Tuesday, September 5, 2023

Help Me Begin My Workday Lord

 I spend the first portion of my day studying and preparing for sermons. At about 6:45 a.m. I need to transition to the next part of my day, a job in the construction industry guiding the upfront portion of commercial projects. I love the first part of my day . . . preparing sermons. For the second and longer part of my day I’m motivated by certain addictions . . .  I’m addicted to eating, heat in the winter, and wearing clothing in public . . . stuff like that. There’s a moment each day when I must transition from one to the other. In that moment I experience a sense of dread that rears two questions in my mind (maybe they come from my heart): (1) how am I going to hold up under the pressure and (2) is this chasing after money ultimately futile?

My transition happens in my mind somewhere between my second-floor study at home and my second-floor office downtown Lafayette. I switch from meditating on Scripture to preparing my mind to attack the challenges of the workday. It might happen between the first and second floor at home, in my truck on a thirty-minute drive, or walking through the parking garage. When dread hits, I always say a specific prayer.

This prayer renews my confidence that God is guiding me through the pressure and that my job has purpose.

Lord . . .

Give me the mind of Christ so that I can think the thoughts of Christ.

Fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I can make every decision with your perfect wisdom.

Pour your love into me that the world might see your lovingkindness and faithfulness through me.

Put your compassion in me so that I will be moved by Jesus’s compassion while I’m working with people in the world.

Remind me at every turn to do everything as unto the Lord and not for men so that you will be glorified in my work.

                                                                                                                    ~Stacy Abernathy

These are, as you will likely notice, tied to specific verses in Scripture: 1 Cor 2:16; James 1:5; Rom 5:5; Matt 9:36; and Col 3:23.

This prayer is an ask and a reminder of what is already true. Without it, a sense of dread follows me through my whole day. I hope this helps somebody out there.

 

Friday, August 4, 2023

Sermon Notes: Baptism



Baptism

 

Intro—Saving Faith and Baptism

  1. An integral part of the substance of saving faith: believe, confess lordship, repent, be baptized
  2. Traditions vs. Scripture
  3. Objections vs. assumed for NT Christians

 

1—Baptism Defined

  1. 1 Peter 3:18-21, (do not use NIV on this passage)
    1. The correspondence to the flood
    2. The appeal for what God has done in Christ to be applied to me

                            i. The "sinner's prayer" is not in Scripture

                            ii. Unlike prayer, baptism is passive. 

  1. baptisma = immersion
    1. It is not sprinkling or pouring

2—The Meaning Baptism

  1. Romans 6:3
    1. Assumed
    2. Immersion ‘into’
  1. 1 Cor 12:13
    1. Into the church
    2. Not into a LOCAL body
  1. Romans 6:3-4
    1. Death
    2. Buried
    3. Raised
    4. New life

  1. Romans 6:5-8
    1. United with Christ

  

3—Who is baptism for?

  1. For those with a biblical substance to their saving faith

They

Believe

Confess

Repent

Baptized

Jews @ Pentecost

Acts 2:44

 

Acts 2:38

Acts 2:41

The Samaritans

Acts 8:12

 

 

Acts 8:12

Ethiopian Eunuch

 

 

 

Acts 8:38

Saul

 

 

 

Acts 9:18; 22:16

Cornelius

Acts 15:7

 

Acts 11:18

Acts 10:48

Lydia

 

 

 

Acts 16:14-15

Philippian Jailor

Acts 16:31

 

 

Acts 16:33

 

  1. For Believers
    1. Acts 18:8
    2. Acts 8:12
    3. Infants do not believe

                                               i.     Depends on traditions rather than Scripture

                                             ii.     Misunderstanding Scripture toward infant baptism 

1.     Acts 10:45,47-48--Cornelius

2.     Acts 16:31-33—Philippian Jailor

  1. For the Penitent
    1. Acts 2:38
    2. Not for those who do not intend to follow Jesus
    3. It’s a function of INTO, which equals in
    4. Raised to walk in newness of life

 

4—Questions

  1. Was my baptism legitimate?
    1. Did you decide for yourself?
    2. Where you sprinkled? 
  1. Should I get re-baptized?
    1. Acts 19:1-5
  1. Do I have to be baptized to be saved?
    1. It is always presented as a means of inclusion…not a means of exclusion
    2. What must I do?—Philippian Jailer
    3. What shall we do?—Jews @ Pentecost
    4. Can a person determine his own way?

