Would You Baptize Jesus

We wrestle with the shock of Jesus asking John to baptize him and what John’s hesitation reveals about our fear of being “unqualified.” We trace Matthew 3:13-17 verse by verse and land on a simple challenge: surrender our will, act with intention, and speak the name of Jesus out loud. 

• Jesus comes to the Jordan alone and on purpose 
• John’s refusal as a mirror of our insecurity 
• why “I’m not qualified” keeps us quiet about the gospel 
• identity in Christ as children, heirs, redeemed, royal priesthood 
• “fulfill all righteousness” as obedience beyond bare minimum 
• church as a people who serve rather than consume 
• the heavens opening as a glimpse of spiritual reality 
• the Father’s voice as a declaration to all creation 
• choice, surrender, and “not my will but your will” 

Tell one person about Jesus this week about who Jesus is and what Jesus has done in your life. And then follow it up with prayer. Literally go, hey, I’m gonna pray with you. What can I pray with you for?

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Transcript

The Question That Starts It All

Josh 0:00

So, our passage this week, I will start by saying one, Jesus is finally showing up on the scene, right? So we're finally gonna get into that. But it is a passage that I genuinely get asked a ton of questions about. And there is a lot that goes into it. Um, so feel free if you have questions to text them in and uh we will get those answered. But we're gonna start with this, and and this is our big idea. Would you baptize Jesus? Like, would you stand in the water as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world comes to you and goes, hey, baptize me. Would you baptize him? So we're gonna pray and then we're gonna jump into that because there's a lot to get into. Father, I just ask and I pray that as I go through this this morning, Father, that it is your word, your people here. That God, we are transformed from the inside out. That God, we are made more into your image, and that Father, it not be my thought or my opinion, but it is just you. Father, I pray by the power of your spirit that we are changed this morning. In Jesus' name. Amen. Alright, so pick it up in verse 13, it says this. Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? But Jesus answered him, Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is my son with whom I am well pleased. All right, because there is so much to go into, and I do this anyway, but I'm gonna do it a little more formally this morning, is we're just gonna take it verse by verse, all right? Because there is stuff in there that some of us sit here and wrestle with, especially when it comes to what baptism is, right? This is the second week in a row where John has been really, or uh Matthew has really been digging into baptism with John. So let's start with verse 13. Then Jesus came from Galilee to Jordan to uh to John to be baptized by him. There's a a couple of things we need to understand in that first verse. Number one is this Jesus is alone, right? When Jesus is coming to the Jordan to meet John, he isn't bringing his entourage with him. His family at this point do not believe that he is the Son of God, which has always struck me as odd because when we covered the birth narrative, what did Mary already know? She already knew, right? Gabriela already came to her, so that song that some of us just love to death, Mary, did you know? Yes, she did. Like she knew before she was even pregnant, the one you're going to give birth to is the Son of God. She wasn't questioning that. But what we see, if you go into Mark chapter 3, what you'll see is that when Jesus shows back up to his hometown, they seek to have him arrested for they think he is crazy. Now, I know a lot of us in this room, because we we know how it ends, sit here and go, Oh, that's crazy. But think about it. If your sibling stood up and went, I am the son of the living God, I and the Father are one, what would you think? I mean, I know my siblings. And since none of them are here, I can go ahead and say it. I would be like, Yeah, we're Baker acting. Like, there is definitely something wrong with you if you think you are the son or daughter of God, that you are God in the flesh. So his family's not with them. He hasn't called his disciples yet. So he doesn't have his disciples with him. He hasn't even started really his earthly ministry yet. In fact, up until this point, we only know one thing about Jesus outside of his birth. We know that when he was 12, he ran away and went to the temple. And when his parents, who frantically searched for him, found him, he was like, why wouldn't this have been the first place you look? I am in my father's house. So, you youngins in here that have that like teenage angst and you feel that need to run, run to church because that's what we see in Scripture. Go, this is my father's house, and I just wanted to come and be with him. So Jesus is all by himself, but he intentionally goes. Jesus wasn't just wandering around in the wilderness and saw this group