Scripture: Matthew 3:7-12
Title: Holiness at the River
John shares with us three wonderful gifts of the baptism/fire of the Holy Spirit - 1. A New Life 2. A New Life of Power 3. A New Life of Order and Direction
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God our Father and from His Son Jesus Christ who came to take away the sin of the world!
Who is that man speaking over there at the Jordan River? Did I just hear what I thought I heard? Is it true that John the Baptizer is really the Prophet Elijah come back to life? Or is John the long awaited Messiah?
For nearly 400 years the voice of a God anointed prophet had not been heard around the Jordan River or anywhere else for that matter. Suddenly, out of nowhere John the Baptist appeared dressed in camel's hair and wearing a leather belt eating a diet of honey and locust. He looked like something from the ancient past. He looked and sounded like the real deal. His voice was strong and his message was unrelenting.
John the Baptist was from the Tribe of the Levi. God had appointed the Levites to be the priests around the Temple and subsequently around the synagogues. At the time of Jesus over 20,000 Levites lived in and around the city of Jerusalem taking care of the Temple when it was their appointed time. So, what was John doing down at the River Jordan? Why wasn't he standing beside those who were serving in the Temple?
What we may not remember is that some of Israel's greatest prophets came out of the Tribe of Levi . In fact, the greatest prophet and Law Giver Moses ben Amram comes out of the Tribe of Levi. The Bible tells us that some other great prophets including the likes of Jeremiah and Ezekiel came out of the Tribe of Levi. While John had not taken up the linen clothes of the priesthood he was being true to his heritage and to his call.
Fearlessly, John the Baptizer denounced evil wherever he found it. It didn't matter if that sin was found in King Herod's palace or in the halls of the Temple or even in the lifestyles of the Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes. Unashamedly and without hesitation John relentlessly rebuked evil. Noted British Bible Scholar Dr. William Barclay calls John a "light in dark places; he was like a wind which swept from God throughout the country".
Denouncing evil, however, was only a minor part of John's message. John didn't spend his whole ministry fixated on the negative. John didn't go around seeking places where he could rail against evil. John focused most of his ministry on promoting the positive life of holiness. He summoned men, women and children to live a life of progressive righteousness. He challenged people to enjoy a higher life in the LORD. John the Baptizer wanted people to know that the LORD was leading them towards a new life of holiness.
John challenged people to be baptized into a life of repentance and spiritual formation. John's baptism was a bridge between the Jewish ritual Mikveh and what we today call Christian baptism.1 In John's day those who repented and were symbolically cleansed by water still continued to go to the Temple, celebrate the festivals and offer prayers and sacrifices. They continued to be faithful to the Law and the Prophets. It was only after Pentecost that the disciples and the Early Church began to understand Christian baptism as a outward sign of the inward work of justification and regeneration made possible through the shed blood of Jesus the Messiah. (Matthew 28:19)
In verse 11, John points beyond himself to the one who was to come. John speaks of a person who would come and bring not only the effects of water baptism but would do even more. This person would come and baptize those who would accept the baptism of the Holy Spirit with fire. We know today that John was speaking of Jesus Christ our Savior and LORD.
What John is sharing had been the life dream of the Jewish people for ages. All throughout their history they had been looking for time when the Holy Spirit would come. Ever since the Lord had put the words of Ezekiel 36:26-27 - "... I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will pour my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statues and be careful to obey my rules" (ESV) the people had been longing for that day to come to reality.
Now, John says that day was upon them. The one who would bring that promise to pass was now in their very midst.
This morning, let's focus on what John was sharing about when he talked about a baptism in the Holy Spirit. What does it mean for the Holy Spirit to come into our lives with fire? What are the gifts and the working of the Holy Spirit this morning?
