Welcome to NECF sermons. Each message here is
designed to uplift and strengthen you in your
walk with God. Don't miss out, stay with us until
the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive
right in. Matthew chapter 28 So, we're going
to continue in what I've been teaching, that
is the union of the spirit we have. The union
of the spirit we have. So, this is the third
part. Matthew chapter 28, from verse 18 to 20.
and he came and Jesus came and spoke to them,
saying, All authority has been given me in heaven
and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all the things that
have commanded you and lower with you always,
even to the end of the age. Praise the Lord!
In the previous teaching that I was teaching,
I told us that geography is important to understand
the message of the scripture. Geography is important
to also understand God's plan or why some of
the things that we see in the Bible are the way
they are. We looked at Galilee of the Gentile
and how that was significant to the plan of God.
We looked at Jerusalem as well as part of the
things that we were looking at. And today, we're
going to also look at why He said to baptize
them in the name of the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit and many more things that we're
going to look at, but this is just one of them.
Mark chapter 16. Mark chapter 16. Mark chapter
16. From verse 15 to 20 Mark chapter 16 from
verse 15 to 20 He says and he said to them go
into all the world and preach the gospel to every
creature He who believes and is baptized will
be saved, for he who does not believe will be
condemned. And these signs will follow those
who believe. In my name they will cast out demons,
they will speak with new tongues, they will take
up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly,
it will by no means hurt them. They will lay
hands on the sick and they will recover. So then,
after the Lord had spoken to them, he was received
up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God
the Father, verse 20. And they went out, preached
everywhere, the Lord walking with them, and confirming
their word through the accompanying of signs.
Amen. John chapter 20. John chapter 20, verse
21. John 20, verse 21, So Jesus said to them
again, Peace to you! As the Father has sent me,
I also send you. And when he had said this, he
breathed on them and said to them, Receive the
Holy Spirit! If you forgive the sins of any,
they will be forgiven. If you retain the sin
of any, they are retained. Praise the Lord! And
we have looked at these scriptures and we said
that this is the mandate of every believer to
go and make disciples. To go and make disciples.
And this is one of the few last words that Jesus
spoke to his disciples. That is John 20, right?
And we said again that the things that Jesus
spoke from or where he taught them from was from
the old testament if you like from genesis to
malachi praise the lord look chapter 24 covers
25 to 26 we also looked at this the last time
we were here look 24 25 to 27 then he said to
them O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe
in all that the prophet hath spoken, but not
the Christ, who hath suffered these things, and
enter his glory. And beginning at Moses, and
in all the prophets, he expounded to them, in
all the scriptures, the things concerning himself.
And we say that what he did was that he taught
them the things concerning himself, via the scriptures.
Right? He taught them. He explained the scriptures.
to them and then in verse 44 to 45 verse 44 to
45 and he said to them these are the words which
I spoke to you while I was still with you that
all things must be fulfilled which are written
in the law of Moses the prophet and in the Psalms
concerning me and he opened their understanding
that they may comprehend the scriptures and we
said this opening of understanding is by explanation
Praise the Lord! He opened their understanding
by explanation. So, all the things that were
read from Matthew, from Luke, from John, were
all explanation of the Old Testament. Praise
the Lord! Jesus was explaining to them the Old
Testament. So, let's go back to Matthew 28. Verse
19 says, Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Praise the Lord!
He tells them to go and make disciples. Praise
the Lord! It means to train people as it is like
a school. Praise the Lord! To go and train them
like a school. The church plays a huge role in
teaching. It is a Bible school. Praise the Lord!
The church ought to be a Bible school. We have
explained this time and time again to us. It
serves as a Bible school. It is not a place of
entertainment. It is not a place of other things,
but it is a Bible school. is a place where disciples
are made. So he says to them, to go and make
disciples. In verse 20, he says, teaching them
to observe all the things that have commanded
you and law and with you always, even to the
end of the age. Teaching them, right? To make
disciples, to make them students by teaching
them. Praise the Lord! And the things that he
has commanded them is the things that we said
were all from the law of Moses or the writing
of Moses and the prophet and the sons consigning
him. So the church serves as a teaching place.
