God's Will, The Doctrine Of Baptisms, God's Covenant, Noah, Abraham, Issac, Jacob, I am hath sent me. Part 2.

47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

So it talks about two baptisms here. But this one starts with the promise that was given to Abraham. The promise, it doesn’t speak what the promises is. It just says that the promise is given to Abraham and his seed. And now we’ve found in Galatians that the seed was Christ. Then it said that Abraham had to make a covenant with God. Abraham made a covenant with God but just how did he make the covenant? Because we read here:

You must repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, for the promise is given unto you. Everyone wants to leave at the end of that that verse there, the gift of the Holy Ghost without going on to say, it’s the promise that is supposed to be given. But in Galatians, it says the promise was given to Abraham and his seed.

Art: It was the promise to Abraham: that from this the seed, the Christ, would come to whom the promise was made. So the promise is made to Abraham and all his bloodline. That’s why Satan kept trying to destroy that bloodline during all that period of time between all the children and so on. So God did not want them mixing with any other races in order to keep that bloodline clean, so that Christ came to whom the promise was made.

God didn’t explain to Abraham what he meant by all that. Because, remember, it says it is imputed unto Abraham for righteous sake, because he believes the promises of God. When he was going to give his son as a sacrifice to God, notice the son Isaac asked his father, “Father, we have kindling wood here. We have the fire, but where is the sacrifice?” Wouldn’t it have been simple for Abraham just to say, “Son, you are the sacrifice?” Because God said, “take thy son, thy only son and sacrifice him unto me.” Well, why didn’t he just tell his son, “Well my son, you are the sacrifice.” But he didn’t say that. Instead, he said, “My son, God shall provide himself a sacrifice.” I love the Hebrew. It says “For God shall provide himself as a sacrifice”.

Yea, why didn’t he say, “ Son you’re the sacrifice?” It doesn’t say anywhere in the Old Testament, only in the New, where it said that Abraham believed God, that if he killed his son,that God would raise him from the dead to fulfill the promise; he therefore assumed that if he killed his son, that God would raise him from the dead to fulfill the promise, because God gave the promise that through that seed, the Messiah would come. If he was dead - the seed couldn’t come. So it says that God through Abraham, Abraham believed God and believed that God would raise him up from the dead. That’s why Abraham didn’t mind sacrificing his son; he believed that much in the promise.

You will notice that God didn’t stop him until he was already plunging the sword down. God does not intervene when you lift it, see; he waits until you are already committed. God will never stop you while you are raising, while you are thinking it over; you are still thinking when you are raising the knife up. So he tells you to do anything. He won’t stop you if he’s giving you any kind test at all until you are committed to go all the way. Then he says stop. You have to take the step. I used to love it when I went hang gliding all the time and you can’t go and take only one or two steps, you must take three steps in order to get off that mountain. But once you have taken that third step, you are already committed, there is no stopping, you can’t change your mind, you can’t say now wait a minute the wind isn’t right, you figure that all out before you leave. The wind has got to be coming straight in at you, it can’t be coming in at more than a 45 degree angle into the mountain, at you, otherwise, it is just going to blow you over. You got to have it right, but when you step off, you have no more than three steps. The stronger the wind, you may not even get the first step off. The first leap and you’re flying. It is called commitment. Same thing when he raised the knife. He didn’t raise it and stop him when he was raising the knife, only after the knife began to be plunged down towards the son. So his son, looking up at that knife coming down, recognized that God meant business with him. (His son was not 12 years old. He was close to 40 years old. He knew better.) God wants us to make a solid commitment that what he speaks is going to happen. Even though we don’t see it happening in front of us. So Abraham didn’t live to see it, but yet saw it. Because he talks as if Abraham was still alive, because He says “Before Abraham was, I am.” Because Abraham still liveth. Though he is dead in the flesh, he is still alive in the spirit.

With this then we see the promise. So the promise was given to Abraham of the Holy Spirit that would come. But Abraham had to make a covenant with God so that all these things would be fulfilled. What was the covenant?

Now the promise to Abraham was the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But what was the other baptism that he was referring to was being baptized into Christ in water baptism. Remember Nicedimus came to the Christ and said “How might I inherit eternal life?” and Jesus said “You must be born again, translated from the Greek, “You must be born from above.” Except a man be born of the water and of the spirit or he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Well, we found out that the kingdom of God was not a place, it is a person. That is why Jesus said that the kingdom of God is in your midst when he stated:

“Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” He was in their mist but they didn’t recognize him as being the individual, they though that it was a different place there were supposed to go to. But it also says:

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” Now he is tells you the kingdom of God is a person. It is not a place. Seek ye first the Christ and HIS righteousness, the kingdom of God “and all these things shall be added unto you.” So if you are baptized into Christ “endo” you have put on the Christ you have put on a garment. Now when you make the covenant now with God, now it says in Galatians 3;

28 There is (no difference between) neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, but it just finished saying here in verse 18 and 19 that Abraham’s seed was the Christ, not “seeds” as of many but “seed’ as of one. The promise was made to the “seed”. But it says now that “if you’ve been baptized into Christ” in water baptism, making a covenant, it doesn’t say that there, making a covenant with him, now you are Abraham’s seed, you have become it, you have become the Christ. That is why He said that is why I am the head and you are the wife – you are no longer two, but you are one. So you are no longer under the law. You are no longer under the law of bondage but under grace. Now that means that if you are Abraham’s seed now you are an heir in verse 29 “according to the promise.”

