Friday, May 3, 2019

Return, Repent and be Baptized by Pastor Karena Lout

As elders, we felt God leading us to make our way through the book of Acts on most Sat. nights. It’s been really good as we’re experiencing all Holy Spirit intended us to receive as believers. This past Saturday, I focused on Acts 2:36-41. Peter addresses the crowd, letting them know that Jesus, whom was crucified, was indeed their Messiah. The Israelites were crushed when they heard this. Their pain required a response. So Peter tells them to repent, return to God and be baptized and then they would receive the promised Holy Spirit.

REPENTANCE
In Matthew 3, John the Baptist’s message mirrored Peter’s, as he announced Jesus’ coming, “Repent, clear the way and prepare your hearts for His coming.” Repentance is simply changing direction. It’s acknowledging that Jesus’ ways are higher than ours. It’s returning to the high place (penthouse) and remembering who you really are as God’s son or daughter. Repentance is surrender and the humility to be led and to follow. It’s not a one-time ritual we do when we say yes to Jesus. It’s something we can embrace daily.  I’ve found in my own life, where I can tend to be self sufficient, there’s so much value in returning to Jesus and inviting Him to change my course of direction.

BAPTISM
Peter then tells the crowd to be baptized. He used language the Jews would’ve understood because they were familiar with ritual cleansing. But the baptism that Jesus modeled would forever break the power of sin and death over their lives. Baptism is complete identification with Jesus. It’s immersion into the reality of the Trinity. It’s a prophetic act and the highest agreement with what Jesus did on the cross for us. It’s entrance into our new life ruled by the Spirit of God. It symbolizes a turning away from self-reliance and declaring our need for Him.  It’s death to our old sin nature and life to our new.
 
“Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection. God raising you from the dead as He did Christ. When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive-right along with Christ! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s cross.” Colossians 2:12-14 (The Message)

MY STORY
I was 18 years old when I was baptized. I just received Jesus into my life and wanted everything He had for me. I came out of a very abusive relationship for the past 4 years and my heart was finally beginning to feel free again. Todd’s Dad was my pastor at the time so he baptized me. Because of some things that happened to me, I felt dirty and worthless. But it wasn’t until I was baptized and realized what Jesus did on the cross for me that I discovered my name actually means “pure one.” I remember coming up out of the water and feeling like a new person. That’s what Jesus does. He restores you to your original design, washed, cleansed and made whole again.


3,000 WERE ADDED
 Acts 2: 41 “Those who believed what Peter said were baptized, and about 3,000 were added to the church. “ The power of the Holy Spirit drew them in. Jesus extends this invitation to ALL. His message is all-inclusive. It’s the kindness of Jesus that leads us to repentance. Last Sat. night, we spent some time praying for loved ones (and for the whole world!) to know the extravagant love of God. I’ve been agreeing with each one of your prayers all week. I pray that Jesus would encounter them and draw them in like only He can. He’s so faithful!

                                                                  Love, Karena

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