out by the river and was like, hey, look, Redneck Beach, let's go see what's going on. Let me try the rope swing. Jesus intentionally goes to the Jordan. He intentionally goes to John. And he intentionally does it for a reason. And that's very important for us to understand because I say this a lot. Don't add extra things to your schedule. Like if you're sitting in here, understand we have a lot. Like Emily and Debbie and I met this past week, and we were talking about how to like better organize our website, especially the home page, because we have a lot that we do here. Like, and when you really stop and you really look at all of the things we do as a church, there's a lot of things we do. We have a school, we have a content creation, we have a whole outdoors ministry, we have a whole barbecue ministry. Like, like we have a lot of things that we do. But if you're not into that, you notice I don't come to you and go, hey, you need to serve there. Like I know Tawny doesn't like the water. I know she doesn't like the thought of fish coming up and biting her toes and stuff like that. So guess what I would never ask Tawny to do? Go fishing. See, but here's the thing we exist to create opportunity for you to get in where you fit in. So if you're sitting here and you're like, hey, I have this passion, I have this thing that I want to do to serve, all you gotta do is come and tell me. We will make it happen. But I'm not trying to get you to add extra things to your life. I'm not sitting here going, hey, make yourself miserable by doing a bunch of things you don't want to do. I'm sitting here going, but be intentional, but intentional with what you do. So in other words, take what you're already doing, but do it for the glory of God. See understand in 1 Corinthians 10 31, Paul says this whether we eat or drink, we do all things for the glory of God. So if you can eat and drink for the glory of God, and if you're sitting in here going, well, how do you do that? You have obviously never had a porter house. Because when you eat a porter house, all of the things inside your body should be sitting here going, God is good. He is a good, good father who gives good gifts like cow. You come out of the barbecue. You should be able to eat some of our brisket and go, Yep, God is a good God. And see, that's what Jesus is doing. He's intentionally going places, he's intentionally doing things. He's not just wandering around aimlessly like most of us are, just kind of doing whatever comes up and kind of going wherever you know the wind blows us. Jesus is sitting here going, No, I am going to the Jordan to be baptized by John. And then verse 14 steps in and it says, This, that John would have prevented him, saying, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? Now, this is where our big question is really coming into play, right? Because again, Jesus shows up to John, and if you were to read this narrative in the book of John, which isn't written by the same John, but if you were to read the narrative there, as soon as Jesus comes up, John is out baptizing people. Jesus is next in line, and John sees him and goes, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. John immediately knows who Jesus is. Remember, John, we looked at this a couple of weeks ago, when his mother Elizabeth is pregnant and around her cousin, John is leaping in the womb. He knows who Jesus is. And when Jesus comes to be baptized by him, John has the same like reaction I believe most of us in this room would have. What do you mean you want me to baptize you? You should be baptizing me. I know who I am, Jesus. I know I am not qualified to baptize you. You are perfect, you are sinless, you are the Lamb that God has promised. That's what it means when it says John would have prevented him. John is literally arguing with him, going, No, Jesus, you don't understand. Uh-oh. Because see, when we think about it like that, how many of us in here, when we're praying, when we're sitting here thinking about like God and his infinite wisdom, we are the ones sitting here going, but you don't understand my situation. Like anybody in here, you had those prayers that you've been praying, and you're like, God, I just don't know why you haven't answered it. Like if you would just do the things that I'm asking you to do, God, like this is for your glory, God. I mean, if if you haven't felt like that, I will tell you right now, that is definitely what I've felt. You know how many times where I'm like, God, if you would just listen to what I have to say. Like you gave me a great mind, God, and and these things are for you. And if we could just get this and this would be successful, understand, God, my whole heart's desire is to. I've even been like, God, if you would just let me. And I know none of you are like sinners, but sometimes when the lotto is high enough and I happen to be at Publix, I may get a quick pick or two because I sit here and go, Yeah, you know what I could do with a hundred million dollars? Like, you guys remember like a while back it was up to like a