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Repent, Be Baptized And Receive
The Holy GhostIf you were baptized without repentance, you just got wet, it wasn't a baptism at all.
The men on the day of Pentecost had been baptized by John, but now they needed to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour, and be baptized in His name.
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With The Power Speaking
In the book of Acts chapter 2 verse 14-36. We see that Peter who had denied the Lord three times is giving this sermon.
Remember that he had told the Lord "I'll die for you." However Jesus told Peter that "before the cock crows you will deny me three times." Peter did deny Jesus three times and afterward wept bitterly. This same Peter was in the Upper Room on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came and filled the room and everyone that was in it.
They were praising God and the room suddenly seemed too small, and so they went into the streets praising God in languages that where understood by people of other nations. They were behaving in such a way that the people thought they were drunk. They didn't care what they looked like or what they sounded like they just had to praise God as the Holy Spirit enabled them.
Now this same Peter filled with the Holy Spirit steps out and begins to speak. "These people are not drunk, as you thought, the bars have not even opened yet, it is only the third hour of the day. This is that spoken of by the prophet Joel:
in the last days, God Says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your Sons and Daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
That day the Spirit of God had been poured out because Jesus had been exalted to the right hand of the Father. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit could not come and indwell the believers until Jesus had been Glorified. Therefore the disciples knew that Jesus was glorified, because the Holy Spirit came.
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Is there any hope?So these men whom Peter was talking to, were the very men that had Jesus Crucified. They were the ones that yelled "Crucify Him."-The ones that made provisions for His Crucifixion.-The ones that spit on Him and pulled out His beard by the handful and called Him names.-The ones that blindfolded Him and mocked Him.
But in verse 37 we read, When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, " Brothers, what shall we do?"
In other words they wanted to know if there was any hope for them or had they gone too far. Peter's sermon was letting them know the God had sent Jesus for their salvation, but they had destroyed Him,- they had rejected Him, -they had killed Him. So their cry was My God, have we blown it? Is there any way for us? Is there any hope for us?
Now, I know that there are alot of people today in similar situations, feeling that there is no hope. They are believing the devil's lies, that there is no hope, no way out. I remember that before I came to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, things were coming at me, and I was wondering "Is this it? Is this all there is in life? To get up and go to work and come home, eat, go to bed, so that you can get up and go to work again." Over and over it was a vicious cycle. Back and forth, and back and forth, so that when things got too tough you went to the bottle or marijuana-or some pill to try to ease some of the pain. And when you began to take the drugs or the alcohol things just got worse instead of better.
Then you start being rejected by your family, and you lose your job or your family, until you cry - is there any way out? Is there any hope? Thanks be to God there is hope! Thank God for Jesus. Thank God for forgiveness. Thank God for the love that has been shed abroad by the Holy Spirit.
Plugged In
We cannot improve on God's plan. Sometimes we need to do a little trouble shooting. When something goes wrong with an appliance that you buy, the first thing that the repairman does is to look to see if the appliance is plugged in. People have lost money because they called the repairman to come and fix their television set, when the only thing wrong was that it was not plugged in. It had been disconnected. One of the kids pulled the plug out and as a result, they were charged a basic fee just to find out that nothing was wrong-it was only that the set had been unplugged.
Now, in verse 38, Peter said,"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. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
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Sometimes we need to go all the way back to the beginning. Religion is man's search for God. There is a Baptist way, a Catholic way, and a Pentecostal way, but salvation is a personal experience with Jesus Christ. God's complete provision for every sinner that desires to be brought back to Him, is to repent, and be baptized, and recieve the Holy Spirit. That is it. Three distinct but related experiences. Repent and be baptized and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The important part is however; do you want to be reconciled? Reconciliation is nothing more than bringing God back to men. We were separated through the sin of Adam. Everyone who has been born, is born in sin shaped in iniquity. No one is born saved. We must do it God's way. Are you plugged into God? I'm not talking about being plugged into religion. I'm, talking about being plugged into Jesus.
True Repentance
Repent!
The word repent in the Greek is Metanoein and it means to change one's mind. Repentance is not an emotion. It's a decision. You may think that, because someone is crying that they are repented, but crying doesn't mean anything, they may just be sorry because they were found out. Not sorry that they were wrong or going in the wrong direction, just sorry that they were caught. Therefore emotion doesn't mean a thing. Is there a change of mind, a change of heart? Repentance in the Old Testament meant to turn, to turn back, and to turn around. Decide then act.True repentance is also found in the book of Luke. In the story about the prodigal son. He didn't want to wait until his father died to receive his inheritance, he wanted it now! But a fool and his money soon part. He received his inheritance and left home. He wanted to do his own thing.
You think that maybe God can't see you in Chicago-God can't see you in New Jersey, or Las Vegas. You think God can't see you because you have dark sunglasses on, and a wig. You have alot of friends when you have money, when you are buying the drinks and paying the bill. But when the money is gone the friends are gone. He looked around, but no one was there.
Now this young man was to the place where he was in want. He needed someone to buy for him now, but the Bible tells us that there was a famine in the land, everyone was broke. He had to do things now that he would never have thought about doing before. We're talking about a Hebrew here, and Hebrews and pigs just didn't mix. He wasn't eating the pigs, but he was so low that he had to feed them. Then, however, the Bible tells us that he came to himself.
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God is trying to get your attention
Some of you wonder what you are going to do about the hard place that you are going through, but God is trying to get your attention.
He loves you and He knows what it takes to get you to the end of yourself. That is why I say; "When you are praying for your loved ones that are doing wrong, don't get upset when you see their world falling apart." Because as long as the gold is around their neck, and they have money to spend they think everything is fine--who needs Jesus. But when they find themselves looking through bars-not Joe's bar-but iron bars, and wearing a uniform like everyone else's with numbers on the front and back, then they begin to think.We have to stop and examine ourselves sometimes. Like the prodigal son did, when he said, "This doesn't even make any sense."
There is a young minister at the prison where I speak, who told me that at one time he had been making $18,000 a week. He said that he didn't have any time for his girlfriend or any one else, because he was just to busy making drug money.
But one day he got caught, and ended up in jail. While he was incarcerated he talked with some of the guys, and found out what he had done wrong. Now, he thought, the next time I'll know what to do, but he was caught again, and put back in prison. And after the third time there the Lord started to deal with him. He had been blinded by the devil, he lost his family. He was raised in a Catholic church, and went to college, got a degree with that money. He didn't want to work for it. He wanted everything now. But he was now sitting in prison and that money couldn't do a thing for him.
Young men are thanking God that they are in prison, because they realize that if they hadn't gotten to the place in which they were at the end of themselves, that they would have never found Jesus.
Like the prodigal son who started looking back to where he came from, and realizing that even the servants in his father's house were eating better then him. He thought that if only he could ask his father to take him back as a servant, at least he would be better off. He made a decision to return,- complete repentance-not just thinking about it anymore but actually returning
Today should be the day of repentance. He started running toward his father. And we see that the father was looking for him expectantly. Repentance was not an emotion, but a decision.
There is a song that says; "I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back, though none go with me still I will follow, for I have decided to follow Jesus."
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Following Jesus is a decision that no one can make for you. You must make this decision. We are free will agents and the decision is ours to make. Each one of us will stand before the Lord one day and he will ask what have you done with my son?
Before you can be baptized you must repent, this eliminates babies they are unable to repent when they are only infants. People go through religious rituals, and the sad part is that without repentance-the decision-they cannot truly be baptized. If you were baptized without repentance, you just got wet, it wasn't a baptism at all.The men on the day of Pentecost had been baptized by John, but now they needed to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour, and be baptized in His name. They had to repent of their sin, accept Jesus, and be baptized in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They had been going in the wrong direction since the day of their birth-walking away from God, but until they repented they couldn't walk in a direction towards God.
The very first sermon that was recorded was Peter's first sermon, that we have just read. And the Bible tells us that three thousand people gave their lives to the Lord. And three thousand people were baptized, immersed in water, representing the washing away of the old man (death) and the birth of the new (resurrection). The baptismal service is a funeral. When somthing dies we bury it-your old Adamic nature has died-but your new nature is alive in Christ Jesus.We get baptized to fullfill all righteousness. Jesus set the example for us when he was baptized by John. You are openly declaring and showing that you have decided in your heart to follow Jesus. You are a changed individual, since Jesus came into your life, and you have accepted Him as Lord and Saviour. It is no longer you that liveth, but it is Christ living in you.
When you step into that pool of water you are taking all of the old corrupt ways of doing whatever feels good and drowning them. You are coming up out of the water changed, a new creature in Christ Jesus. Repent, be baptized, and God will send his precious Holy Spirit to lead you and guide you into all truths. The Holy Spirit is a gift from God. Have you made your decision? Make it today. It may be your last chance, don't miss it. Today is the day of Salvation.
FURTHER READING
Acts 2:38 really says, "repent and be baptized because your sins have already been forgive
1. There are 2 Greek words for the English word "for": "gar"=because of & "eis"=unto, in order to
What does "for" (Greek: "eis") mean in Ax 2:38Passage Action because of in order to Result
Mt 26:28 blood shed X remission of sin
Rom 10:10 Believe X righteousness
Ax 11:18 Repentance X life
Rom 10:4 Confess X Salvation
Ax 3:19 Repent & converted X sins blotted out
Ax 2:38 Repent & baptized X remission of sins