1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,640 Welcome to the Remsound Church of God podcast. 2 00:00:02,840 --> 00:00:05,360 Wherever you're listening from, we hope you are blessed by 3 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:08,000 today's message. I want to share with you this 4 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:10,440 morning a word from the Word of God. 5 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:13,600 I want to talk about this subject. 6 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:18,560 I want to talk about soul saved, lives changed, and water 7 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:22,920 baptism. Our mission is to see soul saved 8 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:28,040 and lives changed. And a part of that, that lives 9 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:32,439 change part is water baptism. Now for those of you who are 10 00:00:32,439 --> 00:00:35,800 being baptized today, this really isn't for you because 11 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:38,880 you've already been to the class and you're ready for water 12 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:41,720 baptism. What I want to do today is pave 13 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:45,160 the way for the next water baptism service. 14 00:00:45,160 --> 00:00:48,680 And in the next few months we'll have another sign up and we'll 15 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:51,160 have another water baptism service. 16 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:55,520 And so I want to appeal to those of you who've not yet been 17 00:00:55,520 --> 00:01:01,720 baptized, I want to give you some reasons why you should or 18 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:04,680 why you should not. I want to share that with you. 19 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:10,560 One thing I have noticed and it has been highlighted in many 20 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:13,440 areas of our nation, I don't know how many are aware of this, 21 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:16,480 but there's been let me read this to you a significant 22 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:19,880 spiritual movement is sweeping US college campuses 23 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:25,040 characterized by massive worship gatherings and spontaneous large 24 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:30,200 scale water baptisms. Organizations like Unite Us have 25 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:35,560 facilitated events at schools like Auburn, Ohio State, Georgia 26 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:40,040 resulting in hundreds of students publicly baptizing in 27 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:44,480 lakes, fountains or tubs. This trend represents a major 28 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:48,320 student LED revival with thousands committing to 29 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:52,720 Christianity and experiencing baptism, often immediately 30 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:56,040 following services. And I've seen some of that and 31 00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:59,960 seen some of the pictures and even the backs of pickup trucks 32 00:01:59,960 --> 00:02:03,920 that with liners in them having water baptismal services and 33 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:07,480 people getting baptized. That's really quite scriptural 34 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:11,600 when people give their lives to Jesus to be baptized in water. 35 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:14,960 And we'll talk about that a little bit in this message 36 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:17,360 today. But I realized, as I, you know, 37 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:21,200 you study this, obviously, you know, there's always the other 38 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:23,400 side of the coin. And there will be people who 39 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:26,680 will say, well, the one thing about revivals we know is they 40 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:29,840 don't last. Well, I would have to agree with 41 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:34,400 you and tell you that that's why it's called revival. 42 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:39,800 They've never lasted forever. Even the Bible revivals, the 43 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:43,040 people of God would have great revival and they would many 44 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:47,040 times go into declension. That didn't stop prophets from 45 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:51,600 praying for another revival, another move of God. 46 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:56,240 So before we get too critical of revival, and there seems to be a 47 00:02:56,240 --> 00:03:00,200 lot of that today, let's be thankful that there's any move 48 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:05,880 of God whatsoever that people are coming to the Lord Christ 49 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:09,960 and people who don't know the Lord and the things of God. 50 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:12,800 We've got to give them room to grow. 51 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:15,720 We just need to be able to preach the truth. 52 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:18,640 This group that I was talking about, I know nothing about 53 00:03:18,640 --> 00:03:21,640 them, but I can tell you that their core values. 54 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:25,840 Here's what it says this movement, this unite us 55 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:30,520 salvation for non believers to hear a clear presentation of the 56 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:32,720 gospel in a welcoming environment. 57 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:37,840 Acts 1631 freedom for believers to know and experience true 58 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:41,560 freedom from sin and burdens on their hearts. 59 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:45,360 Galatians 5 and one and community for students to find 60 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:48,800 community and discipleship through connection to local 61 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:53,400 ministries and the local church. They're trying to get people to 62 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:57,320 serve God, love God and come to church and one of the great 63 00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:00,920 things that's happening right now in America is younger people 64 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:03,720 are coming back to the House of God. 65 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:08,160 I want that for Greenstown. I want to see God do great and 66 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:12,880 mighty things. Ministries like Harvest 67 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:16,959 International, Greg Laurie. Greg Laurie talked about the 68 00:04:16,959 --> 00:04:20,240 fact that in their crusades, etcetera, in the last 24 months, 69 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:23,160 he said they had baptized 10,000 people. 