billion dollars? I was like, God, do you know the impact I could have for your kingdom with half a million dollars? And God went, do you know you wouldn't get off the water if you had half a million dollars? You know the boats and the armada you would have? You think I'm just gonna give you that? I know the bent of your own heart. And I go, you know what, God, you're right. But I'd have one heck of an outdoor ministry, I'll tell you that. But see, that's what John is doing. He's sitting here going, Jesus, you don't understand. I'm just a broken man. I need you to baptize me. And I get it. Because most of us, if we were honest, when I asked our big idea, would you baptize Jesus? The first things in your mind were like, nope. Because I am just a man or a woman. You guys know when I say man, I'm not referring to gender, right? I'm talking we're just humans. We are broken, we are sinners. How God can I then baptize you? But understand, it is that same mindset that is keeping you from preaching Jesus to everybody around you. Because you're sitting here going, but if I say this, they're gonna hold me to that. And I can't. I'm not strong enough, I don't know enough, I'm not smart enough, I'm not good enough, I'm not worthy enough, I'm not qualified to. Listen to me very carefully. You are qualified to preach. Each and every one of you. If you sit here and go, I believe Jesus is who he claims to be, you are qualified to preach the good news of the gospel because beautiful are the feet. And that does not mean what you guys think it does. Feet are disgusting. But what it's saying is, beautiful are the feet who carry the good news. But see, too many times we believe the lies of the devil. Because the devil is just sitting there accusing you over and over and over. Hey, you remember? Listen, if this was a merit-based thing, I cannot be up here preaching. There are many weeks where I'm up here, and as I'm preaching, as the gospel is coming out, I can still hear in the back of my mind the devil going, Yeah, but remember when you were 16? Remember when you were 17? Remember when you were 18, 19, 12? And we could keep going up until yesterday or this morning. Because you know what? JT kind of came in with an attitude this morning, and some things welled up in my heart. Because guess what? I'm not perfect. But see, God doesn't call the perfect, God qualifies us. David, a man after God's own heart. Understand when God said that, that is before he commits adultery and then has someone killed. That's not after. He doesn't get redeemed. Go read Psalm 51 if you really are someone who struggles with this. Like Psalm 51 starts with, restore the joy of my salvation. Because David is sitting here going, God, I am dirty to the core. God, remind me of who I am in you. He then goes on to talk about in sin I was conceived, and in iniquity I was born. He's sitting here going, look, I ain't got this. But see, he knows that it's not my righteousness I speak on. He knows, just like we looked at last week, that we are saved by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. Let me ask you if you're sitting here and you struggle with this qualification thing, are you better today than you were yesterday? Are you sitting here going, hey, I got some things I can work on so I can be better tomorrow than I am today? That is what sanctification is. It's just a big word we use to sit here and go, 2 Corinthians 3.18 is correct, that we all with unveiled eyes are being transformed from one degree of glory to the next. And for some of us, hey, that's gonna take a minute. We got a lot of degrees to get. And I get that. But what we have to stop doing is going, I'm unqualified. What we have to stop doing is sitting here and going, like if Jesus came to me and went, baptize me, my first response shouldn't be, no. I need you. My first response should be, not my will, but your will be done. And if your will, Jesus, is for me to baptize you, then by all means, guess what? In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I baptize you. Because, see, that is what we should be doing. Because if you're someone who's sitting here and you're going, I am unqualified, I do not belong, here is what scripture actually says about you. In Romans 8, 16 and 17, Paul reminds us that if we are in Christ, then we are children of God and heirs and co-heirs with Jesus. In Ephesians 1:4, Paul shows us that before the foundations of the world you were predestined for adoption, that you may be what? Holy and blameless. In Galatians 3.13, Paul shows us that believers that followers of Jesus are redeemed. And in 1 Peter 2 9, it shows us that if you were a follower of Jesus, you are a member of a holy nation, a royal priesthood. That's who you are if you are in Christ. Because it doesn't depend on us. We as the church make it so important that it depends on us. Listen, if it depends on us, this thing failed thousands of years ago. But see, Jesus doesn't go, hey, it depends on you in Matthew 16. When he says, I will build my church, he's building it on this, the truth that he is