CLOSE—I died on April 15th, 1981

  1. It marks a point in time and history
    1. Your death
    2. The appeal to forego the 2nd death and obtain the free gift of eternal life
    3. Your resurrection to a new life in the power of the resurrection
    4. Your hope for life eternal that is being kept for you by Jesus Christ
  1. What are you going to do with commands like this?

 

Acts 2:38

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Forgiveness and the Gift of the Holy Spirit await our response.

Acts 22:16

16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’

Why do you wait?

  1. Thank God for such a beautiful way of entering into His kingdom.

Saturday, February 13, 2016

How to Think about Kingdom Authority








This is a continuation of my thoughts on Mark 1:21-3:19. How should we think about authority in the kingdom of God? First, we should understand that the word that we translate as “authority” from Mark’s account is akin to power. Here’s a snippet of from a Greek study:


It’s important to recognize that the authority that Mark is talking about is akin to the idea of “power.”

Second, I think it’s critical to point out that Jesus was, in all of this display of authority and power, operating as a human being. He was operating as the kind of human being that could be mimicked. I opine that Christians too often look about the amazing things that Jesus was doing and say, “Oh, well, I guess that was an instance of him working through his own divine power.” Just because you have failed to wield authority and power on this level does not mean that it is inhuman to do so.

The story of human authority and power suggests that a truly human human would be wielding said authority and power as the norm. So, yes, I’m saying that “you are probably not normal.” Jesus is the normal human, or, we might say, the epitome of a truly human human. He was a human that obeyed God’s original commandment without the sin that devastated Adam and Eve's normal human potential, that devastated their opportunity to live the truly human life. The command that I’m thinking of follows:

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:28 ESV)

Jesus was doing this kind of stuff when displacing evil and dominating natural events. He wasn’t necessarily doing Jesusy stuff, he was doing truly human stuff.

Understand that authority wielded by a truly human human is not his own. We see that in the example; Jesus did not wield authority and power as it were his own--though he could have. He wielded it like humans are supposed to wield it. Consider these three passages and contemplate how he wielded authority and power:

So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” (John 8:28-29 ESV)

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. (John 5:19 ESV)

“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. (John 5:30 ESV)

Now contemplate how you should wield authority and power for the sake of the kingdom present and coming.

Humans were created to wield authority and power in the world. They were to do it in conversation with God, not as their own. Adam and Eve’s decision at the tree of knowledge was to choose for themselves what was right and wrong without the conversation with God. God limited human potential after that with a curse on the earth (Gen 3) so that the earth was subject to futility (Rom 8) rather than subject to man.  

Authority and power should not be feared. It should be sought after in the context of a relationship with God. The true purpose of authority and power is to make sense of our lives in the world we live in. Evil, sickness, hunger, oppression, broken relationships, and exploitation are types of senselessness that kingdom authority and power resolves.

Andy Crouch’s comments about power (in Playing God: Redeeming the gift of power. InterVarsity Press, 2013.) resonate with this passage in Mark:

“Power is the ability to make something of the world.” and “power is simply (and not so simply) the ability to participate in the stuff-making, sense-making process that is the most distinctive thing that human beings do.”

We should not be content without the authority and power it takes to turn senselessness into sense. This is a kingdom of God function. This is something that truly human humans do. Jesus restores our power to subdue and take dominion in the context of right relationship . . . to be truly human.