And you must keep them! But if you are under the law because it says that the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. The purpose of the law was to show us our sin. If there is no law there is no sin. You haven’t transgressed anything. You had to make a law first and then you have to violate the law in order to be a transgressor. Same as you come before the courts. If they say that you tried to do something illegal, but if you bring it before the court that there is no law saying that it is illegal, out it goes. They must make a law first and say thou shalt not whatever, first and then notify the public that it is illegal to do such and such. It gives the public enough time to recognize it. Buckle your seat belt law. They have to give enough time for all the people to be informed of that law – sending it out in the mail, putting big signs up, putting it on the radio and whatnot so they have a period of grace where they will not exercise that law against the individuals giving a learning period of time so everybody has knowledge of it. A cop picks you up without a seat belt and instead of giving you a ticket right away says were you aware that there is a law on the books now that you must wear your seat belt? Well, gee, I didn’t hear about that. Well, maybe they hadn’t yet heard about it. But the longer the period goes they then say that you are without excuse any longer and the law then goes into full effect.

First God changed his name from Abram to Abraham and said “This is my covenant.” But what was the sign of the covenant that God made with Abraham. He says this in:

9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed (there is the Christ that we studied in Galatians) after thee in their generations (in their bloodlines, their progeny).

10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed (the Christ, which we are now) after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.

11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token (we looked it up in the Hebrew and it means a sign, a token) of the covenant betwixt me and you.

And you look at other scriptures talking about the Sabbath. Why was the Sabbath given? The Sabbath was as a token, as a sign of the covenant.

12 Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.

So when they kept the Sabbath it was a sign to other nations that it was a covenant that God had made between them and God. A covenant, a sign of the covenant. Because they could not see that they were circumcised in the flesh unless they dropped their drawers. But it was an outward sign to the nations that they made a covenant with God by keeping the Sabbath. That was the purpose of it. So when I was in prison and they brought in the Seventh Day Adventists in who strongly believe on the Sabbath being Saturday, I pointed out to them that in Scripture, it talks about the Sabbaths because there is two during the week, there wasn’t one. There was the Sabbath of the weekend but there was also the Wednesday Sabbath. But it showed that he purpose of the Sabbath was as a sign, a token of the covenant between god and man and it didn’t have to be kept anymore strictly because Christ becomes our Sabbath. So you can chose any day of the week that you want to. And now in the last fifteen years science has learned that every seven days your body shuts down and wants to shut down to rest same as you sleep every night, but every seven days the body wants to quit and if it doesn’t the body doesn’t rejuvenate itself during that day when you do nothing. You can pick any day you want. The body has a time clock and on that time clock, it doesn’t have to be a Saturday or a Sunday, it can be any day, seven days a week. So when I learned this then the lord commanded me to take any day I chose to stop. Betsy chose Sunday. So Sunday, I don’t do anything, we rest, sleep or whatever, we do no manner or work that your energy cells are necessary or your muscle cells are necessary to do any labor so your body is at rest. No you can go through the week like gangbusters during the other six days. You watch what amount of energy you have. Otherwise, going seven days a week and working out there and then coming home and do all your work at home, painting and what not and your exhausted continually. Your body has to have that, period. But religious leaders use it as a bondage. You have got to keep that Sabbath holy, period and that is the only reason, because God stated it. But Jesus was working on the Sabbath. But He said ;”Did God make the Sabbath for man or did He make man for the Sabbath?” I am the Sabbath. I am Lord of the Sabbath. Of course when he said that they were ready to stone him to death because he made Himself out to be God. I am Lord of the Sabbath. I am the one that created you, you fool.

So getting back to chapter 17 in Genesis, here he says that the sign of the covenant is the circumcision

13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.

16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

There was no promise given to Abraham about his wife having a son until He made the covenant with Abraham. Then, He throws in something else. Your wife’s name is going to be changed from Sarai to Sarah, meaning princess, but she is going to bear a son this same time next year. Now she was ninety and here is Abraham at ninety-nine. But we just read in Galatians 3 that in order to become a son of God you have to be baptized, you have to put on a new garment.