As we look at the answer we must remember that John is speaking to a Jewish audience. John was a faithful Jewish man who lived by the Law, the Prophets and the Writings. He had been raised in and around the Temple by his father Zachariah who was a priest. John comes to us sharing with us very Jewish ideas about the coming of the Holy Spirit. What we are going to see this morning is that those Jewish ideas are the same as our Christian ideas. When we speak of the coming of the Holy Spirit and when we talk about the fire of the Holy Spirit we are doing so in accordance to what God revealed in the Law, Prophets and in the Writings. What John shares is a fulfillment of what the Lord shared from the very beginning of time in the Garden of Eden.
This morning, what does John mean when he says that Jesus will bring the Holy Spirit?
I. It means that the Holy Spirit will bring New Life
The Hebrew word for "spirit" is RUACH. In Greek "ruach" is translated as "pneuma". It refers not only to God's spirit but it refers first and foremost to the "BREATH OF GOD". It refers to that which has the power to bring LIFE.
Way back in the Garden of Eden our writer shares with us the story of the creation of Adam, the first human being. We read in Genesis chapter two where the Lord God Almighty took the dirt of the earth and formed the first human being. The Lord took the elements of all that He put on our planet and fashion Adam. The name "ADAM" means "red dirt."
But Adam had no life. All he had was form and structure. Adam had a mouth, he had arms and legs but he could not move. He was simply chemicals and elements fashioned into the body of a man. As Genesis 2:7 tells us "then the LORD GOD from the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature." (ESV)
With God's breath (RUACH) Adam came alive. He transformed from being a lifeless body into a moving, thinking and sentient being. No longer was he simply a mixture of chemicals and elements from the earth. He was alive. He could talk. He could reason. He could move about and interact with the land and with all creation. He could laugh. He could love. He could rejoice and commune with God. Adam was alive! He was alive physically and more importantly spiritually. Adam was perfect both physically and spiritually.
What made all the difference in Adam's life was the RUACH of the LORD - God's Holy Spirit, God's Holy Breath, Without that life giving breath of God in our lives we are all just a combination of earth elements and chemicals. Without God's breath we are not truly alive.
Not long after creation God gave Adam a wife named Eve. They were physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually perfect. It was God's design that they would live and fill the earth with God's holiness and righteousness. They would create Paradise all over the earth.
However, both Adam and his wife Eve decided to rebel (sin) against the LORD. The Devil, after being cast out of heaven came to earth and began lying to them. He lied to them and told them that the LORD did not have their best interests at heart. It was true that the Lord had created them. It was true that God had placed them in this wonderful garden. It was true that God spoke to them in the cool of the evening. But what wasn't true was that God had their best interests at heart. God was holding them back. God was keeping them from fulfilling their fullest potential.
The Devil told Adam and Eve that right at their finger tips was a whole new existence. If they would just partake of the fruit then their eyes would be open. They would know right from wrong. Their minds would be expanded and their lives would be transformed so that they too would be like the LORD. They would not be bound by time and space. They would be able to do the same things that the LORD did. And so, we read in Genesis 3 they disobey the LORD their GOD.
As a result of their disobedience they did not rise to a new level of holiness they instead devolved into a life of creatureness and sin. Sin entered into the world and no longer was mankind pure and holy. As a result Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden and were dead in their sins. It was only by the grace of God that they were not completely destroyed. Since then all humans have come under the penalty and curse of sin.
But God was not finished with humans. He told Adam and Eve that one day a Savior would come. One day God would send His only begotten Son that all who believed in Him would never perish but experience everlasting life. One day God would redeem all those who chose to repent, be baptized and filled with His Holy Spirit.
This is what John was pointing towards when he spoke about the coming of the Holy Spirit into our lives. Without God's Holy Spirit we are all simply dead humans walking around our planet. Some have said that we are only spiritual zombies. We appear to have life but we are void of true spiritual life. But when we are filled with the Holy Spirit we experience New Life. When we allow the Holy Spirit to bring us new life from above we are Born Again. When we allow the Holy Spirit into our lives we experience justification, regeneration and sanctification. When we allow the Holy Spirit into our lives (the ruach of God) we are forever changed and transformed! We are redeemed, renewed and being restored into the image of Jesus!
