WATER BAPTISM
Raised to Life
A letter from our Pastor
Aloha Hope Family,
Congratulations to you, or your loved one, who is choosing to be water baptized on this special day!
At Hope Chapel Mililani, we believe baptism is a public declaration of a personal decision we make to follow Jesus. The Bible teaches that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus. And one way we can outwardly express our faith is through baptism.
We practice baptism by immersion. Jesus modeled this form of baptism and commanded it, making baptism a symbolic act of obedience and faith. In the New Testament, the Greek word for baptism is “baptizo,” which means to plunge, dip, or immerse. Baptism by immersion represents the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, symbolizing our old self dying and our new self being raised as a new creation in Jesus.
Matthew’s gospel sets the scene for the baptism of Jesus… Matthew chapter 3 shares this account on John the Baptizer submerging Jesus in the Jordan River, and as he breaches out of the water something amazing happens.
In verse 17, the heavens open, and THE VOICE that created everything in existence, shares 3 statements that is absolutely essential for us to understand before we get baptized ourselves.
Now, before I share those 3 things, let me share a little context about where Jesus is here. Up until this point, Jesus hasn’t started his ministry yet. Meaning, he hasn’t preached any sermons, or called any disciples, or casted out demons, or performed any miracles or healing. Not a lot of people know of Jesus yet, because in the worlds eyes he hasn’t done anything deserving of great merit or recognition.
But here in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 3, when God the Father first speaks over Jesus, He chooses to affirm him in 3 ways…
The Father declares Jesus’ identity… “You are my Son!"
He also declares Jesus’ value… “whom I love”
And lastly, He gives Jesus the affirmation he needs before he goes into the wilderness to be tempted in the very next chapter… “with him I am well pleased!”
“This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased!”
These are the words that the son of God lived out of. And so, if Jesus needed to hear these words, so do we! In fact, I love what Christian author, Staci Eldridge, revealed about the major lie that most people today face, given the rise of social media. The lie that most people hear in their minds is that “YOU’RE NOT ENOUGH!"
And if we’re being honest, at times, we can get caught up in listening to the shouts of our culture and the whispers of our enemy, who prod us to strive and perform to earn affection, value, and significance from others. This lie that screams at us is that, “in order to fulfill the longing in your heart to feel complete, you need to claw hard to be enough and measure up!” And so, we find ourselves doing this daily, by creating an alternate identity based on 3 perspectives...
• I am what I do...
• I am what others say about me...
• I am what I have...
But today, before we’re baptized or do anything worthy of applause, let the Voice from Heaven first remind you of your identity, value, and significance. Because to God, if you’ve given your life to Jesus, YOU ARE FAMILY… YOU ARE LOVED… and YOU ARE SIGNIFICANT TO HIM!!! I love how Steve Furtick once said that "The voice you believe, will determine the future you experience."
And so, today, I want to encourage you to choose to listen to the most important voice above all others voices… And it’s the Voice from heaven telling you, WHO YOU ARE!!!
Loving Father, Thank you that we don’t have to perform or strive to experience Your acceptance, approval, and affirmation. Because in Christ, we have it all. I am grateful that I AM PART OF YOUR FAMILY… I AM LOVED BY YOU… AND I BELONG TO YOU! I ask that You amplify Your Voice over all those that are choosing to be water baptized today, and may they live out of these words that You said over Your Son, in Jesus’ name, AMEN!
In His Grace,
Jared Yamaguchi
Senior Pastor | Hope Chapel Mililani