The WATERS Talks: November 2014

MAIN THOUGHT: That each person would come to the understanding that God’s good gifts can change the very nature of who we are.

ACTION: That everyone attending will walk away having “received a fresh baptism” from the Father.

OPEN

· Welcome all those in Urbana, watching online, and at our other campuses.

ME - STORY:

College fraternity… looks a little bit different at Bible College than in a secular university… some things are the same… The HOLE… the inner sanctum…

Halfway through my Jr. year I was chosen to be the next “Pope.”

Ceremony… not very dignified… told to where comfortable clothes… white Tshirt and my favorite basketball shorts (red LCC)… took me outside (cold… January) and my brothers surrounded me… some form of oath…

I was expecting the old “rite of passage”… put the “robe” on me… put a small amount of oil on my hair and forehead (yes I had hair once!)

Crisco baptism – an entire bottle… lots of showers… skin felt oily (face broke out) for about a week… but those were simply temporal changes.

· Brought a really big bottle of oil

The change that was permanent was my shorts… apparently elastic and vinyl react differently to oil than my cotton t-shirt did… 3-4 sizes too big!!! In fact, that baptism changed the very nature of my shorts.

· As we wrap up this season of understanding God’s incredible “OWL” for us, I think it’s important to note that a loving Father gives great gifts to His kids.

· His love on the cross… His OWLove that saves us is the greatest gift that He ever gave us… the gift of grace, the gift of HIS righteousness, the gift of new birth – of new life – of freedom…

· BUT, God’s love didn’t stop at the cross HE is still giving gifts to His children… He is still One Way Love-ing us and expecting nothing in return.

· And important for today, we want you to realize that God’s gifts have the ability to change your very nature!

PRAYER

Now, you may never have received a Crisco baptism, but I bet you’ve experienced a baptism of sorts before. BAPTISM simply means to “plunge” or to completely “immerse” someone or something.

Most have us have been immersed in something that changed us forever…

· Maybe you got involved in a sport, an instrument, an organization or a church… After a while, you look back on your life and wonder: What did I ever do without this thing?

· Maybe you got married or started a family… after a while, you look back and wonder: What was life like before this?

· Or maybe you’re thinking of something difficult that has changed you: the end of a friendship, the loss of a loved one, the illness that has never left your body, the mistake that you feel like you can never take back… and you wonder: will this pain every be gone?

A lot of the time, we think on these things both the good and the bad (a divorce, a disease, a death), and then say that these things are “God’s will for our lives.”

The truth is this: God only has good things for His kids.

Everything He gives us is wrapped up in His Unconditional Love. His good gifts come in amazing packages. He gives them freely. His gives them expecting nothing in return.

He knows that they are powerful… He knows that you’ll never be the same if you receive them… and THAT IS OUR ROLL: to receive.

To open our arms and let “Papa God” give us the things that can radically alter our course… our future… our present… our feelings and realities about all of the things that we thought were too big for anything to move.

Are you ready to receive today?

Are you ready to receive God’s OWL?

Are you ready to hope that God’s gifts can make a difference?

Are you ready to believe that God’s nature can change yours?

GOD

The Father has a tremendous amount of things He wants to give us. To list them all today would take too long, but it might be helpful for us all to realize that they all come through God’s 3 Baptisms. Did you know that the Father has 3 things that he wants to immerse you in… 3 things that he wants to cover you from head to toe in, so that your very nature will be changed?

Today, we will read the story (Acts 10) of how the baptisms of the Father radically altered the nature of a man, of a family, of a people group… and really the world!

Let’s set the stage a little.

When the Kingdom was first preached through John the Baptist and Jesus, there was this understanding that baptism would change when the covenants changed:

John B says in Matthew 3:11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I... He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

This verse shows all 3 gifts of the Father: the baptism into His grace, the baptism of His Spirit, and the baptism of His love. I’ll explain each of these in just a minute.

· But, for now, realize that the baptisms of the Father are not just about getting covered in water.

· They are about so much more! They are about receiving the very nature of God in our own lives.

After the resurrection & ascension of Jesus, the disciples received the baptism of “Spirit and fire,” and in fact Peter begins to link the 3 together in his first teaching:

Acts 2:38 And Peter said to them, “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.

As the early church advances, the disciples take this idea to their Jewish brothers. But, there is something about the OWLove of the Father: it can’t be contained! So, we come to Acts 10 and we see that Papa God is ready for His love, His gifts, His baptisms to be spread around the world.

· Through some miraculous dreams, The Father connects the apostle Peter with a man named Cornelius (an Italian, not a Jew).

· Cornelius is not even a believer in Jesus, but that doesn’t stop God’s OWLove!

· Peter goes to Cornelius’ home and there Peter finds “many persons gathered (10:27)” to “hear all he had been commanded by Jesus (10:33).” Peter then gives them a very simple gospel message:

Acts 10:36-43

“36 As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), 37 you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39 And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. 43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Simple explanation of Jesus right? It started with John the Baptist. Jesus came along and demonstrated the Kingdom in its fullness. Jesus dies and rises again. Then, He commissioned us to follow in His footsteps. All you have to do is “believe” and “receive,” and all the goodness of the Father is yours!