the cornerstone of. That he is strong enough, that he conquers over sin and death, not that we do. And I can go on and on and on with verses that show you that. Now I'm not saying we baptize out of a place of arrogance, but we baptize from a place of truth where we sit here and go, through his righteousness, we are made. 2 Corinthians 5 21, he made him who knew no sin. Why? So we may know the righteousness of God. And again, I could do this all the live-long day. But here's how Jesus answers John. In verse 15, Jesus said this, but Jesus answered him, Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness, and then he consented. See what happens when we believe the words of Jesus? Jesus clarifies for John. Okay, he goes, Hey, I get it. I get it, I get where you are, I get your mindset, I get all of that, but let it be. In other words, do what I'm telling you to do. Jesus clarifies that. Then John goes, Yes, sir. And what does he do? He baptizes them. See, I get it. You may be sitting here going, but I just don't understand. Cool, ask questions. That's what John did. John didn't understand why Jesus was doing what he was doing. So he asked him, What do you mean, I need to baptize you, you need to baptize me? That's clarifying questions, right? And when Jesus goes, hey, John, here, here's the answer. John goes, okay. And then he does what? He baptizes, he does something. See, too many times we just sit. We're consumers. The only thing we're worried about is, am I being fed? Instead of going, how can I feed? How can I pour in? How can I give back? How can I do? Because listen to me, if you think church exists for you, you do not understand what church is. If you were to talk to a disciple in the first century, and and last night you guys were talking, you were watching the fight where Yuri just gave up. Like there was a professional fighter that lost to a guy who only had one leg. It's crazy, right? Dude blew out his knee during a fight and still got a knockout. So you're sitting there and you're watching that with probably Peter. He seems like the disciple you would be watching that with, right? And you go, hey, I gotta get to bed now. I got church in the morning. He would look at you like you were insane. You'd be like, What do you mean you have church in the morning? Church isn't something you go to. That would be like saying, hey, I have family in the morning. That doesn't make sense to us, right? Because you don't go to family. You may go to your mom's house, but you don't go to family. And the disciples knew that that's not what church is. It's not this place for you to come be served. It is this place that exists to create opportunity for you to serve. For you to be the hands and the feet. We love saying we're the hands and the feet, but let me ask, how are you hands or feet? Because for the most of us, we're just holding up chairs. And John is sitting here and he goes, okay, I got this clarification. And then he does. Now, this is the other question I get asked all the time concerning this. Why did Jesus need to be baptized? Okay? This is I I get this question all the time. Alright. The short answer, you're 100% right. He didn't. He didn't need to be baptized. Why? Because when you baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, you're baptizing in one out of three of those people. Like, Jesus doesn't need to be baptized. But here's the answers I get. Well, Jesus wasn't fully God until his baptism. The problem with that is what does it tell us in Isaiah? And his name shall be Emmanuel, which means God with us. Which means Jesus was God at birth. He didn't become God at his baptism. Another answer I've heard a lot was well, Jesus wasn't sinless until his baptism, and his baptism is what made him new. Well, again, John 1 29, which is where John sees Jesus, goes, Behold the lamb of the God, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. If he was not sinless, he could not have had that title. His baptism didn't make him sinless. He was sinless prior to that. So the question remains: why? Well, according to Jesus' own words, here is why Jesus wanted John to baptize him, because it was fitting to fulfill all righteousness. Now, for some of us, we're like, okay, I understand that was Jesus' words, but what does that mean? Well, let me ask you, do you, if you're honest with yourself, and you don't have to answer out loud, everyone already knows the answer, by the way, do you want to just do the bare minimum? And I know some of you are like, I'm a hard worker. No, you're not. Because if you were scheduled to get off at 5 and something like sprang up at 4:45, what is the first thought in your mind? Can I flex out my time? Is this can I get this done in 15 minutes? Really? Can't it wait till tomorrow? Like none of us are like, okay, well, I mean, let's go get it. Like we are sitting here going, um, no, I'm scared. Seriously, okay, and I'm not knocking teachers. All right. But I'm gonna tell you right now, I have been in they're called ERPL's. Early release learning, I forget what the P stands for.

