WEBVTT
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Ministering to the heart of Western Arkansas's River Valley for over 165 years, welcome to Chapter and First, the Bible Teaching Ministry of Fort Smith's First Baptist Church.
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You'll find sermons and teachings from Pastor Greg, our ministry staff, and guest speakers.
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Thank you for listening.
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That's really fun.
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If you want it done right, we called our best and brightest.
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We have a student and a lawyer, and all things go well that way, right?
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Isn't that good?
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We have our student ministry involved, and uh so we're excited about that.
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So it's good.
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Well, good to see you this morning.
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I just came from our first Baptist chaffee campus.
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I can't say that yet.
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Let me try again.
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I just came from our first Baptist Chaffee campus, where we celebrated one year as a campus.
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Is that exciting?
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Isn't that good?
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Praise the Lord for that.
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We are very excited about what God's doing there, and it's great.
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Uh we're also excited about we have a mission trip coming up to London, and if God's been telling you to go uh and you haven't signed up yet, it's time.
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It's now like deadline, you gotta get there.
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And yesterday, Pastor Joel just sent a word of encouragement and greeting to the church.
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So let's show that.
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This is from Pastor Joel, who we're partnering with.
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I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank you so much for your friendship and support, both to Stone, here where I am today, and beautiful Ainswood Baptist Church.
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Friends, you have been such faithful and encouraging friends to us over the last couple of years, and we couldn't be more grateful for you, for your church, and for your pastors.
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This morning I wanted to share with you that in a couple of weeks there's an opportunity to visit with us.
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And this morning is the sign up deadline.
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We would be so excited if you wanted to come and visit with us once more, and as we celebrate our equivalent of Veterans Weekend.
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For as we call this Remembrance Day, and it's a solemn opportunity to consider those who have given their lives in service of our nation and of peace and security around the world.
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You would be so welcome to visit with us.
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We've got some wonderful plans to go and see some of the World War II sites, as well as the opportunity to be into the church in Ainsford with us and worship together.
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Friends, thank you for your friendship, for your partnership, for the encouragement that you are week in, week out to us.
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God bless you in worship this morning.
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Have a great day.
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It's always grateful to hear from Pastor Joel.
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And those of you who have been know, man, we love Pastor Joel.
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You've been, and if you haven't, I just know there may be another person or two guys out there poking you about going.
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We're going to do some light construction, kind of cleaning up some apartments that we have helped build in the upstairs of the church at Ainsford.
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And then we'll be in Ainsford that weekend, as he mentioned, doing Remembrance Day.
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And so it's an incredible deal.
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Our uh Ainsford Church, Baptist Church there, they have had the privilege of hosting this event for the entire village of Ainsford.
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And so as they go through those festivities, there'll be 300 plus people attending the events there.
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And then the church hosts a fellowship afterwards.
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And so you get a chance to meet all those folks.
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It's a chance for the church to be a part of the community.
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It's an incredible opportunity.
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So I hope that you will uh I hope you'll pray about that.
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And if God's been poking you, go ahead and sign up.
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Let's uh let's have a time of prayer.
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Let's just thank the Lord for what he's doing in so many ways in our church.
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Lord, we thank you for uh the partnership that we have with Pastor Joel as they're revitalizing that church in Ainsford, as we support his church in uh in in London, uh Stone Baptist.
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We pray, Father, that you will use that weekend uh in an incredible way to bring more people to faith in Christ at the Ainsford Church where we're serving.
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And Lord, we thank you for our own church plant here, uh our Chaffee campus that we've planted as a part of moving towards that property.
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Father, I thank you for a year.
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I thank you for people that have been baptized, I thank you for lives that have been changed, hearts have been encouraged.
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I thank you for members who've joined and become a full part of our church family, participating in everything that we do.
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Father, we're so grateful that you are opening doors for us as a church.
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And we pray, Father, that you will help us to be faithful, to step out in faith and follow through those doors.
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We pray that you'll help us to be faithful to share Jesus in the gospel.
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I pray that you'll help us to be faithful to invite people to church at either or both campuses.
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And Father, we pray for you to work so more we can see more people saved.
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It is in your name we pray this morning, and everybody said.
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Okay, I want to brag on you.
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It's a special day for yet another reason.
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You have just finished reading the Old Testament together as a church.
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That's awesome.
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That's a milestone.
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At Chaffee Campus, they started applauding and cheering, and I said, Whoa, whoa, are you applauding because you did it or are you applauding because you're finished with it?
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Uh but no more minor prophets, man.
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We're through all that.
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You guys have done a great job.
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I just want to tell you again how proud I am of all of you as a church family for the way we're doing that study together and walking through that.
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The testimonies that you share, the stories, Sunday school classes, the discussions.
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It's just incredible to do that with y'all.
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And so I just want to take again a moment just to brag on you in Jesus and say thank you for what you're doing.
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And this week we've started the New Testament.
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And we have here this morning in Matthew chapter 3, if you'll turn there, the importance of baptism.
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Because we have this moment where Jesus is baptized, and what happens here is he identifies what those four books are about.
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This is the beginning of Jesus' ministry, and he does it to identify himself to the world as the Savior.
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In fact, I want you to see this truth before we read in that text that this moment where Jesus presents himself for baptism is a foundational moment in his ministry.
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And it is also one of the few moments outside of the crucifixion and resurrection that is told in all four Gospels, which tells us how vitally important it is and foundational it is to that moment.
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In fact, you're there in Matthew 3.
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I just want to read to you the first little part of the book of Mark, chapter 1.
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Don't turn there.
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You're where you're supposed to be.
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But I just want you to hear how he introduces this moment.
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He says, the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
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So Mark is saying, this is where it all starts.
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This is the beginning.
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Gospel, that word, is translated good news or joyful tidings, and it's really kind of the idea that an event has happened that has changed things, and we're excited, and they're bringing joyful tidings about it.
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So what he literally says is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus, the person Jesus identified as the Savior, Jesus Christ, his title, his identifier as the anointed sacrifice of God for our sins, the Son of God.
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This is the beginning of the ministry.
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And he says, as it is written, Isaiah the prophet, a prophecy of Isaiah, see, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare the way.
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A voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
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And so he says, You know the Messiah is coming because God has prophesied there would be one to prepare the way.
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And that's John the Baptist.
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John the Baptist came baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
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Now, every time you hear the word repentance, remember good news.
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This is not John the Baptist or even Jesus as he begins his ministry preaching repent because you're all dirty, rotten sinners, and you're horrible people and you need to grovel and shame on all of you.
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That's not what repentance is, because that wouldn't be good news.
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The good news is Jesus came to be the Savior and to take away our sins, to create eternal life for us.
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It is the promise of God to send, under one illustration that's given, the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.
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And that's why it's good news, and that's why Mark says a baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins.
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That is the good news.
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That when you come to Jesus and you trust him as your Savior, he forgives your sin and you are made new.
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It is good news.
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And then he says this the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem are going out to him, and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
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And then it says, in those days when this is happening, and there's this revival movement, and all these people are getting saved and being baptized, in those days, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John.
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By John the Baptist.
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So you see, right there is this beautiful picture of how foundational this moment is that Jesus is presenting himself for baptism to announce that he is the Messiah, the one who's come to pay the price for our sins.
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Now we're in Matthew chapter 3, and let's read.
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In those days, it's the same time we just read in Mark, John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.
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For he, John the Baptist, is the one spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, who said, It's the same prophecy, it's the same picture.
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God is giving an identifier that you will know the Messiah has come when I have sent this messenger to prepare the way.
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And he quotes Isaiah again, just like Mark did, a voice of one crying out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord and make his paths straight.
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In other words, he is paving the way, he is creating this time that we can identify God has sent the Savior.
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Now, John had a camel hair garment with a leather belt around his waist.
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Now I thought about, you know, we want to literally follow scripture, so I thought about what if we made this the dress code for our staff?
