wants us to do and experience. Without prayer we will be clueless and powerless.
Luke provides for us this picture of Jesus to inspire us, to challenge us and to encourage us. Following our baptism we are to by nature be people of prayer. Following our baptism we are to take up the mantle of a prayer warrior. Why? Jesus prayed and therefore we pray. We pray at home. We pray at work. We pray when we get up and when we lie down. We pray at school and at play. We pray as we drive down the road. We pray as we work in the field or the factory. We pray as Paul tells us, without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Failure to pray is not even thinkable, it is not even an option for a baptized disciple of Jesus. Jesus bathed Himself in prayer and so to should we. Jesus prayed and therefore we pray.
II. Secondly, Luke shares with the picture of Jesus receiving the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove - "and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove..."
Luke's image here is rather surprising. The image of a dove was not the usual image one would use to refer to the Holy Spirit. More common was the picture of fire in portraying the Holy Spirit. Usually, the image of a dove was used when one wanted to speak of God's grace or God's creative power.
However, I wonder if God used the image of a dove at Jesus' baptism to bring back the image of Noah's dove following the Great Flood. Being without sin, Jesus would not have needed the image of the fire of the Holy Spirit. After all, the image of fire was used with the idea of getting rid of the impurities. The Holy Spirit as fire is to purify and make holy. Jesus was sinless and holy and therefore needed no refinement or purification. He was not in need of the fires of the Holy Spirit and so we have the image of the dove I believe.
Following the Flood we have the story of Noah sending out the dove and we receive the announcement that a new time has come for humankind. A new era has arrived for humans to once again inhabit and create God's world. Creation had been washed of man's sin and all was right in the sight of God again. Perhaps that is why God revealed His Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. In Jesus Christ, humans would be able to actually experience a new age; the age of everlasting salvation through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. In Christ there would be a deliverance from sin, pride, Hell, death and the grave. In Christ there would be redemption, renewal and restoration of God's image in humans.
This morning, whether we see it or not, we all receive God's Holy Spirit at our baptism. When we rise from the waters, we receive God's Holy Spirit. That Spirit comes when we are both baptized by water and later by the fire of the Holy Spirit.
Luke shares that after Jesus' baptism, Jesus begins His earthly ministry with great power. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus defeats Satan in the wilderness. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus heals the deaf, the mute and the blind. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus cleanses the lepers and raises the dead. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus preaches, teaches and casts out demons. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus accomplishes His ministry and mission. It is through the Holy Spirit Jesus obediently goes to the cross to die for you and me this morning.
It is through that same Holy Spirit that we are to live victorious today. Baptized followers of Jesus are never to be terrified or fearful of the devil. Just the opposite. Jesus tells us that the very gates of Hell cannot prevail against the Church of Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:17-19). The Devil has been and will always be afraid of a baptized sanctified Spirit filled led person/congregation of Jesus Christ. It was in the power of the Holy Spirit that the Early Church experienced so many spiritual victories and experience so much growth.
Jesus came out of that water empowered and ready to witness for His Heavenly Father. We too are encouraged to receive the same Holy Spirit so that we too can live an abundant and courageous life for our LORD. The more each of us prays for the anointing of the Holy Spirit the more power, the greater the witness and more people will be brought to the LORD.
When the Early Church was being persecuted it understood that its only option was to pray for a new anointing of the Holy Spirit. Listen to the words of Acts 4:29 ff
And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. 30 Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.
Now, everyone in that room had already been filled with the Holy Spirit. What they asked for and received was a new anointing. At times we get weak because we are merely flesh and blood. It is at those time that we must not shy away. It is at those time that as baptized brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus that we pray for a new anointing. It is at those times that we are encouraged to seek a deeper anointing of the Holy Spirit.
