- [Announcer] This
presentation is brought to you
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by the friends of the
Amazing Facts ministry.
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- Did you know that
when a human baby is born,
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about 78% of its
body is made up of water?
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Our water ratio
drops somewhat as we age,
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but water remains an
essential part of our survival.
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In fact, a mere
2% drop in body water
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can cause fuzzy
short-term memory,
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difficulty with basic math,
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and trouble focusing on a
computer or a printed page.
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If the water in
your body drops 5%,
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you'll no longer be able to see.
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A 10% drop takes
away your ability to hear.
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Water plays a crucial role
in almost every body function.
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But some researchers
estimate that 75% of Americans
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are chronically dehydrated.
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Insufficient water
increases the risk for obesity,
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fatigue, and a
host of common diseases.
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Water is essential not
only to our physical bodies,
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but our
spiritual survival as well.
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As the Living Water, Jesus
is the ultimate thirst quencher
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for our souls, and we
receive him in a special way
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when we enter the
waters of baptism.
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So join me now,
friends, for today's program
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as we take a closer look at
this very important subject,
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how we can be born of
the Spirit and the water.
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Our lesson today is a
very important subject.
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It may be one of
the most important.
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And some of you're
gonna think, Pastor Doug,
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are you pulling a fast one?
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Why are you dropping this
subject into a prophecy seminar?
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As we move on, I
think you'll understand
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why it belongs and
why it's so important.
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The lesson title is
"The River of Life."
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And I would like to
direct your attention to a story
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that you find in the
second book of Kings,
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II Kings chapter five.
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It tells us about a character.
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He's an Assyrian
by the name of Naaman.
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And it says Naaman was a
mighty man with his master.
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He was a valiant man.
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He's well-known.
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He was successful.
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And by him, the Lord had
given deliverance to Syria.
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Wealthy man, courageous.
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He was the general for the king.
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But at the end
of that first verse,
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it's got five words it
says, "But he was a leper."
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Everything changes.
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I mean, what profit is it
if you gain the whole world
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and you're dying of a
deadly, contagious disease
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for which there is no cure?
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He was wealthy, he was
strong, had a great reputation.
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It says he was an honorable man.
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But one day, he came
down with this terrible,
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dreaded contagious
disease of leprosy.
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The Bible often compares
leprosy to sin, you may know.
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Well, the story goes
on to tell that Naaman
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bought a slave girl
that worked in his household,
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he's a wealthy man, and she
had been captured from Israel.
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This little girl,
she had probably heard
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the story of Joseph, how
Joseph found himself a slave
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in a foreign land and said,
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Well, if I'm
gonna be a good slave,
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God's got a
reason for me to be here.
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I'm gonna trust the Lord.
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If God was able to use
Joseph in that capacity,
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then perhaps he can use me.
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And when she found out
that her master had leprosy,
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she said to her
mistress, she said,
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"For if he, Naaman, would go
to Israel, the prophet there,
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"Elisha, would heal
him of his leprosy."
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So Naaman goes down to Israel.
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And they'd often been enemies,
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so it's kind of an odd request.
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I mean, here Naaman
has been the general
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who has attacked Israel.
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And there's this
brief period of truce.
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So he goes down
there and gives a message
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to the king of Israel that says,
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King of Syria sent a
message to the king of Israel,
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I've sent Naaman
my servant unto you
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so you can heal
him of his leprosy.
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King of Israel said, What?
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What am I now?
Some faith healer?
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Well, word came to
Elisha, what had happened.
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He sent a message
to the king of Israel.
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He said, "Send him
to me that you may know
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"that there is a
prophet in Israel."
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And so Naaman comes to the
house of Elisha, the prophet,
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but Elisha
doesn't even come out.
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He sends out
his servant, Gehazi,
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and he is got a very
short, simple message.
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"Go and wash in the
Jordan River seven times
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"and your flesh shall
be restored to you again
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"and you'll be clean."
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Evidently, his leprosy
had advanced, when it says,
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"Your flesh shall be restored."
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He may have already gotten
to the stage in his leprosy
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where sometimes you can
lose digits or piece of them
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through injury, and it
was pretty far advanced.
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And Naaman says,
"Wash in the Jordan River?"
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Well, the Jordan River was
not the best river in the world.
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Matter of fact,
in the summertime,
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the Jordan is like a
series of stagnating pools.
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But what does it mean if
someone tells you to take
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seven baths in a dirty river?
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The Jordan River,
it's either green or brown.
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It's very rarely clear.
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And when Naaman heard that,
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I mean, he was expecting
the prophet to come out
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and go through some
incantations and say, you know,
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magic words and he'd be healed.
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Or ask him to do
something like climb a mountain,
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go kill some other enemies.