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But then I figured our business administrator, Trey Overton, he's really the only one with that bushy beard and big thing, he's the only one who could pull that off.
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Man, we just I just don't have that.
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Jacob and I, we don't have a chance.
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We can't really pull that off.
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So I thought, nah, let's ditch that plan.
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And his food was locusts and wild honey, and I never gave a thought to making that the menu, right?
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Then people from Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the vicinity of the Jordan were going out to him, and they were being baptized in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
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So again, it is this move.
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God is identified.
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This is the one preparing the way.
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When he, John the Baptist, saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to baptism, he said to them, Brood of vipers, who warn you to flee from the coming wrath.
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Now let me talk just for a minute about who Pharisees and Sadducees are.
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Pharisees are the religious leaders of the day.
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They're priests and priests adjacent and all of that.
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And they believed very much in legalistically keeping the law.
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In fact, they went from the law to all the other Deuteronomy and Levitical things, and then they created a whole bunch of regulations beyond that, and they're beating everybody over the head about you violated some minor little, you know, infraction of some rule or regulation that you never even heard of.
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But we're awesome.
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We keep them all, and they're bragging and they're proud and they got this whole thing.
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And they are really upset because this movement looks scary to them, and it's going to wreak havoc with their power base, how they view religion for the Jewish people, and all of that.
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The Sadducees are more like political leaders, they have a rooting in their Jewish identity and faith, but they're more like political leaders, and they're coming out to check this out because they don't like what's happening, and they don't like the message that John is preaching.
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And so here's what he says: brood of vipers who warned you to flee from the coming wrath.
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It's a rhetorical question.
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And then he says, produce fruit consistent with repentance.
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In other words, your self-effort in behaving yourself worthy of God is not working.
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Repentance is, I have come to the Lord and I've realized that I am not worthy and I cannot meet the law.
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It is recognizing, as the Bible says, all of sin that comes short of God's glory, and I am repenting of my sin and I'm asking for God's forgiveness.
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And to do that, repentance means that there's life change.
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And so he is challenging them.
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You are doing your own thing arrogantly.
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That's not what repentance is.
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Repentance is recognizing that the law shows you you're a sinner.
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And then he says, and don't presume to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father.
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Now what does that mean?
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They thought because they were Jewish, they would participate in the Jewish coming of the Messiah, and it would all be about them.
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And he is telling them, listen, your Judaism does not get you to heaven.
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No one's position, no one's race, no one's family or whatever else, none of that qualifies any of us to go to heaven.
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Just because your parents went to church doesn't mean that you get to go to heaven.
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It is only repentance before the Messiah, trusting Jesus as your Savior, and He's telling them this is a shocking message.
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It's one of the reasons that they're out there mad at what he's saying.
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I tell you that God is able to raise up children from Abraham from these stones.
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In other words, God will raise up his own children everywhere.
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How he does this through the gospel.
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The axe is already at the root of the trees, therefore every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown in the fire.
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And then he begins to explain what's happening, what he's doing.
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I baptize you with water for repentance.
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But the one who is coming after me, the Messiah, is more powerful than I.
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I am not worthy to remove his sandals.
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He himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
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Verse 13.
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Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by John.
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But John tried to stop him, saying, I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me.
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Now, if you know Scripture, and we're not that far from Christmas again, and so you'll remember what happens in Matthew and in Luke.
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The angels come to Mary and to Joseph and say, Mary's going to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit and going to give birth to the Savior.
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As an encouragement to them, he went to one of Mary's family members.
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There was a family.
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And God says, You're going to miraculously have a child well beyond childbearing age, kind of like Abraham and Sarah.
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And so she becomes miraculously pregnant, not the way Mary did.
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She and her husband did that.
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But they are way beyond.
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So here's a miracle baby.
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And then the Bible says that Mary went to Elizabeth and lived with them for Elizabeth to disciple and encourage her through this experience.
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Elizabeth's miracle baby was John the Baptist, who we're reading about.
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So they're in essence cousins, he and Jesus.
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And so they likely had a relationship, they likely knew each other.
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John certainly would have known about his calling to prepare the way.
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His dad, who is a priest, would have educated him on this whole process, and he knew Jesus was the Savior.
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So this is not a random comment that Jesus that John is saying to Jesus.
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He sees him and he knows he's the Savior.
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He's just said, I'm not worthy to remove his sandals, and so I don't need to be baptized, baptizing you.
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Jesus, you need to baptize me.
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That's what's going on here in this moment.
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And then Jesus tells him in verse 15, allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness.
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Then John allowed him to be baptized.
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And verse 16, when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water.
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Or in other words, he came straight up out of the water.
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The heavens suddenly opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him.
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And a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.
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Now let me encourage you on a couple of things.
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Sometimes there's a temptation when we see a passage like this.
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Oh, we know it.
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We know about the Holy Spirit in a dove if you've been in church.
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Sometimes we think, oh, baptism, yeah, I did that when I was nine and a half, and I got baptized, and let's like just blow through that.
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And we just miss the incredible truths that are going on in a passage like this simply because it becomes familiar.
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And then some of you are maybe this may not be.
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You don't have a church background, and this is a new thing.
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We have a lot of people in our church that we're God's bringing, praise the Lord, and they're learning these things for the first time.
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And so this is a fundamental passage, not because it was something you did years ago when you got baptized.
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It is first a fundamental passage because it establishes clearly who Jesus is and what he did.
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He came to die on the cross for our sins and be raised again.
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The next thing I'm going to tell you is there is never a room this large.
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I have never been in a room this large that there was not someone who was struggling with a baptism decision or needed to be baptized, or was baptized some time a long time ago, and then Jesus has intervened in their life, and now they've really become saved in that journey, and their baptism was on the wrong side of when they really knew they got saved.
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And so it's a fundamental issue for us because we're going to talk about the importance of baptism.
00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:59.839
And there are a lot of people here today, there are people on the internet and watch on television who I know need to be baptized.
00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:16.400
And so I'm not going to arm twist you or do some weird, you know, emotional thing or whatever, but I want to show you, I want to walk through this scripture to help you understand how fundamental this moment is and how fundamental baptism is for us.
00:19:16.640 --> 00:19:20.240
Now, let me give you a couple of key truths from this passage of scripture that we read.
00:19:20.400 --> 00:19:22.000
First of all, the word baptism.
00:19:22.160 --> 00:19:30.160
When you see the word baptism, it is literally translated into English, dip or dunk or immerse.
00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:32.079
That's literally the word.
00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:51.920
Now, when it was translated from all the original languages and Latin and all that, and they translated it into English, at that time, uh it the king who was translating it or all those things, man, they they sprinkled and they did all that, and they come to this word, and they, you know, what are we going to do with that?
00:19:52.079 --> 00:20:00.079
And they did what's called transliterated the word, and that means they just adopted it from the original language and created a new word in the English language.
00:20:00.160 --> 00:20:01.839
And they go, What does that mean?
00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:04.480
Oh, that's that thing you do after you get saved.
00:20:04.720 --> 00:20:12.000
And they created a lot of this struggle through the years because they didn't directly translate the word.
00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:17.839
The word means dunk or immerse, it means to dip something completely in the water.
00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:23.680
And you get that every time you read baptism, you get it and you understand it.
00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:30.480
And the Bible says when Jesus was baptized, he came up or went up immediately from the water.
00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:33.440
You can't come up out of sprinkle.
00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:38.400
I mean, it's just the reality of it.
00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:42.240
He came up out of the water because they put him all the way down in the water.
00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:49.200
And so baptism is an act that is a complete dunking, and we'll talk about why in a minute.
00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:52.559
Because it is an adapted cleansing ceremony.
00:20:52.799 --> 00:21:01.359
They had dunking type ceremonies, cleansing ceremonies in the Old Testament Jewish life.
00:21:01.599 --> 00:21:04.640
They were not as common as some of the others that we talk about.
00:21:04.799 --> 00:21:12.640
It certainly wasn't as common as sacrificing, you know, turtle doves and lamb and all that stuff, but it was a part of their life.