So when you go to a place or when you go to a
church and there is no teaching, there is every
other thing, but there is no teaching, you have
not walked into a church. Praise the Lord! It
is a place of service. It is a place where God's
word is taught. Or it ought to be a place where
God's word And as it's being taught, you're not
just looking, praise the Lord! You're not just
looking and... As we said, the church is not
an entertaining place. So, when you come, you
also should not be expecting entertainment. Praise
the Lord! So, you come like somebody who is a
student, somebody who is willing and is able
to learn, somebody who listens to the instructions
that is given to make disciples. Right? That
word to make disciples is used for scholars.
Praise the Lord! It is used for scholars. In
other words, that we are supposed to be people
who are students of the Bible. Praise the Lord!
Every church member, it's not to the pastors,
it's not just to the people that are teaching,
that everybody has to be acquainted with the
Bible. Everybody has to know what what is saying.
We should be students deliberately learning from
the Word of God Teaching them is a word Disasco
as we said in the Greek D -I -D -A -S -K -O It
means to teach to instruct right it comes from
a compound word Didascalia right is a word D
-I -D -A -S -K -A -L -I -A right It's a body
of belief or doctrine, if you like. Praise the
Lord. It's the same way you would, you know,
there are different ways you can look at life.
Some people can explain the, maybe through the
lens of natural things, what you can see. Praise
the Lord. Or through a medical lens, right? Or
through... through a psychological lens. You
can look at life like that or you can interpret
life like that. But when it comes to doctrine,
when it comes to doctrine, it is the explanation
or when it comes to theology, it is explaining
life from God's perspective. Praise the Lord!
That's what we come to do in church. We come
to explain the things of life or the things that
God has instructed us. in its perspective, not
by the things that we see. Praise the Lord. So
it is called doctrine, to study things together.
It includes teaching. And then we have teachers.
It is also, we have teachers, the one who teaches.
Praise the Lord. The one who teaches. And then
most importantly, again, we have, there's so
many ways they call this, It refers to a mode
of teaching. Praise the Lord! Remember, we are
looking at teaching them to observe all the things
that He has commanded you. It refers to a mode
of teaching. So, Jesus gave His disciples a mode
of teaching. Praise the Lord! When he says that
he began from Moses and in all the prophets and
in all the sons and he began to explain to them
the things concerning himself, he was giving
them a mode of teaching, a style of teaching.
Praise the Lord! There is a mode of teaching.
Praise the Lord! So how do we know this? How
do we know that there is a mode of teaching?
Matthew chapter 16 verse 12. Matthew chapter
16 verse 12. He says, then they understood that
he did not tell them to beware of the leavens
of the Pharisee. for the doctrine of the Pharisees
and Sadducees. Praise the Lord! When he tells
them the doctrine of the Pharisees and the Sadducees,
what he is trying to say to them is that the
Pharisees and the Sadducees have a mode of teaching.
Praise the Lord! There is a mode of teaching.
There is a way they touch people. There is a
pattern in which they touch people and it is
not the same as that which Christ has taught.
Praise the Lord! So, when he tells them, Beware!
They already have gotten something from him.
So he tells them to beware of the doctrine of
the Pharisees. He warns them of the doctrines
of the Pharisees. Their doctrine is their mode
of teaching. How they taught. Mostly they taught
out of context. We see several times they would
just lift one scripture and come and ask him
a question. Praise the Lord. or tell people to
do things as it pleases them. Praise the Lord!
And we're going to look at much more, right?
In Matthew chapter 19, he also taught them that
they should beware, or he taught them about covetousness.
It is one of the things that the Pharisees thought.