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Kingdom Authority

As recorded in Mark 1:15, Jesus called for people to “repent and believe.” This, I contend, was a call for people to stop thinking about the kingdom of God as they had been and to trust him regarding what kingdom means, how to think about it, and how to act upon it. The rest of the Markan gospel account describes important ways to think about the kingdom of God which Jesus was then ushering in.


The first issue Mark wrote about (1:21-3:19) was “kingdom authority”; he raised the issue through a rather large chiastic structure. This is the first of many in his gospel account, though most are quite small. Take a look at this graphic below to see the flow:
Mark 1-2-3.jpg


What kind of authority?


Jesus was concerned that the issue of authority and the way people might view it as important to the way we think about the kingdom of God. In contrast to kingdom of God authority, kingdom of man authority was to rule by political and military might to attain resources, privilege, and power. Kingdom of God authority was to be used to restore. In the above chiasm, we see authority to (1) displace evil, to (2) restore physical health, to (3) restore relationships, and (4) over religious practice.

I have to go to work now. . . I’ll write more on this later.

Sunday, January 24, 2016

The Watchword for Our Time



Intro—A Watchword for this age

Illustration: Every new idea that has burst upon the world has had a watchword. Always there has been some word or phrase in which the very genius of the thing has been concentrated and focused, some word or phrase to blazon on banners when it went marching out into the world.[1] Consider these examples:

1)    “Give me liberty or give me death . . .”-- Patrick Henry

2)    “We hold these Truths to be self-evident . . .”-- Thomas Jefferson

3)    “I have a dream . . .”-- Martin Luther King

4)     “The time for the healing of the wounds has come . . .”-- Nelson Mandela

Maybe I will be the next to think up some ingenious idea that will change the world. I could create some fine-sounding phrase to carry the idea and motivate people to march for its purpose. Why, say, maybe they would make holiday after me. It would, of course, be called Stacy Abernathy Day. That doesn’t quite have a ring to it does it?

But really, have you ever secretly imagined doing something great like this? Something really big that helped a lot of people and impacted the world in way that history would forever tell forward?

All of these things are great, and had important impacts on the world, but there is one, the greatest of all time, that I have saved. None compares. It has its watchword . . .

Read Mark 1:14-15

“The kingdom of God is at hand!”

It’s a watchword with promise and authority like none other in the history of humankind. It speaks of transformation in the present and of implications into all of eternity.

I--The Kingdom of God

A.   It is Good News

Of all the watchwords from all of history that have been worthy to blazon banner, none has ever been so good as “the kingdom of God is at hand.”

“The gospel” means the “Good News.” And the good news is big, HUGE! People were expecting something, but this was different than what most understood. When Patrick Henry said, “Give me liberty or give me death,” things were dire and, though much struggle, sacrifice, and suffering lay ahead, liberty was indeed in store. The watchword brought with it a liberty that has impacted our world in phenomenal ways. It was good news.

When we consider the Good News of the kingdom of God, I’m not entirely sure we Christians think it so good as it is. I’m not sure we use this phrase as oft as we should. Christians seem to be a lot more apt to use phrases like “go to church,” “I need to stop doing that,” or “read my Bible.” These watchwords were not instigated by Jesus. “The kingdom of God is at hand” is chock-full of implications for the transformation of the world and its inhabitants. It’s not primarily about our religious life. I’m not convinced that the impartation of religious duty is good news at all.

Our watchword, “the kingdom of God is at hand” is the pinnacle of Good News. God ripped the veil between heaven and earth open and entered into our history, our domain, our experience, to bring his kingdom here. He brought his kingdom to our experience in the midst of a kingdom of darkness. When’s the last time you astonished somebody by your incessant talk about the kingdom of God? When’s the last time this watchword blazoned your banner?

