Baptism.

[Syxth]

Hey guys, I'll be getting baptized today (Sunday). I'm a little nervous about it. Remember, I have my doubts of being saved, but I do believe I am. I don't want to anger God, but I do want to do His will in this area. I'm afraid I'll tick Him off if I do this without being saved, but I have enough faith that I am saved to go through with it.

It's interesting to note that when I was a kid. About 3-5 yrs. old, my mom was going through the court battle for me. On christmas, she had a bunch of toys for me and every time I opened one. I said,"I needed this." I was going through a massive amount of pressure, mixed emotions, and torment in my life back then. It was so traumatizing that I can't remember most of it. At that age, I don't think I realized to the extent of what I was saying. I buried myself in these toys though. On that last Christmas she bought me Super Mario Bros. 3. And that was the start of a heavy addiction, putting things into my wounded soul where Christ needs to be. I didn't have anywhere else to turn though. And I was fixing to go to a home that was cold and had a twisted sense of love.

Those words have been running through my head towards a closer relationship to God lately. I catch myself still saying "I need this" or "I needed this" in my head. It's not necessarily that I "needed" in the first place, but it's an extreme longing for it. Even if I didn't know I really did.

The outline I have is to go ahead and go through baptism since I do believe I'm saved. Continue to gain knowledge through the word about the Father (1st on my list, cause I have such a skewed perception of His nature), Son, and Holy Spirit. Pretty simple I guess. Once I gain knowledge about Him, in the process I hope to be able to actually experience more of Him.

[Blue]

Congratulations on your Baptism today.

I'll be praying for you.

I think you need to relax more. I understand what you're talking about, but you need to realize that as humans, we will make a lot of mistakes and we all deal with a lot of problems, even after Baptism.

God has forgiven you for every sin, and will continue forgiving you. He will not get mad at you if you make mistakes. You will be growing spiritually, and you'll notice many changes in your life. You need to be patient, pray often, and allow the Holy Spirit to work inside of you.

If I could only tell you who I was was a year ago before my Baptism... I was a completely different person than I am now. It's amazing to think about.

[ccgr]

Awesome on getting baptism, praying for your walk with the Lord

[airpa]

Congrats bro! I'll be praying for you! As my worship team leader would say: "Just do your best, let God do the rest, don't get stressed and you'll be blessed!"

[JOJ650s]

Wow, congratulations!

Also don't worry God is not going to be mad at you.
Also you said your self that you wanted to do His will in that area, I bet He's overjoyed.

[Chozon1]

Amigo, your salvation is contingent upon the life and death and resurrection of Jesus. If he did the things he said he did (and we have every reason, both historically and biblically, to believe he did), and the things he said he was, then He saves you when you ask Him. And when He has you in His hand, He's not going to let you go for anything. If this world were to explode into a thousand pieces, still He would hold onto with a grip surpassing death itself. When we're saved, God ties a rope onto you, not the other way around.

So if you asked Him to save you, and believe that He was who he said he was and rose from the dead, you are saved. Nothing you do, don't do, or mess up on will change that. Remember, God knows past, present, and future; He knew your every thought, doubt, sin, fear and mess up from the beginning of creation. Nothing you do can throw a curve ball at Him and cost your salvation, for I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And unless somethign freaky is going on, you too are a created thing.

To add onto that, if we are faithless, He remains faithful. For he cannot disown himself.

Everyone has doubts and fears, but at the end of the day, our salvation is entirely relying on Him, not us. And that is a comforting thought indeed.

[Syxth]

Guys thanks for all the replies.

I am going through some strange things here lately. I went with my grandparents yesterday after I got baptized to a church in the afternoon for evening service. And it was kinda pentecostal-like, which was completely different then what I experienced in the baptist church that morning. While everyone is hooping, hollering and praising God. I'm just kinda dead. The only thing I could do was stand up and clap (whenever everybody else did). I know the holy spirit was there, because I could feel Him a very tiny bit, but everyone else seemed to be getting a load of Him.

I realize I have a big stronghold when it comes to the fear of man. Also probably to the holy spirit as well and maybe scared of being convicted. I just started to feel like complete crap after we left. We went to pizza hut and ate. I told my grandma and grandpa that I'm either not saved at all or I am, but I'm such a messed up person. Pappaw is a preacher and he asked if I believed in Jesus Christ and what not. And I said yes.

I've decided not to think so deeply on it. All I've been getting lately when I do is condemnation and close to suicidal thoughts again lately. I'm going to continue to attend church and go on with my life. I realize that I can't do anything to fix myself and don't want to try anymore. I think I've got caught up in religion again to feel better about myself.

What's interesting about this. Is I could see how fake some people were in the church I was in the morning. And then I went to the pentecostal church and started to realize how big of a fake I was.

Interesting, but hurts too. I know it's not even place to judge whether someone is fake or not either. I know all of them love God genuinely though. I like them regardless if they are like that or not. I don't want to sound condemning to you guys about them. See thats how bad it's gotten for me. I think I know too much, but if I've turned into this then I know nothing at all. Ugh...

[Blue]

Brother, you need to pray. You need to pray long and hard.

Tell God everything you're struggling with. Spend a lot of time reading scripture, letting those words sink in. The common tactic from the enemy is telling you that you're not saved, that you're not forgiven, and that you're not worth it. Putting yourself down and thinking you're not as good as someone else is a horrible way to think.

I know that growing up in a Pentecostal church, a lot of times people will be given all of these gifts and will be full of the Spirit and it can be intimidating. I was also Baptized in a Pentecostal church, and I felt down when I told people that I wasn't baptized in the Holy Spirit, but I learned that it's a gift, not something you need to boast about.

Remember that God loves you, and he wants to help you with all of your problems. The Holy Spirit is right there, and you will be helped through all of these problems.

I know, because this is exactly what I was dealing with when I first got baptized. I was struggling with depression, panic attacks, and suicidal thoughts for a long time. I've developed TMJ from having my jaw clenched for 2 years straight. Right before my Baptism, I had horrible panic attacks right at the alter.

I overcame most of this because I had a lot of trust in Him. He helped me through all of this, and I am always grateful. I still have a lot of struggles, but I'm not even close to the same level like I was a year ago.

If you need any help, or someone to talk to. Let me know.

[xino]

@Syxth
glad you got baptised, that's the first step!
Getting baptised is the way to receive the Kingdom of God as Jesus said.

John 3:5
"Jesus replied, "I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit."

But remember, Kingdom of God is not a place per se, it is around us!


But take my advise, the reason why you feel nothing is because you are probably in doubt with jesus.
I fear God too, but Jesus is God, God is in Jesus as Jesus in God. Yes Jesus is the son of God but he is Lord. Jesus is love and he is full of love.

You need to get on your knees today and pray to Jesus:
*accepting the fact that he did died for our sins, he is the son of God and he is real
why? because the World has lied to our eyes that Jesus is not real and died for nothing
*confess your sins
please list all the bad things you can think off, Jesus watches EVERYONE and knows what they have done and what they think.
*Tell him to accept you and he should enter you, that you want him to be your saviour.


When you do this, you will feel different becaue you have submitted to Jesus and have repented!

[Skogkatt]

Guys, I think a helpful passage here would be in 1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love [a]turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection].
One of the first things I experienced when I repented and got saved was that all fear instantly dissapeared.
I experienced an unpredecented sense of freedom and lightness inside my heart and soul.
Jesus did not come to condemn us but to give eternal and abundant life to all those who will believe in His name,
so all that is left is pure repentance in total sincerety of heart , mind and soul.
Also, regarding Baptism with the Holy Spirit, God manages us according to our character, thus I know of ppl
who were Baptized ( filled with ) with Holy Spirit as soon as they received Jesus but others ( including myself )
who were filled later on with their walk with God.
Of course the Holy Spirit is a gift and a seal from God and for His children, its' our right to have Him and He is
necessary in order to live in spiritual and practical victory every day. He makes a huge difference in all things.
God is fair and wont deprive us of anything that we should have including His spirit.
What we have to do is examine our hearts and self every day to see if we are still in faith and to strictly keep
away from sin. Not as a rule but as a result of the new creation that Jesus makes us into when we experience
the miracle of salvation and after that keep growing in His word and in faith.
Till I was Baptized with the Spirit I was being thoughtful about not having HIm in fulfilment yet,
I kept on asking God if and what I did wrong. I kept asking and asking and asking and praying, and inquiring
and finaly He gave Him to me!! In the meantime I grew in patience and persistance of will as well in many other
aspects.
So if sin is not in the way, then worry not, keep on seeking God's face and for His spirit , ask to fulfil His heart's will on earth as it is in Heaven,
and all the rest will be given <3