Christ Rules! So I Am Acceptable!Christ Rules! Gospel of Mark Series (Part 2) Mark 1:7-11 A Sermon By Jim Hammond Focus:
Because Christ Rules! I am Somebody.
Because of Jesus’ identity, I have an identity.
Jesus made me acceptable to God. I.
The “Who is Jesus” question answers
the “Who Am I” question. A.
At the Baptism: Jesus’
Identity was Veiled YET
Revealed B.
Jesus’ Baptism means 4 things 1.
Decision 2.
Identification 3.
Approval 4.
Equipping “Diane,” I said, “Why do you think you’ve never enjoyed your Christianity?” “Would you enjoy it if you always felt you were trying to measure up and never making it?” she challenged me. “No, I wouldn’t. You know what you are describing is something a lot of Christians seem to struggle with, and it seems to stem from their view of God. How do you view God?” I inquired. “I see God as a harsh judge who damns people to hell,” she shot back. “Where do you think that view came from?” “My preacher back home. All he seemed to preach on was hellfire and damnation. I think my image of God comes largely from that.” “Was grace ever mentioned by your pastor?” I asked. She laughed, a bit sardonically. “If it was, I can’t remember. I just remember being very scared.” “Any other pictures pop into mind?” “Well, yes,” she said. “Of me as a kid, getting punished. My father was strict. He yelled and screamed at us a lot. He showed little, if any, compassion.” “And do you see God and Christianity the same way?” “Well, yes. Isn’t that what Christianity and God are all about? To keep us good, on the straight and narrow path?”[1] This morning we are going to confront that picture of a harsh unloving God who demands that we measure up to his standard before we are accepted. But before we do I want to read a check list of self talk. On it are two columns. The left column is negative, and the right column is positive. As you listen try to be honest and determine which column you would make most checks.
IF
you tend to tell yourself the negative more than the positive gratefulness,
there is something you need to learn today about God and the Love of Christ.
There is also something you need to confront in yourself. If you are comparing yourself with others in some way rather
than in the light of God’s word you will always find yourself in trouble.
Today I don’t want to argue with you to try to tell you that you all
those rotten things you tell yourself are not true.
What I will do is better than that.
I will show you that God is so Good, and he loves you so much that your
attitude about yourself can change as you become grateful for a new identity in
Christ. Today in the
narrative about Jesus’ baptism, we learn that. . . Focus:
Because Christ Rules! I am Somebody.
Because of Jesus’ identity, I have an identity.
Jesus made me acceptable to God. The description of Jesus’ Baptism is for me one of the most compelling descriptions about the wonder of Jesus’ identity. The way I figure it, if men were making up the story of Jesus as the sinless Son of God, they would not have included this description of his baptism. Why would they have the sinless son of God submitting to a baptism of repentance? The baptism of Jesus causes some puzzling questions for us, because we do believe that Jesus is the sinless Lamb of God. If Jesus was without sin, why did he submit to baptism? The answer to this is amazing. The baptism of Jesus is more profound than many Christians realize! And in my opinion, it took the mind of God to put God’s plan of the gospel together. The more I study it, the more I realize men could not make this up, and if they did, they would not have described it as they did. Men would have glorified Jesus, and would have covered over that which was puzzling. But God revealed Jesus in humility and glory, as the son of Man, and the Son of God. His saving effort would depend completely on the glory of Christ’s humility! Jesus’ baptism began his ministry, but it also defined it. I.
The “Who is Jesus” question answers
the “Who Am I” question.
A. At
the Baptism: Jesus’ Identity was Veiled YET Revealed
B.
Jesus’ Baptism means 4 things
1.
Decision
Some people have a difficult time making
a Commitment
I saw a cartoon in Leadership Journal where the secretary buzzes the preacher and says, "It's Monty Williams. He wants to know if he can audit your discipleship class on 'Total Commitment.'" We looked at this last Sunday. Jesus, at his baptism, decided to take up his cross. He stepped into the waters humbly as if he were a sinner though he was not. He stepped into the water as if he were a repenting, and he was, but not for himself. He has made a decision to carry the cross for you and for me. 2.