70 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:25,920 Amazing. So while we see all kinds of 71 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:28,800 crazy things going on in our world and a lot of crazy 72 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:32,320 religious stuff going on, let us not forget that there is a 73 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:38,400 genuine heartfelt, spirit LED, word of God oriented move of the 74 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:40,280 Holy Spirit. And we want it. 75 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:43,280 I said we want it. Do you want it with me? 76 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:48,880 So let's read the word of the Lord. 77 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:52,080 Stand with me. In Mark chapter one in the New 78 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:57,520 International, it says the beginning of the good news. 79 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:00,480 That's what the gospel is, right? 80 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:03,840 Everybody knows that, right? Gospel means good in the 81 00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:07,640 beginning of the good news about Jesus. 82 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:10,600 Look at your neighbors. Are you going to hear some good 83 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:13,840 news today? Ah, you're not getting that on 84 00:05:13,840 --> 00:05:16,040 the television, are you? You're going to. 85 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:19,200 You're getting in the newspaper. No, no, no, not much. 86 00:05:19,920 --> 00:05:22,440 You're not getting a whole lot on social media either. 87 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:23,960 But there, I've got some good news. 88 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:27,160 It's about Jesus. It's not about me. 89 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:31,040 It's not about this church. It's about Jesus. 90 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:34,640 I'm already excited. I may not even get into the 91 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:39,960 message, the Messiah, the Son of God as it is written in Isaiah 92 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:42,240 the prophet. I will send my messenger ahead 93 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:46,520 of you who will prepare your way, a voice of one calling in 94 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:49,200 the wilderness. Prepare the way for the Lord, 95 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:54,080 Make straight paths for him. And so John the Baptist appeared 96 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:59,520 in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the 97 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:03,680 forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and 98 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:07,360 all the people of Jerusalem went out to him, notice this, 99 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:14,760 confessing their sins, confessing their sins, and they 100 00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:17,320 were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 101 00:06:17,840 --> 00:06:21,680 John wore clothing made of camels hair with a leather belt 102 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:25,240 around his waist, and he ate grasshopper salad. 103 00:06:26,840 --> 00:06:31,040 He ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message. 104 00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:35,120 After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of 105 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:38,240 whose sandals I'm not worthy to stoop down and untie. 106 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:43,080 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy 107 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:48,520 Spirit. At that time Jesus came from 108 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:53,240 Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 109 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:58,720 So we now see that Jesus was baptized and just as Jesus was 110 00:06:58,720 --> 00:07:02,960 coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and 111 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:07,160 the Spirit descending on him like a dove, and a voice came 112 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:11,800 from heaven. You are my son whom I love with 113 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:14,200 you. I am well pleased. 114 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:16,080 Let's pray. Father, thank you for the word. 115 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:20,720 And Lord, we know today, God, as we share the good news of Jesus, 116 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:26,120 there's some heavy hearts, God today and families, Lord, in, in 117 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:29,960 Sandy's family, God, and then Anthony's family, God. 118 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:33,280 And I pray for them. I pray for each and every family 119 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:36,640 member, each and every close friend, relative, wherever they 120 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:40,200 might be, that the comfort of the presence of the Holy Spirit 121 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:42,560 will be theirs. And I pray God that you will 122 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:46,960 anoint us to share your word and make this time valuable to the 123 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:51,280 Kingdom of God, the work of God, the souls being saved and lives 124 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:55,640 being changed. I pray this in Jesus name, Amen. 125 00:07:55,640 --> 00:08:00,040 You may be seated. So I want to talk to those of 126 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:03,640 you who have not been baptized, not to condemn you, not to 127 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:06,960 criticize you, but to tell you that a part of your experience 128 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:12,840 with God includes water baptism. Jesus who never sinned. 129 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:15,680 Think about this for a moment. Because all the people that came 130 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:19,040 to John and he baptized them, they were confessing their sins. 131 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:25,280 Jesus had no sin and yet He set an example. 