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At Dr. Billy Graham’s crusades, he invited people to publicly declare their desire to accept Christ. He believed that public declarations helped to seal a person’s decision. It’s worth noting that Jesus publicly submitted to baptism. He told John the Baptist that by submitting to baptism, He was fulfilling God’s will. We read this in Matthew Chapter 3: “Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. But John tried to talk him out of it. ‘I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,’ he said, ‘so why are you coming to me?’” But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So John agreed to baptize Him. After His baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like as a dove and settling on Him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” After Jesus publicly submitted to baptism, the Holy Spirit came upon Him to equip Him to carry out His mission. His submissive attitude caused the Father to say, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” Like Jesus, anyone who submits to do God’s will, brings great joy to the Father. God will use them to benefit and bless others; and they will enjoy enormous personal fulfillment.
