"The sermon preached in the power of the Holy Spirit invariably commanded men not only to repent, but to be baptized with the Holy Spirit." --Cortland Myers, 1909
In Matthew 3 we meet up with John the Baptist again, who is now calling men to repent and be baptized with water, for "the kingdom of heaven is at hand", meaning near. But what did he say a few days on?
Matthew 3:11-12 "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but will burn up the chaff with an unquenchable fire."
And who could do that? Jesus the only begotten Son of God, who must first go through a time of testing and temptations in the wilderness. Did He bring Himself there? No. Matthew 4:1 "Then was Jesus LED up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil." To prepare for that part of His journey Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights.
When He was hungry, He was tempted by the tempter to turn stone into bread. When the devil brought Him to Jerusalem (the holy city), he tempted Him to jump off the highest pinnacle of the temple to see if God's angels would catch Him. When the devil took Him to a very high mountain, showing Him all the kingdoms of the world in their glory, the tempter offered Jesus these if only Jesus would worship him.
But none of these temptations did Jesus give into. Not just because He is God's Son, The Lord Jesus Christ but because Jesus had the Holy Spirit with Him. As an example for us, Jesus showed us that WE CAN OVERCOME TEMPTATION when we have JESUS, THE WORD OF GOD, and THE HOLY SPIRIT of GOD upon us! That is exciting news!
And what were the first words out of His mouth afterwards? Matthew 4:17 "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." And while He made the rounds of the cities healing the sick, teaching in parables and raising the dead, He was forgiving sins, too, to the heart that sought Him in earnest.
Now, we move to Acts 1:4-5 "And being assembled together with them, He commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence."
Which brings us to Acts 2:1-4 wherein the 120 men and women are in the upper room fellowshipping and praying together waiting for the Promise of God to arrive. Fifty days after the Passover Sabbath had passed is the Day of Pentecost (Leviticus 23:15-16), the feast of weeks (Deuteronomy 16:10), the feast of harvest (Exodus 23:16), and the day of the firstfruits (Numbers 28:26).
Afterwards, these men and women went out into the city streets proclaiming the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ, with the power of the Holy Spirit. It is here in Acts 2:38 that we hear Peter say to us, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
But this Promise/Blessing is not given just to them/us, Acts 2:39 "For the Promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." Whether 'afar off' means geographically or genealogically, that Promise is still active today; just as the call of God on our lives is!
So, today, we say "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. You and your children and those that are afar off."
----Oh, Father God, I repent of all my wicked ways, of the sins in my heart and my life. Have mercy on me and forgive me. Deliver me from an unrighteous lifestyle and lead me in Your Word. Give me Your gift of the Holy Ghost that I might walk and live in Your power. Teach me Your ways and Your will that I might never stray from You again. Fill me and feed me that I may not hunger for the things of this world but be content in You. Be glorified, O my God, in me. In Jesus' Name, Amen. And amen. ----
In Matthew 3 we meet up with John the Baptist again, who is now calling men to repent and be baptized with water, for "the kingdom of heaven is at hand", meaning near. But what did he say a few days on?
Matthew 3:11-12 "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but will burn up the chaff with an unquenchable fire."
And who could do that? Jesus the only begotten Son of God, who must first go through a time of testing and temptations in the wilderness. Did He bring Himself there? No. Matthew 4:1 "Then was Jesus LED up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil." To prepare for that part of His journey Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights.
When He was hungry, He was tempted by the tempter to turn stone into bread. When the devil brought Him to Jerusalem (the holy city), he tempted Him to jump off the highest pinnacle of the temple to see if God's angels would catch Him. When the devil took Him to a very high mountain, showing Him all the kingdoms of the world in their glory, the tempter offered Jesus these if only Jesus would worship him.
But none of these temptations did Jesus give into. Not just because He is God's Son, The Lord Jesus Christ but because Jesus had the Holy Spirit with Him. As an example for us, Jesus showed us that WE CAN OVERCOME TEMPTATION when we have JESUS, THE WORD OF GOD, and THE HOLY SPIRIT of GOD upon us! That is exciting news!
And what were the first words out of His mouth afterwards? Matthew 4:17 "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." And while He made the rounds of the cities healing the sick, teaching in parables and raising the dead, He was forgiving sins, too, to the heart that sought Him in earnest.
Now, we move to Acts 1:4-5 "And being assembled together with them, He commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence."
Which brings us to Acts 2:1-4 wherein the 120 men and women are in the upper room fellowshipping and praying together waiting for the Promise of God to arrive. Fifty days after the Passover Sabbath had passed is the Day of Pentecost (Leviticus 23:15-16), the feast of weeks (Deuteronomy 16:10), the feast of harvest (Exodus 23:16), and the day of the firstfruits (Numbers 28:26).
Afterwards, these men and women went out into the city streets proclaiming the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ, with the power of the Holy Spirit. It is here in Acts 2:38 that we hear Peter say to us, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
But this Promise/Blessing is not given just to them/us, Acts 2:39 "For the Promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." Whether 'afar off' means geographically or genealogically, that Promise is still active today; just as the call of God on our lives is!
So, today, we say "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. You and your children and those that are afar off."
----Oh, Father God, I repent of all my wicked ways, of the sins in my heart and my life. Have mercy on me and forgive me. Deliver me from an unrighteous lifestyle and lead me in Your Word. Give me Your gift of the Holy Ghost that I might walk and live in Your power. Teach me Your ways and Your will that I might never stray from You again. Fill me and feed me that I may not hunger for the things of this world but be content in You. Be glorified, O my God, in me. In Jesus' Name, Amen. And amen. ----
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