B.   It is the authority of God

Kingdoms have kings. The kingdom of God is the authoritative rule of God himself that displaces evil. There is evil in the world now, but the presence of his followers, in whose hearts he reigns supreme, should, by their proactive engagement, displace evil. Listen to these ensuing verses to understand the power of this authority which has broken into our time and place:

Read Mark 1:21-28

A new teaching . . . with authority. New because the rule of a different kingdom has arrived . . . with authority . . . an all-powerful authority from heaven has come. This power to displace evil comes by confrontation of it in the name of Jesus and by making followers who submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ. Make another follower where God reigns, that follower makes a follower, and they all confront injustice, oppression, and evil of all types in the name of Jesus Christ wielding the power of the kingdom of God. Our watchword, “the kingdom of God is at hand,” necessarily compels us to confront evil and make followers. We must not be distracted by other methods of changing the world.

Understand that its not our mission to march in picket lines to change things. Its not our mission to legislate the world into correctness. Its not our mission change the world with politics and money. Honestly, I get perturbed by Christians who complain about politics and make themselves experts on candidates, but dont have anything to do with making followers of Jesus.

Heres your part in changing the world: (1) Give God reign over your heart, (2) make the world around you look like the kingdom of God by your engagement with it, and (3) make followers of Jesus so that other hearts will be under the rule of God who will also make their place in the world look like the kingdom of God.

C.   It is at Hand

Jesus said that the kingdom was “at hand”. This was a moment. This was a present reality with lasting and eternal implications. The kingdom is not something that was merely historical. Neither is the kingdom something that is merely futuristic. It is now. I mean not just now for the people in Jesustime, but now for you and me.

Illustration: To sort out the timing of the kingdom, i.e., it is at hand and yet to come, think of two domains overlapping. Think about two circles moving to overlap one another. There’s a time when one (the domain of God) only overlaps a portion of the other (the domain of men). In that overlap, you stand in the domain of men and, by your voluntary submission to his lordship, also stand in the domain of God. The kingdom of God is present and coming. Present because you choose to be in it and coming because the king will return to complete the overlapping process so that one will be indistinguishable from the other.

Illustration: Another helpful way to think about it is as an event rather than a brief point on a timeline. Debbie’s birthday was a couple of weeks ago. How long did the birthday last? If we look at the birthday as an annual commemoration rather than a moment of birth, we could say a birthday lasts last for a 24-hour day. Debbie’s birthday, however, involved a two-day trip to Turkey Run. It was an event that, when at hand, lasted for a period of time and involved several aspects. The ingress of the kingdom of God is at hand, it is an event that lasts from the time of Jesus’ birth to his return.

If you think that the kingdom is only something for the future, lets get it straight . . . it has come upon you. It is here now. There is indeed a future element to it that we have yet to experience, but it is, in a very significant and powerful way, here right now.

So, how do we rightly respond to this gospel, this good news about the kingdom of God? How do we follow? How will we tell another to follow?

II--Responses to this Good News

The prescribed response is “repent and believe.”

A.   Repent

Often times repentance gets reduced to “stop sinning.” That kind of makes it about you, but this good news is about a kingdom . . . ‘of God’ . . . not ‘of you’. Repentance means to have a change if mind. Jesus is telling people “stop thinking about kingdoms like you have been and start thinking about it like Im going to show you. You have been thinking of a kingdom that looks like Rome being displaced and Jewish rule on earth being established. Yes, you would you see the kingdom of the Jews prevail over all the earth!” You have also been thinking about advancing your own little personal kingdoms . . . my property, my career, my agenda. You would also see the kingdom of you prevail triumphant over all possibilities!

Now you have an opportunity to repent . . . stop thinking about the kingdom of you . . . and think about kingdom of God. And the deal is for me to be governed by the Holy Spirit in which I have been immersed, so that my decisions and my pursuits make the world around me look more like what I know . . . or maybe have yet to understand . . . what the kingdom of God looks like.

The first response is to repent . . . stop thinking its about you.