It is then and only then that things begin to happen for all of us. This same Holy Spirit gives you and me power and gentleness to meet our daily challenges. To face the challenges of this life. To face the trials and tribulations that life along with the devil brings our way. To face the challenges of our parents aging, to face the challenges of our own aging. To face the problems that come up in our marriages, our families, our jobs and even our churches. To face the injustices that come up in the world that surround us. To face the demonic power in this world that causes sickness, hunger and disease. To face the demonic power that causes poverty, addictions and abuse. When the Holy Spirit is inside you and the people around you, there is power, spiritual power. There is a power that can changes your life and the lives of those around you. There is no problem that the Holy Spirit cannot solve! More than ever today we need to power and presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, in our families and in God's Churches.
III. Thirdly, Luke paints for us the Picture of the Heavenly Father telling the World - THIS IS MY SON, IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED
This morning we understand that Jesus is unique. He is the Son of God, the only Son of God. God speaks out these words - "This is my beloved Son." This is my Only Son. The Bible is very clear about Jesus' identity. Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. There are no other genetic sons or daughters. Jesus is unique, One of a Kind.
In saying that Jesus has made it possible for all of us to be adopted by His Heavenly Father. Ephesians 1:5 tells us that through the blood of Jesus we can be God's adopted children. (Ephesians 1:5). Listen to what Paul writes in Romans 8:14-17 (NIV):
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[f] And by him we cry, “Abba,[g] Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
This morning as baptized believers in Jesus Christ we have been made sons and daughters of God. Our relationship with God has been transformed. Once we were enemies of God, says Paul in Colossians 1:21, but no longer. Through the redeeming blood of Jesus, we are transformed from enemies of the cross to adopted members into the family of God.
Jesus' shed blood does more than just liberate and deliver us from the power and penalty of sin. If that was all salvation brought that in itself would be amazing. However, the New Testament wants to make it clear that in Christ we are made a part of God's Holy Family. Regardless of gender, skin color, cultural background or pedigree we all are invited to be a part of God's Holy Family. In Christ we have been given a new identity and a new relationship of intimacy with God. In Christ we have been adopted.
One of joys of life is when our children marry another person. Suddenly, in mere moments that person goes from having the relationship of a familiar friend to being a vital part of your intimate family. That girl or boy is no longer just the person your child is dating. Once the vows are exchanged their relationship changes, they are now a part of your family. They are now your son or daughter as well.
The same is true of blended families. I have been amazed over the years to watch families blend together. His, hers and mine do not stay his or hers or even mine. They all become brothers and sisters, children and loved beyond measure. When that doesn't happen it is always sad and tragic. For that is not how it is intended to be.
I have always loved the words that Ruth speaks to her mother-in-law Naomi recorded in Ruth 1:16
But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. (ESV)
Hear again those words: Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you go, I will go. Where you lodge, I will lodge.
The intimacy and the depth of closeness of that pledge and relationship is only a sign of what can happen between us and the LORD. For we not only become His Children we become brothers and sisters in Christ. We see a joining vertically and horizontally. We become a part of the Body of Christ, needing one another, wanting one another and seeking one another.
This morning, in chapter three of His Gospel, Dr. Luke shares with us these three great pictures of Jesus following His baptism:
+Jesus life in Prayer
+Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit
+Jesus being identified and proclaim as God's Son
This morning, as God Baptized, Blood Washed, Redeemed People we to are called to be
+A People of Prayer - Jesus prayed and therefore we pray
+A People filled with the Power of the Holy Spirit - Jesus went forth in the power of the Holy Spirit - so does the Church of Jesus Christ
+A People who have been adopted into the Family of God - joint heir of everlasting life.
This morning as we close I invite you to come to the LORD's Table. Rejoice in your Christian baptism. Rejoice in your prayer life. Rejoice in your anointing of the Holy Spirit. Rejoice in your status as God's Holy Children.
As you come forward this morning open your heart to receive God, His Son and His Holy Spirit. As you make your way to the front in a few moments - commit to the LORD in prayer, ask for a new anointing and go forth and live out the life of an adopted child of God.