unknown 23:21

Professional learning.

Josh 23:22

There you go. Where it's three o'clock, and your principal is talking. Your boss is running a meeting, and three o'clock hits, and teachers just grab their things and stand up and go, my contract says I'm here till three, and literally walked out. To which I went, that's your boss. Like, and they go, I don't care. My contract says till three, there's nothing he can do to me. Or she. I went, me personally? Oh no, no, no, no, no. We need to stay till 3 15, 3 30, whatever. My boss is talking. I'm not gonna get up and walk out. But this is what Jesus is driving at right now. What Jesus is doing is he's sitting here going, Do I need to be baptized? No, I don't. However, I'm gonna go above and beyond so that no one can say anything. Like Jesus is already anticipating arguments he's gonna get into with Pharisees and scribes. He's already sitting here going, hey, you know what? You're not gonna be able to later come back and go, well, you didn't do. Because Jesus is sitting here going, I didn't do the bare minimum. I mean, think about it. This mindset is I'm gonna go above and beyond what is required of me. As a teacher, and this is why I said I wasn't knocking teachers, but as a teacher, if I were to go, hey, write a two-page paper, in my mind, I'm sitting here going two pages really isn't that much, especially because it's gonna be double spaced, which means you're only writing a one-page paper. Okay? However, the majority of my students are gonna turn in how much then? Two-page paper. How many are the majority of students gonna turn in? One and a half. What? One and a half pages. And then they're gonna go, is this long enough? I don't know what else to say. Or they're just gonna go now on AI and be like, oh, here's a two-page paper on this. However, I'll have one student who will turn in like three and a half pages. Go way above and beyond. So as I'm sitting there and I'm grading, who do you think gets the A? Not the ones that are like, is this enough? Like some of us, I want you to understand, you're gonna stand in front of Jesus one day and you're gonna go, was this enough? And what is he grading in your life?

unknown 25:56

The work he did.

Going Beyond The Bare Minimum

Josh 25:57

Occasionally you woke up and came to service? That one time you paid for the person behind you? The handful of times that, oh, I helped out in children's church. Think about this. You are going to stand before him and you're gonna go, is this enough? And all of us, right? We're sitting here going, I want to hear what? Well done, good and faithful servant. How are we being faithful? How are we being servants? What are we doing? Like again, you look through your past week. You don't even need to go back years. What did we do for the kingdom of God over the past week? And which way did we push back against darkness over the past week? What conversations did you have over the past week? What did you do with your time? You had 168 hours. How many of them did you spend serving? How many of them did you spend going, I'm gonna proclaim the gospel? How many of them did you spend going, I'm gonna pray with someone? How many of them did you spend in any way, shape, or form being a light? Or is our mindset I said my prayer, I got baptized, and I show up more often than I miss? Didn't I do the bare minimum? Jesus, didn't I do like the things you told me to do? I didn't neglect the gathering as is the case with pagans. But how many of us have the mindset of going, no, no, no, no, no, no. See, when I stand in front of Jesus, I'm gonna say I laid it all out. I'm gonna say I gave it all. I'm gonna be tired. Like it used to make me laugh, like, you know, I grew up playing sports. Did sports my whole life. And it always made me laugh, like on Friday nights after the game. And I played real sports, like football, right? Where you're actually allowed to hit people. And it always made me laugh because you could tell who didn't play in the game after the game. Because they were the ones sitting here going, hey, so where's everyone going? Like we meeting at stake and shake, like, where's the party at? But the ones who gave it all, what are they doing? I'm gonna take a shower and I'm going home. I'm tired. I'm gonna cut this tape off my ankles, and I'm gonna go lay down. I'm gonna go horizontal somewhere. See, too many of us, though, by the time we stand in front of Jesus, you're gonna have all this energy. Because what did you leave out? So John believes that Jesus is who he claimed to be. He did what Jesus commanded him to do. And then we see verse 16. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were open to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. That and coming to rest on him, just because you're gonna hear me make one comment about it later, it's a fulfillment of Isaiah 61.6 or uh 61.1, I'm sorry. And the Spirit of the Lord will descend upon him and rest on him. So that again is Matthew just showing us another fulfillment. But first and foremost, here's what we need to understand from this. There is a whole nother world that exists all around us that we cannot see, that we cannot touch, that we cannot smell, but yet it has influence over everything about your life. In their thought and Jewish thought, they called it the heavens. Does anybody know where the heavens are actually? Oh, that whole back row should have had their hands up. Girls, where?

unknown 29:57

Anything above your head.

