"In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; and a voice came out of the heavens: "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."
Good Morning my beloved,
We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are so grateful that the Lord lead you join us today. I'd also like to remind you to check out Vanessa Taylor's at Go Ye Kids children's ministry, who has graciously partnered with us in providing printable biblical resources for children, many of them free. Please feel free to share with others. Don't forget to thank her and let her know that you heard about her here.
We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are so grateful that the Lord lead you join us today. I'd also like to remind you to check out Vanessa Taylor's at Go Ye Kids children's ministry, who has graciously partnered with us in providing printable biblical resources for children, many of them free. Please feel free to share with others. Don't forget to thank her and let her know that you heard about her here.
Since God called me to be a pastor, and I have never seriously considered leaving the pastorate, even when it has become difficult or uncomfortable. I believe that all Scripture is God breathed and divinely powered by the Holy
Spirit to convict the soul and to reveal truth so that one may repent
and come to the knowledge of the truth. Admittedly, I am consumed with God's Word, caring for peoples souls of those He has given me to shepherd. I am responsible, held accountable to God for every word I speak, it is to that end I serve God. It has certainly been one of the most challenging and most rewarding undertakings in my life to reflect Christ in everything I say and do. I cherish knowing that many of you pray for me and care very deeply about me and my family, I do not receive that lightly, I owe a debt of gratitude to God for that.
I am honored that you share both your greatest joys and concerns with me, and I am privileged to be able to celebrate your joys and offer comfort in times of difficulty.
I am honored that you share both your greatest joys and concerns with me, and I am privileged to be able to celebrate your joys and offer comfort in times of difficulty.
I'm afraid not to be a pastor, nor do I feel inclined to resist what He has called me to preach, His Word in Truth, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service. That reward far surpasses any criticism I might receive, or any frustration I may feel as pressure is being applied by a sinful society for preaching God's Word in a godless world. The great preacher and theologian Charles Spurgeon once said, "If you long to save men's souls, you must tell them a great deal of disagreeable truth. If you're going to be known for one thing, be known as a Gospel man." No preacher in the history of the world ever uttered more faithful words of thunder than Christ Himself did, your sins have been forgiven, "Go and sin no more!" There's no half Truth in true theology. So, let the world do what it has to do and I'll do what God has called me to do.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for calling me to serve You, to preach the Word at all times to all people as outlined in the Scripture, trusting that the results are in Your hand. The honor and great privilege of serving You is more than enough. Lord, I ask that You would work in every heart, speak to their precious souls with clarity that they might know the Truth and believe the Truth all for Your glory. Bear a heavy weight of responsibility on them, that it might be the desire of their hearts to pursue the Truth and faithfully follow Christ, no matter the cost, that we all might be the people You have called us to be, a Church that exalts Christ and brings glory to Your Great name.In Christ's precious name we ask and pray
Amen
Today's Message: Jesus’ Baptism and Identity Revealed
In our last message we looked at the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, according to Mark which focused on the ministry of John the baptist, who preached on need for baptism and repentance for the forgiveness of sin. True repentance is always where God always meets us. Modern Christianity seems to think that repentance is no longer needed, that one can cling to Christ with one hand while clinging to their sin with the other. Not only has the church become indifferent on the matter of repentance, it has actually become quite hostile at even the mention of sin, repentance and hell. In fact, it is offensive to preach a gospel that would suggest one should feel remorse for their sin, much less demand that they must turn away it. Some have even suggested that if you dare to teach the doctrine of repentance you are somehow invalidating the freedoms of grace. So, for the sake of grace, the so-called professed preachers of grace have diluted the Gospel message, banished the necessity of repentance in exchange for the doctrine tolerance and acceptance of sin, even celebrating the most heinous sin of immorality in the House of God. Rather than listening to everybody else telling us what the gospel is, it is my conviction we ought to listen to Jesus Himself.
Matthew 4:17, "From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
And, in Matthew 11:21, He said "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had
occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes."
In Mark 2:17, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Jesus called sinners to repentance, teaching us in Luke 13:3, "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."
Then, in Luke 15:7, He says "I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance."
Based on John the Baptist's message, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," followed by "Bring forth fruit unto repentance," repentance is not only necessary for the forgiveness of sin, but that the fruit of repentance is vital for salvation. Therefore, unless we understand the necessity of repentance, we cannot rightly understand or believe the true Gospel. The result is we have ended up with is a grotesque amount of false converts, who are rejecting the true Gospel of Christ and are embracing a false gospel, which is no Gospel at all.
The state of the so called church today is a devastating picture of the corrupt church Paul describes in 2 Timothy 4, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths."
Psalm 118:8-9 says, "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes."