Identification.
John called the Jews to
the desert, the place of their birth as a nation. He called them out of their self absorbed living.
He called them to repent and turn to God.
He was calling them to choose for themselves to be Jews.
Most Jews were proud of their heritage as the chosen ones, John was
asking them to submit to the humiliation of baptism, a rite that up to that time
only gentile proselytes underwent when they were choosing to the Jewish faith.
So, responding to John the Baptist, many Jews were washing their
uncleanness away, and choosing to be Jews.
But only one by his choice became the corporate representative on behalf
of all Israel. Only one became the representative for all of them.
The
Apostles identified the connection between the Nation of Israel and God’s Son. (Hosea
11:1 NIV) ""When Israel
was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son." (Matthew
2:15 NIV) "where he stayed
until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through
the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."" He was stepping into
the water and identifying with the Jews. He
was repenting on their behalf. Israel
was called God’s son in the Old Testament, but here was truly God’s Son, who
would identify himself with Israel in such a way as to represent them, repent on
their behalf, and bring them back to the Father. That was his task, and that is what he knew he was choosing
to do when he entered the waters of repentance. A Modern
Parable: “Ragman” by Walter
Wangerin Jr. Story [2]
3.
Approval
Jesus submitted to God
and the mission before him. And for
that he receives God the Father’s approval, as an unmistakable confirmation
which strengthens his resolve and purpose. With the baptism of Jesus there was an
opening of heaven itself.
In
Isaiah 64:1 we read the prophet's prayer, (Isaiah
64:1 NIV) "Oh, that you would
rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before
you!" Do You think that Heaven would Have
Opened If Jesus Wasn’t Baptized?
Pattern: Repentance/Consecration First
The pattern had already
been established in the first exodus that God could not come down until the
people had been consecrated, set apart, washed (Ex. 19:10).
(Exodus 19:10-11 NIV) "And the LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes {11} and be ready by the third day, because on that day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people." But are people really
able to cleanse themselves? Are
they really able to repent and consecrate themselves? The Bible tells us that people on their own don’t do that.
Repentance is a gift from God. Because
Jesus represents us, and helps us to repent that is why we have a desire to
repent. I want you to notice a
little detail in Luke’s gospel. There
is something Jesus was doing before heaven was opened.
(Luke 3:21 NIV) "When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened" I wonder what Jesus was
praying. I believe what his actions
were doing--expressing repentance (though he himself was without sin), he lips
were praying—expressing repentance on our behalf, He was praying for
repentance on our behalf. He began
his mission, he was taking up his cross.
As our representative he was repenting on our behalf, praying on our
behalf, submitting to the Will of God on our behalf.
The Mission of the Gospel had begun!
As he is praying heaven is
opened up. Something takes place
and it wasn’t just for Jesus to see and hear.
John saw it too. We know
this from John 1:32 A visual sign
of His glory was given in the form of what looked like a descending dove.
Added to this was the audible voice of God.
Imagine the reaction of the bystanders.
Only three times does the New Testament record that God spoke audibly
with a voice from Heaven. All three
times, Jesus’ identity is verbally affirmed.
Baptism:
Transfiguration: John 12, confirming
voice when Jesus’ “hour to be glorified ” through his death had come.
The signal that it was time was after the Gentiles came seeking Jesus.
In all three, the voice
confirmed his Identity, and Mission. Here Jesus hears the
affirmation. "You are my
beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." He has accepted his
task. The Father affirms that
decision with approval, and The Spirit is given to enable him in that task.
He is the Anointed One—the Messiah—the Christ. Approval:
(Isaiah
42:1 NIV) ""Here is my
servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on
him and he will bring justice to the nations." (Isaiah
42:6 NIV) ""I, the LORD,
have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you
and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the
Gentiles," 4.