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And he says, "Go wash."
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And it offended his pride.
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Here he is.
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Brought millions of
dollars in gold, and silver,
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and clothing to
pay for his healing.
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I think someone once calculated
it was over $52 million
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in gold and silver
had been sent by the king
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to heal Naaman of his leprosy.
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And he says, "Go wash."
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Well, he had just
ridden by the Jordan River
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on his way to Israel.
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Now see, he's so mad,
he turns his horse around.
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He begins to
gallop off and he said,
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the Bible says
he left in a rage.
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He said, "Are not the rivers
of Damascus, Abana and Pharpar,
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cleaner than all
the waters in Israel?
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And he thought his
problem was leprosy
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and God knew his
problem was pride.
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Good man, but he was proud.
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Pride is the mother of all sins.
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And on his way down to Damascus,
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he had to ride
by the Jordan River.
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And the soldiers
came to him and they said,
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"Master," they drew
near 'cause they had been
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keeping their
distance, he's contagious.
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They said, "If he had
asked you to do some hard thing,
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"wouldn't you have done it?
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"If he had said go
conquer a thousand Philistines,
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"you would've done it.
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"But he's saying wash."
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Naaman thought, Well, you
know, I'm going home to die.
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What have I got to lose?
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And he gets off his horse
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and he steps on
down into the river.
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Has to take off his
clothes and his armor
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with his men watching.
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It's sort of a
humbling experience.
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And the water's brown.
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And he gets off there and
you see little clouds of mud
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coming up underneath his feet.
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And he thought, How
can this possibly help?
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They said, "Master, do it."
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So he goes and he
dunks himself the first time
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and it comes up and
all he knows is it stings.
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And he's still got his leprosy.
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And he thinks, Well, you know,
why am I going through this?
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They said, "No, he
didn't say one time, Master.
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"Seven times."
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He dunks
himself again and again.
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And he thought every
time he dunked himself
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that it was
washing aways leprosy.
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It was washing away his pride.
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Finally, after six times, he
thought, Oh, enough's enough,
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and he's gonna get out.
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And they said, "No, no, Master,
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"he said seven times."
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Now, let me ask you a question.
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Does God mean what he says?
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Do numbers matter to God?
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When God told Joshua to
march around Jericho seven times
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on the seventh day and
you'll gain the victory,
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did they get the victory before?
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The Lord means what He says.
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So Naaman obeyed and he
went down the seventh time.
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And something happened.
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He felt it. He had to feel it.
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He came up out of the
water, leprosy was gone.
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Any missing digits
popped back into place.
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He was completely
and totally healed.
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Well, this was one of
the first times we see
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something connected with washing
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in the Jordan
River and cleansing.
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Now, there were
several miracles that happened
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in the Jordan River, and
one of the greatest miracles was
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this is where Christ was
anointed with the Holy Spirit,
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because this is where John
the Baptist began baptizing.
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And that is our
subject for tonight.
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We're gonna be talking
about the subject of baptism.
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It is a prophecy subject.
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And so people who are
coming to a prophecy seminar
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and saying, Well Doug, I don't
wanna know about salvation.
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I'm not
interested in my salvation.
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I'm interested in the details.
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Do you realize that the heavy
subjects that are coming now,
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if you're not born again,
you're not gonna understand?
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Jesus said,
"Seeing, they will not see.
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"Hearing, they will not hear.
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"But to those who
consecrate themselves,
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"he will give them ears
to hear what the Spirit says
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"to the church."
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That's in
Revelation chapter two.
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And so, this is a
subject where you say,
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All right, Lord, we're
getting into deep water now
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and I need to follow
you and choose to say,
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Lord, you're my Savior.
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And so we're
presenting this Bible subject
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because it really is a
symbol of how God saves people
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from their sins.
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The children of
Israel, Paul tells us
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in I Corinthians chapter 10,
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they went through the Red Sea.
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This is way back
in the Old Testament.
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And Paul says they
were baptized in the sea.
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They didn't walk on
the water, they went down.
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And God wants us to go down.
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Baptism is a symbol of
death, burial, and resurrection.
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We're gonna talk
about that tonight
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and maybe speaking to you
or you who are watching now.
00:10:00.83\00:10:04.07
As we move on into the
future, we want you cleansed.
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We want your robes made
white in the blood of the Lamb.
00:10:07.24\00:10:10.04
First question in our lesson.
00:10:10.07\00:10:11.54
What New Testament
prophet used the Jordan River
00:10:12.94\00:10:15.24
for baptizing or cleansing?
00:10:15.28\00:10:18.08
You can read here in Matthew
chapter three, verse one.
