The normal Christian birth. WBC 9.1.05pm.
Baptism of Kate Brown and Clare Fowler. Acts 2:36-41
... Billy Graham had just finished a tour of the Florida East Coast and was taking a limousine to the airport. Having never driven a limo, he asked the chauffeur if he could drive for a while. Well, the chauffeur didn’t have much of a choice, so he got in the back of the limo and Billy took the wheel. He turned onto I-95 and accelerated to about 90 MPH. WHAM! The blue lights of the State Highway Patrol flashed in his rearview mirror. He pulled over and a trooper came to his window. When the trooper saw who it was, he said, "Just a moment, please, I need to call in." The trooper radioed in and asked for the chief. He said, "I have a REALLY important person pulled over and I need to know what to do." The chief replied, "Who is it, not Ted Kennedy again?" The trooper said, "No, even more important." It isn’t the Governor Jeb Bush, is it?" asked the chief. "No, even more important," replied the trooper. "It isn’t the President George Bush, is it?" "No," replied the trooper, "even more important." "Well, WHO in the WORLD is it?!" screamed the chief. The trooper responded, "I don’t know for sure but I think it might be Jesus, because his chauffeur is Billy Graham!"
There are lots of misunderstandings about Christianity¡K baptism!
- one of them is how to actually become a Christian¡K be born into God¡¦s family
o and because of poor understanding people find themselves ¡¥improperly birthed¡¦ (by lousy midwives)
„X ¡¥born again¡¦- but didn¡¦t get the full package
„X stay stunted¡K or just in nappy and never grow into the world changers Jesus meant them to be
„X past comes back to haunt them and pull them down
„X future terrifies them
- or worse still, people kind of pretend to be Christians: nice, church and so on.
o But why pretend to be a Christian when you can actually BE one!
So, tonight, I want to give you the full package. Tell you how you can have a full an invigorating relationship with God
- tell you the ¡¥normal Christian birth¡¦ as it is in the Bible
And baptism is part of that.
¡K. But it¡¦s not the first or main part
Baptism doesn¡¦t MAKE someone a Christian. Save them
- the thief on the cross didn¡¦t have time to get down and get dunked¡K but Jesus said to him ¡¥today¡K ie when you die¡K you will be with me
Baptism is a sign of what has ALREADY happened¡K the normal Christian birth¡K as well as being part of it and a step forward into it
What does Peter tell the crowd? What¡¦s the first step? First he says
REPENT TO THE FATHER v38
David received a parrot for his birthday. This parrot was fully grown with a bad attitude and worse vocabulary. Every other word was an expletive. Those that weren’t expletives were, to say the least rude. David tried hard to change the bird’s attitude and was constantly saying polite words, playing soft music, anything he could think of to try and set a good example... Nothing worked. He yelled at the bird and the bird got worse. He shook the bird and the bird got more angry and more rude. Finally, in a moment of desperation, David put the parrot in the freezer. For a few moments he heard the bird squawking, kicking, and screaming - then suddenly there was quiet. David was frightened that he might have hurt the bird and quickly opened the freezer door. The parrot calmly stepped out onto David’s extended arm and said, "I’m sorry that I might have offended you with my language and action and I ask your forgiveness. I will endeavour to correct my behaviour." David was astonished at the bird’s change in attitude and was about to ask what had made such a dramatic change when the parrot continued - "May I ask - what did the chicken do wrong?"
Man! Do people get this one wrong!
- people immediately think this is talking about poor self image. Feeling dowdy, guilty or grotty about yourself!
o That¡¦s not what the first part of the normal Christian birth is
It¡¦s an acknowledgement that there is a God and that He hasn¡¦t been number one in our lives.
- That we haven¡¦t kept the first commandment to ¡¥love the Lord your God with ALL your heart and soul and mind¡¦
o And so we¡¦ve lived our life forgetting Him¡K and doing it all ¡¥my way¡¦!
o We¡¦re all guilty of that!
And repentance literally means 1) saying sorry 2) turning around and going in the other direction.
