The Battle of getting Baptized

There's a spiritual battle you don't even realize that's going on. One that's holding you back from getting baptized and saying 'Yes Lord'.

“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6:11-12‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Here’s the thing.

When you see someone hurt, you try to comfort them. When you see someone broken, you try to fix them. When you see someone hungry, you try to feed them.

I remember when I was about 9 years old. There was a stray cat that I seen, I knew it was hungry and malnourished. I tried to catch it, so that I could bring it inside to take care of it, but it wouldn't come near me for me to catch it. So I left a trail of food out so I could lead him to restoration. So that he might become restored, well fed, and loved. I left a trail of food so that the cat could follow my exact path, that would lead him into the house. Because I have a heart of love and all I wanted for that cat is to live happy, well fed, and living the good life in the house of peace where no predators could harm him.

There’s some of you who are seeking God. You know He is real, but you don’t understand some things I’m telling you. You might even think that some Christians take things too far, that they’re too serious or radical. But if YOU would just stop and listen. Listen to what God has been trying to tell you. Repent of your sins and become baptized for the remission of your sins to fulfill all righteousness in your life, and ask God for the Holy Spirit. Would you then be able to start to see what God has for you. You might then begin to understand why some Christians “take things too far” or are “too serious” or seem “radical”. You would begin to see that Jesus is serious and He should be taken serious.

Like the cat, I eventual caught and named him Ray-Eral. Ray-Eral didn't know that I was only looking out for his own good. It wasn't until after adopting Ray-Eral into our life did he realize the life he had. Living in the house, happy, warm, and well fed.

God has invited you into sonship with Him. It's your move to walk the path he's already placed before you.

This same love I had for that cat, Ray-Eral, is the same love God has planted in me for lost sheep. It grows deeper every day the more I dig into God's word the more the Holy Spirit pours out streams of living water over my life. To love and reach the lost sheep of this world, one step at a time. Planted at the moment I said 'Yes Lord'. So I hope the words spoken through me may pass onto to you and lead you into the Fathers house.

Jesus says, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved”.

In Matthew chapter 3

Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. (Matthew 3:13-15 NIV)

And Jesus was baptized.

And when Jesus came up out of the water, it says the heavens were opened unto him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him.

God poured out His Holy Spirit upon Jesus.

And then a voice from heaven, said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Jesus says in Mark 16:16 “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved”.

Ask God to pour out the Holy Spirit on you.

We need the Holy Spirit in our life so that we can walk the narrow path and not fall off or go astray, following the evil ways and desires of this world. We need the Holy Spirit so that we don’t walk in the flesh of our carnal minds, but so that we can walk in righteousness in the Spirit of Holiness with God.

I know a lot of people are going to say, “I said the sinners prayer and so therefor I’m saved”. They’re going to say I don’t need to be baptized. I don’t need the Holy Spirit, I believe. They’re going to say the Bible says Romans 10:9 NIV “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Let me tell you, this scripture is truth and it is real. But the ones that don’t have the Holy Spirit are going by their feelings of what’s in their mind and their carnal minds are leaning on their own understand and not Gods!

Because watch this.

We read in James 2:19 it says, that even the demons believe that there is a God.

But we know that the demons are not saved, they’re not going to heaven; they are workers of Satan.

You see that the scripture says believe in you HEART, not believe in your MIND.

There’s a difference.

It says, if you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

"Believing” something in “our hearts” means something.

We’re all born with a heart. And there’s got to be a change that takes place in your heart. We can see that just thinking in our heads isn’t enough. We have to take it to our heart.

But we need to dive deeper on this scripture. We need to look at the whole chapter it's written and not take the scriptures in the Bible out of context. Often times it’s easy for us to find exactly what we want to twist and manipulate the Bible to say what we want.

Going back to the book of Romans where the scripture are talking about declaring with your mouth, and believing in your heart, and you will be saved. We need to back up for a minute and look at the big picture and understand a few things.

Who wrote the book of Romans?

Who are they writing to?

Are they writing to the people who are lost and not saved?

Is the writer trying to help the person(s) on the receiving end of the letter to come to Christ?

Or is the writer writing to those that are already saved and has came to Christ? (Those who have already repented and were baptized.)

If we are not already saved, then we can apply ourselves at the receiving end of the letters written in the Bible that were addressed to those that still need to come to Christ. However, if we have already come to Christ, repented of our sins and was baptized, then we can apply ourselves at the receiving end of the letter that was addressed to the church, those that are already saved.

So, if we look at the book of Romans we discover that Paul the apostle was writing to the Romans. We also unfold that it was to the Christian Church in Rome that Paul was writing too. So in Romans 10:9, Paul was not writing to those that need to come to Christ. He was writing to the Roman church, to uplift the church in spirit, basically telling them to keep the faith. So looking back over that scripture we now know that it wasn't written to those who were not yet saved, but those who were already saved.

What “believing” something in “our heart” means. And why just “believing” in our head isn’t enough and that it has something to do with our heart.

We become cleansed of our sins when we enter into a covenant with the Lord. Our hearts become cultivated and circumcised when we repent and get baptized.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

What “believing” something in “our heart” means. And why just “believing” in our head isn’t enough and that it has something to do with our heart.

There’s going to be a fight, there’s going to be a spiritual battle trying to do everything it can to stop you from getting baptized. Satan doesn’t want people baptized. He’s going to tell you lies, like you just need to say the sinners prayer and believe it in your mind. Satan’s going to tell you that baptism is just a symbol, and it’s not that important and that you don’t really need to actually do it because it’s just an expression. But that’s not the truth. And for as long as you believe that, Satan has won you over with feeding you his lies. Satan wants you to keep going on sinning. If you don’t repent, satan has won you over. He wants you to be blind to the Spirit of God. He doesn’t want you to see the truth.

When people get baptized they get set free. They get set free from sin! And satan doesn’t want you to be set apart from sin!

Romans 6:7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Romans 6:3-7 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead though the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

For is we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be unite with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because any who has died has been set free from sin.

Think about this!

Jesus said in Mark 16:16 “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved”.

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