II. Secondly, John tells us that the Holy Spirit brings supernatural power in our lives
John first tells us that "ruach" refers to the life giving breath of God. The Jewish people also believed that God's breath surrounded the earth in the form of wind. The wind that flowed around the earth was seen to be a part of God's holy breath.
Think for a moment of the power that wind possesses. Most of us have witnessed the awesome power of the wind in storms, hurricanes and tornadoes. The average speed of those winds can be around 250 - 350 mph. Scientist tells us that the wind can actually reach a top speed of around 500 mph. The Echotech Institute estimates that if the US would build approx. 900 wind projects the wind could help us generate around 60,000 megawatts of power. That would be enough power to take care of all the homes in Los Angeles, Houston, New York City and Chicago. That means if we would harness the power of the wind we could take care of the energy needs of more than 15 million homes.2 That's the power of God's breath around the world.
In a very similar fashion the Jews believed that the Spirit would bring that "wind power" into their lives. They believed that when God's Spirit entered into a man, his weakness are covered with the power of the LORD's breath. That believed that when a man is filled with God's Spirit that he is able to do things that would have once been considered impossible.
They pointed to what happened in the lives of people like Moses, Samson, Saul and Elijah. Men who were filled with the ruach of the LORD and were able to do supernatural things. Moses was able to be in the presence of the LORD and live. Samson was filled with the Spirit of God and display amazing physical strength. Saul was able to speak the language of the angels and Elijah was able to call down fire from heaven.
After Pentecost, the Early Church testified of the power of God's Holy Spirit. In Acts chapter two the Gospel message is shared in the speaking of many languages. In Acts chapter five Peter's shadow became a means of healing. In Acts chapter eight, Philip was bodily transported from the road to Gaza to Azotus. In Acts chapter sixteen, Paul and Silas are miraculously freed from prison and Eutychus is raised from the dead. In that same chapter the Apostle Paul is also guided by the wind of the Holy Spirit to shift his missionary campaign from Asia to Macedonia. In every case it is the wind, it is the power of the Holy Spirit that enables the Early Church to advance the Good News of Jesus Christ. It is the "RUACH" of the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY granting them supernatural power.
Perhaps one of the greatest display of this Spirit filled "breath power" is recorded in Acts 4:23 - 31 when the Early Church was struggling in its boldness and faith. The Apostles Peter and John had been arrested and were commanded to no longer speak or heal in the name of Jesus. The little band of Christ followers found themselves once again struggling with anxiety and fear. Would they once again hide behind closed doors? Would the movement of Jesus be stopped before it had really gotten started?
Dr. Luke tells us that this time instead of deciding to hide behind closed doors they went to the LORD in prayer asking for the power of the Holy Spirit. Listen again to verse 31 - "And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness." (ESV).
This is exactly what Jesus spoke about when he told his disciples in Acts 1:7- 9 "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
John here was sharing what was going to take place through Jesus Christ. Today, we can experience not only New Life through the "Ruach" of God but we also can experience supernatural power.
III. Finally, John tells us that the Spirit will bring Order, Peace and Harmony
The Jewish people believed that the Holy Spirit was intimately connected with the work of creation. They rightly believed that it was the "Ruach" - the Spirit of the LORD who moved upon the face of the waters and created order out of chaos - "The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the spirit of the LORD was hovering over the face of the waters." (Genesis 1:2) ESV
They believed that the Holy Spirit turned all that void, all that darkness and disorder and give it order, peace and harmony. They believed that the "ruach" of God (the Holy Spirit) took the chaos that was surrounding the world and brought about the order of creation. John believed that that it would be through the baptism of the Holy Spirit that humans would experience New Life, New Power and a life of Peace, Order and Harmony.