It was also part of their mode of teaching. He
warned them of material things. He warns them
of covetousness. The doctrine that is full of
material things. Praise the Lord. Luke chapter
16 verse 14. We see them mocking Jesus's teaching
or interpretation of the scriptures. Luke chapter
16 verse 14. Now the Pharisees who were lovers
of money also had all these things and they derated
him. Praise the Lord. They laughed at him. Praise
the Lord. After hearing his teaching, they laughed
at him. Why? He says, they were what? They were
lovers of money. Praise the Lord! They were lovers
of money and he was teaching contrary to the
things that they want or the things they like.
So beware of covetousness. So if you go on to
begin to explain the scriptures on... from the
perspective or the mode of covetousness, what
you're trying to do is that you're trying to
invest in material things. Praise the Lord. You're
trying to invest in material things. Matthew
chapter 20 verse 14. He tells them of their covetous
attitude. He says what? Take what is yours and
go your way. I wish to give the last man the
same as you. Matthew chapter 16 verse 12. We
have read that already, that turns them to beware.
So, Jesus has a mode of interpretation. Praise
the Lord! Jesus has a mode of interpreting scriptures.
Daida hei. Praise the Lord! Matthew chapter 7
verse 28. Matthew chapter 7 verse 28. And it
was so when Jesus had ended his saying that the
people were astonished at his teaching. Praise
the Lord! He has the mode of teaching. And we
have looked at it in this church that he didn't
just tell them whatever he pleased. Praise the
Lord! Even when we see that later, even when
the devil came to tempt him, he didn't just tell
him anything. He quoted the scriptures for him.
Praise the Lord! So Jesus had the mode of teaching,
of interpreting the scriptures. There's a mole
of teaching, of interpreting the scriptures.
There's a way to explain the Word of God and
as disciples or as children of God, we need to
learn that. Titus chapter 1 verse 9, it talks
about the bishop, right? Somebody who has taken
the responsibility in a local church or as a
pastor. It's a world first, the faithful world
as you have been taught that that he may be able,
sorry, that he may be, hold fast the faithful
word as he has been taught that he may be able
by sound doctrine or to exalt and obey those
who contradict. Praise the Lord! Speaking of
a bishop, someone who has taken a responsibility
in a local church, right? He doesn't just say
whatever he wants to say. He learns from that
which Christ has said. He doesn't just preach
anything that he feels like. There is a mode
of teaching the scriptures. There is a way that
the scriptures is being taught. Romans chapter
6 verse 17. You see, but God will be telling
that through you, though you were slaves of sin,
yet you obeyed from the heart, that form of doctrine
to which you were delivered. Praise the Lord.
that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.
When it says form of doctrine, that word form
there is the same thing to say copy. Praise the
Lord. It's the same way as saying that you copied
something. Praise the Lord. It's a mode of teaching.
The copy of the mode of teaching. Praise the
Lord. So which means that in a church or in a
Christian gathering or in Christian, we copy
each other. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.
We copy each other. We copy the mode of teaching.
Praise the Lord. Why? Because Jesus has a way
that he taught. Romans chapter 16 verse 17. There's
a mode of teaching. Then he warns them. Romans
chapter 16 verse 17. Now I urge you brethren,
not those who cause division and offenses. Contrary
to the doctrines which you have learned and avoid
them praise the lord he warns them that they
should not those who are teaching something else
right those who are causing division and offenses
those who are teaching things that are contrary
to that which you have learned and he says avoid
them this means that you should not teach like
the Pharisees praise the lord so when you see
somebody right Teach the scriptures as the Pharisee.
You should avoid them. Praise the Lord who are
teaching to benefit self He said avoid them avoid
such people. There's no truth in poison Praise
the Lord. There's no truth in poison verse 18
of that same place He said For those For those
who are such, who do not serve our Lord Jesus
Christ, they are barely. Praise the Lord! They
don't teach our Lord Jesus Christ. What they
are trying to teach is for something else. They
have smooth words, they have flattering words.
Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! As I mentioned earlier,
as we said, the church is a place where we come
to learn the Word of God, where we come to be
disciples, where we come with the eagerness to
be taught, to grow, praise the Lord. So, when
you come to church, when you come to the house
of God, you come as somebody who wants to learn.
Right? It should not be that you have stayed
in church for a very long time and your interest
or the things that you focus on the more is,
ah, the song today, I was all feeling it. Praise
the Lord. It was not, it was all my type of song.
They didn't teach or they didn't sing my type
of song today, right? Or they didn't do some
things that were exciting to me. Praise the Lord.
You leave those things and you grow. That you
come to church because you want to hear the Word
of God. You want to learn from the Word of God.
You come to the place of knowledge. Praise the
Lord. So Jesus had a way of teaching. So we also
find this, or we also find that this Father,
Son and the Spirit also is also a teaching praise
the Lord is a mode also of teaching Acts chapter
1 verse 4 Acts chapter 1 verse 4 and he said
being assembled together with them he commanded
them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait
for the promise of the father which He said,
You have heard from Me. Praise the Lord! You
have heard from Me. Remember, before now, Jesus
had spent 40 days with them. Right? He had spent
40 days with them, verse 2 -3. Verse 2 -3. Until
the day in which He was taken up, after He, through
the Holy Spirit, had given commandment to the
apostles, whom He has chosen to whom He also
presents Himself alive after suffering by many
infallible truths, being seen by them during
forty days and spoke the things pertaining to
the kingdom of God. Praise the Lord! The things
pertaining to the kingdom of God. He says what?
Through the Holy Spirit or through the Holy Ghost.
We say it through the Holy Ghost. Which means
that He spoke by revelation the things to come.
Praise the Lord. When He says to them, they should
wait. He showed them the things to come, right?
And He gave them instructions concerning the
things to come. And this word, he says what is
true the Holy Ghost or through the Holy Spirit.
Now let's look at what the instruction was. There's
four of their acts. And being assembled together
with them, he commanded them not to depart from
Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the
Father, which he said, you have heard from me.
So, he has told them or he has taught them about
what? The promise of the Father. What is this
promise? Praise the Lord! What is this promise
of the Father? And he says, you have heard it
from me. I have taught you about it before. So,
I'm asking you now to wait. What is it that you
heard from me? So, in teaching, he taught them
the promise of the Father. Praise the Lord! So,
the things that we're expecting... was not just
something that they are unaware about. Praise
the Lord! The things they were expecting were
not things that they are unaware about. Praise
the Lord! That is why in this church when we
are praying and we find out that some people
cannot speak in tongues, what we first do is
not to ask you to speak. Praise the Lord! We
first want to open the scriptures for you so
that you may understand. Praise the Lord! That
you may understand the things that you're doing.
So he had taught them about the promise of the
Father So they are aware of the things to come
The promise of the Father verse 5 He said for
John truly baptized with water But you shall
be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days
from now the promise of the Father that they
will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many
days from now. Verse 8. But you shall receive
power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,
and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem,
in Judea, and in Samaria, and to all the end
of the earth. Praise the Lord! Now, with this
place, we have seen the Father, We have seen
what? The Spirit. And we have seen Christ, the
Son. So, in Dei Dahe, you have the concept of
what? The Father, the Son, which is the Christ.
Praise the Lord. John chapter 14, we see more
on that. John chapter 14, verse 2. He says, What
in my father's house are many mansions. In my
father's house are many mansions. If we are not
so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a
place for you. We have done these studies. Verse
6, And Jesus said to them, I am the way, the
truth, the life. No one comes to the Father except
through me. Nobody comes to the Father except
through Him. So, when He says to them, the Father,
the Son, and the Spirit, It is something that
they are aware about, something that He has taught
them about. And we see them here. He said, nobody
comes to the Father except through Him. So, they
know about the Father, they know about the Son,
and they know about the Spirit. Verse 7, And
if you had known Me, you would have known My
Father also. From now on, you know Him and have
Because they know Him, they have what? Seen Him.
Because they know Christ, they have seen the
Father. You would have known my Father also.
Verse 9. And Jesus said to them, I have been
with you so long and yet you have not known me,
Philip. He who has seen me has seen the Father.
So how can you say, show us the Father? Praise
the Lord. So, they are aware of the Spirit, the
Son, and the Father because He has taught them
over and over again. Praise the Lord! He has
taught them over and over again. So, when He
says in Matthew chapter 29 and verse 19 that
He baptized them in the name of the Father, the
Son, and the Spirit, it is not a new idea. Praise
the Lord! It is not a new idea to them because
He has been teaching them consigning the Father,
the Son and the Spirit. Praise the Lord! He has
been teaching them consigning the Father, the
Son and the Spirit, verse 10 of John chapter
14. Do you not believe that I am in the Father
and the Father in me? The word that I speak to
you, I did not speak to you of my own authority,
but the Father who delivered, who dwells in me,
does the work. He also tells them about the Father.
Verse 16. I will pray the Father and he will
give you another helper that he may abide with
you forever. Right? So he will pray the Father
and the Father will give another helper that
he may abide with them forever. So he also tells
them what? About the Spirit. Praise the Lord!
Verse 20 now. He said, At that day you will know
that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I
in you. Praise the Lord! So, the disciples have
learned about the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
So, when he says, baptize them in the name of
the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, it is not
a new thing to them. It is by teaching that they
know these things. So, there is a strong emphasis,
or from Christ, there is a strong emphasis on
what the doctrine of Christ, the Father, the
Son, and the Spirit. Which means that, that is,
Jesus, the Spirit emphasizes is what in the Didache
that you have in Jesus, praise the Lord. That
is in the incarnation, the birth of the Son.
That is Jesus taking the human form, right? Being
born of Mary. So it says the Holy Spirit, when
you read Luke chapter 1 verse 35, it says that
the Holy Spirit or the Holy Ghost will come upon
you. Right? That is the very inception or introduction
of this. The Holy Spirit will come upon you.
So it means that the concept of the Spirit is
core to the teaching of Jesus. Praise the Lord.
Even from the beginning, before he took on the
human form, that has always been there. Praise
the Lord. It is core to part of his teaching.
So, looking at the union of the spirit that we
have, right? Do not forget we said that Jesus
was teaching from Genesis to Malachi. This is
very important. Acts chapter 1 verse 5. It says,
For John truly baptized with water, but you shall
be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days
from now. This means that Jesus was quoting someone
who did not write any book. Praise the Lord.
Did John the Baptist write any book? Did John
the Baptist write any book? Okay. So Jesus was
quoting John the Baptist who did not write any
book. Right? He quoted John the Baptist what?
Among the prophets. Right? So he's quoting John
the Baptist. Why? From among the prophets. John
the Baptist did not write any book. John the
Baptist came to fulfill the written word. Praise
the Lord! It has been prophesied on signing him.
So let's focus a bit on John. Matthew chapter
3. Matthew chapter 3 verse 11. unto repentance.
For he who is coming after me is mightier than
I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry, who
baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Verse
8. Verse 8 of chapter 3. He said, Therefore bear
the fruit worthy of repentance. Sorry. Mark chapter
1 verse 8. Mark chapter 1 verse 8. I indeed baptize
you with water, but he will baptize you with
what? The Holy Spirit, saying the same thing
that we saw in Matthew chapter 3 verse 11. So
Jesus referenced John in what? The resurrection.
Right? Jesus referenced John in the resurrection.
He didn't say a lot about Him before the resurrection.
But John said it or said these things before
the ministry of Jesus. Praise the Lord! Do you
understand that? Let me say that again. John
or Jesus did not say many things about John before
the resurrection. He said it after resurrection.
What did he say? Right? John was the one who
was saying that he would baptize you with fire,
with the Holy Spirit and with fire, and Jesus
was telling them to wait. Where? To wait for
the promise of the Father. So John was saying
this at the beginning of Jesus' ministry. So
this means that what John said is a post -resurrection
experience. What John was saying to them that,
He that is coming after me will baptize you with
what? With the Holy Spirit and with fire. He
is speaking of what? The post -resurrection experience.
Jesus did not baptize them with the Holy Spirit
and with fire before the resurrection. Luke chapter
3 verse 16. He will baptize you with spirit and
with fire. John chapter 1 verse 33. John chapter
1 verse 33. I do not know him, but he who sent
me to baptize with water said to me, Upon whom
you see the Spirit descending and remaining on
him, he is the one who baptized with what? With
the Holy Spirit. Praise the Lord! So John is
saying, I don't know him. I don't know who the
Christ is. But the person that sent me said that
if I see the Spirit descending and remaining
on someone, He is the one that will baptize with
what? With the Holy Spirit and with fire. So
this means that John's ministry is very important
in understanding the ministry of Jesus. Praise
the Lord! What John stated is important to understand
in the ministry of Jesus. So look at the word
baptism or baptized with the Holy Spirit. Baptized
with the Holy Spirit. So Mark also showed us
that John came to fulfill the scriptures. Mark
chapter 1 verse 1. In the beginning of the gospel
of Jesus, the Son of God, it is written in the
prophet, Behold, I send my messenger before your
face, who will prepare your way before you. Praise
the Lord. I will send my messenger, right? I
will send my messenger, verse 2. I will send
my messenger. I will send that word, messenger,
is the word that is used also for angels. angelos
praise the lord angelos a n g e l o s is used
for angels to say my angel or my messenger so
behold i send my angel or my messenger before
you who would prepare the way for you verse three
and four of mark chapter one the voice of the
one crying in the wilderness Prepare the way
of the Lord. Make His path straight. Verse 4.
John came baptizing in the wilderness. Right?
In the wilderness. This is very significant.
Preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission
of sins. He came baptizing in the wilderness.
Preaching the baptism of repentance. Verse 5.
Then all the land of Judea and those from Jerusalem
went out to him and were baptized by him in the
Jordan River. Again, this Jordan River is important.
Confessing their sins, confessing their sins
too, is very important to what I'll be teaching.
So John came, right? He said he came to fulfill
the scriptures. So, what are the references for
this? Where did he come to fulfill this theme?
Malachi 3 verse 1, Behold, I send my messenger,
and he will prepare before me, and the Lord whom
you seek will suddenly come to his temple, even
the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight.
Behold his coming, saith the Lord of hosts. Exodus
chapter 23, verse 20, Behold, I send an angel
before you, to keep you in the way, and to bring
you into the peace in which I have prepared.
Praise the Lord! So, these things, what John,
or what was said in Mark, were all coming from
this. He sends an angel to bring them into a
place where he has prepared for them. Praise
the Lord. Remember what Jesus said, in my father's
house are many mansions. If it were not so, I
wouldn't say I've gone to prepare a place. Now,
what happened in the wilderness? Right? What
happened in the wilderness? Because in Mark 1,
verse 3 to 4, He said, The voice of the one crying
in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord.
make his path straight. John came baptizing in
the wilderness. He was crying in the wilderness.
He was baptizing in the wilderness. And he preached
a baptism of repentance for the remission of
sin. What happened in the wilderness? Into the
place I have prepared for you, Exodus, right?
What place is he talking about? The place that
he has prepared for them. What is that place?
Let's look at Exodus chapter 6 verse 6. Exodus
chapter 6 verse 6. and I will redeem you with
an outstretched hand with a great judgment. Verse
7. I will take you as my people and I will be
your God and you shall know that I am the Lord
your God who brings you out from under the body
of the Egyptians. Praise the Lord. He will do
what? He will take them as my people and I would
be your God. I will take you out." Where? Where
is he following them? Where are they following
him to? When he's taking them out, where are
they following him to? He said, to where? I will
take you as what? To me, as my people, and I
will be your God. So the people are coming to
him, praise the Lord. The place they were going
was to God. The place that we are going was to
God. To whom? As my people. Verse 8. I will bring
you into the land which I have sworn to give
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And I will give it
to you as a heritage. I am the Lord. I will bring
you into the land. So the land, with all the
teachings that we have been teaching in this
church, what do you think the land is? Is it
a person or a land? Is it a person or a land?
I'm not hearing anybody. Anybody bold enough
to say something? Is it a person or a land? When
he said, I will bring you into the land which
I've sworn to your fathers, right? Is it a person
or... land or place a person why because the
land there was used figuratively because God
is calling them to himself to himself rather
God is calling him calling them to himself because
God called himself the Almighty Genesis chapter
17 verse 1 Genesis chapter 17 verse 1 When Abraham
was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abraham
and said, I am Almighty God. Walk with me and
be blameless. He says what? Walk with me. Walk
with me. Or some scriptures will put the old
King James... Okay. He says walk before me rather.
Walk before me. Right? walk before me. Because
the land that God was promising to Abraham, He
was saying that that land or the promises that
God gave Abraham was such that it was uncountable.
Praise the Lord. Did Abraham see an uncountable?
Can he count his family as long as he was alive?
Praise the Lord. or the places that God was taking
him to praise the Lord so when he says to land
right it means to me so again remember we're
looking at John the Baptist right in Mark Isaiah
chapter 40 from verse one to two Isaiah chapter
40 from verse one to two Comfort, yes, comfort
my people, says the Lord. Speak comfort to Jerusalem.
Cry out to her that her warfare is ended, that
her iniquity are pardoned, for she had received
from the Lord a hand double of all her sins.
Praise the Lord. Comfort. So that is, that comfort
is what is God's plan, is God's compassionate
work. God is saying, comfort her. Right? It's
God's compassionate work. That is God's redemption.
Verse 3 of that same place. The voice of the
one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way
of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway
for our God. Speaking of what? John the Baptist,
chapter 4 to 5. Every valley shall be exalted,
and every mountain and hill brought low. The
crooked places shall be made straight, and the
rough places smooth. Verse 5. The glory of the
Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see
it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and
God's plan is that all flesh might see it all
together. not just a particular people remember
from the last teaching we said our god's plan
was not just for israel praise the lord was for
the whole earth verse nine oh zion you who bring
good tidings get up into the high mountains oh
jerusalem you who bring good tidings Lift up
your voice with strength. Lift it up. Be not
afraid, says the Lord. Say to the cities of Judah,
Behold your God. Behold your God. So the messenger
there is to point people to who? The messenger
there is to point people to God. Praise the Lord.
He says what? Behold. your God. This is your
God. This is Yahweh. So in Malachi, it's up to
three, right? So if the messenger is human, right?
Then all flesh watch shall see him. That is,
behold your God. So if the messenger is human,
it means that what people are going to see him
and what he will say is what? Behold your God.
It is what Isaiah recreated. there that God is
coming as a man. So John the Baptist therefore
the voice of the one in the wilderness right
he's saying this is the land and we said the
land there is what is to God that is come to
God. He would therefore be the voice that says
this is the land or this is your God. John the
Baptist is the one who says what? Behold your
God! This is a promise that is made to the fathers.
Praise the Lord! This is a promise that is made
to the fathers and the fathers are aware of this.
Praise the Lord! The fathers are aware of this,
so they were not looking forward to a land. Praise
the Lord! They are aware of this, they were looking
forward to what? Behold your God! Praise the
Lord! They were looking forward to behold your
God. So what does John teach us about this event?
Or how did he teach us about this event? In Mark
we saw, he taught it through his baptism. Praise
the Lord! He taught it through his baptism. So
before then, we have nobody who was baptized.
The closest I was to somebody who was baptized
was Nehman. Praise the Lord, right? He was the
closest who was baptized or as a semblance of
baptism in the Second Kings, chapter 5, from
10 to 15. He was ill, as we know, and he came
to Elisha saying... So Elisha said to him to
go and dip himself. He started saying, is there
no rivers in this place? Can't we go to another
place? Are there not beautiful rivers? in my
own place. Why do I have to go to a particular
place? Praise the Lord. Why do I have to go to
this place? And what did he say he should go?
He says what? And Elisha said to him, sent his
messenger out with him, and said, Go and wash
in Jordan seven times. Praise the Lord. Where
was John the Baptist baptized? The Jordan River.
Praise the Lord. How John the Baptist was preaching
or how he thought about this thing was through
his baptism. He's saying that if a man comes
here and he's baptized, he's showing or he's
saying that behold your God. That man, his words,
has come to God. So this is the closest we have
to baptize it, right? That was Nehman and he
was healed in verse 15 we saw. So then when we
come to John the baptism or the baptism of John
John the Baptist is the prophet who was prophesied
right in Mark chapter 1 John goes to Jordan.
Why did he go to Jordan, right? Why did he go
to Jordan was because there was a message that
is communicated from that place In Acts chapter
1 verse 5 that we read, it says what? Baptize
them with what? The Holy Spirit. So the word
baptize is the word Baptizo. B -A -P -T -I -Z
-O. Baptizo. Right? Baptize with the Holy Spirit.
You put an end to that. To that Baptizo. So when
he says, baptize, let's go to Acts chapter 1
verse 5. Remember what we talked about, the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit, right? Acts chapter
5, Acts chapter 1 verse 5. It says, For John
truly baptized with water, for you shall be baptized
with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.
So when Jesus is saying, baptized with the Holy
Spirit, he's using a very broad word, right?
That is to mean your baptism is in and buy and
wait and add the Holy Spirit. He's using a broad
word. So why Jordan? Why did they go to Jordan?
Or why did John baptize in Jordan? So Jordan
is a location that teaches us theology. praise
the Lord Jordan is a location that teaches us
theology it is a location that teaches us or
takes us back to the event that Jesus was teaching
from the Jordan also remember we're going to
we have some scriptures right is the entry point
of the children of Israel from Canaan Praise
the Lord. The Jordan River is also the entry
point for the children of Israel into Canaan.
So again, Canaan will also see that it is an
illustration, right? Jordan too, will see also
that it is an illustration. So Canaan is an illustration,
as we have seen the land we said is God. God
who is what? O mini Hothent, right? or God who
is all -sufficient, or the God of salvation.
So, that land, right, what it represents is what,
so when they are coming to Him, what they are
saying is that they are coming for a new life,
or when they come to God, or when people come
to God, what they are saying, or what happens
to them is a new life. So that land represents
new creation in God. And Jordan is where people
cross into. It is an entry point of crossing.
So why is Jordan important? John goes to the
same place to do his baptism. The geography is
important as we have talked about and we have
seen. He goes to the same place and he dips the
same people into it and he brings them up. That
is the act of baptism, to put them down into
the water and to bring them up. What does Jordan
represent? Behold, the ark of the covenant of
the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before
you into the Jordan. Right? It's crossing into
the Jordan. It's crossing before them. Verse
5. And Joshua said to the people, sanctify yourself,
for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.
Verse 7. And the Lord said to Joshua, this day
I will begin to exalt you in all the sight of
the people, that they may know that as I am with
Moses, so I will be with you. Verse 8. You shall
command the priest who bears the ark of the covenant,
saying, When you have come close to the edge
of the water of Jordan, you shall stand in the
Jordan. And it shall come to pass as soon as
the soul of the feet of the priest who bears
the ark of the Lord The Lord of all the earth
shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the
waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, and the
water that comes down from the upstream, and
it shall stand as a heap. So when the people
set out for their camp to cross over the Jordan,
the priest bearing the Ark of the Lord came before
the people. Praise the Lord! So, because of time,
I will just say a few things. I will close. I
will continue on Wednesday. So Jordan, I'm going
to come back to this. So Jordan is the second
Exodus. Praise the Lord. Jordan is the second
Exodus. Jordan is God renewing his promise. in
spite of the people's disobedience. It is God
renewing His promise. We see that in Deuteronomy,
in Genesis and all of that. So, it was the border
of Egypt. It is where you cross out of Egypt.
Praise the Lord! We're going to read much more
and We appreciate you being here today. We hope
you carry this word with you throughout your
week. Don't forget to check the show notes for
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blessed.