B.   Trust

And believe in the Gospel. Thats what the many English versions say. It means . . . “and trust in the Good News.” Jesus is not talking about a mere intellectual accent to truth; he’s talking about a belief that is definitely and necessarily followed by acting upon what is believed. The Good News is that the kingdom is at hand. You can trust in the Good News. Its not theoretical. Its not just idealistic and unachievable. Now theres a whole lot of folks that give lip service to this as if its a good idea that they want to be associated with. If, however, I trust in the Good News and its implications, I give myself unreservedly to its coming rather than to the coming of my own kingdom. I live unto the coming of God’s kingdom. The rest will take care of itself.

The second response is to trust in the Good News of the kingdom. Believe and live it unreservedly.

C.   Said another way, “Leave it and Follow.”

Mark wrote into this story a very practical example of this response in the lives of four men.  In this story, we see that repent and trust looks like leave and follow.

Read Mark 1:16-20

Jesus told you to repent and believe. Lets look at how that plays out. In this portion of the story we see four men who repented and believed. They turned and entrusted themselves to Jesus as his followers. Look at what Peter and Andrew did. They left their nets and boats--thats their living. They walked away from it.

How about James and John? They left their dad in the boat and walked away—family and livelihood.

These men turned away from one way of life to another. These men trusted Jesus enough to leave familiarity and security.

Now, theres no reason to think that these men had not already been listening to Jesus teach. Theres no reason to think that they had not already spent some time with him. I think that they had. This was the real deal though. Jesus called to them . . . “follow me.” He told them that he was going to make them into something that they had not been . . . fishers of men instead of fishers of fish. This was it . . . leave the old stuff of your life and enter into this kingdom life.

Illustration: Have you ever driven down a dusty gravel road in the heat of a dry summer? Have you done that with another car in front of you? If you have, you know how dirty your car will get and how breath-choking and eye-watering the dust can be. You may even have approached with your windows down. Your fresh air vents may have become dust vents. You have choices: you can continue to follow close—maybe you are in a hurry—or you can slow down and try to get out of the plume of dust. If you choose to follow closely, you will get dusty.

Why would Peter, Andrew, James, and John leave their livelihood to follow this Jesus around in the dust Palestinian roads?  It is likely that this was an exciting development for these men . . . even for the dad who got left sitting in the boat.

Jewish boys at this time, from age of five, were educated in the Scriptures, which began by memorizing it. The first step—from 5-10—was to memorize the first 5 books.

The second step was to memorize the rest of the Scriptures. This step happened from ages 10-14. He also during this time learned the art of questions and answers. This is how information was imparted rather than our typical way of just stating facts. We see that Jesus was doing this at age 12 in the temple.

The next step of education, after 14, was reserved for the really good students. During this was the application of the laws that were interpretations of Scripture.

After this, they pursued the opportunity to take the next step . . . that was to become a follower of an individual Rabbi. After study, the student would be put to the test by a Rabbi. The Rabbi of course picked only the best of the best. Then the young man would become a follower or disciple of the Rabbi and follow him around to learn everything he knew. The goal was to become a Rabbi . . . the most respected members of the community. Well . . .  if you were not the best of the best . . . you went back to the family business . . . something like fishing.

So, do you see why this invitation was heeded so readily? Jesus himself had become a Rabbi. Now the Rabbi was saying . . . you have what it takes. These guys were honored. James and Johns dad was proud to see them walk away. He was now the proud dad of boys who had been picked to become followers of a Rabbi. Wow!

Close—Following the Rabbi.

When Jesus, a recognized Rabbi, called to Peter, Andrew, James, and John, he was saying that they were worth it . . . that they were what he was looking for. When Jesus calls to you, “the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel”, he is saying, “you’ re worth it, you are what Im looking for.”

Its the kind of call that demands a response like leave what occupies your space time and follow after him.

Hes calling each of us. “Leave the kingdom of you and follow me.”

What happens when you follow Jesus closely? Though Palestinian roads in Jesus’ day were dusty, they stirred up dust with their feet, not with cars; they walked just about everywhere. If you walk close to somebody who’s stirring up the dust, close enough to hang on every word, what happens? You get dust on you, right?

One Jewish sage was quoted as saying, “May you be covered in the dust of your Rabbi.”

