The Baptism of Our Lord, January 11, 2009

Preached at Providence Lutheran Church, Holland, Ohio

by Pastor Dennis R. King

"Grace to You Through Our Giving"

Mark 1:4-11

The Grace and Mercy of our Lord, Jesus Christ, be with you all. Amen.

As Christian people, it is important that we use the gifts that God has given to us to please Him. It should be our number one priority that if we do nothing else in life we should please God. I assure you that if we please God, we will have accomplished a great deal. We please God as we share gifts that He has given us. We please God as we share the message of redeeming Grace that He has shown to us, through His own son, Jesus Christ, who died and arose again for us. We please God when we use all that we have and own in order to share that Grace with others that they too might come to know God and desire to please Him.

We recognize, like the Apostle Paul did, that we are not perfect. We are sinners, and we have our difficulties. The Apostle Paul wrestled with his sin and wrote, "I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do". Yet, he kept the struggle going that He might please God to the best of his ability.

The same challenges that Paul faced are before us all. We would please God to the best of our abilities knowing that we are not perfect, by keeping the struggle going, and by wrestling with ourselves, and remembering that Jesus came to save us knowing that we were and are sinners. We can please God by confessing our sins and by asking God to help us live better lives. We can please God by asking Him to help us use the gifts that He has given us to please Him. We can please God by sharing His Grace that others may come to know that Grace and through their gifts and their giving share that grace with others. We would pray that the Holy Spirit would strengthen us and give us courage that through our giving, God’s Grace would abound wherever we are.

Once there was a man who said he believed in God but did not believe in Jesus. He was very successful business man. He built up a company that was worth several million dollars. He was very proud of his accomplishments and was convinced that he could take care of himself in every situation. He did not like the idea that he could not make himself good enough for God. So he said, "If I have to believe in Jesus to make it to Heaven, then I guess I won’t make it." That is the difference between Christians and unbelievers.

Christians accept the fact that we can please God only through Jesus Christ. Unbelievers try to please God on their own merit. In the process, like the Pharisees of old, they reject the purpose of God for themselves. They do not experience the Grace that God has intended for them. It is only when we recognize this Jesus that we are allowed to enjoy the benefits of the Kingdom through Him. As we share the benefits of the Kingdom through our giving, others hear those benefits and want to be a part of the Kingdom. However, if one does not believe in Jesus, one does not receive the Grace of God and, as important, one is not sharing that Grace through all their gifts and talents.

Remember what God expected from Jesus. He expected Jesus to be the Savior of the world. God expected that Jesus would do nothing for His own sake but to give up His whole life for the ransom of the world to pay for the world’s sin. Everything that Jesus did from the moment He emptied Himself and took the form of a servant, and was born in human likeness, He did always and only to serve and to please God. He did it so that God would be pleased with us. Jesus lived not for Himself but for us that we might experience God's forgiveness, that we might be freed from death, and that we might have eternal life. In everything that Jesus did, He did it to please God and for us.

We look at Jesus being baptized and remember He was not baptized because He was a sinner. He did not need to be made perfect. He already was perfect. He was Holy. We, on the other hand, are sinners. We need forgiveness. We need to repent. We need God’s help. When Jesus came to John to be baptized by him, John could not understand why Jesus would come. His response to Jesus was "I need to be baptized by You." John knew and confessed that Jesus was mightier than he was. He was not about to baptize Jesus but Jesus insisted that he do so. This was something that Jesus needed to do in His role as servant to please God, and to pave the way for us. He wanted to do it in order to fulfill all righteousness. Jesus talked John into baptizing Him so that He could please God. When Jesus was baptized, the Heavens opened up. The Word from God revealed "This is My Beloved Son with whom I am well pleased."

Because Jesus was willing to make the sacrifices, we are able to please God. By the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us, by using the gifts and talents that God has given us, we can please God and share His Grace with others.

As I was preparing for this text, I ran across an article that helped me sum up this text. What I read were these words, "First and foremost as we begin this Epiphany Season, it is important for us to remember once more that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, speaking on our behalf. This text shares that Grace. Our own baptism is then seen as intimately linked to what happened to Christ on the day of His baptism. This is a day to remind every listener that baptism, no matter what age it is received, is not a superficial act. Baptism calls for us to give our lives in the same kind of service to the world that characterizes the ministry of Jesus. It may entail suffering and for some even a sacrificial death. At the very least, it will mean a life of consistently asking the question, ‘For what purpose was I given life? How can I fulfill the calling God has uniquely given to me? How can I please Him?’ We can please Him by using the gifts He has given to us to share His Grace.

Imagine yourself driving down the highway (Actually the way the weather is today, it is more likely to happen) and you come upon some flashing lights. You slow down as you approach and you see what appears to be an accident in front of you. As you get closer you see a semi trailer on its side across the road. Two cars are in the ditch to the right. An officer stands between you and the accident. He motions you to the left where a path has been cleared for traffic to pass. You follow his direction and you get safely beyond the pileup so you can continue on your journey. John the Baptist role is like that of the officer. He points us clear of the present danger of sin and turns us to the way of salvation that has been prepared for us through Jesus. Now we continue safely on the journey, safely on the journey through life. Will we use our gifts and talents to be like John the Baptist? Will we be like that officer that will warn those who are coming upon an accident that there is trouble ahead? Will we warn them and point out to them another way that others may not be added to the pileup? Certainly as we go through this year, its seems that we should be people, people of Grace, that through our giving point others around those accidents that are lurking, those dangers so that others might come to know the Grace filled life God has planned for them. Amen!