The Three Acts Of Water Baptism

June 22, 2014 – After our Sunday Worship Service we proceed to the river for water baptism of one of the Youth.

I discussed in the Sunday school about Water Baptism as the first step of obedience to the Gospel. I encouraged those who are not yet water baptized to be baptized. Only one was willing yet, and others wanted to be water baptized in the swimming pool or in the sea which is better than of that floody river. So we will schedule for that.



The Three Acts Of Water Baptism

1. An Outward ACT of Commitment before entering into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Christian life is living in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. We believe the Kingdom of Jesus is here existing. Many maybe will argue that the Kingdom of God and the Church are not the same. But, we believe that they are the same. Paul said, in Colosians 1:13;

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. NIV

Paul was talking to the members of the Church in Colossi, he said God the Father rescued (past tense) us from the dominion of darkness and brought (past tense) us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.

After you have been enlightened by the gospel, you acknowledge that you are a sinner and you see your self that you cannot save your own soul, you see that no one could save you, and you know that there is no other means for your salvation except the one who offered to save you, then you acknowledge or trust in him and accept what he did for your salvation. And there you are given the eternal life.

You received a new life, a life in your spirit, a life which God calls his own son. A life which newly born in you, the Bible says, you have been born in the spirit, this is what John has written quoted what Jesus said ‘… you must be born again.’

Now you are rescued, your newly born life is living in the Kingdom of God, you are already brought into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.


Water baptism is only an outward act of your commitment to live a christian life. The Church as seen literally, as a group of believers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is called as a church but, the life of the Church or the believers, speaking to their spiritual birth or spiritual life, they are living in the Kingdom of God right now.

To live that kind of life, literally in the church and spiritually in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, it needs commitment. Water baptism is you act of commitment.



2. An Outward ACT of Submission to the King.

Water baptism is not an option, it a command. It is not a command by the pastor, by the church officials, but it is a command given by the King of kings.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit Matthew 28:19. NIV

That statement is spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ. He is commanding that those who heard and believed the gospel should be baptized. Later, after this command was given, Jesus Christ went up to heaven and His disciples obeyed this command.

In the book of Acts, it has proven that those who have been enlightened by the gospel had been baptized. They showed to the public that they have submitted to this command.

In water baptism, there must be few if not many could witness your outward ACT of Submission to the King of kings.

3. An Outward ACT of Cleansing before entering into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

This is only an Act not an actual cleansing. In other words, reenactment. The actual spiritual cleansing is when you have asked the forgiveness of your sins. The actual forgiveness is when you have repented of being a sinner.

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38

Maybe many will argue and say, ‘ you see, baptism is required for the forgiveness of sin. How you you could say that it’s reenactment only?’

Friend, please read carefully what exactly is been said. Now what is first Repent or Baptized? If the forgiveness of sin is being done in the actual of the baptism, it means you cannot repent before the actual baptism. Isn’t?

Throughout the entirety of the Bible the forgiveness of sin is in the actual repentance not in the time of water baptism, especially in the Old Testament.


So, repentance and and water baptism are separate. You are already forgiven, before you have been baptized. Therefore, water baptism is an outward ACT of cleansing only to show that to enter into the kingdom of God you ought to be cleansed first.

Water baptism will follow after the repentance, because you want show the symbol that no sinners could enter into the Kingdom of God.

---

Donate For the Project - Photo Copier You can send through Western Union or Bank Account See the contact information  HERE and or click Donate Button below to send through PayPal

---

---

Faith Can Destroy The Works Of The Devil

Our Sunday worship today was great. Many have come to the church for worship. I delivered a series of message about;  “The Works Of The Devil.” And I emphasized that Faith Destroys the works of the devil.
The other Sunday I tackled about the “Authority of the Believers Against the Devil.”  And through that authority we have a power of command against the devil.

The text yesterday was taken from the book of 1 Peter 5:8 – 9; NASB

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.

During the time of Apostle Peter together with his fellow Christians suffered with tremendous persecutions. And Peter considered that the suffering they experienced was the work of the devil.

Persecution is the work of the devil. The devil attacked the believers of Jesus Christ because of only one thing that is very important in the life of the believers, that is FAITH.

Peter considered that the trial of faith is much more precious than gold (1 Peter 1:7). Faith is very important. We need to take care of our faith. We must protect our faith from the works of the devil. That is why he said, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert.”

Faith is a dangerous thing to the devil.

The devil knows what faith can accomplish, he is very sure that Faith can accomplish great things.

