The Baptism of Jesus

Let's pray together. Lord, we are grateful for the reminder of Bethlehem and the significance of that little village And why it is you chose that place above all other places Thank you Lord that your plan was perfect Always has been always will be and we have the great and wonderful joy of studying the Word of God that unfolds for us that plan Today Lord, may we see it all the more in Jesus name. We pray. Amen Luke chapter 3 Luke chapter 3 2 verses verses 21 and 22 speak to us about the baptism of Jesus This is where the ministry of Christ begins This is the day that Jesus Christ appears on the scene This is the day.

He's about 30 years of age How do we know that verse number 23 tells us and when he began his ministry Jesus himself was about 30 years of age on this day about 30 years of age Christ begins his ministry and it begins with his baptism and This day is a unique day because heaven opens up the Spirit of God comes down and The father speaks from heaven to give us the divine Confirmation that this is my son. He is the Messiah and this son of mine is God in the flesh This is called a Trinitarian text this becomes a very important text because you have the son you have the spirit and you have the father all mentioned Simultaneously Now this is very important because there is a heresy called modalism it's promoted by the What's the church it's the I got a written down here someplace the United Pentecostal Church promotes it It's called modalism.

That is that there is one God Who manifests himself in different ways sometimes as father sometimes as spirit and sometimes as son in other words God takes on different modes or has different masks and He's not three in one. He's one who manifests himself in three Different ways that my friend is a heresy and that has great implications for promoting more heresy throughout the scriptures, but this verse Disproves that you say well, how do those who believe in modalism get around that? Well, they have to do spiritual gymnastics in Luke chapter 3 verses 21 and 22 to come up with some Highfalutin ideas to get around what it is.

The actual truth is about the identity of our God So this becomes a very important text for us to understand the triune nature of God Because you had the son you had the spirit descending and the father speaking all three at once Proving to us that God is three in one You with me so far? Good it's imperative that you understand that because throughout this Christmas season You're gonna have all kinds of people coming to your door who do not believe in the triune nature of God How are you going to prove to them that he is actually three in one?

Now this text becomes important for us because as the ministry of Christ begins Remember, he's 30 years of age. He has lived in pretty much obscurity for the first 30 years Christ didn't go around with a with this.

Halo on his head. So everybody would know that this is the Messiah He didn't wear clothes that would set him apart from somebody else to prove that he was the Son of God In fact if heaven didn't open up in the Spirit of God to send for all to see who were there and the voice to speak You would think that Jesus was just another Jew coming down to the Jordan to be baptized So something had to happen to show that Jesus is the Messiah that Jesus is the Son of God and What happens this day? shows to us that Christ is exactly Who he said he was Because the father gives us the divine confirmation as to who his son truly is It's interesting that Jesus and John or John doesn't know who Jesus is We know that because over in John chapter 1 it says this Verse 33 and I did not recognize him but he who sent me to baptize in water said to me he upon whom you see the Spirit descending and Remaining that verse that word remaining is very important Upon him.

This is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit You see Jesus and John didn't grow up together didn't play ball together didn't go to the park together didn't have lunch together and didn't grow up in the same school together and Conquering all the bullies together because that's not what happened How do we know that Luke 1 verse number 80 tells us that John the Baptist was in the wilderness. That's where he grew up Jesus was in the Galilean area up in Galilee up in Nazareth. That's where he grew up There is nothing in the Bible that tells us that Jesus and John ever spent any time together Never knew one another until this very moment In fact, Jesus knew probably John was and John knew about the coming of Messiah because Zacharias his father would have told him, right?

I'm sure that John the Baptist had heard the song of Zacharias that we studied in great detail Luke chapter 1 many times over again I'm sure his mother Elizabeth would sit John down and explain to him at a very young age the whole event between She and Mary when Mary came to her after the angel Gabriel had said to Mary that she would conceive and bear a Child in her womb, even though she was a virgin And so John had heard all the stories from mom and dad But he had spent the bulk of his years in the wilderness Maybe when they were children at a very young age There were times that Mary and Elizabeth got together because they were cousins, but we have no word of Scripture about that So John's in the water he's putting people in he's bringing them out He's baptizing them because that's what he does and all of a sudden Jesus comes and how John recognizes them.