00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:18.319
And it represented a ceremonial cleaning or cleansing of who you are.
00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:32.640
It was often used when a Gentile wanted to be a follower of Jehovah God and identified with the Jewish faith and nationality and became Jewish.
00:21:32.799 --> 00:21:49.599
And it had this connotation that you went down in the water, you were ceremonially cleansed, you did that because of your commitment to follow Jehovah God and become one of his children, and you were raised up out of the water, and now you had a new identity.
00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:54.880
You went from who you were now to Jewish.
00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:59.759
And that's one of the reasons it was so offensive to the Pharisees because they would have known.
00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:09.119
This and they thought that they were going to have a place in heaven because of their identity in who they were, not in the Messiah.
00:22:09.279 --> 00:22:24.559
And when he is taking this ceremonial cleansing and adapting it to everybody's got to repent, and your identity is changed when you're repented, they found that horribly offensive, bordering on heresy.
00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:26.799
It is clearly symbolic.
00:22:27.119 --> 00:22:29.680
John explains to them what's happening.
00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:33.599
First of all, it comes from a symbolic cleansing.
00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:42.160
And then John explains to them, I am only baptizing you with water, but when the Messiah comes, he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.
00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:51.039
And so what we're doing here is simply a precursor and a picture of what the Messiah will do when he brings salvation.
00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:55.039
That is a spiritual occurrence that happens through the work of the Holy Spirit.
00:22:55.279 --> 00:22:58.319
And then finally, he makes it clear it follows repentance.
00:22:58.640 --> 00:23:05.359
Like this is an indicator of a decision of faith that you have made in your life and your heart.
00:23:05.599 --> 00:23:21.119
I am repenting of my sin, and that's why I'm going through this ceremony, because I am identifying with someone whose sins are clear, and I am identifying with someone who trusts in the promised Redeemer.
00:23:21.359 --> 00:23:23.920
That's what John is teaching and what's happening there.
00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:28.319
And from that, we begin to understand how important baptism is for us.
00:23:28.559 --> 00:23:33.599
Truth number one, that this is a first and foremost about Jesus.
00:23:33.920 --> 00:23:48.400
The reason that you have this discussion between John the Baptist and Jesus, and I'm not going to baptize you, you should be baptizing and all that, is because Jesus is coming to do one thing.
00:23:48.640 --> 00:24:00.000
Jesus is submitting to baptism because he is identifying who he is as the Savior, and Jesus is identifying with our sin and humanity.
00:24:00.720 --> 00:24:04.559
Jesus is coming, he has to come and be born in the form of a man.
00:24:04.720 --> 00:24:06.960
He has to be a human to die for human sins.
00:24:07.200 --> 00:24:10.160
The Bible says all of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory.
00:24:10.240 --> 00:24:14.559
And then the Bible says that for the wages of sin is death.
00:24:14.880 --> 00:24:21.920
God is a holy God, must judge sin, but he is also God of grace, not just holiness.
00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:26.079
He's going to judge that sin, but he steps out of heaven in the form of Jesus.
00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:28.160
He becomes a person, a man.
00:24:28.319 --> 00:24:32.640
That's why you have the miraculous birth with Mary and the virgin birth and all of that.
00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:34.240
He can be a human now.
00:24:34.319 --> 00:24:35.359
He lives a human life.
00:24:35.519 --> 00:24:36.640
He goes to the cross.
00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:39.519
There is no judgment attached to his life.
00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:42.559
Jesus would never die because he was not judged.
00:24:42.799 --> 00:24:44.960
The wages of sin is death.
00:24:45.119 --> 00:24:46.720
But that's why death occurs.
00:24:46.880 --> 00:24:52.480
So Jesus goes to the cross and he voluntarily places himself there on the cross.
00:24:53.200 --> 00:25:03.359
And he dies a death that has no judgment attached to it because he understands a human must pay the price for humans' sins.
00:25:04.160 --> 00:25:11.359
He is buried and he is raised then in resurrection power, conquering death and sin.
00:25:11.519 --> 00:25:18.400
And when Jesus goes through this deal, what he is saying is, listen, John, I get what you're saying.
00:25:19.039 --> 00:25:20.880
I love you, cousin, for that.
00:25:21.119 --> 00:25:22.960
That's not what we're doing here.
00:25:23.440 --> 00:25:25.680
This is so that righteousness can follow.
00:25:25.839 --> 00:25:27.359
This is so that everyone will know.
00:25:27.519 --> 00:25:45.680
This is so we're showing who I am, and I am identifying with people that I'm dying on the cross for their sins, and I am coming up out of the water and symbolizing that I will bring new life, and that is going to be my ministry, and that is why I've come, and that is what I am going to do.
00:25:46.079 --> 00:25:50.240
And Jesus, his entire adult ministry begins in this moment.
00:25:50.400 --> 00:25:53.200
In fact, we know very little about Jesus up to this moment.
00:25:53.359 --> 00:25:56.000
We only know about the virgin birth and all of that deal.
00:25:56.079 --> 00:25:58.960
Then we have one story when he was twelve.
00:25:59.119 --> 00:26:08.000
And if you'll remember this story, or if you've been reading this week as we've started the New Testament, Jesus, his family goes to Jerusalem for the Passover.
00:26:08.160 --> 00:26:11.200
When they leave, they have that conversation.
00:26:11.680 --> 00:26:16.000
His mother and father, Mary and Joseph, have the conversation that we all dread, right?
00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:20.559
They're a few days out, and one of them goes, Hey, have you seen Jesus?
00:26:20.799 --> 00:26:22.799
And then Mary says, No, I haven't seen him.
00:26:22.880 --> 00:26:24.240
I thought he was with you.
00:26:24.880 --> 00:26:27.440
And Joseph says, No, I thought he was with you.
00:26:27.680 --> 00:26:30.799
And Mary says, Well, maybe he's with the cousins, and they go check.
00:26:30.880 --> 00:26:34.160
Maybe he's with the, you know, Abraham Joneses or whatever.
00:26:34.240 --> 00:26:35.200
And where's Jesus?
00:26:35.279 --> 00:26:36.559
And then they have this panic moment.
00:26:36.720 --> 00:26:37.359
Where's Jesus?
00:26:37.440 --> 00:26:39.359
He's not in the caravan, heading home.
00:26:39.519 --> 00:26:42.000
They go back and they find Jesus at the temple.
00:26:42.240 --> 00:26:43.599
Jesus is 12 years old.
00:26:43.680 --> 00:26:51.200
The Bible tells us that that's important because that was the traditional age for a young man to start for a person to start being becoming a young man.
00:26:51.359 --> 00:26:55.119
He would start learning the father's business and the family business and all of that.
00:26:55.359 --> 00:26:57.599
And so here he is as a 12-year-old.
00:26:57.680 --> 00:26:59.279
He's sitting at the feet of the priests.
00:26:59.359 --> 00:27:00.640
They're having these conversations.
00:27:00.720 --> 00:27:02.079
They're in awe of what he knows.
00:27:02.319 --> 00:27:03.920
They say, Jesus, where have you been?
00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:05.279
Man, we've been worried sick.
00:27:05.359 --> 00:27:06.640
And he says, Why were you worried?
00:27:06.720 --> 00:27:15.039
Don't you know I would be about my father's business of being the Messiah.
00:27:15.119 --> 00:27:24.480
And that's all we have until this moment when Jesus is 30 years old and he steps into the world and he begins it with identifying with us and our sins and who he's going to be.
00:27:24.799 --> 00:27:34.400
Truth number two, it's not just Jesus identifying with our sins, but now you reverse that.
00:27:34.640 --> 00:27:39.039
And baptism is us identifying with Jesus.
00:27:39.359 --> 00:27:45.200
It symbolizes what we believe and what happened to us at salvation.
00:27:45.519 --> 00:28:02.480
So after this moment where Jesus shows what salvation is and he baptizes, then we are commanded to follow in Jesus' example and do what he did because now God has created baptism as our identification with Jesus.
