Epiphany 2005
Pastor Joe Fuiten, January 9, 2005
Luke 3:15-23 Page 727 in the Pew Bible
15 The people were
waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might
possibly be the Christ. 16 John
answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I
will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will
baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to
clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will
burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." 18 And with many other words
John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them. 19 But when John
rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and all the
other evil things he had done, 20 Herod
added this to them all: He locked John up in prison. 21 When all the
people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying,
heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a
dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you
I am well pleased." 23 Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when
he began his ministry.
The text tells us several key
things. First, Jesus was baptized. That is a good reason for us to be as
well. Second, Jesus began his ministry
at about the age of 30. This would mean
that he had not begun his ministry before this time. Even though he was a rabbi and involved in
the synagogue prior to that moment, this was the beginning of ministry. The implication of this is that it is
possible to be pleasing to God and not yet have launched upon your real calling
in life. Third, the Holy Spirit descended
upon him. Even though he had the Holy
Spirit prior to this moment, something distinctive happened with the Holy
Spirit subsequent to other happenings of the Spirit. We call that event the Baptism of the Holy
Spirit. According to John, this is something
that Jesus would continue to do beyond that particular moment. “He
will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” Fourth, the Heavenly
voice revealed that Jesus was God’s son.
This is the actual part of the event that is the Epiphany. It is the sudden revelation of who Jesus is.
What I would like for us to see today are four key stages in the successful spiritual life, using Jesus as our model here.
First there is the vision to see. Very early in his life Jesus knew the vision for his life. At age 12, he already knew what his father’s business was and he was pursuing it. In every circumstance there is the need for vision. Vision looks ahead to see what is coming and prepares for it.
Second, there is the faith to believe. There are all kinds of people who can tell you what to do. They even have a lot of good ideas. Vision without faith comes to nothing. Never at any point in the life of Jesus do we see a failure to believe. There is no agonizing self-doubt or painful wondering.
In our case, this is critical. If most of us would think about it, we actually have a pretty clear idea of what we should do. We just don’t believe it will make a difference or that we will succeed. We don’t witness because we are pretty sure they wouldn’t be interested. We don’t knock on the door because we are sure no one would answer.
This is a progressive thing. The faith to believe in the early stages of
your life should be smaller than later in your life when you have seen what God
can do. When I was in college, I got
with a group of other college students and we believed we could put on the
“Sweet Jesus Prince of Peace” rock festival.
We did it, holding the first Jesus festival with about 5,000
attending. Twenty four years later, I
got with a group of 50+ year old ministers and we dreamed up the first Mayday
for Marriage Rally in Safeco field. We
did it, holding what I think was the first marriage with about 20,000
attending. Now we are dreaming of a
rally in
In every case it takes faith to believe. There is no substitute for it nor is there a way around it.
Third, there is the courage to attempt. At some point to have to leave the home of
Mary and Joseph and you have to begin.
The ministry journey for Jesus began with a hike to the
You can have all the vision in the world. You can have all the faith in the world. But in the end, you have to begin. You can’t fire a shot until you pull the trigger. Fear has to be left behind. God cannot guide stationary objects.
What if I fail? You might. God will still be with you. What if it is a disaster? It might be. The love of God for you will be no less than it was before.
Finally, we come to the heart of
Epiphany. It is the power to accomplish.
Even though Jesus had all the other things going for him, he needed the
power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish the mission. He told in disciples the same thing in Acts
1:4-5, 8 “…he gave them this command: "Do not leave
From this point on, Luke (4:1)
wants us to know that Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit. “Jesus,
full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the
Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.”
Instruction
before anointing and the laying on of hands:
Paul urged Timothy to “fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”[1] If you have already received the laying on of hands, then fan that gift into flame. If you feel like there is more that you need, come forward again. It is always appropriate to receive the laying on of hands because there is always growth in the gifts of the Spirit to be experienced.
Prior to coming forward for the laying on of hands, 1) ask God to cleanse you of every sin and 2) to pour his Holy Spirit into your life. 3) Renounce the devil and all his works. Renounce all association with the occult and with astrology. Then, when hands are laid upon you, pray in the Spirit as you are being prayed for.
If you have never spoken in an unknown tongue, when hands are laid upon you, in that moment, begin to speak in the unknown tongue. There will be syllables that will come to your mind. As those syllables come to mind, speak them out. Even though you will not know the meaning of the syllables, or how they fit together into sentences, you can know that you are speaking to God. Paul said, “For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit.”[2]
Since this is a spiritual, rather than an emotional experience, there may or may not be particular emotions that are felt during this time. A quiet speaking of those syllables unto God is all that is expected of you. This is a type of praying you will continue to be able to do as a way of building yourself up in the Lord.