Scripture: Mark 1:4-11; Genesis 1:1-5; Psalm 29 (Call to Worship)
Theme: Splashing With Jesus!
Title: "Water Marks" or Splashing with Jesus!
I. Baptism is a Sacrament of Joy II. Baptism is a Sacrament of Relishing a Life in the Holy Spirit
INTRO:
Grace and peace and love from God our Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
A few weeks ago we were able to travel down south and visit some of our family that lives around Baton Rouge and Denham Springs, Louisiana. It's been a little over a year and a half since both cities experienced the Flood of 2016 that now has been called one of the worst US natural disasters to hit the US since Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
Over 146,000 homes in Baton Rouge Parish and in Livingston Parish were affected with many of them being totally destroyed or uninhabitable. Estimates of over 30,000 people had to be rescued from rising life threatening water. Volunteers from all over the nation came to help and provide assistance. Many of those were boat-owning residents of Louisiana and the state of Mississippi. They formed an informal rescue service that became known as the Cajun Navy and navigated through some of the areas in answer to calls they received via social media. Over 1,000 people owe their lives to these brave men and women who out of love came to their rescue.
The flood affected everything from homes, to business, to schools and even to the local prison system. Over 240,000 school children were unable to attend classes for a period of time as some 22 schools were adversely affected by the flood waters. The Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women (LCIW), located in St. Gabriel and the sole Louisiana state prison for women, had 985 prisoners at the time of the flooding and each one of them had to be cautiously evacuated to other facilities. It was the first time in Louisiana history that the whole population of a prison had to be evacuated.
The total cost of damages from the flood has been estimated to be somewhere between 10 - 15 billion dollars making it one of the 10 worst storms to hit the United States in the last 100 years. Scientists looking over all the data have concluded that the event was a 1,000 year flood meaning that such a flood should only occur once every 1,000 years.
Anyone who has ever been through such a disaster knows that nature leaves behind not only multiple signs of wreckage but also what could be called "water marks". If you drive around the area you can see visible signs of how high up the water got on buildings, homes, monuments and natural landscapes. High water marks tell a story.
Similarly, if you happen to drive on Riverside Drive in Clarksville, Tennessee you can see some of their high "water marks" from flood that happened in their city back in 2010. You may not be able to clearly see them on buildings or landscapes as time has erased most of them but you can see one of them very clearly if you dine in at the Wendy's Restaurant that is located near the Cumberland River.
The original Wendy's Restaurant had to be demolished because of all the flood damage that had occurred. The owners built a new building in which they creatively marked a part of their wall in the dining area to show how far up the water had reached in the old building. That water mark serves as a reminder of just how high the flood was in that part of the restaurant and in Clarksville, Tennessee. It also serves as a reminder of the tenacity and perseverance of the city of Clarksville and the Wendy's Corporation. Instead of allowing the flood to defeat them they creatively used the water mark to positively speak of the enduring nature of the human spirit.
This morning our passage of scripture speaks about a different kind of watermark. It is a water mark that each one of us is to possess in our own lives after we have received the LORD JESUS CHRIST as our personal Savior and Lord. It is the water mark of Christian baptism. Unlike many of those other "water marks" that we see left behind because of flood waters this "water mark" is to be a lasting positive reminder of our New Life in Jesus. It is to remind us of God's amazing grace and the purifying and continual infilling presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Without a doubt, Christian baptism is one of the most beautiful sacraments that we can experience as a disciple of Jesus Christ. It is mystical, supernatural and life transforming. It is an outward sign that we have received an inward grace - the grace of the New Birth - justification, redemption, regeneration and sanctification.
However, Christian baptism is also a sacrament that many people have misunderstood and because of that misunderstanding some aspects of baptism have become controversial. A great deal of the difficulty has arisen out of ignorance and people taking baptism out of its original Biblical and historical context:
+Sadly, some people see baptism as some type of "HOLY CLUB" ritual that you have to endure to be considered to be a part of the Jesus Club. Baptism is viewed as a mere ritual and one that is more in line with being some type of common initiation rite. But as we shall see this morning, baptism is much more than a common initiation rite. It is more than a mere ritual. It is mystical, supernatural and transformative.
