This week a number of us from our church are attending the Every Nation World Conference in Orlando. Wayne Alcorn of Australia has brought several amazing messages. I want to summarize some of his thoughts and my thoughts about his thoughts on today’s blog.
For the most part, very few things are reported in all four gospels. When words or events show up in all four, we should take special notice. The baptism of Jesus is described or commented on in each gospel. “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son whom I love. With him I am well pleased” (Mt. 3:16-17).
Just as he did in Acts 2 for the church, at his baptism the Holy Spirit came to impart power and anointing to Jesus for a ministry of miracles. Shortly after his baptism experience Jesus would begin to change water into wine and begin to heal the blind, the deaf, the lame, the lepers, and raise the dead – not to mention taking evenings strolls across the Sea of Galilee and feeding thousands with a boys sack lunch. For power he needed the Holy Spirit. But for ministry he needed more.
The “more” was found in a solid identity and relationship with his Father. The thing that kept Jesus on track and moving forward was knowing whose son he was and that his Father not only loved him but was proud of him. When you face “hosannahs” one day and “crucify him” the next, you better know who you are and whose you are.
Too many of us are uncertain about who we are and how much value we have. We spend a great deal of time searching for an identity that we can be proud of because we didn’t have fathers who told us that we were their sons or daughters and that they were proud of us. When we live with that deficit, we tend to search for significance and approval in the eyes of other people. When opposition or criticism comes, we waiver because our sense of worth and significance has not been drawn from a loving father who never changes but from the crowd which changes like the weather.
The power of the Holy Spirit is a wonderful thing. But if we are plagued by insecurities about who we are and the one eternally meaningful source of our approval then the power will not be stewarded well. It will inevitably be used for self-gratification and self-glorification rather than to build up others and bring glory to God.
What we need is a revelation of how much God loves us. It is that revelation that causes our love for him to grow more and more and that gives us a rock-solid identity and the sense of our true north – the Father’s love and approval. Without knowing how much he was loved and how proud his father was of him, Jesus could have easily waivered from his mission in the face of threats, criticism, and slander. And yet he seemed to shrug those things off and move ahead with the Father’s plan. Because his focus was on the Father rather than the crowd, the Father clearly revealed his plans to the son.
As believers, we are grateful for the power of the Holy Spirit. We are grateful for the miracles and the blessings. But even more than that, we can be grateful that our Father in heaven looks at us and says, “This is my beloved child. In him/her I am well pleased.” God says to each of us because of Christ, “I love you and I am proud of you.” Receive it.