BELIEVE IN THE SON
What direction?
- living for God
- following the Son. Jesus being ¡¥Lord¡¦, boss
o that was the baptismal cry of the early Christians
Everyone follows someone
President Calvin Coolidge once invited friends from his hometown to dine with him at the White House. Unsure of their table manners, the guests decided to imitate the president. They watched closely to see which utensils he used, what foods he ate and when. Their strategy seemed to succeed until coffee was served. Coolidge poured some coffee into his saucer. They did the same. He added sugar and cream. His guests did, too. Then the president bent over and put his saucer on the floor for the cat! Contributed by: Joel Smith on www.sermoncentral.com
Well- Christians follow Jesus! That¡¦s what being a Christian is!
- it¡¦s not having all the answers! But rather following one who does
o and is THE only answer to me in this world
„X Fri¡¦s funeral ¡¥Jesus lives, thy terrors now, can no more O death appal us¡¦
„X Tsunami. The suffering God
In fact: the best definition I ever heard was from a Hindu:
- ¡§It¡¦s following Jesus to the point of reflecting Him¡¨
When American Indians (Native Americans) used to go through forests they would step in the first person’s footprints so no one knew a whole army was there.
And Jesus said that He was the one to follow to get to God.
- that if you followed Him He would lead you to know God¡K experience Him¡K know what He¡¦s like
- if you get the Son you get the Father, too.
You may have heard the story of the rich art collector who had one of the greatest collections of art in the world. It was full of such beauty that you¡¦d think he would have been one of the happiest men ion the world. But in fact that wasn¡¦t the case. His only son had been killed in a car accident at a young age and the man had never really got over it. You see he¡¦d loved his son so much. He was so proud of him when he graduated from University and he had great plans for him to follow on in the family business. And then he died and the man was devastated. So he put all his energy into compiling the best art collection he could manage in memory of his son. Well, the man died without an heir and when the will was read it was announced that his art collection would be auctioned off. On the day of the auction art dealers came from far and wide hoping for a bargain. There were people on mobile phones, an Internet connection; you name it. Well, the first item for auction was a portrait of a young man by an unknown painter. It wasn¡¦t a particularly good portrait. None of the dealers was interested in it. They were waiting for the real art to come up for sale. The auctioneer called for bids and there was silence. Not a hand moved. He lowered his suggested amount and eventually an old man up the back bid a small amount for it. He was the art collector¡¦s butler and he realised that the portrait was that of the man¡¦s son, whom he too had loved. It had been painted just before the young man died. He valued the painting not for it¡¦s artistic value but for its sentimental value. Well, the art dealers were glad to have that out of the way. Now they could get on with the real sale. But then the auctioneer announced, "Ladies and Gentlemen I¡¦m required to read the following clause of the will. It reads ¡¦Whoever buys the portrait of my son gets everything else as well.¡¦ The auction is now over." Whoever has the son has everything! Rom 8:31-32: "If God is for us, who is against us? 32He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?
Peace on Earth Luke 2:1-2:20 by Chris Appleby on www.sermoncentral.com
The second part of the normal Christian birth is saying ¡¥Jesus is boss¡K and I want to follow Him. He¡¦s boss of ALL of me¡¦
- that¡¦s one reason we dunk ALL of you!
- And it¡¦s a sign of obedience to HIM because He said followers of Him should be
o Even He was! Because it was ¡¥the right thing¡¦
o So, in the end, that may be the ONLY reason we do it!
And the third part is:
BE BAPTISED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
Peter says, here- ¡§say sorry, turn around, s tart following Jesus, show obedience in His name and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit
- the power!
Some Christians do not even know there is a Holy Sprit- or don¡¦t seek Him
- like a group of Ephesian Christians in Acts 19:2. ¡§did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?¡¨ ¡§we have not even heard there is a HS.¡¨ Paul laid his hands on them and the power came on them
It¡¦s crazy- some get bored with church and leave because ¡§there¡¦s no power there¡¨
- but that¡¦s because they haven¡¦t heard about the normal Christian life or birth!