We don't know Because the Spirit has yet to descend upon him But somehow John knew That he was sinless Somehow John knew maybe they had a short brief discussion Bible doesn't tell us maybe God the Father Illuminated his mind so John would know that this was Jesus But John is just putting people in and bringing them out putting people in and bringing them out They're confessing their sins one after another and then the next person in line Is the Messiah? There are three things I want you to notice in our text this evening, I'm sorry this morning You can notice it this evening if you'd like, but we're gonna notice it this morning First of all the response of John the Baptist number two the the reasons Jesus was baptized and number three the revelation during the baptism We'll begin with the response of John the Baptist for that.

You need to turn to Matthew's gospel Matthew chapter 3 You'll realize that that Matthew Mark Luke John all speak about the baptism of our Lord This becomes very significant in the ministry of our Lord because this is how it all Began this is now where we're going to pick up the ministry of Christ and it's going to move rather rapidly All the way to Calvary's cross Here it goes Matthew chapter 3 verse number 30 13, I'm sorry then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan Coming to John to be baptized by him Jesus would have to travel some 60 to 70 miles from Nazareth Down to where John was in the Jordan in the wilderness baptizing people Christ begins that journey Down to down to the Jordan he arrives on the scene to be baptized and notice verse number 14 but John tried to prevent him Saying I have need to be baptized by you and do you come to me?

John's response is one of prevention He doesn't want to baptize Jesus and remember the Spirit of God has not yet descended John knows Remember John 1 33. We read that God told John to baptize in water God told John to do that. That's why John did it. That's why he was called John the baptizer He knew that the one coming after him would baptize with the Spirit. So John was doing what God said That's important so now Christ shows up on the scene and Whether there's a conversation We don't know Bible doesn't tell us whether John's mind was illuminated by God himself the Spirit of God All we know is John realized you know what?

You should baptize me. I shouldn't baptize you why because There is no sin in Jesus Now listen John knows that John knows he is a holy one John knows he is a sinless one and John knows that what he is doing is baptizing people Because they are repenting of their sins Jesus who has no sin doesn't need to repent of anything, right? And yet so John says to him look you should be baptizing me. I shouldn't be baptizing you You should be put I'm the one who should be confessing my sin you have no sin You don't need to confess anything at all.

And so John's first response is one of Prevention in other words John really truly is trying to protect him Why?

Because you see all these Jews were coming down and Being baptized confessing their sins and if he baptizes Jesus, what will everybody else think? They'll think that Jesus is just like them that he is a sinner and needs to confess his sins So John is trying to protect him. That's why he wants to prevent him from being baptized He doesn't want the people to get the wrong idea about who the Messiah is now We know as you read the gospel of John and the other gospel accounts that that their togetherness was probably two Maybe three days on day one.

Jesus is baptized on day two It's John who says behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world So we know that there was a two-day time period where they were together, but the scripture says there's no other time where they are together Ministry this is their time.

This is where they cross roads This is where John the Baptist ministry begins to decline and the ministry of Christ begins to ascend begins to progress Because this is the inauguration of the ministry of Jesus Christ our Lord So John wants to prevent him from being baptized because he knows that his baptism is one of repentance Where people are confessing their sins and they are saying that we are alienated from God. We have no part with God Therefore we got to confess our sins and we've got to pave the way for the coming of Messiah Well, Jesus is not alienated from God He is one with God and John is saying look if I baptize you The testimony now is you have no part with God.

You are alienated from God. Therefore you should baptize me I should not baptize you That's the prevention Second thing I want you to see is the permission Let's know what Jesus says Matthew chapter 3 verse number 15 But Jesus answering said to him permitted at this time For in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness Then he permitted him Christ says this is the first time Christ speaks Since he was 12 in the scriptures Make sure you get that in the scriptures.

I'm sure he spoke to his mother and his father throughout his entire life But we know that Luke chapter 2 right was the first time We know of the words that he said I must be in my father's house, right?

This is the second time Christ speaks in the scriptures, this is the order He says this needs to be permitted.

This needs to happen John in order for all righteousness to be fulfilled folks that is a mammoth statement Because Christ came to fulfill the law, right? We know that we know that Christ didn't come to abolish the law but he actually came to fulfill the law and So he comes and says in order for the law to be fulfilled. I need to be baptized Jesus did listen what every righteous person would do because a righteous person is Committed to keeping the law of God for example Passover Did Jesus actually have to partake of Passover?

To be reminded of the fact that the Messiah would come and ultimately deliver him from his sins answer No, because he is the Messiah. He is the Passover lamb that was sacrificed for mankind But why did Christ keep the Passover because it was required by law. Why was Christ circumcised? Remember we talked about his circumcision when he was eight years eight years Eight days old not eight years old eight days old right why because that fulfilled the law of God remember circumcision was a Reminder to the parents how sin is passed down from generation to generation But Christ has no sin Christ was not conceived in sin and yet he was to fulfill every aspect of the law of God.

Why? Why did Christ have to do that? Why did he why was he circumcised? Why was he baptized? Why did he attend Passover? Because he was going to keep every part of the law perfectly Why is that? Because he who knew no sin Would become sin for you that you might be made the righteousness of God in him in order for him to give you His righteous life. He had to live a completely perfect righteous life the time He was on earth so that When he died on the cross, he would take your sinful dirty rotten life like my sinful dirty rotten life upon him on His body on the tree and that he would take the penalty to me on him So that I would receive his righteous holy life.

It's called the doctrine of imputation and Christ gave us his righteous life. So when God the Father sees us, he sees the righteousness of Christ in us That's why the Bible never calls us sinners again after we're saved. It only calls the Saints do we sin? Yes, but the Bible never calls the Christian sinner. He calls the Christian a saint why? Because the believer is clothed in the righteousness of Christ So that's why he had to be baptized and that's why he went down and Kept the Passover. That's why he was circumcised on the eighth day.

That's why he kept the law of God. He kept it perfectly every single day Why so we could have that life. That's the life we have. It's the perfect life. Are we perfect? No, we're not But that's how God sees us now for those of us who have given our life to Christ So you have the prevention then you have the permission and then you have the prayer Luke is the only one who records the prayer. Look what it says Now came about when all the people were baptized that Jesus also was baptized and while he was praying Heaven was open now this is the first time we understand the fact that Christ was in communion with his father in heaven and You will know that prayer listen Commences his earthly ministry and Prayer Characterized his earthly ministry and prayer culminates his earthly ministry in Luke chapter 24 and you realize that prayer is that Which is continued in his heavenly ministry because he is the one who makes intercession for us daily This is a very important statement.

And as he was praying You must understand if you want to understand the life of Christ, you must understand that Christ was the ultimate prayer warrior Because he was in constant communion with his father in heaven and we will see this in the book of Luke Why remember Luke's gospel emphasizes the humanity of Christ? Matthew emphasizes the royalty of Christ because he's the king Mark's gospel emphasizes the humility of Christ because he's the servant John's gospel Emphasizes the deity of Christ because he's God Well Luke's gospel emphasizes the humanity of Christ because he is the son of man He's a hundred percent man.

And so that helps us understand why this episode is Absolutely crucial for us to grasp you need to get this if you miss these two verses Listen carefully to what I'm going to say if you miss these two verses and do not understand them You will never live a successful Christian life You won't you need to know what happens right here because as deep as it is theologically it is absolutely Essential to practically living out your daily life as a Christian and So Christ was praying it will see throughout the book of Luke.

He went to the mountains to pray He was always in constant communication with his father. And so we got to ask ourselves. Are we that way? Are you in constant communication with your father with your father who's in heaven? The Bible says we're to pray what without ceasing right?

It should be a constant element of our life We should always be in communion with our father who was in heaven daily moment by moment Dependent upon him. Our Lord was that way in the garden. He was praying on the cross He was praying throughout his ministry. He was praying at the end of his ministry. He was praying in heaven He lives listen Hebrew says he lives to make intercession For us That's what he's doing in heaven. He is interceding on your behalf before the throne of God What a ministry You have a prayer ministry It is the greatest of all ministries It is the highest ministry known to man is a prayer ministry Do you have a prayer ministry?

Well, you're constantly in communion with your father who is in heaven if you want to be like Jesus You got to be in communion with your father who is in heaven because that's the way he was Okay for number one and that is the response of John the Baptist put him into the reason Jesus was baptized Let me give you four of them.

There probably be any more this let me give you four. No one was to affirm the ministry of John the Baptist Christ didn't have to do that But I believe that he wanted to do that It was an affirmation of the ministry of John All you got to do is go back and read Malachi 3 1 and 2 Malachi 4 1 to 1 to 5 because it speaks of the messenger Isaiah 40 Isaiah 40 verse number 3 says this a voice is calling clear the way of the Lord of the wilderness make smooth in the desert a highway for our God Let every valley be lifted up and every mountain and hill be made low and let the rough Ground become a plain the rugged terrain a broad valley.

Well, that's what John the Baptist ministry was all about We've studied that earlier in Luke chapter 2 or 2 chapter 3 So what Christ was doing was affirming the ministry of John the Baptist Or approving the ministry of John the Baptist, excuse me He was saying that John is that forerunner the one who would come before the Messiah The one who would clear the path the one who would open the door the one that would challenge man To clear his heart that he might receive the Messiah So not only did he approve the ministry of John But he also announced his ministry because if you go back to Isaiah chapter 40 verse number 5 It says this then the glory of the Lord will be revealed When will God's glory be revealed when the heart is prepared?

God's glory will be revealed and so because John is preparing the hearts of people to receive the Messiah Those whose hearts are genuinely prepared are the ones who will see the glory of the Lord now that verse of course has implications in the future when all of Israel prepares their heart and they look on him on whom they have Pierced and they mourned for him as an only child and the Messiah returns and the full glory of God appears to all men But you must understand that Christ was announcing his ministry So he approves John's ministry.

He announces his ministry and then number three he associates with you and me He associates with you and me Why because Jesus Christ is God of the flesh, but it's the God who became man And he became that high priest who would sympathize with your weaknesses and my weaknesses and He would fulfill the law of God.

He would live a life as the book of Revelation says I Jesus and the root and the offspring of David I Am the root that is I am the source of David's life in line, and I am the offspring. I am the son of David's life in line. I am David's ancestor and I am David's Descendant I am both I am both God because I'm eternal and man and Christ was demonstrating his manhood by being baptized in the Jordan as all men were being baptized because he was Identifying with sinful man not that Jesus Christ himself Sinned because he didn't not that Jesus Christ could have sinned Because he could not and we'll study that in Luke chapter 4 But to understand that he came to associate with man that he might be that Effective high priest who could sympathize with your weaknesses in mine.

And then lastly to affirm his Messiahship to affirm his true identity He's the Messiah the Son of God Now if you go back to Isaiah chapter 4 It says in verse number 2 in that day the branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious The word branch is another name for the Messiah every Jew will tell you that the branch the net seer is a name for the Messiah and It says over in Isaiah chapter 11 These words first number one then a shoot will spring for the stem of Jesse and a branch From his roots will bear fruit and the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him so the branch who was the Messiah is Identified by the fact that the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him with me so far Isaiah chapter 42 Isaiah 42 Verse number one says this behold my servant whom I uphold my chosen one in whom I sold the lights I have put my spirit upon him again You have the Spirit of God upon the Messiah and then you have over in Isaiah chapter 61 verse number one these words the Spirit of the Lord God the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me Whoever the Messiah is the Spirit of the Lord God is upon Him and this is the verse that Jesus quotes in Luke 4 at the synagogue in Nazareth So listen every Jew without exception Every Jew without exception knows that the way, you know Who Messiah is is that the Spirit of God is?

upon him and That's why at this point it becomes Absolutely essential that heaven opens and the Spirit of God Descends in some form upon the Messiah Because all who around will see it God said to John the Baptist in John 133 you will know the Messiah Because the Spirit of God will descend upon him and will keyword remain upon him You with me so far Good main point number three and that is this the revelation during the baptism two things I want you to see number one is the presence of the Holy Spirit and the proclamation of the Heavenly Father The presence of the Holy Spirit and the proclamation of the Heavenly Father.

Listen to what the text says Verse 22 and The Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove and a voice came out of heaven Thou art my beloved Son in thee I am well pleased Now folks, this is where it becomes absolutely crucial for you to understand so you can live the Christian life today The presence of the Spirit of God comes down upon him. Notice the text says it comes down Like a dove It doesn't say the Holy Spirit is a dove Okay, please understand that I know a lot of you probably have doves on the back of your vans You know You got a big dove for Papa a little dove for mama and lots of little baby does for all the kids in your family right Trying to show how spiritual you are because of the Spirit of God in your family I don't want to you know rag on your little thing in the back of your vans But the Bible says he came down like a dove in other words.

In other words, the movement was like a dove It doesn't mean the Spirit Embodied the form of a dove. Does that make sense? I Mean, I don't take it too far But you know, we try to conjure up all these images in our mind of who God is All right But the Bible says that when heaven opened you had the Sun in the water and the Spirit now descending And when the Spirit descends God said to John in John 1 33 when you see the Spirit of God descended upon him and Remaining upon him.

You will know that this is the Messiah So somehow John was able to see the Spirit of God Descending. All right, so you have Jesus who is the Son of God? You have the Spirit who is God and then you had the Father Speaking from heaven who is God. It's a Trinitarian text It's very important for you to understand why the Spirit would come down upon the Messiah Well number one it affirmed that he was the Messiah Because every Jew knew that whoever had the Spirit of God upon him was the Messiah So all these people in the Jordan River were able to see something that day that nobody else saw But would be evidence in the life of Christ throughout his ministry because the Spirit of God would remain upon him That's what the Bible says So they would see the Spirit of God ascended.

They would know Isaiah 4 verse number 2 Isaiah chapter 11 verse number 2 Isaiah 40 verse number 1 Isaiah 60 I'm sorry, Isaiah 42 verse number 1 Isaiah 61 verse number 1. They would know those verses and they would know That this is Messiah But it goes way beyond that for you and me We need to get this Because this is so Important it does not mean listen.

It does not mean that the Spirit of God was not upon him before this event It just means that this was the inauguration of the ministry and those there had to see this to confirm his messianic credentials That's important for you to understand but remember remember Philippians chapter 2 What's theologians called the great kenosis the great emptying of God? where God Christ did not think equality with God something to be grasped, but he emptied himself and became what a man He became a man in other words when when Christ came to earth He set aside his divine attributes it wasn't that he ceased to be God He was always God listen, but he chose not to use his divine attributes That is a self-emptying of God.

He chose to live listen very carefully the life of a man He's 100% God He's a hundred percent man, but he chose to live the life of a man by taking his attributes and setting them aside to live a life of a man Now this is important Because it helps you understand why the Spirit of God would come and descend upon him John 3 34 says that he gives The Spirit without measure in other words the Spirit of God was at on Christ in fullest measure Every aspect of the Spirit of God was on him and in him that is absolutely imperative in fact You will see in Luke chapter 4 verse number 1 that the Spirit of God Drove him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil for 40 days You'll notice in Luke chapter 4 verse number 14 that he returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit listen to Acts chapter 10 verse number 38 Acts chapter 10 verse number 38 Where Peter says, you know of Jesus of Nazareth How God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and when did God do that?

