I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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Removing pain
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Lord, let my words
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Heal a heart that hurts
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people.
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Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn,
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and we welcome you
once again to 3ABN Today.
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This particular program
is a biblical topic program,
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or Bible topical program,
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however we want to say it.
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Let me tease to the topic,
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I was buried alive three times,
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and then I had a white funeral,
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and you'll understand that
before we finish the topic.
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We will talk
today about baptism,
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and even if you're
sitting there thinking,
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"I know everything there
is to know about baptism."
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I encourage you to
take notes to stay tuned
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because you need to
be able to explain it
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to somebody else.
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Let me introduce
our special guests,
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family members, my
brothers in Christ,
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first is my pastor,
Pastor John Lomacang.
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Good to be here
with you, Shelley.
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It's wonderful to have
you for a pastor, you know,
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this is something that
God has given you a great...
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You're very articulate,
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but He has
given you a great love
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for the scriptures,
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and I appreciate
that so much about you.
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And then my other brother
in Christ, Pastor CA Murray.
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Good to be here.
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Pastor Murray. Indeed.
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You know, the thing I
love about being family
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is we don't run around calling
each other by titles, do we?
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Exactly. No, no.
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All right, what
I'd like us to do
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is let's begin by giving
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what our
definition of baptism is,
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then we're going to
the scriptures to prove it.
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Many people have
different ideas on baptism.
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What we want to see is
what the Bible has to say,
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but, CA, I'm
going to start with you.
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Give us a summation of
what you think baptism is?
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What the
scriptures say baptism is
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then we go back
and check it out?
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Since we're going to
dive into the scriptures,
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let me use a medical analogy.
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Okay.
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And then we will explain
this in just a little bit.
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Baptism is the diagnosis
of a preexisting condition.
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There you go.
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We have an
ailment, we are born in sin,
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we are shaped in iniquity.
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Romans 8:1 says,
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"There's no
condemnation in Jesus."
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So when we come to Jesus,
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the public declaration
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of what has already
happened in our lives
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is seen in our
obeying of Christ command
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to be baptized.
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So baptism is the
diagnosis of something
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that has already
happened in our lives.
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We've already
repented it, been converted,
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given our hearts to Jesus,
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and then we tell the world
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we got a new best
friend and His name is Christ,
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and we do that through baptism.
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Amen. Pastor?
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In a nutshell, baptism
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is a public
expression of our faith
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in the atoning blood of Christ.
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If you did not
believe that Jesus
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is the answer for the
preexisting condition,
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as Pastor CA says,
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the preexisting
condition in all of our lives,
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Romans 3:23,
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"For all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God."
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Yes.
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I'll use an example in the Bible
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where baptism was
never even talked about,
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but I know the life was changed,
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the woman that met
Jesus at the well...
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Yes.
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Her life was so transformed
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that immediately
her actions changed,
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she left her water pot
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and immediately began
to testify about the Christ
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that has changed her,
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and the whole
town came to see a man,
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and they accepted
Christ through her testimony.
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Bible never said
she got baptized,
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but she accepted Him,
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she believed
that He was a Messiah,
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she went and told that
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because of her
faith, the people came,
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met Him, and
they were converted.
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So that expression of
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"I believe this is the Messiah",
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"I met a man"
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and for the kind
of life she lived,
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they probably said,
"Okay, what's His name?
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How many..."
"Which one is this?"
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She said, "No, no, no, no,
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I met a man that told me
everything I had ever done,"
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in her expression,
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so I believe that
baptism is a public expression.
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She publicly expressed Him,
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but maybe
somewhere along the way,
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she got baptized but
the Bible never said that.
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Well, you know, the
Bible has such short accounts,
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we never really
know all the details.
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We don't see the
rest of the story.
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Yeah. That's Right.
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Like Nicodemus,
when the Lord came...
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He came to the
Lord by night, he said,
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"Unless you're born of
the water and the Spirit,
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you cannot enter or
cannot see the kingdom of God."
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And then so,
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He communicated that to
Nicodemus the need for that.
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But it is, in fact, a ceremony
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or as we would
say, an ordinance.
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An ordinance.
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That expresses publicly
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that I have accepted Christ
as my Savior and by His blood,
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I shall be made
whole and cleansed,
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and I'm letting you all
know through this ceremony
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that I have
accepted Jesus as my Savior.
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Amen.
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Let me add
another point to that,
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if you don't accept
Jesus as your Savior,
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baptism cannot save you.
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Absolutely right.
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Baptism in and of
itself has no power
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to save anybody
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in the same way the water
had no power to cleanse Naaman,
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but if he
stopped at one dip less,
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his disobedience
would have proven
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no resolve to his former life.
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Yeah, proven by the
fact that at dip six,
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he hadn't changed.
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Yeah. Nothing to change.
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So the Lord says, "Dip,"
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and your dipping
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is your public
expression of the fact
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that I have ordained
this, like we do anointing,
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we have said to
people how many times,
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you know, "Well, now I
want you to know, sister,
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there's no power in my prayer,
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and although this oil
was brought from Jerusalem,
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there's no power in the oil."
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The power is in
the promise of God
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to follow His ordinance,
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and by following His ordinance,
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we accept by faith
that He honors our obedience
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and imputes to us
His righteousness.
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Shelley, let me just put this...
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And we're coming back
to you and forgive me,
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just stepping back
one little bit that
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when you come to Jesus,
coming to Christ moves you,
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you're never the same.
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And baptism is just
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one of the
emblems of that moving.
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When we come to Jesus,
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the love of
Christ constrains us.
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Now constrain is not restrain.
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Constrain means
appropriate movement.
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If you need to be held back,
constrain will hold you back.
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If you need to
be pushed forward,
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constrain will push you forward.
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It's appropriate movement.
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So when we come to Jesus,
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we begin to do those things
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which are
appropriate to a relationship
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with Jesus Christ.
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Some things we let go,
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we stay back from,
other things, we move towards.
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The thing about coming to Christ
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is you never stay
still, you never stay the same.
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So once we realize
what Christ asks of us,
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we are constrained to do that.
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Yeah. Amen. Amen.
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For me, what I was
saying earlier when I said,
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"I was buried
alive three times,"
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I grew up in a
church that taught
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you had to be baptized
just right to be saved.
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I was baptized at 12
years old, again at 18,
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because I was worried
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that my heart
wasn't right at 12.
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A third time, I was
baptized because I joined,
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and I went down front to
join a non-denominational church
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that had been a Baptist church,
and when you join the church,
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they dunk you before
you knew what happened
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because in their scripture,
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it talks about this is how
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we are added to
the church, right?
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But it wasn't
until I studied Romans 6,
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and we'll get into
that in a little bit,
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but that I
realized what baptism is.
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Baptism is
symbolic of Christ's burial
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and His resurrection.
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So when you're baptized,
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it is symbolic that
you are laying down,
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you're burying your past,
you're burying that old life,
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you are identifying
with the death of Christ,
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and when you come
up out of the waters
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that you are to be
walking in newness of life.
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So, to me, as I studied that,
and I realized that baptism,
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Christ did instituted
only one of two ordinances.
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There is communion that is
the ordinance for His death
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and then baptism,
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which is His
burial and resurrection.
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It is a commandment
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that we are to go
into all the nations,
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teaching them to observe,
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but to baptize in the name of
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the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit.
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So baptism is as important
as teaching, and to me,
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I believe that baptism
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is the sign of the New Covenant.
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In the Old Covenant,
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their sign was
outward circumcision,
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but God said, "I'm
going to give you a new heart,
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I'm going to
circumcise your heart."
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Let me read you this thought
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in Colossians 2:11,
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he says, Paul's
writing to the Colossians,
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he says, "In Him," in Christ,
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"you were also circumcised
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with the circumcision
made without hands."
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That's that New Covenant promise
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that we find in Ezekiel
00:10:02.30\00:10:03.83
that God's going
to give us a new heart
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and put His Spirit within us.
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He said, "By
putting off the body
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of the sins of the flesh
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by the circumcision of Christ
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buried with Him in baptism
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in which you were
also raised with Him
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through faith in
the working of God
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who raised Him from the dead."
00:10:25.92\00:10:29.32
So as we come
into this New Covenant,
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this is the sign, the
identifying sign, symbolic,
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as you said, of what
God has done in us already,
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and it is a public
confession, and it is,
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we'll see in scripture,
00:10:44.47\00:10:46.04
it was how people
were added to the church
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was through baptism.
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Let's just go back a little
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and lay some
biblical foundation.
00:10:54.65\00:10:57.32
In the New
Testament, we talk about...
00:10:57.35\00:11:00.99
There's John's baptism,
the baptism of the Holy Spirit,
00:11:01.02\00:11:04.59
the Believer's baptism.
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And you both
have been in Israel,
00:11:06.93\00:11:11.20
baptism is
something that is not new,
00:11:11.23\00:11:14.44
the Jews had a
practice that foreshadowed that.
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You were at the
temple when we went to...
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In Jerusalem, in Qumran, Masada,
00:11:23.01\00:11:26.48
do you remember those deep pools
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that we saw there?
00:11:28.18\00:11:29.78
These were called mikvehs,
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and the mikveh was
filled with living water,
00:11:32.29\00:11:36.42
and it was deep
enough that you could go down
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for a full body immersion.
00:11:38.43\00:11:40.60
Before someone could
go up to the temple mount,
00:11:40.63\00:11:44.67
before someone...
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And not just on the days of
Pentecost or atonement or what,
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but especially on those days,
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all the travelers would come in,
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they would take off
their traveling clothes,
00:11:54.91\00:11:57.08
they would go down and immerse
themselves completely under,
00:11:57.11\00:12:01.05
head and all,
completely under the water,
00:12:01.08\00:12:03.89
come up, and put
on a new white linen,
00:12:03.92\00:12:07.82
and that was an ablution,
00:12:07.86\00:12:11.49
if you will, for sacredness.
00:12:11.53\00:12:15.83
Okay.
00:12:15.86\00:12:17.20
They also had to
do this, the priests
00:12:17.23\00:12:20.00
before they
enter the priesthood.
00:12:20.04\00:12:22.07
They went and immerse themselves
00:12:22.10\00:12:24.44
in the mikveh.
00:12:24.47\00:12:25.81
So this, to me, the
idea of the living water,
00:12:25.84\00:12:28.64
that's water that came
from a spring or a river
00:12:28.68\00:12:31.65
had to be flowing water.
00:12:31.68\00:12:33.01
Flowing water,
right. Flowing water.
00:12:33.05\00:12:34.38
And, to me, that shows us
00:12:34.42\00:12:37.82
that it foreshadowed
the New Testament baptism
00:12:37.85\00:12:42.12
because it was not just
as being baptized in water
00:12:42.16\00:12:46.29
but being
baptized by the spirit.
00:12:46.33\00:12:48.90
Could you read
for us, one of you,
00:12:48.93\00:12:51.43
whoever would like to,
let's look at John and...
00:12:51.47\00:12:55.47
Excuse me, John's story,
John the Baptist in Matthew 3,
00:12:55.50\00:12:59.41
and let's begin with verse 11.
00:12:59.44\00:13:02.11
You know, Shelley,
I'm in someplace else,
00:13:02.14\00:13:03.48
and forgive me, I just want to,
00:13:03.51\00:13:04.85
because you mentioned something,
00:13:04.88\00:13:06.21
and I want to establish this,
00:13:06.25\00:13:07.58
this idea that God
has always had a sign
00:13:07.62\00:13:10.15
between Himself and
His people, a visible sign,
00:13:10.19\00:13:13.02
so I'm in Genesis 17,
00:13:13.05\00:13:15.29
I just want to read
this because you mentioned,
00:13:15.32\00:13:16.99
I just want to give some
scriptural back up for it,
00:13:17.03\00:13:19.26
17:9, and God said to Abraham,
00:13:19.29\00:13:22.40
"As for you, you
shall keep my covenant,
00:13:22.43\00:13:25.47
you and your descendants
00:13:25.50\00:13:26.84
after you
throughout your generations.
00:13:26.87\00:13:29.14
This is my covenant
which you shall keep
00:13:29.17\00:13:31.37
between me and you and
your descendants after you,
00:13:31.41\00:13:34.64
every male child among
you shall be circumcised."
00:13:34.68\00:13:37.61
So the sign of the covenant
00:13:37.65\00:13:38.98
in the Old
Testament was circumcision.
00:13:39.01\00:13:40.95
Only stopped for a
short time while they were...
00:13:40.98\00:13:43.35
It was a short time,
00:13:43.39\00:13:44.72
while they were
in the wilderness,
00:13:44.75\00:13:46.09
and then picked back up again
00:13:46.12\00:13:47.46
once they cross
over into Canaan.
00:13:47.49\00:13:48.82
So there was this
sign from Abraham's time
00:13:48.86\00:13:51.59
up until they came
into the Promised Land.
00:13:51.63\00:13:54.00
Now, of course,
00:13:54.03\00:13:55.36
this New
Testament sign is baptism,
00:13:55.40\00:13:56.77
so we're just
following the continuity
00:13:56.80\00:13:58.50
that God has always had a sign
00:13:58.53\00:14:00.44
between He and His
people that certified
00:14:00.47\00:14:03.00
that they were His people,
and it was a visible sign,
00:14:03.04\00:14:06.47
you know, and I just
wanted to put that in there.
00:14:06.51\00:14:09.58
When we study at the temple,
00:14:09.61\00:14:11.68
there were Gentiles
who believed in God,
00:14:11.71\00:14:15.38
but they refused
to be circumcised.
00:14:15.42\00:14:18.05
So they had the Court
of the Gentiles over there,
00:14:18.09\00:14:19.82
these were the
uncircumcised Gentiles.
00:14:19.85\00:14:22.32
We know that they
really, of course,
00:14:22.36\00:14:25.36
I'm not approving of this,
00:14:25.39\00:14:27.73
but the Jews would not
even associate with them
00:14:27.76\00:14:30.70
as far as going into
their home or eating,
00:14:30.73\00:14:32.93
but if someone was circumcised
00:14:32.97\00:14:36.64
which was a
sign of the covenant,
00:14:36.67\00:14:38.51
they were accepted
as a Jewish proselyte,
00:14:38.54\00:14:42.18
and then they could be
00:14:42.21\00:14:43.65
in the other part of the temple.
00:14:43.68\00:14:46.25
And, to me, that's something
that that kind of foreshadows
00:14:46.28\00:14:50.75
the idea that this is
how we come into the church.
00:14:50.79\00:14:53.82
We're coming
into the New Covenant,
00:14:53.86\00:14:55.29
we're showing by
public confession
00:14:55.32\00:14:57.93
that God has done
a work in our heart,
00:14:57.96\00:14:59.69
and we receive Him.
00:14:59.73\00:15:01.16
Let me add a point to that
00:15:01.20\00:15:02.53
'cause I think that both of
you made a really good point
00:15:02.56\00:15:03.93
about the Old
Testament sign circumcision
00:15:03.97\00:15:07.77
and pointing out the
New Testament equivalent
00:15:07.80\00:15:09.70
was circumcision of
the heart, a changed heart.
00:15:09.74\00:15:13.98
One of the ones
that I want to point out
00:15:14.01\00:15:15.88
because I know
we're not talking about
00:15:15.91\00:15:17.41
circumcision being necessary,
00:15:17.45\00:15:19.31
because sometimes the
Jews, well, not sometimes,
00:15:19.35\00:15:22.08
the Jews always believe
00:15:22.12\00:15:23.45
that circumcision
was a prerequisite
00:15:23.49\00:15:26.05
to keeping the
laws, the ceremonial laws.
00:15:26.09\00:15:29.69
But I like when Paul
says in 1 Corinthians 7:19,
00:15:29.72\00:15:32.96
"Circumcision is nothing
and uncircumcision is nothing,
00:15:32.99\00:15:37.57
but the keeping of
the commandments of God
00:15:37.60\00:15:39.43
is what matters."
00:15:39.47\00:15:40.97
1 Corinthians 7:19,
00:15:41.00\00:15:42.34
so, if you're
looking at the program,
00:15:42.37\00:15:44.24
I want to make
sure that you know
00:15:44.27\00:15:45.71
that we're not talking about...
00:15:45.74\00:15:47.08
And I know that Shelley
didn't communicated this,
00:15:47.11\00:15:48.44
neither Pastor CA
00:15:48.48\00:15:49.81
that would talk about
the support of circumcision,
00:15:49.84\00:15:51.98
but in the New
Covenant, it's the heart change.
00:15:52.01\00:15:53.85
Yes.
00:15:53.88\00:15:55.22
It's the
circumcision of the heart.
00:15:55.25\00:15:56.58
But you can't do it.
00:15:56.62\00:15:57.95
If you try to do it,
you cut your heart out.
00:15:57.99\00:15:59.32
That's right.
00:15:59.35\00:16:00.69
And there's no need
to do that, but the...
00:16:00.72\00:16:05.69
"Changing of the
life is the removal
00:16:05.73\00:16:09.83
of that old
nature, that circumcision,
00:16:09.86\00:16:13.77
that old nature
that needs to die."
00:16:13.80\00:16:16.20
And if anyone is in
Christ, he's a new creation,
00:16:16.24\00:16:20.74
so baptism is
that in Christ motif,
00:16:20.78\00:16:23.61
a new creation.
00:16:23.65\00:16:24.98
And circumcision,
one way or the other,
00:16:25.01\00:16:27.32
doesn't remove our call
00:16:27.35\00:16:30.69
to keep the commandments of God
00:16:30.72\00:16:32.35
'cause some people think that,
00:16:32.39\00:16:33.89
"Ah, I got my text now,
00:16:33.92\00:16:35.26
we don't have to keep
the commandments of God."
00:16:35.29\00:16:37.33
But that didn't
negate you either way.
00:16:37.36\00:16:39.03
If you were circumcised or not,
00:16:39.06\00:16:40.40
the commandments of
God needed to be kept.
00:16:40.43\00:16:41.76
Good point.
00:16:41.80\00:16:43.13
These are all
symbols of something
00:16:43.16\00:16:44.50
because in circumcision,
00:16:44.53\00:16:45.87
there was something
that was being cut away.
00:16:45.90\00:16:47.34
Some part that was
being cut away of the body,
00:16:47.37\00:16:50.07
and the
circumcision of the heart
00:16:50.11\00:16:52.47
is the idea that
there is something,
00:16:52.51\00:16:54.74
practice-wise,
that has to be cut away.
00:16:54.78\00:16:57.05
And the way Paul
expressed it to the Colossians
00:16:57.08\00:17:00.12
is by putting off the
body of the sins flesh.
00:17:00.15\00:17:04.92
That's right.
It's that old life.
00:17:04.95\00:17:08.49
This is why I call
baptism a white funeral.
00:17:08.52\00:17:12.53
It's like you have,
you're burying your past,
00:17:12.56\00:17:16.67
you are being relieved of that,
00:17:16.70\00:17:18.80
but you're being
released from that
00:17:18.83\00:17:20.74
because we know that Jesus said
00:17:20.77\00:17:22.74
that He came to
destroy the works of the devil,
00:17:22.77\00:17:26.14
He came to save
us from our sins.
00:17:26.17\00:17:29.31
So if you were like me,
00:17:29.34\00:17:32.78
the first few times I
was baptized, it really...
00:17:32.81\00:17:36.22
You know, it was kind of
like, "Oh, I've been baptized."
00:17:36.25\00:17:38.95
But it didn't make a difference
in my life until I understood,
00:17:38.99\00:17:43.59
and the fourth time it
took because I understood,
00:17:43.63\00:17:47.66
"Hey, I am burying
this old way of life.
00:17:47.70\00:17:53.47
I'm going to be
resurrected to live
00:17:53.50\00:17:55.90
by the power of the Holy
Spirit in newness of life,"
00:17:55.94\00:17:59.57
and it is a command of
God, Christ commanded it.
00:17:59.61\00:18:05.15
He also submitted to baptism,
and let's just kind of go back
00:18:05.18\00:18:09.42
'cause I think people sometimes
get John's baptism and Christ,
00:18:09.45\00:18:13.22
the Believer's baptism confused.
00:18:13.25\00:18:15.62
So somebody, if you
would, please let's read
00:18:15.66\00:18:19.46
Mark 3:11.
00:18:19.49\00:18:25.60
You mean, Matthew 3?
00:18:25.63\00:18:27.67
Matthew, I'm sorry
chapter 3 verses 11 through...
00:18:27.70\00:18:33.84
Just 11 and 12. Okay.
00:18:33.88\00:18:35.84
You got it, Pastor.
00:18:35.88\00:18:37.75
I have it right here.
00:18:37.78\00:18:39.11
Okay, and Matthew
3:11-12 reads as follows...
00:18:39.15\00:18:43.92
"I indeed baptize you
with water unto repentance,
00:18:47.26\00:18:50.83
but He who is coming
after me is mightier than I,
00:18:50.86\00:18:54.86
whose sandal I am
not worthy to carry.
00:18:54.90\00:18:57.60
He will baptize you with
the Holy Spirit and fire.
00:18:57.63\00:19:02.10
His winnowing
fan is in His hand,
00:19:02.14\00:19:04.17
and He will thoroughly
purchase threshing floor
00:19:04.21\00:19:06.44
and gather His
wheat into the barn,
00:19:06.47\00:19:09.08
but He will burn up the
chaff with unquenchable fire."
00:19:09.11\00:19:13.92
Right. Who is talking here?
00:19:13.95\00:19:16.42
Right here, that
is John speaking here.
00:19:16.45\00:19:19.02
John, the Baptist.
What was his ministry?
00:19:19.05\00:19:22.26
To preach repentance, to
prepare the way for Christ,
00:19:22.29\00:19:24.53
who is to come.
00:19:24.56\00:19:25.89
He... It was a
preparatory work, wasn't it?
00:19:25.93\00:19:27.70
It really was.
00:19:27.73\00:19:29.06
Now, interestingly,
00:19:29.10\00:19:31.03
Jesus repeated these
words before He ascended
00:19:31.07\00:19:34.14
that it won't be long
before you are baptized.
00:19:34.17\00:19:38.34
He said, "John
truly baptized with water,
00:19:38.37\00:19:40.44
but you shall be
baptized with the Holy Spirit
00:19:40.48\00:19:43.78
not many days from now."
00:19:43.81\00:19:46.41
So here's my question,
00:19:46.45\00:19:49.28
Jesus came to John at
the Jordan to be baptized,
00:19:49.32\00:19:54.12
what was John's reaction?
00:19:54.16\00:19:57.06
And that goes on
in verse 13. Right.
00:19:57.09\00:19:59.09
I should be... It
should be other way around.
00:19:59.13\00:20:01.60
He was very humble,
wasn't he? Yeah, very much so.
00:20:01.63\00:20:04.07
So why do you
believe then when Jesus is...
00:20:04.10\00:20:09.07
I mean, here He had said,
"Here comes the Lamb of God."
00:20:09.10\00:20:12.01
Now John is
being asked by Jesus,
00:20:12.04\00:20:15.51
and I'm sure it startled him,
and he responded humbly saying,
00:20:15.54\00:20:20.82
"I shouldn't be baptizing You,
You should be baptizing me,"
00:20:20.85\00:20:23.49
because his was a
baptism unto repentance,
00:20:23.52\00:20:26.89
Christ didn't need to repent,
so why didn't Jesus submit,
00:20:26.92\00:20:30.73
because John then
goes ahead and baptizes Him
00:20:30.76\00:20:33.90
in Matthew 3:16, it said,
00:20:33.93\00:20:36.77
"When He had been baptized,
00:20:36.80\00:20:38.17
Jesus came up
immediately from the water.
00:20:38.20\00:20:40.87
The heavens were opened,
00:20:40.90\00:20:42.24
and He saw the spirit descending
00:20:42.27\00:20:43.74
like a dove and
alighting on Him saying,
00:20:43.77\00:20:46.47
'This is My Son in
whom I'm well pleased.'"
00:20:46.51\00:20:48.44
Why did Jesus allow
John to baptize Him?
00:20:48.48\00:20:52.28
Jesus understood and
John understood two things.
00:20:52.31\00:20:55.18
One, John took the message
00:20:55.22\00:20:57.75
as far as he was
commissioned to do
00:20:57.79\00:21:00.26
and as far as he could.
00:21:00.29\00:21:01.96
We know that he knew
who he was dealing with
00:21:01.99\00:21:03.93
because he said,
"Behold the Lamb of God,"
00:21:03.96\00:21:05.39
So he had a full
understanding of who Christ was.
00:21:05.43\00:21:09.40
But Christ
ministry had yet to begin,
00:21:09.43\00:21:12.83
so he couldn't
really baptize them
00:21:12.87\00:21:15.10
into something that
they knew nothing about.
00:21:15.14\00:21:17.51
Christ had not
established His own work,
00:21:17.54\00:21:20.01
so that means that this service
00:21:20.04\00:21:22.38
must have had some other
kind of secondary meaning,
00:21:22.41\00:21:25.51
well, maybe not secondary,
00:21:25.55\00:21:26.88
but there was another
agenda there for this,
00:21:26.92\00:21:30.42
and the agenda was the example
00:21:30.45\00:21:32.75
for those of us
who must come after.
00:21:32.79\00:21:34.62
Christ certainly did
not need to be baptized
00:21:34.66\00:21:37.16
for omission of sin
00:21:37.19\00:21:38.53
because He had no sin,
there was nothing to repent of.
00:21:38.56\00:21:41.16
So the idea of
this particular baptism
00:21:41.20\00:21:44.47
was an example for
those of us who are to follow.
00:21:44.50\00:21:48.30
Do you think that any
possibility that it also...
00:21:48.34\00:21:52.04
I mean, I agree
Christ was submitting to it
00:21:52.07\00:21:54.54
to show He approved of it.
00:21:54.58\00:21:57.08
Do you think also that possibly
00:21:57.11\00:21:59.41
when He said to
fulfill all righteousness
00:21:59.45\00:22:01.48
that it had to do with the fact
00:22:01.52\00:22:02.85
that He was about
to begin His ministry
00:22:02.88\00:22:05.09
and as the priest
had to be immersed
00:22:05.12\00:22:09.72
in the mikveh
00:22:09.76\00:22:11.09
that this was part of
00:22:11.13\00:22:12.46
His fulfilling
all righteousness?
00:22:12.49\00:22:13.83
It could have
been an acknowledgment
00:22:13.86\00:22:15.20
that what He had
established long before
00:22:15.23\00:22:16.67
He was willing
to follow Himself.
00:22:16.70\00:22:18.80
You know, He
established many things,
00:22:18.83\00:22:20.67
He didn't say,
"Behold the Messiah
00:22:20.70\00:22:22.14
that taketh away
the sin of the world."
00:22:22.17\00:22:23.77
Because long ago,
00:22:23.81\00:22:25.14
He established the
whole purpose of the lamb.
00:22:25.17\00:22:27.18
He thought, "Well,
they've been doing this
00:22:27.21\00:22:28.54
for a couple thousand years,
00:22:28.58\00:22:29.91
they should
recognize what this means."
00:22:29.94\00:22:31.98
So now in the
same way in baptism,
00:22:32.01\00:22:33.75
"While they've
been using the mikveh,
00:22:33.78\00:22:35.12
they should
recognize what this means,"
00:22:35.15\00:22:36.48
and they could have said,
00:22:36.52\00:22:38.29
"Wait a minute, why is
He going down the water?
00:22:38.32\00:22:40.39
We've been doing
that for a long time.
00:22:40.42\00:22:41.76
Could He be the
priest? Is it possible?"
00:22:41.79\00:22:44.13
He gave them every symbol,
every outward sign to connect
00:22:44.16\00:22:49.06
what they have
been doing to who He is,
00:22:49.10\00:22:51.03
and they forgot it.
00:22:51.07\00:22:52.40
Yeah, well said, well
said. So the lamb, lamb.
00:22:52.43\00:22:55.07
And following up...
What's the meaning of lamb?
00:22:55.10\00:22:56.44
I'm sorry.
00:22:56.47\00:22:57.81
And then He is now in
the water, what is that?
00:22:57.84\00:22:59.17
The laver, wait a
minute, this is connectings,
00:22:59.21\00:23:01.51
what's this meaning?
00:23:01.54\00:23:02.88
And everything He gave
them to evidentially conclude,
00:23:02.91\00:23:07.42
"Am I doing this coincidentally?
00:23:07.45\00:23:10.32
I'm the Messiah."
00:23:10.35\00:23:12.15
And that's why in John 5:39,
He made this statement to them,
00:23:12.19\00:23:15.42
they were so versed in
the scripture, the Torah,
00:23:15.46\00:23:18.13
the Pentateuch, He said,
00:23:18.16\00:23:19.73
"You searched
for the scriptures,
00:23:19.76\00:23:21.70
for in them, you
think you find eternal life,
00:23:21.73\00:23:25.00
but these are
they that testify..."
00:23:25.03\00:23:26.84
Of me. I'm right here.
00:23:26.87\00:23:28.54
Yeah.
00:23:28.57\00:23:29.90
And they couldn't get it,
00:23:29.94\00:23:31.27
so He did that to
fulfill all righteousness
00:23:31.31\00:23:32.77
because John's baptism
00:23:32.81\00:23:34.14
couldn't fulfill
all righteousness
00:23:34.18\00:23:35.51
because John
himself is not righteous.
00:23:35.54\00:23:38.28
And he can't communicate
what he doesn't have,
00:23:38.31\00:23:40.48
so here comes the righteous one
00:23:40.52\00:23:42.65
that taketh away
the sin of the world,
00:23:42.68\00:23:45.15
that broken relationship,
00:23:45.19\00:23:46.86
that thing that
every one of us has,
00:23:46.89\00:23:49.02
and that's why in
adding one component to that,
00:23:49.06\00:23:51.09
we all know John 3:16,
00:23:51.13\00:23:52.99
but the point
that I want to add here
00:23:53.03\00:23:55.16
was the reason why Jesus came
was not to condemn the world
00:23:55.20\00:23:58.07
but that the world,
through Him might be saved.
00:23:58.10\00:24:00.40
'Cause they were all,
00:24:00.44\00:24:01.77
every one of us is
in a lost condition,
00:24:01.80\00:24:03.77
every one of us, without Christ,
00:24:03.81\00:24:05.27
so I would add to this,
you know, baptism is not...
00:24:05.31\00:24:09.74
We're not standing
on the sideline to say,
00:24:09.78\00:24:12.98
"Do I want to be saved?
00:24:13.01\00:24:14.35
Do I want to be lost?
00:24:14.38\00:24:15.72
Do I want to be lost?
Do I want to be saved?"
00:24:15.75\00:24:17.99
When we baptize
or not baptized?"
00:24:18.02\00:24:20.06
We're not choosing our destiny.
00:24:20.09\00:24:21.62
One of our destinies is fixed,
00:24:21.66\00:24:23.56
Jesus came to give
us a different destiny.
00:24:23.59\00:24:25.73
Yes.
00:24:25.76\00:24:27.10
And so that's why baptism...
00:24:27.13\00:24:28.76
Coming with that
beautiful outward symbol
00:24:28.80\00:24:30.93
of our inward acceptance
of Christ, Peter says,
00:24:30.97\00:24:35.00
"Repent and be converted."
00:24:35.04\00:24:37.54
Yes. What do I need to do?
00:24:37.57\00:24:39.57
You know repent
00:24:39.61\00:24:40.94
and let every
one of you baptized,
00:24:40.98\00:24:42.84
but let that baptism lead
to repentance and conversion,
00:24:42.88\00:24:46.01
or else you just got baptized.
00:24:46.05\00:24:48.02
So what you're saying is that
as with me the first two times,
00:24:48.05\00:24:51.92
if you go down
into the water a sinner,
00:24:51.95\00:24:56.02
you're coming up a sinner,
00:24:56.06\00:24:57.39
you're just a wet
sinner at that point.
00:24:57.43\00:24:58.76
Unless you repent,
you are not converted.
00:24:58.79\00:25:00.13
Unless you're
repenting and converted.
00:25:00.16\00:25:02.53
You have something that
you used in illustration
00:25:02.56\00:25:06.84
about marriage.
00:25:06.87\00:25:08.97
Let me hold that till
we read the commandment
00:25:09.00\00:25:10.94
because we are commanded
by Christ, as believers,
00:25:10.97\00:25:16.24
we become disciples of the Lord.
00:25:16.28\00:25:18.38
We're commanded to be baptized.
00:25:18.41\00:25:20.02
This isn't an optional
path, it is a commandment.
00:25:20.05\00:25:24.45
And in Matthew 28,
I'll begin with verse 19,
00:25:24.49\00:25:27.69
well, no, let me
begin with verse 18.
00:25:27.72\00:25:29.26
Yeah.
00:25:29.29\00:25:30.63
"Jesus came and
spoke to them saying,
00:25:30.66\00:25:32.69
'All authority
has been given to Me
00:25:32.73\00:25:35.53
in heaven and on earth.
00:25:35.56\00:25:36.90
Go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations
00:25:36.93\00:25:41.10
baptizing them in
the name of the Father
00:25:41.14\00:25:44.67
and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit.'"
00:25:44.71\00:25:48.01
So He said, "Go make disciples,"
00:25:48.04\00:25:50.08
What do we do?
00:25:50.11\00:25:51.45
We baptize those disciples,
00:25:51.48\00:25:53.65
"Teaching them to
observe all things
00:25:53.68\00:25:57.52
that I have commanded and
lo, I am with you always."
00:25:57.55\00:26:00.72
So I would say that
the commission to baptize
00:26:00.76\00:26:04.59
is equally as important as
the commission to go and teach
00:26:04.63\00:26:09.43
and make disciples.
00:26:09.46\00:26:10.80
I mean, you
cannot separate this.
00:26:10.83\00:26:13.90
It is something...
00:26:13.94\00:26:16.17
And I believe that it's
more than a formulaic phrase
00:26:16.20\00:26:19.44
when He said it
00:26:19.47\00:26:20.81
in the name of the
Father and the Son.
00:26:20.84\00:26:22.71
This is something
that it is showing that...
00:26:22.74\00:26:28.18
First of all,
00:26:28.22\00:26:29.55
it is required of all believers,
00:26:29.58\00:26:31.49
but it is our commitment to God.
00:26:31.52\00:26:35.06
You've got a thought? Yeah.
00:26:35.09\00:26:37.03
Great, I see your point.
00:26:37.06\00:26:39.39
Yeah, I'm chiming in
because both of you touched on
00:26:39.43\00:26:41.46
something that
just occurred to me,
00:26:41.50\00:26:44.30
how that the priest had
to ritually immerse himself
00:26:44.33\00:26:48.40
in the mikveh
00:26:48.44\00:26:49.77
prior to his entry
into ministry in the temple.
00:26:49.80\00:26:55.31
We can see then a parallel
in Christ being baptized
00:26:55.34\00:27:00.08
prior to His entry
into ministry for mankind.
00:27:00.12\00:27:04.05
And it is
interesting that He is baptized
00:27:04.09\00:27:06.59
not in the Sea of Galilee,
00:27:06.62\00:27:08.26
which is relatively
still body of water,
00:27:08.29\00:27:10.49
He got baptized in the Jordan
00:27:10.53\00:27:11.86
which is a moving body of water,
00:27:11.89\00:27:13.83
which makes it
ceremonially acceptable
00:27:13.86\00:27:16.33
according to Numbers,
00:27:16.36\00:27:17.70
because moving
water cannot be defiled.
00:27:17.73\00:27:19.83
So He's
following a pattern there.
00:27:19.87\00:27:21.34
And then a co-region
of that pattern for us is
00:27:21.37\00:27:26.64
once we come to the Lord,
00:27:26.68\00:27:28.04
we are part of the
priesthood of all believers.
00:27:28.08\00:27:30.88
So our entrance into ministry
00:27:30.91\00:27:32.58
has to be preceded by
that same mikveh washing
00:27:32.61\00:27:37.55
of our bodies,
00:27:37.59\00:27:39.49
which is a sign also
that we are on Christ's team.
00:27:39.52\00:27:41.26
We're feeling the righteousness.
00:27:41.29\00:27:43.63
Yeah, we're
feeling righteousness
00:27:43.66\00:27:44.99
but it's also requisite to
us entering into our ministry.
00:27:45.03\00:27:49.96
You know, the ministry
that God has given each of us
00:27:50.00\00:27:51.63
to perform in our lives
00:27:51.67\00:27:53.00
and just kind of conflating
what both of you said,
00:27:53.03\00:27:54.70
it just kind of
popped in my mind
00:27:54.74\00:27:56.17
that there is direct
parallel in those three.
00:27:56.20\00:27:58.81
I don't often do this,
00:27:58.84\00:28:00.18
but that was an anointed phrase.
00:28:00.21\00:28:01.74
That was an anointed saying
00:28:01.78\00:28:03.11
because this is
what I was talking about
00:28:03.14\00:28:04.48
when Jesus said,
00:28:04.51\00:28:05.95
"He who believes
and is baptized..."
00:28:05.98\00:28:08.22
Jesus knew His mission.
00:28:08.25\00:28:09.92
Yes.
00:28:09.95\00:28:11.29
He accepted the
mission, the Father,
00:28:11.32\00:28:12.65
And He had co-authored,
00:28:12.69\00:28:17.69
but He condescended,
He submitted to it.
00:28:17.73\00:28:19.76
Yes.
00:28:19.79\00:28:21.13
And then He made it clear,
00:28:21.16\00:28:23.37
"These are the steps, now go,
00:28:23.40\00:28:27.37
the authority is given,
00:28:27.40\00:28:29.17
the disciples,
00:28:29.20\00:28:30.54
these are the steps,
the authority is given,"
00:28:30.57\00:28:32.31
and for us to
have any authority,
00:28:32.34\00:28:33.94
we can't break the
examples of Christ,
00:28:33.98\00:28:36.68
you know, there are a
number of things we do
00:28:36.71\00:28:38.05
that are exemplified by Christ,
00:28:38.08\00:28:41.15
communion, washing of the feet.
00:28:41.18\00:28:42.98
Some people don't do that,
00:28:43.02\00:28:44.79
but it says, "If, I, your Lord
and your teacher, do this..."
00:28:44.82\00:28:46.76
Yes. Yeah.
00:28:46.79\00:28:48.79
Yeah. What your problem?
00:28:48.82\00:28:50.16
What's wrong with
you, right? Right.
00:28:50.19\00:28:51.63
I'm the King of the
universe, I'm doing this.
00:28:51.66\00:28:53.73
I left you an example.
00:28:53.76\00:28:55.10
Blessed are you or happy are you
00:28:55.13\00:28:56.46
if you do these things.
00:28:56.50\00:28:58.07
So the blessing comes, and
I love that word, you know,
00:28:58.10\00:29:01.77
the King James says "all power,"
00:29:01.80\00:29:04.47
New Kings, "all authority,"
00:29:04.51\00:29:06.78
what the disciples got
on the Day of Pentecost
00:29:06.81\00:29:10.88
was all authority, all power,
00:29:10.91\00:29:14.58
what Jesus came forth
was all authority, all power,
00:29:14.62\00:29:19.42
and what He says,
"You're going to have..."
00:29:19.45\00:29:21.06
All authority.
00:29:21.09\00:29:22.42
When you are...
00:29:22.46\00:29:23.79
You will receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit,
00:29:23.83\00:29:27.33
all authority, all power.
00:29:27.36\00:29:29.86
And the Holy Spirit
himself just the sidebar,
00:29:29.90\00:29:32.50
doesn't speak on
his own authority,
00:29:32.53\00:29:35.27
but he speaks on the
authority of the Son.
00:29:35.30\00:29:37.17
So any authority
we get is not ours.
00:29:37.21\00:29:39.04
Not ours.
00:29:39.07\00:29:40.41
It's passing
through us, through Jesus,
00:29:40.44\00:29:42.51
so then how can you take
a shortcut and skip baptism
00:29:42.54\00:29:45.28
and think that you're
walking in the full authority
00:29:45.31\00:29:47.08
of Jesus Christ.
00:29:47.12\00:29:48.45
You know, it's interesting to me
00:29:48.48\00:29:49.82
if we looked at
the house of Cornelius
00:29:49.85\00:29:53.22
that they received the baptism
of the Holy Spirit first.
00:29:53.25\00:29:57.39
Cornelius was a Roman centurion,
00:29:57.43\00:30:01.33
and he was a
devout and godly man.
00:30:01.36\00:30:05.33
The Holy Spirit
was working in his life
00:30:05.37\00:30:08.90
way before Peter arrived,
00:30:08.94\00:30:10.74
but what happened
is he was praying...
00:30:10.77\00:30:13.14
The Bible says he
prayed to God constantly,
00:30:13.17\00:30:16.91
and he gave alms to the poor.
00:30:16.95\00:30:19.35
He was a man who
was walking in obedience
00:30:19.38\00:30:22.88
and the interesting thing
is he is praying earnestly.
00:30:22.92\00:30:27.99
God sends an
angel to him and says,
00:30:28.02\00:30:30.36
"Hey! Send for
Peter over in Joppa."
00:30:30.39\00:30:32.43
So Peter gets this vision
00:30:32.46\00:30:35.13
or he understands
00:30:35.16\00:30:36.50
that God is saying that,
00:30:36.53\00:30:42.37
"No man's unclean."
00:30:42.40\00:30:43.74
This is the first
mission by an apostle
00:30:43.77\00:30:48.58
to an uncircumcised Gentile.
00:30:48.61\00:30:51.18
So he understands, he goes,
00:30:51.21\00:30:53.85
and I'm looking
for the scripture
00:30:53.88\00:30:55.28
which is in...
00:30:55.32\00:30:56.65
Acts 10. Acts 10.
00:30:56.69\00:30:58.02
Acts 10.
00:30:58.05\00:30:59.39
So in Acts 10,
Cornelius then is...
00:30:59.42\00:31:03.86
I'm trying to
find it here on my...
00:31:03.89\00:31:05.23
Here it is.
00:31:05.26\00:31:06.59
Acts 10, find it.
00:31:06.63\00:31:07.96
Somebody read
this because it says...
00:31:08.00\00:31:09.33
What verse do you want?
00:31:09.36\00:31:10.70
I'm in 10. Yeah, I
have it right here.
00:31:10.73\00:31:12.23
Go ahead.
00:31:12.27\00:31:13.60
We're talking about verse...
00:31:13.64\00:31:15.20
Here it is, right here
about receiving the Holy Spirit,
00:31:15.24\00:31:17.21
verse 46 and down to 48.
00:31:17.24\00:31:20.84
Yes.
00:31:20.88\00:31:23.14
Speaking...
00:31:23.18\00:31:24.51
Above verse 44 starts actually,
00:31:24.55\00:31:26.21
"While Peter was still
speaking upon the words,
00:31:26.25\00:31:28.02
the Holy Spirit fell
upon those who heard the Word
00:31:28.05\00:31:31.69
and those of the circumcision
who believed were astonished.
00:31:31.72\00:31:36.12
As many came with Peter
00:31:36.16\00:31:37.96
because the gift
of the Holy Spirit
00:31:37.99\00:31:40.00
had been poured out
on the Gentiles also
00:31:40.03\00:31:43.37
for they heard them speak
with tongues and magnify God.
00:31:43.40\00:31:46.70
Then Peter answered,
00:31:46.74\00:31:48.14
"Can anyone forbid water
00:31:48.17\00:31:49.94
that these
should not be baptized
00:31:49.97\00:31:52.21
who have
received the Holy Spirit
00:31:52.24\00:31:53.98
just as we have,"
00:31:54.01\00:31:55.34
and he commanded
them to be baptized
00:31:55.38\00:31:57.61
in the name of the Lord,
00:31:57.65\00:31:59.08
then they asked him
to stay a few days."
00:31:59.11\00:32:02.08
So, you know,
it's interesting to me,
00:32:02.12\00:32:03.62
there's times in
the New Testament,
00:32:03.65\00:32:06.72
I believe that Saul
00:32:06.76\00:32:08.92
when he was
converted, he received,
00:32:08.96\00:32:11.66
when Ananias came to
him and the scales fell off,
00:32:11.69\00:32:15.06
I think the Holy
Spirit was on Saul then,
00:32:15.10\00:32:17.73
but then immediately,
Ananias says to him,
00:32:17.77\00:32:21.17
"Why do you wait?
00:32:21.20\00:32:22.54
Let's just arise
and be baptized."
00:32:22.57\00:32:24.57
When you think of
the Philippian jailer
00:32:24.61\00:32:26.78
in Acts 16:29,
00:32:26.81\00:32:29.58
let me see, I'll
begin with verse 29.
00:32:29.61\00:32:35.32
He says...
00:32:35.35\00:32:37.09
There's been this earthquake,
Paul and Silas are imprisoned.
00:32:37.12\00:32:40.26
There's this earthquake,
00:32:40.29\00:32:42.12
and all of
their chains fall off,
00:32:42.16\00:32:44.09
and those who
are guarding them...
00:32:44.13\00:32:45.63
I mean, all of the
doors opened in the prison.
00:32:45.66\00:32:49.23
So the Philippian jailer's
getting ready to kill himself
00:32:49.26\00:32:52.13
because he's going
to commit harakiri,
00:32:52.17\00:32:54.57
where he is getting
ready to draw his sword
00:32:54.60\00:32:56.14
because if he
didn't kill himself,
00:32:56.17\00:32:57.81
the Romans
would have killed him.
00:32:57.84\00:32:59.17
Well, he thought,
"I'm dead anyhow."
00:32:59.21\00:33:01.81
But Paul and
Silas holler out to him,
00:33:01.84\00:33:03.75
"Wait a minute, we're all here,"
00:33:03.78\00:33:05.38
and it says in Acts 16:29,
00:33:05.41\00:33:08.08
"Then he called
for a light, ran in,
00:33:08.12\00:33:09.62
and fell down
trembling before Paul and Silas,
00:33:09.65\00:33:12.09
and he brought them
out, and he said..."
00:33:12.12\00:33:14.46
He's seen the hand of God move.
00:33:14.49\00:33:16.83
"He said, "Sirs, what
must I do to be saved?"
00:33:16.86\00:33:21.60
So they said,
00:33:21.63\00:33:22.96
'Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ,
00:33:23.00\00:33:25.60
and you will be saved,
you and your household.'"
00:33:25.63\00:33:28.54
And it's not that everybody
is coming in by osmosis,
00:33:28.57\00:33:31.64
he's saying,
00:33:31.67\00:33:33.01
"All of you if you
believe, you will be saved.
00:33:33.04\00:33:35.34
And they spoke
the word of the Lord
00:33:35.38\00:33:38.05
to him and all
who were in his house,
00:33:38.08\00:33:40.55
and he took them the
same hour of the night,
00:33:40.58\00:33:43.18
he washed their stripes..."
00:33:43.22\00:33:44.65
And what is the next verse?
00:33:44.69\00:33:46.15
"And, immediately,
00:33:46.19\00:33:47.72
he and all his
family were baptized.
00:33:47.76\00:33:49.76
Immediately. Immediately.
00:33:49.79\00:33:52.56
Which is what follows belief.
00:33:52.59\00:33:54.00
Exactly.
00:33:54.03\00:33:55.36
Which is what follow...
00:33:55.40\00:33:56.73
You have to believe
before you are baptized.
00:33:56.77\00:33:58.13
Absolutely.
00:33:58.17\00:33:59.50
Stephen and
Philip did the same thing
00:33:59.53\00:34:00.94
with the Ethiopian eunuch.
00:34:00.97\00:34:03.07
He said, "Do you
understand what you..."
00:34:03.10\00:34:04.51
"But how can I understand
00:34:04.54\00:34:05.87
except when
somebody explained it to me."
00:34:05.91\00:34:07.41
After explaining,
00:34:07.44\00:34:08.78
what hinders me
from being baptized,
00:34:08.81\00:34:10.41
and that's a very good
point you brought out, Shelley,
00:34:10.45\00:34:12.18
because anytime, a person...
00:34:12.21\00:34:14.38
Whenever you're
baptized, you've got to believe,
00:34:14.42\00:34:17.12
you cannot just say,
"Well, I want to be baptized."
00:34:17.15\00:34:22.16
"Be baptized for what reason?"
00:34:22.19\00:34:24.23
"I just want to be baptized."
00:34:24.26\00:34:25.83
The symbol itself
can't do a thing for you.
00:34:25.86\00:34:27.60
You can wash your car,
00:34:27.63\00:34:28.96
but if the interior is dirty,
it's not going to do anything,
00:34:29.00\00:34:30.80
you hear what I just said? Yeah.
00:34:30.83\00:34:32.17
Drive to the car wash...
There you go. That's great.
00:34:32.20\00:34:34.10
But don't throw
anything out on the inside.
00:34:34.14\00:34:35.50
That's good.
That's good. You know.
00:34:35.54\00:34:37.74
But, you know, you think
of the thief on the cross.
00:34:37.77\00:34:39.74
He believed and Jesus
said, "I'm telling you today,
00:34:39.77\00:34:43.11
you got it, you
will be with Me."
00:34:43.14\00:34:45.38
You think of
somebody in a foxhole,
00:34:45.41\00:34:47.48
maybe that is in a war.
00:34:47.52\00:34:48.85
Or a plane going down.
00:34:48.88\00:34:50.22
Or a plane going
down, who accepts Lord,
00:34:50.25\00:34:51.75
maybe they've heard it,
00:34:51.79\00:34:53.12
but they accept it,
and they will be saved
00:34:53.15\00:34:56.32
'cause it says, "Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ,
00:34:56.36\00:34:59.56
and you will be saved."
00:34:59.59\00:35:00.93
But the most important
critical act of obedience
00:35:00.96\00:35:05.23
when we believe
everywhere we see
00:35:05.27\00:35:08.00
when people
believed, what happened?
00:35:08.04\00:35:11.54
They were baptized.
00:35:11.57\00:35:13.81
You know what, Shelley,
00:35:13.84\00:35:15.18
all of the
exigencies are covered here.
00:35:15.21\00:35:16.85
Cornelius, obviously,
had been under the influence
00:35:16.88\00:35:18.85
of the Holy
Spirit for a long time.
00:35:18.88\00:35:20.22
He's giving alms, he's
doing all kinds of things.
00:35:20.25\00:35:22.08
You can then...
00:35:22.12\00:35:23.52
The culmination of that is
this public acceptance of God,
00:35:23.55\00:35:28.12
then you've got this jailer.
00:35:28.16\00:35:29.49
This is as we say in New
York bada boom, bada bing.
00:35:29.52\00:35:31.56
This is like boom, boom, boom.
00:35:31.59\00:35:33.46
You know, he sees the
part of the Lord working,
00:35:33.50\00:35:35.86
he stopped from
taking his own life,
00:35:35.90\00:35:38.30
he is convicted at that point,
00:35:38.33\00:35:40.17
and the next thing
he does, he's in a pool,
00:35:40.20\00:35:41.74
he's ready to go, you know,
00:35:41.77\00:35:43.10
so you've got some who've
been taking a little while,
00:35:43.14\00:35:46.07
you've got some
who it's instantaneous,
00:35:46.11\00:35:48.41
and then, of course, you've
got the thief on the cross
00:35:48.44\00:35:50.25
who never does get a
chance to get baptized.
00:35:50.28\00:35:52.48
He is countenanced also.
00:35:52.51\00:35:54.18
So what this is saying is
no matter what road you're on,
00:35:54.22\00:35:57.29
your ultimate
destination is baptism.
00:35:57.32\00:35:59.62
And if you're
delaying it or putting it off
00:35:59.65\00:36:01.82
or walking away from it,
00:36:01.86\00:36:03.19
then something's
wrong with your connection
00:36:03.22\00:36:04.76
with the Lord.
00:36:04.79\00:36:06.13
There's something incomplete
00:36:06.16\00:36:07.50
because if you're in Christ,
00:36:07.53\00:36:09.00
if you've repented of your sins,
00:36:09.03\00:36:10.50
if you are converted person,
00:36:10.53\00:36:11.90
you want to follow
the commands of Jesus,
00:36:11.93\00:36:13.80
but more than that,
00:36:13.84\00:36:15.17
you want to make
a public declaration
00:36:15.20\00:36:16.71
to the world
00:36:16.74\00:36:18.07
that I'm on a new team
now, I want my new jersey,
00:36:18.11\00:36:20.34
because I'm on the new team,
00:36:20.38\00:36:21.91
and I want to do what
Christ has asked me to do.
00:36:21.94\00:36:23.41
Now the marriage
example fits right here.
00:36:23.45\00:36:25.05
There you go. That is perfect.
00:36:25.08\00:36:27.42
There are some people
00:36:27.45\00:36:29.05
that look for common law
relationships with Christ.
00:36:29.08\00:36:32.32
They just want to hang around,
they want to be in church,
00:36:32.35\00:36:34.46
they want to be at the potlucks,
00:36:34.49\00:36:35.82
they want to
clean the way they...
00:36:35.86\00:36:37.19
Just clean up
their eating habits,
00:36:37.23\00:36:38.56
clean up their smoking habits,
00:36:38.59\00:36:39.93
they want to get
everything in order,
00:36:39.96\00:36:41.30
and that's not what
the Bible talks about.
00:36:41.33\00:36:43.20
The one who
comes into your life...
00:36:43.23\00:36:46.70
2 Corinthians 5:17,
00:36:46.74\00:36:48.47
"If anyone is in Christ,
00:36:48.50\00:36:51.41
he's a new
creation, a new creature.
00:36:51.44\00:36:53.61
Old things are passed away,
00:36:53.64\00:36:54.98
behold, all
things are become new."
00:36:55.01\00:36:56.41
Some people try to
give it the old things
00:36:56.44\00:36:58.08
without being in Christ.
00:36:58.11\00:36:59.45
No, you can't do that.
00:36:59.48\00:37:01.28
It's like...
00:37:01.32\00:37:02.88
Well, it's works,
salvation by works.
00:37:02.92\00:37:05.65
But even, not even salvation,
but works with no end result.
00:37:05.69\00:37:09.92
So for people that are just,
00:37:09.96\00:37:11.43
you know, "I
love you, I really do,
00:37:11.46\00:37:13.50
how long we've
been living together?"
00:37:13.53\00:37:14.86
"22 years."
00:37:14.90\00:37:16.23
"We're still not married,"
00:37:16.26\00:37:17.97
because you have
made no public declaration
00:37:18.00\00:37:21.04
through the
ceremony that God ordained
00:37:21.07\00:37:23.71
in the Garden of Eden.
00:37:23.74\00:37:25.11
He ordained it, He didn't say,
00:37:25.14\00:37:26.74
"Ignore marriage, and
you'll be married anyhow."
00:37:26.78\00:37:29.24
He gave the man to the
woman, and the woman to the man,
00:37:29.28\00:37:31.08
He said, "Leave
your mother and father,
00:37:31.11\00:37:32.48
cleave to your wife."
00:37:32.51\00:37:33.85
And so we don't want you to
be living together with Christ.
00:37:33.88\00:37:39.15
We want you to
be living in Christ.
00:37:39.19\00:37:41.52
Don't be content
to be in the vicinity,
00:37:41.56\00:37:46.23
you need to be in
the Man, Christ Jesus.
00:37:46.26\00:37:48.23
And, you know, if people
only understood covenant better
00:37:48.26\00:37:51.17
'cause in the Old
Testament under the Old Covenant
00:37:51.20\00:37:54.74
which was a special
and temporary covenant
00:37:54.77\00:37:57.07
for the nation of Israel,
00:37:57.11\00:37:59.11
the rabbis thought of that
as the marriage of the people
00:37:59.14\00:38:04.81
to God.
00:38:04.85\00:38:06.18
Under the New
Covenant, what are we?
00:38:06.21\00:38:08.72
We are the bride of Christ,
00:38:08.75\00:38:10.82
and I love what you said
00:38:10.85\00:38:12.19
because it is like
if you are in church,
00:38:12.22\00:38:16.86
and you believe
with all of your heart,
00:38:16.89\00:38:19.39
but you refuse to
obey Christ's command
00:38:19.43\00:38:23.20
to be baptized,
00:38:23.23\00:38:25.47
then it's kind of
like you're refusing
00:38:25.50\00:38:28.37
to enter into that
covenant relationship,
00:38:28.40\00:38:31.24
not kind of, you are. You are.
00:38:31.27\00:38:32.87
I mean, because the
covenant side of it,
00:38:32.91\00:38:36.31
you know,
interestingly, in the Greek,
00:38:36.34\00:38:41.98
the Hebrew scholars
00:38:42.02\00:38:43.69
who translated the
Old Testament into Greek,
00:38:43.72\00:38:47.96
the Septuagint. The Septuagint.
00:38:47.99\00:38:50.06
They always translated,
00:38:50.09\00:38:52.13
there's two words for covenant,
00:38:52.16\00:38:53.90
syntheke, which
means a two-party covenant,
00:38:53.93\00:38:57.00
in like a contract or something,
00:38:57.03\00:38:58.93
or diatheke, which means
00:38:58.97\00:39:01.07
there's only one
person making the promises.
00:39:01.10\00:39:03.51
All of God's covenants,
00:39:03.54\00:39:05.41
He's the only one
making the promises,
00:39:05.44\00:39:07.71
but what we do...
00:39:07.74\00:39:09.48
And this is what we always
say is salvation is by grace,
00:39:09.51\00:39:12.68
not by works that
any man should boast,
00:39:12.71\00:39:15.88
but yet, if we are saved,
00:39:15.92\00:39:20.79
obedience, when you walk
into covenant relationship
00:39:20.82\00:39:24.53
with the Lord,
00:39:24.56\00:39:25.89
obedience is by grace,
00:39:25.93\00:39:28.46
He works in you to will
and to do His good pleasure.
00:39:28.50\00:39:32.73
And obedience is the
expression of our love.
00:39:32.77\00:39:37.84
It is the expression
of our covenant loyalty,
00:39:37.87\00:39:41.11
is it not?
00:39:41.14\00:39:42.48
So it's interesting
in Acts 2:41, it says,
00:39:42.51\00:39:47.78
this is talking
about the early church,
00:39:47.82\00:39:50.35
"Those who
gladly received His Word
00:39:50.39\00:39:53.76
were baptized."
00:39:53.79\00:39:55.42
It's not like
they sat back and said,
00:39:55.46\00:39:57.03
"Oh, yeah, we
believe in Christ."
00:39:57.06\00:39:58.56
Even the demons
believe and tremble.
00:39:58.59\00:40:01.06
They were baptized, and
then in verse 47, it says,
00:40:01.10\00:40:05.27
"The Lord added
to the church daily
00:40:05.30\00:40:09.34
those who are being saved."
00:40:09.37\00:40:10.81
How do they know
who were being saved?
00:40:10.84\00:40:12.64
Because when you're
saved, you want to obey Christ,
00:40:12.67\00:40:15.14
and so they went
in and were baptized,
00:40:15.18\00:40:16.95
they made their
public confession,
00:40:16.98\00:40:18.71
and they came into
the church. That's right.
00:40:18.75\00:40:20.42
What does the word baptizo mean?
00:40:20.45\00:40:22.72
To immerse, to get
under. Fully immersed.
00:40:22.75\00:40:24.42
Fully immersed. Well said.
00:40:24.45\00:40:26.29
Is it not true,
00:40:26.32\00:40:28.22
everywhere we see,
00:40:28.26\00:40:29.62
whether it's Philip taking
the eunuch down in the water,
00:40:29.66\00:40:32.93
Jesus going down in the water,
00:40:32.96\00:40:34.86
we've got to get to Romans,
we're running out of time.
00:40:34.90\00:40:36.77
While you're turning there,
00:40:36.80\00:40:38.13
at the Leaning Tower of
Pisa, a lot of people...
00:40:38.17\00:40:40.74
Which is in
Italy, the Leaning Tower,
00:40:40.77\00:40:43.37
inside there is
a baptismal pool,
00:40:43.41\00:40:46.51
not a basin,
00:40:46.54\00:40:48.24
but a place where
full-bodied person
00:40:48.28\00:40:51.38
could be fully immersed.
00:40:51.41\00:40:52.75
This whole idea of sprinkling
was something that evolved
00:40:52.78\00:40:56.12
like the theory of
evolution, no biblical support.
00:40:56.15\00:40:58.99
It was something that
the church of the Dark Ages
00:40:59.02\00:41:01.32
decided to implement,
00:41:01.36\00:41:02.69
but it was not given
any command in the Bible.
00:41:02.72\00:41:04.39
The only
sprinkling I see in the Bible
00:41:04.43\00:41:05.99
is a sprinkling of
the blood of Jesus, right?
00:41:06.03\00:41:08.03
And that's a
covenant thing again.
00:41:08.06\00:41:09.76
And so the whole thing is
Luke 6:46, like you both said,
00:41:09.80\00:41:13.17
and I want to
capitalize as you transition.
00:41:13.20\00:41:15.20
Yes, when you follow the Lord,
you got to do what He commands.
00:41:15.24\00:41:17.67
"Why call me Lord, Lord,
and do not do what I say?"
00:41:17.71\00:41:20.51
So when you enter the
relationship with Christ,
00:41:20.54\00:41:22.08
that covenant means,
00:41:22.11\00:41:23.45
"Well, 'cause
there's something I must do,
00:41:23.48\00:41:24.88
or you call me Lord, Lord,
00:41:24.91\00:41:26.25
why not do the
things that I say."
00:41:26.28\00:41:27.65
There you go.
00:41:27.68\00:41:29.02
And he's baptized, and so
you enter into that covenant,
00:41:29.05\00:41:31.22
thank you for the word covenant,
00:41:31.25\00:41:32.79
because there's got
to be some agreement
00:41:32.82\00:41:34.19
to this relationship.
00:41:34.22\00:41:35.56
If you have no covenant,
00:41:35.59\00:41:36.93
and everything we do,
cars, houses, credit cards,
00:41:36.96\00:41:40.96
there's a covenant.
00:41:41.00\00:41:42.33
If you don't think so,
stop paying your bills,
00:41:42.36\00:41:44.67
and the person who you
made that covenant with,
00:41:44.70\00:41:46.70
will come collecting.
Yeah, will come collecting.
00:41:46.74\00:41:48.14
My point is when you
make a covenant with God,
00:41:48.17\00:41:51.04
the wise man Solomon says,
00:41:51.07\00:41:53.24
"It's better not to vow,
than to vow and not to pay."
00:41:53.27\00:41:57.91
Don't allow your mouth
to cause your flesh to sin.
00:41:57.95\00:42:00.85
Don't say I
believe with my mouth
00:42:00.88\00:42:02.62
and don't follow through
what the Lord commands us to do.
00:42:02.65\00:42:05.02
Amen. Amen.
00:42:05.05\00:42:06.39
Okay, here was the scripture
00:42:06.42\00:42:08.79
that as I was
studying the Bible one day,
00:42:08.82\00:42:12.23
this was life changing for me.
00:42:12.26\00:42:15.60
Romans 6:3-6. That's right.
00:42:15.63\00:42:19.10
Paul writes, and he says,
00:42:19.13\00:42:21.44
"Do you not know
that as many of us
00:42:21.47\00:42:25.94
as were baptized
into Christ Jesus
00:42:25.97\00:42:29.84
were baptized into His death.
00:42:29.88\00:42:33.55
Therefore we were buried
with Him through baptism."
00:42:33.58\00:42:37.79
That's the immersion,
00:42:37.82\00:42:39.15
"Buried with Him into death
00:42:39.19\00:42:41.99
that just as Christ
was raised from the dead
00:42:42.02\00:42:45.26
by the glory of the Father,
00:42:45.29\00:42:46.96
even so we also should
walk in newness of life."
00:42:47.00\00:42:51.17
Now let me pause right there.
00:42:51.20\00:42:54.07
Even though I had
been baptized by immersion,
00:42:54.10\00:42:56.74
as we said there's
no scriptural evidence
00:42:56.77\00:42:59.37
for sprinkling,
00:42:59.41\00:43:00.91
I had not realized...
00:43:00.94\00:43:02.61
Yes, I knew Christ died for me,
00:43:02.64\00:43:04.31
that He was
buried and resurrected,
00:43:04.35\00:43:06.61
but I didn't see
this ordinance of baptism.
00:43:06.65\00:43:10.09
I didn't know that it meant,
00:43:10.12\00:43:12.45
"Okay, I'm about to
identify with His death,
00:43:12.49\00:43:15.59
I'm going to lay
down my old way of life,
00:43:15.62\00:43:19.16
bury the past,
00:43:19.19\00:43:20.83
and I'm going to come
up a new creation in Christ
00:43:20.86\00:43:23.67
to walk in newness of life."
00:43:23.70\00:43:25.53
He says, "For if we
have been united together
00:43:25.57\00:43:29.24
in the likeness of His death."
00:43:29.27\00:43:32.21
I like that.
00:43:32.24\00:43:33.58
I'd be there if
you've done that,
00:43:33.61\00:43:34.94
"Certainly we also
shall be in the likeness
00:43:34.98\00:43:37.41
of His resurrection,
00:43:37.45\00:43:38.78
knowing this that our old
man was crucified with Him,
00:43:38.81\00:43:42.02
that the body of sin
might be done away with
00:43:42.05\00:43:46.62
that we should no
longer be slaves of sin."
00:43:46.65\00:43:51.06
So what happened
was when I read this,
00:43:51.09\00:43:54.86
I realized I had gone forward
to make a public confession
00:43:54.90\00:44:00.60
by my baptisms prayer,
00:44:00.64\00:44:04.14
but I didn't know what
I was even entering into.
00:44:04.17\00:44:08.11
So I realized that
my baptism had been...
00:44:08.14\00:44:11.35
My instruction was inadequate,
so my baptism was inadequate.
00:44:11.38\00:44:14.98
I'd never really laid
down that old way of life
00:44:15.02\00:44:19.65
because I hadn't
been taught that.
00:44:19.69\00:44:21.56
And it reminds me of
when Paul went to Ephesus,
00:44:21.59\00:44:25.53
and he asks these people,
00:44:25.56\00:44:27.26
"Hey, what about
the Holy Spirit?"
00:44:27.30\00:44:29.70
"Oh, we've not even
heard that there was,
00:44:29.73\00:44:31.77
you know, a Holy Spirit."
00:44:31.80\00:44:33.23
And he say to them in Acts 19,
00:44:33.27\00:44:36.81
"Then what
baptism did you receive?"
00:44:36.84\00:44:39.04
"Well, John's baptism,
the baptism of repentance."
00:44:39.07\00:44:42.28
And he explains it
further to them what happens.
00:44:42.31\00:44:46.48
They were re-baptized.
00:44:46.51\00:44:49.02
If you haven't been baptized,
00:44:49.05\00:44:53.15
understanding the truth,
00:44:53.19\00:44:55.29
I just want to encourage
you to consider re-baptism,
00:44:55.32\00:44:59.79
to consider being buried
00:44:59.83\00:45:02.53
and resurrected with
being buried with Christ,
00:45:02.56\00:45:06.23
burying your past,
and being resurrected
00:45:06.27\00:45:08.67
because that was
where God changed my life.
00:45:08.70\00:45:11.57
I'd call myself a
Christian until that time,
00:45:11.61\00:45:15.84
but I hadn't really
known what it was all about.
00:45:15.88\00:45:19.71
One thing I want to ask you,
00:45:19.75\00:45:22.62
everywhere I read
in the New Testament
00:45:22.65\00:45:24.99
about baptism,
00:45:25.02\00:45:26.45
they're all
professing believers,
00:45:26.49\00:45:27.96
are they not? Yeah.
00:45:27.99\00:45:29.39
They understand, they
believe in Christ Jesus,
00:45:29.42\00:45:33.40
they understand
00:45:33.43\00:45:35.10
and, you know, if you
confess with your mouth,
00:45:35.13\00:45:37.60
if you believe in your
heart, confess with your mouth,
00:45:37.63\00:45:39.67
you shall be saved,
00:45:39.70\00:45:41.50
so what about infant baptism?
00:45:41.54\00:45:46.01
Go ahead.
00:45:46.04\00:45:47.38
It goes against
what we understand
00:45:47.41\00:45:51.28
in the great commission
to teach them to observe.
00:45:51.31\00:45:54.72
If you buy a Volkswagen,
you got to sign a contract
00:45:54.75\00:45:58.05
and also have you
read all the fine print.
00:45:58.09\00:45:59.95
Do you know what
you're getting into?
00:45:59.99\00:46:01.62
Because you're going
to be paying for this
00:46:01.66\00:46:02.99
for 96 months,
00:46:03.02\00:46:04.36
or however long
you want to do it.
00:46:04.39\00:46:05.73
So, as a Christian, who
is giving your life to God,
00:46:05.76\00:46:09.10
who is basing your eternity
on this God who you cannot see,
00:46:09.13\00:46:13.64
but who you have
extreme faith in,
00:46:13.67\00:46:16.77
you need to know
what you're signing onto.
00:46:16.81\00:46:19.27
That's right.
00:46:19.31\00:46:20.64
So a child cannot do that,
00:46:20.68\00:46:22.01
a child cannot
make a commitment.
00:46:22.04\00:46:23.38
You got to be 18 years old
to buy a gun in this country.
00:46:23.41\00:46:25.61
You know, so if you
are going to put your life
00:46:25.65\00:46:28.08
in the hands of this
mysterious, wonderful God,
00:46:28.12\00:46:30.92
He wants you to
know what you're doing,
00:46:30.95\00:46:32.45
what sacrifice you have
to make in order to do that.
00:46:32.49\00:46:35.36
Amen.
00:46:35.39\00:46:36.73
So in the New Testament,
00:46:36.76\00:46:38.89
there is not one place where
you can find infant baptism.
00:46:38.93\00:46:44.53
What did they do with infants?
00:46:44.57\00:46:46.94
What did they do
with Jesus at the temple?
00:46:46.97\00:46:48.37
Dedicated, dedicated.
00:46:48.40\00:46:49.74
Yeah, they brought
their children to Jesus
00:46:49.77\00:46:51.11
that He may bless
them, so you dedicate them.
00:46:51.14\00:46:53.27
How many baby dedications
have you done, Pastor?
00:46:53.31\00:46:56.04
Quite a few, and I tell
you, they never talk to me.
00:46:56.08\00:46:59.11
They never say anything,
they never say, "I like you,"
00:46:59.15\00:47:01.75
matter of fact
sometimes they cry,
00:47:01.78\00:47:03.12
and they look at me like,
"Why were you holding me for?"
00:47:03.15\00:47:06.15
Dedication is to
be done to a child,
00:47:06.19\00:47:09.56
and, in fact, even at that time,
00:47:09.59\00:47:11.36
you're dedicating the child to
the guidance from the parents.
00:47:11.39\00:47:15.60
You see, if these
parents don't know the Lord,
00:47:15.63\00:47:17.60
this child is not
going to know either.
00:47:17.63\00:47:19.70
But in baptism,
00:47:19.73\00:47:21.27
the child now at a
point of a conscious age,
00:47:21.30\00:47:24.11
and Jesus was 12
00:47:24.14\00:47:25.77
when He started
speaking about the clarity
00:47:25.81\00:47:29.28
that He knew His
Father had sent Him,
00:47:29.31\00:47:30.68
given Him a mission,
00:47:30.71\00:47:32.05
and there are various children
00:47:32.08\00:47:33.42
of various stages of their lives
00:47:33.45\00:47:34.78
based on their
understanding who can grasp it.
00:47:34.82\00:47:36.22
I think the youngest
baptism I've ever did
00:47:36.25\00:47:38.62
was a seven-year-old.
00:47:38.65\00:47:39.99
And I was very, very hesitant,
00:47:40.02\00:47:41.82
but I do know that
when she gets to be 27,
00:47:41.86\00:47:44.53
she'll look back and say,
"I'm so glad I accepted Christ,
00:47:44.56\00:47:46.53
but my knowledge
has so much increased."
00:47:46.56\00:47:48.73
But little Abby,
00:47:48.76\00:47:50.27
I went to her home and
did Bible studies with her
00:47:50.30\00:47:52.17
and sat her down,
00:47:52.20\00:47:53.54
and I said, "Tell
me what baptism is."
00:47:53.57\00:47:55.90
I just sat there like,
00:47:55.94\00:47:57.27
you know, like a
dog was like going off.
00:47:57.31\00:47:59.07
She understood what she meant.
00:47:59.11\00:48:00.64
She said, "I want to
give my life to Jesus.
00:48:00.68\00:48:02.04
I love Him as my Savior,
I want to give Him my life.
00:48:02.08\00:48:04.95
I want to follow Him
as my Lord and Savior."
00:48:04.98\00:48:06.41
And I said,
"What did hinder thee".
00:48:06.45\00:48:08.88
I didn't say it that way,
00:48:08.92\00:48:10.35
but she knew and
understood at that stage.
00:48:10.39\00:48:13.12
And she's growing up to be
00:48:13.15\00:48:14.49
a wonderful,
young, Christian girl.
00:48:14.52\00:48:16.66
But infant baptism is
not supported by scripture.
00:48:16.69\00:48:18.89
So we know...
00:48:18.93\00:48:20.26
Infant baptism is not
supported by scripture,
00:48:20.30\00:48:22.90
sprinkling is not
supported by scripture,
00:48:22.93\00:48:25.33
we see everyone who
believed was baptized.
00:48:25.37\00:48:29.64
It is a critical
act of obedience,
00:48:29.67\00:48:32.94
of course, other than
the thief on the cross.
00:48:32.97\00:48:35.24
And you know what, if
he had lived through that,
00:48:35.28\00:48:37.41
if they'd taken him down
from the cross before he died,
00:48:37.45\00:48:41.28
if he had walked away
00:48:41.32\00:48:43.12
and not followed
the command of Jesus,
00:48:43.15\00:48:46.45
I don't think he
would have been saved.
00:48:46.49\00:48:48.32
You know, I believe
that he understood Jesus,
00:48:48.36\00:48:51.43
and so that if he had lived,
00:48:51.46\00:48:52.83
I think he would have
gone out and got baptized.
00:48:52.86\00:48:55.56
But here is my
question to you, gentlemen,
00:48:55.60\00:48:58.10
I've said that
I've been re-baptized,
00:48:58.13\00:49:00.34
have either of
you been re-baptized?
00:49:00.37\00:49:02.40
Yeah, when I was 19.
00:49:02.44\00:49:04.11
How old were you the first time?
00:49:04.14\00:49:05.47
About 11 or 12. Okay.
00:49:05.51\00:49:07.61
I was wonderfully, and I
think Pastor CA might know this,
00:49:07.64\00:49:10.18
the same church that
he was a youth pastor
00:49:10.21\00:49:11.68
when I was a young man.
00:49:11.71\00:49:13.95
We're not very far apart in age,
00:49:13.98\00:49:15.95
but I was adequately taught.
00:49:15.98\00:49:19.82
They didn't rush us
through the baptism,
00:49:19.85\00:49:21.79
but I lost my anchor
at about 13 years old,
00:49:21.82\00:49:23.93
12 years old,
00:49:23.96\00:49:25.29
I lost a lady who was
really my guiding light.
00:49:25.33\00:49:27.16
And I left and
went out into the world,
00:49:27.20\00:49:28.90
so I needed to be re-baptized.
00:49:28.93\00:49:30.27
I just dove into the world
00:49:30.30\00:49:31.63
and all of its accoutrements
00:49:31.67\00:49:33.20
that can happen in New York City
00:49:33.23\00:49:34.57
which was just a large
plate of accoutrements,
00:49:34.60\00:49:37.11
if you could say it that way.
00:49:37.14\00:49:38.47
And I just lost my
connection with Christ.
00:49:38.51\00:49:39.91
So I knew there
needed to be a recommitment,
00:49:39.94\00:49:42.98
but added to that,
00:49:43.01\00:49:44.35
I found Him for
myself this time.
00:49:44.38\00:49:46.25
Amen. Amen.
00:49:46.28\00:49:47.62
I wasn't just told
what the church teaches,
00:49:47.65\00:49:48.98
what the Bible
teaches which were all valid,
00:49:49.02\00:49:50.59
but I accepted Him
00:49:50.62\00:49:51.95
and knew that I needed
this for my own commitment,
00:49:51.99\00:49:55.96
and it has been
a blessed journey.
00:49:55.99\00:49:57.99
Praise God.
00:49:58.03\00:49:59.36
But I must add this
too, Shelley, very quickly,
00:49:59.39\00:50:00.86
I entered into a
saving relationship,
00:50:00.90\00:50:03.00
but at any point
that I wanted to,
00:50:03.03\00:50:04.43
I could get out
of that relationship.
00:50:04.47\00:50:06.07
We don't believe in
once saved, always saved,
00:50:06.10\00:50:07.57
I want to make
that point very clear.
00:50:07.60\00:50:09.10
At any point, you decide,
00:50:09.14\00:50:10.47
"I am going to
walk away from God,
00:50:10.51\00:50:11.84
"He's not going to
say, "Wait a minute."
00:50:11.87\00:50:13.21
He's not going to let you
go, but you could let Him go,
00:50:13.24\00:50:16.18
did you hear what I said?
00:50:16.21\00:50:17.55
The Lord doesn't let us
go, He doesn't throw us away.
00:50:17.58\00:50:19.58
"I'll never leave
you nor forsake you,"
00:50:19.61\00:50:21.08
but He doesn't
say, "You can't leave Me
00:50:21.12\00:50:22.45
and forsake Me."
00:50:22.48\00:50:23.82
But when we enter into
that covenant relationship,
00:50:23.85\00:50:26.09
He promises to do
everything that He can do
00:50:26.12\00:50:29.19
that we can never do.
00:50:29.22\00:50:30.56
Amen. Amen.
00:50:30.59\00:50:31.93
CA, were you?
00:50:31.96\00:50:33.29
Baptized at nine,
00:50:33.33\00:50:34.66
and then I had, what I call,
wilderness years, you know.
00:50:34.70\00:50:37.67
At age nine, I knew
what I was getting into,
00:50:37.70\00:50:40.17
they kept you in
the baptismal class
00:50:40.20\00:50:41.84
long time back in the day.
00:50:41.87\00:50:43.44
But then
college basketball came,
00:50:43.47\00:50:46.37
and other things
came, and free education,
00:50:46.41\00:50:48.54
so I broke my ankle
playing basketball twice
00:50:48.58\00:50:50.18
on Friday night.
00:50:50.21\00:50:51.55
Re-baptized at age 22
00:50:51.58\00:50:55.82
at Oakwood College,
00:50:55.85\00:50:58.59
Preparatory to Ministry.
00:50:58.62\00:51:00.29
I appreciate the
patience of the Lord,
00:51:00.32\00:51:05.39
you know, the pastor told me,
00:51:05.43\00:51:06.76
"The Lord let
you break your ankle
00:51:06.80\00:51:08.13
to keep you from
breaking your neck."
00:51:08.16\00:51:09.50
I got the message, you know.
00:51:09.53\00:51:11.03
Well, the reason I
wanted to ask you about that
00:51:11.07\00:51:13.00
is because I know that
00:51:13.03\00:51:14.60
there's probably someone
who's watching and thinking,
00:51:14.64\00:51:17.01
"Well, I was baptized,
00:51:17.04\00:51:18.37
and maybe we've even
understood what it meant,"
00:51:18.41\00:51:20.28
but you have had a
wanderness experience,
00:51:20.31\00:51:23.38
a wilderness experience,
wandering in the wilderness.
00:51:23.41\00:51:27.05
And you may think,
00:51:27.08\00:51:29.22
"Can God really
accept me again?"
00:51:29.25\00:51:31.89
I believe it's important
00:51:31.92\00:51:33.52
if you are to do
away with that old life,
00:51:33.56\00:51:38.86
He's a big savior,
00:51:38.89\00:51:40.50
He's a much bigger
savior than you are as a sinner.
00:51:40.53\00:51:44.47
And when you come back to Him,
00:51:44.50\00:51:47.30
I think it is very important
00:51:47.34\00:51:49.50
as a public confession
00:51:49.54\00:51:51.54
of who He is and
what He's done for you
00:51:51.57\00:51:54.01
and where you're headed
to be re-baptized and saying,
00:51:54.04\00:51:57.78
"Nope, I'm going
to bury the past,
00:51:57.81\00:52:00.15
I'm burying that old life,
00:52:00.18\00:52:01.72
I'm going to
identify with Jesus,
00:52:01.75\00:52:03.99
and I am going to let
Him circumcised my heart
00:52:04.02\00:52:06.99
and be raised to
walk in newness of life."
00:52:07.02\00:52:10.33
Boy, it is time
to do a newsbreak,
00:52:10.36\00:52:12.36
and we're going to come
back with the closing thought
00:52:12.39\00:52:14.80
in just a second.
00:52:14.83\00:52:16.16