Immersed

There is an astonishing story that we find in the 2nd chapter of the book of Acts - Peter preached to the crowd gathered in Jerusalem, who had experienced a demonstration of the presence of God. In light of His message, we pick up in verse 37:
37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"
38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."

The Bible reports that "three thousand souls" came into the Kingdom that day; they were saved because of their response to the gospel.  And, they were instructed to follow repent and be baptized. The sacrament of water baptism is seen as an act of obedience to God.  It is an outward expression of the inward work of the Holy Spirit in a person's heart.  We have been cleansed, our sins have been wiped away, and we have a new life in Jesus Christ!

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The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is found in Matthew chapter 3, which included a supernatural affirmation of this act of obedience. We can read these words in that chapter:
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.
14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"
15 But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him.
16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.
17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

If you've seen the movie, Jesus Revolution, or are familiar with the history of the Jesus Movement, you may be familiar to some degree with Pirate's Cove in Southern California, where people who came to Christ were baptized.

The Faithwire website reports on a truly phenomenal event that occurred recently at that iconic site; the article says:

Just months after the Asbury revival took the world by storm, a recent story about more than 4,100 baptisms unfolding at a historic California beach is inspiring the faithful.

Daniel Mamora, a worship leader at Calvary South OC in San Clemente, California, was on-site at Pirate’s Cove, the location of the historic Jesus people movement captured in the film “Jesus Revolution,” to watch the incredible Baptize SoCal event unfold.

He said the scene, which involved people from 300 churches, was deeply moving.

The story states that some 8000 people attended the event. Faithwire linked to a CBN.com story about what was called Baptize SoCal: 

Attendees report the atmosphere was electric as people praised God and celebrated their "Kingdom family."

"What an amazing and historic day," said musician and pastor at West Coast Life Church, Ray Gene Wilson. "Thousands baptized at Pirates Cove, God is moving in California!"

"A moment I'll never forget," one attendee commented on Instagram.

"This is absolutely amazing praying for all in their new walk with Jesus…. Welcome to the Kingdom family," another Instagram user commented.

It quotes Mamora as saying:

"It was so incredible just seeing all of these people come together. In fact, I was sitting on top of the cliff watching the baptisms and there's a staircase in order to get down if you want to get baptized and literally, there was a whole line right there and then all of a sudden, the line just goes around into the parking lot, it wasn't just people wanting to come in and witness but people wanting to get baptized, that blew me away!"

And, pastor and evangelist Greg Laurie, who himself was baptized at Pirate's Cove in the 70's, will be returning to that location soon - CBN.com reports:

Harvest Church will host a "Jesus Revolution" church-wide baptism on July 8 at Pirates Cove in Corona Del Mar, CA. The event had been initially planned for July 9 but had to be moved to a different day after an overwhelming response from people wanting to be baptized.

Pastor Greg Laurie shared on social media, "The immense response from individuals desiring to be baptized is genuinely remarkable! It’s a clear testament to the revival that is happening in individual hearts and minds and the profound impact of the Jesus Revolution film."

In the meantime, the preceding weekend, Greg Laurie will be leading the 2023 SoCal Harvest Crusade in Anaheim at the Honda Center.  According to the event website, the musical guests on Saturday, July 1st will be Phil Wickham, Taya, and Passion. On Sunday, July 2nd, the music will be provided by Chris Tomlin, Michael W. Smith, and Phil Wickham.

That is truly incredible! Over four thousand baptisms in one event. Another event having to be rescheduled to accommodate those wanting to be baptized. This is certainly a compelling sight - whether it includes thousands, or just one person standing before a congregation and allowing himself or herself to be immersed. 

The Bible is full of powerful imagery that God will use to touch hearts and minds. Water baptism is an outward testimony to the world of the inward work of the Holy Spirit.  It is an act of obedience to our Savior; an act through which we show our love for and desire to follow the Lord. 

We can also be reminded of how God is VERY active in our world today.  We are seeing it expressed through young people who responded to a move of the Holy Spirit at Asbury University and other schools across America. It was expressed recently in the annual Crossover event held in association with the Southern Baptist Convention in New Orleans. The Louisiana Baptist Message of the state's Baptist Convention reported that "...Convention messengers were told that 84 Crossover and Serve Tour events across Houma, New Orleans and the Northshore had 1,300 volunteers from 21 states." Over 12 thousand people attended, yielding almost 3500 gospel conversations.  336 decisions for Christ were reported. 

We can be reminded that God is available to all of us - we just have to put ourselves in a position to receive what He has to give to us.  Through our openness and an expression of our desire to be filled, we can know Him as totally faithful.