As soon as we believe in the message of Jesus’ gospel, our hearts are ready to receive the Father’s 3 baptisms.

(1) Baptism of Grace

· When we say yes to Jesus, He covers us in his grace. He covers us in his identity. He calls us sons and daughters. He plunges us into His family.
· STORY: My water baptism at Sunday night church.
· If repentance is the act of changing the way we think, the water baptism is the demonstration of that act.
· Paul, in Romans 6 & Colossians 2, tells us that we “were joined with Jesus in water baptism.”
· We are joined with him in his death (going under the water).
· We are joined with him in his new resurrected life (coming up from water).
· We are joined with him in his victory (arms raised) over sin.
· We are joined with him in his freedom as we now live under grace (6:14).
· Water baptism is the FREE GIFT of God’s love to show us that we no longer have to live the way we used to. His grace is now sufficient enough within us to change the very nature of our lives.
· Water baptism is the powerful image that you and I are now new people!
· Celebrating these: Paxton this weekend, Sullivan and Urbana in December
· Colossians 3:2-3 says it this way:
· 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.
· But, how in the world to I live that way? How is that possible?
· Well, it’s not without the baptism of the Spirit!

(2) Baptism of the Spirit

· You see, Papa God is a loving Father who wants to give good gifts to His kids.
· He’s not going to give you the gift of a new life without giving you the means to live this new life.
· He comes and takes up residence within you by His Holy Spirit. He literally immerses you in His presence whenever we need it.
· Remember: John B told us Jesus would baptize with HS
· Remember: Peter in Acts 10 said Jesus (and followers) anointed with HS
· At our conversion, there is an initial infilling that says, “This one’s mine.”
· But He’s always willing to stir up more within us.
· SNOW GLOD ILLUSTRATION
· Ephesians even encourages us that we need to keep on getting filled (Ephesians 5:18).
· Water baptism may be a one-time thing, but Spirit baptism can happen a lot!
· STORY: one of the most powerful infillings of God’s Spirit for me came a couple of years after Corrie and I moved to Ohio… tell story of the first time I spoke aloud in tongues… lasting impact on our youth group… fruit of ministry grew in salvations.
· With the baptism of the Spirit comes so much:
o He begins to produce fruit we never could have on our own (Gal 5).
o He empowers us with new gifts to advance His Kingdom (1C 12).
o He energizes and leads us to accomplish great things for our Father.
· I want more God! …and the great thing is that there is more.
· Holy Spirit baptism is the FREE GIFT of God’s love that empowers us to live differently than the way we used to. His power in us is great enough to change the very nature of the way we act in our own lives.
· But what about the world around us?
· Once we are changed by God’s grace and empowered by His Spirit, are we truly ready to love like He loved?

(3) Baptism of fire

· This is one that maybe you’ve not heard/talked a lot about.
· Remember: John B. told us that Jesus with baptize with the HS and fire…
· Remember: Peter said Jesus (and followers) anointed with HS & power
· So those things must be different… they must have something different to offer us.
· If water baptism is a baptism of grace & Spirit baptism is a baptism of power...
o This is a baptism that expands our hearts to share God’s OWLove with others when we encounter them in our world.
· STORY: I myself have experienced this baptism of fire & love on a couple of different occasions… emotional, snot-filled crying, even painful
· (A)Lew (B)conferences (C)Staff retreat
· This baptism of fire and love actually gives you the ability to see the world as only the Father can see it.
· You’ll be free to love with no strings attached.
· You’ll be freer to love those with whom you may not normally interact.
· Why? Because, you’ll be able to see the potential and the destiny of their lives through the Father’s eyes of grace!
· You’ll be the embodiment of “OWL” on earth!
· Story of one couple who received this anointing and started an orphanage in another country… it’s always for others!
· The baptism of fire is the FREE GIFT of God’s love that enables us to see people differently than the way we used to. His love within us is great enough to change the very nature of the way we live toward others.

Wrap It Up

Let’s wrap up the story of Peter and Cornelius. God’s OWLove for us is so amazing that sometimes our hearts can “believe and receive” before our heads even know what’s going on:

Acts 10: 44 While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 45 And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, 47 “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.

Did you hear what happened?

· While Peter is still speaking, God’s OWLove deposited the give of Holy Spirit Baptism on the Gentiles. Peter understands what’s happened, that they clearly believe in the Father’s plan through Jesus. So, he asks them to make it public through the symbolism of water baptism.
· And so, their lives were changed. They were empowered. And they were filled with the Love of the Father because after this the gospel began to spread all over the known world at that time.

Today, I think we should ask ourselves this question:

Have I experienced all three baptisms?

As 2 Corinthians tells it, have you experienced: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit?

In Acts 2 & 10 they all seem to happen at once. But, in other parts of Scripture and throughout church history, these baptisms have come in any variety of orders.

I hope that you are hungry for all that the Father has for us. I believe the Father has deposits of Himself that He wants to give us this weekend. I believe for some of you it’s going to come during our time of worship. I believe for others it will come during our ministry time at the end of the service.

So, ask yourself questions like these today as we close…