108. John Baptized With Water, But Jesus Baptized With The Holy Spirit And Fire

Children Bible Overview 108

31/05/09

JOHN BAPTIZED WITH WATER, BUT JESUS BAPTIZED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT AND FIRE Teachers to read bible scripture: <Mt 3:1-17> Children to memorize bible scripture: <Mt 3:11> Recap Children, in the last few weeks, we saw how John was born to this earth and later how the Lord, Jesus was conceived through the Holy Spirit. The Lord, Jesus is God and God’s spirit is in Him. As the Lord, Jesus gradually grew up, not only did God favor Him but He was also well liked by other people. (When we are filled with God’s Holy Spirit, we will also be favored by God and people.) Introduction After 30 years, John grew up. He was in the desert preaching God’s words, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Because John preached the words of God, many people who heard him confessed their sins, repented and were baptized in the Jordon river. Just as he was baptizing them, he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to him to get baptized too. He then reprimanded them, “You brood of vipers. Who ask you to come to baptize and repent? If you are truly repentant, your hearts must truly turn to God and obey His words. Do not be hypocrites. Otherwise, God will not save you just because you come to be baptized. Because I baptize you with water for repentance but after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry (John is referring to Jesus Christ). He will come to baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” [Holy Spirit = Know a person’s entire mind, heart and thoughts; Fire = Burn away the artificial and cause the truth to shine] Just then, Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan. He saw John and asked to be baptized. When John saw Jesus, he said, “I still have to be baptized by you. How can I baptize you?” Jesus replied, “You first baptize me so that we can fulfill what the heavenly Father has set for us.” As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.”

1. The purpose of John the Baptist coming to this earth was to prepare the way for Jesus Christ 1) John the Baptist knows Jesus Christ. Therefore, he is loved by God and is someone whom God wants to use = We all know Jesus Christ since we are young. Therefore, we are loved by God and are also people whom God wants to use. 2) The only purpose that John the Baptist came to earth was to point people to God and let him know that Jesus Christ is the only way that God had prepared = The reason why we come to this earth is also to bring people before Jesus Christ so that they know God. 3) John the Baptist had a lot of strength. When he preached the word of God, many people repented and turned to the Lord = The strength that we have (gift, competence, intelligence, good looks, money) is blessed by God so that we may use them to advance God’s word. Therefore, when we use this strength to serve Jesus Christ, we are preparing the way for Jesus.

2. John the Baptist came to baptize with water 1) Water represents God’s words. God’s words say, “God is always with us but because we live in sins and in our own world, do whatever we like and do not acknowledge Him, we are separated from Him.”

2) Therefore, God also says, “God come to look for us so that we can repent and turn towards Him.” [In other words, God wants us to confess our sins and wrongdoings, deny ourselves and the world and turn towards Him.] 3) Lastly, God’s words say, “After we have repented, we must follow God daily and live according to His instructions. E.g. to attend Sunday school, to love our parents, to study diligently etc. We live our lives listening to God daily. *When a person’s heart believes and is willing to submit to the words spoken by God, that is baptism by water. But the Pharisees and Sadducees that came to John only wanted to get baptized. Their hearts did not believe and were not willing to submit to the words spoken by God. Hence, God was not willing to accept them and John the Baptist therefore reprimanded them. [Therefore, we should not attend Sunday school with a habitual heart. We should have the sincere heart to listen to God’s words and this is wellliked by God.] 3. Jesus Christ came to baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire 1) Holy Spirit – Holy Spirit is God’s spirit, and also God. Although it cannot be seen, it resides in the hearts of everyone who believes in the Lord, Jesus Christ. Therefore, the Holy Spirit knows everyone’s true mind, heart and thoughts. The Holy Spirit knows if a person’s inner heart truly believes in God and loves God. No one can deceive the Holy Spirit. 2) Fire – This fire comes with the Holy Spirit, and cannot be seen nor be felt but it resides in our inner hearts. If our lives have things that do not love God or are not willing to listen to God (perspectives, speech, the way we live), the fire will burn these up and cause us to encounter many unhappy things so that we repent and turn towards God. However, when we love God, listen to God, this fire causes our lives to be lighted up such that many people are blessed and will receive help because of us. 3) The Lord, Jesus Christ also has the Holy Spirit and fire in Him. Therefore, when He listened to God and got baptized, He heard God telling Him, “This is my Son whom I love, I will love you always.” Therefore, similarly, today, we who believe and submit to Jesus Christ have the Holy Spirit and the Spirit’s fire in our lives. The Holy Spirit tells us, “You are my beloved children. I love you all always.”