Home Improvement

Home Improvement

I take you to be my lawfully wedded wife or husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do us part.

Psalms 127:1 NKJV
1 Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.

Psalms 127:3 NKJV
3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord , The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Psalms 127:4 NKJV
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth.

Matthew 7:24-27 NKJV
24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

One home is built on the rock and one home is built on the sand. The determination of which home falls and disintegrates and which home stands is based on you and I hearing the sayings of Jesus Christ and then, after hearing, putting them into practice.

Jesus warns us that against every home or family there will be pressure that will come to bear, described as rain, floods, and wind. It will test our home as to whether we have built it properly.

Hear the word, read the word, and do what the word says!

James 1:25 NKJV
25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

This verse tells us that not only are we wise, but we will also be blessed (happy).

God gives us the recipe for happiness for a family. God’s word and his teachings will hold us like an anchor in life’s storms.

We’ve become experts at hiding what we don’t want others to see. When we refuse to deal with past issues, we cover them up and then lose touch with our real selves. We hide and cover our wounds. There is self-rejection, low self-esteem, and a lack of confidence in who we are as human beings.

Isaiah 61:1-3 NKJV
1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord , And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord , that He may be glorified.”

There are six types of people that Jesus was anointed to heal:
1. The poor
2. The brokenhearted
3. The captives
4. Prisoners
5. Mourners
6. The spirit of heaviness

Jesus preached good tidings,
He heals the brokenhearted,
He proclaims liberty to the captives,
He opens the prison to the prisoner,
He comforts and consoles those who mourn, He gives us beauty for ashes, the oil of joy, and the garment of praise.

Matthew 6:33 NKJV
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

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Why Water Baptisms

Why Water Baptisms

Three baptisms in the New Testament:
1. John’s baptism
2. Christian baptism
—not the same
3. Baptism in the Holy Spirit

“Baptize” – “Baptizo” in the Greek: “to immerse”

John’s Baptism

John the Baptist baptized in water into repentance

Mark 1:2-5 NKJV
2 As it is written in the Prophets: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.” 3 “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord ; Make His paths straight.’ ” 4 John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 5 Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

Matthew 11:13 NKJV
13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

1. Repentance—a decision, not an emotion
2. Public confession of sin
3. Evidence of a changed life—evidence of repentance

Luke 3:8 NKJV
8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.

Luke 3:10-14 NKJV
10 So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?” 11 He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.” 12 Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.” 14 Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?” So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”

John’s baptism after Pentecost was no longer accepted as valid.

Acts 19:2-5 NKJV
2 he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Matthew 3:13-15 NKJV
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” 15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.

Romans 5:1 NKJV
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Justified – acquitted; made righteous; declared not guilty

We complete our righteousness through baptism.

Baptism is our identification with Jesus.

Romans 6:3 NKJV
3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?

Romans 1:4 NKJV
4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

Jesus was condemned by the Jewish and Roman courts and was put to death, but God the Father reversed the conviction and raised Him up, declaring He was righteous.

It wasn’t enough in the early Church to say “I believe”; believers had to act out their belief by being baptized.

Matthew 28:19-20 NKJV
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Water baptism is a commitment to discipleship.

Requirements for Christian water baptism:

1. Hear or accept the Gospel
2. Believe Jesus died, was buried, and rose again

Mark 16:15-16 NKJV
15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

3. Repent

Acts 2:38 NKJV
38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

4. Have a good conscience before God

I Peter 3:21 NKJV
21 There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

Romans 10:9-10 NKJV
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 10:13 NKJV
13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Acts 8:35-36 NKJV
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”

Acts 8:38 NKJV
38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.

Acts 10:47-48 NKJV
47 “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? ” 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days.

Romans 6:3 NKJV
3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?

Romans 6:5 NKJV
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,

Romans 6:11 NKJV
11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Reckon – to consider and be convinced

I Corinthians 10:1-2 NKJV
1 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,

We are baptized unto Jesus—brought under His leadership by the Spirit, and no longer slaves to sin.