This morning, we need to realize that it is through the Holy Spirit that we do experience harmony, peace and oneness. It is through the Holy Spirit that chaos, disarray and confusion are transformed into peace, harmony and order.
In Acts chapter 7, Dr. Luke shares a story about the time that the Early Church was faced with a dilemma that could have splinted its unity and oneness. The Greek speaking Jewish widows were being overlooked while the Hebrew speaking widows' needs were been meet. Both groups were widows but preferential treatments was being given to those who could speak Hebrew. Now, if you have ever been around a group of people in which one faction felt that another faction was being given preferential treatment then you understand how potentially dangerous the situation was here in chapter Acts chapter seven.
All of this could have exploded and the Early Church been splintered beyond repair. This was a spiritual ticking time bomb. But watch what Dr. Luke tells us happens. The Apostles had prioritized their time to be dedicated primarily to times of prayer and the WORD. They were doing their best to saturate their lives with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Everything they did, everything they wanted to do was surrendered to the will of the Holy Spirit.
Dr. Luke tells us that the same Holy Spirit that brought peace, harmony and order to the chaos at the time of creation brought peace, harmony and order to the Early Church. The Holy Spirit directed the Apostles to pick seven men filled with the Holy Spirit to begin overseeing this situation. What could have been disastrous turned out to be a Spirit-filled, Spirit-led miracle. It didn't happen by accident. It happened because the Early Church went to pray and asked the Holy Spirit to come and take the confusion, the disharmony and chaos and transform it into a miracle of harmony, peace and order.
We see the same type of thing happening in the Church at Corinth. In chapters 12 - 14 Paul has to remind the Corinthians over and over again that when we allow the Holy Spirit to be in charge we can expect order, peace and harmony. It is when we try to be in charge that we find disorder, disharmony and confusion. "For God is not a God of confusion but of peace." (1 Corinthians 14:33) ESV
In much the same way the work of the Holy Spirit can bring harmony and peace to any small group, church, family or individual. At times we can find ourselves out of tune with God, with ourselves and with one another. We can find ourselves so out of tune that all we can experience is disharmony, chaos and confusion. In our own strength we don't have the ability to bring order out of chaos. In our own strength all we will do is exacerbate the situation. We will make it 1000 times worse. However, if we will take the time and allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through us we will experience as Paul says a peace that passes understanding.
This morning as we close by sharing the Table of our Lord let us rejoice in the message given to us through John the Baptist. The LORD GOD ALMIGHTY worked through John the Baptist to share with us the gift and works of the Holy Spirit. The Lord reveals through God that through the Holy Spirit we are able to:
+Experience new life - when we allow the Holy Spirit into our lives we can be assured that the Spirit will breath into us God's everlasting life. We can be assured that the Spirit will remove our weariness, will take away our defeatedness and will give us His New Life - a life of newness and vitality.
+Experience great power. When the Holy Spirit is allowed to fill our lives we discover that we can do things that we beforehand were impossible. We can withstand persecution. We can withstand trials. We can love the unloveable and forgive the unforgiveable. "We can do the undoable, face the unfaceable and bear the unbearable."3
+Experience peace, tranquility and harmony. It means that mind and body, soul and body are working together for a unified purpose and speaking a unified truth. It means that my mind is not going in one direction and my body in the opposite direction. I’m not torn up and fragmented inside. It means as a group we experience one Lord, one faith and one baptism.
This morning as we come to the Table of the LORD let us come ready to receive the Holy Spirit. Let us open our hearts, our minds and our souls to receive again the baptism of God's Holy Spirit. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to bring us new life, new power and to bring order, peace and harmony to our lives.
This is the message of God for the people of God.
1 See an excellent article at http://jewsforjesus.org/publications/issues/v02-n10/baptism
2 https://www.ecotechinstitute.com/ecotech-news/how-powerful-is-wind-energy
3 William Barclay's - The Gospel of Matthew - The Daily Bible Series was quite helpful in composing this sermon