- A normal Christian has the power of God!
o Ask and you shall receive
And sometimes baptism is a step forward to receiving this
- it seems linked in this passage.
And here¡¦s the 4th bit of the Normal Christian birth.
- without it you will be half baked
BE BAPTISED IN WATER
That¡¦s why Kate and Clare are doing this
- yes, because Jesus says so
- but also because it is part of the full Christian initiation
It doesn¡¦t save you! You can still ¡¥go to heaven¡¦ without it
- but there may be all kinds of things you are not saved from, without it
o the WET Christian life, for example
„X that feeling that you never, really, wholeheartedly, ¡¥went for it¡¦!
„X and we¡¦ve got enough wet Christians!
A fire-fighter performs one act of bravery in his career, and that¡¦s when he takes the oath of office, after that, everything else is in the line of duty.
SOURCE: Special Operation¡¦s Chief John Moran, New York City Fire Department. http://www.msnbc.com/news/592182.asp?cp1=1
„X and this is the oath of office! This is standing up and standing out!
In other parts of the world they can handle you believing in God, praying, going to church, even
- but when you get baptised: that¡¦s it! They can kill you
- or in some parts they have a funeral for you!
o Which is a good illustration- as this is something baptism symbolises
„X Not a ¡¥new start to life¡¦¡K but a ¡¥new life to start with¡¦
„X Old self has died. New self has risen!
And so here¡¦s something else you might not be saved from without dunking
- the accusations of the devil about your past!
o If baptised can so easily say: I was dunked. There was all I ever did wrong, in that water!
In fact: baptism does a lot of dealing with our past, the ¡¥old person¡¦
- and you may not feel cut off from it without this act!
- God doesn¡¦t just think up silly things for us to do! Hoops to jump through
o This is partly for OUR benefit, not just His pleasure
At baptism we really say goodbye to our old self. Are cut off from it
- it¡¦s like a funeral. The death has already happened!
o (in fact: you can¡¦t have a funeral without the death having happened. Baptism symbolises that you have already become a Christian, been saved, died to self and sin)
- but as the coffin goes down, THAT is when you really say ¡¥goodbye¡¦.
o Say goodbye to ¡¥old self¡¦
If you don¡¦t follow Jesus- your past lingers. You are at it¡¦s mercy. Often powerless to change. No incentive or power
- it¡¦s like one culture in the world where, if you have killed someone (accidentally), they strap the corpse to your back and you have to carry it ¡¥round
o your past lingers and is constantly stinking up the present
Even when some become Christians they find there¡¦s some change but this old smell is still there
- let baptism remind you that the body has been washed away. Gone!
- The power of sin is broken. Guilt is broken. Old life has gone. New life, now, with Jesus as number one
I just don¡¦t think I can put it better than an article I read by the ’Sunday Times’ journalist Matthew Parris ¡V a man, who is by his own confession, not a Christian.
¡¨The New Testament offers a picture of God, who does not sound at all vague.
He has sent His Son to earth. He has distinct plans for each of us personally and can communicate directly with us.
We are capable of forming a direct relationship, individually with Him, and are commanded to try.
We are told that this can be done only through his son. And we are offered the prospect of eternal life ¡V an afterlife in happy, blissful or glorious circumstances if we live this life in a certain manner.
Friends, if I believed that, or even a tenth of that, how could I care which version of the prayer book is used?
I would drop my job, sell my house, throw away all my possessions, leave my acquaintances and set out into the world burning with desire to know more and, when I had found more, to act upon it and tell others.
Far from being puzzled that the Mormons and Adventists should knock on the door, I am unable to understand how anyone who believed that (which) is written in the Bible could choose to spend their waking hours in any other endeavour.’¡¨ (Matthew Parris) Contributed by: Martin Dale on www.sermoncentral.com SermonCentral PRO
Well, Martin- folks DO decide to follow Him! A good hundred here ¡V and Kate and Clare
- and maybe you?
- If you¡¦d like to investigate more: Alpha