And to you I say, “may you be covered in the dust of your Rabbi, Jesus, the Holy one of God.”



[1] Stewart. J. The Life and Teaching of Jesus Christ. 1958. p. 46.

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Mark 1:1-13 . . . a whole sermon


Intro—You are a part of a family history with a story. In that history and story, there have been generations of children, parents, and grandparents that have created your story. Much of who you are is a result of family matriarchs and patriarchs infusing values into your family story all along the way. I have a sense of honor, integrity, hard work and quite a bit of redneck that was insensibly infused into my being throughout my story.

In my own immediate family, with my wife and children, we infused some values into our children through Scripture. For instance, we infused the 3 Rules of Respect into our children. These came from 1 Thessalonians 4, where Paul instructed the Thessalonians how to behave if they wanted outsiders to respect them. These, we told our children, were musts if they wanted people to respect them.

Tate (my son) was recently flown out to Boise, ID to take part in a young boy’s Eagle Scout ceremony. The boy chose Tate to receive his mentor’s award. (The family paid to fly Tate out there for this). At the ceremony, Tate was to share a something to advise this young man for life; he infused some of his story; he chose to share The 3 Rules of Respect.

You are a part of a developing family history and story that shapes who you are, how you view the world around you, and what you hope for.

You are also a part of HisStory. God the Father has a family history and story that includes you; It’s HisStory.


A.     It’s God’s history . . . it’s HisStory. He told it before hand through the prophets. He spoke of the redemption of peoples through his prophets from long before this part of the story that we read here in Mark and shows it’s culmination in what John the Baptizer himself speaks.

B.     It’s God’s self-revelation in the person of Jesus Christ.

C.    It’s God’s identification with man needing salvation.

HisStory is not mere words, tall tales, theories or things to be forgotten; it’s grounded in the real events of a prophet preparing the way, the event of a real baptism, and the events of actual temptations.

I. God’s HisStory
           
A. Why “HisStory” rather than merely “history.”
           
God planned the redemption of peoples from the beginning of HisStory. This Good News that culminates in the preparation of John the Baptizer and Jesus’ life is not just some kind of good news; it’s THE Good News as revealed by God historically through the prophets, experientially through the history of Israel, and now culminating in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus’ own baptism parallels Israel’s baptism into Moses in the Red Sea Crossing (1 Cor 10) and his triumph over 40 days in the wilderness and temptations parallels Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness. He had been revealing it for hundreds of years. Right here, Mark demonstrates historical continuity through John the Baptizer’s arrival with mention of three prophets and Jesus’ triumph where Israel had failed. Note the three connections to prophetic fulfillment with John the Baptizer:

1)  First through Malachi (in 3:1) who prophesied 400 plus years before John the Baptizer.

2)  Second through Isaiah (in 40:3) who prophesied 600 plus years before John the Baptizer.

3)  Elijah’s coming--he prophesied 800 plus years before John the baptizer (in 2 Kings 1:8, Mal 4:5, 6).

So, you see, God said this prophet, John the Baptizer, would arrive. No surprises here, right? There were long years of teaching us the truth of what was to come through the voice of the prophets and the redemptive experiences of the Israel. It can’t be said that the event of Jesus’ arrival is accidental or coincidental; it was planned. It is the beautiful culmination of HisStory.

B. John the Immerser’s Role

Israel had always had a messianic hope. What do I mean by “messianic hope” you ask. Messiah means “savior.” God had taught Israel to hope for a savior, somebody who would build a bridge for people to gain access to God’s presence. He taught them to teach the rest of the world this hope as well.

Israel’s consciousness or awareness of this hope ebbed and flowed throughout HisStory, but it was always present at some level. John’s role was to heighten consciousness of this hope. It was to get people ready to see it when it arrived and ready to respond to it when they were given opportunity. His job was to kind of go around and shake people by the shoulders and say, in not such a quiet voice, “After me comes he who is mightier than me, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have immersed you with water, but he will immerse you with the Holy Spirit!” He is fanning the messianic hope into a roaring flame.