00:28:02.640 --> 00:28:05.039
I want you to look at these scriptures in Romans chapter 6.
00:28:05.119 --> 00:28:06.799
It explains it better than I ever could.
00:28:06.960 --> 00:28:07.759
Here's what he says.
00:28:07.920 --> 00:28:09.119
Verse 4 and 5.
00:28:09.359 --> 00:28:13.039
Therefore, when you see the word therefore, you ask what was there for.
00:28:13.200 --> 00:28:15.359
We've been talking about salvation and all of that.
00:28:15.519 --> 00:28:24.319
And then he begins this chapter with a rhetorical discussion about now that I'm saved, I shouldn't be sinning like I was anymore.
00:28:24.559 --> 00:28:26.000
My life should be different.
00:28:26.160 --> 00:28:31.279
Therefore, we were buried with him by baptism into death.
00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:33.279
See, we are identifying.
00:28:33.519 --> 00:28:35.680
Jesus died for my sins.
00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:40.799
I am a sinner under judgment and penalty of death for my sin.
00:28:41.039 --> 00:28:44.799
I am going to trust in Jesus' death on the cross for me.
00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:57.359
And so I am identified when I go down under the water, I am identifying with Jesus that I am dead in my sins and that Jesus paid the price for them.
00:28:57.680 --> 00:29:06.880
In order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too walk in newness of life.
00:29:07.119 --> 00:29:16.319
And so now I know when I come up out of the water and it's dripping down my face and hair and all that kind of stuff, I am realizing I am a new person in Christ.
00:29:16.480 --> 00:29:21.359
Not because of the water, but because of Jesus.
00:29:21.920 --> 00:29:32.079
I am identifying with Jesus' death on the cross, and I am surrendering my life to him, and I'm giving my trust to Jesus and what he did to pay the price for my sins.
00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:37.359
And then I am trusting Jesus when he was resurrected that that's how I am born again.
00:29:37.599 --> 00:29:39.119
That that's how I have a new life.
00:29:39.279 --> 00:29:43.359
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians, if any man's in Christ, he is a new creation.
00:29:43.519 --> 00:29:46.400
Old things have passed away and all things have become new.
00:29:46.880 --> 00:29:47.599
What does that mean?
00:29:47.759 --> 00:29:50.559
How am I born again, as he told Nicodemus?
00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:56.400
Because Jesus resurrected from the dead, and I've placed my faith in him and I am identifying with him.
00:29:56.799 --> 00:30:02.799
And baptism is an exercise that teaches us that truth.
00:30:04.160 --> 00:30:12.880
For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection.
00:30:13.039 --> 00:30:14.640
First of all, likeness.
00:30:14.960 --> 00:30:16.720
Baptism doesn't save you.
00:30:16.960 --> 00:30:23.839
There are people through the years who have preached that you're not saved until you go down and come up out of the water.
00:30:25.119 --> 00:30:27.519
It's called regenerational baptism.
00:30:27.680 --> 00:30:29.519
That's not what the Bible teaches.
00:30:29.759 --> 00:30:34.960
Paul said it was, I mean, John the Baptist said it was symbolic, and now Paul says it's symbolic.
00:30:35.200 --> 00:30:38.640
In the likeness of his death, and the likeness of his resurrection.
00:30:38.799 --> 00:30:46.319
And again, he's proving the point that if you confess your sins and you give your life to Jesus, he will save you.
00:30:46.559 --> 00:31:02.319
If we are united with him, if we are identified in the likeness of his death, we will be, we will be, certainly be, absolutely be, definitely be, born again and raised in newness of life.
00:31:02.640 --> 00:31:11.519
Because we're identifying with Jesus, who is the author of life, the giver of life, the saver of life, and the one of resurrected life.
00:31:12.160 --> 00:31:13.759
And so that's what it is.
00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:21.680
And so it is a chance for us to identify with Jesus the way he's identified with us about our salvation.
00:31:21.920 --> 00:31:33.680
And then truth number three baptism is an important command that you must obey in your relationship with Jesus.
00:31:33.920 --> 00:31:41.920
It is vitally important that when you give your life to Christ, you follow up in baptism.
00:31:42.160 --> 00:31:46.720
I want you to read again what it says in Romans, the next couple of verses in chapter 6.
00:31:47.039 --> 00:31:52.559
For we know that our old self, that's Greg before he was saved.
00:31:52.720 --> 00:31:55.680
That's sometimes the Bible says old self or old man.
00:31:55.759 --> 00:31:58.319
It's talking about the person before we were saved.
00:31:58.480 --> 00:32:02.079
That old self was crucified with Jesus.
00:32:02.559 --> 00:32:08.799
So that the body that once was ruled by sin, as a sinner, you're captive.
00:32:08.880 --> 00:32:11.200
You keep sinning whether you want to or not.
00:32:11.519 --> 00:32:13.920
But when you're saved, you're changed.
00:32:14.240 --> 00:32:26.799
We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be slaves to sin.
00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:37.440
Since a person who has died is free from sin, now if we died with Christ, we believe that we also will live with him.
00:32:37.920 --> 00:32:40.160
And that's what baptism is picturing.
00:32:40.400 --> 00:32:44.799
It is teaching us our identity in Christ.
00:32:45.039 --> 00:32:49.759
And what he's saying is, listen, I used to sin whether I wanted to or not.
00:32:49.920 --> 00:32:51.200
I was captive to that sin.
00:32:51.279 --> 00:32:53.839
I was certainly captive to the judgment of that sin.
00:32:54.079 --> 00:32:57.200
But when I give my life to Christ, my sins are paid for.
00:32:57.359 --> 00:33:04.319
They are buried, they are dead and gone, and the old person that I was as a sinner died with Jesus.
00:33:04.559 --> 00:33:14.160
And when I come up out of that water, and that water's dripping down my face and all of that, I am reminded that what happened to me when I gave my life to Jesus was I was born again.
00:33:14.240 --> 00:33:15.039
I was made new.
00:33:15.119 --> 00:33:15.759
I'm a new person.
00:33:15.920 --> 00:33:18.319
The old man is gone, and this is a new Greg.
00:33:18.720 --> 00:33:25.839
And I have a new future, I have a new eternity, I have a new heart, I have a new life, I have a relationship with Jesus I did not have.
00:33:25.920 --> 00:33:32.079
I have the Holy Spirit working in my life, and because of that, I am no longer a slave to sin.
00:33:33.039 --> 00:33:35.759
I do not live that way anymore.
00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:38.720
I don't have to, I don't want to.
00:33:39.039 --> 00:33:44.000
I am pursuing a new path because I am a new person.
00:33:44.480 --> 00:33:46.079
And that's what he's teaching us.
00:33:46.240 --> 00:33:51.599
And baptism is an important lesson to learn in that moment.
00:33:51.759 --> 00:33:53.359
Now here's what I'm gonna tell you.
00:33:53.599 --> 00:33:54.960
I've been in church my whole life.
00:33:55.119 --> 00:33:57.599
My parents, I've told shared my testimony before.
00:33:57.759 --> 00:34:03.519
My parents were church people, Sunday school teachers, deacons, Janet's parents were church people, same testimony.
00:34:03.759 --> 00:34:08.880
When I was nine and a half years old, I gave my life to Jesus, and from then on I was, you know, a church guy.
00:34:09.039 --> 00:34:11.360
I mean, I was involved in student ministry and all the stuff.
00:34:11.519 --> 00:34:13.519
In college, I started teaching Sunday school.
00:34:13.760 --> 00:34:20.320
Pretty much every Sunday since I was 18, except for three years in law school when I was in the library most of the time.
00:34:20.480 --> 00:34:28.239
Uh I was I've taught almost every Sunday of my life since I was 18, either teaching Sunday school or preaching or whatever.
00:34:28.400 --> 00:34:33.199
And in all of that, in all of that church life, in all of that pastoring and all that, here's what I can tell you.
