God loves you no matter what
Matthew 3:13-17
Matthew 3:13–17 (ESV)
13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan
to John, to be baptized by him.
14John would have prevented him, saying, “I
need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
15But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for
us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.
16And 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;
17and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am
well pleased.”
What an
amazing set of scripture! These 5 verses are packed with humility, the heart of
God, the heart of Jesus, the power of humility, and the love of God for his
children! So lets dig in and look at the beginning of Jesus ministry!
We all need to stay humble!
14John would have prevented him, saying, “I
need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
John had done more
in 6 months that others did over 300 years
·
John had made a name for him self
·
He had a large following
·
He was filled with the Holy Spirit
·
He was moving people to repent, to turn to God
once again
But John
understood something we all need to remember
Matthew Henry:
1. The purest souls are most sensible of their own
remaining impurity, and seek most earnestly for spiritual washing
2. The best and holiest of men have need of
Christ, and the better they are, the more they see of that need.
·
We are all sinners
·
We constantly need to seek Jesus in all we do
·
None of us are better than anyone else
·
We all need to humble ourselves daily to our
need for Jesus
·
None of are above the need for Jesus, none of us!
John said these things in front of a crowd, a large crowd
that came to follow him, not Jesus. He was humble enough to kneel before his
savior, to let the world know, he was no better than anyone. That he need a
savior, that we all need our savior.
Jesus sets the
tone for his ministry and sets the example for us all to follow!
15But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for
us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.
·
Not even the son of God is above fulfilling the
will of God the father
·
Jesus set the example early in his ministry that
following was the way to Love, Joy and Peace
·
That our role is to simply follow
·
Jesus taught us more in his actions than his
words
o The
way he treated others
o The
way he cared for others
o The
way he lead others to come in to relationships with his father
·
And the first thing he teaches us is the public
display of our inward faith
·
Being baptized!
·
To show the world we are a follower
·
Not by what we say, but by what we do!
And God shows up!
16And 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;
17and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am
well pleased.”
God showed up then
and shows up today!
the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to
rest on him
·
Jesus set the example
·
And God shows us what happens whenever someone
turns there life over to Christ and follows
·
He shows up
·
The Holy Spirit shows up!
·
We are washed in water of the spirit!
·
When we decide to follow, truly follow, God is
there
·
Our little tiny show of faith intersects with
Gods faithfulness
·
And our life changes forever
·
And you know what, you don’t have to do anything
to get gods love!
God loves you
right where you are!
17and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am
well pleased.”
Matthew Henry: In
and through Jesus Christ, the heavens are opened to the children of men.
·
Before Jesus said a word
·
Before he performed a miracle
·
God said “my beloved son”, with whom I am well
pleased”
·
God loved Jesus, like a great father loves his
children
·
Not because of what Jesus did, but because he
was his faithful, loving son
·
And because you are in Jesus, Gods loves you
too!
·
Not because of what you do, but because you
believe, you are willing to follow
·
You will fail
·
You will be messy
·
You will sin often
·
But God loves you anyway, every day, no matter
what
·
This is what we take comfort in
·
This is where we get our strength
·
This is where we get our humility
·
This is what we show grace!
·
This is why we love unconditionally
·
Because he loved us first!
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