+Others have viewed and used baptism as a means to determine church membership. That is to say, in order to be a part of this denomination or even this particular church you must undergo a "certain" rite of baptism. Certain meaning that it does not matter if you have been baptized before. It is necessary for a person to undergo "their" baptism in order to join that denomination or that particular church fellowship.
Personally, I believe that when you are baptized you are baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I do not read in the New Testament where Christian baptism is to either be accepted or rejected determining on some particular denominational or church rules. I personally believe that everyone's baptism should be recognized and validated.
+Others have argued and argued quite extensively and vehemently concerning whether or not infants or children should be baptized. This too has caused a great deal of confusion and controversy. There are strong arguments given on both sides of the issue.
Personally, I do believe in the validity of both infants and children receiving baptism. But I also believe that if a person is baptized as an infant then their baptism should be confirmed when they later accept the LORD JESUS CHRIST as their Personal Savior and LORD. And when it comes to children if they have received the LORD JESUS CHRIST as their Savior and LORD then who are we to deny them baptism. I have known children who as young as four years of age have knelt down and prayed for the LORD to forgive them and be the Savior and LORD. And while we may wonder if they fully understand everything can we say that we fully understand all the wonders of grace, mercy and God's love? Whether we are four or ninety-four do we not all come by faith through grace alone?
So, what can we say this morning about this wonderful sacrament? What can we say about this high "water mark" in our lives? What high praise can we bestow upon Christian baptism and what high honor should it hold in our own individual lives?
Let's take a moment or two this morning and examine what I believe the Holy Spirit wants us to understand about Christian baptism.
I. Baptism is a Sacrament of Joy
The Bible wants us to understand that one of the words that should always surround baptism is the word Joy. Joy for being brought out of darkness into the light. Joy for knowing that we have been rescued, redeemed and are being restored into the image of Jesus.
When John the Baptist started his ministry it was full of joy, excitement and celebration. Here was this man proclaiming that God was once again intervening into the life of Israel. For some 400 years people had believed that God had been silent ( He had not) and that now with John the Baptist a new age was beginning to dawn.
Certainly, a new age was beginning to dawn. We today know that John the Baptist was the forerunner of our Lord Jesus who came down to share life with us, live as one of us and die for us so that we might be freed from the powers of darkness and live as people of light.
John saw his mission to be that of calling God's people to repent of their sins and begin to enjoy a new life in God. John was calling for the people to confess their wrongdoings and then accept the grace that the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY had for them. John wanted them to become a part of God's New Work - the Work of Repentance, Confession, Forgiveness and Redemption.
John was not out merely lambasting people. John's message was not a message of condemnation and judgment. He was not interested in seeing how many people he could upset or how many people he could denounce. That was not the message that the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY wanted John to share. That was not the purpose for which he had been born or called.
Yes, it is true that John denounced a life of sin. Yes, it is true that John took on the powers of darkness and evil. Yes, it true that John preached a message of repentance. But all of that was a vital part of the new age of salvation, forgiveness, justification and redemption.
John the Baptist was the forerunner of the message of full and complete salvation. John the Baptist was the forerunner of the greatest news mankind had ever heard. It was John who cried out "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29 b - ESV).
Those words were not words of condemnation or denunciation. Instead, they were words to promote grace and holiness. They were words that spoke about the ability of the penalty of sin being removed and the power of sin being broken. They were words that spoke of a new age of being forgiveness and living in God's Holy Spirit. John the Baptist new that the New Covenant spoke of by the Prophet Jeremiah (chapter 31) and Ezekiel (chapter 36) was coming to pass.
Since the fall of Adam and Eve sin and its effects had ruled and ruined all of God's Good Creation. Life on earth had for millennia had to live and suffer under the rule of evil and its disastrous effects. Death had come to rule over all creation. Chaos had come to rule over all creation. Greed, violence and immorality had come to rule over God's Good Creation.
Now, with the coming of John and more importantly with the coming of God in flesh - Jesus Christ of Nazareth a new age was coming to pass. Evil in its most concentrated form - Satan - would be defeated once and for all and the path of rescue and redemption would be open for all people everywhere. No longer would sin be allowed to reign over God's Good Creation. The penalty of sin would be paid by God Himself on the Cross of Calvary and the power of sin would be broken. Mankind could be at peace with God, with themselves, with other human beings and with creation. Mankind could enjoy a life of holiness and righteousness.
This is what the Apostle Paul would share as a part of his testimony in Acts chapter 26. In verse 18 of that chapter we read these words:
"to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me."
In Colossians 1:13- 14 the Apostle Paul puts it in these words:
"He (Jesus Christ) has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin."
Did you hear all of those wonderful truths? The truths of forgiveness, redemption and sanctification? The truth that we can go from living a life dominated by darkness to living a life of light and holiness. The truth that we no longer have to be under the either the penalty of sin nor the power of sin or Satan?
This is why we celebrate the sacrament of baptism. For baptism is the outward sign that an inward grace and transformation has taken place in our lives. Baptism is the outward sign that God's New Covenant is a reality in the here and now.
John wants us to understand that in our own strength we are powerless to live a holy life even if we knew every facet of the Code of Holiness. No one knew God's Law better than God's People and yet one of the things that we know for 100 % certainty is that Israel was never able in its own strength to live up to the life of Holiness that God had for them. They could only do it through Him and all too often they relied on their own works than they did God's amazing and wonderful grace.
By its very nature and design baptism speaks to us of surrendering ourselves over to the LORD and dying out to our carnal natures. We symbolically go under the water and are risen to a new life - a new life in Christ which is the meaning of Christian baptism. Christian baptism symbolizes that we have repented and have died out to sin and have been raised to New Life through the power of our Lord and Savior Jesus.
This means therefore that baptism is a supernatural event. Baptism is mystical and mysterious. Baptism is full of grace, majesty and wonder. Baptism speaks of us dying and being raised again in the power of Jesus Christ and it is to be enjoyed and celebrated. Baptism is to be cherished and rejoiced over. Baptism is to be a high water mark in our New Life in Christ.
II. Baptism is a Sacrament of Relishing a Life in the Holy Spirit
When our Savior and LORD Jesus was baptized the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit came down upon Him. This should not surprise us. Jesus wanted us to know that was the way He was going to live his life here on earth - through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. It was to be a sign post pointing the way that we would all be able to live - through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.
While Christian baptism speaks of New Life it speaks of a New Life in and through the Holy Spirit.
John the Baptist is careful to point out to us that Jesus came to take away the sin of the world. (see John 1:29-33) In verse 33, he is very careful to point out to us that Jesus has come to baptize those who follow Him with the Holy Spirit and fire. We see the fulfillment of that very event in Acts 2 with the Out pouring of God's Holy Spirit upon those in the Upper Room and the 3,000 that came to faith in Jesus that day.
In Acts 18 we discover this rather unusual story concerning a man by the name of Apollos. The Bible tells us that Apollos had been baptized in water but as yet had not been baptized by the Holy Spirit. In fact, while Apollos had powerfully preached the message of Jesus he had as yet received the fullness of God's Holy Spirit in his life.
And in chapter 19 the Apostle Paul finds even more disciples just like Apollos. All of them had been baptized in water but had not yet realized the baptism of God's Holy Spirit. In fact, they had not even become aware of the power and presence of God's Holy Spirit.
Well, the Apostle Paul was not going to let them live down to a level of a Christianity void of the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. In chapter 19 we see that the Apostle does all he can to help them receive the Holy Spirit and to live a life renewed and empowered. Listen to how Luke puts it:
"And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?' And they said, 'No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.' And he (Paul) said, 'Into what then were you baptized?' They said, 'Into John's baptism." And Paul said, 'John's baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.' On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. There were about twelve men in all." (Acts 19:1-7 ESV)
You see baptism not only speaks of regeneration it speaks as well about being empowered by God's Holy Spirit.
All too often we see people being baptized and yet their lives are not transformed. Their way of life doesn't change nor is their mind renewed. They experience no lasting effect in their everyday living. They merely got wet. The direction they are living stays the same and the habits that they already possessed are not altered or transformed. It's like they merely continue to walk down the same path of life they walked before baptism.
What went wrong? Why didn't their lives change.
What's wrong is that we need to understand that when we are baptized it means that we have truly repented of our sins and that we have asked the LORD JESUS to forgive us of our sins and have invited the infilling power and presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It means that we experience the grace of forgiveness, justification, regeneration and sanctification. It means that there has been a real change in our lives. It means that we are now new creations who are to live as new creations. We are to live as Children of Light.
