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In studying
the Bible we know that the Angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary and
advised her that not only was she to be with God’s child but her sister
Elizabeth who was old and up in years would also have a child who when born
was named John and is Jesus’ cousin. And at the beginning of the Book of
Matthew Chapter 3, Jesus’ cousin John the Baptist proclaims to all,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was
spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in
the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”
John the Baptist then goes on to say that one is coming who will clean
house and separate the good into the granary for their reward, heaven, and
the bad will burn in an unquenchable fire, hell.
Open your Bible to our scripture lesson, Matthew 3:13-15:
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by John
the Baptist. John would have prevented Jesus, saying, “I need to be
baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered John the
Baptist, “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all
righteousness.” Then John the Baptist consented.
I was taught and constantly told growing up, “Walter, do not ask of
anyone what you yourself are not willing to do.”
And in life there many like my dear cartoon friend Maxine who states on the
calendar hanging in my study at home for the month of January, “This is
the year I finally do something with that extra room where the junk
collects. Close the door and pretend it’s not there.” It’s easy to
tell someone to do something, to relocate our junk and then close the door
and pretend it’s not there but Jesus comes right out in the open and not
only says unto us, “I am the resurrection and I am the life. Those who
believe in me, even though they die; yet shall they live, and whoever lives
and believes in me shall never die.”
Jesus goes and gets immersed, dunked, in the water by John the Baptist
because if I can do it so can you. Let me show you the way and set the
precedence for you. Jesus does not say one thing and do another.
In studying the Bible not only is John important because he is Jesus’
cousin. John the Baptist ministry was the dividing line between the Old and
New Testament.
Luke 16:16-17,
“The law and the prophets were until John; since then the good news of
the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone enters it violently. But it is
easier for heaven and earth to pass away, then for one dot of the law to
become void.”
John 1:14-18,
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we
have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. (John bore
witness to Jesus, and cried, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes
after me ranks before me, for he was before me.’ ”) And from his
fullness we have all received grace upon grace. For the law was given
through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever
seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him
known.
With the arrival of Jesus came the realization of all the prophets’
hopes, for Jesus emphasized that his Kingdom fulfilled the law (the Old
Testament) it did not cancel it,
Matthew 5:17,
“Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have
come not to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
You see Jesus was not a new system but the culmination of the old for the
same God who worked through Moses not worked through Jesus.
God announced the beginning of Jesus’ ministry through Jesus’ baptism,
Matthew 3:16-17:
And when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and
behold, the heavens were opened and Jesus saw the Spirit of God descending
like a dove, and alighting on him; and lo, a voice from heaven saying,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.
Jesus took three steps down in preparation for two big steps up.
Jesus stepped down:
1. Jesus was born in a stable intended for sheep
2. Jesus was baptized in a baptism intended for sinners
3. Jesus died on a cross intended for criminals
After taking three steps down, Jesus took two steps up:
1. Jesus came back from the dead… and,
2. Jesus ascended into heaven.
And in our lives it may sometimes seem we may take two steps forward, one
step back. One step forward, two steps back. Three steps down, and two
steps up. I believe God in His wisdom has to let us hit rock bottom before
He can lift us up.
His name is Terry Anderson and he was an Associated Press journalist
assigned to Beirut when Hezbollah Shiite Muslims abducted him in 1985.
Anderson spent the better part of seven years in captivity. Seven years is
a long time. Sometimes Anderson was treated badly. His captors sometimes
held a pistol against his head and told him that they intended to kill him.
Not a very pleasant way to spend seven years.
But that experience changed Terry Anderson’s life. When he was finally
freed, he talked about the change. Terry Anderson shared: “Before my
capture, I was a brusque, arrogant, restless man. Now I have changed.”
Brusque, arrogant and restless. Some might think of being “brusque and
arrogant” as being a man’s man, having strength and control over your
life. But I believe the key here are the words, “restless man.”
Terry Anderson had been raised a Christian but during his seven years of
captivity he not only asked for a Bible, Anderson read the Bible over and
over again. And one of the other captives was a Catholic priest and
Anderson spent a lot of time talking with the priest. After his release
Anderson stated, “NOW I AM CHANGED,” and he had. Anderson founded a
charity to build schools in Vietnam and to honor the priest he met in
captivity, Father Jenco. For Terry Anderson was no longer a restless man
but a man of God.
And in our lives, we need to remember Terry Anderson’s wisdom: “We come
closer to God at our lowest moments. It’s easier to hear God when you are
stripped of your pride and arrogance, when you have nothing to rely on
except God. It’s pretty painful to get to that point, but when you do,
God’s there.”
You see in my own life as a human being and as your pastor, I have learned
that from adversity I have learned diversity. From diversity I have learned
endurance and from endurance I have learned to trust in Jesus, I’ve
learned to trust in God. And my daily walk in faith has become stronger by
the trials and
tribulations that I have encountered.
As we close this sermon I invite you to stand and open your hymnal to page
50, THE BAPTISMAL COVENANT IV -- CONGREGATIONAL REAFFIRMATION
OF THE BAPTISMAL COVENANT
Brothers and sisters in Christ: Through the Sacrament of Baptism we are
initiated into Christ’s holy church. We are incorporated into God’s
mighty act of salvation and given new birth through water and the Spirit.
All this is God’s gift, offered to us without a price.
Through the reaffirmation of our faith we renew the covenant declared at
our baptism, acknowledge what God is doing for us, and affirm our
commitment to Christ’s holy church.
RENUNCIATION OF SIN AND PROFESSION OF FAITH
On behalf of the whole church, I ask you: Do you renounce the spiritual
forces of wickedness; reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of
your sins?
I do.
Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil,
injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?
I do.
Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in his
grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord, in union within the church,
which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations and races?
I do.
According to the grace given to you, will you remain faithful members of
Christ’s holy church and serve as Christ’s representatives in the
world?
I will.
Let us join together in professing the Christian faith as contained in the
Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.
Do you believe in God the Father?
I believe in God, the
Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
Do you believe in Jesus Christ?
I believe
in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, [who was conceived by the Holy
Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was
crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day
he rose again; he ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the
Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead.]
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?
I believe in the Holy
Spirit, [the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness
of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.]
The Lord be with you
And also with you.
Let us pray.
Father God when nothing existed but chaos, you swept across the dark waters
and brought forth light. In the days of Noah you saved those on the ark
through water. After the flood you set in the clouds a rainbow. When you
saw your people as slaves in Egypt, you led them to freedom through the
sea. Their children you brought through the Jordan to the land, which you
had promised. In the fullness of time you sent Jesus, nurtured in the water
of the womb. He was baptized by John and anointed by your Spirit. Jesus
called his disciples to share in the baptism of his death and resurrection
and to make disciples of all nations. Pour out your Holy Spirit, and by
this gift of water call to our remembrance the grace declared to us in our
baptism. For you have washed away our sins, and you clothe us with
righteousness throughout our lives, that dying and rising with Christ we
may share in his final victory. All praise to you Father God, through your
Son Jesus Christ, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns
forever. Amen
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