The devil takes advantage using people to persecute the believers of Jesus Christ, because he had already been in great damage of what did the early Christians did to him and to his works, by the power of God. And it happened because of Faith.

Great things have done because of Faith. The New Testament of the Bible is more on faith. Many times Jesus said, your faith made you well.

And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.” Mark 5:34
And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” Luke 18:42

It is faith that many were healed at the time of Jesus Christ and the Apostles. In other words, faith destroyed the works of the devil. Sickness is the work of the devil. When people got healed from sickness.
The work of the devil in their lives has been destroyed.

The Object Of Faith

Jesus Christ is the object of faith and vise versa, faith is the object of Jesus Christ.

People have faith in Jesus Christ. And because of that faith, they were healed. But people come to Jesus first before they were healed, because Jesus Christ is the object of their faith.

And answering him, Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!” And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road. Mark 10:51-52

But Jesus did not heal them. It was their faith that healed them. The object of Jesus Christ is in the faith of a believer. So he said “…your faith has made you well.”

The Devil Is Not Afraid Of You But He Is Afraid Of Your Faith

The devil never afraid of a weak Christian. In fact, he makes friends with a doubtful Christian and he had made unbelieving people his friends. Satan is not afraid of people.

But when a person come to Jesus Christ and become a believer of him, and when a believer has developed his faith in the power of God and in the word of God, then devil begun to get afraid not of a person but of their faith.

He is like of a criminal. A criminal is not afraid of the person in uniform but he is afraid of the uniform or authority and his gun.

It is the faith of the Christians why the devil comes and persecute them. He wanted that faith will be weakened. That is the reason why the Apostle Peter said, Be of sober spirit, be on the alert…
Because Christians have an enemy…

Whether we like it or not as believers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we are involved in a spiritual warfare.
The Bible says,

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. Ephesians 6:10-11 NIV

In warfare we must know what to do. Although we have the weapons given by God and we have the authority in the name of Jesus Christ. It is not enough to have them but we must know how to use them.



Many Christians do not know how to use God’s weapons and the authority they have been given. Every time when they are attacked by the devil, they always run and go to God for protection and help, without using the weapons first.

Help comes only when we are helpless, when we have done our part and when seems we can do nothing. That is the time that we must ask God’s help. This is the principle of warfare.

Apostle Peter said, … be on the alert. He did not say, no problem there is the devil but God will protect you against the devil, just relax.

In this verse, it implies that we have to do our part. Our part is to be always alert. This is our part and this is our task. To be on alert is a hard work. To be on the alert, means we know the situation, that it is critical.

---

Donate For the Project - Photo Copier You can send through Western Union or Bank Account See the contact information  HERE and or click Donate Button below to send through PayPal

---

---

The Blessings For The Children through Their Fathers

We have our Father’s Day Celebration on June 15, 2014 with 9 fathers only. There were some fathers absent during the time.

It was great because the children and some who have grandchildren gave honors to them. Even the wives or mothers present in the service have given words of appreciation to their husbands as fathers of their children.

I’ve given a message taken from the book of Exodus chapter 20:12;

Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

I did emphasize that fathers should be respected, and they must also hear some appreciations from the members of the family to encourage them to do their responsibility.

I let the members of our church to pray for their fathers if they still have, because it is not hard for the whole family to serve God if the leader is the father.

We see the reality that the members of most Christian churches are mostly mothers or women and children. Even our church members third part are women.

The Blessings For the Children Through The Father

1. God used fathers as Channels of Blessings

The first reason why we should honor our parents especially fathers is that they are the channels of blessings used by God for the children. If the father will release blessings and cursing it will happen in the lives of the children. God honors of what they released.

One example in the Bible is Jacob who released blessings to his children and even to his grandchildren, and what he released it happened. To the children who still have a father, please honor your father if you want to live in your days with blessings.

It is not hard for the father to release his blessing if we give him honor. And, it is important to get our fathers’ attention, so that in return they will bless us. One way to get their attention is to honor them, to give them a memorable event and value them.



2. There is a promise of long Life

The second reason why we should honor our father is that there is a promise of long life. Parents are God’s channel of blessings for long life. It is God who declares it that is why we must see to it that we need the blessing from our fathers.

God will give a long life, but that depends between the relationship of the children and parents. If there is a relationship that we must take in our life, it is our relationship with our parents. Oh yes, we must have a relationship with God, but it will be affected when our relationship between our parents is not good.

