Who will you choose?”
Rev. Thomas E. Walker
May 23 2003
“Who will you choose?”
John 3:22-24
Jesus show up in the Judea and his disciples are baptizing the people and John disciples what is going on. We are the baptizers, we have been taught by John the Baptizer. See Jesus never baptize because he is the baptism. Jesus is where they are trying to get to, the baptism is a purifying and Jesus is the purifier. The question was asked “Who shell we choose your baptism or His baptism”? I want to share with you today we must stop looking at what man does and look at what Jesus has done. Man has no where to put you or keep you.
1. Disciplining
2. Delaying
3. Dipping
1. Disciplining
a. “After these thing came Jesus and his disciples”
i. the word came is really the word arose, because they where already in Judea
ii. Jesus show up and his disciples are with him…
iii. The first step in discipleship is deny yourself
iv. They didn’t have excuses for why they could not be with Jesus…
v. The second step in discipleship is take up your cross…
vi. They were not worried about the people and what they are saying.
vii. The third step is following him, whatever Jesus asked of them they obey him.
viii. When Jesus said baptize him in the name of the father and the son and the Holy Spirit. They did it…
2. A disciple must be discipline in all area’s of his calling
a. Don’t confess if you are not going to practice the discipline, discipline is needed to be a Christian…
i. The idea of “I will please man rather than God” is not an Idea…
ii. Man can not help you with salvation; people have fallen away from Christ just because they were looked at them and not Him.
iii. When a person takes on a task or a science it requires discipline…
iv. People who practice the Marshall arts, spends hours on hour learning the art…
v. To be come a disciple for Christ it takes discipline and hard work to fight of the temptation and evil of the world.
2. The Delay
a. “and there he tarried with them”
i. The word tarried is a compound Greek word which means to stop or delay in a path or rub to gather
ii. The idea of a crowed place like the fair or waiting to get into a crowed theater…
iii. It takes time to make disciples they are not make over night.
iv. They must be a willingness by both party’s to make a disciple.
v. Jesus is willing and able the question is; are you able and willing.
vi. Man will tell you things like: God doesn’t need your help, those church folks are hypocrites, the preacher wants is your money, and if there is a God why does he need money any how. “Only a fool will say these thing”
vii. If you spend time in bible class and studying the word you will be able to answer their cry for, because that’s all it is a cry for help.
3. Dipping
a. What does baptizing do and what is it for.
b. Symbolic to the old self being buried and is for keeping of your soul.
.
There are two Greek words for Baptize
f. baptizo and bapto
i. baptizo to be cleansed
ii. bapto to dip (to change color)
g. Additional Information: Not to be confused with 911, bapto. The clearest example that shows the meaning of baptizo is a text from the Greek poet and physician Nicander, who lived about 200 B.C. It is a recipe for making pickles and is helpful because it uses both words. Nicander says that in order to make a pickle, the vegetable should first be ‘dipped’ (bapto) into boiling water and then ‘baptised’ (baptizo) in the vinegar solution. Both verbs concern the immersing of vegetables in a solution. But the first is temporary. The second, the act of baptising the vegetable, produces a permanent change.
When used in the New Testament, this word more often refers to our union and identification with Christ than to our water baptism. e.g. Mark 16:16. ‘He that believes and is baptised shall be saved’. Christ is saying that mere intellectual assent is not enough. There must be a union with him, a real change, like the vegetable to the pickle!
a. Who will you choose? Man or God
i. Man can dip you in water, he may even clean the outside
ii. But only God can change the inside.
iii. Man can say what he will do.
iv. But will do what he say’s
v. Man can’t keep you
vi. But God keeps man
How can he keep me, I am my own man can’t nobody make me do nothing I’ll do my way I don’t need God. Let me go to hell.
On Calvary he die so you do have to go to hell, let him keep you safe in the jar where are in the world safe form the world.