Becoming: When You Step Into Who God Says You Are
Pastor Nick Scheske | Baptism Celebration | Sunday, April 27, 2025
Matthew 5:3
God blesses those who recognize their need for Him, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
You see, Baptism is ALWAYS the next step for someone who goes all in with Jesus!
Matthew 3:13
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.
Baptize - From the Greek word “baptizō”, which literally means “to immerse” or “to submerge under water.”
Matthew 3:13
But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
Matthew 3:15-17
Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment, heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Henri Nouwen writes (Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World. - 1992), “First, you are what you do. Secondly, you are what you have. Thirdly, you are what other people say about you.”
NOTICE! When the father says this… Jesus, He hasn't done anything yet, doesn’t have anything, Nobody has said anything about him! And the voice of God to Jesus is… “You are mine… You didn't have to, but of course you did”... And from that moment… for thousands of years… the one thing that all believers, every denomination, believe is that when we accept Jesus into our lives, the next step is to follow His example and publicly identify with him in baptism…
OUTWARD REPRESENTATION OF AN INWARD DECISION
What Baptism Represents:
1. Death – Going under the water represents dying to your old self—your old way of living without God.
2. Burial – Staying under the water for a moment shows the old life being buried—gone.
3. Resurrection – Coming up out of the water is a picture of new life—raised to walk in the new way of Jesus.
It’s powerful because baptism says publicly, “My old life is over. Jesus has forgiven me. And now I’m living a new life under His reign.”
Baptism doesn’t save you—Jesus saves you.
Baptism is how you go public with what Jesus has already done inside you.
“Following Jesus doesn’t just mean agreeing with what He said—it means walking in how He lived. Following his example… Don’t get it twisted, “The invitation of Jesus isn’t just to admire His life, but to adopt His way.” In fact, “You can’t claim the name of Jesus and reject the way of Jesus.” And the way of Jesus was baptism…
Meets Simon -> impulsive, unpredictable, and a bit of a hothead. He spoke too soon. He acted without thinking. And Jesus says, “I’m going to call you Peter… the Rock.” A rock? Doesn’t tell him, explain to him, how it’s gonna happen… just says “Follow Me”. Peter followed, And his obedience, not his perfection, opened the door for Jesus to transform him into the steady leader of the early church. John was ambitious, reactive, and quick to anger.
At one point, (Luke 9) He and his brother James literally asked Jesus to call down fire from heaven on people who didn’t welcome them. Jesus didn’t cancel them. He called them: “Follow Me.” Just respond! And over time, through proximity and obedience, John—the same one who once wanted fire from heaven—is later known as “the disciple Jesus loved.” And when you read His letters are saturated with grace and love. That’s transformation. That’s what Jesus does.
Matthew, when Jesus called Matthew, Tax collector…destroyed every relationship you have… would have been a man whom all men hated. And Jesus says “Follow Me” in humility... Matthew simply gets up, leaves everything and follows him... and followed him... In Mark and Luke’s version of the story, he’s called Levi. But in his own Gospel, he goes by Matthew—which means ‘gift of God.’ It’s as if the moment he got up from that tax booth to follow Jesus, he stepped into a whole new identity. Jesus didn’t need to rename him out loud—He redefined his life with a single invitation: “Follow Me.”
That’s what God is saying to someone today… “Follow me!” Today, publicly take the next step into truly following Jesus, and be water baptized. Friends… The time is here, God’s reign is now, change the way you think, and believe the good news.
If you’re far from God. If you recognize, if you know you need God in your life, if you’ve never said, God you reign, let me lead you in prayer. “Jesus I recognize my need you. I’m sorry for living without you. I believe Jesus died, he was buried and He rose again for my sins.. I believe in my heart today Jesus IS my Lord and Savior. Today I say you Reign You’re in charge, Jesus, Come into my life. Change me. Today, I give you my life!