132 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:27,280 And how many ever heard? You don't need to raise your 133 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:31,000 hand, but you've probably heard the statement being made. 134 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:34,640 They are following the Lord in water baptism. 135 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:37,840 I've heard that all my life. You need to follow the Lord in 136 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:39,720 water baptism. Well, that's what this means. 137 00:08:39,919 --> 00:08:44,200 It means that our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ was baptized 138 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:49,960 in water and the Bible says that when he went into the water, the 139 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:51,840 Bible tells us, and this is very clear. 140 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:56,240 I said this earlier to brother Rob back here. 141 00:08:56,440 --> 00:08:59,040 I said we're going to have baptism outside today because it 142 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:02,680 was the cats and dogs of rain where everywhere we just had 143 00:09:02,680 --> 00:09:06,320 everybody. The truth of the matter is that 144 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:10,120 Jesus showed us how baptism ought to be done. 145 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:15,520 The Bible says he when he was baptized that he came up out of 146 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:18,960 the water. Now you can't come up out of the 147 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:24,080 water if you don't go down into the water right now. 148 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:27,920 This is what Jesus did, and since he's our example, it's 149 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:31,800 probably a good idea to follow his example. 150 00:09:31,800 --> 00:09:36,440 Actually, the Greek word for baptized is the word baptizo, 151 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:41,120 and it means to immerse. It means to submerge it. 152 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:44,480 It's actually used of a vessel that has sunk. 153 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:48,400 And that's all about what this represents. 154 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:53,800 Jesus Christ went into the water and begin his ministry. 155 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:57,800 Actually, the first thing that we see Jesus do before he goes 156 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:02,360 into the wilderness and fast the 40 days and starts that ministry 157 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:07,000 is he is baptized. Now let me say this and make it 158 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:10,520 very clear to you that we understand that sometimes 159 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:15,440 physical conditions are such that people can't be immersed. 160 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:17,880 We'll have, we've had a couple of occasions here. 161 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:21,040 We'll have 1:00 today where a person who's been in an 162 00:10:21,040 --> 00:10:25,360 accident, who's had surgery and is not able physically to be 163 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:29,600 able to actually be submerged forward or backward or whatever, 164 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:32,920 but they're still coming into the water because they can do 165 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:34,960 that. And there will pour. 166 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:37,720 We'll, we're going to pour. We're going to do the very best 167 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:42,480 that we can because we know that that person wants to follow 168 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:46,000 Jesus in water baptism. And of course, if we had someone 169 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:49,560 that couldn't get in at all, we would do whatever we could do to 170 00:10:49,560 --> 00:10:51,400 make it happen. But I won't tell you to 171 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:54,080 understand. For most of us, we can be 172 00:10:54,080 --> 00:11:01,720 baptized, we can be immersed. So when Jesus was baptized, he 173 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:06,560 was, shall we say, buried in the water and raised again. 174 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:10,520 When Jesus came back out, if you think about it, He actually by 175 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:15,360 following his Father's wish to be baptized, even though he had 176 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:18,480 no sin, He didn't confess any sin because He had none. 177 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:21,560 He was perfect and He was baptized anyway. 178 00:11:21,560 --> 00:11:25,200 And He was actually showing us in that baptism what He was 179 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:28,800 going to do for us, because He showed us that He was going to 180 00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:34,840 come and die for us, come back to life, to live through us, to 181 00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:38,280 give us eternal life. So He has showed us by the 182 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:42,000 baptism in water what He was about to to do for us. 183 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:47,160 Now listen, when Jesus was crucified and afterwards 184 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:50,600 revealed Himself to the disciples of the Lord, the Bible 185 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:55,320 says in Matthew 2816, before he ascended back to the Father, It 186 00:11:55,320 --> 00:11:58,880 says then the 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain 187 00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:02,560 where Jesus had told him to go. When they saw him, they 188 00:12:02,560 --> 00:12:05,320 worshipped him. But some doubted. 189 00:12:05,560 --> 00:12:08,440 They still do. Then Jesus came to them and 190 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:11,440 said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to 191 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:14,240 me. Therefore go and make disciples 192 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:19,560 of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of 193 00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:23,520 the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey 194 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:25,200 everything that I've commanded you. 195 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:29,440 And surely I'm with you always to the very end of the age. 196 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:35,680 So when when souls are saved and lives are changed, water baptism 197 00:12:35,680 --> 00:12:39,720 follows. I said in in that order. 198 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:44,760 Souls are saved, lives are changed, and there is water 199 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:47,440 baptism. The Bible is full of it. 200 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:50,720 In fact, on the day of Pentecost, after that great 201 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:55,000 outpouring of the Holy Spirit, 120 believers and the spiritual 202 00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:59,720 miraculous manifestation of the Holy Spirit, Simon Peter stood 203 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:02,840 up and preached A marvelous message. 204 00:13:03,160 --> 00:13:07,600 And the Bible tells us when he had done in Acts 237. 205 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:10,720 When the people heard this, they cried. 206 00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:14,640 They were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other 207 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:17,400 apostles, Brothers, what shall we do? 208 00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:22,760 And Peter replied, repent and be baptized. 209 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:30,680 Notice that what comes first, repent and be baptized everyone 210 00:13:30,680 --> 00:13:33,960 of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of 211 00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:37,280 your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 212 00:13:37,560 --> 00:13:42,040 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far 213 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:46,160 off, for all whom the Lord our God will call. 214 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:51,080 And if you go down to verses later, it said those that gladly 215 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:58,120 received his word were baptized and that day 3000 souls came to 216 00:13:58,200 --> 00:14:01,720 Jesus Christ. So mass baptisms are not new. 217 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:05,360 They happened on the day of Pentecost and they are still 218 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:09,480 happening today. People are following the Lord in 219 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:13,120 water baptism. Now I will tell you that in your 220 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:17,080 fleshly self you may be sitting there and see saying well this 221 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:19,800 just seems so silly. It just seems what I would, I 222 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:23,720 would just suggest to you that many times what God tells us to 223 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:27,800 do doesn't seem to make a lot of logical sense to to our carnal 224 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:30,040 mind. But I would tell you this, if 225 00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:34,160 you will simply obey him, if you will simply say God, I don't 226 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:37,440 care how foolish I look, I will obey the word of the Lord. 227 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:40,920 There is a blessing in that obedience that you won't find 228 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:44,720 any other way. So quit trying to outsmart God 229 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:48,160 and just accept what He says and say I'm going to be obedient. 230 00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:53,480 Now, as I told you, I'm preaching for the next water 231 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:55,520 baptism service, not for this one. 232 00:14:55,880 --> 00:14:58,560 We've already got these folks. And I'm not going to ask you to 233 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:01,720 jump into the pool with all your Sunday clothes on, OK? 234 00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:07,240 But I want you to pray about and think about this step because 235 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:13,880 it's an important step, right? It is a key to the beginning of 236 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:18,480 a process called discipleship, becoming a disciple of the Lord. 237 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:22,240 So what is the meaning then? What is the meaning of water 238 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:25,160 baptism? We know that according to the 239 00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:29,640 Word of God that the believer is agreeing with and identifying 240 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:34,200 with the death and the burial and the resurrection of Jesus 241 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:38,520 Christ as it is taught in the book of Romans chapter 6. 242 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:41,040 And we'll get there in just a moment. 243 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:45,480 As I said earlier, and I don't want you to miss this, Jesus 244 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:50,680 himself was baptized in war. Jesus himself went out into the 245 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:53,280 Jordan River. They was not sprinkled. 246 00:15:55,280 --> 00:15:58,320 If you want to be sprinkled, you can be, but that's sprinkling. 247 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:02,960 That's not baptism. Baptism by definition, is 248 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:05,560 immersion. And Jesus went out in the water. 249 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:07,120 Why are you so quiet on me here today? 250 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:10,400 I hope you're learning something. 251 00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:14,280 That's what it is. I I, but I want you to know, and 252 00:16:14,280 --> 00:16:17,000 I'm not going to argue or fuss with anybody says, well, I did 253 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:19,040 it. You can do whatever you want. 254 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:22,200 I'm just going to give you the word of God, OK, and just tell 255 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:24,600 you what I believe. Is that the thing that God, I'm 256 00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:26,320 not telling you, you're not saved. 257 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:28,320 I'm not telling you you're not going to heaven. 258 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:30,760 I'm not going to throw a fit. If you've been washed in the 259 00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:33,400 blood of the Lamb, if you've been forgiven your sin, I accept 260 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:34,920 you. You're my brother, you're my 261 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:38,560 sister. I hope you'll accept me because 262 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:42,520 as cantankerous as I can be, I'm still your brother, Amen. 263 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:47,520 I'm still in the family, Amen. And all my bad days, I'm still 264 00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:49,680 in the family, Amen. Have been there. 265 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:52,880 Glad you're in the family of God on your bad day and on your good 266 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:59,040 day. But when we think about it, it's 267 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:02,160 actually a three-step process process. 268 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:04,560 Let's read what it says in Romans 64. 269 00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:09,800 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death 270 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:13,800 in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the 271 00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:18,880 glory of the Father, we too may have a or live a new life. 272 00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:24,319 OK, so let's look at the three steps step #1 the believer going 273 00:17:24,319 --> 00:17:29,360 down under the water. When you are, when we, when we 274 00:17:29,360 --> 00:17:34,000 do immerse, when we do lean someone into the water, it is a 275 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:40,040 symbol that they are publicly renouncing the sinful nature 276 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:43,440 that has dominated them all their life. 277 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:47,440 But we don't leave them down. And I think that's what gets 278 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:49,800 some people. They think if the pastor doesn't 279 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:52,920 like someone or they haven't given enough money, he's just 280 00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:57,320 going to hold them down there. We've never done that. 281 00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:01,720 We've never done that. So there, there is this, this 282 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:04,360 death to sin that this represents. 283 00:18:04,360 --> 00:18:06,440 It's already happened when you got saved. 284 00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:11,320 This is a this is a symbol. This is a process of 285 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:15,840 discipleship that agrees outwardly, publicly with what's 286 00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:20,160 happened to you inwardly. And then when that person is 287 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:25,280 brought back up, they're acknowledging a new life, a new 288 00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:28,320 life soul. The person going down signifies 289 00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:33,000 a death to the old sinful life. A coming back up is a a 290 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:37,320 testimony about a new and different life. 291 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:41,520 But it doesn't end there because the people that walk into the 292 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:45,880 baptistery, once they're baptized, they walk out the 293 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:48,760 other side, they walk out. You don't. 294 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:51,360 Jesus didn't stay in the Jordan River. 295 00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:53,480 He could have said, hey, it feels pretty nice in here. 296 00:18:53,480 --> 00:19:01,280 I think I'll swim a while. No, when the job was done, he 297 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:03,840 walked out because there's a life to live. 298 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:10,480 So when that person is immersed in water, raised up, they walk 299 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:12,840 out. And when they walk out, it's a 300 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:18,480 symbol of a different life that they're now living because of 301 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:21,000 what Jesus has done in their soul. 302 00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:23,200 And aren't you thankful for that today? 303 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:27,400 Give God the praise. The Bible says in Colossians 3. 304 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:29,520 One. Since then you've been raised 305 00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:32,000 with Christ. Set your heart on things above, 306 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:34,840 where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 307 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:38,880 Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things. 308 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:43,440 For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 309 00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:47,440 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will 310 00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:51,400 appear with him in glory. So we walk out the other side, 311 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:56,160 and we say, I'm on my way. Thank God I'm on my way. 312 00:19:57,240 --> 00:20:02,640 And then as follow up, Romans 613 says, do not offer any part 313 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:05,920 of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but 314 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:09,040 rather offer yourselves to God as those who've been brought 315 00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:12,760 from death to life, and offer every part of yourself to Him as 316 00:20:12,760 --> 00:20:16,720 an instrument of righteousness. In other words, give yourself 317 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:20,200 completely to God. Were you dead? 318 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:25,280 The old nature, but now you have a new life. 319 00:20:26,120 --> 00:20:30,760 So baptism is actually explained by two actions. 320 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:35,080 The 1st is to believe and the second is the ACT itself of 321 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:40,360 being baptized. Baptism states first, and this 322 00:20:40,360 --> 00:20:44,680 is important, I believe, I believe that Jesus Christ is the 323 00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:47,560 Son of God. I believe that Jesus Christ is 324 00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:50,600 my Savior. That's important. 325 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:54,960 In other words, believing comes before baptism. 326 00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:59,720 You know, this is something we really have to get to people and 327 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:02,760 let people understand that because some people think, well, 328 00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:05,440 I never was baptized, so I'm not going to heaven as if though 329 00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:08,000 just because they go down in the water, come up, they're going to 330 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:10,840 heaven. And we have to understand that's 331 00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:14,320 not the purpose. We have to understand that it's 332 00:21:14,360 --> 00:21:17,800 a, it's a symbol, but we've got to, we've got to come to Christ 333 00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:20,840 first. If you don't do that, all you do 334 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:27,240 is you, you go, you go down a dry center and you come up a wet 335 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:30,680 center or worse than that, you come up a wet hypocrite. 