00:10:18.11\00:10:21.18
"In those days,
John the Baptist came
00:10:21.22\00:10:24.22
"preaching in the
wilderness of Judea."
00:10:24.25\00:10:27.39
And the people came
from everywhere and it says,
00:10:27.42\00:10:30.03
"Then Jerusalem, and all Judea,
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"and all the region
round about the Jordan
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"went to him and were baptized
by him in the Jordan River."
00:10:34.93\00:10:39.17
Jordan in the Bible
is a symbol of death.
00:10:39.20\00:10:42.27
It is the lowest river in
the world and it represents
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like a humbling of ourself.
00:10:45.34\00:10:46.61
It also represents a burial.
00:10:46.64\00:10:48.58
Then you come up
out of the water,
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it represents a
cleansing and a new birth.
00:10:50.01\00:10:52.78
What glorious Bible
ceremony symbolizes a washing
00:10:52.81\00:10:56.62
from the leprosy of sin?
00:10:56.65\00:10:59.25
Acts 22:16, "Arise and be
baptized, and wash away your
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sins, "calling on
the name of the Lord."
00:11:05.36\00:11:07.50
Baptism is this ceremony.
00:11:07.56\00:11:09.80
And John the Baptist,
of course was baptizing.
00:11:09.83\00:11:11.87
Someone was asking,
is this the first time
00:11:11.90\00:11:16.81
baptism is
mentioned in the Bible?
00:11:16.84\00:11:18.87
Well, you got the
children of Israel going
00:11:18.91\00:11:20.34
through the Red
Sea, you've got Naaman,
00:11:20.38\00:11:21.94
you've got the
children of Israel walking
00:11:21.98\00:11:23.98
across the Jordan, or
through the Jordan River
00:11:24.01\00:11:26.45
when they came
into the Promised Land,
00:11:26.48\00:11:27.82
and it's like baptism.
00:11:27.85\00:11:29.95
According to the Bible,
00:11:29.98\00:11:31.45
how many different kinds
of baptism are acceptable?
00:11:31.49\00:11:35.32
Well, the Bible says in
Ephesians 4:5, there is,
00:11:35.36\00:11:38.79
you see it on your screen there?
00:11:38.83\00:11:40.26
How many?
00:11:40.30\00:11:41.70
"One Lord, one
faith, one baptism."
00:11:41.73\00:11:45.27
Is the Lord important?
00:11:45.30\00:11:46.40
Is faith
important in the gospel?
00:11:47.64\00:11:49.27
Is baptism important?
00:11:50.21\00:11:52.27
According to the Bible writers,
00:11:52.31\00:11:53.54
they gave it a priority.
00:11:53.58\00:11:55.31
One baptism.
00:11:55.34\00:11:56.68
Not only does that
mean there's one truth
00:11:56.71\00:11:58.55
that we are baptized into,
00:11:58.58\00:12:00.28
there's really one
method of baptism in the Bible.
00:12:00.32\00:12:03.69
Question number four:
What's the word baptize mean?
00:12:03.72\00:12:07.66
The word baptism, it comes
from the Greek word baptizo,
00:12:07.69\00:12:11.09
and that simply means to
dip, to immerse, to plunge.
00:12:11.13\00:12:14.96
You can find it
in Greek literature
00:12:15.00\00:12:17.17
where when they
were dying cloth,
00:12:17.20\00:12:18.97
they would take these
big vats of purple or red dye
00:12:19.00\00:12:21.80
and they would plunge the
cloth under so that the dye
00:12:21.84\00:12:26.01
would sink into all the
fibers and saturate things
00:12:26.04\00:12:28.18
and it would be
adequately baptize or submerged.
00:12:28.21\00:12:32.48
And so the Bible's pretty
clear the method of baptism
00:12:32.51\00:12:36.52
that Jesus experienced,
that John the Baptist practiced,
00:12:36.55\00:12:40.19
that Naaman experienced
was where they were immersed.
00:12:40.22\00:12:44.36
The Lord wants us
to be immersed in him.
00:12:44.39\00:12:47.86
He wants us to be
completely cleansed.
00:12:47.93\00:12:50.63
It's not just, you
know, washing your hands.
00:12:50.67\00:12:53.40
It's a total consecration
and baptism represents that.
00:12:53.44\00:12:57.64
That's why you
read in Colossians 2:12,
00:12:57.67\00:12:59.87
"Buried with him in baptism,
in which you are also raised
00:12:59.91\00:13:03.48
"with him through
faith in the working of God
00:13:03.51\00:13:06.01
"who raised him from the dead."
00:13:06.05\00:13:08.02
Baptism is compared
to a death, a burial,
00:13:08.05\00:13:12.32
and a resurrection.
00:13:12.35\00:13:14.16
Jesus is our example.
00:13:14.19\00:13:16.26
How was he baptized?
00:13:16.29\00:13:18.19
If you are a
Christian, you follow Jesus.
00:13:18.23\00:13:21.20
What does the
Bible say about him?
00:13:21.23\00:13:23.67
"Jesus came and was
baptized by John in the Jordan.
00:13:23.70\00:13:26.90
"And immediately
coming up from the water,
00:13:26.94\00:13:29.90
"he saw the heavens open."
00:13:29.94\00:13:31.24
Is it pretty clear?
00:13:31.27\00:13:32.74
He goes down in the water,
he comes up from the water.
00:13:32.77\00:13:35.18
John baptized in the Jordan.
00:13:35.21\00:13:36.88
It's a river.
00:13:36.91\00:13:38.11
You can also read
where the Bible says
00:13:38.15\00:13:39.61
that he baptized in Salim
00:13:39.65\00:13:41.08
because there
was much water there.
00:13:41.12\00:13:43.42
What other truths are
symbolized in baptism?
00:13:43.45\00:13:46.79
"Therefore, we are
buried with Him through baptism,
00:13:48.26\00:13:51.79
"that just as Christ
was raised from the dead
00:13:51.83\00:13:54.23
"by the glory of the Father,
00:13:54.30\00:13:55.93
"even so we should
walk in a newness of life.
00:13:55.96\00:14:00.04
"For if we have been
united together in the likeness
00:14:00.07\00:14:02.97
"of His death, certainly
shall we be in the likeness
00:14:03.00\00:14:06.64
"of His resurrection."
00:14:06.68\00:14:08.61
Baptism is a symbol of a death,
00:14:08.64\00:14:11.68
but it's not only just a death,
00:14:11.71\00:14:12.88
it's a burial, and
then it's a resurrection.
00:14:12.91\00:14:15.48
(upbeat music)
00:14:15.52\00:14:16.58
Don't go anywhere, friends.
00:14:16.62\00:14:17.85
In just a moment,
we're going to return
00:14:17.89\00:14:19.55
for the rest of
today's presentation.
00:14:19.59\00:14:22.19
Baptism, how important
is this Christian rite?
00:14:22.22\00:14:25.86
Is it essential to go to heaven?
00:14:25.89\00:14:27.86
And if so, is there a right
way and a wrong way to do it?
00:14:27.93\00:14:31.60
Can you get baptized on
behalf of another person?
00:14:31.63\00:14:34.70
The answers may surprise you.
00:14:34.74\00:14:37.04
We have a wonderful free
resource we'd like to share
00:14:37.07\00:14:39.71
with you called "Baptism,
Is It Really Necessary?"
00:14:39.74\00:14:43.04
In this book, you're
gonna find all of the balanced
00:14:43.08\00:14:45.45
and biblical answers you need
about the purpose and meaning
00:14:45.48\00:14:48.42
of baptism in the
life of every Christian,
00:14:48.45\00:14:50.89
straight from God's Word.
00:14:50.92\00:14:53.09
To get your free copy, call
the phone number on your screen
00:14:53.12\00:14:56.26
and ask for offer number
165, or visit the web address.
00:14:56.29\00:15:00.83
And after you read
this incredible resource,
00:15:00.86\00:15:03.26
make sure to
share it with a friend.
00:15:03.30\00:15:05.47
Well, let's get back
now to today's presentation
00:15:05.50\00:15:08.40
and learn some more amazing
facts from the Word of God.
00:15:08.44\00:15:11.17
I remember
hearing about this baptism
00:15:12.51\00:15:14.48
here in northern California.
00:15:14.51\00:15:15.91
There was this Spanish gentleman
00:15:16.91\00:15:19.78
and he told the pastor, he said,
00:15:19.81\00:15:21.42
You know, I've
lived a pretty wild life.
00:15:21.45\00:15:23.55
And he said,
when you baptize me,
00:15:24.72\00:15:26.02
and he said, I wanna
get baptized in the lake.
00:15:26.05\00:15:28.89
And he said, when you
baptize me, I'm a good swimmer.
00:15:28.92\00:15:33.66
He said, I wanna have a
prayer while I'm under water.
00:15:35.90\00:15:39.37
Pastor said, All right.
00:15:39.40\00:15:41.20
Usually, when
they baptize a person,
00:15:41.24\00:15:42.67
they just immerse 'em and
you bring them right up again.
00:15:42.70\00:15:45.34
You just, you know, important
you don't hold 'em under.
00:15:45.37\00:15:48.21
So the pastor said, I baptize
you in the name of the Father,
00:15:48.24\00:15:50.78
the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
00:15:50.81\00:15:52.68
And he put him down
and he hold him there.
00:15:52.71\00:15:56.22
And people on the shore
are shifting back and forth
00:15:57.62\00:15:59.29
and they're wondering
if they're gonna charge
00:15:59.32\00:16:00.52
out in the lake
and attack the pastor.
00:16:00.56\00:16:01.96
What are you
trying to do? Drown him?
00:16:01.99\00:16:04.13
And then he squeezed his hand,
he brought him back up again.
00:16:04.16\00:16:06.13
Then he explained everybody,
00:16:06.16\00:16:07.56
I wanted to just have a
prayer while I was under water.
00:16:07.60\00:16:11.23
But usually, one of the
ways you tell a person is dead,
00:16:11.27\00:16:14.27
they stop breathing.
00:16:14.30\00:16:15.30
And so at least for that
moment that you hold your breath
00:16:16.84\00:16:19.57
while you're under water,
00:16:19.61\00:16:21.14
it's like I'm
dying to my old ways.
00:16:21.18\00:16:22.68
When a baby's born, it comes
out of an envelope of water
00:16:22.71\00:16:25.51
and it takes its breath.
00:16:25.55\00:16:26.51
And we all worry when it doesn't
00:16:26.55\00:16:28.05
take that first breath, right?
00:16:28.08\00:16:30.05
That first cry is
symbolic of a new birth.
00:16:30.09\00:16:32.89
How important is baptism?
00:16:34.26\00:16:35.82
The Bible tells us,
Mark 16:16, Pastor Doug,
00:16:37.63\00:16:40.43
why are you
talking about this subject?
00:16:40.46\00:16:43.03
"He who believes and is
baptized will be saved."
00:16:43.06\00:16:47.24
Does that sound important?
00:16:47.27\00:16:48.90
"But he who does not
believe will be condemned."
00:16:48.94\00:16:51.07
You notice the
emphasis is on belief.
00:16:51.11\00:16:53.14
Will there be some people in
heaven who were not baptized?
00:16:54.58\00:16:58.98
Well sure.
00:16:59.01\00:17:00.38
You've got all these
characters in the Old Testament
00:17:00.42\00:17:01.52
who will be saved
and it doesn't tell us
00:17:01.55\00:17:02.98
that they practice
baptism as a a rite back then.
00:17:03.02\00:17:07.02
What about the thief on the
cross who died next to Jesus?
00:17:07.06\00:17:10.03
Will he be saved?
00:17:11.13\00:17:12.59
Why was Jesus baptized?
00:17:13.80\00:17:15.83
Was Jesus baptized for his sin?
00:17:16.87\00:17:18.80
No.
00:17:20.10\00:17:21.34
Jesus is baptized as
an example for you and me.
00:17:21.37\00:17:24.44
Another reason that I
believe Jesus was baptized,
00:17:25.81\00:17:28.51
Jesus did not die for
his sin; he died for mine.
00:17:28.54\00:17:31.25
I get credit for his death.
00:17:31.28\00:17:32.95
I think there are gonna
be people like that thief
00:17:32.98\00:17:34.88
on the cross who turn to Jesus
00:17:34.92\00:17:36.79
in the closing
hours of their life
00:17:36.82\00:17:38.22
and they cannot practically
accommodate a baptism
00:17:38.25\00:17:41.36
and the Lord gives
them credit for his baptism.
00:17:41.39\00:17:44.83
'Cause he certainly wasn't
baptized to wash away his sin.
00:17:44.86\00:17:48.23
There's some times I'll
visit someone in the hospital
00:17:48.26\00:17:51.23
and they're in the closing
days or hours of their life
00:17:52.67\00:17:55.84
and they're hooked up
to apparatus and they say,
00:17:55.87\00:17:58.67
"Pastor Doug, I
wanna accept the Lord."
00:17:58.71\00:18:02.51
Well, they can't be baptized,
00:18:02.54\00:18:04.01
but can they accept the Lord
and have their sins forgiven?
00:18:04.05\00:18:06.25
Yes.
00:18:06.28\00:18:07.65
Third reason Jesus was
baptized is to show you and me
00:18:07.68\00:18:11.62
what to expect
when we are baptized.
00:18:11.65\00:18:15.32
But I'll elaborate on that a
little more in a few moments.
00:18:15.36\00:18:18.26
Is it important?
00:18:19.13\00:18:20.33
Listen to what
Jesus said to Nicodemus.
00:18:20.36\00:18:22.70
"Unless one is born of
the water and the Spirit,
00:18:22.73\00:18:26.10
"he cannot enter,"
that's pretty absolute,
00:18:26.13\00:18:29.14
"he cannot enter
the kingdom of God."
00:18:29.17\00:18:31.91
You and I cannot pick the
time when God's gonna baptize us
00:18:33.34\00:18:35.71
with the Holy Spirit.
00:18:35.74\00:18:37.35
We can ask, but he does it.
00:18:37.38\00:18:40.02
Sometimes he does it suddenly.
00:18:40.05\00:18:41.42
At Pentecost, it says suddenly.
00:18:41.45\00:18:44.02
You and I can choose
when we are baptized by water.
00:18:44.05\00:18:48.02
And so it's basically saying,
00:18:48.06\00:18:49.79
unless you're born of
the water, your choice,
00:18:49.82\00:18:51.63
and born of the
Spirit, my choice,
00:18:51.66\00:18:53.73
you cannot enter
the kingdom of heaven.
00:18:53.76\00:18:55.90
When the children of
Israel came out of Egypt,
00:18:55.93\00:18:59.00
the Bible says they
went through the Red Sea,
00:18:59.03\00:19:01.24
baptized in water, and
God sent a pillar of fire,
00:19:01.27\00:19:04.61
baptized in fire.
00:19:04.64\00:19:06.94
Water baptism, fire
baptism, new person, new nation.
00:19:06.98\00:19:11.45
When they came out of that
water and they were baptized
00:19:11.48\00:19:13.75
in the cloud of fire,
they became a new nation.
00:19:13.78\00:19:15.95
You know, even our world
is getting both baptisms.
00:19:15.98\00:19:18.82
The days of Noah, the
world was washed with water.
00:19:18.85\00:19:21.59
Peter says this next
time it's not gonna be water,
00:19:23.02\00:19:24.89
but the heavens will
dissolve with a great noise
00:19:24.93\00:19:27.86
and the elements will
melt with fervent heat.
00:19:27.93\00:19:29.93
The earth and the works
in it will be burned up.
00:19:29.96\00:19:31.97
Next time, he said, it's
gonna be baptized in fire
00:19:32.00\00:19:34.44
and then God
will make a new earth.
00:19:34.47\00:19:36.87
So even our world is
gonna go through both baptisms
00:19:36.91\00:19:39.21
before it's made new.
00:19:39.24\00:19:40.78
You need both baptisms as well.
00:19:40.81\00:19:42.81
What blessed ceremony
can be compared to baptism?
00:19:44.28\00:19:47.02
I already give you
a little peek into it.
00:19:47.05\00:19:48.85
It's a symbol of like marriage.
00:19:48.88\00:19:51.29
And you can read
in Galatians 3:27,
00:19:51.32\00:19:54.02
"For as many of you as
were baptized into Christ,"
00:19:54.06\00:19:57.69
have put on Christ,
it's like putting on
00:19:57.73\00:20:00.56
the wedding garment.
00:20:00.60\00:20:02.53
Now, baptism is as
important to a Christian
00:20:02.56\00:20:07.57
as a wedding is to a marriage.
00:20:08.44\00:20:10.91
Typically, though there's
exceptions, baptisms are public.
00:20:10.94\00:20:14.51
Most people want others
to know about their wedding.
00:20:14.54\00:20:17.15
Love must be involved.
00:20:18.28\00:20:19.91
Faith must be involved.
00:20:19.95\00:20:22.02
It's a
consecration. It's a commitment.
00:20:22.05\00:20:24.65
What command did
Jesus give to his people
00:20:25.79\00:20:27.42
just before his ascension?
00:20:27.46\00:20:29.82
He said, "Go therefore and
make disciples of all nations,
00:20:29.86\00:20:33.66
"baptizing them in
the name of the Father
00:20:33.70\00:20:36.56
"and the Son and
the Holy Spirit."
00:20:36.60\00:20:39.40
So the Lord wants us to
go everywhere and to teach
00:20:40.87\00:20:43.20
and to baptize.
00:20:43.24\00:20:45.07
And he said, "Baptize
in the name of the Father,
00:20:45.11\00:20:46.84
"Son and Holy Spirit."
00:20:46.88\00:20:48.11
Now when you get
to the New Testament,
00:20:48.14\00:20:49.38
you get to the Book of
Acts, it says go baptize
00:20:49.41\00:20:51.48
in the name of the Lord,
00:20:51.51\00:20:52.75
baptize in the
name of the Lord Jesus.
00:20:52.78\00:20:55.02
So what are the criteria?
00:20:55.05\00:20:56.92
This is where it
gets really important.
00:20:56.95\00:20:58.45
Before a person's baptized,
what do they need to know?
00:20:58.49\00:21:01.52
Well, it says, for one thing,
00:21:01.56\00:21:03.06
they need to understand
the teachings of Jesus.
00:21:03.09\00:21:05.39
Matthew 28:19, he said, "Go
therefore teach all nations,
00:21:05.43\00:21:09.66
"baptizing them in
the name of the Father,
00:21:09.70\00:21:11.37
"Son and Holy Spirit, teaching
them to observe all things
00:21:11.40\00:21:14.47
"whatsoever I've commanded you.
00:21:14.50\00:21:16.17
"Lo, I'm with you to
the end of the world."
00:21:16.20\00:21:18.14
So you must be taught
the fundamental teachings
00:21:18.17\00:21:21.44
of the Bible and accept them.
00:21:21.48\00:21:23.14
And that's the next point.
00:21:23.18\00:21:24.51
Believe all of the
teachings of Jesus.
00:21:24.55\00:21:26.75
So yes, I embrace them.
00:21:26.78\00:21:28.22
I believe the
teachings of Jesus.
00:21:28.25\00:21:30.82
Be willing to
repent of your past sins.
00:21:30.85\00:21:34.32
Now, that means a sorrow for sin
00:21:35.19\00:21:37.73
and a turning away from sin.
00:21:37.76\00:21:39.49
Let me ask the ladies, if
a man came to you and said,
00:21:40.93\00:21:43.20
I love you, I'd
like to get married,
00:21:43.23\00:21:45.67
and we've been
dating for a little while.
00:21:45.70\00:21:48.70
And I think if we
got married I could stop
00:21:48.74\00:21:51.04
dating the other girls.
00:21:51.07\00:21:52.64
What would you say
to a proposal like that?
00:21:54.81\00:21:56.91
Crazy.
00:21:58.31\00:21:59.51
But there are people who say,
00:21:59.55\00:22:00.52
Pastor Doug, if you baptize me,
00:22:00.55\00:22:01.95
I think I can stop these
major addictions and sins
00:22:01.98\00:22:04.45
in my life.
00:22:04.49\00:22:06.05
No, John the Baptist
said, "Bring forth fruits
00:22:06.09\00:22:09.12
"meat of repentance in advance."
00:22:09.16\00:22:10.76
In other words,
repent of your sins,
00:22:10.79\00:22:11.99
turn from your sins,
and make that covenant.
00:22:12.03\00:22:16.03
You don't get baptized
in order to love the Lord.
00:22:16.06\00:22:18.87
Some people have said, I
think if you just baptize me,
00:22:18.90\00:22:20.67
then I'll love the Lord.
00:22:20.70\00:22:21.90
No, you wanna
consecrate yourself to the Lord,
00:22:21.94\00:22:24.54
be converted, and be baptized.
00:22:24.57\00:22:28.41
Repent of your past sins.
00:22:28.44\00:22:29.48
Repent and turn.
00:22:29.51\00:22:31.08
And that's the next verse.
00:22:31.11\00:22:32.25
Romans 6:5-6 and Luke 3:7-8,
00:22:32.28\00:22:35.58
agree to turn
from your life of sin.
00:22:35.62\00:22:38.39
Be willing to say,
Lord, I wanna follow you.
00:22:38.42\00:22:40.56
Jesus gives you the power
to change before your baptism.
00:22:40.59\00:22:45.29
He gives you the power to
change before your baptism.
00:22:45.33\00:22:48.66
And so don't worry
that I don't get the power
00:22:48.70\00:22:51.20
until I get baptized.
00:22:51.23\00:22:52.40
Baptism's a
ceremony like a marriage.
00:22:52.43\00:22:53.97
The love must come first.
00:22:54.00\00:22:55.30
The commitment must come first.
00:22:55.34\00:22:56.91
You don't say, If I got married,
00:22:56.94\00:22:58.24
then I think I can be committed.
00:22:58.27\00:22:59.81
Don't marry that person.
00:23:01.04\00:23:02.24
Accept Christ as
a personal Savior
00:23:03.61\00:23:06.08
and experience the new
birth, II Corinthians 5:17
00:23:06.11\00:23:10.39
and John three
verses three and five.
00:23:10.42\00:23:12.79
But doesn't
baptism of the Holy Spirit
00:23:13.96\00:23:16.12
replace baptism by immersion?
00:23:16.16\00:23:18.36
No, need both.
00:23:19.43\00:23:21.33
You can read where
in Acts chapter two
00:23:21.36\00:23:23.30
the apostles were
baptized by John the Baptist,
00:23:23.33\00:23:26.94
but then at Pentecost they're
baptized in the Holy Spirit.
00:23:26.97\00:23:30.47
And then Peter told
them, after the Holy Spirit
00:23:30.51\00:23:32.71
had been poured out,
he says in Acts 2:38,
00:23:32.74\00:23:36.04
"Repent and be
baptized every one of you."
00:23:36.08\00:23:39.88
He says, "Repent and let
every one of you be baptized,"
00:23:39.91\00:23:42.48
and so repentance and baptism,
00:23:42.52\00:23:44.89
they made it clear all through.
00:23:44.92\00:23:46.32
Even Paul when he was converted,
00:23:46.35\00:23:48.09
Ananias came to Paul and he said
00:23:49.26\00:23:51.56
I've been sent by
the Lord to baptize you.
00:23:51.59\00:23:55.03
Paul had been converted.
00:23:55.06\00:23:56.26
And so connected
with your decision to say
00:23:56.30\00:23:58.13
I wanna be a Christian,
I want my sins washed away,
00:23:58.17\00:24:01.10
I wanna follow the
Lord, is this sacred rite
00:24:01.14\00:24:04.64
that
encompasses that commitment,
00:24:04.67\00:24:06.78
that covenant
that you're making.
00:24:06.81\00:24:09.01
Now, I told you, you may not
know everything about a person
00:24:09.04\00:24:12.45
before you get married.
00:24:12.48\00:24:13.42
You need to know the basics.
00:24:13.45\00:24:15.15
There needs to be a commitment.
00:24:15.18\00:24:16.75
But don't wait until you
feel like you're perfect.
00:24:16.79\00:24:19.65
Because if you wait until
you feel like you're perfect
00:24:19.69\00:24:21.96
before you get baptized,
nobody will ever get baptized.
00:24:21.99\00:24:25.83
Even after Peter,
James, and John were baptized,
00:24:25.86\00:24:29.36
you see that they
weren't quite perfect yet.
00:24:29.40\00:24:32.20
In fact, Peter said,
"Lord Jesus, depart for me.
00:24:32.23\00:24:35.14
"I'm a sinful man."
00:24:35.17\00:24:36.74
That's in Luke chapter five.
00:24:36.77\00:24:38.17
Jesus said, "When
you're converted, Peter."
00:24:39.27\00:24:41.11
That's long after his baptism.
00:24:41.14\00:24:42.94
So you wanna make your
commitment, but don't say
00:24:42.98\00:24:44.91
I've gotta make
sure that I'm perfect,
00:24:44.95\00:24:46.48
or you'll never get there.
00:24:46.51\00:24:47.82
And furthermore, Acts 2:38,
00:24:49.38\00:24:51.95
"Baptize in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission
00:24:51.99\00:24:54.49
"of sins and you will receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit."
00:24:54.52\00:24:57.99
So you got water
baptism, spirit baptism.
00:24:58.03\00:25:00.86
Now you'll notice
biblically those baptisms
00:25:00.90\00:25:04.00
might happen at different times.
00:25:04.03\00:25:05.90
In Acts chapter 10,
00:25:05.93\00:25:08.00
Cornelius as Roman
centurion and his household,
00:25:08.04\00:25:11.17
they are baptized
with the Holy Spirit.
00:25:11.21\00:25:13.98
And Peter said, Wow, they got
baptized with the Holy Spirit
00:25:14.01\00:25:16.81
and they haven't been
baptized with water yet.
00:25:16.85\00:25:18.58
Who can forbid that we
baptize one with water?
00:25:18.61\00:25:21.15
So he said let's
do both baptisms.
00:25:21.18\00:25:23.18
He baptizes them with water.
00:25:23.22\00:25:24.99
Then you've got
where Jesus is baptized,
00:25:25.02\00:25:26.76
the Holy Spirit and
the water baptism happened
00:25:26.79\00:25:28.69
at the same time.
00:25:28.72\00:25:30.49
When Jesus was baptized,
what did His Father say?
00:25:30.53\00:25:33.90
You can look here in Mark 1:9.
00:25:35.06\00:25:38.27
"It came to pass in
those days that Jesus came
00:25:38.30\00:25:41.24
"from Nazareth of
Galilee and was baptized by John
00:25:41.27\00:25:44.54
"in the Jordan.
00:25:44.57\00:25:45.94
"And then a voice
came from heaven saying,
00:25:45.97\00:25:48.41
"You are my beloved son
in whom I am well pleased."
00:25:48.44\00:25:53.11
When we are
baptized, God adopts us.
00:25:53.15\00:25:55.15
He says we are his
beloved son or daughter
00:25:55.18\00:25:57.45
and he is well pleased.
00:25:57.49\00:25:59.39
How many of us
want to know that God
00:25:59.42\00:26:00.79
is well pleased with us?
00:26:00.82\00:26:02.22
He looks upon us as
though we have never sinned
00:26:02.26\00:26:04.09
and all of our sins washed away.
00:26:04.13\00:26:05.86
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