We're here looking at
the marvelous description
00:00:01.13\00:00:04.12
of the baptism
that John the Baptist
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was doing in the wilderness.
00:00:06.71\00:00:08.65
Look at Matthew,
Chapter 3, verse 11.
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"I indeed baptize you
with water unto repentance,
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but He who is coming
after me is mightier than I,
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whose sandals I'm
not worthy to carry."
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So you see baptism
and also the preparation
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for someone who is coming.
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Oh yeah. You see
when John Baptist speaks,
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he speaks like ancient prophets,
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not like Greek philosophers.
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Greek philosophers, they
just speak to few chosen one,
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but you see the message
of the prophets concerns
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all people,
but--but the problem is,
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not all people respond.
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By the way, we will see
the case of John the Baptist,
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the majority of
people did not respond
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to that-- that message.
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Now He talks about
baptizing with the Holy Spirit
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and with fire, the one
who will come after him.
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So, there is an anticipation,
he's preaching many are coming
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and many are not
favorably accepting him
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especially the leaders.
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Actually, this verse
11 is the explanation
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of that metaphor to
make the roads straight.
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Yes. So, he's telling them,
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I try to bring
you to repentance,
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to prepare your
heart for the coming
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of the messiah
and for His message.
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So when messiah
comes, you'll respond
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to his call and to his message.
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I want to bring you through
my preaching to repentance.
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When messiah
comes, when messiah comes
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then He will really lead you
in that way that you want me,
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in the sense
He's greater than me.
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And in verse
13, then Jesus came,
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Jesus comes into the scene now.
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We would expect
almost the fanfare.
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The one who's been anticipated,
now everyone recognizes Him yet,
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but what happens at this first
great event of Jesus ministry?
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But Glenn, keep
something in mind,
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with reference what
you said in verse 11,
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I baptize you with
water for repentance.
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What was the
purpose of John's baptism?
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Repent. So those
who are baptized,
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it means they
repented from the sins.
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And so now he sees
Jesus is coming to him.
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He recognize Jesus immediately,
first he was his cousin, etc.,
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and differently the
Holy Spirit showed him
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that actually it was messiah.
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You read in verse 13,
that Jesus arrived from
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Galilee and to Jordan,
coming to John to be baptized
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and John tried to
prevent Him saying,
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I have need to be baptized
by you and you come to me.
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Keep in mind, John's purpose
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was to baptize people
who repented from sin.
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So, why would now
Jesus be baptized.
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So, He's saying Jesus
you don't need to repent--
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He needs repentance.
Actually, I need repentance.
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You need to baptize me.
So why is Jesus baptized?
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Actually, we have Jesus
made very straight answer.
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And Jesus answering said
to him, actually I really want
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what the Greek says, they say,
John leave the discussion aside.
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We don't want now
to talk about that.
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He said, in this way,
I wanted to be baptized.
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I've to fulfill what is
right, what is righteousness,
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but John quickly recognize
it and said John left him alone,
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John did not want to
argue with Jesus any longer.
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Could we explore the
meaning of Jesus baptism
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and then what's the
message for us today?
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Well, we can now really
talk a lot and lot about that.
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Keep one more time, what
was the purpose of Jesus?
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To save His
people from the sins.
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I hope that we still keep
in mind what we talk before
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is in order to save
his people from their sins,
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Jesus had to go to the
experience of his realm.
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Do you remember that
we talked in Chapter 1,
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we talked in Chapter 2, now
since all the people of God,
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all Israel in the
past, and all those people
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who would come to
this world in the future
00:04:16.24\00:04:18.59
they have to be baptized.
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They're imperfect
people, but Jesus decided to go
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through the ritual of baptism,
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to be baptized for
every human being in history.
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See those God's people,
that are mentioned in genealogy,
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they were disobedient.
They were unfaithful to God.
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And now Jesus steps
into that situation.
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He wants to be baptized
on behalf of them because
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He wants to save
people from their sins.
00:04:40.51\00:04:44.04
And Matthew tells us now
that this is a great theophany,
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an encounter
where we see the Father,
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the Son, the Holy
Spirit all at this event.
00:04:50.72\00:04:54.43
See Jesus was willing,
keep in mind when Jesus came
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down to the Earth,
He had to empty Himself
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of all the divine provocatives.
00:05:00.47\00:05:02.53
He had to step into
the human situation,
00:05:02.54\00:05:05.09
to become a human
being, to become a flesh,
00:05:05.10\00:05:09.01
to come to save human
flesh, to save human beings.
00:05:09.02\00:05:13.43
So, He has to go completely
to the human experience
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and He was willing even
to submit himself to fulfill
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the requirements of
righteousness for sinners.
00:05:20.68\00:05:23.33
He was baptized for all.
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Glenn, please
allow me at this moment,
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I'd like to use
one illustration.
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It was a number of
years ago when I was in
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the pastoral
ministry, there was one lady
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started coming to my
evangelistic preachings
00:05:36.52\00:05:39.61
and at the end, she came to me
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and she expressed
desire to be baptized.
