Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 97

April 7;      Luke 3:21;       47/260(IV);      ‘Here He Comes’

Luke 3:21 When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.

The Lord Jesus by prayer and His sensitivity to the Holy Spirit knew the time had come for His earthly ministry to begin.  Remember, according to Philippians 2, Jesus left deity in heaven and came to earth as a Man.  Until He was water baptized by John the Baptist and the Holy Spirit came upon Him to empower Him, He did not preach, teach, heal or cast out demons.  Verse 23 tells us that the Lord Jesus was about 30 when the power of the Holy Spirit came upon Him.  We know that His ultimate reason for coming to earth as a Man was to become our sins and sicknesses, be punished for them so that we would not be and raise from the dead the first born of all creation.  Our wonderful Lord did this for us and when we accept what the Bible teaches concerning Jesus’ redemptive work on our behalf we are born again.  The Lord Jesus, as we say often, also came that His life would be an example to us of how an overcoming, sincere Christian should live and minister. I never thought live could be so exciting and rewarding until I understood Jesus’ example and my ability to continue His eternally important work on the earth.  We have the privilege and really the responsibility to minister to anyone and everyone we can daily.  The Word of God is truth and is what the lost need to hear to change their lives.  I have the ability to know the Word so that I can present it in a manner someone can understand and receive it.  I, because I am baptized in the Holy Spirit have the same power to heal that Jesus ministered by.  All of us can do this.