January 13, 2008
Acts 10:38
The Baptism of Our Lord
“God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power”
Father in heaven, at the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River You proclaimed Him Your beloved Son and anointed Him with the Holy Spirit. Make all who are baptized in His name faithful in their calling as Your children and inheritors with Him of everlasting life; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Introduction: Today in the calendar of the church – we remember this day as the 1st Sunday after the Lord’s Epiphany - the Baptism of our Lord. What is so important concerning this day? Why do we observe it? The Baptism of Jesus marks the beginning of His public ministry.
Almost everybody wants to be a success in life, be it the college student slaving away at his studies, the independent truck driver hauling his load, a farmer marketing his crop, or the small business man finishing the deal. Each, in his own way, wants to be successful.
How do we mark success? How do you know you have made it?
The one who has the greatest success in history was Jesus. He succeeded in living a perfect life, in overcoming sin and Satan, in accomplishing His mission on earth. What was His secret? Our text gives us the foolproof secret for every person. “Because God was with Him”
I. God is with Jesus in Spirit – “anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit”
A. Jesus succeeded in living a perfect life. In every respect was He perfect and obedient. Conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, Jesus was both God and man in one person. It was His will to fulfill the will of His Father. As a young boy He remained at the temple sitting at he feet of the elders listening to them and asking them questions. When His frantic parents at last found Him, He remarked, “Why were you searching for Me? Did you not know I must be about My Father’s business?” And yet, we are reminded that “He returned to Nazareth with them – and was obedient to them.”
B. Yet, for you, He overcame the power of the Devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh. “He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” This is God’s great exchange – our sin for His righteousness. Everything Jesus will do in His earthly ministry will be a singleness of purpose. He has only one mission, one goal – to win for you salvation. Isaiah, the prophet, will remind us with “His stripes ye have been healed.”
Thus, His miracles of healing are those deliberate acts He works to defeat the works of the devil. If it would take a miracle to work the Father’s will He performs a miracle. Yet, He can not be forced. When He knew that even a miracle would not persuade the people, He chooses not to perform any miracles. His ways are just – yet we can not press Him- or force our will upon Him.
Transition: Jesus was successful because God as with Him, enabling Him to live a perfect life – enabling Him to die the perfect death. The Spirit is given to you for the same reason “Because God is with him…”
II. Likewise the Holy Spirit gives you power – “and with power”
A. This was promised to the 1st Century disciples. “And ye shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you…but stay here in Jerusalem…And you will be witnesses in Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samarian, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.” God worked in these 1st Century believers as witnesses of the resurrection. They were not super heroes. To the contrary; often time they were weak. Quite often they quarreled amongst themselves. They were persecuted and often martyred for their faith. Often, they were abandoned by friend and family alike. What made them so different? They were witnesses of the resurrected Christ. They had seen Jesus die. They had seen Him alive. Their message was simple, direct, and life changing. This Jesus whom God raised from the dead –has changed our life and will change your life too.
B. The power of God has been made manifest in you – in your own baptism. St. Paul put it this way, “When we were baptized into Christ Jesus we were baptized into His death. We were buried with Him in our baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father we too should live a new life. For, if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.” Your baptism into Christ Jesus is the power of God manifest in you. It is a birth certificate – it is a death certificate. In baptism you died to sin. In baptism you were raised to new life. In baptism we consider ourselves dead to sin but alive to God. Every time we make mention of our baptism, every time we remember our baptism, every time we come to God confessing our sin, pleading for His forgiveness, it will be granted to us. This is the power of God’s Holy Spirit being made present in your life.
Conclusion: Jesus Christ was the most successful person known to man. His secret? He followed the will of His Father. As you have been baptized into His Name you now have become children of God and heirs of His kingdom. Jesus was “successful” because God was with Him. What’s the secret to your success? It must be one and the same…because God is with you – in your baptism – calling you to repentance –calling you to be a part of His family the church.
+Soli Deo Gloria+
No comments:
Post a Comment