The Heavens Open And The Unseen War

Josh 29:58

Anything above your head is considered the heavens. So those of us that like, you know, at night you're like looking up at the stars and you're like, oh, one day we're gonna live among the stars, and that's not the heavens. The heavens are like right here. Okay? If you're Kevin, maybe they're a little higher, but like they're not light years away. And see, and when Jesus comes up out of this water, this whole other realm is shown. Paul in Ephesians 6, 10 through 19, he talks about it, and I'm not gonna read all of it. Okay, it's the spiritual warfare section of Ephesians, where he says that we do not wrestle with the flesh and blood, that there are other things at play. And here's what he's talking about, this right here, this other realm. If you were in here right now and you grew up Baptist, like me, this makes us uncomfortable, right? Because we're like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I have to be able to see it in scripture so I can prove it later. Right? But there is another realm that exists. Here's the thing, you guys ready? Aliens exist. Aliens exist. If you read through the book of Ezekiel and you see this wheel that is above the earth, that moves every which way, how would you describe that? An alien. That's a UFO. Understand that if a real angel actually appeared to you, it doesn't look like me with wings and a robe and a halo. That is not what how angels are described in the Bible. They're these creatures that have six wings, that have eyes all over the wings, that have heads like various beasts, that have bodies like men, like like understand. There's a reason why when angels show up, the first thing out of their mouth is do not be afraid. Because if you were to actually see what the Bible describes as an angel, it would terrify us. Why? Because we would call them aliens. But see, understand this exists. This is a thing. And understand it wasn't just here, seeing the anointing of Jesus as he is baptized. He comes up out of the water, and it wasn't just us that saw it. It was the angels, it was the demons, it was everything that saw this. In fact, for those of us that sit in here, all right, we struggle with this. In 2 Kings 6, in verse 17, we see Elisha. Alright, and if you're not familiar with who Elisha is, Elisha was Elisha's trainee. Okay, so he's another prophet. And Elisha and his servant are surrounded by the Samaritan army who is ready to just kill them. So you got two guys against an army. And Elisha is cool as a cucumber. He's like, I ain't worried about this. I got this. His servant, on the other hand, which would be like any of us in this room, is freaking out. He sees this whole army surrounding them. And he goes, They're gonna kill us. There is no way we're gonna be able to outfight them. And then in verse 17, Elisha says this prayer. And it says, Then Elisha prayed and said, Oh Lord, please open his eyes that he may see. So the Lord opened the eyes of the young men. Now the young man, the servant, he saw with his eyes the armies surrounding them. And he saw with his earthly eyes what it really looked like for him, and he went, This is the end. And Elisha praised, no Lord, open his eyes. So it wasn't that his physical eyes weren't opened. And the Lord opened his eyes of the young man and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. See, he got to see. See, so many of us were so timid. Because the only thing we see in is this the physical. And I get it. If all I could see was the physical, I get why we're timid. But understand, we don't serve a timid God who only controls the physical. These chariots of fire were there. Like, read through the Bible. How many times has God just opened up the earth and swallowed whole armies? Joshua, when he goes to take over Jericho, did they have a battering ram? Understand, though the walls of Jericho were so wide that they could ride ten horses side by side along the walls. Most of us, you can't break through this wall, and it's only like eight inches. So when Joshua shows up to take over, do they bring the battering ram for 10 horse widths of concrete? No. All they did was walk around. All they did was blow some trumpets. See, some of you, we gotta stop being timid because you don't serve a God that is weak. Too many of us, we we, dear baby Jesus, like we are Ricky Bobby. Our God isn't that God, though. And there's a whole realm that exists around you right now that Jesus opens up when he is