336 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:36,800 None of you. I'm just, I'm just telling you 337 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:40,520 that we have to understand that believing comes first. 338 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:43,240 I'll give you scripture for it in just a moment. 339 00:21:43,880 --> 00:21:46,600 Believing comes first, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. 340 00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:48,760 And again, for those of you, maybe you've never been 341 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:51,680 baptized, nobody's ever really shared this with you like I am. 342 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:55,600 Again, no condemnation. We're here to encourage you, but 343 00:21:55,600 --> 00:21:59,680 I want you to be encouraged to follow the Lord in water baptism 344 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:01,440 if it's possible for you to do so. 345 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:05,280 The Bible speaks of John the Baptist this way. 346 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:09,600 In Matthew 35, it says people went out to him from Jerusalem 347 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:14,360 and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan confessing 348 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:19,440 their sins. They were baptized by Him in the 349 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:22,520 Jordan River. Notice the order confessing 350 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:25,600 their sins. They were baptized by Him in the 351 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:28,120 Jordan River. But when he saw many of the 352 00:22:28,120 --> 00:22:31,480 Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he 353 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:33,960 said this to them. Hard to believe it, huh? 354 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:42,000 You brood of Vipers, you bunch of snakes, said you Vipers, who 355 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:46,080 warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 356 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:51,520 And then he said, this produce fruit in keeping with repair. 357 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:54,240 So you get to understand when all these people are getting 358 00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:56,760 baptized, these Pharisees and Sadducees who are the most 359 00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:59,920 critical people in the world, nobody's right but them. 360 00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:02,560 You know, they, they've got it all down pat and they're not 361 00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:04,800 really right at all, but they think they are. 362 00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:07,040 And so they're better than everybody else. 363 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:10,120 So they come along and, and John is saying, hey, hey, what are 364 00:23:10,120 --> 00:23:12,080 you coming here to be baptized for? 365 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:16,080 You want to be baptized? Show me something that tells me 366 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:20,360 you've repented. Show me that your life is 367 00:23:20,360 --> 00:23:23,240 different. Show me that God has done 368 00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:26,600 something inside of you because the other people that were 369 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:30,200 coming were saying we know we need the Lord forgive us God for 370 00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:32,760 our sins, but these people were coming. 371 00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:37,680 We're OK, We just won't be baptized, John said I'm not 372 00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:41,400 baptizing you if you can't produce some fruit. 373 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:43,880 You can't tell me what's changed in your life. 374 00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:47,000 Is that OK? That's that's good, isn't it? 375 00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:54,280 So when Peter proclaimed the gospel in Jerusalem the day of 376 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:57,640 Pentecost, remember he said repent and be baptized. 377 00:23:57,640 --> 00:24:01,360 Every one of you and those that accepted his message were 378 00:24:01,360 --> 00:24:05,400 baptized. When Philip in the 8th chapter 379 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:09,880 of the book of Acts, when he went down to Samaria, a world, 380 00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:14,520 not a worldwide but a citywide revival broke out and the Bible 381 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:18,720 says the people that believed what he preached were baptized. 382 00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:24,120 The apostle Paul, when he visited Greece, he proclaimed 383 00:24:24,120 --> 00:24:28,000 the gospel of Jesus Christ and Corinth, and many of those 384 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:30,480 Corinthians believed and were baptized. 385 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:32,720 Listen to what it says in Acts 18-8. 386 00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:38,320 Christmas the synagogue leader. Think about this Christmas, the 387 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:44,320 synagogue leader, the pastor, shall we say, and his entire 388 00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:48,320 household believed on the Lord and many of the Corinthians who 389 00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:50,960 heard Paul believe and were baptized. 390 00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:53,440 So he even got the preacher saved, Amen. 391 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:58,200 And they got baptized. See how normal this was? 392 00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:04,760 See how this was just a, a part of, of the whole experience of 393 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:08,280 coming to know the Lord. And, and what happened is they, 394 00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:10,760 they're actually, they're sealing the deal. 395 00:25:11,840 --> 00:25:14,200 You know, I'm going to tell you this real quickly and move on. 396 00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:21,120 I'm, I'm almost finished when I went to what Pastor Henson, when 397 00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:24,560 he and I went back in the, whatever the 1980s, I know it 398 00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:27,120 was when the Challenger accident happened, because we were there 399 00:25:27,120 --> 00:25:28,600 when it happened, whatever year that was. 400 00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:31,400 And we preached that convention there, that Church of God 401 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:36,040 convention in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, at the conclusion of 402 00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:39,680 the week and all the people that had gotten saved, etcetera in 403 00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:42,720 the past, they had a water baptism service there in the 404 00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:45,880 river, but we were not allowed to baptize anyone. 405 00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:49,640 We could preach and teach and do what we did, but they wouldn't 406 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:52,400 let us baptize. And they said the reason was, 407 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:57,440 was because for the Hindus, I don't know if it's true of all 408 00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:00,320 sects or not, but there's so many of them and they have 409 00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:06,520 3,000,000 gods. Baptism is the final straw and 410 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:10,400 there's no going back and you could be in some serious trouble 411 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:12,000 if you baptize. Let us do it. 412 00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:15,520 Think about that. Now we just baptize and don't 413 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:18,880 think anything about it. But in that case they were 414 00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:22,400 saying it's going to be trouble for you if you try to let us do 415 00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:27,480 the baptizing. Because for them, if you got 416 00:26:27,480 --> 00:26:31,120 baptized in water in the name of the Father, Son, the Holy 417 00:26:31,120 --> 00:26:34,720 Spirit, that meant you were done with three million gods and you 418 00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:42,040 were worshiping 1. It was a sealing of the deal. 419 00:26:43,360 --> 00:26:47,480 I want to just read this little account to you again. 420 00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:49,760 We'll go to the 8th chapter of Acts again. 421 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:54,360 And the story is unfolds that in Samaria where Philip was having 422 00:26:54,360 --> 00:26:57,960 that great revival, an Angel of the Lord spoke to him and said, 423 00:26:57,960 --> 00:27:00,800 you got to leave here. And I want you to go down to on 424 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:03,200 the road that goes to Gaza, a desert Rd. 425 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:06,120 I want you to go down that road and you're going to meet 426 00:27:06,120 --> 00:27:11,040 somebody there. So he left a citywide revival 427 00:27:12,120 --> 00:27:15,520 and he met up on a an Ethiopian eunuch. 428 00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:19,200 My you know what? God wanted the gospel to get to 429 00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:22,600 Ethiopia. Don't you think He ran upon an 430 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:26,800 Ethiopian eunuch who was sitting in a chariot reading from the 431 00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:32,880 scroll of Isaiah? And Philip walked up to him and 432 00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:35,400 to his chair and said, Sir, do you understand what you're 433 00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:37,440 reading? He said, how can I understand? 434 00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:40,400 I don't have anybody to help me, So what are you reading? 435 00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:42,640 And he said, this is the passage I'm reading. 436 00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:44,200 He said, who's he speaking about? 437 00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:49,040 And Philip took the very Scripture in Isaiah and preached 438 00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:52,040 Christ to him. And something happened in a 439 00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:56,840 man's heart. And let's read what took place 440 00:27:57,120 --> 00:28:00,120 in Acts 836. Now, as they went down the road, 441 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:05,480 they came to some water. And the eunuch said, see, here 442 00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:08,720 is water What hinders me from being baptized? 443 00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:12,040 That's the question. What would stop me from being 444 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:14,720 baptized? Am I good enough? 445 00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:18,200 Am I worthy enough? What I got to do here? 446 00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:20,440 What would stop me from being baptized? 447 00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:26,920 And Phillip said, if you believe with all your heart, you may. 448 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:34,960 I want to say that again, if you believe with all your heart, you 449 00:28:35,360 --> 00:28:42,610 may. And he answered and said, I 450 00:28:42,610 --> 00:28:45,890 believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 451 00:28:46,570 --> 00:28:51,010 So he commanded the chariot to stand still, and both Philip and 452 00:28:51,010 --> 00:28:54,570 the eunuch went down into the water and he baptized him. 453 00:28:55,730 --> 00:28:58,890 Think about that. He left a citywide revival, met 454 00:28:58,890 --> 00:29:05,320 one Ethiopian eunuch who served under the queen, explained 455 00:29:05,400 --> 00:29:08,400 salvation to him, at least enough that he could grasp it. 456 00:29:08,920 --> 00:29:12,280 The man believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, and he himself 457 00:29:12,280 --> 00:29:15,840 says, hey, look at all this water right here. 458 00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:19,480 Is there anything that would stop me from being baptized? 459 00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:22,520 You can be baptized if you believe. 460 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:26,680 How many of you believe today? Now, believing is more than just 461 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:31,080 saying it, right? So water baptism is a sign of 462 00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:34,520 being buried to sin, resurrected to new life. 463 00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:39,800 Jesus was buried and resurrected physically 2000 years ago. 464 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:43,720 We are buried with him. We are buried with him in a 465 00:29:43,720 --> 00:29:47,680 spiritual sense, When we receive Christ, when we come to the 466 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:51,240 cross, we die to our old way of living. 467 00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:56,040 So we can have a new, a resurrected life that God has 468 00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:58,400 promised him. And if anybody wants to be 469 00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:01,320 worthy, we saying it, it's only by the blood. 470 00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:04,400 Hallelujah. If anybody wants to be holy, 471 00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:09,640 it's only by the blood, and that's why we baptize. 472 00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:15,560 And then there is finally the after effects of water baptism, 473 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:20,560 because something changes. It's already happened. 474 00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:22,440 You get what I'm saying? This is a symbol. 475 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:24,920 Those people who are being baptized today have already 476 00:30:24,920 --> 00:30:29,200 received Christ as their Lord and Savior, and a number of them 477 00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:32,680 are teenagers. And I'm so happy to see that I 478 00:30:32,680 --> 00:30:37,080 really AM. So if something changes in us, 479 00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:40,120 we go back to Romans again. Chapter 6. 480 00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:42,240 Let's see how life is now to be lived. 481 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:45,880 Verse one. What shall we say then? 482 00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:51,480 Shall we go on sinning that grace may increase? 483 00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:56,720 What's the answer? By no means we are those who 484 00:30:56,720 --> 00:30:58,920 have died to sin. How can we live in it any 485 00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:01,480 longer? Or don't you know that all of us 486 00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:05,000 who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his 487 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:07,360 death? We were therefore buried with 488 00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:11,360 Him through baptism into death in order that just as Christ was 489 00:31:11,360 --> 00:31:16,000 raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may 490 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:21,920 live a new life. And if you think that person 491 00:31:21,920 --> 00:31:24,640 sitting by is not the nicest person in the world, you should 492 00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:26,040 have met him before they got saved. 493 00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:30,440 They're so much better today. You can't believe the change in 494 00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:33,280 their life. You hear what I'm saying? 495 00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:36,960 I said if that person, you said whatever, I just think how much 496 00:31:36,960 --> 00:31:38,640 worse they would be if they weren't saved. 497 00:31:40,160 --> 00:31:42,240 There's always a way to make it positive, folks. 498 00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:44,600 Think about it, think about it. Amen. 499 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:50,640 But we've been united with him in a death like his. 500 00:31:51,080 --> 00:31:54,280 We'll certainly also be united with Him in a resurrection like 501 00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:58,600 His, for we know that our old self was crucified with Him so 502 00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:01,960 that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we 503 00:32:01,960 --> 00:32:05,480 should no longer be slaves to sin. 504 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:08,880 Slaves to sin. Nobody is saying that we 505 00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:13,000 couldn't or wouldn't ever again sin, but that's not our nature. 506 00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:17,240 And when we do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, We go 507 00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:19,480 to God, we say, Lord, we've offended you. 508 00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:22,400 We know that that's a change in our life. 509 00:32:22,520 --> 00:32:25,000 We used to do anything and never feel anything. 510 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:29,080 But now we have a new life and suddenly we feel the conviction 511 00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:32,040 of the Holy Spirit, which is the best thing that could ever 512 00:32:32,040 --> 00:32:34,760 happen to our lives. Not condemnation, but the 513 00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:39,520 conviction to draw us back to where God saved us, to where we 514 00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:43,280 were with him. So there, this water baptism is 515 00:32:43,280 --> 00:32:46,600 a symbol of a cleansing of the heart of the believer. 516 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:49,880 It is going to be in just a few short moments, a public 517 00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:54,840 declaration. Somebody will be baptized and 518 00:32:54,840 --> 00:33:00,240 they'll be saying I've turned from sin to serve Jesus Christ 519 00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:04,320 as Lord. This act shows that I have died 520 00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:13,000 to sin and I am alive to Christ. In conclusion, baptism outward 521 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:18,720 symbol of an inward experience. Alone it means nothing. 522 00:33:19,360 --> 00:33:23,560 But if you had the inward experience and most important, 523 00:33:24,680 --> 00:33:30,720 baptism in water is important because the Lord in his Word 524 00:33:30,720 --> 00:33:35,760 commands us to be baptized and we want to be obedient to Him, 525 00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:40,440 right? We're not trying to have some 526 00:33:40,440 --> 00:33:44,560 pastor get it over on us, but if Jesus commanded it and didn't 527 00:33:44,560 --> 00:33:48,720 just suggest it says I want you to do this, that's a good reason 528 00:33:48,720 --> 00:33:51,840 for us to do it, isn't it? It's just a good reason to do it 529 00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:56,000 because Jesus said. And to add to that, he set the 530 00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:58,960 example because he himself was baptized. 531 00:33:59,840 --> 00:34:02,560 Thanks for joining us today. If you'd like to connect, visit 532 00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:05,800 us at Rheem Sound churchofgod.org, follow us on 533 00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:09,280 Facebook and Instagram, and subscribe to this podcast so you 534 00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:10,560 never miss an episode.