We cannot be friends with world, which embraces sin, corruption, covetousness and deceit and serve the Lord Jesus Christ, Who demands repentance, which is the turning away from sin. That’s precisely what repentance is, forsaking and turning away from sin and turning toward God. There is no Gospel without repentance. The infallible test of whether or not one is a true Christian, is the degree in which one embraces the Truth. You cannot drift towards Holiness, you have to intentionally walk toward it.
In
Acts 2:38, Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in
the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." I'd like you to notice the
connection between repentance, forgiveness of sin and receiving the Holy
Spirit.
Open your Bibles to Mark chapter 1 and I invite you follow along with me as I read
these verses to you to set the text in our minds. I pray that the Lord
would help us to hear and apply what He has to say to each of us today. Mark 1:9-11.
"In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; and a voice came out of the heavens: "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."
Let's look at verse 9, "In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan."
Mark begins the verse with "In those days," he's talking about the days which John was preaching in the wilderness. Mark then identifies Galilee, because Nazareth so obscure it was not known, "Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan." Remember the majority of the hearers of Mark's gospel are mostly gentiles. Galilee is Galilee of the gentiles to the Romans. The Jews had nothing but disdain for Galilee. In fact, the further from Jerusalem, the more disdain they had, they hated it, they assumed the Messiah would come from Jerusalem, after all, the temple is there. But Jerusalem was corrupt, so the prophets said the Messiah would come far from the apostate Jewish religious establishment.
By the time the Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan for His baptism, John the Baptist had been preaching for about six months, this meeting between the two is significant, because it is only one recorded in the New Testament, though they did contact each other through their disciples.
Jesus' baptism came at the height of John's ministry, it served as both the beginning of Jesus' ministry, and the beginning of the decline of John the Baptist's ministry. John preached his message of baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins to escape the coming judgment for about six more months after the baptism of Jesus, before being arrested by Herod, imprisoned then about a year later, was beheaded for rebuking Herod's incestuous marriage to Herodias, the ex-wife of his brother Philip.
Many Christians are confused, there are some who are even offended that John the Baptist would baptize Jesus, the sinless Son of God, since John’s was a baptism of repentance, even though it’s significance is recorded in all four gospels. It didn’t make sense to John either, in fact, he didn't want to do it and that's why he tried to prevent it, saying in Matthew 3:14-15, "I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" And Jesus said to him, "Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Jesus is in a very different category, the purpose of Him being baptized by him was to make His first official public appearance and be declared as the Messiah in front of the crowds of people that are there. He was baptized because God had commanded everybody to be baptized, and He was a man, and He would fulfill all righteousness.
Verse 10, "Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him." Notice, that as He comes up out of the water, the heavens opened, Mark uses the verb "schizō," which means to to split or sever. It’s dramatic picture of the heavens ripping open, it's the same word used when the veil in the temple was ripped from top to bottom at the moment of Jesus' death on the cross. Why is this significant? Because in talking about the coming of Messiah, Isaiah says in chapter 64, verse 1 "Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down." The intransitive verb "rend," literally means to violently tear apart or shred.
Then "the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him." The Holy Spirit visibly descended upon Him in the form of a dove, with the same kind of gentleness. This is a visible picture of Messianic prophecy, affirmation of the Holy Spirit softly coming upon Him, confirming that Jesus is the Messiah Who has come in the full presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. Isaiah 42:1, "Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations." This is Jesus is saying controlled by the Holy Spirit, not that the Holy Spirit is a dove. I want you to understand the difference because the Holy Spirit is not a dove. The Holy Spirit is the mediator between Jesus deity, the Son of God and the humanity of Jesus the Man, so that everything He did in His ministry, He did in the power of the Spirit. Remember, His humanity was part of His self-emptying.
Philippians 2:6-8, says "Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." He offered Himself to God as a sacrifice on the cross in the power and will of the Holy Spirit. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak, right?
That brings us to verse 11, "And a voice came out of the heavens: "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased." When heaven was ripped open, God the Father came down in Spirit and audibly affirmed, You are indeed My beloved Son. This is significant because they knew the Messianic Psalms and acknowledged that the Messiah will be the Son of God. Psalm 2:7 says "I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You." Jesus is called Son of God as proof He is the exact representation of God’s nature, and is co-equal, co-eternal with God. Here is God the Father's testimony of Jesus' sinless perfection and that His authority was established at the baptism to forgive sins, heal the sick, and raise the dead. He had authority over demons and destiny, and to judge all men and nations. That is the significance of His baptism!
In Closing..
Your sin has separated you from God, but Jesus, the Almighty Son of God, became the humble Son of Man, laying
aside all His heavenly privilege to come to this earth and become a man so that He could die as your substitute, in your place and pay the penalty for your sin that you deserve. That Truth alone should compel you to run to Jesus for salvation, along with the willingness to turn away from your sin and give Him the praise and the glory that He deserves. I pray that you will not walk away today without turning to Jesus and trusting in Him as your Lord and Savior.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen