Today we are celebrating...

... the wonderful blessing that people have been saved. We are celebrating with these folks `by being obedient to the commands of Jesus and the disciples to repent and then, be baptized in water. Matthew 3:11&13 (NKJV) I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. Looking at three baptisms.

1. Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Matthew 3:11 (NKJV) ^“He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” Listen to this simple illustration. Our baptismal candidates have water in them (made up mostly of water) but in a few moments they will be completely submerged or covered with water…inside and out. When you received the Lord Jesus Christ the Spirit of God came to live inside of you. This is salvation. John 20:22 (NKJV) “And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.” Then, He told them to go to Jerusalem and wait for the Promise of the Father which was the outpouring of Holy Spirit. They needed more than salvation. Acts 1:8 (NKJV) “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;” 

2. Baptism in Fire. Matthew 3:11 (NKJV) ^“He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” I believe the disciples were so much like us…they were filled with sin, filled with self, filled with doubt, filled with fear, filled with guilt, filled with shame. They needed to be cleansed. Jesus said He would baptize them (us) with Holy Spirit and with fire. Why? To clean us, to purify us, and to set us free from our old life that would hold us back. We still need a baptism of fire.

3. Baptism in Water. Okay, Pastor, we understand why we need to be baptized in Holy Spirit and in fire but why be baptized in water? Simple answer: The kind of heart that can be baptized with Holy Spirit and with fire is an obedient heart. On the Day of Pentecost when 3000 people were saved what did Peter tell them about water baptism? Acts 2:37-38 (NLT2) “Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins, turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ to show that you have received forgiveness for your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Water baptism identifies us with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus said it was to fulfill all righteousness. Enough said!

Holy Spirit! Holy Spirit! Holy Spirit! ...

...Why, Pastor Rick, do we hear so much from you in these last days about Holy Spirit? Great question! The first reason is obvious from Scriptures. I believe what we do and what we believe should be based on the Word of God. Peter, on the Day of Pentecost, after Holy Spirit had been poured out was quoting Joel when he said: Acts 2:17‑18 (NKJV)  “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.” The first reason we are talking about Holy Spirit is because we are living in the last days when He is being poured out!

The second reason we are talking about Holy Spirit so much is about as obvious as the first reason.  Jesus said in John 16:7‑8 &13-14 (NLT)   “But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.” How cool is that?  Jesus said it will be better for you when I leave because Holy Spirit will come to reveal to people their sin, His righteousness, His judgment, His truth, the future, and He will glorify Me! Wow! Why wouldn’t we want Holy Spirit to come? We need Him every day!

The third reason is also very important. We want to grow to one thousand plus so that souls will be won into God’s Kingdom...Holy Spirit will enable us to do that! Acts 1:8 (NLT)  “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  I hope you can see why we speak of Holy Spirit so much and why we constantly are inviting Him...He is the life of Life Church in these last days!

Again this Sunday we continue the series “Give Us This Day.” ...

...Matthew 6:9-11 (NKJV) “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.” I hope all of us are growing as disciples of Christ and that we are praying every day…Give us this day. Today we are going to look at the entirety of verse 11…Give us this day our daily bread. Jesus is so powerful and He is our bread, our sustenance, our salvation, our Lord, and soon coming King. But He says something very powerful to us when He was going through His temptations with Satan. It is written… Don’t only give me bread but give me every word that comes from God. Let’s talk about words.

1. The power of words. How many of you have ever wondered what is the big deal about text messages, Messenger, Snap Chat, Twitter, and a host of other Social Media venues…I can tell you…it is the power of words. A presidential candidate can either make friends or enemies by the words that he or she tweets. What about when you send the right word but send it to the wrong person. Be careful when you are texting more than one person at a time. I received a text from one of our pastors that said simply…I love you! After I got over the shock, I simply said excuse me! They said, oh no it was for my wife. Please be careful who gets your message. Proverbs 18:21 (NCV) ^“What you say can mean life or death. Those who speak with care will be rewarded.” 

2. Give us this day our daily bread. In the Book of Ruth there is a story about a man by the name of Elimelech. He lived in Bethlehem which means “House of Bread.” There was a famine…no bread in the house of bread. She leaves Bethlehem looking for bread somewhere else. We need to make sure we are faithful to the House of Bread and we pastors need to make sure what we are sharing is true Bread from Heaven…The Living Word of God…The Written Word of God, the Bible. Our Words matter…Give us this day our daily bread. 

3. We all need daily bread. Just like one word of encouragement can be life transforming from a true friend or the love of our life, so the Word of God can transform us every day. Your Word I have hidden in my heart…

Luke 4:4 (NKJV) “But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”  Give us this day our daily bread – The Word!

Today we continue the series “Give Us This Day” and particularly talking about kissing the wave.

      Matthew 6:11 (NKJV) “Give us this day our daily bread.” Last week we spoke about Joseph Merrick, he was the infamous Elephant Man. We also talked about how Doctor Frederick Treves took an interest in him, had compassion, and provided a place of healing spiritually and emotionally. Spurgeon, “I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.” Hear your pastor, all of us are fighting some kind of battle or obstacle. Usually, it is a battle that no one else is aware. Good news, we have seen God turn some of our toughest tests into our most treasured testimonies. We would not want to go thru that stuff again, but we wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world. Every testimony starts with a test. Praying “Lord, give me this day” is never about a quick fix. It is about kissing the wave that throws you against the Rock of Ages. Be thankful for the pain that made you run to Jesus.

1. Kiss the wave, and know, it is okay to grieve. We all know of and have heard much about Charles Spurgeon and rightfully so. Along with pastoring the largest church in the world, he wrote 150 books, started a college, and led sixty charities. On October 19, 1856, he was preaching to 10,000 people in London’s Surrey Gardens Music Hall when someone yelled “Fire!” It was chaos. Those trying to get out were blocked by those trying to get in. A balcony collapsed beneath the stampede and when the commotion had stopped, seven people had died and twenty-eight were seriously injured. It is no wonder that Spurgeon admitted reluctantly that his thorn in the flesh was depression. Go ahead a grieve, it is one way that we kiss the wave. Good news, we don’t have to grieve like others. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NIV) ^“Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.” 

2. The best of times, the worst of times. We want the best of times without the worst. We want wisdom without foolishness, light without darkness, hope without despair. This is not reality. Christianity is not the avoidance of evil in the world and bad things happening to you, it is, however, having a Savior Who will walk with you thru every test and trial. He’ll never leave you or forsake you. 

3. From it or through it. Sometimes God delivers us from suffering. More often than not, He delivers us through it. Why? So we can help others going through similar mess. Reinhold Niebuhr, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference.” I encourage you to kiss the wave that pushed you to Jesus and pray, Lord, give me this day.