SCRIPTURE:
Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
OBSERVATION:
When we are baptized in water, several things are happening. We are, at the same time, being baptized unto repentance, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Four in one.
Baptism literally means total immersion. We are to be as immersed in God as fish are in water. During one of the darkest times in human history, The Crusades, crusaders would be baptized but leave their sword above the water saying, “My soul if for Christ, but my sword is for slaughter.”
This is what happens when we are partially baptized or partially immersed in the things of God. We get enough religion and spirituality to feel comfortable checking off the worship box, while our unrepentant flesh reeks havoc on the world around us. If we are half committed, we become half alive and half dead. Instead of being light and life, we become spiritual zombies. Instead of people running to us for revelation and power, they run from us because they think we are going to eat their brains, or at least strip them of their identity and impose a bunch of lifeless rules on them.
In water baptism, we are to be totally immersed in a lifestyle of repentance. As we are baptized unto the Father, we become one of His children. As we are baptized unto the Son, we become fellow heir of the Kingdom, stewards, and suffering servants (Matthew 20:28). As we are baptized unto the Holy Spirit, we submit to His leading and yield to His power.
APPLICATION:
We are to allow the Holy Spirit show us whether or not we are totally immersed in Him, or are there areas of our lives that we have left “out of the water.”
We have been baptized in the waters of repentance, now, just as His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23), let us live a life of repentance in humility before Him and others.
We have been baptized unto the Father, now let’s start acting like His children and get about our Father’s business (Luke 2:49).
We have been baptized in Jesus, now start walking in your authority and do what He has called you to do and go where He has called you to go, no matter the cost.
We have been baptized in the Holy Spirit, now let’s stir up the gifts that are within us (2 Timothy 1:6) and turn the world upside down.
PRAYER:
Lord, You are good and holy. I bless You and thank You for today. I ask that You would try me and know me, and any area of my life that is still in rebellion, help me to crucify it by submitting to You. I don’t want to be a religious zombie. Help me to be light and life to a dark and dying world. In Jesus’ name, amen.
WORSHIP: