Mathew 4 - After Baptism

By Odon Bulamba

It’s a joy to be here this morning.  Today we are going to read together Mathew 4 & Luke 4. I am going to share with you about the baptism and what Jesus went through.  First, I praise God for these girls (Leah, Rebekah, and Anna) being baptised on 02 02 2020.  If you read it backwards, it is also 02 02 2020.  This has only happened 01 01 1010.  It’s an amazing coincidence that means a lot that they were baptised on this day.

We don’t get baptised because we love water but because it is a command from the Lord.  To make the command strong in what we believe, Jesus Himself came down and accepted to be baptised by immersion.  When He got baptised, it was just in a river.  It was a normal day but it was a special day in heaven because a voice came down from heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son”.

When our girls got baptised, it wasn’t just because everyone does it.  When Jesus was baptised, something happened in heaven.  That was the beginning of the tough journey for Jesus.  When you get baptised, it is a day of joy but the journey of becoming a Christian and serving the Lord starts now.

In some churches, they give you a ring and put it on your finger so that from now on you are a true believer.  If I take off the ring and put it somewhere, does that mean I lose my alliance with God?  Your alliance with God should be more than a ring that you can take off.  Be a Christian forever. 

Don’t be a Christian because the situation is tough for you and you need God to help.  For example, some will pray to God, “If you change my situation, I will give my life to you”.  If you pray in this way, you are lying to yourself and making a wrong decision.  We must decide to give our lives to Jesus and let Him control our lives.

The day Jesus was baptised, Jesus didn’t stay there but moved to the wilderness.  The Spirit took Him to the wilderness.  When you give your life to Jesus, the first thing you must do is let the Spirit to take you somewhere, ask the Holy Spirit to lead you and accept the Holy Spirit to take you to the right direction.  If you accept Jesus but you give restrictions to the Holy Spirit, then you won’t be able to serve your Lord in the right way. 

Imagine coming from a river where there is plenty of water and now Jesus is heading to the desert where there is no water.  A few minutes ago, He was in a river and now He is somewhere dry.  He spent 40 days with no food.  When you leave somewhere and you have lost everything and don’t have access to all that you had previously, how are you going to decide to live? 

My ancestors 100 years ago didn’t know clothing, they walked naked.  Still today, in some places in Kenya they still walk naked and believe clothes are a curse.  One time I went to take the gospel to such a place and I was told that I had to walk naked like them before I could enter.  I prayed, “Lord, is this correct”.  Then a thought came in mind, when Jesus was crucified, He was left naked.  It was a tough decision to take off all my clothes and then read my Bible.

It feels morally incorrect and contradictory but because their souls need the gospel, I decided to do so.  Now these people wear clothes and have several churches.  This was God’s plan for them.  If I didn’t accept their rules and then teach them about God, clothing, and humanity, maybe they couldn’t accept Jesus at all.

Satan came to Jesus in the wilderness and gave three big temptations.  There are only three types of temptations in our lives and Jesus went through all 3.  The first one is “the lust of the flesh”.  It wasn’t Jesus fault to feel hungry and this is not a sin but because Jesus’ body needed food, that was the first temptation.  Satan came with that temptation. 

Some people feel like drinking alcohol or stealing.  This is the lust of the flesh.  Satan uses the path of what your body wants.  The lust of the flesh does not last long.  If you say no, the temptation will go. Someone can feel like a cigarette but then they can tell themselves no.  It is a matter of decision.  It is a simple decision that any person can make.  We all have the ability to say no to the lust of the flesh. 

We have the power to defeat satan.  He will run away from us by simply saying no and resisting him.  This morning, my aunty rang me and I was feeling sick myself.  I was in my bed and I wondered if I should go to church.  I told my body, “On the day they bury you what are you going to do?  I have no time to waste”.  I decided to come.  I felt dizzy driving here but now I am good.  It is up to me to decide where should God want me to be.  Where does the Holy Spirit take me?

You can have the intention of stealing.  You look left and right and take it because no one sees you but if you look up, someone is watching you from above so you can easily tell yourself no.

My mum is very old now.  Two days before Christmas, she went to the second hand shop and wanted to buy a small box.  The owner of the shop said, “Look, instead of buying this box, I have one that my grandmother used to keep.  You can buy that instead”.  She bought out a small box.  My mum’s intention was to keep money in the box.  Mum bought the box and it fell onto a stone on the way home and it smashed.  Inside the small box was a small bag of pure gold. 

Mum didn’t know if she should take it back to the family or keep it.  Her mind was divided.  In such a case, what will you do?  She decided to take the gold back to the owner of the shop.  The lady was surprised, “My grandmother never told me, what can I give you as a reward, here is a hug and a blessing”.  My mum thought, “Maybe I should have kept half”.  Mum’s children told her, “You are so dumb, you should have kept it”.

Recently, a person came to her and said, “Thank you for giving the gold back.  For the gesture you did, I have a surprise for you”.  Sometimes we do things according to our will and thoughts but God has a different plan where He will put you in a challenge and you have to decide.  This is where Jesus told satan, I am hungry that is true but I cannot change bread from stones because it is not written that way.  Check the Bible to know what you can and can’t do because your life doesn’t belong to you now.

The man said to mum, “I bought this mansion a few years ago, you can take it”.  My mum is 86 years old and didn’t think she could take care of such a big mansion at her age.  The man suggested it could be used as a house for those girls who are victims of rape, “They can stay here and we will provide food, water, and clothing to say thank you for bringing back the gold to us”. 

The man said, “All that gold we sold and we have purchased this house, land, and the remaining money will help those girls”.  Whatever we lose in the world, we gain.  When you say, I lose something, God will tell you, no you didn’t let me prepare it in another way, I will give it back to you.

The second temptation is “our eyes”.  Satan took Jesus on top of the mountain and showed Him, look all of this is mine, I can give it to you if you bow down.  Satan uses that part of our bodies frequently.  Looking at Colleen, that is a nice top.  Looking at Odon, ugly top.  We judge others by looking.  We envy by looking.  Because of what we see, we kill each other, we want to steal, become aggressive and sometimes insult people.

How often have your eyes led you to sin?  When you see something, anger can rise up in you.  When you see something, you may become judgemental or a tough situation may rise up or jealousy because you need the same thing and that leads to envy and hatred.

Don’t look around.  My father was among the most rich people in Africa in the early 30s but on the day he passed away, he had nothing.  We used to have a room in our house where bank notes stored.  We had servants and some were there just to count bank notes and put as bricks in that room.  When my dad became sick, money couldn’t give back his health.  Money couldn’t buy back his life.

When they buried my father, he took nothing with him.  He had plenty of nice clothes and shoes and jewellery but they selected one shirt and one pair of trousers and no jewellery or shoes when he was buried.  When we went to the cemetery, I jumped into the tomb because I didn’t want my dad to leave me.  Although I am his son and wanted to go with him, I was told you can’t go with him.

What are you planning to take that day?  We have investments, nice cars, house etc.  Who are you investing for? Yourself, the next generation, or God?  It is not a sin to invest in this world but we must also invest in the Kingdom of God because that is where our treasure is kept.  To give to God money or to help others, it is a challenge.  Where do you invest? 

The third temptation is “pride”.  Satan took Jesus to a third level, “If you jump from here, angels will hold you”.  When you believe you are a child of God and you can do what you want, then pride will kill you.  People in Africa are extremely proud and that is what has destroyed Africa.

One time I travelled from one city to another.  This authority picked out people and said follow me.  He gave order to soldiers to arrest people for no reason and they went to jail because he wanted to prove he is the boss.  Some can kill for no reason except to prove that they are strong. 

I have seen people smash a baby against a wall to prove they don’t fear.  Pride is one of the things that made satan to be kicked out of heaven.  Satan continues to use that path, bringing pride to people which can lead people in a wrong way.

When Jesus went to pray at the mountain of olives, he knelt and prayed.  He saw something coming.  He said, “Let this cup not come on me,” but the will of God was something else.  In your journey as Christians, sometimes your will does not fit in the will of Jesus.  Jesus will say, “This is My will and although you have your will, My will must be done”.

Sometimes you can cry just as Jesus did with tears of blood but Jesus has His own will.  Today, many Christians want God to bow down before their will.  If God doesn’t want it, then it will never happen.  Many want to kill or steal to get what they want.  In your Christian your life remember not everything will be given to you unless God has a purpose to give it to you.  Mathew 7:7, God will give to you when you ask but not everything will be given as you expect.

If you ask because you have a desire of your flesh, then God may say no.  If you pray because others have it and you don’t, then God may say no.  Will you quit because God doesn’t give you what you wanted?  Some quit for that reason.  I’ve seen human beings say, “You are not my child anymore,” but they will still be there child.  When you tell God, “You are not my father anymore”, you will continue to be God’s child but you need to repent and keep walking by His side.

Put your pride aside and follow Jesus.  Jesus told us, remember olives produce oil and to get the oil the olives need to be crushed.  When you are crushed, that is the time of anointment, blessing, and you will produce oil.  That is not the time to run away because your body is suffering or because you don’t get what you need or because you don’t have what others have.

If you want to follow Jesus, carry your own cross.  Every single day, people tell you about the cross of Jesus.  People wear a cross around their neck believing they carry Jesus with them.  Even those next to Jesus carried their own crosses.  We must carry our own cross.  What did the cross of Jesus do?  Jesus was nailed to it and hung for six hours in pain on it.  The cross that you are carrying where are you taking it?  Golgotha?  Christ?

When you are crucified on your cross, who do you blame?  Since I have become a Christian, I don’t enjoy life anymore or gain money anymore, who do you blame?  Jesus on the cross did not blame but forgave.  How often do you forgive those that treat you harshly?  How often do you step back and say, yes they have done wrong to me but I need to love them and teach them? 

="EN-NZ">The Bible says we must love our enemies and pray for them.  When was the last time you visited your enemy and said I love you?  What sign of love do you show your enemies?  What is love for you?  If I ask a child if they love their father, how do you show it?  They will express what is love for them.  You and I as Christians, how do we show love to those we consider as enemies?  When we pray for them, what do we tell God?  Do you pray that they will be blessed?

Jesus said to the one next to him, today I will see you in paradise.  Will you tell your enemies that they can come to heaven with you?

The life of following Jesus is not easy but only requires to make the right decision.  We are on the earth today but tomorrow we will die or Jesus will come back.  When Jesus comes back, no one can stop it.  We will go by ourselves.  Prepare your way to go to heaven.  Whatever the Bible restricts, then take it as a restriction.  Do not sin.  No one will blame you if you don’t sin but if you do, the entire community will be on your back.  When you say no to sin, everyone will see that you reflect child of Jesus.

Baptism (Of Fire) Part V

By Odon Bulamba (15 March 2002)

Often people make fires when they are cold but when they are warm they forget that they were cold. In the summer months we forget that our fireplace exists, but when winter approaches there is a mad panic to gather wood and we sacrifice our time and money to have it. We use fire to warm up our houses so that our bodies don’t have to suffer from the cold, which means a fire comes in handy for us humans at certain times of the year. It is like Christians when they go through hard times; they call on God for a solution. When you fall sick you need God’s fire to burn out the disease and the same goes with Pastors and Evangelists before they preach, they seek God’s power so that God’s fire will be felt, however when it is all over, they forget that God’s fire exists.

So let’s think about a wood fire. When we have wood we can make fire, but if we can’t control the fire, it dies out. You need someone to watch over the fire, to control how it burns so there will be a right balance with the wood and fire. When a fire dies you know that it needs refuelling and this is how Christians must live, we must control our spiritual life every minute and the one who controls the fire is our conscience.

How many times in your life does your conscience control your actions? Remember Jesus said that I am the vine and you are the branches. The dry branches are the wood and the fire is God’s Spirit. The person who controls the wood and the fire is your conscience, and if your conscience is not able to control the fire, it will die. When winter comes and the house is cold, the very first thing parents ask their children when they come home from work is, why haven’t you made a fire Peter? And because of this, Peter might have to justify himself by saying he had just come back from rugby practice. So what are our justifications when we don’t have the power of God in us? What would you say if your fire has died out in your life?

Remember the very first day you were saved? What did you think about your future life? Were you keen to read your Bible and pray to get closer to God? How much did you fear sinning when Jesus was your new friend? Compare this day with today in your life and you will see that it was an unforgettable day, a day of joy knowing that you were God’s friend. But after a time our fire dies out and we go back to our old ways. However, our conscience is there to wake us up so that our fire will keep on burning.

So why doesn’t your fire keep on producing heat? Why do you let the cold come in and attack your spirit? If you are called, you must protect yourself, but if you neglect it, you will fall sick. When our spiritual fire has died out, our conscience wants to protect our spirit by telling us to repent, but if we don’t repent we will fall terribly ill. If you know you have stolen or lied and you ask people to pray for you to be transformed, are you really going to take your medicine? In the winter nobody wants to visit a cold house because it makes them feel terrible, so that is why some people just stay home and visit in the summer.

After winter people feel free and this is what we call recreation for those who are non-Christians. But God says blessed are those who gather their wood in the summer because they will need it in the winter. There is a saying in my country; it is good for people to break the bones while they still have teeth because when they are old their teeth are weak. To light a fire in summer is a good time because a lot more heat is generated. I remember when I was cold I drank hot tea without realizing that I had burnt my mouth, but after two days my tongue felt it.

When we are very cold it is difficult to feel the heat, and when the devil has turned us into a block of ice, it is hard for us to feel the eternal fire. When a fire is burning the wood becomes ash that is very hot. So what do people do with it? First of all you must have the right tools in your house to sweep it up. So what tools do you have in your heart to put things right with your God? Do you have a tool called advice from man? Do you have knees to bend down and pray? Do you know how to use the word of God? When you have a problem where do you find a solution?

Every house that has a fireplace has tools and these tools are there to prevent us from getting burnt. As man we go to sorcerers for protection and we forget that they themselves are not protected. Jesus said that Christians must be like pure gold that will go through fire and never be consumed. In New Zealand the government has advisors who you can go and see if you have a problem. One day I visited their office because I needed advice, so I asked him what should I do to solve all my problems? But he told me that he had problems as well that couldn’t be solved. So I went to him for a solution but he also needed a solution, so the only solution for us is to turn our eyes towards God because He is there to help us. He knows all the stages in our lives and He can change things to the way He wants.

I am short but by God’s grace I can be 2 meters tall, you might say this is impossible but with God it is not. When I was young I was tall and at some stage I stopped growing, and if you look at my son now you may think he will be tall when he is older but maybe he will be short. I shared with Peter about Zacchaeus who was 1.42meters tall and his wife was 1.95meters, so imagine the wedding in the church. When the Pastor says to Zacchaeus you may kiss the bride, Zacchaeus will have had to climb on a table to reach her lips, and maybe people will think it’s bizarre, but with God it is good because Zacchaeus was a man and his wife was a woman. What put them together was their conscience, like wood and fire that go together, and this means God’s plan in our lives.

When a branch is still on the tree it is alive, but when a farmer cuts it off, the branch loses its life. We as Christians don’t know the exact time when God will come into our lives, so accept what your conscience says and put things together to please your God.

1 Kings 18:24. “Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire-he is God. Then all the people said, what you say is good”.

This is Elijah’s story when he was on Mount Carmel arguing with Baal’s prophets. They needed fire to burn the sacrifice because they wanted to know whose God was a God of fire. So Baal’s prophets prepared the sacrifice with the water and wood etc and called on their god to send fire but there was nothing.

Churches today deceive many Christians by using an artificial fire. They gather up everything they need to make a sacrifice thinking that their church has everything, but instead of the Spirit lighting the fire to consume the sacrifice, a man comes with matches. Have you ever been to a Pentecostal church when they pray? Each Christian wants to impress the other by speaking another tongue, and you end up with 1000 tongues speaking at the same time. I am not saying they are wrong but among them there are false tongues, and it is not up to your Pastor to tell you to shut up, but rather your conscience. I believe speaking in tongues is a gift of the Spirit but people mock God without knowing it.

The church today takes out parts of the Bible and adds to it because they don’t believe that some verses or books apply for today’s church. What did Elijah do? Elijah mocked the prophets by asking them to wake their god up, and the Bible says that they took knives to cut themselves to show Baal their faithfulness.

Christians today hang on to their denominations even if the truth is not there because they want to show their Pastors their faithfulness. However, salvation does not come from a denomination.

When evening came Elijah saw that Baal’s god had done nothing so Elijah had his turn. Elijah took 12 stones and we all know that the cornerstone is Jesus Christ and we are the stones to build the church. When Elijah set up the sacrifice he soaked it with water and prayed to his God to send down fire, and the Bible says that fire came within a few seconds. The water is the Word of God, the wood is you and I, and the stones are those who are really in the Lord. To find the eternal fire in your life you must first have the knowledge God’s Word and you must practice it. Secondly you have to accept to be consumed by the fire by changing your behaviour according to God, and then you must pray and the Spirit of God will come down on you.

What happened to the prophets of Baal? The Bible says that they were put to death, and it is the same for the churches today, if they don’t produce anything good, God will put them to death. The Bible says that many will stand before Jesus confessing that they have wonders for Him, but Jesus will say I don’t know you so go to the eternal fire. We must produce a good quality fire to consume the wood, which is our behaviour.

What is it to have our behaviour consumed by fire? It means to die and put God first in your life. Every Christian must ask himself, will I please God by doing this? When you are eating, ask yourself this question, when you go for a walk, ask yourself this question because the answer can only be ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Many people feel in their hearts that the answer is no but they still do it. Remember that stealing a pin is no different to stealing a car because God will call you a thief and you will receive the same reward. To say no to your conscience will mean the eternal fire in you will never be lit. To have eternal fire alive in your life you must know what forgiveness is, if you sin then repent straight away and God will be pleased with you and the fire in you will become bigger.

Many people don’t say sorry to God for their thoughts but only when they steal or kill, and they keep on asking God for His power in their lives. If this is you then you are like the prophets of Baal who prayed all day and night for nothing. Repentance is very important so let your living conscience and not an elastic conscience lead you in the Word of God.

Every day the sun shines but when the earth turns it loses its heat and light. It is the same with us Christians; we must not accept our earth to turn so that it won’t see the sun. Let’s fight against the forces of this world (including our sins) so that it will not shield us from the light. Christians today live like the moon; moon shines only at night and gives off no warmth, we may give off light but there is no power in us. The sun has the power but the moon doesn’t. What will you gain if you show others your good works but you end up in the fire where the devil welcomes you with open arms?

The devil’s joy is just to whip you and torture you, so let’s be careful with the fire and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I hope you have an idea about the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

You must now pray for yourself and ask God to give you the eternal fire and to know how to put everything together as Elijah did. Also pray for those who you feel in your heart to pray for. Amen.

Baptism (Part IV)

By Odon Bulamba (15 February 2002)

Last time we spoke about water baptism and baptism the world gives Christians. Before Jesus reached the point of death He went through steps. Read John 19:19-22. When we are baptized in water we have to prepare a few things. Someone has to baptize us and our presence is also important. Pilate decided that Jesus would die with a crowd watching. The cross was there to crucify. This cross represents water baptism that we use. When you are baptized people are there to observe, but when you are baptized by the world they throw stones. By Jesus’ side there was a criminal who asked Him if He is the king who is going to save us. Jesus had nails in His hands and feet, a crown of thorns on His head and was tortured. When you become a Christian you accept to die for Jesus Christ, some people will think you are stupid but you will accept people to walk on your head and be humiliated. Jesus was very patient with His suffering.

Before being baptized we battle with Satan. If you were a thief Satan can tempt you and give you good opportunities to steal to see if you will accept or not.

When you go to the river your are dry but as you go into the water the body starts to experience a change. This change is to leave the drought and become wet. Your blood will not change color, your skin will not change color but what you wear will witness to people that you are wet. As Christians we have spiritual clothes that need to be wet. If we have sins the water is there to cleanse our sins for the water is the Word of God, and through this Word is sanctification through the blood of Jesus. I don’t say that when you are baptized in water you are purified, but it is a symbol that teaches you something. After your water baptism you change your clothes, and as Christians we must have the spiritual knowledge because through physical things God teaches us spiritual things that are deep. What does it mean to die with Jesus?

It is to accept to die to everything that is not God’s will. If you are taking drugs and it is not God’s will you must make the effort to change. Die to the desire of being a liar and after being resurrected with Jesus Christ you’ll have a new body. When Jesus was buried He had the same body as we have, but when He rose from the dead He had a new body, a body that was different to that of His death. The Bible says He had a pure body that could appear and disappear easily. From the time we are baptized we must have a body that can appear and disappear in the Lord.

When Thomas heard that Jesus was resurrected he went to the tomb to have a look. He tried to find the body of Christ asking, where is the body of Jesus? Many people will say this about you as a Christian, where are the lies my brother use to say? Where has the prostitution gone? There will be people like Thomas around you to find this body but will find the tomb empty. Now you can speak of the good news.

Read Joel 2:28-29. “And afterward I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions, even on My servants, both men and women, I will pour out My Spirit in those days”.

We are going to talk about the baptism of the Spirit or baptism of fire as some people call it. But before knowing about this we must think about fire. What is the definition of fire? It is hot, bright and needs fuel. What is fire? Who has never seen fire? What good is fire for our lives? It helps us understand the Holy Spirit in our lives. What is the importance of fire in our lives? It gives us light, heat, comfort, cooks food, protects us, form of energy, it burns, it can kill, refines, satisfaction, converts and transforms. Is there a fire in a car?

There are two kinds of fire, artificial and natural. From artificial fire we can also get energy. We also have two kinds of Spirits; we have the artificial Holy Spirit and the natural Holy Spirit. Natural comes from God and artificial comes from Satan. The devil disguises himself as an angel of light and that is why there are false prophets, false teaches, false apostles and evangelists today. They speak with power but have an artificial anointing that comes from the devil. Remember I talked about bank notes, there are false notes and true notes and they are hard to differentiate. If you are not aware, you can accept false bank notes by mistake. The devil uses the same principle with anointing. He knows the spirit of God is fire and that it can baptize people with miracles, so he imitates these gifts.

The Holy Spirit has different functions in the church of God and its functions are natural not artificial. The Holy Spirit gives us heat, light and prepares our spiritual food and makes it ready to eat. The Holy Spirit burns our hearts and the Holy Spirit consumes people’s lives. Everything mentioned about the Holy Spirit is correct. God made fire and wants us to study fire so we can know how the Holy Spirit works in people’s hearts. Many people don’t talk to their Christians about the baptism of fire because maybe they don’t know or where to start, or maybe they don’t know what is happening. I asked some Christians one day when they were baptized? Everybody would give a date, the name of the pool and what time, but when you ask them what day did the Holy Spirit baptize you, doubts arise. Why? Because they don’t know if they’ve been baptized by the Holy Spirit or not, and they don’t really know if the Holy Spirit baptizes people or not.

Make yourself ready and do a study on fire, it is a study that is deep and we cannot do it in one day, so to avoid confusion we will do it step by step. Without the baptism of fire you’ll never inherit the kingdom of God. You must be sealed with the Holy Spirit and it is important for every Christian. To have your name written in the Apostolic church book or the Baptist church book, will never give you the keys to heaven, to be baptized by the pope will not get you into heaven, but to be baptized by the Holy Spirit is a mark that will give you the kingdom of God. Study the Sun and what it produces as heat and power, and try to know what electricity produces, which is an artificial fire. So why did God want animals to be burned with natural fire rather than artificial fire?

Baptism (Part III)

By Odon Bulamba (13 February 2001)

When Jesus was baptized there was a sign. The Holy Spirit descended down like a dove and the heavens opened and a voice spoke; what did the voice say? This voice confirmed that Jesus was the Son of God and because John heard this voice he also believed Jesus was the Son of God. After this Jesus received another baptism, which was a sign for everybody.

There are two kinds of baptism, the baptism God gives us, which is good and the baptism the world gives us, which is to criticize us for our faith.

John 19:19-22 “Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the Jews read the sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write king of the Jews, but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews”. Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written”.

We can read that Jesus was crucified and receives a baptism. It is a baptism because He was given a name. Try to link the name given to Jesus and people who are baptized in the church. Before we were Christians we were sinners, we decided to crucify our sins and put our flesh to death. So what did your friends say? What did they say when you left the world of sin and you changed your life? Usually when you are saved your friends give testimonies and these testimonies are sometimes criticism, and the new convert becomes discouraged. This is the world’s baptism. Satan starts straight away attacking you by dividing your family and friends. When you leave your life of sin, old friends will leave you as well. Why? Because there is nothing you can share together, you might share a meal but never the Word of God or behavior. Everyone left Jesus. Pilate wrote the notice in three languages because everybody had to know, and these languages were used to write the Bible. These three languages the world spoke was also used to help our faith grow.

Example: what represents a worldly tongue; represents our actions. If someone abuses you, what will you do as a Christian? Although it may hurt at that time, you have to forgive and say this person doesn’t know what he is doing because this is what Jesus said. When you become a Christian everybody criticizes you and says, we’ll see how long it will last. This will come as a second language and if you are not patient you risk answering back in a wrong way! What did Jesus do? He kept quiet and said I forgive them.

How many times do we threaten others? How many times do we write names? To be a good Christian we must crucify our lives. We must give up all sins and let the world stone us, criticize us and write whatever they want on our walls, and then you will be baptized by the world. Pilate was right when he wrote Jesus king of the Jews because he fulfilled the prophecy that was given long ago.

Even though people were against what Pilate did, he spoke up and said, what I have written I have written. How many times do pagans talk about your faith? How many times do they say Michael is like this and that? Sometimes pagans judge us and say it is better to be like them then a Christian, why? Because our belief doesn’t bear good fruit or our faith doesn’t defend the glory of God. This is the first baptism for every Christian. We fight the world until they say you are the king of Jews. People can ask Peter for advice because his life is on the cross, he doesn’t lie, steal or kill anymore and his life is naked before everybody. Do you know why Jesus was crucified naked? So that nothing was hidden. As people look at our lives they should not see lies, hate or any sin hidden in us. What do you hide in your life? What do you hide in your thoughts or deep in your heart? This is where we must start to be baptized. So ask yourself, am I crucified? Have the nails been through my hands and feet?

After the crucifixion Jesus rose with a new body. If we want a new body we must crucify our actions. Christian life is hard but be patient because everything will pass. Have you worn a crown of thorns, not a crown of joy but of suffering? Since being a Christian, have you come across problems? Has the devil visited your family? If the devil has visited you then praise God because God confirms your baptism of the world. What does it mean when there is no attack from the devil? If the devil doesn’t attack you it means you belong to him because the devil never fights his own army. Whoever is called a child of God is always threaten by Satan.

It is like a hen protecting her chicks from an eagle. A hen can never say that an eagle has not attacked her chicks; also the eagle can’t say he has never attacked hens’ chicks. The eagle has a good eye and an objective to take what the hen has and eat it. This is what the book of John says about the devil. He roams around like a roaring lion waiting for someone to devour. Do you know how a lion hunts? A lion will attack the young and weak but if there are none, then he goes for the older prey. It is the same thing with the devil; he attacks at the beginning of your spiritual life because if you get to the next level you will be stronger. If you are not attacked by the devil you must ask yourself, do I have a problem or not? Jesus Christ received a new body, a body that doesn’t need to eat but goes through walls. We must reach this level of resurrection.


When you see that you’ve overcome what the world has, you can make a new step to confirm yourself as a Christian. Many Christians are baptized because they want to, others are baptized because they want to follow Jesus’ example. In Exodus 12 it is not written that the lamb had to be washed before the sacrifice, but it gives us an idea about the lamb and by reading this chapter you will discover that the lamb had to be washed. Many Christians are baptized because they want to be the image of the living God and are baptized to become a lamb. From here they say, I want to serve God all my life, and I want to sacrifice my life for others so they can find the light. Do you know what happened to the lamb in Exodus 12? The blood of the lamb was put on the doorposts of each house as a sign.

Some people say they want to sacrifice their life for others, they want to pray and fast so that people can find salvation, they want to evangelize so the world can be saved and they want to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. Some people are baptized for this reason. Others are baptized so the world will know they are Christians. It means that from today they are not Sadducees or Pharisees but Christians as it was in John’s time. Some Christians are baptized because it is law in their church. So what kind of baptism do you want? If you want this kind of baptism why do you want it?


Each Christian must ask himself, why was I baptized? Are the reasons why you were baptized being fulfilled? If not, how come? If yes, then where is the fruit? Is there any fruit?

There is a story in John 4 about the Samaritan woman. Jesus was sitting by the well and asked the woman to give Him some water. Jesus is life and He said to her you will life to the full. What we have from Jesus is life to the full so why can’t we give it to others? What have you given in your life? What is your plan to give from your life? Jesus said if you give Me water I will give you living water. As a Christian have you got a plan for your God to receive what Jesus wants to give you for your life? If you are baptized tomorrow what do you think you’ll give to Jesus so that Jesus can give you life to the full?

The Bible talks about a man named Elijah who visited a lady during a famine. This lady had little to give but gave it to Elijah; after she had given it there was a miracle. What little she gave Elijah blessed and her house was full. Do you know the story? This lady had very little food and thought she would die with her children. Elijah came and said I need to eat, the woman said I don’t have much to give you but I have a bit of oil. So Elijah said, give me the oil. Because she gave with an open heart she accepted to sacrifice her life and the life of her children, Elijah prayed for her and all her jars where full of oil. When you give a little, it will add to the anointing. We all know how important oil is for Christian life because it represents the anointing of the Holy Spirit but we will not look into this baptism yet.

For water baptism you must make up your mind and accept to serve your God and you will have life. If you get baptized and have no goals you are wasting your time, kneel down and ask your God if you are ready to be baptized or not. Jesus Christ who is God was on earth for many years and got baptized at 30, but when people reach a certain age today they want to be baptized immediately, so ask God if it is the right time for you. For us who were baptized long ago let’s try to plan something. After Jesus’ baptism He went somewhere, so where did you go? How did you prepare your ministry?

Question: when I (Michael) was baptized it was out of obedience to the word of God, what category do you put it in with the ones you have mentioned? I think God calls people one way or another, some are called when they are sinners and will change little by little. For example it took Paul 3 days to change and after 3 days he spent 3 years in the desert to study the Bible and to know the will of God. Some people are baptized but are not ready. Nothing is by chance in man’s life; God has different means to call people. It is like our houses, you can have many doors but each door does its own job. If you use the lounge door it means you don’t want to use the toilet door. Some people are called like Saul; he kept worshipping the dead and disobeyed God. Many kings had the anointing but were disobedient but at the last minute God gave them life again. This is what Paul means when he says we are called to perfection. Perfection comes at the time God has planned; it can take 1 year to 20 years to reach the level God wants you. The Bible says the end is better than the beginning. Amen!

Baptism (Part II)

By Odon Bulamba (8th February 2001)

What happens when a king has to be baptised? A king cannot go into the dirty river Jordan; this is why it changed to a christening. They took some water and put it into a container and said, if we pour this water on our prince he’ll become wet and this could humiliate him, so let us take a few drops of water and put it on his head because it is only symbolic. This is how the first baptism changed; from this time the universal church started to baptise this way. Also to immerse 1000 people was too much trouble. This was the second reason why it changed.

The Bible says we must die with Christ and be buried with Him. Christians must be immersed because it is a picture of dying with Christ and rising with Him in the resurrection, and those who can’t accept this way go against the Bible. We are called to be Christians and be baptised in an honest way.

Colossians 2:12 “Having been buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead”. Amen.

This how the Bible defines baptism, to die with Jesus Christ and be raised with Him. What does it mean to die with Jesus Christ? It means we must give up all our wrong doings with our physical bodies as Paul said, “it is no longer I that live but Christ that lives in me”. When we can fully give our lives to Jesus Christ we accept to die with Him. What do we do when someone dies? We go to the cemetery and bury them. When our physical actions die we must bury them completely. If you are a drunkard, you must bury this drunkenness, and when you see a drunk you'll say, I use to be like that. Have you ever seen someone laughing at a cemetery while burying his brother? As people enter a cemetery they become serious and their conversations change, why is this? It is because we fear death, but as Christians when we bury our sins, why don't we fear these sins? Why do we want to dig our sins up to play with them?

There was a man who confessed his sins 5000x. He would tell God and those around him that he was giving up drinking. A few days later he was drinking again so God took his soul. Our decision is essential and we cannot joke with sin. If we do, our baptism is nothing. Your name may be written in the church book but not in the book of life. When you are baptised in Congo you are given a membership card and you are counted as their Christians, but you are not Christians of any church but of Jesus Christ. Make sure your name is written in the book of life where Jesus is and not written in a book on earth. When I got baptised the Pastor asked me my name? He wrote my name with nice handwriting but I thought that if Jesus wrote my name I could jump for joy. The Pastor told me to shut up because I talked too much. I was right to say this and even though I was 12 years old, I spoke in a mature way. The Pastor didn't like what I said but a few years later he understood. Christ’s book? People then start fearing the Pastor instead of Jesus Christ.

If you want to be baptised go to your Pastor and ask him to explain what baptism is. Also ask him if baptism is important for Christian life and what are the changes that should take place?

The robber who was crucified next to Jesus wasn't baptised, but Jesus said you will be with Me today in Paradise. So how can this man go to heaven without being baptised if the Bible says that after baptism you'll be saved? Try to think in depth about what you are doing and this will help your faith mature, but if you give up wanting to understand because you think it is a custom woe to you. Try to ask your Pastor or the church more questions about baptism. We have two baptisms, the baptism of the Spirit and the baptism of water. The right baptism is done by immersion. Make sure the water is blessed and also be sure about the one who baptises you. On top of this, your conscience and final decision must be your own, be sure you are doing it to please God and not man. Protect your soul and spiritual life, do not allow man to play with your life and do not allow the devil to play with your life, but invite Jesus Christ to rule in your life and when Jesus will visit your life you will be safe.

Questions:

What do you mean by knowing the one who baptises you? When someone has a problem and you want to pray for that person you will talk with them, they will tell you where they are up to in their spiritual life. The one who talks with this person must have the gift of discernment to know what spirit is living in this person so they can help you be delivered.

What do you mean when the water must be blessed? The word of God is the water, Jesus says He is the word Himself, He also said He is the bread of life. Before giving the bread Jesus would always bless it before sharing it, so before preparing your exhortation you must bless the word and pray for it. Before burying someone you must dig up the dirt, and in the same way you must prepare for a baptism. We must pray for the water because the devil uses it a lot. 75% of magic happens under water and many devilish spirits live in water, so you must pray and take authority. If you are not careful preparing the water, the person being immersed can rise with impure spirits. This is why we must pray for the water.

In what name must we be baptised? Some people say the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and others say Jesus Christ. Which one shall we chose? You can be baptised with both names.

Is spiritual baptism different to water baptism? Yes, the baptism of the spirit is different to the water baptism. Remember Cornelius in Acts 10? He prayed and the angel came. First he received the Holy Spirit and then saw and received messages from the angel telling him to call Peter and Cornelius had not been baptised at this stage. Many people were baptised first then received the Holy Spirit, some people didn't received it until people laid hands on them, it doesn't mean they didn't have the Spirit but the Spirit wasn't acting in their lives. It is like the baptism of fire. You can have firewood, matches and petrol but you need someone to start the whole process. Many Christians have these three things in their lives but if you ask them, where is your fireplace, they don't know. That is why God sends someone to help you light the fire in the proper place.
Water baptism is a decision to turn your life to Jesus forever, to die and be raised with Him.

How many baptisms are there? Word baptism, baptism by anointing, water baptism by immersion, baptism of fire that is the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the baptism in the second body we'll have one day.

I Corinthians 15:29, “now if there is no resurrection what will those do who are baptised for the dead, if the dead are not raised at all why are people baptised for them?”

If there are no results why do we do it? Lack of knowledge pushes people to baptise people who are dead and if it is not this reason then it is for the devil's glory. In Congo, the water that dead people were washed in protected you. The water that Catholics use is called blessed water believing it can perform miracles. The dead are dead; there is nothing in-between a human who is alive and one who is dead. When someone dies he must go back to dust. The Bible doesn't say to baptise your brother when he is dead, so why do people do it? It is because they have another book but woe to man who put their trust in man.

When John baptised people he would speak repentance, but Jesus was also baptised by John, what do you think about this? If Jesus was baptised for our sins why should we be baptised? Why was Jesus baptised by John because the Bible says He was sinless? John's baptism was to admit your sins first and then be baptised, so why did Jesus do it? What was the fulfilment? Exodus 12 reveals that before the lamb was slain he had to be washed, not by anybody but a priest and John was that priest. May God help you understand baptism and if you want to learn more go and see your evangelist or Pastor.

Baptism (Part I)

By Odon Bulamba (8th February 2001)

Baptism is one thing Christians do; we do it because the Bible asks us to do. It is true that we bath everyday but it doesn’t mean we are baptised everyday. Many people swim everyday but it doesn’t mean they are baptised, so what does baptism mean? Baptism has a meaning both spiritually and physically. When John was on this earth he would call people and say, “come, I want to baptise you if you repent”. Without repentance (in John’s time) baptism didn’t exist and to repent was to admit your sins. How can we admit our sins if someone doesn’t remind us?

Our conscience and the presence of an evangelist or preacher is very important. If your conscience was dead in John’s time you would not have been baptised, and if you didn't have time to hear God’s word you wouldn’t have been baptised. So at that time we had one baptism that was on the river Jordan. This river was a cursed river according to the Sadducees law. John was 8 years old when he went to the desert; he stayed there for 22 years and came back at 30 years of age. Maybe during these years John didn’t take a bath because in the desert there is no river. I know people who can live for 50 years without taking a bath. So John left the desert and came to the city. The Bible says that John was the voice calling in the desert preparing the way of the Lord. People’s conscience would come alive when they heard this voice and these people also prepared the way of the Lord.

They prepared it by way of repentance, and after repentance was baptism. Even though John hadn’t seen a river he would baptise in one, so how can John baptise people in a river if he hadn’t seen one? In my country there were people with mental problems. One-day these people went swimming, however the pool had been drained previous. The first person walked onto the diving board and jumped into the pool with no water in it and hurt himself. The second and third person did the same. The fourth person however walked up onto the diving board but stopped, people said dive but was too afraid of the water because it was too cold. This man didn’t realize the pool was empty and this is how many people are baptised today. They don’t know why they are baptised and don’t know if the anointing of the Holy Spirit is with them. Some people say because my dad is baptised as a Roman Catholic I want to be baptised like that. From John’s time believers started thinking about baptism in depth. Baptism was a common thing back then but as time went on man started to change it and it became corrupted.

Ephesians 4:5, one Lord, one faith, one baptism.

The way Catholics baptise is different from the way Methodist and other groups baptise, so why don’t we have one baptism? Why has baptism changed? If baptism has changed why has it been corrupted? So what is the right baptism? If you want to be baptised where should you go? Who can baptise you? Would it be someone coming from the desert like John who ate honey for years and wore animal’s skin for his clothing? John the Baptist does qualify because the honey, animal skin and belt he wore has a meaning and we shouldn’t forget how important his message was. So what is the right baptism? Have you been baptised? Did you have the right one and how do you know it?

In Kenya some people are immersed in human blood because they are devil worshippers and it is like a covenant. So what is the difference between baptising in blood than water? Is it the colour? This is a huge topic but in short I would say as Christians we need baptism because it has a very important meaning for our lives. According to Mark 16:15-16 Jesus said,

“Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned".

Go and evangelise to all people. It doesn’t say go to all animals. Today people get their cats baptised and the church keeps a record of it. Before being baptised you probably would have heard about the good news. Once you accepted this message only then can you be baptised. The Bible doesn’t say that once you have a baby go to a church and baptise the child, the child must hear the good news first and then their conscious will do the talking. When you take the news into the world people who hear the word will see their faith grow. When you were baptised did someone influence you or did you hear about the gospel? If you heard the gospel did it help you believe in Jesus Christ? If it didn’t then something is wrong.

There was a man who wanted to be baptised, the person asked God, give me the strength because when I see the devil I want to fight him. So this man started abusing the devil with his ugliness. He said the devil’s got a big nose and I want to cut it into two so God give me the strength because I want to pull out his teeth. He thought the devil was a human. He had faith to ask God for strength but it is not written in the Bible to beat the devil’s teeth out. So he built his faith on something that was not the Word of God. Romans 10:17 says that our faith comes by hearing the word of God, so what is your faith built on?

Many brothers and sisters are baptised today only because of tradition. As Christians we are told to do it for baptism is one step towards our salvation. There was a servant of God named Phillip. He met up with a eunuch who was meditating on Isaiah 58. Phillip asked him what are you doing? I’m meditating on Isaiah 58 but I need someone to explain it to me. How many times do we need to understand? How many times do you understand the preacher? How many times do others teach us and we don’t understand? If you don’t understand what the preacher has said go and ask him to explain it better instead of telling each other you haven’t understood a thing. Faith comes by what you hear and not often by what you read. It doesn’t mean you can leave your Bible aside or other books, but this eunuch came to Phillip with his problem and Phillip explained it to him. After Phillip had explained the Word to him the eunuch was convinced and said, here is some water, baptise me. He said it because Phillip convinced him through the preaching. So are you convinced by what you hear? If you are not, then why are you here?

The Bible says seek and you will find. If you don’t want to seek it, you can steal it in a dishonest way. Many people today are baptised in this way, some churches say when you are 15 you can be baptised. The Pastor will say, Peter what are you waiting for, we need people to be baptised. Because of this pressure, Peter just accepts to be baptised.

When people are baptised they drink alcohol because they think it is part of the celebration. So what kind of baptism is it? Children are not to be baptised, however many people justify this by saying what is written in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Jesus said let the children come to Me because the Kingdom of God belongs to them, but people would take their children to Jesus so He could pray for them and that is what the Bible says.

FIVE TYPES OF BAPTISM

By Odon Bulamba (summary only)

BAPTISE: to dip, to immerse, to wash



1. Baptism by the Word of God
2. Baptism by Anointing
3. Baptism by Water
4. Baptism by Fire (Holy Spirit)
5. Baptism in the Second Body (which is to come)

BAPTISM: To die with Christ and be raised with Him so that your flesh will not act anymore but you will give the chance for the Holy Spirit to guide you.

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