7 Baptisms in Christ

by Stephen Duff

Overview

The first person to review this book said that she had always believed in Jesus, but after reading this book she now understood Christ and Christianity in a way that made her faith so much stronger.

This is a Bible based book that is laid out in a simple to understand unfolding manner from the basis of our church lives, through Gods whole communion with His people to the whole purpose of Creation.

Stephen discusses many biblical principles including the Shekinah Glory and how it works; an understanding of why and how we are made in Body, Soul and Spirit; what really is the 1st sin and how does the Name of Jesus impact it; how and why are the baptisms in Water, Fire, the Holy Spirit and the Love of Jesus, and thus how is He the Christ? How does this all fit together in a way that is easy to see to grow our Faith and thus salvation?

These and many more keys to opening our hearts to the Gospel of Jesus are answered in a manner that is easy to understand. For any student, teacher, preacher or minister, or any person who wishes to grow more deeply, and thus share in the Love of Jesus; this is Stephens offering to you.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781504304313
Publisher:	Balboa Press AU
Publication date:	10/10/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	231 KB

About the Author

Stephen Duff died and was resuscitated when he was four years old. This experience seeded a lifelong motivation and study to understand spiritual truth. At age forty-one, he became a Holy Spirit rebirthed Christian. Now, nearly thirty years later and having served in most Christian ministries, Stephen ministers as the Holy Spirit leads him.

Read an Excerpt

7 Baptisms in Christ

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By Stephen Duff

Balboa Press

Copyright © 2016 Stephen Duff
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-5043-0430-6

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CHAPTER 1

At The Outset

When I was very new to Christianity a man came to our church that I had the opportunity to lay hands on, he was subsequently baptized in the Holy Spirit. A month or two later the man's mother appeared from inter-state on a visit and expressed a desire to meet me.

It transpired that she was in her mid-eighties and had been a faithful Christian since her mid-teens. By the time I met her she had been baptized in the Holy Spirit for roughly half of her life, and had being praying for her son to also be Holy Spirit baptized; as, by then, were his wife and teenage children also praying.

Seeking to meet and thank me, she asked if there was anything she could do for me. I simply sought if she felt that God had anything for me. Now, a few decades later I do not remember her exact wording, partially because as such a new Christian I was in such awe of being in this situation with this amazingly godly woman.

What she told me was that when-ever I knew I had something worked out, when I knew I had it right, then God would come along and change things; show me a different view and understanding of who He is, and thus a renewed approach to every aspect of my life.

I could have asked for my financial pressures of that era to be relieved a little, or for many things, but all I could perceive at that time was this wonderful Godly gracious old lady offering me her understanding in the heart of God.

What else can we really give and receive one with another than the gifting and comprehensions that have been laid before our hearts; such as I have, so do I freely give.

* * *

Many Christians are content to live by a simple Faith, a basic Christian realization of Jesus and thus salvation, with varying degrees of an unconsidered acceptance of the miraculous; basically an attitude of "I am saved", and I leave it to the pulpit to comprehend the workings of God in my salvation.

Most people usually come to a place where their basic doctrine is set and established in their minds, the whys and wherefores long established comfortably within their church. Parameters of behavior and mind set are unconsciously adhered to, in that we must be this or that; and yes most people are usually quite right in what they believe, but that is as far as their heart and mind ever reaches into understanding the workings of the Spirit of God.

The bible is like a flower as it blooms, the more you look into it and let the petals unfold, the greater is the beauty that shines before your heart. The purpose of this book is just to look into a few petals and thus let Jesus unfold His flowers for each of us as He sees fit. Then maybe, just maybe, we shall get to touch His pollen that feeds the love song of our lives.

I Love Jesus Christ.

I do not Only Love Him, because it is biblically appropriate, or the church tells me to.

I do not Only Love Him, because He loves me first;

I do not Only Love Him, because I have been forgiven so much that only gratitude and Love is left within in me towards Him;

I Love Him for all and every of these reasons, and yet beyond any consideration towards reason itself.

I Love Him because I love Him.

Jesus I Love You.

You are the fulfillment of my every hope in graciousness;

The rainbow to souls dawning;

The very moment in life's way;

The heart warmth of my yearning,

And momentum of each day.

You are the strength and peace of my mind, my feelings and emotions;

You are the Glory, and thus expounder of Love into all of Creation;

We are simply the grateful receivers.

We thank You.

We Love You.

Yielding

We, each of us as Christians attend the church that most fits our own personal Christianity, the church that socially, ceremoniously and individually fits the comfort of our own character. The person God created us each to be at this time 'at home' in our place to worship Him.

Yes every congregation has the critical and disgruntled, but I still haven't met someone who feels that they regularly attend the second best church in their area; unless of course they are about to leave anyway, or they are 'required' to be there by usually other family members.

God knows and understands this sense of home church belonging; He made it this way to suit the great diversity of human kind that He has created. He has given us as many church groups as there are expressions of Himself through the attitudes of peoples. Not one person or church more special than another, yet equally special to Him; all just as different as His expression in Creation is of us, His human species. All established by Him near enough to our dwelling needs to fit our heart needs at that time; this whole process is all just a little bit of His job vocation as God.

I once offered this whole situation of the differences between expressions of religion and Faith and people movement between congregations, up in prayer for a clearer comprehension. I feel I was given to recognize how God had the early Hebrews build their sacrificial and memorial altars to Him. It was a God directed precept that they were always formed with uncut rocks, gathered and naturally made to fit together.

Simple biblical examples of this include when Abraham built his altars; or when the Israelites as a nation crossed through the parting waters of the Red Sea; and again when they first crossed the Jordan River; on both occasions the rocks were collected from the dried river bed to build a memorial of the event.

In my prayer I was given to realize how each separate person is a rock in each church; and how each church is thus an altar to God; and each one of the churches are the rocks that become this planets whole altar to Christ, and thus worship to our God.

Sometimes if He feels the need He will take a rock (church member or family) out of one altar (church) and fit it into another, thus forcing all the adjoining rocks (people) to shuffle around to make room for each other along with the new folks He will bring in to each congregation.

When people go out to begin a new church or ministry this can be a change of great joy, or alternatively God might have a plan we don't understand. Often when we personally resist His inter-church rearrangements He will need to cause an unpleasant experience that forces our decisions, church upheavals, personal affront and so forth.

Sometimes the changes could pleasantly be a case of new Christians coming into our personal circle of people, or someone just moving house into our area, and so on; as God so desires change will come.

In this way the characters and characteristics of the entire world's individual churches shuffle along as the moods of society develop and change. The basic foundational attitude and ceremonial program of the overall church itself not changing a great deal; but the external impact of a developing society affecting peoples' general behavior and dress code, and thus the overall mood of church social acceptability.

Yes monasteries will remain monastic, and congregational leaders who try too many new socially innovating ideas will find their own over-sighting leadership often not prepared for, and thus resistant, to such changes. Yet the general dress code in most suburban churches is no longer what it was 100 years ago, but still tidy and respectfully representative of our present society's dress codes.

A great historically recent example of this can be seen in rock and roll music. Some fifty to sixty years ago it was banned and condemned as satanic in many Christian congregations. Now days, in a television culture of find the next big music star, church worship leaders are winning a lot of these contests. This is due partially to the experience they have gained worshipping and thus performing in front of their own church congregations. Now these people, in an industry once condemned, are impacting the world media whilst still personally remaining as individuals in Christ Jesus within the music culture.

When each new church group is founded, a part of that foundation has to be its legal constitution, another part is the social climate of that era, and another part is the revelation of the church founders at that time. The latter of which is sometimes declared as directly from God, or from a specific biblical interpretation; and sometimes surrounding an individual and their personally declared relationship/anointing/mantle with God.

Foundational leaders eventually die, retire or move on in some other way; time is like that. The church is by then established in its foundational character which has been formed by the ceremonial habits of each weekly service emanating from the foundational form of its peoples, its constitution and its attitude towards Jesus Christ.

Yes there is the social development of time and culture, but the basic tenants that established the group will always remain. Essentially, no matter how humble the individual, we will not get the Pope out of his white robes and all that represents, the Catholic structure is too vast and as such needs to be maintained; as can be said of every church group.

The initial spark of revelation and innovation that founded the church grows into the security of regular weekly performance, ceremony and thus habit; resulting in the social and physical church structure tending to become the religion.

This usually takes on one or both of two forms of expression. Either the church, motivated by a heart of care becomes largely a welfare agency, or it develops a hierarchical system; yet it will base its attraction on a part of the weekly ceremony such as great music or preaching or social relevance. The true love towards Jesus Christ, although alive in many of the congregation's individuals, can become secondary, and even a little lost in the process of church events.

Faith and hope unto eternity are still preached, money drives for great works become quite predominant and we maintain our Christian smile, but the actual Love towards Jesus our Christ is rarely perceived; that is until an internal church upheaval, or a few of the people break away and begin a new ministry and thus church.

As history progresses many of the smaller churches become closed and many of the larger ones become systemized toward maintaining the structure of both the building and the institutions religious maintenance and continuance; thus channeling more wealth, and offering more welfare agencies to the society of their given area.

Without this structural and religious maintenance there would be no church buildings, institutions and teaching to show us the history, changes and development of Christendom that has carried the love of Jesus across the past two millennium; and thus carried the gospel story through time for all of humanity.

This influx of development has not changed since Paul the Apostle found himself writing letters to the various churches of his day, to lovingly exhort his people not to get side-tracked away from the truth of the gospel; some of which letters help to make up our New Testament, always encouraging and directing our ways to the Love of Jesus Christ.

With all of this, Christianity continues to roll through history with the offered promise unto Eternal Salvation, even though the essential love of Jesus fades from being the predominantly first reason church is attended.

There was a rather wonderful movie some years ago where a church was being built voluntarily by the local peasantry under the guidance of the films hero. At one point, with a pictured scene of a semi completed building structure, with timber and mud adobe bricks maneuvering everywhere amongst most of the local populous, our hero asks one man why he was there assisting to help build the new church as a non- believer. The man replies simply that if it turns out that God is real, his time investment helping at the building site is a good salvation insurance deposit.

Many people tend church to ensure their conscience is up to date, many purely for social involvement, many for their own salvation, or parental heritage, welfare support, duty and so forth; some for the love of Jesus. This is natural of mankind, and what person has the right to say what is right or wrong, for God would have it that we all are called to a heavenly eternity.

* * *

Throughout Christian history, as is also true of our present time, there are people in every formation of church who truly live for the love of Jesus Christ and are thus faithful to His calling in their life. People who wish to genuinely grow in the grace and loving kindness that obedience to His service brings.

Such people usually accept having been forgiven of their personal history, and as such are no longer bringing the expectations of judgment to other people's lives, but are faithfully open to just accept and thus love one another. For as we uncover the causes that need forgiveness that surround who we have been, and lay such history at the healing foot of the cross; then so does it enable the eternal love of Jesus to forgive us. In such a way does forgiveness grow in our own basic personality and help build our character to become a giving heart with our dealings with one another.

Many of these people can recognize that it is through the diversity of Grace and often a loving discipline of religion, that through the leading of the Holy Spirit historically and presently, both the Israelite tribe and the Church have progressively brought Gods word to the entire planet, so that everyone may grow in His Love.

As the turnings of history gradually gather to fulfill the prophecies of the return of Jesus Christ, and thus as Messiah, the whole world wide church of Christendom is one of the largest overall employees of people. Yet at the same time Jesus is much too short-handed of the lives of genuine people who will turn their hearts to His requirements, to His ministerial workings, to being obedient to where Jesus will take the church.

A senior pastor of a church of a few thousand people once told me that he had many people come to him with a vision for this or that ministry that they personally felt called to, but very few who just said "how may I help?". Let's face it even a local church that size still requires sweepers and cleaners, we can't all be apostles, evangelists and prophets!

* * *

Every religion and philosophy from antiquity are now pretty well gathered under the social banner of the New Age (yeah, I know; Old/New?); all except true heart Christians and the God following people of Jewish inherence and belief; the two religions most reviled by most of the world's populous.

The essential motivation of this overall New Age movement is based in self-awareness, in coming to a place of harmonic realization with our own inner peace; just as counseling is also based in personal character management. It is all based in me, in my stuff, my peace, and my problems; in ME becoming a better person.

Most meditation in all of its different expressions is still personally based, no matter if there is a specific chant or thought to bring our wandering minds back to, or just the emptying of thought altogether; the basic motivation remains the same, me becoming a better me.

Within the general culture and character of western society of our present times there is a great social preponderance towards self-awareness. The only industry growing in pace with the computer and information technology industries is both one to one and group therapy counseling, where the focus is essentially self; 'dealing with' our personal problems.

A great deal of the present day church preaching is also along these lines of looking to our own actions, and our overall Christian orientated behavior patterns. Focusing our minds towards comparing our own thinking, response and actions in all of our given circumstance as to how, as a good Christian we personally and as a group should behave.

Certainly there is a great need for good behavior pattern preaching, as well as proper counseling, especially within the church where all answers should lead to Jesus anyway. John wrote that if we faithfully speak out our sins then God will bring us to forgiveness and cleansing. As such there are Christian counselors who can assist in leading us with the Holy Spirit to a place of Godly release; I have undertaken this ministry from both sides of the counselee and counselor at different times myself.

As Christians the bible encourages us to be seen by our society through the eyes of love with an equitable behavior of integrity and honor. That doesn't mean to be taken as an easy mark by society's users, but it does mean a heart towards care and givingness.

Yet if our concentration is upon our own motives and behavior where is the heart of yielded givingness to Jesus, whom we initially gave our lives to. The great lie of the New Age, of every –ology and -ism of histories philosophies and religions is self; how can you truly give yourself away in self-concentration? How can you look in a mirror and not focus on your own image?

That was the real original sin. It was Satan who was first titled Lucifer, (which translates as the light bearer, the most senior Arch Angel responsible for the outflow of spiritual light, thus expression, thus vision), who was created perfect in all beauty and wisdom. It was he who in the balance of his own character and ministry saw his own reflection, and thus turned his vision and love away from God towards himself.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from 7 Baptisms in Christ by Stephen Duff. Copyright © 2016 Stephen Duff. Excerpted by permission of Balboa Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Contents

At The Outset, 1,
I Love Jesus Christ, 4,
Yielding, 6,
Baptism, 22,
Know Whom God Is, 36,
Christ Jesus, 63,
The Name of Jesus, 90,
The Holy Spirit, 132,
Fire, 221,
In God, 262,
Love, 293,