Equipping
The Holy Spirit
descended upon him. There is
symbolism here. The Spirit
descended like a dove, as a dove might descend.
It may have even had some visible resemblance to that of a dove
descending. It descended like a
dove. The visual description alone
is fascinating to me. The spirit descended in
Bodily form. Spirit, is spirit.
Yet God chose to allow people to see a bodily form.
Was it a dove? No.
It was like a dove. In Acts
2 after Christ had risen from the dead and ascended into heaven, and told the
disciples he had to go so the Spirit could come to them, the Spirit comes upon
the Christians in a visible form. At
the initial anointing of Jesus the spirit shows up visibly, at the initial
anointing of the church, the body of Christ the spirit shows up visibly.
Why? The spirit is given to
equip and enable for the task. I am
fascinated by the human attempts to describe what they saw?
He came down like a dove at the baptism.
I picture a white fluttering descending presence in the noon day sun at
the baptism. In the evening indoor
appearance of the coming of the spirit in the upper room in acts 2 I believe
they described what they saw, a bright fluttering light of flame, coming down
then hovering over the disciples. The
appearance was like tongues of flame. The
Spirit was upon them. They were
equipped. Baptism as The
Turning Point The baptism of Jesus
marks a turning point in His life. He now leaves the carpenter shop to assume
the responsibilities of His earthly ministry.
Before His actual ministry can begin, however, He must first undergo the
testing in the wilderness. And that
will be the focus of next week, how His baptism equipped him for his testing. Jesus made a Decision:
But What about you, have you made the decision?
Some of you were
sprinkled as infants, that is the only baptism you have experienced.
That wasn’t your decision was it.
The baptism the New Testament describes is a baptism that marks your
personal decision, a decision that nobody else can make for you.
It is a decision to Repent, turn away from your sin, turn to Jesus for
forgiveness and cleansing. Jesus was Identified:
But What About You, Have you been Identified with Jesus in Baptism?
Jesus identified
himself with you. Have you
identified yourself with Christ. Christ
stepped into the dirty water, so that we could step into the clean water.
You can become a child of God because the Son of God did what he did.
He identified himself with sinful humanity.
He stepped into the dirty water and got dirty, he got your dirt and my
dirt all over him. Our sins were
placed all over him and he died for them. So
that his righteousness could be ours. The
Identity of Jesus as the righteous Son of God, gives me my identity.
Now I am somebody, I’m a child of God, and you can become a child of
God too. When you step into the water of Baptism, you are stepping
into Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.
As Paul puts it, you are uniting yourself with Christ in His death, His
burial, and His Resurrection. These
become yours--Death to your old life, and buried with Christ, you rise to
newness of life. Jesus received Approval:
But What about You, Have you stepped into the Place of God’s Approval,
the place where all righteousness was fulfilled!
When you step into the
waters of Baptism you step into the place of approval, where you, like Jesus,
receive God’s approval as one who has decided, one who has stepped into the
waters of forgiveness. Will you
step into the water? Will you
accept God’s forgiveness? Jesus
already accepted it on your behalf. Jesus
then went to pay for it also. Will
you identify with Christ, and enter into His Death, His Burial, and His
Resurrection. By uniting with Him
you also will be saved because of what God’s Son, his loved son did for you. (John 1:12 NIV) "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--" Jesus was Equipped with His Identity.
But What about You, have you received the Holy Spirit?
Jesus was anointed at
His baptism. You will receive his
Spirit when you are united with Him. Peter
put it this way. (Acts
2:38 NIV) "Peter replied,
"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for
the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit." [1] The Lies We Believe by Dr. Chris Thurman p 135-136. Thomas Nelson Pub. [2] Ragman and Other Cries of Faith, by Walter Wangerin Jr. pp. 3-6. Harper & Row. pub.
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