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And she was baptized,
she became a powerful witness
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for Christ, but one day she
came to my home and she said,
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you know, I'm
married. I said I know.
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She told me few things
about her husband and she said,
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I want to be witness for Christ,
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but how to be
witness to my own husband.
00:06:02.08\00:06:05.78
I said, just pray for
him and we prayed, etc.
00:06:05.79\00:06:09.44
Just to make a long story
short, one day she came to me,
00:06:09.45\00:06:12.71
she told me that her
husband was in the hospital,
00:06:12.72\00:06:16.17
terminal cancer.
The doctors told him,
00:06:16.18\00:06:19.09
it was not even matter of weeks,
00:06:19.10\00:06:20.95
it was a matter of
days, how long he would live.
00:06:20.96\00:06:23.67
I said, let me go and visit him,
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earlier to the hospital
he rejected me completely.
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Then I came second time
and finally we became friends.
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And he asked me openly,
can God forgive me all my sins?
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He said, I
blasphemed against God.
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I opened the Bible, I read him
all those comforting text, etc.,
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and finally I
gave him Bible studies.
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He was already seriously--
I mean he couldn't even move,
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and he asked me, said,
brother Ranko, I said, yes.
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Would you pray
for me. I said, yes.
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Is there anything in particular?
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He said that God heals me,
that's a good desire, you know.
00:07:03.21\00:07:07.34
But you'll sometimes,
we misunderstand he said,
00:07:07.35\00:07:10.28
please brother, I
want to let you know
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I'm not afraid of
death, I will die.
00:07:12.38\00:07:16.53
Then the fourth question,
God can just give me five days
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of healing that I can come to
the church and to be baptized.
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So his desire was
to be healed in order--
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Just about--I said
after that I will come back
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to the hospital, I settled
that issue to God. I said--
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Ranko, you're suggesting
that baptism is that important.
00:07:32.42\00:07:35.39
It's important. This is
what John makes in verse 11,
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repentance and then baptism.
00:07:39.86\00:07:41.76
That's why Jesus had
to go through baptism.
00:07:41.77\00:07:43.83
So, what did you tell the man?
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And I told him
we will pray to God,
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but I said, if it is
God's will to give you, if not,
00:07:48.59\00:07:52.23
I opened Matthew
Chapter 3 and I told to him
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if God does not
answer our prayer.
00:07:55.24\00:07:57.36
If you have to close your
eyes, I just want to tell you,
00:07:57.37\00:08:01.67
you can fall asleep, believe
that Jesus will come one day,
00:08:01.68\00:08:07.00
stand there on your
tomb and call you by name.
00:08:07.01\00:08:10.66
With a full assurance
that when Jesus was baptized
00:08:10.67\00:08:15.57
on the river of Jordan,
he was baptized also for you,
00:08:15.58\00:08:19.36
when he was baptized,
he had you in his mind.
00:08:19.37\00:08:24.00
Actually it was two days after
that the person fell asleep,
00:08:24.01\00:08:29.25
he died, with full
assurance that his Savior,
00:08:29.26\00:08:32.61
they're in Jordan river,
00:08:32.62\00:08:34.45
actually he was
baptized with him.
00:08:34.46\00:08:36.95
That was actually the
significance of this baptism
00:08:36.96\00:08:40.54
and I'd like to
say to the viewers.
00:08:40.55\00:08:42.71
May be there are some of
you watching this program,
00:08:42.72\00:08:46.75
may be you're in the situation
and whatever the situation is
00:08:46.76\00:08:51.56
and you would like
to set your relationship
00:08:51.57\00:08:53.78
with God by baptism, etc.,
and it is impossible for you.
00:08:53.79\00:08:57.85
I don't know what
situation is, I don't know what
00:08:57.86\00:09:00.37
circumstances are, but
I just want to tell you,
00:09:00.38\00:09:04.70
go down on your knees, ask
God to step into your life.
00:09:04.71\00:09:10.22
God will accept you as you are.
00:09:10.23\00:09:13.33
Even though you cannot go
under that water to be baptized.
00:09:13.34\00:09:17.40
But the gospel of
Matthew Chapter 3,
00:09:17.41\00:09:20.29
provide full assurance to you,
that Jesus was baptized for you.
00:09:20.30\00:09:27.29
And He accepts you as you are.
00:09:27.30\00:09:29.48
This is actually the
hope that we get here
00:09:29.49\00:09:32.04
from the gospel of Matthew.
00:09:32.05\00:09:33.96
Now let me make sure
no one misunderstands you,
00:09:33.97\00:09:36.23
because someone might say,
oh, then I don't need to be
00:09:36.24\00:09:39.38
baptized if I could be,
it's not that important,
00:09:39.39\00:09:42.49
Jesus baptized instead of me.
00:09:42.50\00:09:44.36
You're not at all saying
that it's perfectly all right.
00:09:44.37\00:09:47.23
You're saying that this is
a vital part of discipleship.
00:09:47.24\00:09:50.55
It comes in at the end
of the gospel of Matthew.
