Ready, Set, Go

Ready… Set… Go!

April 29, 2007

Luke 3:21-22

21. When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.

22. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

DO NOT PASS GO

(comment “faith and practice”)

Important Part of Believer’s Life

Intended to be the initial act of Christian obedience

Must follow Spiritual Reality of Believing

Very VISIBLE and TANGIBLE Experience that DEMONSTRATES and PROCLAIMS

The Spiritual Reality of the NEW BIRTH by PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION with

The Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus

(A Physical Counterpart to the SPIRITUAL OCCURANCE)

Acts 10

47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?

48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

Salvation Clear

Hear the Word (in order to Have Saving Faith)

Romans 10

17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Ephesians 2:8-9

For by grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it this gift of God, not of works that no man should boast.

Holy Spirit uses Word to Reveal

Fact of Sin

John 16

7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.

8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

Powerlessness to Overcome or Eradicate Sin

Romans 7

23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

Need for a Savior, Substitute, Sacrifice

Prompt and Provide REPENTANCE

Confess Publicly and Verbally PERSONAL FAITH IN CHRIST

Romans 10

8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”(that is, the word of faith which we preach):

9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.

13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

Proclaim and IDENTIFY through OBEDIENCE – LORDSHIP

Romans 6

3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?

4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,

6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

Jesus set example

Not of Repentance (sinless)… but of OBEDIENCE

Identified with Teaching and Ministry of John

Accepted by God

OPENING HEAVEN’S DOOR

PRAYER

and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.

We tend to SEPARATE “Christian Disciplines” -- “ALA CARTE” Cafeteria

Prayer

Bible Study

Giving

Ordinances

Worship

Etc.

Hand in Hand

Prayer is FELLOWSHIP – LORD’S PRAYER – Parts of Prayer

Glorify God

Thanksgiving

Confession

Requests

Also

Intercession

Impartation

Warfare

NOTICE: Heaven Opened

Prayer of Faith

God Meets Us

ALL PRESENT AND ACCOUNTED FOR

Trinity

Always OMNIPRESENT

But Christ while on Earth: Limited… emptied Himself (Phil. 2)

Here MANIFESTED

The Father – Proclaiming Love & Identification

…and a voice from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

Luke 9

34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud.

35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” 36 When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.