3. The blessing of the days to live on.

Third reason, I do not want to live in the span of my life without a blessing. The blessing of the days to live on is not the same blessing with long life. These two must go together the blessing of the days and the blessing of long life.

So, we see there is a blessing of the days to live on. All of us have days to live on. What kind of life we live during those days? Would it be a life of blessing or a life of cursing? The blessings of the days and the blessings of long life depends on our parents and how we treat them.

No one would want a long life without the blessings in the span of life. But it has proven of what happened in the lives of many people, there are many people under cursed in the span of their lives.

But We can avoid this kind of life if we have the blessing from our fathers.

---

Donate For the Project - Photo Copier You can send through Western Union or Bank Account See the contact information  HERE and or click Donate Button below to send through PayPal

---

---

Happy Father's Day 2014

June 15, 2014 is declared a Father’s Day celebration which most Churches, government departments, public and private sectors celebrate to honor fathers.

Father’s day is an opportunity that children could give their gifts, honors and appreciations to their fathers. In our tradition even mothers, relatives and friends give honor to those whom they know already become a father.

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. Exodus 20:12 NIV

In honoring our fathers, it is not only enough to say; happy father’s day, thank you dad for being so good, thank you, thank you so much dad for being a supportive father, you are a good father to us… and so forth.

Children To Their Fathers

The best thing to honor our fathers is to give them something valuable than to say the words. We can give them the best things they cannot forget. Things that maybe not expensive but with a memorable that our fathers would enjoy and cannot forget.



Before We shall give a father’s day gift to our fathers and to our father’s in law, we need to ask first ourselves these questions; What does my father need in his life that he used daily? Is this gift very important to him? Would he give value to it?

I remember one time I give a sling bag to my father in law. Before that, I saw him always using sling bag most in his going to somewhere. I noticed that he took care of my sling bag and it lasted long. It was not expensive but he assumed it of great value.

When he visited us in our place he used that sling bag. Sometimes I forgot that I gave him a gift, I can only remember when I saw him using that bag.

I am speaking about things, that he could use if possible everyday or often in a week. Like for example: shoes, slippers, sandals, watch, eye glasses. Oh, you may say those things will not last, I want to give my father things that will last and expensive… wait a minute. The things that will last are those things that are not always used, Right? They are usually kept and locked in the drawer or in a cabinet.

What is my point? Now, these gifts are not always seen by our fathers. They can only use them when needed but not often times. That would mean, they can only remember how we give them value in times he is using them.

What about shoes, sandals, slippers eye glasses? Okay, these are used daily isn’t? If not daily but often times in a week. Every time our fathers use these things, they can remember us, even when they replaced them with new ones, still they cannot forget that one time we give them these things as long as they are wearing them.

When our fathers always remembering that there are loved ones that value them so much. It makes them happy in their daily living and this is what I want to happen to our fathers. We want them happy if possible everyday not only during father’s day.

The Most Effective Way To Keep Our Fathers Happy

Fathers would be happy to receive any gift that is valuable and important to them. It is not about the expensive things, even if it is a small thing, but with a heartfelt written message attached to that gift, which could touch the heart of our fathers that we let them know how much we value them.

To say some valuable words of praises and appreciations to our fathers is a good thing. But they are not enough, the best way is a written message in the father’s day card or small piece of paper. Give something to your father with an attachment of hand written messages that you value your father so much.

In life, we must have the goal to keep our love ones happy. If this is our goal, we can also keep ourselves happy. Maybe there are fathers considered by their children as not good fathers. Most cases, it is because they feel that no one values them. If we put ourselves to their place, we can feel how they feel. What would be a feeling when no one values us.

We Are All Valuable

Most irritated persons are those who feel rejected. We can keep people happy especially our fathers if we give them great value, we can turn people from being irritable if we give them value.

I learned a lesson when I was in my age of 20. There was a young man, I think at his age of 15-16. He was very irritated, sometimes his older brothers locked him in a room. This young man felt rejected by his own brothers and sisters and even with his neighbors, in this way, the more he become irritated and violent.



But I dealt with this young man, I become friendly to him, we become friends. I gave him values, I gave him something that he can enjoy. There and then I found out that he becomes a good boy. He started to smile and happy, he even did the works in the home without any command from somebody.

Here I found that the answers to most cases why people are not good as they should be, because they feel rejected. Value anyone especially your father. Advance Happy Father’s Day to all fathers!

---

Donate For the Project - Photo Copier You can send through Western Union or Bank Account See the contact information  HERE and or click Donate Button below to send through PayPal

---

---