baptized. We need to stop being scared of these earthly things. We need to stop being so timid because chariots of fire surround us and there are angels ready to do battle. Let me ask you who can stand against the Lord? Think about this. Like, why are they not afraid? You see it all over the world. These Christians who sit here and go, hey, you know what? Go ahead and chop it off. I'm not gonna recount. Let me ask y'all, just because, like, there's let me just ask. Someone ran in this door right now. And they go, You got two choices convert or die. How many of us are converting? And I know you're like, oh, not me, until it actually happens. And then it's like, um, nah, man, kill me. Why? Today is game. First of all, I'm not going out without a fight, okay? So you better be bringing something. Second of all, nah, today is game. What do I have to be afraid of? And see, so many of us, this is what we forget. Jesus comes up out of the water and the heavens burst open because we are talking about the Lord God Almighty. The heavens can't even contain them. There's a reason why God is omnipresent. In other words, he is everywhere all at once, because we can't contain him. And some of us, we need to get this deep down in our bones. Because you're facing something, you're walking through something, and it's whooping you, and you need to understand whatever it is that you're giving so much power in your life to, God is more powerful. God is bigger. Because regardless of what is in our lives, it was created by who? God. And when you create it, you get to control it. I know we love Toy Story, and I know there's a new one coming out. But understand this: every toy in JT's room is controlled by JT. And as much as he would like to tell me his room is a mess right now because his toys got up at night, I know that's not true. You left them out because you didn't pick them up. Because when you create it, you control it. Where can our problems come from that God cannot invade it with his glory? The heavens couldn't even hold him. And then verse 17 appears and it says, And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. Okay, this again is that fulfillment of Isaiah 61.1. But let me ask you, does anybody in here know how many times in the entire New Testament, in all 27 books, how many times the audible voice of God was heard? All right, a lot of ones. Three times. It was heard at Jesus' baptism, it was heard at Jesus' transfiguration, and it was heard at Jesus' crucifixion. Those three times, and it always said the same thing. This is my son, of whom I am well pleased. Let me ask you, why was the father so pleased with Jesus? Especially when we look at these three different things. I mean, when I baptized JT, alright, I didn't look at him and go, I'm so pleased with him now because he got baptized. I was happy, I was excited, all of the things. I also knew that that was a responsibility for me as his father. But I wasn't looking at him going like he is complete now. So why is the father looking at the son going, This is my son of whom I am well pleased? For starters, the father is telling all of creation. Understand, all of creation heard that. That other realm that we can't see, they heard it. This is why when Jesus shows up to the man at the tombs, dude is possessed with legion, which is a thousand demons. Jesus doesn't even open his mouth, he comes running up to Jesus and goes, What do you have to do with us, son of the Most High? See, the demons know who Jesus is because they know who the Father is. The rocks. Remember last week? We see that John was like telling the Pharisees, hey, don't, don't, or two weeks ago, I'm sorry, don't think you're gonna get off easy by going, hey, I'm the offspring of Abraham, because if God wanted to, he would make these rocks worship. See, all of creation hears that this. So number one, the father is showing all of creation who the son is, and number two is a fulfillment of Isaiah 53, 10, in which it says this. Now, does that mean that the father is some kind of sadist who enjoys watching the son suffer? No. Here's what pleased the father. Not that the son has to suffer, but because the son chose to suffer. I was talking with a person this week, we were doing a little bit of counseling, and I was trying to get them to understand everything in life is a choice. Everything in life is a choice. If someone came up to you this afternoon, pulled a gun on you, and went, give me your wallet, do you have a choice to make?

