Following Jesus Example
Matthew 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Many people believe Jesus is real – even the fallen angels and the Devil. The difference between fallen angels and faithful Christians is that the faithful Christian will be ready for Jesus soon return. The Devil hates Christ.
In the above scripture we as faithful Christians are told to go and teach and then baptizing the newly saved. This is what is known as the Divine Commission.
Jesus was baptized even though he never sinned. HE set an example for us to follow. In verse 20, Jesus said: “Teaching to observe ( keep ) all things I have commanded. Baptism is like a marriage to Jesus Christ.
Acts 8:26-31
Christ Is Preached to an Ethiopian
26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. 27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”
30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.
Acts 8:35-39
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”
And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.
Philip is telling the eunuch about Christ and all of Jesus earthly ministry. When Philip came up out of the water, he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord. The eunuch went away happy.
Matthew 3:13-17
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”
15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.
16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
The first reason Jesus was baptized is to set an example for us. The second reason is to cover people that cannot ever be baptized: ( medical reasons, thief on the cross, children not yet mature enough to understand salvation for our sins through faith in Christ ). The third reason is submerge – the greek word baptiso means ‘watery grave’ – it is a symbol of our death to the old life. We come up out of the water as a new person in Christ. Infant baptism and sprinkling are not Biblical.
In verse 17, we receive a special annointing of the Holy Spirit. You now belong to Christ and are His witness in the world.
Matthew 4:1-4
Satan Tempts Jesus
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’
Luke 4:1
Satan Tempts Jesus
1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.
Being a Christian means being the happiest people on earth. There is no shame to be filled with the Holy Ghost.
Luke 4:13-15
13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry
14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
Jesus was able to go out and teach.
Luke 4:17-19
17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
18 “ The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”
Who is the stealer of our joy? Satan because fear does not come from God, it comes from Satan. Step out and trust God in faith. He will take care of you. God will meet your needs.
Galatians 3:26-29
Sons and Heirs
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
You trusted and surrendered to God and are a part of Christ earthly ministry.
There are buffet style Christians in the world today that are picking and chosing what they want. Being a follower of Christ means following His Word and Example. Heirs of the promise in verse 29 means having eternal life. That is the most important thing a Christian has to hold on to while on earth.
Mark 16:15-16
15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
Real belief means following Jesus. Christ says in His word that He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Just think of the grace, mercy and peace Christ offers to mankind.
Romans 6:3-4
3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
The newness of Christ means experiencing a total conversion. The death of Christ covers your life.
Acts 22:14-16
14 Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. 15 For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’
Jesus is asking you a question: “What are you waiting for? Arise and be baptized.”
Acts 19:1-6
Paul at Ephesus
1 And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples 2 he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”
3 And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?”
So they said, “Into John’s baptism.”
4 Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”
5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.
Acts 2:41
Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
This passage shows the beginning of the early Christian church. Have you gladly received His Word? Jesus never forces anyone to do anything. He loves you so much. How can you turn this offer down?
Acts 2:47
Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
This was our Wednesday night Bible study on 2. March 2011 led by Pastor Korter.