At his baptism, right? Notice what he says, you know, Jesus of Nazareth how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power and how he went about doing good and Healing all who were oppressed by the devil for God was with him Meaning to say that the Spirit is God Because the Spirit was the one who descended upon him and the Spirit was the one who was with him and Peter calls The Spirit God now listen Peter says that God in heaven anointed his son and He anointed his son with the Spirit who too is God see that There's no way you can get around that that's as simple as ABC.

That's as simple as 2 plus 2 is 4, right? That's just the way it is And so what you have now is the Spirit of God on him why is this Listen carefully to what I'm going to say because this is going to help you live your Christian life listen Jesus lived his life and we'll see this throughout the book of Luke under the complete domination of the Holy Spirit of God A Complete domination by the Spirit of God out listen out of his deity He would not do the miraculous Out of his humanity he could not do the miraculous Follow what I'm saying out of his deity He would not do the miraculous why because he laid aside his divine attributes Out of his humanity out of his flesh and blood.

He could not do the miraculous That's why he lived a life under the complete Domination of the Spirit of God because it was a Spirit of God who empowered him to live that human life With me so far That's so important That's best explained in Matthew chapter 12 in Matthew chapter 12 about the blasphemy of the Spirit of God remember that story Where the religious leaders said that Christ did things under the power of who? Satan the devil, right Verse 30 Matthew 12. He was not with me is against me and he does not gather with me scatters therefore I say to you any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven and Whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man.

Who's that? That's Christ in whose humanity It will be forgiven him but Whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit. It should not be forgiven him either in this age or in the age to come You see what they did was attribute his works to Satan and did not attribute his works to God and You see when Christ in his humanity lived his life He lived his life under the complete domination of the Spirit of God who empowered him It was a Spirit of God that bridged his deity with his humanity That is the self-emptying of Christ.

That is Philippians chapter 2 the kenosis God Becoming man as man choosing to live under the complete control and domination of the Spirit of God so that he could live and do and speak the miraculous because it was a Spirit of God that energized his entire life. That's what Christ chose to do And so when they came and they said your works are of Satan They were saying that the Spirit of God is not upon you therefore you can't be the Messiah and The Spirit of God is not working through you Therefore it's not God working through you but Satan working through you and Christ said that sins unforgivable.

That makes sense That's what it's all about See, what does this got to do about my Christian life? Folks let me tell you something unless your life Is controlled by the Spirit of God, you'll never please God That's why the voice came out of heaven.

This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased You see unless your life is controlled by God's Spirit You can't please the Father who is in heaven because if it's not controlled by the Spirit of God it's controlled by what your sinful desires and Therefore in order for us to please God our lives must be Subject to the Word of God and the Spirit of God so that we might hear the pleasure of God Hear him speak about the pleasure. We bring to him because we seek to honor him See that proclamation from the Father in heaven speaks to the fact that his son For him to be well pleased with the son would mean that his son had not committed any sin Yeah, I'm not a transfiguration the same thing.

This is my son hear him For I am well pleased with him God the Father was always pleased with his son because his son was always Subject to the control of the Spirit of God in his life To such an extent that the Spirit of God operated in and through him in such a way that the miraculous was accomplished That's the humanity of Christ. He never ceased to be God In his humanity, he's both God and man he is both But in his humanity, he set aside those divine attributes in order that as the Spirit of God descended upon him and that's why the Bible says the Spirit of God descended upon him and remained on him Now they saw him come down Because he come down he came down in some form But when the Spirit of God was upon him and in him you could not see no longer the Spirit of God just the effects of the Spirit of God working through him because a miraculous was accomplished and that's what the incarnation is all about God becoming man God becoming flesh and operating under the complete Dominating control of the Spirit of God in the Spirit of God would lead him and drive him to the wilderness the Spirit of God would move him to Galilee to minister the Spirit of God would constantly be moving him because he was in Constant communion with his father who was in heaven because that's the way it was meant to be And so when the proclamation came out of heaven This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased Remember the word son and used in conjunction with Christ is the word we us which means this is my beloved son This is my heir.