In Matthew 5:14 - 16 Jesus talks about us being God's lights. Lights that then lives as God's lights. Lights that live a life in which we reflect by our hearts, minds and soul the glory of the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16 ESV)
The Apostle Paul picks up on this in his letter to the Ephesians. If anyone had been freed from the penalty and power of sin it was the Ephesians. They lived in a land full of pagan temples and pagan worship. They firsthand knew what it meant to live under the power of sin and darkness. They knew firsthand what it meant to be captive to all kinds of demonic spirits and powers of the air. They knew what it meant to wrestle against the authorities, against eh cosmic powers and spiritual forces of evil.
But in Christ they found freedom. In Christ they experienced a life change. In Christ they experienced the New Covenant. Listen to some of Paul's words to the church of Ephesus. The Apostle is telling them that their lives have now been transformed by Christ which therefore means that they are now Children of Light - people who can live a life of authentic and progressive holiness.
"But that is not the way you learned Christ! - assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians 4:20 -24 ESV).
"Therefore do not become partners with them (works of darkness); for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the LORD. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them." (Ephesians 5:7 - 12 ESV)
Christian baptism therefore leads to understand how to relish a New Life in the Holy Spirit. Baptism leads us to understand that we are now God's Lights and we are to live a life of Light rather than one of darkness. Baptism leads us to understand that we no longer have to be subject to our carnal desires or to live a life dominated by former habits and ways in which we see ourselves at odds with others including ourselves.
For far too long people have lived like Apollos and those 12 men. They have lived below the level of life that Jesus Christ has made possible for them.
The Apostle Paul wants us to understand in Galatians chapter 5:16 - 24 that we can live a whole new way. A way in which we are not dominated or entrapped by sin but a way in which we can actually produce the fruit of the Spirit. A way in which all those wonderful things are not goals to strive for but are by products of a life lived in and through the Holy Spirit.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are not to be seen as some high minded goal that we are to strive for and that very few of us ever attain. To see them that way is to fall prey to the old way of believing in works righteousness. It is to false believe that all we have to do is to muster up enough strength and will power and somehow these things might become a part of our lives.
That is not how the Apostle Paul saw them nor is it the way we are to see them. Each of these things are a part of the fruit that we bear with the focus on bearing. We are to understand that the more we allow the Holy Spirit to fill us, transform us, lead us, guide us, purify us, purge us, prune us and empower us the more we will see these things becoming a natural outpouring of our lives. It is not in the DOING but in the BEING.
We are to see that the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit radically changes the way we look at things, the way we see things and the way we experience things.
In John 15 our LORD JESUS taught about the Vine. He talked about us being the vine branches that are dependent upon the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The focus was to be so connected in Christ, to live so much in the power of Jesus and His Holy Spirit Christ that as we lived we would be amazed as we become the very people (vine branches ) that God wants us to become.
Christian baptism reminds us of who we are - we are grace people - we are forgiven people who are being filled with God's Holy Spirit and are in the process of being restored into God's Holy Image. We are people who God is transforming to reflect His Image of Love, Purity and Holiness. We are people who are beginning to understand what it means to live an authentic human life in which more and more we:
+Are in a right relationship with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
+Are in a right relationship with Ourselves
+Are in a right relationship with Other Human Beings
+Are in a right relationship with God's Good Creation
This morning, I would like for us to close our service by doing sharing two wonderful things:
+One involves the use of anointing oil.
I would like for those who would like to reaffirm your baptism to come forward and be anointed with anointing oil. One of the ways throughout history the Church has promoted its members to reflect, remember and renew the sacrament of baptism is through the use of anointing oil. It is a visible way of remembering that our baptism frees us from both the penalty of sin and the power of sin. It is a visible way for us to remember that we have received the power and presence of the Holy Spirit which therefore enables us to live a life of consecration and spiritual transformation. It is a visible way for us to remember that we are Children of Light!
+The second one is to share the Lord's Supper together. By doing so we remind ourselves of the cost of our salvation and also the benefit of that salvation - in Christ we are made a new creation a creation that can not only rise above sin but one that can both enjoy oneness with the LORD and with other human beings as well.
This morning, if you would like to renew your Christian baptism I would invite you to come forward at this time to be anointed with God's Holy Oil. After a prayer together of commitment we will share the Lord's Supper.
Open Altar/Anointing/Prayer/Lord's Supper
