Tag: Baptism

Posted on

Two Baptisms?

Reading Time: 4 minutes

”John announced: “Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Mark writes that John, the baptizer, comes on the scene with the fire and fury of an Old Testament Prophet. But this announcement of “someone coming,” would bring excitement and frustration to his original audience and to every believer and every denominational tribe still today! Who was John referring to, when he said one is coming? John clearly said that he was authorized by God to do the dippin’ in the physical and symbolic act of going under the water, submerging into death as it were, and coming up clean, alive and ready to live the life of a follower of Jesus. Water baptism IS a big deal, not just because it is a commandment, “be baptized,” (Mark 16:16, Matthew 28:19, Acts 2:38) but also it is a physical experience and expression of the believers declared faith in Christ.

But John just had to push the baptism object lesson/illustration even further. John said, “but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Who will baptize? And, what will he baptize with?” Mark uses the same Greek word here for both baptism with water and with the Spirit – baptízō – properly, “submerge”. One is a water experience, the other a Spirit experience.

I just have a few questions for you, the reader. One, when does Jesus do this? Hint: you’ll find it in the gospels. Two, HOW does Jesus do this? (also in the gospels). And three, does this still happen today in every believer’s life? Obviously, water baptism is a sacrament (a regular practice) still today. What about John’s other promise/proclamation?

I encourage every believer to answer that question for themselves! Search the scriptures, ask God the questions. Don’t get all caught up in denominational or even interpretative theological arguments. You have the Word of God for yourself! That battle of having, reading or listening to the Bible yourself was resolved over 500 years ago. Don’t even get all hung up over the myriad of translations of the Bible, just pick a solid one and study. Be like the Bereans that search the scriptures for themselves! (Acts 17:11).

This is important for every believer to know and settle for themselves! Does Jesus still baptize with the Holy Spirit? When and how does Jesus baptize you with the Holy Spirit?

Before I became a believer I would randomly go to church, a few times by myself as a child. Then, later with my mom, attending my sister’s church. It was a wild, loud, very active pentecostal church. The pastor yelled his sermons with a lot of passion. The congressional worship was also loud, demonstrative and also very emotional. Every bit of it scared me. I sat in the balcony just observing, but I did not want anything to do with whatever they were all doing. I did not know anything about spiritual things, but I was not drawn to, nor desired or impressed with anything I saw happening. It was flat out scary to me.

Fast forward to when I was fifteen. I had a supernatural experience with God when I answered His challenge to give Him my life and in exchange He would be my Dad. I did not believe I deserved such a thing. Many of my life decisions flashed before my eyes. I felt the guilt and shame of those decisions. I told God how awful I had been and couldn’t figure out why He still wanted me. After crying over and contemplating such an offer, I said “yes.”

Almost immediately after saying yes, I was still crying and just started exploding with emotion and thankfulness. I believe my life had instantly changed. In those moments of gratefulness, I ran out of words to express what I was feeling. And that’s when I felt this overwhelming presence of God come over me. I heard words come out of my mouth but I could not understand them. I was speaking but the words were not making any sense. That’s when I realized, I was speaking in tongues and it terrified me! I remembered the experiences of being in that pentecostal church and not liking what I was hearing. I immediately stoped speaking the unknown words and told God, “I’m not sure I want to do this.” That experience, those unknown words and unfamiliar feeling overwhelmed me. In the same gentle way that God offered to be my Dad in exchange for my life, I heard God say, “trust me.” For the second time I said yes, and continued to cry, pray, praise and speak in an unknown language. There was no one close by, and no one knew what was happening under that little table in the foyer of Oak Knoll Lodge in Big Bear, California. I know it sounds odd, but I knew virtually nothing about the Bible or how God works. It happened, it was real and I discovered it is Biblical! By the way, I wasn’t baptized in water for several months after I became a believer. That’s how I found out there are two baptisms.

Prayer

Dad,
You are amazing! I will never forget what you have done in my life. I am beyond grateful for saving me, changing me and teaching me yours ways. I love you and absolutely love Your Word! All I can say is thank you.

Posted on

When our body remembers and reminds us

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. At this time a message from God came to John son of Zechariah, who was living in the wilderness. Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven.” Luke‬ ‭3:2-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Luke starts this chapter with a quick list of authorities of who these leaders were and where they were serving. Then he gets to two of the high priests. These are two guys serving in a very long legacy line with very specific jobs working for God. However, Luke SKIPS over the Roman officials and his own priests and introduces John, a son of a priest himself. Luke wants us to know, this is the person God chose to talk to – “a message from God to John.”

What was the message? Repent of sin and SHOW life change by behavior change! Start with a symbolized object lesson of dunking, dying and resurrecting all clean and fresh. Then the crowd asks a brilliant question, “what should we do?” NOT, what should we believe. John’s mini-sermon is a wide-view lens of the entire Old Testament Prophets messages of “true repentance.” Here they are: take care of the poor, quit cheating people and stop being so greedy! Can this list of behaviors define righteousness? No, not entirely. Can this list guide our behaviors to better reflect God? Absolutely! Caring for outcasts, being fair in transactions and live within your means so you can be generous and not try to con your way through life – these are pretty good places to start.

Apparently sin makes us snobs, cheats and cheap! Who would have thought? The people that came because they were just curious but critical were offended. The people who came and were convicted went into the water to start their journey back to God.

Baptism isn’t magical, it’s a transformational marker. It’s a moment where our physical body remembers going under the cold water and our soul remembers the momentary feeling of embarrassment, the submission to another’s will, loss of control and rising to newness. It’s like remembering your first kiss – a powerful connection of emotions and feelings that lodge in your whole being, not just your brain.

The first step, John says, “in showing” repentance and turning to God. Physical actions, physical signs, memories and onlookers, these are important to behavioral change. Luke writes later about another such physical sign when it comes to being filled with the Spirit. It could be witnessed. These are moments that are captured, tracked and remembered. What behavior has changed in me that proves to me (and others) that I have not only been obedient, I’ve also been consistent in moving towards God and away from my sin, myself in the past?

PRAYER:

Dad,
I clearly remember the physical locations and purposeful decisions in my life where you challenged me and I responded with a YES. And with those memories, my body helps remind me that those moments weren’t a dream or a thought, they were real and powerful. I still remember being baptized in water with a bunch of people watching. I still remember being baptized in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues and having a new hunger for the Word of God, a keen sense of hearing your voice and a new boldness to become who who called me to be. I have no doubts that my ideals of change only become reality in my behaviors of change! Thank you.