This is the preeminent one. This is truly God in the flesh That's why I am pleased with him because we are one All that to say this is that the baptism of Jesus teaches us That if we're ever going to be born live the Christian life the Spirit of God must infuse our lives And when a man is born again when a woman is born again The Spirit of God comes into their lives takes up residence and seeks to empower their lives That's why the Bible says and be filled or literally be controlled by the Spirit of God Be not drunk with wine and which is excess but be controlled By the Spirit of God if you walk in the Spirit, you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh If you're engaging the lusts of the flesh, it's because you're not walking under the control and Dominating the influence of the Spirit of God in your life And that's why this text becomes so crucial crucial to your Christian life because Christ Didn't have to do this But he did And we see this even more in Luke chapter 4 at the temptation of Christ When he was tempted by the devil for 40 days in the wilderness How did he overcome temptation It's because of the Spirit of God How do we overcome temptation?

It's because of the Spirit of God And that's why Romans chapter 8 Speaks this way about God's Spirit verse number nine Paul says this However, you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him There the Spirit is called the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ. Why? Because there are three in one. They are one in the same See it And therefore if you don't have the Spirit of Christ in you, how is it you?

Are saved you're not The one who's saved has God's Spirit in his life And the command for us is to be controlled by that spirit that we might walk under the influence of the Spirit of God Him guiding him leading him influencing every aspect of our lives and that's what makes our lives as great as they are Listen the christian life. Listen is a supernatural life The christian life is not a natural life It's in another realm. It's in another dimension People say to me all the time. Well, I can't do that I'm, not bent that way Yes, you can If God demands it you can do it Because it's a supernatural work of God You might be unwilling to submit to the Spirit's work and power in your life, but it can be accomplished through God's work in your life And that's why you should not be able to explain the things that take place because they are supernatural Not natural we've said it before if you can explain your christian life, it's not the christian life Because the christian life is a supernatural life So you should be able to say, you know, I don't know.

I can't I wish I could explain it to you It's supernatural. It's the work of God in and through me. It's how God does it. How does God mend broken families together? Naturally, it can't be heaven. Have you ever watched dr. Phil or oprah? He's trying to put everybody together Ain't gonna happen He can pay for their therapy He can pay to put them in whatever it is going to pay to put them in and ain't gonna happen. Why? Because it's supernatural Salvation is supernatural. The healing of families is supernatural A forgiving spirit is supernatural The ability to give yourself away is supernatural.

Nobody naturally wants to do that. Everything in the christian life is supernatural So if you can explain what it is, you're doing it's the work of the flesh if you can't explain it It's the work of the spirit. That's why They couldn't understand the work of jesus because it was the work of the spirit. It was all Supernatural and that's why we are able to overcome temptation Overcome sin. That's why the bible calls us overwhelming conquerors. Why? Because the supernatural spirit of god has taken up residence in our lives to accomplish a Supernatural work whether it's in my own personal life whether it's in my marital life whether it's in my work life No matter what life it's in god wants to accomplish a super natural work.

Let me ask you a question Is your life a supernatural life Is your marriage a supernatural marriage the only way you know that Is if things are happening that you cannot explain Because that's supernatural And god's at work And god is doing a wonderful wonderful work in your family the flip side of that is Maybe your family can't do it because there's someone there who's not born again Who doesn't have the spirit of god residing within them?

So there's always That bucking against the supernatural that bucking against that which is of the spirit Because it's of the flesh My prayer for you and me is this christmas season We would understand what this birth of christ is truly all about How god became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory The glories are the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth And as we behold his glory We were able to see the supernatural work of god in and through the messiah Who is 100 god and 100 man, but he sent his he set his divine attributes aside That he might function totally as a man under the complete domination and influence of the spirit of god So you would know what christianity is all about That's what it is Do you have that kind of life?

You can You can Because god offers true life to all those Who turn from their sin and embrace him as the messiah Let's pray Father we thank you for today and all that you do Truly it is great to know That you are so concerned about us as individuals So concerned about our sinful state that you came to this earth to die for us That we might experience your life I pray that there wouldn't be one man and woman among us who has not yet to experience true life in jesus christ our lord Pray in jesus name amen