00:09:50.56\00:09:53.00
But you're talking
about a unique situation
00:09:53.01\00:09:54.83
where person is not
able. Okay, you see,
00:09:54.84\00:09:56.37
John the Baptist
message was, come to be baptized
00:09:56.38\00:10:00.19
and he was
baptizing-- baptizing people.
00:10:00.20\00:10:02.96
And baptism is like wedding,
it's a public announcement
00:10:02.97\00:10:08.01
that I have decided to walk with
Jesus Christ through this life.
00:10:08.02\00:10:12.60
This is not an
option given to us,
00:10:12.61\00:10:14.55
whether I want or not.
00:10:14.56\00:10:16.68
Is the same way, I
fell in love with that lady.
00:10:16.69\00:10:21.58
And the climax of that,
the crown of our relationship
00:10:21.59\00:10:26.50
was the wedding. Yes.
00:10:26.51\00:10:28.14
That was not an option.
That was really our decision,
00:10:28.15\00:10:31.05
we--because we wanted to
make that public announcement,
00:10:31.06\00:10:34.08
but we're
talking about the people,
00:10:34.09\00:10:35.68
who were--who find themselves
in certain circumstances,
00:10:35.69\00:10:39.14
that baptism is
impossible for them.
00:10:39.15\00:10:41.74
May I ask just
one more question,
00:10:41.75\00:10:43.32
Ranko, about Jesus' baptism?
00:10:43.33\00:10:46.21
It begins this
public ministry. Yes.
00:10:46.22\00:10:50.04
Is that something that needs
to be more in our thinking.
00:10:50.05\00:10:52.87
Some of us just feel like.
00:10:52.88\00:10:54.18
Well, I'm baptized
and that's the end of it.
00:10:54.19\00:10:56.19
But baptism isn't a graduation,
it's not the completion
00:10:56.20\00:11:00.00
of a bit of study and now
I've arrived and I stopped.
00:11:00.01\00:11:03.30
See, even though
the baptism of Jesus,
00:11:03.31\00:11:06.52
the purpose was
different than ours.
00:11:06.53\00:11:09.18
This is what John
Baptist misunderstood
00:11:09.19\00:11:11.56
and after that he understood.
00:11:11.57\00:11:13.19
Jesus was not baptized because
of His repentance that He did.
00:11:13.20\00:11:16.83
He was baptized
because of my repentance,
00:11:16.84\00:11:20.67
to be--to be accepted to Him.
00:11:20.68\00:11:24.08
But before Jesus stepped into
the situation of His mission
00:11:24.09\00:11:28.20
to go to save people
to proclaim the gospel.
00:11:28.21\00:11:31.00
Actually Jesus began it with the
baptism and you'll notice here
00:11:31.01\00:11:34.97
that with the
baptism, there is proclamation.
00:11:34.98\00:11:38.11
This is my beloved son.
00:11:38.12\00:11:41.38
There is
something with the baptism.
00:11:41.39\00:11:43.01
There is--that sole
proclamation of God,
00:11:43.02\00:11:45.15
when we are accepted by
God, in the special way,
00:11:45.16\00:11:47.84
but what is the next thing
is, the Holy Spirit descended
00:11:47.85\00:11:51.54
on Jesus and power of Jesus work
his ministry and the baptism,
00:11:51.55\00:11:55.52
yours and mine,
the Holy Spirit comes.
00:11:55.53\00:11:58.43
We become God's procession. Yes.
00:11:58.44\00:12:00.88
The Holy Spirit comes to His
territory and the Holy Spirit
00:12:00.89\00:12:03.81
then powers us in
fighting against sin,
00:12:03.82\00:12:06.63
to live righteous life,
and of course to proclaim
00:12:06.64\00:12:09.16
the love of God to
the suffering humanity.
00:12:09.17\00:12:12.17
What a wonderful thing when
the voice from heaven speaks.
00:12:12.18\00:12:15.95
As you read the gospel Matthew
and you get to this point.
00:12:15.96\00:12:18.82
This is my beloved son.
00:12:18.83\00:12:20.54
There's no
question who Jesus is?
00:12:20.55\00:12:22.28
This is a clear identifier,
let's wrap it up now,
00:12:22.29\00:12:25.67
what should we know?
Yes, see, our Savior,
00:12:25.68\00:12:28.40
who came to save His
people from their sins.
00:12:28.41\00:12:32.38
He paid such great attention
and put such emphasis on baptism
00:12:32.39\00:12:39.67
as the beginning, the
first step into His ministry.
00:12:39.68\00:12:42.87
First, He set an example to us,
00:12:42.88\00:12:45.24
what we are
supposed to do in this life.
00:12:45.25\00:12:48.90
So this is a great
call to all of us to follow
00:12:48.91\00:12:53.59
into the
footsteps of the Master.
00:12:53.60\00:12:57.74
And if you really want to follow
the example of Jesus Christ,
00:12:57.75\00:13:01.96
it's a call to each
one of us that we repent,
00:13:01.97\00:13:05.79
that we turn our
relationships toward God.
00:13:05.80\00:13:09.29
Turn toward God and that
through baptism that we make
00:13:09.30\00:13:12.41
that public announcement that
we've chosen God in our lives.
00:13:12.42\00:13:15.47