165: Days Before Baptism

It is true, that the Devil will make a way for you to withdraw your desire to obey the lord.

Days before baptism, I am having depression. And I almost cry every night, which honestly, I want to just shut my world and leave the Christian world for a while. This is such a heavy feeling.

Until now I feel this heaviness in heart. And situations at home just trigger my weakest points. Last night, I just have this really heavy feeling and I prayed that, please Lord, take this pain away.

Anyways… I promised that nothing is going to prevent or stop me from doing the will of God. It’s just sometimes, I feel so down. Hmm… I remember what Pastor Mhan told us (the baptism candidates). The Bible says, (I forgot the verse), that God is above our heart, so no matter what our heart tells us, just stay believing.

Here’s what Pastor Mhan taught us regarding Baptism.

First, he told us about Eternal Security, or that Salvation cannot be taken away from us. Once we received Jesus Christ as our Saviour, it will always be there, forever. Ate Fely, (my teacher in the Discipleship class), taught us from the Bible that the as a child of God, we can never be taken away from His hands.

BUT, sometimes as human, we FEEL that we are not SAVED.

And this is what pastor Mhan shared to us. (oh Gosh! I should learn to remember those Bible verses! At least, I was able to remember the outline.)

We sometimes feel that we are not saved due to the following reasons.
1.) Sin
(Remember that God has forgiven our past, present and future sin)
2.) Our heart sometimes tells us that we are not.
(Remember that God is above our hearts)

Second, Pastor Mahn taught us what Baptism is all about.

IN BAPTISM:

1.) RIGHT CANDIDATES – believer, the people who received Jesus Christ

Pastor Mhan sited a story (found in Acts I think). The story is about Philemon (? Im not sure), and a Eunoch. Philemon baptized ONLY the Eunoch after the gospel was shared to the Eunoch. They saw a body of water along the way, and that is where the Eunoch is baptized.

(Art alert! Though I am not sure, I think Pastor Garry dela Torre is the one who shared to me the Doctrine of Salvation, circa January 13, year I cannot remember.. yet. Cool huh… I just thought that, why in the world would I remember January 13 for no reason? Why that date rings important to my mind? And every time I remember this date, there’s a blur image of Pastor Garry. Why? Why? I cannot think of any important date aside from my birthdate. Anyway, next …)

2.) RIGHT MOTIVE - Love towards God

One of the last commandment of Jesus Christ before he ascended was to spread the Gospel and Baptizing them. It is found at the last chapter of Matthew.

Jesus also said, If ye love me keep my commanments. Jn 14:15

Direct to the point.
One must be baptized because not of any reason like the church requires it or the pastor asked someone to. It’s a personal decision.. And if you would do something for the Lord, it is because YOU LOVE THE LORD. In short, obey because of love.

3.) RIGHT METHOD - Immersion

Unlike the Catholic’s version of their so-called ‘baptism’ (if I remember it right it is called “Rhamtizo which means partially wet), Biblical Baptism means immersion. It came from the word ‘baptizo’ which means FULLY WET. Not just a part of the body, but the whole body to be submerged fully under water.

Baptism is a symbolism of the Gospel – the DEATH, BURIAL and RESURRECTION of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ died for man, and so by accepting Jesus Christ, our sins DIED as well and BURRIED, so as we ARISE with this new life we are new and clean in the sight of God.

4.) RIGHT AUTHORITY – the Church

Just as there is a Right Candidate for baptism, there is also the Right Authority. Who are the authorized people who can perform this act? According to the Bible (in the verse which I could not remember), the one who is qualified to the baptism are the ones who are ordained. Most likely, the head pastor of a church is the one authorized to do the baptism.

After the baptism, technically speaking, you became a member of the church. (I remember the Bible story when 3,000 people was baptized. That’s the passage I forgot).

There, you became a member of the church where you can serve God through a ministry.

At the end of the meeting with Pastor Mhan, he told us that we should really pray that nothing unusal would happen because the Devil will be making a way to stop this act of obedience towards God.

And that what started this entry.
There is a struggle in my heart, because Art is still wounded because of recent events.

But hey, remember that God is above everything, including our emotions.

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