Water

Scriptures: Acts 22:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 2:38, John 7:37-39, Mark 1:8

Video Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTRtKBEhDz8

Structure:

• Introduction
• Cleansing
• New life
• Holy Spirit
• Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Today is such a special day because two of our congregation are being baptized.

The word baptize literally means to submerge or to plunge under water. 

Baptism also refers to the Christian ritual of initiation. Baptism is not a badge that says “I’ve made it.” Rather, baptism is a beginning.

Baptism naturally involves water. Some traditions of Christian faith sprinkle or pour water over a person’s head and other traditions (like ours) immerse the person under water completely. The amount of water that is used is not the main thing. The main thing is the attitude of the person’s heart toward Jesus.

So why use water for baptizing people? Why not anoint a person with oil or wave incense around them or something else? What is the significance of water in baptism? Well, the water of baptism signifies three main things: cleansing, new life and the Holy Spirit.

Cleansing:

Water is patient. It has the ability to soften things. If you have a cooking pot or a casserole dish with stubborn baked on food and grime, then soaking that dish in water over night softens the hardened crust so that in the morning the mess washes off easily.

The water of baptism represents cleansing. When people pass through the waters of baptism we are reminded that, through faith in Jesus and repentance, we are cleansed from our sin.

In Acts 22, when the apostle Paul is giving his testimony of conversion, he recalls how Ananias told him to, ‘Get up, be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’  The name we call on in baptism is Jesus.

It’s not that the water people are baptized in has any sort of magical power. The power is in the name of Jesus and his blood shed on the cross. The water is a symbol of cleansing, cleansing from the inside out.

The human body is a sacred thing. God gave us our bodies to worship him. When we are baptized we are dedicating our bodies to God, for his purpose. Full immersion baptism is a symbol that our whole lives, all of our self, is dedicated to God.

Whatever you may have done with your body and whatever may have been done to your body by others, through faith in Jesus, it is washed away and you can have a clean conscience.    

The water of baptism signifies cleansing and therefore new life and a new start.

New life:

Water is one of the most ancient elements on earth and yet it is always renewing itself in a never ending cycle of transformation, which includes condensation (when clouds form), precipitation (when it rains) and evaporation (when water molecules rise up into the air again).

Over time this cycle of condensation, precipitation and evaporation has a purifying effect on water. Which means the water we drink from our taps is actually recycled and has probably been used by other people for drinking, washing and cooking down through the centuries. 

If you think about the history of the water in this baptistery, it could have been all round the world. Perhaps some of this water was present during the great flood of Noah’s time. Maybe some of it was parted when the people of Israel walked through the Red Sea.

It is even conceivable that a few molecules of this H2O flowed through the Jordan River when John baptized Jesus 2000 years ago (although there is no way of knowing of course).     

Water is essential to our survival. They say the human body is roughly around 60-70% water, give or take, and that we can only last about 3 or 4 days without water. Water then is life to us.

Baptism is a kind of acted out parable of the death and resurrection of Jesus. When we lay a person down in the waters of baptism we recall Jesus’ body laid in the tomb and when we raise that same person up out of the water again we remember Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.    

In Paul’s letter to the Romans 6:3-4, we read, ‘Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.’

In other words, when we are baptized we are saying good bye to our old way of life, in which we did whatever we wanted, and we are committing to a new way of life in following Jesus. 

Closely connected with this newness of life, baptism signals entry into the church universal. When someone is baptized they become part of the body of Christ and part of the family of God.

The water of baptism symbolizes cleansing, new life and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit:

It seems lately there are a lot more news reports of flooding and landslides and catastrophic weather events. We hardly need further reminders that water is powerful and can be quite dangerous, if you get on the wrong side of it.

Little wonder then that some of the main images used to describe the Holy Spirit (wind, fire and water) are all powerful forces.

The Holy Spirit is the power of God; only God’s Spirit is not a destructive or chaotic power. God’s Spirit is a creative power bringing order and making life functional.  

In preparing the way for Jesus, John the Baptist said (in Mark 1:8), I baptize you with water, but he [meaning Jesus] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

Then later, during his public ministry, Jesus said to the people: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. (John 7:37-39)

About seven weeks after Jesus’ resurrection, on the day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter stood up and said to the crowd: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)

The waters of baptism are a reminder of the gift of God’s Holy Spirit.

Being a Christian is not easy. It can be a rough and confusing road to walk at times. But we don’t do it by ourselves or in our own strength. We follow Jesus with the help of the Holy Spirit flowing within. The Holy Spirit is there to guide us into truth and give us strength and courage to obey Jesus in faith.

Conclusion:

Cleansing, new life and the gift of the Spirit. This is what the waters of baptism symbolize. 

There may be times in our lives when we hit a dead end or we may feel like we are stuck between a rock and a hard place, with nowhere to turn. Sometimes the way ahead seems impossible.

Let me say to you, water finds a way.

Whatever challenges you may face in the weeks, months and years ahead, remember that you are not alone. You are part of a world wide body of believers, the Christian church. And God gives us His Spirit. The water of God’s Spirit always finds a way, even when we think there is none.

May you be blessed and may the presence of Jesus be close and real for you always.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading these Scriptures and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

• Have you been baptized? Describe / reflect on your experience (if you can remember).

Why do we need a ritual of initiation like baptism?

• If you have been baptized, what does your baptism mean to you? If not, is there anything stopping you? 

• What are some of the qualities and characteristics of water? (E.g. water is patient, powerful, ancient, etc.) What significance might these qualities imply for baptism?

• Discuss / reflect on some of the stories from the Bible involving water. What light might these stories shed on the significance of water in baptism?

• In what ways is the Holy Spirit like water? 

• Can you think of a situation (either from the Bible or from your own experience) when the way ahead seemed impossible but God (by His Spirit) found a way through? What happened?