00:34:33.360 --> 00:34:34.559
Oh, what I can tell you.
00:34:34.800 --> 00:34:40.159
When people struggle with baptism, it is a spiritual decision.
00:34:40.960 --> 00:34:42.960
And people do, they struggle with baptism.
00:34:43.039 --> 00:34:44.079
We have some here this morning.
00:34:44.159 --> 00:34:46.880
So I'm not trying to pound on you or whatever.
00:34:46.960 --> 00:34:49.119
I'm trying to teach you and encourage you.
00:34:49.280 --> 00:34:54.960
And if it is a hard decision for you, then that tells you it's a significant decision.
00:34:55.199 --> 00:34:57.840
Anything that's difficult to do has to have some weight in it.
00:34:57.920 --> 00:34:58.719
That's why it's difficult.
00:34:58.800 --> 00:35:03.280
I mean, how hard is it to go up there and to get like in the bathtub?
00:35:03.599 --> 00:35:05.280
It's just a bathtub.
00:35:05.519 --> 00:35:08.800
And as long as we remember to turn the heater on, it's warm water.
00:35:09.519 --> 00:35:12.719
Every now and then it doesn't work, and that's pretty cold.
00:35:13.280 --> 00:35:16.559
But it's a whole lot better than the Jordan River, let me tell you.
00:35:16.719 --> 00:35:20.880
I've been to the Jordan River, you couldn't pay me enough to get in that nasty water.
00:35:21.039 --> 00:35:23.760
I mean, you think the Arkansas River's bad.
00:35:24.079 --> 00:35:24.480
Ugh.
00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:26.079
You don't want to get in the Jordan River.
00:35:26.239 --> 00:35:30.960
I went on one of those trips and all those people are paying$100 to get baptized again in the Jordan River.
00:35:31.039 --> 00:35:33.599
I'm thinking, you're paying to get into that?
00:35:33.840 --> 00:35:34.960
Are you kidding me?
00:35:35.199 --> 00:35:36.159
Like, no way.
00:35:36.239 --> 00:35:37.119
I'm not doing that.
00:35:37.280 --> 00:35:39.679
You couldn't pay me$100 to get in the middle of that.
00:35:39.840 --> 00:35:44.400
I mean, I know why they're doing it and all that, but listen, we you it's just water.
00:35:44.559 --> 00:35:45.599
It's a symbol.
00:35:45.760 --> 00:35:47.039
It's just water.
00:35:47.280 --> 00:35:47.599
Okay?
00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:49.280
It's just water.
00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:58.400
We have for next week scheduled two baptisms at our celebration service on our property next week.
00:35:58.639 --> 00:35:59.039
Two.
00:35:59.280 --> 00:36:01.920
One person from this campus, one person from the next campus.
00:36:02.079 --> 00:36:06.159
And when we baptize them, we're going to take our horse straw that we use out of the Chaffee campus.
00:36:06.239 --> 00:36:12.480
And one of the guys in our church is a construction guy, rancher, got a big old water thing, puts on the back of his truck.
00:36:12.559 --> 00:36:16.400
He's going to fill it up, and we're going to baptize folks on our property out there.
00:36:16.960 --> 00:36:17.599
Right?
00:36:18.079 --> 00:36:19.840
But why are we doing that?
00:36:20.480 --> 00:36:25.039
Because it is an important command that teaches us who we are.
00:36:25.280 --> 00:36:27.280
Now I want you to think about these things right here.
00:36:27.440 --> 00:36:30.719
As you're praying through that baptism decision, I want you to see this.
00:36:31.039 --> 00:36:34.159
Identity affects behavior.
00:36:34.639 --> 00:36:36.320
Identity affects behavior.
00:36:36.480 --> 00:36:41.440
Who you think you are guides the choices that you make.
00:36:42.239 --> 00:37:01.199
Who you recognize yourself to be, what your identity is, what your heritage is, what your personage is, what your thoughts, what you have set as the vision for your life, what your identity is, it directs your behavior because you make decisions based on who you are and where you want to go because of who you are.
00:37:01.440 --> 00:37:09.039
And what the Bible tells us is this whole picture in Romans is that we are identified with his death.
00:37:09.199 --> 00:37:11.039
Our old man is gone.
00:37:11.360 --> 00:37:20.960
We are identified with new life in Christ because of what he did, and I am no longer captive to sin because Jesus paid for it on the cross.
00:37:21.280 --> 00:37:25.920
And my identity now is a blood-bought son of the child of God.
00:37:26.320 --> 00:37:40.079
And because of that, I am free to be who Jesus saved me to be, and I have a vision who he saved me to be, and who he's working in my life to make me, and when I have that identity, my behavior is completely different.
00:37:40.639 --> 00:37:42.239
And that's important for all of us.
00:37:42.400 --> 00:37:46.960
Whether you've been baptized or not, listen, your identity is supposed to determine who you are.
00:37:47.360 --> 00:38:00.880
All this nonsense about playing Christian and barely waving at it and faking at it and giving Jesus the last part of your time, money, effort, and emotional whatever, that is not who Jesus saved you to be.
00:38:02.079 --> 00:38:15.119
Jesus himself went into the water and was baptized and came back knowing that he would teach us this identity issue and model it for us because he knew we would need it.
00:38:16.639 --> 00:38:19.119
I had a discussion this morning, just one of our guys over there.
00:38:19.199 --> 00:38:20.000
It was a great discussion.
00:38:20.079 --> 00:38:22.719
We were talking about sports and all yesterday and all that.
00:38:22.880 --> 00:38:29.280
And then we came up to, somehow we got on paramutual betting and online betting and apps.
00:38:29.519 --> 00:38:36.400
Do you know in just the short few years that that has started, we are now billions of dollars in the hole?
00:38:37.280 --> 00:38:38.800
Do you understand that?
00:38:39.119 --> 00:38:40.960
Billions of dollars in the hole.
00:38:41.199 --> 00:38:44.960
If you have that app on your phone, you need to repent of that sin.
00:38:45.440 --> 00:38:47.199
Did you hear you, Pastor?
00:38:48.400 --> 00:38:49.599
It's wrong.
00:38:49.920 --> 00:38:50.719
It's wrong.
00:38:50.960 --> 00:38:57.760
And what happened is all of these men, especially in their 20s, it is epidemic with young men in their 20s.
00:38:58.079 --> 00:39:04.960
Like we'll never recover from the financial crisis that's already been created because of that.
00:39:05.199 --> 00:39:13.760
And if you are thinking those 20-somethings that don't know anything, and you're going to the casino, well, you need to repent for your sin also.
00:39:15.360 --> 00:39:16.480
It's just sin.
00:39:17.280 --> 00:39:19.039
And we have Christians everywhere.
00:39:19.280 --> 00:39:30.079
Statisticians are now telling us that Christians give at a less rate than people outside the church.
00:39:31.920 --> 00:39:38.880
They give more to colleges and hospitals and all this other stuff than we give to Jesus.
00:39:39.679 --> 00:39:41.519
That's an identity issue.
00:39:41.760 --> 00:39:43.599
That's an identity issue.
00:39:43.920 --> 00:39:46.719
And you come back to that gambling deal and they fall into that.
00:39:46.800 --> 00:39:47.679
Why do they fall into that?
00:39:47.760 --> 00:39:57.280
Because they do not have a fundamental, foundational identity question that defines how they face things moving forward.
00:39:58.960 --> 00:40:04.239
If I'm a bloodbought child of Jesus, I'm not going to that app because that's sin.
00:40:04.480 --> 00:40:10.800
And that's not where my money goes, and that's putting me in a mental place that is walking away from Jesus, and all of that is wrong.
00:40:10.880 --> 00:40:15.519
And I'm validating that for all the other people that get lost and can't handle it.
00:40:15.679 --> 00:40:28.480
Listen, the only two businesses in America that are paying their own dollar to advertise not to use their product are sports betting and alcohol.
00:40:30.800 --> 00:40:38.000
They are literally paying millions of dollars to tell you not to use their stuff.
00:40:43.119 --> 00:40:46.719
I'm at a loss at this point in life how we get involved in that.
00:40:47.440 --> 00:40:52.480
Except you come back to this fundamental issue about your identity affects your behavior.
00:40:52.880 --> 00:41:02.159
Are you allowed to take Jesus, redeemed mind, life, focus, and checkbook through that?
00:41:02.880 --> 00:41:03.199
No.
00:41:04.159 --> 00:41:06.480
Identity affects behavior.
00:41:07.119 --> 00:41:09.599
And then you get to spiritual choices.
00:41:09.840 --> 00:41:12.400
And that is a spiritual choice of baptism.
00:41:12.559 --> 00:41:14.159
It affirms our identity.
00:41:14.320 --> 00:41:16.079
That spiritual choice that I make.
00:41:16.159 --> 00:41:18.960
If it wasn't difficult, then why is it difficult?
00:41:19.119 --> 00:41:20.880
It's difficult because it is significant.
00:41:21.039 --> 00:41:28.719
And we understand when I do this baptism thing, I am reaffirming this salvation and I am reaffirming my identity in Christ.
00:41:28.880 --> 00:41:32.559
It doesn't have anything to do with how big the room is or any of that kind of deal.
00:41:32.719 --> 00:41:37.199
It is a spiritual decision that I am working through, and that's a good thing.
00:41:37.360 --> 00:41:38.320
Praise the Lord.
00:41:38.559 --> 00:41:46.480
Man, I would want you to be hesitant and work your way through that because it shows you understand it's a significant decision.
00:41:46.639 --> 00:41:50.719
So if it's a decision that you've been struggling with, this is not a negative thing for you.
00:41:50.880 --> 00:41:58.719
This is positive because I'm saying, listen, I know that it's a real decision, and praise the Lord, you understand it as a significant choice.
00:41:58.880 --> 00:42:00.000
That's awesome.
00:42:00.239 --> 00:42:01.599
Now make the choice.
00:42:01.840 --> 00:42:02.320
Why?
00:42:02.639 --> 00:42:23.440
Because it is significant, it is spiritual, it has an impact because it shows that you understand when I come out out of that water, physically I'm just wet, but spiritually, when I came up out of that water, I am, I cannot do that without thinking through, man, Jesus came out of that grave for me.
00:42:24.320 --> 00:42:26.239
Jesus died for me.
00:42:27.119 --> 00:42:29.280
Man, I'm wet, but I'm also clean.
00:42:29.440 --> 00:42:31.599
Praise Jesus for what he did for me.
00:42:31.840 --> 00:42:33.679
And it's a spiritual decision.
00:42:33.920 --> 00:42:36.719
And finally, it practices the process of obedience.
00:42:36.880 --> 00:42:37.840
How does that work?
00:42:38.079 --> 00:42:39.599
Well, it works this way.
00:42:39.760 --> 00:42:53.519
You know that the Christian life is I'm going this way, and let's say Jesus is Jesus is there, and I'm over here, and I'm going this way, and I repent, that means turn from myself and my own way, and I turn to Jesus and I place my faith in him.
00:42:54.000 --> 00:43:00.480
Then I am entering a journey where I am growing to change and learn to walk with him, become more like him.
00:43:00.800 --> 00:43:01.760
It's a journey.
00:43:01.920 --> 00:43:04.960
But at the beginning of it, I don't know all that how that works.
00:43:05.039 --> 00:43:06.000
It's all new for me.
00:43:06.079 --> 00:43:07.039
I'm trying to figure this out.
00:43:07.119 --> 00:43:09.119
I'm excited, but I'm trying to figure this out.
00:43:09.280 --> 00:43:12.000
And God says, listen, go be baptized.
00:43:12.320 --> 00:43:13.360
Well, I can do that.
00:43:13.440 --> 00:43:17.519
I just get in the water, and then Pastor Matt, when he does baptism, goes like this.
00:43:20.880 --> 00:43:21.519
Right?
00:43:22.719 --> 00:43:26.639
Or you get Eli and he's gentle and sweet, and he goes like that, you know.
00:43:26.800 --> 00:43:29.360
And I mean, it's kind of how everybody does it, right?
00:43:29.599 --> 00:43:30.719
But I can do that.
00:43:30.880 --> 00:43:33.039
And I'm in there with a brother in Christ.
00:43:33.280 --> 00:43:35.519
I've got my family cheering me on.
00:43:35.760 --> 00:43:39.360
And I go down and I do this baptism and I sign up for it.
00:43:39.440 --> 00:43:40.239
I commit to it.
00:43:40.320 --> 00:43:41.440
I'm excited about it.
00:43:41.599 --> 00:43:44.000
People are praying with me before I go into that.
00:43:44.079 --> 00:43:54.880
And I go into that baptism, and my church family cheers for me, and I come up out of the water, and I know what it means, and I feel the significance, and I've taken a step of obedience, and God blesses you for it.
00:43:54.960 --> 00:43:59.519
And all of a sudden, you have this first step experience that God has built into the journey.
00:44:00.159 --> 00:44:10.960
To teach you how to obey and to teach you how to take a step of faith and to teach you how he blesses you and how wonderful it is, and it encourages you how you step out in faith and obey him.
00:44:11.440 --> 00:44:25.039
He embeds in the process this incredibly wonderful spiritual moment where you are encouraged and you are taught the rhythm of how we step out in faith and obedience and God blesses and we begin that journey.
00:44:25.760 --> 00:44:45.840
And I can't tell you how many folks I talked to and have through the years that when they face the significance of that baptism decision and they're working their way through that, if they have not said yes, they miss this opportunity.
00:44:46.480 --> 00:44:57.039
They miss this beginning step, and they miss the identification of, man, I am clean before Jesus because of what he did for me on the cross.
00:44:57.599 --> 00:45:13.760
And listen, if you're missing that opportunity, if you're missing that identification moment, I'm gonna ask you, either during the invitation or afterwards, come out there and see me, we want to baptize you.
00:45:22.480 --> 00:45:24.000
Be baptized.
00:45:24.880 --> 00:45:38.159
And if you've never trusted Christ as your Savior, one of the reasons you may be holding back, you may have this baptism idea and you have a different picture of what it is.
00:45:38.719 --> 00:45:42.719
It's just water, it's just a picture.
00:45:43.679 --> 00:45:56.159
But it is an opportunity for you to know who Jesus saved you to be to help you begin the journey of walking with Him in a beautiful way.
00:45:56.800 --> 00:46:04.159
If you've never accepted Christ as your Savior, man, there is no clearer time to be saved than a message like this right here.
00:46:04.320 --> 00:46:08.159
If you've never been saved, you're online, you're watching on television, you're in the room.
00:46:08.400 --> 00:46:13.599
Listen, wherever you are, whatever you're doing, I want you to give your life to Jesus.
00:46:14.480 --> 00:46:16.719
Trust him to save you.
00:46:17.280 --> 00:46:29.760
Give your life to him, identify that he paid the price for your sins, and realize that because he died for you and you trusted him to pay the price for your sins, when you are saved, you are clean.
00:46:30.719 --> 00:46:34.639
And then let us baptize, do baptism with you.
00:46:34.880 --> 00:46:38.480
Not for us, for you and your journey, as we've explained today.
00:46:38.639 --> 00:46:40.639
I want you to bow your heads as we close.
00:46:40.880 --> 00:46:43.440
Lord, I thank you for this incredible picture of baptism.
00:46:43.519 --> 00:46:50.719
And I want to ask, Father, this morning, you get me out of the way, putty the cracks for whatever's going on.
00:46:53.440 --> 00:46:57.519
And Father, I pray that you will speak to hearts this morning.
00:46:58.000 --> 00:47:00.719
I pray that there are people who be saved.
00:47:00.960 --> 00:47:03.440
Because they got this picture of what it means.
00:47:04.079 --> 00:47:09.920
They got a picture of how you've built in from the very beginning the chance to help us learn how to walk with you.
00:47:10.559 --> 00:47:16.400
And Father, I pray for brothers and sisters in Christ who've been saved, but this has been a hard decision for them.
00:47:16.559 --> 00:47:22.400
First of all, I want to ask you to bless them for taking it seriously and recognizing it's significant.
00:47:23.039 --> 00:47:23.679
It is.
00:47:24.159 --> 00:47:29.280
And so thank you for that sense that they have of how important this moment is.
00:47:29.519 --> 00:47:38.400
And I pray, Father, today, that you'll use the example of Jesus, the teaching of Paul and Romans, the teaching of John the Baptist with those crowds.
00:47:42.159 --> 00:47:56.480
Schedule that baptism, to take that significant step of faith, to walk in obedience into that moment so that you can bless them and encourage them and give them a sense of identity.
00:47:56.880 --> 00:48:03.440
And since we've talked some about identity here, Father, I pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ, already been saved, already baptized.
00:48:03.679 --> 00:48:16.320
But Father, I pray that in this picture of baptism and what it means and the significance when we did it, that it will challenge us and our identity to redefine according to Jesus who we are.
00:48:18.639 --> 00:48:22.960
Something here for all of us today, Lord, and I pray you'll help us respond to you.
00:48:23.199 --> 00:48:24.639
In Jesus' name we pray.
00:48:25.039 --> 00:48:31.360
Everybody said, We pray this message has been a blessing to you and helped to strengthen your walk with Jesus.
00:48:31.599 --> 00:48:34.400
Please know we want to minister to you and pray for you.
00:48:34.559 --> 00:48:42.000
Send an email to contact us at fsfbc.org and let us pray for you and help you in any way we can.
00:48:42.320 --> 00:48:48.639
Thank you for listening to Chapter and First, the Bible Teaching Ministry of Fort Smith at First Baptist Church.
00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:13.919
Ministering to the heart of Western Arkansas's River Valley for over 165 years, welcome to Chapter and First, the Bible Teaching Ministry of Fort Smith's First Baptist Church.
00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:19.359
You'll find sermons and teachings from Pastor Greg, our ministry staff, and guest speakers.
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Thank you for listening.
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That's really fun.
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If you want it done right, we called our best and brightest.
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We have a student and a lawyer, and all things go well that way, right?
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Isn't that good?
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We have our student ministry involved, and uh so we're excited about that.
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So it's good.
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Well, good to see you this morning.
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I just came from our first Baptist chaffee campus.
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I can't say that yet.
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Let me try again.
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I just came from our first Baptist Chaffee campus, where we celebrated one year as a campus.
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Is that exciting?
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Isn't that good?
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Praise the Lord for that.
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We are very excited about what God's doing there, and it's great.
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Uh we're also excited about we have a mission trip coming up to London, and if God's been telling you to go uh and you haven't signed up yet, it's time.
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It's now like deadline, you gotta get there.
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And yesterday, Pastor Joel just sent a word of encouragement and greeting to the church.
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So let's show that.
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This is from Pastor Joel, who we're partnering with.
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I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank you so much for your friendship and support, both to Stone, here where I am today, and beautiful Ainswood Baptist Church.
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Friends, you have been such faithful and encouraging friends to us over the last couple of years, and we couldn't be more grateful for you, for your church, and for your pastors.
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This morning I wanted to share with you that in a couple of weeks there's an opportunity to visit with us.
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And this morning is the sign up deadline.
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We would be so excited if you wanted to come and visit with us once more, and as we celebrate our equivalent of Veterans Weekend.
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For as we call this Remembrance Day, and it's a solemn opportunity to consider those who have given their lives in service of our nation and of peace and security around the world.
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You would be so welcome to visit with us.
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We've got some wonderful plans to go and see some of the World War II sites, as well as the opportunity to be into the church in Ainsford with us and worship together.
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Friends, thank you for your friendship, for your partnership, for the encouragement that you are week in, week out to us.
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God bless you in worship this morning.
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Have a great day.
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It's always grateful to hear from Pastor Joel.
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And those of you who have been know, man, we love Pastor Joel.
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You've been, and if you haven't, I just know there may be another person or two guys out there poking you about going.
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We're going to do some light construction, kind of cleaning up some apartments that we have helped build in the upstairs of the church at Ainsford.
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And then we'll be in Ainsford that weekend, as he mentioned, doing Remembrance Day.
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And so it's an incredible deal.
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Our uh Ainsford Church, Baptist Church there, they have had the privilege of hosting this event for the entire village of Ainsford.
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And so as they go through those festivities, there'll be 300 plus people attending the events there.
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And then the church hosts a fellowship afterwards.
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And so you get a chance to meet all those folks.
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It's a chance for the church to be a part of the community.
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It's an incredible opportunity.
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So I hope that you will uh I hope you'll pray about that.
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And if God's been poking you, go ahead and sign up.
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Let's uh let's have a time of prayer.
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Let's just thank the Lord for what he's doing in so many ways in our church.
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Lord, we thank you for uh the partnership that we have with Pastor Joel as they're revitalizing that church in Ainsford, as we support his church in uh in in London, uh Stone Baptist.
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We pray, Father, that you will use that weekend uh in an incredible way to bring more people to faith in Christ at the Ainsford Church where we're serving.
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And Lord, we thank you for our own church plant here, uh our Chaffee campus that we've planted as a part of moving towards that property.
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Father, I thank you for a year.
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I thank you for people that have been baptized, I thank you for lives that have been changed, hearts have been encouraged.
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I thank you for members who've joined and become a full part of our church family, participating in everything that we do.
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Father, we're so grateful that you are opening doors for us as a church.
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And we pray, Father, that you will help us to be faithful, to step out in faith and follow through those doors.
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We pray that you'll help us to be faithful to share Jesus in the gospel.
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I pray that you'll help us to be faithful to invite people to church at either or both campuses.
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And Father, we pray for you to work so more we can see more people saved.
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It is in your name we pray this morning, and everybody said.
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Okay, I want to brag on you.
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It's a special day for yet another reason.
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You have just finished reading the Old Testament together as a church.
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That's awesome.
00:05:07.839 --> 00:05:08.879
That's a milestone.
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At Chaffee Campus, they started applauding and cheering, and I said, Whoa, whoa, are you applauding because you did it or are you applauding because you're finished with it?
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Uh but no more minor prophets, man.
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We're through all that.
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You guys have done a great job.
00:05:23.040 --> 00:05:30.000
I just want to tell you again how proud I am of all of you as a church family for the way we're doing that study together and walking through that.
00:05:30.160 --> 00:05:34.480
The testimonies that you share, the stories, Sunday school classes, the discussions.
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It's just incredible to do that with y'all.
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And so I just want to take again a moment just to brag on you in Jesus and say thank you for what you're doing.
00:05:42.480 --> 00:05:44.560
And this week we've started the New Testament.
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And we have here this morning in Matthew chapter 3, if you'll turn there, the importance of baptism.
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Because we have this moment where Jesus is baptized, and what happens here is he identifies what those four books are about.
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This is the beginning of Jesus' ministry, and he does it to identify himself to the world as the Savior.
00:06:07.279 --> 00:06:19.439
In fact, I want you to see this truth before we read in that text that this moment where Jesus presents himself for baptism is a foundational moment in his ministry.
00:06:19.680 --> 00:06:33.279
And it is also one of the few moments outside of the crucifixion and resurrection that is told in all four Gospels, which tells us how vitally important it is and foundational it is to that moment.
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In fact, you're there in Matthew 3.
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I just want to read to you the first little part of the book of Mark, chapter 1.
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Don't turn there.
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You're where you're supposed to be.
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But I just want you to hear how he introduces this moment.
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He says, the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
00:06:53.839 --> 00:06:56.959
So Mark is saying, this is where it all starts.
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This is the beginning.
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Gospel, that word, is translated good news or joyful tidings, and it's really kind of the idea that an event has happened that has changed things, and we're excited, and they're bringing joyful tidings about it.
00:07:13.680 --> 00:07:30.000
So what he literally says is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus, the person Jesus identified as the Savior, Jesus Christ, his title, his identifier as the anointed sacrifice of God for our sins, the Son of God.
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This is the beginning of the ministry.
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And he says, as it is written, Isaiah the prophet, a prophecy of Isaiah, see, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare the way.
00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:45.680
A voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:54.560
And so he says, You know the Messiah is coming because God has prophesied there would be one to prepare the way.
00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:56.000
And that's John the Baptist.
00:07:56.160 --> 00:08:03.839
John the Baptist came baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
00:08:04.079 --> 00:08:08.079
Now, every time you hear the word repentance, remember good news.
00:08:08.399 --> 00:08:20.399
This is not John the Baptist or even Jesus as he begins his ministry preaching repent because you're all dirty, rotten sinners, and you're horrible people and you need to grovel and shame on all of you.
00:08:20.560 --> 00:08:24.319
That's not what repentance is, because that wouldn't be good news.
00:08:24.560 --> 00:08:32.080
The good news is Jesus came to be the Savior and to take away our sins, to create eternal life for us.
00:08:32.159 --> 00:08:39.279
It is the promise of God to send, under one illustration that's given, the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.
00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:47.840
And that's why it's good news, and that's why Mark says a baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins.
00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:49.759
That is the good news.
00:08:49.919 --> 00:08:57.360
That when you come to Jesus and you trust him as your Savior, he forgives your sin and you are made new.
00:08:57.519 --> 00:08:58.879
It is good news.
00:08:59.120 --> 00:09:11.759
And then he says this the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem are going out to him, and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:25.360
And then it says, in those days when this is happening, and there's this revival movement, and all these people are getting saved and being baptized, in those days, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John.
00:09:25.759 --> 00:09:26.960
By John the Baptist.
00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:40.720
So you see, right there is this beautiful picture of how foundational this moment is that Jesus is presenting himself for baptism to announce that he is the Messiah, the one who's come to pay the price for our sins.
00:09:40.879 --> 00:09:44.240
Now we're in Matthew chapter 3, and let's read.
00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:56.159
In those days, it's the same time we just read in Mark, John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.
00:09:56.720 --> 00:10:05.919
For he, John the Baptist, is the one spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, who said, It's the same prophecy, it's the same picture.
00:10:06.159 --> 00:10:15.039
God is giving an identifier that you will know the Messiah has come when I have sent this messenger to prepare the way.
00:10:15.279 --> 00:10:23.919
And he quotes Isaiah again, just like Mark did, a voice of one crying out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord and make his paths straight.
00:10:24.159 --> 00:10:32.320
In other words, he is paving the way, he is creating this time that we can identify God has sent the Savior.
00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:39.039
Now, John had a camel hair garment with a leather belt around his waist.
00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:47.679
Now I thought about, you know, we want to literally follow scripture, so I thought about what if we made this the dress code for our staff?
00:10:49.279 --> 00:10:56.960
But then I figured our business administrator, Trey Overton, he's really the only one with that bushy beard and big thing, he's the only one who could pull that off.
00:10:57.279 --> 00:10:58.639
Man, we just I just don't have that.
00:10:58.799 --> 00:11:00.399
Jacob and I, we don't have a chance.
00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:01.840
We can't really pull that off.
00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:04.240
So I thought, nah, let's ditch that plan.
00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:11.519
And his food was locusts and wild honey, and I never gave a thought to making that the menu, right?
00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:20.159
Then people from Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the vicinity of the Jordan were going out to him, and they were being baptized in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:21.600
So again, it is this move.
00:11:21.759 --> 00:11:22.799
God is identified.
00:11:22.879 --> 00:11:24.320
This is the one preparing the way.
00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:34.639
When he, John the Baptist, saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to baptism, he said to them, Brood of vipers, who warn you to flee from the coming wrath.
00:11:34.799 --> 00:11:38.320
Now let me talk just for a minute about who Pharisees and Sadducees are.
00:11:38.559 --> 00:11:41.679
Pharisees are the religious leaders of the day.
00:11:41.840 --> 00:11:45.519
They're priests and priests adjacent and all of that.
00:11:45.759 --> 00:11:50.480
And they believed very much in legalistically keeping the law.
00:11:50.559 --> 00:12:07.440
In fact, they went from the law to all the other Deuteronomy and Levitical things, and then they created a whole bunch of regulations beyond that, and they're beating everybody over the head about you violated some minor little, you know, infraction of some rule or regulation that you never even heard of.
00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:08.639
But we're awesome.
00:12:08.799 --> 00:12:12.720
We keep them all, and they're bragging and they're proud and they got this whole thing.
00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:25.919
And they are really upset because this movement looks scary to them, and it's going to wreak havoc with their power base, how they view religion for the Jewish people, and all of that.
00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:39.919
The Sadducees are more like political leaders, they have a rooting in their Jewish identity and faith, but they're more like political leaders, and they're coming out to check this out because they don't like what's happening, and they don't like the message that John is preaching.
00:12:40.159 --> 00:12:44.799
And so here's what he says: brood of vipers who warned you to flee from the coming wrath.
00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:46.480
It's a rhetorical question.
00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:51.679
And then he says, produce fruit consistent with repentance.
00:12:52.320 --> 00:12:59.200
In other words, your self-effort in behaving yourself worthy of God is not working.
00:12:59.840 --> 00:13:07.440
Repentance is, I have come to the Lord and I've realized that I am not worthy and I cannot meet the law.
00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:16.159
It is recognizing, as the Bible says, all of sin that comes short of God's glory, and I am repenting of my sin and I'm asking for God's forgiveness.
00:13:16.240 --> 00:13:20.159
And to do that, repentance means that there's life change.
00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:22.720
And so he is challenging them.
00:13:23.120 --> 00:13:25.600
You are doing your own thing arrogantly.
00:13:25.840 --> 00:13:27.600
That's not what repentance is.
00:13:27.759 --> 00:13:32.320
Repentance is recognizing that the law shows you you're a sinner.
00:13:32.559 --> 00:13:38.480
And then he says, and don't presume to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father.
00:13:38.720 --> 00:13:40.000
Now what does that mean?
00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:48.080
They thought because they were Jewish, they would participate in the Jewish coming of the Messiah, and it would all be about them.
00:13:48.320 --> 00:13:53.600
And he is telling them, listen, your Judaism does not get you to heaven.
00:13:53.919 --> 00:14:03.360
No one's position, no one's race, no one's family or whatever else, none of that qualifies any of us to go to heaven.
00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:08.480
Just because your parents went to church doesn't mean that you get to go to heaven.
00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:16.960
It is only repentance before the Messiah, trusting Jesus as your Savior, and He's telling them this is a shocking message.
00:14:17.039 --> 00:14:21.919
It's one of the reasons that they're out there mad at what he's saying.
00:14:22.559 --> 00:14:26.320
I tell you that God is able to raise up children from Abraham from these stones.
00:14:26.480 --> 00:14:29.840
In other words, God will raise up his own children everywhere.
00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:31.840
How he does this through the gospel.
00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:39.200
The axe is already at the root of the trees, therefore every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown in the fire.
00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:42.559
And then he begins to explain what's happening, what he's doing.
00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:45.759
I baptize you with water for repentance.
00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:50.320
But the one who is coming after me, the Messiah, is more powerful than I.
00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:53.200
I am not worthy to remove his sandals.
00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:57.440
He himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
00:14:57.679 --> 00:14:58.480
Verse 13.
00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:04.799
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by John.
00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:10.799
But John tried to stop him, saying, I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me.
00:15:10.960 --> 00:15:19.279
Now, if you know Scripture, and we're not that far from Christmas again, and so you'll remember what happens in Matthew and in Luke.
00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:26.240
The angels come to Mary and to Joseph and say, