The Words We Long to Hear

Text: Luke 3:15-22
Title: The Words We Long to Hear
1/10/10 Clarksville Baptism of the Lord Sunday

If you look up the word “ambition” in the dictionary, it would have his picture beside it. Drive. Determination. Motivation. He had it all in high doses. His goals were high, his accomplishments many, and his work ethic was relentless. It had been that way for as long as he could remember.
As a kid it showed up on the ball field, and on the track. He was blessed with better than average athleticism. He did the most with his God-given ability and was one of the hardest working players on the field and most competitive runners on the track. He simply didn’t slack. Whether it was a fielding drill, conditioning, or the gun was sounding for a live race, the words “half-effort” were never used in the same sentence with his name - never.
He worked just as hard in the classroom. From middle school he was put in advanced classes not because he was so smart but because he worked so hard it appeared he had been gifted with a brilliant mind. It’s amazing how many deficiencies can be overcome with hard work. It’s why driven people who work hard accomplish more than gifted people who don’t. This guy was both gifted and driven. As if that weren’t enough he had a great personality too. Winsome. Fun to be around.

Under the surface of this highly successful man was an insatiable desire to hear the words we all long to hear, and I’m not talking about “You have just won the lottery”, or “you were going 15 mph over the speed limit but I’m just going to give you a warning,” or “the bank has made a mistake and you need to add 3 zeros to the number you thought was in your account.” He had heard it from coaches, teachers, even his mom. But never from the one he hungered to hear it from the most.

It was sad. He was an all-conference player in high school but his dad never saw a game. Not because he was dead or lived in another state, but because he just didn’t go. Didn’t see the need. In his dad’s defense, it’s probably because he never learned anything different from his own dad, but the sad truth was he never went to watch his son. To make matters worse, he didn’t do anything else to make up for that lack of attention and affirmation either. “Take out the trash” and “give me the remote” was about as deep as their conversations ever went. Now as an adult, he could not remember one time when he had ever heard his dad say, “I’m proud of you” or “I love you.” As a result, he did everything he could to make it happen. He performed well on the field, made good grades, stayed out of trouble. But no matter how well he did it was never good enough. Every word of praise from every other person was still hollow because he never heard it coming from the man he called “Dad.” He was much older before he realized it but it looking back he could see just how much that had affected him. All the awards, the success, the money he had earned and name he had made for himself had in many ways been aimed at doing something, anything, that would be good enough, big enough, noble enough for his dad to say to him, “I love you, and I’m proud of you.”

If you look up the word “ambition” in the dictionary, it would have his picture beside it. Drive. Determination. Motivation. He had it all in high doses. His goals were high, his accomplishments many, and his work ethic was relentless. It had been that way for as long as he could remember.
Some of his earliest memories were of conversations with his dad. Before he could ever swing a bat, throw a pass, jump a hurdle, or bring home an “A” paper, he heard it. “I love you. I’m proud of you.” Whatever he tried he knew one thing for sure - if no one else in the world was cheering for him, his dad would be. He knew that whether the pass was an interception or a touchdown, the response would be the same. When everyone else was slapping him on the back, dad was too. And when everyone else was blaming and booing him off the field or the court, telling him how pathetically he had played or yelling that he should be put on the bench, his dad was always saying the same thing - “I love you, and I’m proud of you.” It was love and pride that wasn’t based on performance. It was the heart of a dad that came through every time, whether he performed like an all-star or not. That affirmation made him want to work harder than anyone out there, whether it was on the field, the court, or in the classroom, and he did. It caused him to have a work ethic that was relentless. He was put in advanced classes not because he had a genius IQ or because he felt like he had to do everything possible to earn a word of affirmation from his father, but because he knew he already had it.

They had the same kind of work ethic, accomplished many of the same things. Both had ambition, drive, determination, a relentless spirit. One because he was doing everything he could possibly do to earn his father’s favor, the other because he was so certain that he already had it.

Read text. Today is baptism of the Lord Sunday, an event so significant that all four Gospel writers record it. The way Luke tells it, while Jesus was praying, some wild stuff started happening in this beautiful dance with the Trinity. The heavens opened. The Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove, and God the Father spoke. “This is my son, whom I love, with Him I am well pleased.” God the Father said to God the Son, “I love you, and I’m proud of you.” You know when the Father spoke this? Before. He spoke it before Jesus healed any diseases or cast out any demons. He said it before Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount or taught His disciples how to pray. The love and affirmation Jesus heard from the Father wasn’t based on Jesus’ ability to perform or not perform anything. Jesus knew that when the crowds were flocking to see him by the thousands, telling him what a great teacher he was and how amazing he was at working miracles, he would hear the voice of His Father above them all - “I love you, and I’m proud of you.” He knew that when 5,000 people were talking about how remarkable he was after feeding them with 5 loaves and 2 fish, heaping on the compliments and comments of praise, He would be hearing the voice of His Father, “I love you, and I’m proud of you.” Jesus knew that when the blind were given sight, the lame started leaping for joy, and the broken were made whole by His touch, that the above all the “You’re so wonderufls” and “We love yous” and “You’re the greatest” would come the certain sound of His Father’s voice saying, “I love you, and I’m proud of you.”
He knew that when the Pharisees were plotting against him, when the crowds were crying “Crucify Him!” that he would be hearing above the roar of a crowd bent on his destruction, the voice of His father saying the same thing He had always said, “I love you, and I’m proud of you.” And He knew that when the Father’s voice was the only one of affirmation He could hear, it would also be the only one He would need.

I believe that Jesus’ baptism was a critical point not just because it marked the beginning of his public ministry, but because it set the tone for it. Look at what all happens here. (1) First of all, Jesus is praying, having a conversation with His Father - this is going to characterize every other day of his life and ministry as well. (2) While He is praying, the Spirit comes upon Him. This is the same Spirit who comes upon us with power (Acts 1:8). The same Spirit who would lead Him into the wilderness after He was baptized and raise Him from the tomb after He was crucified. The journey for our redemption begins with the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Spirit loving, supporting, and affirming each other. Jesus prays. The Spirit descends. And, (3) the Father declares Jesus’ identity - “This is my Son.” We don’t really know if everyone there heard it or not, but we know this - Jesus heard it, knew it, and lived out of it. No sooner does the Father affirm Jesus’ identity, than the devil begins to call it into question. Each of the temptations Jesus experiences in the wilderness (Luke 4) begins the same way: “If you are the Son of God…” (By the way, the Devil is still up to the same thing. If he can get us to question our identity, it’s a short step to messing with our behavior. Jesus’ heard His identity announced at His baptism, and He never doubted that the Father meant what He said. He knew who He was.) At Jesus’ baptism, God the Father not only affirms his identity, he lets Him know that before He does a single miracle, He is loved and favored.

That’s why I think Jesus did what he did, how he did it. His whole ministry was characterized by the things that happened at His baptism. He lived in constant conversation with His Father. He lived in the power of the Spirit. He lived with an unwavering awareness of His identity, because the Father had announced it at His baptism. He lived in submission to the Father always trying to do what would please Him not because He was trying to gain the approval of His Father, but because He was convinced He already had it.

While I’m pretty certain God isn’t always proud of how we act (his love is unconditional but He takes pleasure in our obedience) I’m equally convinced He father’s us the same way He fathered Jesus. He doesn’t base His love for us on how well we perform. Having the affirmation from the Father led Jesus to a self-less life of obedience and service. He lived the baptized life - a prayer-saturated, Spirit-empowered, submissive, service-filled life. He knew who He was and He lived with drive, determination, motivation, and ambition not because He was constantly trying to gain the affection or approval of the Father, but because He knew He already had it.

Today we will have the joy of seeing some people baptized. I think it’s appropriate that all three of them are kids. Before they do great things for God, before they’re all grown up, before… God speaks to them a word of identity and affirmation that has the power to motivate a life of self-less submission to God and service to others. Today, at these baptisms the Father, Son and Spirit converge and invite them into the life of this Holy family. And today we are reminded all over again, that the Christian life, the baptized life isn’t one where we have to constantly work to somehow gain God’s favor, it’s one we live with freedom, because we know we already have it. That love and affirmation is the strongest motivation there is, to live in such a way that the Father is pleased. Amen.
Prayer…. Baptisms… Benediction: II Cor. 13:14