July 6, 2003
HOLY SPIRIT BLESS US
Acts 2: 38-39
When Repentance & Baptism is a Must!
Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
It’s really our joy to come together for us to have a wonderful time with the Lord. I believe God has a purpose why we are all here this afternoon. Our being here is not an accident but with a purpose and that is to worship and glorify God and to learn from each other!
As Christians, we know that every Sunday, we should come together in the House of the Lord to Worship Him. Our week will be weak and will not be complete without celebrating Sunday as a special day of remembering and thanking God because of His love and faithfulness to us.
One of the most forgotten word nowadays is the word repentance.
It is very hard for people to accept that they did something wrong to repent.
People tend to look at themselves as good enough so what is repentance for.
Some may say…
“I am a good person, I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t gamble, I don’t hurt other peoples feelings, I love my job, I love my family, I pay taxes and I don’t cheat. I go to church once in a while. I pray whenever I need to. I am a peaceful citizen.” And that’s it.
Normally that is what most people think of themselves nowadays.
That is why churches are decreasing their memberships because others are tempted to think that they don’t need God anymore.
“I have the ability, I have job security, I have what I want so I don’t need to consult to the God that the Christian preachers preached.”
Remember the words from Isaiah 64: 6 “But we are all like unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Kabutihan natin para lamang maruming basahan!
And even Apostle Paul supported this statement when he said, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,’’ Romans 3: 23
The Bible says, we all have sinned and there is no one righteous except Jesus Christ. Therefore we all need to repent. We all need to realize and recognize that we need to come to the Lord Jesus to ask forgiveness from all our sins and iniquities.
God knew our weaknesses and our tendency to be tempted to live a sinful life, that’s why He gave His only Son Jesus as a ransom for us.
The first sermon that Jesus preached according to Mark 1: 15, “the time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand, Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
This verse tells us that…
We need repentance if we think we can live this life on our own and do our ways not recognizing God in our midst.
We need repentance especially if there were times we lose faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
We need repentance if we believe too much on ourselves that we are only the best and able.
We need repentance if we try to look down on others and look at highly on ourselves.
We need repentance if we fail to do what is right.
James 4: 17 “therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
Much more, we need repentance if we do what is wrong.
Apostle Peter’s preaching is for all people from all walks of life. The Spirit led him to preach about repentance… and baptism will follow in the name of Jesus Christ.
After a person have repented from his/her sins and receive forgiveness from sin… what follows is the baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.
What is baptism?
“Baptism is God’s gift of unmerited grace through the Holy Spirit. It is an incorporation into Christ which marks the entrance of each person into the church and its ministry.” 2000 Book of Discipline
While Bishop Mike Stokes said, “Baptism is an act of the Spirit through the community of faith.”
Baptism is the outward declaration of inward cleansing. It is like telling everybody that God has done something in your life that you want the congregation to know. But I tell you, there is a corresponding responsibility for doing that.
If you do that, you must be very careful and sensitive that you live your life worthy of Christ.
Those who repented and forgiven from their sins need to be baptize with water in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus himself set an example for us to follow. Though Jesus Christ is righteous and sinless.
He was baptized by John the Baptist at Jordan River.
So this afternoon, I am challenging you my dear brothers and sisters.
Pray about it. If you think you are led by the Spirit to come before our congregation to be baptize, please let me know. We will schedule one Saturday in August to do the mass baptism in one of our supporters swimming pool.
Baptism is not just a requirement of the church but more so a mandate from Jesus Christ Himself.
After we confess our sins and repent and baptize, Apostle Peter continued, “and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Repentance, forgiveness of sins and baptism are the prior conditions for receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. However, Peter’s demand that his hearers be baptize in water before receiving the promise of the Father must not be taken as an absolute requirement for the infilling with the Holy Spirit nor is baptism in the Spirit an automatic consequence of water baptism.
Being filled with the Spirit is a process that we need to ask and work with God as we grow and continue to grow in our relationship with Him.
Why do you think churches are not growing numerically as fast as we want it to be?
It is because we are short of “Quality Christians” – “Kristiyanong de Kalidad”.
Believe me my friends, there are so many Christians who are not growing in their faith. They remain stagnant (“ unano”- “bonsai”) in their faith.
One of the most exciting part in our Christian life is living a life filled with the Spirit. Our life is so meaningful and joyful if we are living our life with God’s Spirit moving in our life.
If we imagine our church-the Filipino Mission Fellowship to grow tremendously in the next couple of years, we must first start within ourselves.
Strive, to live a life filled with the Spirit and I tell you, our life will surely become a living testimony for others to see Jesus and for others to emulate.
Don’t make yourself absent this coming Sunday because we will learn about “How to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and it’s benefits.”
In his book “Fresh Power” by Pastor. Jim Cymbala et al, said, “If we downgrade the Holy Spirit –worse yet, if we ignore him…even worse than that, if we grieve or quench him—we end up with a modern church that is totally foreign to the New Testament.”
He also said, “Christianity is hopeless without him (the Holy Spirit)
Is your life worthwhile and meaningful as you dream it to be. Yes it will be if you allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life. Think and Pray about this! Amen.
