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Triple A Christianity
Jon Burgess“After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Matthew 3:16-17, 4:1
Jesus provides a model by which we are all to live. In the account of His Water Baptism and the Wilderness Temptation He shows us three elements of the victorious Christian life! Approval of the Father: Before Jesus had performed a single miracle. Before water had been turned into wine, blind eyes healed, demons cast out, food multiplied to feed the hungry and before the Cross, His Heavenly Father was already so proud of Him! He didn't have to earn it because He already received it! What Jesus did wasn't the actions of a son trying to earn His Fathers approval, but was the confidence of one who knew He was loved from the beginning. Anointing of The Holy Spirit: Is the empowerment for living the Christian life. As the Dove came out of the sky and alighted upon Jesus He was a visible manifestation of an invisible work. The Holy Spirit working the Fathers will through Jesus obedience invited the supernatural into the natural. Authority of Jesus: Proof of the community of the Trinity was revealed in the Wilderness Temptation. Jesus face his own cravings, the twisting of scripture from the Devil and the weakness of His own flesh through the approval of the father, the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the authority of the Word of God. Because of what Jesus would do in the wilderness He would be able to face down the torture of the Cross so that all who would believe could receive salvation and walk in Triple A Christianity.
Tomorrow is the last Water Baptism of 2016. I look forward to these moments of the public confession of our faith as it stands as a bold reminder in a sinful culture that we have been called to live differently when we choose to follow Christ. We don't have to earn God The Fathers approval through good works because of what Jesus did for us on the Cross. Good works through us are the overflow of the love of Good Father. We don't have to accomplish the impossible by our own strength for we have been anointed by The Holy Spirit! It's not by might or or our own power that lives will be changed, but by His Spirit working through us in the daily places and spaces God calls us to go! We don't have to bow to the temptations of the enemy or live a life of sin because we have been given the authority of the Name of Jesus and walk according to the Word of God! This is a whole different way of living available to all who call on the Name of the Lord. This is what we celebrate in Water Baptism!
Lord, I thank You for the community of the Trinity at word in the community of New Hope! I pray for a fresh outpouring of Your Holy Spirit on tomorrow's baptism and a fresh revelation of Your Fathers love for us and new strong stand in Your authority no matter how hard the world may push upon us! Tomorrow we draw a line in the sand and step across into all You have for us!