What was promised to Sarah? A new son! Watch the analogy. Here you have a promise made. Be circumcised. And then adds to this, that not only are you to be circumcised but I will send the promise of the Holy Spirit through you and your seed and that seed was Christ but immediately the next verse says were going to change the name of your wife to mean a promise, your going to be a father of nations, Abraham, that’s the meaning of it, but her name is going to be changed to Sarah and she will bear a son which represents the analogy in the new testament that when you receive and make the covenant with God, you become a son of God. As Sarah bear a son, so too you become a son of God, you become the seed of Abraham. It says “If ye be Christs ye are Abraham’s seed. So her representing, you know she had a real son by the name of Issac, so too the analogy in the new testament is that you become a child of God yourself through the promise. But God gave it to Abraham without the covenant made first. He says, now look it, I’ve already been telling you before it even happened that I’m going to have a covenant made. The sign or the token of the covenant is you shedding your blood, but I’m going to show you that I’m giving you a son even though I hadn’t told you before, that represents you, your new creation, becoming the son of God, the child of the Almighty through the new testament, the promise. Now there is the promise of the Holy Spirit and there is a covenant that must be made, both things. Jesus said to Nicodemus, you must be born from above, you must be born of the water, there is your water baptism, the covenant, and of the Spirit. “…wait for the promise”, he said, “that you have heard if me.” in Acts 1:4. While I am with you, you can raise the dead, you can cast out demons, you can do everything but when I am away form you, you can do nothing. Go sit and wait for me and when I come you will be able to do all of the things I have taught you and more. Imagine, it never said that the shadow of Jesus ever cured anybody. And here comes Peter and it says that his shadow fell on somebody and cured him. You talk about Jesus blessing his disciples and sending them out and yet Paul blessed aprons and sent the aprons out and whoever they touched then they were healed. You shall do these things and more. Paul believed it and he exercised it. If you don’t believe it you can’t exercise it. It won’t work.

The promise that is made here in Genesis is through the circumcision as a token, as a sign of that covenant. The sign of that covenant. Now, we come to the new testament and we come to the gospel of John.

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power (the exousia – the right, the privilege or the ability) to become (in other words you are not the child of God but you have the right to become the child of God) the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, (three types of children) nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?

21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?

23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

In other words, they understood from the scriptures, no one was allowed to baptize unless you were one of those three. You say you are not Elias, you are not the prophet and you are not the Christ, then what gives you the authority to do any baptizing? So they already recognized what baptizing meant. Under the old law. Where is your authority? Now watch.

26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;

27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.

31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.

32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.

33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?

39 He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.

3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

4 And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers (that is a terrible thing to say, that was one of the worst cuss words you could ever say to anybody), who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones (Ye also as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood – see the spiritual meaning here) to raise up children unto Abraham.

10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost (and look what’s added), and with fire:

12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?

15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer (or allow) it to be so now: for thus it becometh (or is necessary for) us to fulfil all righteousness (why would He be going into the water for when he is already perfect? He is already God in the flesh, there would be no reason to do it unless his baptism was representing for all the world. He took on our sins and the transgression of us all not just of the believer, but of the none believers. He took on the sin of the world and the sin of the world is unbelief in him. Well if they have never believed in Him, how can they reject Him? How can they be sent to hell when they have no knowledge? But yet we in the ministry say we have got to get all of our missionaries out there or they are all gong to hell, so we have to preach Christ to them so that they won’t all of to hell. Well when God came he died for the whole world, but those that accepted Him as Lord and Saviour get a special privilege, to become one with God now, so instead of waiting for paradise, paradise can be indwelling in you now and the promises and fulfillment can be given to you now because you chose to accept the Christ now – there is what the saving is, not to be saved away from eternal hell but saved from yourself – can you imagine living in a hell that only had memories of evilness, of doubt of only negative thoughts all of the time – that’s what a pure hell is which we can discover later on but watch the words here - Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh (or is necessary for) us to fulfil (or to be completed) all righteousness). Then he suffered him.

16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Notice God never declared Him publicly to be the son of God until He was baptized in water. He had not been filled with the Holy Spirit yet until He came up out of the water. Then when He was both water baptized and filled with the Spirit, then God declared Him to be the son. So too, when you get baptized in water and filled with the Holy Spirit, you are now called the son of God. That is why Nicodemus asked How might I inherit eternal life? Ye must be born again of the water and (the promise) Spirit. You can’t become a son of God unless you are born of the water and of the spirit. It is just like the child being in the womb. It is not the child yet. It hasn’t come out into the light yet until it comes by water. Notice the water breaks first. There is your analogy in the spirit. You’re in the womb, you’re in the water, you’re protected, you were growing, you have the right and the privilege to become that son, but until you are fully mature and until you are delivered by the water, you don’t even see the light. When you come out of the water, what is the first thing the child needs? Milk, representing, the Word of God. You have got to be on the breast, you have got to be on the milk, you have to have the sustenance you can’t see properly, you can’t do anything else properly. So too the new child of God needs all this nourishment, all the Word of God. Here comes your spiritual revelation again.

Notice it talks about something very important. It said Elijah, Elijah? Art thou Elijah the Pharisees asked John the Baptist? Art thou that prophet? Art thou the Christ? No, I am none of them. But watch. Go to the very last chapter of the Old Testament in Malachi.

Genesis 9:15-17 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh: and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. 17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth. (information on flood)

Acts 7, 45-49 Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David; 46 Who found favor before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob. 47 But Solomon built him a house.

48 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven (Body of Christ) is my throne and earth is my foot stole: or what is the place of my rest? 50 Hath not my hand made all these things? Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost; as your fathers did, so did ye.

Is it God's Will the you be healed or in good health?