Washed Clean Part 2
5People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John. 6And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. (Matthew 3:5-6)
It was never about me.
The first announcement I made to our Bible Study group in Poland regarding the Baptism Event coincided with the very first Wednesday night I took over the lesson plan. As I discussed last post, the 3rd Infantry Division’s top Chaplain had clearly stated that he did not believe in “spontaneous” baptisms. He wanted to meet with each curious soul and discuss the ritual of Baptism. I supported his conviction, and it made sense to me.
Until I explained it to our Bible Study group. As soon as the words came out of my mouth, the idea just sounded wrong. Who was I to tell someone, who “spontaneously” decided they wanted to be baptized, “No”. A Cyber Network Defense(CND) Warrant Officer (Chief), who was helping me lead Bible Study, approached me after we released everyone and spoke what I felt in my heart: we were not going to turn anyone away from being baptized in the Bobr River. If the Division Chaplain did not feel right baptizing anyone who was being called by the Holy Spirit, we would baptize them. The following Wednesday night, I informed our Bible Study group of our intentions. If any of them did not have the time, or did not feel comfortable meeting with the Chaplain, we would handle this sacred act. As the CND Chief put it: “John the Baptist did not stop people coming to the Jordan River and pull them to the side to make sure they understood what their baptism meant.” Chief was absolutely right. As we see in the verse above, John preached a message of repentance and baptized hundreds, if not thousands, for the forgiveness of their sins.
If you have seen in the news recently, there was a rather large “spontaneous” baptism event in Clearwater, FL, over Easter weekend. I had seen the headlines in regards to this inspirational morning of glorifying Jesus, but I did not know the details until reading this article. Led by a former “Wiccan turned Revivalist”, the Core Group baptized over two hundred people Easter Sunday. Now the lead pastor, Jenny Weaver, is planning a “Summer of Baptisms” at my old stomping grounds of Siesta Key Beach on May 11. Looking into the Core Group, I am a little leery on what their underlying motive is. I know Jesus could easily turn the heart of a Wiccan to know and accept His divinity, but for Mrs. and Mr. Weaver claiming to be able to provide you with a “Deliverance and Healing” certificate for the low rate of $1,000, I would steer clear of this “spontaneous” baptism event. (More on that in a few days)
A “spontaneous” baptism would be anyone who, seeing others being baptized, decides that they too want to participate in the ceremony. Perhaps the person is just getting wrapped up in the excitement of the event, maybe they do not truly even understand what this act of Christian obedience means, maybe they did not plan to make that day the moment they surrender their life to Christ. But maybe, just maybe, by allowing the Holy Spirit to push them forward, the act of baptism becomes the catalyst to lead them into a body of water and emerge with their sins washed clean, their old self dead with Christ, and rising from the waves to begin their New Life.
God whispered to me to lead a baptism event while here in Poland. It has led to four Soldiers being baptized, two of which were spontaneous. Chief and I had the honor and privilege to do both. The “Summer of Baptism” event planned for May 11 has thousands signing up to be baptized. “Baptize California” has over tens of thousands already committed for a statewide baptism event on Pentecost Sunday (May 19). While our numbers out here in Poland are nothing compared to these larger movements, my initiative led me to be able to baptize two young adults, here them proclaim their confession that Jesus is Lord of their life, and hope that they continue to walk the narrow path to eternal salvation. That’s a 200% increase in the amount of people I have baptized before coming to Poland. I was singing “hell lost another one” (not really, I’ll leave that song to Maverick City Music and for you to hear at the end of this post). Baptizing those two was incredibly more fulfilling than being baptized. I will explain why tomorrow.
To close out part two of this glorifying weekend here in Poland, I urge you, if you have never made that public dedication that Jesus is Lord of your life, and you have never been baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the time is now. There’s revival in the water! Time to get below the surface, and get up! Get up! Get up out of that grave! That grave that is your life buried by sin. That grave that is your life separated from God. That grave that is your life before proclaiming to the world: Jesus is Lord!
Common Sense Reborn 