“Receive the Holy Spirit!”

Baptism of our Lord Sunday ~ January 10th, 2010 Isaiah 43:1-7; Acts 8:14-17; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 Are you living and growing in the new life you have been given? Jesus started His public ministry by being baptized Himself and He ended it by commanding the Apostles to baptize and teach disciples as they went into the entire world. Baptism is an essential necessity in the gospel message! Christ set us an example Himself, and He commands it as well. It is the perfect measure of faith and action working together. --Faith that God will forgive your sins and action on our part to obey God’s Word. **** In the season of Epiphany we look at those special events in Jesus' life where his presence was especially manifested with power. Jesus' baptism is one of those epiphanies. We heard Luke's version read this morning. The Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form as a dove, and a voice came from heaven, and the adjective "beloved" is a separate phrase to emphasize the intensity of the personal nature of this experience. "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." That is Luke's version. All four gospels portray this scene. But Luke's version is a little different than the others. In each version, though, the Spirit descends "like a dove." The Holy Spirit is not a bird. Luke and the other apostles use the dove as a metaphor for the Spirit's coming into our lives. And, what is a beautiful metaphor. When a dove descends and lands, it is graceful, gentle, and quiet – and that is the point being made. The Holy Spirit will enter into our lives in that same grace and gentleness. The Holy Spirit came to Jesus gently, quietly, and in Luke's version, privately. That is why Luke is different than the other three gospels. The other writers imply that the Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism, apparently when he was still in the water. That is often the way this scene is portrayed in religious art, especially those beautiful paintings out of the Middle Ages. Jesus, standing waist deep in water. John the Baptist standing next to him, pointing at Jesus, as if to say, "This is the one!" Or, in the words of the Gospel of John, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!" Above Jesus' head in these scenes is the Spirit, as a dove, descending. It is like the symbol that is in the baptismal font here, a aura around the Holy Spirit as he hovers above Jesus' head. That's the way all the other gospels picture it. But Luke is different. Luke says, "Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the Holy Spirit descended upon him." Which means that the Epiphany, this special presence of God in this event, came to Jesus when he was by himself, praying. In other words, it wasn't a public event. It was a personal and private experience. No one else saw it. No one else heard that voice from heaven. He came out of the water, went off by himself, and prayed. That is when it happened. Jesus prayed and received the Holy Spirit. *** Luke, more than any other gospel, emphasizes that Jesus prayed. Those who are baptized in Jesus do not need to strive after a new life. They have already attained new life through dying with Christ - but they do need to nurture that new life so it can grow and mature. That's what church is for. That's what Bible study is for. That's what prayer is for. It is like the Parable of the Sower. Many of those seeds sprouted up, but only a few grew into maturity. The rest withered and died. *** A wealthy businessman was horrified to see a fisherman sitting beside his boat, playing with a small child. "Why aren't you out fishing?" asked the businessman. "Because I caught enough fish for one day, "replied the fisherman. "Why don't you catch some more?" (PAUSE) "What would I do with them?" "You could earn more money," said the businessman. "Then with the extra money, you could buy a bigger boat, go into deeper waters, and catch more fish. Then you would make enough money to buy nylon nets. With the nets, you could catch even more fish and make more money. With that money you could own two boats, maybe three boats. Eventually you could have a whole fleet of boats and be rich like me." "Then what would I do?" asked the fisherman. "Then," said the businessman, "you could really enjoy life." The fisherman looked at the businessman quizzically and asked, "What do you think I am doing now?" Paul Peterson, The Waters of Death. Simply put, the baptism of Jesus is dying to our self-centered endeavors and being resurrected into a life marked by grace and love. Then, when we live in the baptism of Jesus, we can touch the hearts of others and help open them to the Holy Spirit and new life in Christ. *** This is pretty good…..One preacher describes John the Baptist like this: “John was a rock star, the latest big thing in wild-preacher-guys stoking expectations. Jesus was yet invisible. For Jesus to baptize John, as John suggested, would have been confusing. "For now" Jesus needed to be introduced, and the mantle passed. John needed to move from simply, "I am not the one" to "Look, here is the lamb". John's endorsement kept Jesus from being a competitor crusader.” Possibly, the reason Jesus sought John's baptism was to identify with, and join those who were filled with expectations. The Incarnation is all about God living out the full human experience. This was Jesus not standing aloof but saying, "Hey, I'm with you, the expectant, the hopeful, the God-focused folks yearning for the fulfillment of God's plan." The reason for John's act of baptizing was to get rid of sin, while Jesus' was to obtain the Holy Spirit living within us and guiding us and surrounding us. Again, the baptism of Jesus is dying to our self-centered endeavors and being resurrected into a life marked by grace and love. We can keep cutting the losses, asking forgiveness, trying again in our own weak strength to "be good" i.e., do damage control) and never succeed. Or, we can receive the Spirit which forgives, revives and awakens something new in us, a new life (be born again, or anew). *** The image of God working so hard to separate the chaff from the wheat is perfect. After all, baptism doesn't turn us into winnowers. It winnows US! -- AND, this winnowing is not a one-shot deal. It's the beginning of a LIFE of being winnowed, over and over again. When we receive the Holy Spirit, Jesus works hard to treasure the good parts of me and you and he helps us get rid of the extra "weight" – or burdens – that we don't need and can't get rid of by ourselves. This "weight" loss – giving our burdens ALL over to God - is not a one act deal. *** Another important point to highlight in our reading in Acts, is that the Holy Spirit was received, "Even in Samaria." Receiving the Holy Spirit is not limited to a select group, denomination, or geographic region. God's grace and redemption extended to and was received "Even In Samaria." No one is excluded. So if you have made some really drastic messes in your life, or failed repeatedly, or felt you have never measured up – Jesus invitation is for you! “Receive the Holy Spirit” is a conscious act of the will – and God requires us to say yes and obey. We can live out our baptism in a number of ways, but no matter what, we must begin as Jesus did, with prayer. It’s time to make your heart right with God, it’s time to leave the negative, the gossip, the hurt, the put-downs, the drugs or alcohol, the extra-marital relations, the dark secrets, the judgmental attitude, the low self-esteem or self-image BEHIND – FOR GOOD – ONCE FOR ALL! ***(Based on Living Faith 3.6.1) And so this is the GOOD NEWS of the gospel. God calls us to life in Christ not just once but over and over again. Before the world was made, we were chosen in Christ to be part of the family of God. Today, God is calling you to new life in Christ. Turn and follow him! Claim life and live fully! God has a phenomenal plan for your life, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, you can receive Christ’s grace and eternal victory of LIFE over death! So stop striving. Stop pushing yourself to the limit to WIN your way to Christ – he has already sacrificed his whole life on the cross and attained your reward – all you need to do is pray and prepare to say, “Yes!” Won’t you pray to receive the Holy Spirit and start fresh all over again? Amen.