Here’s how people respond to the “get ready” message: They are immersed in repentance. What does immersion mean? . . . it simply means to be consumed by it. What does repentance mean? . . . it means to have a change of mind . . . in this case, to agree with God--to agree with God about what is right and wrong and to do it. In The Gospel of Luke, John says it like this, if you have two shirts, share with somebody who doesn’t have one; if you have food, do the same; if your job is tax collecting, don’t rip people off, if your job is protecting the public as a law officer, don’t use your position to exploit people. So, he is essentially saying, “act in ways that accord with the Character of God.“

When we repent, we respond to the Good News and receive the benefit of the Good News. The benefit: he will immerse you in his own Spirit. Can you imagine that? . . . being immersed in God’s own Spirit . . . living in it so that it’s the atmosphere you live in? Yes, of course you can, if you have submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It’s affects your decisions, your countenance, your purpose, your ability to live a life pleasing to God, your ability to become like Jesus . . . it changes everything. John was about clearing out the rubble and building anticipation to get people ready to respond to this miracle.

Are you ready? I’m going to share two events with starling implications.

II.God Came to Men as a Man


A. How He came.

We know, especially according to what He tells us in John 4:24, that God is Spirit. Now we need to understand how God, who is Spirit, chose to reveal himself to us. He revealed Himself to us in creation . . . yes. We look around and see that HE IS. He revealed himself to us through the prophets like Malachi and Isaiah . . . yes. But He finally revealed Himself to us most fully in a life lived. Jesus is not another God. Jesus is not something other than God. Jesus is God. Jesus is God revealing Himself to you and me in the life lived. We learn this in Jesus’ baptism; we see that this is where God, by His own Spirit, dwells, in a body of flesh, among us . . . to love us in a specific way that has eternal implications.

Illustration: The best way to reveal yourself, your true intentions, and your motives to people is to become one of them . . . to enter into their situation. When I was in college I had a beta fish. I thought it would be cool to have a pet, but found it was really just a hassle. He lived in a little bowl with a hollowed out ceramic log in the bottom of it. Every time I approached the bowl to feed him his little piece of frozen shrimp fishy food, what do you think he did? Some types of fish race to the top to grab a bit--not him. He swam to his log as fast as he could in fear. He misunderstood my intentions. He probably thought something like, “big scary monster coming to get me” or something like that. Can fish brains think like that? Anyway, if I could have become a fish for a day, maybe I could have finally explained my intentions. God became man for a time and explained his intentions.

In the life of Jesus, God most fully reveals what He wants us to know of Him and, at the same time, what He plans for us to become . . . that is that we are to become like Jesus. What is Jesus like? The rest of the Gospel According to Mark tells this story.

B. What did He accomplish by revealing himself in this way?

1)  Tearing open the barrier

Here we see the genius of Mark at work.  This is the first place we see this genius that shows up in so many places in Mark. Note how the heavens are “torn” open. Mark used a different Greek word here than did Matthew or Luke. Mark made a front bookend so-to-speak. It matches the word that he, and the other gospel writers, used at the end of the story (15:38).

[σκιζομένους (1:10) and ἐσχίσθη (15:38) are both forms of σχίζω.]

Here God is tearing open the heavens as if to demonstrate that he himself breaks through the barrier between men and God to come and to identify with man. Now God can be with men. [Spoiler Alert!] . . . At the end of the story, he tears through the temple veil—the same Greek word—that represented the barrier that kept men form coming into the presence of God. Now men can be with God. This is an ingenious method to make these profound theological statements.

2) The first of many beloved children

Here Jesus hears the voice of a father saying: “You are my beloved son, with you I am well pleased.” I think this is a summary of the Gospel. Every person who is immersed into the Spirit immediately lays claim to this same statement from God. “You are my beloved child, with you I am well pleased.” This is amazing; is it not? Many of us need to hear this. As much as we long for this from our earthly fathers, only God is able to authenticate the conditions that truly please. I don’t expect to hear this from my earthly father. Why? Because my life is riddled with things that have displeased my earthly father. To be sure there have been pleasing things that he can speak to and affirm, but to say flatly that I am “well pleased” to the extent that there’s nothing about you that I find displeasing would be an unauthentic statement. However, this is patently the kind of “well pleased” God is with us as we repent and are immersed in His Spirit. Two things authenticate this “well pleased” statement:

1)  First, in Jesus Christ, he authentically removes all things that displease by the power of the blood of Christ.

2)  Second, though there be mistakes along the way, this is not a fiction, because, by His Spirit, he makes us able to live and progressively become like Jesus. In increasing measure, He conforms us into the likeness of Jesus who is the standard for God’s intentions for the genuine human experience.

I have heard this for myself: “You are my beloved Son, in you I am well pleased.” This is enough for me . . . it’s the good news I need today.

Is that true, did Stacy Abernathy hear this today? Yes, it’s true. I hear this every day and believe it, because God Himself creates the necessary conditions, authenticates the reality of it, and longs for me to believe it.

STOP for a moment here. Read this statement out loud, putting your own name in the blank:


_________, you are my beloved child, with you I am well pleased. 


Have you heard it today? You have heard it, and it’s true if you are in Christ Jesus. This truth has been the most overwhelmingly profound realization in my own life.  

III.          God Identified With Man

A. What he accomplished in the temptations.

Illustration: One of my vocations over the past decade of my life has been to minister to the Lord’s church. A big part of my vocation, or job (if you will), is helping people in their life’s difficulties. More times than I can say, my offer for help has been rejected. Rejection often comes for reasons like these:

1)  You don’t really care; you’re just doing it because you get paid to minister.

2)  You don’t understand; you haven’t experienced what I have.

3)  What you’re suggesting can’t be done.

Some of this is true. I haven’t experienced every difficulty that every other person has experienced. (Thank you God.) And all of those people haven’t experienced every difficulty that I have. (Thank you God.)

However, it seems to me that if I had experienced everything that every one of you has experienced, and had come out triumphant on the other side ahead of you, you all might just be more willing to listen to any advice that I might have. You might just be willing to follow my lead.


This portion of the story is about Jesus identifying with each one of us. By God’s choice he experienced difficulties, trials, and temptations like we do. He was hungry; he was tempted to grasp at power; he was tempted to strive after the affirmation of men. He was tempted and tested in every way yet was without sin. He experienced life and came through it triumphant. He has dissolved these excuses:

1)  You don’t really care . . . wanna bet . . .  But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:9)

2)  You don’t really understand . . . wanna bet . . . For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Hebrews 2:17, 18 ESV)

3)  What you are suggesting can’t be done . . . wanna bet . . . For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15 ESV)

As a pastor, a minister, I cannot identify with you in every trial. I have not preceded you triumphantly in everything. And, though I do authentically care, I cannot love you in the same measure that God has loved you through Jesus Christ. This I can assure you: God chose to identify with you in every necessary way, in every temptation, every need, every desire, every joy and every hurt. He knows. He understands. Not that he didn’t know and understand before, oh but what lengths has gone to show you. Do not think that you cannot turn to Jesus and not be understood or helped.

B. Yes, you still have trials.

You might assess your situation and say, “okay, where is he now?” The angels did not stop the tests and temptations from happening; they did not completely drive the wild beasts from his presence  . . . they ministered to him in the midst of it. If you are in Christ today, I think he is saying this to you now: “my beloved child, in whom I am well pleased, I understand; I hurt with you; I rejoice with you; I am with you in the midst of your trial ministering to you.”

Close--Will you be written into HisStory?

Could you entrust your life . . . for all of eternity . . . to this Jesus who has humbled himself to identify with you in every way?

He will immerse you in his own Spirit to make you able.

He has identified with you.

Will you now identify with him through your own repentance and baptism?