unknown 42:02

Yeah.

Tell Someone About Jesus This Week

Josh 42:03

You could give them your wallet, you could fight back, you could be like, shoot me, and think you're Superman, and it's not gonna work out well for you, but that is still a choice you can make. You have a lot of choices. And too many times, here's the thing we don't make that choice. See, that's what fear does, is it cripples. But the son, on the other hand, the son chose to step into creation. The son chose to lay down his life, the son chose to choose us. So of course the father is sitting here going, I am well pleased, because the son chose to go, not my will, but your will be done. And seeing that's where some of us need to get to. Sitting here going, it isn't about my will. It's not about my comfort, my retirement, my happiness. Because if that's the case, who is my God? Me. The choice is simple. Am I willing to lay down? Am I willing to go? Not my will, but your will be done. Because I'm gonna tell you, like, over the past couple of weeks, this is something that's come up with Debbie a couple of times, just to be transparent. You know what would be an easier life for me? To go, hey Joe, are you still hiring? And just go mulch. Because guess what? I don't have to worry about anyone's problems if I'm doing that. I don't have to sit and counsel with people if I'm doing that. I'm not up here 80 hours a week if I'm doing that. I can literally just go to work and then go fish. And you know who would be happy? Me. Super happy. Because my only thing in life would be to go to a job and then go fish. We were driving home from fishing the other night. And we saw a lot of houses for sale. And I went, you know, Debbie in her mind is like, oh, we can get a beach house. And I went, Deb, how often do you want to see me? Because understand, if we're on the water, you're not gonna see me. I will come in to go to sleep. But see, if I was chasing my happiness, my life would look completely different. I don't do what I do because I go, this makes me happy. I do what I do because I sit here and try to go, not my will, Father, but yours be done. And I don't do it perfectly. And there are times where that selfishness just comes up. I'll tell you anytime. Look, we're having a whole outdoor education class now because I went, I don't have enough time to fish, so we'll just make it part of school. That's selfishness rising up in me. But can I glorify God while we're out there? A hundred and fifty percent. But see how many of us are willing to go, not my will, not my happiness, but your will be done. What does that mean in your life? Do you believe who you are in Christ? That Christ doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called. Are you willing to choose Jesus? Are you willing to lay down your life for that? If that is you, then this week your challenge is simple. You ready? Super easy. Tell one person about Jesus. Not have a conversation with someone. Tell someone who Jesus is and what Jesus has done in your life. And then, because it's a two-part challenge this week, and then follow it up with prayer. Literally go, hey, I'm gonna pray with you. What can I pray with you for? And I'm gonna tell you guys right now. I was gonna show a video, I decided not to. But it was another video about how the church is exploding and how revival is happening. You guys want to know the secret of a revival? You guys ready? Not my will, but your will be done. That's it. Be a mouthpiece for Jesus and let the Spirit be the Spirit. God called us to do one thing: preach. He didn't call you to be an apologist. He didn't call you to sit here and convince. All he said is, go preach my word. Go tell others about me. I'll do the saving. I'll do everything else. So if that is you, tell one person this week about Jesus and then pray with them. And if you're sitting here today going, you know what? No, I need to make a statement of faith. I need to surrender because I do believe Jesus is who he claims to be, then do that. See, some of you, you gotta stop putting off those things that the Spirit's laying on your heart to do. Because listen, the heavens couldn't contain him. You think your heart can? You think that feeling's just gonna go away? You think Jesus is just gonna be like, okay, I tried, I'm done. He created the universe. What is our will compared to that? So if that's you, go, you know what? I do need to. I'll tell you right now, we got a new pool. We have a foldable pool next door for baptisms. So if you're sitting here, there's a cooler right there. We could probably get some of you in. I've been looking at it all service. Haley would definitely fit in there. But I sit here and go, we gotta start doing. We gotta sit here and go, this is what Jesus has been putting on me, so I'm gonna do it. Because listen, you can't win an argument, men, you can't win an argument with your wife. You think you're gonna win an argument with the creator of the universe. Women, you make no sense. Do you think you're going to make sense in an argument with the creator of the universe? Kids. Y'all know how jacked up y'all are. But that being said, here's what we gotta do. We gotta take our flawed selves and go, I am redeemed by the blood, and I'm gonna do the things that Jesus has now put in front of me to do. So, Father, I ask and I pray that as we move from this moment, that God, we understand that who we are in you and what you have called us to. That God, we just stand here in this moment and God, not my will, but your will be done. And that we surrender to whatever that will is. Father, that we serve in whatever areas you've called us to serve in. That God, you you just give us those passions and those fires inside, and that God, we just go, hey, I'm gonna go get it. I'm gonna do it with everything I am. I'm gonna leave nothing in my reserves, and I'm just gonna lay it all out. So that way when I stand before you, I have a life that went above and beyond the bare minimum. Father, I pray all of this in Jesus' name. Amen.