Dedicated Christian

There are 2 types of baptism’s that are referred to in the Holy Bible: Water Baptism and The Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Both types of baptisms are very important, and it is necessary to know the value of these baptisms.

There is a 2 step process in order to be a born-again Christian. The ‘water baptism’ is very significant because scripture says that in order to be saved, you must confess your belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, and be ‘baptized’.

Mark 16:16 (NIV)

“Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

The order of the steps is most important. The first part is a verbal confession, asking Jesus Christ to come into your heart and become the guiding force of your life. The ‘water baptism’ step is your public expression of the fact that you have accepted Christ to be you savior. The process is incomplete if you do not follow both steps. Do not be deceived that you were water baptized when you were small! It is a common belief that the water baptism should be done by completely immersing the entire body in water, not just drops of water sprinkled on the head or body. The baptism I refers to comes after your acceptance of Jesus. This is your personal acceptance! No one can do this for you! This baptism is done in public so others also see the conviction of your new-found belief.

Even Jesus received a water baptism from John (The Baptist).

Mark 1:9-11 (NIV)

At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; I am well pleased.

The descending ‘dove’ is the Holy Spirit being sent to Jesus as ‘The Helper’.

Another item to remember is this:

Hebrews 10:16

This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts and I will write them on their minds.

God’s expectations of us is very clear if you choose to seek them. They are already within you.

The second type of baptism to be discussed is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. This Baptism is when the Holy Spirit of God dwells within your human body. This event will sometimes occur when you come up from the ‘full immersion’ water baptism. One of the signs associated with receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is when a believer has the ability to pray ‘in tongues’; a language foreign to the believer who just received the baptism. This is often referred to as a ‘prayer language’, and not to be confused with the gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12. (I will discuss these gifts at another time.) If a believer diligently seeks to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, there is also a specific method practiced in the church and found in scripture. This process involves having an elder(s) of the church anointing one’s forehead with oil, and the laying of hands to ask for this baptism.

In my next lesson, I will discuss the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as found in the First book of Corinthians.

In my previous message, I discussed why faith is important and how faith can be strengthened (by reading the Word of God). In this week’s message, we are going to talk about how to become an effective prayer warrior.

Most believing Christians pray, and some pray daily. Even some non-believers pray. What is prayer? How does prayer work? Who do I pray to? What do I pray for? How will I know if my prayer will be answered right away, or do I have to wait for an answer?

Prayer is the most powerful tool a believing Christian possesses. Praying is the ‘hotline’ to God, but in order to have the prayer delivered, the ‘arbitrator’ is Jesus. A good start to prayer could be:

“Father God, …I ask in the name of Jesus that you forgive me of my sin…)

(Matthew 6: 9-13)

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

Keep in mind that forgiveness of your recent personal sin is not enough to ‘open the channel’.

You must also search your heart and personally forgive anyone who has sinned against YOU. God cannot hear your requests unless your action of forgiveness of others is in alignment with the forgiveness you request of HIM!

(Matthew 18: 21-22)

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “How many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

If you do not take these steps with an open heart, your prayer(s) cannot be heard!

Once these steps are taken, it is then time to deliver your requests to God, through Jesus.

Prayers are to be specific. It is not quality to ask God to answer requests for personal wealth, vanity, or financial gain. (such as winning the lottery, or owning a new Corvette) Prayers need to meaningful and helpful. Prayers need to be sincere and come from your heart.

Prayers can be prayed once, or can be repeated, but sincerity is the key, and faith is essential to receiving an answer.

Scripture says “what comes out of a person’s mouth is what is in their heart’. The motive of your prayer is already known by God before you have ever stated a single word of your request!

Once you have finished praying, you must thank God for hearing your request and believe (have faith) that God will deliver. GOD ALWAYS DOES DELIVER!

(Romans 8: 21)

If God is for us, who can be against us?

Note: Fearing negative results and speaking negative thoughts is a method to cause prayer to be ineffective.

(If you think about it, when you say: “Please be careful and don’t get into an accident.” Your ‘negative thought’ may actually be harmful to someone you care about.

Next lesson we will include information on water baptism and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit: both being very important (and scriptural) steps that all believers must take.

As we read through the books of the New Testament in the Holy Bible, the most awe-inspiring parts of the Word shares tales of supernatural miracles and instantaneous healings. So we read on! As we look around in our world, it seems that these fantastic events only occurred in the past, not today!

The Christians of the 2000’s seem to be Christians only in word, with no signs and wonders! Let us take a deeper look at why it appears that Christians of today seem to be powerless.

Most Christians are aware of how to receive Christ in their hearts (ask for forgiveness of personal sins and allow Jesus Christ to be the new center of one’s life) yet the everyday steps to being empowered in Christ remain to be a mystery to most believers, both old and new. Let’s take a look at how to open the door to faith, the softening of one’s heart, and loving thy neighbor. Let’s see how we can become more like Jesus Christ and actually live a life similar to the one that He lived.

The very first step to being empowered is by having a strong FAITH. Try asking another Christian how to build FAITH. Listen to the number of different answers you will hear. What does scripture say?

“”The righteous will live by faith” Romans 1:17 (NIV)

Gospel of John 1:1 (NIV)

“In the beginning was the Word, and Word was with God and the Word was God”

If you notice, WORD is capitalized. This denotes that ‘WORD’ is referring to a name: THAT NAME IS JESUS!

Reading the Bible is the way to build your faith. Is it any coincidence that Jesus is called the ‘Living Word’? In order to think, act, and BE more like Jesus Christ is to know how he would handle a situation. These examples are in the Holy Bible. THE MORE YOU READ THE WORD OF GOD, THE STRONGER YOUR FAITH WILL BECOME!

“I tell you the truth, if you have faith, as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain “move from here to there and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you!” MT. 17:20, 21 (NIV)

The first key step to Releasing the Power of God is to dedicate a time each and every day of your life to reading the word of God! If you do not take this step, as it appears most believers have missed this step, you will not be empowered. How is it that so many dedicated, sincere, and devoted people can omit such an obvious part to being a Christian. Search your heart and find out what your reasons are to being less than committed to building your personal FAITH.

Create a personal time each day to read your Bible. Find the time that will work best in your personal schedule. Start off by reading one chapter a day, and once you find the strength that comes from this daily commitment, you will desire to do more. Give the Holy Word of God a chance to become a daily part of your life and you can see for yourself what will occur.

Next lesson we will explore prayer, and how to become a highly effective prayer warrior. We will also take a look at how we do certain acts that keep our prayers from being effective.