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The Gospel Series
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Baptizing with Water
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Luke 3:15-16 NKJV — Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
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The notifications on your cell phone sound off, one right after another, getting our attention and wanting us to respond. Our lives are filled up to the brim with deadlines, commitments, questions and drama. We take a look at the world and feel like all hope is lost. We are in the constant search for balance in our lives. Scientists, psychiatrists and many, many counselors will tell you that compartmentalizing your life is the only way to find balance in the world we live in today.
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Balance in life obviously means something different to everyone, yet most people are seeking it in some way or another. When the daily routines, career challenges and family responsibilities start making someone feel burned out and stressed out, balance may seem like an ultimate remedy. The elusive prescription is hard to find.
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In Search for the Answer
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Everyday on their regular schedule the game shows come on the air with the questions that challenge the contestants, as well as the audiences at home, to find the right answer that will award them with the grand prize. Just like the contestants on TV, we are challenged to find that answer. The scenario is played out on the movies, sitcoms, dramas and on the evening news. Pundits, opinionists, or more commonly called, analysts, seem to have solutions but it all depends on the perspective they are presenting. Violent protest are called, “peaceful,” murder is labeled an “unfortunate accident,” and conservatism is now known as “racism.” The very fabric of our dream of a prosperous, peaceful life is being ripped apart by the forces of the ungodly and the unjust.
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There must be a solution to what’s going wrong but where do we find it? The answer has been in front of us since the beginning of time. We hear it from the pulpits on any given Sunday. It’s Jesus who we need but He really isn’t hard to find. We are the ones who make it so difficult. Even those who came to arrest Jesus had a hard time locating Him.
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John 18:4-7 NKJV — Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?” They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. Then He asked them again, “Whom are you seeking?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”
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Our search for Him may or may not be so dramatic as it was for those who sought to persecute Him but still the same Jesus is there for us when we need Him. He was promised to us from the beginning. The fall of mankind began a chain of events that would lead to Calvary and the redemption of mankind. To understand this we must begin from the start.
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Genesis 1:1-5 NKJV — In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
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The first 3 chapters of the book of Genesis describes the Earth as new, pristine and exactly the place where God intended us to live. Tranquility, balance and God was present in an environment that was in no danger of destruction but then came the test. Instruction was given by God to Adam and Eve about what could be done in the Garden. There was one restriction. A rule, if broken, had a dire consequence.
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Genesis 3:1-8 NKJV — Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; “but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
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The fall and the separation from God had taken place. This would also be the very first time that the promise of a Redeemer, a Saviour would come to deliver mankind from their iniquities.
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Genesis 3:9-15 NKJV — Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” So the LORD God said to the serpent:
“Because you have done this,
You are cursed more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you shall go,
And you shall eat dust
All the days of your life. And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”
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With the possible exception of John 3:16, no verse in the Bible is more crucial and definitive than Genesis 3:15. The whole of Scripture is not packed into every passage but we may allow ourselves to expect every passage to prepare and make room for the whole. This is what happens in Genesis 3:15. Several important issues emerge all at once:
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First, it establishes a principle that runs throughout the Old Testament, creating an expectation of a Redeemer who would be a descendent of Adam and Eve.
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Second, it establishes the parameters by which God will redeem His people from their sin. From the earliest times, Genesis 3:15 has been called the proto-evangelium because it is the first note of God’s redemptive intention following the fall in the Garden of Eden.
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Third, the verse establishes an explanation for the disorder of the world: Satan is at work. Although Adam and Eve’s disobedience resulted in the explosion from the Garden, the verse reveals that evil and temptation shall always be present to torment mankind until the Redeemer arrives.
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Fourth, the principle of the victory of the kingdom of God over the kingdom of darkness is established from the beginning.
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The promise of the “Good News,” also known as the “Gospel” was established by God from the moment the fall of man took place. The world is a troubled and confusing place but the answer awaits us if we just open our hearts and receive Jesus Christ into it. The world is drawing closer to a conclusion that we all need to be prepared for. In many ways, our present day is echoing the days before Jesus began His ministry on Earth.
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Matthew 3:1-2 NKJV — In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
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