August 15, 2018
Mark 1:7-13
CONSIDER THIS
9. The Holy Spirit always points to Jesus. In his short sixteen chapters, Mark brings us the core of the core of the Gospel. I love the clarity of, “And this was his message:.” John said many things, but in the midst of many things I suspect John always said one thing and it was likely pretty much the same thing. This was his message:
“After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
That Mark could bring it to such clarity says much more about John than it does about Mark. John was focused on THE MESSAGE. We live in an age where a premium is put on being a great “communicator” of the Gospel. The key is not style points for the messenger, but laser like focus on THE MESSAGE itself. I often say of myself, “I am an average preacher, but I have an incredible message.”
Let me switch gears, though, and put the question to you (preacher or not). If I were to spend the next year alongside you, at the end of that time, how would I summarize your message? Could I bring it to a sentence? What would it be?
10. The Holy Spirit personalizes the Word of God. Consider Jesus’ baptism. John baptized him with water, but the Father baptized him with the Holy Spirit. He saw heaven being “torn” open. He saw the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, descending on him as though he were a dove landing on Jesus’ shoulder. Then the Voice:
“You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
So often, the baptism of the Holy Spirit gets spoken of in terms of phenomenology. In other words, it’s all about Heaven being torn open and a demonstrative manifestation of the Spirit. Entire branches of the Church believe the the definitive and exclusive sign of the baptism of the Holy Spirit must be the phenomenon of speaking in tongues. While I do not want to diminish the gift of tongues as a manifestation of the sign of the Spirit, I do want to inquire as to why there is no reference to Jesus speaking in tongues? Doesn’t it make sense that the baptism of the Holy Spirit would be accompanied primarily by the Word of God?
If I’m staying close to the text here, here’s my observation: the definitive sign of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the inward perception of these words from the Father spoken as a pure gift, individually over the sons and daughters of God: You are my son. . . You are my daughter. . . whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” When these words move from believed concept to experienced truth (which is far too rare), it’s a primary sign of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is literally an internal flood of the Holy Love of God inside of a human person. The definitive demonstration of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, of course, is the creative expression of the Holy Love of God flooding into the world. The rest of the Gospel will be the unfolding of this awe-inspiring demonstration. You will see as we move along that I am something of a purist in my belief, “As it was with Jesus, so it can be with us” (except maybe for that 40 days without food! ;0) just kidding).
11. The Holy Spirit deepens faith through fasting. The Holy Spirit sends the baptized ones straight into the heart of the place formerly known as Eden, which has now become—THE WILDERNESS. Note the textual details pointed out: The presence of Angels, the animal kingdom and the Satan. Note also Jesus fasted. Eden was a place of perpetual feasting. What if fasting in the wilderness of this world is actually the Divine Way back to feasting in the Kingdom of God (a.k.a. Eden)? What if fasting is the divinely appointed means to sustain the fullness of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the wilderness of the world?
Some time ago, we developed a resource and a process to help people begin to fast. What began as a Daily Text experiment has become a community of thousands who now fast weekly. It has been life changing for many. We take a very doable, grace-filled approach. We baby step our way into it. In short, it is a 40 day fast, one day per week over the course of 52 weeks (12 skips!) Get started here. You can always opt out if it’s not the right time or not for you.
THE PRAYER
Our Father in Heaven, thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to reveal your Son to us. And thank you for sending your Son to reveal to us what it looks like when a human being is baptized with the Holy Spirit. I want to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Jesus, would you do this for and in me? In Jesus name, Amen.
THE QUESTION
What if fasting is the divinely appointed means to sustain the fullness of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the wilderness of the world? Might this explain your lack of “fullness?” Reflect.
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For the Awakening,
J.D. Walt
Sower-in-Chief
seedbed.com
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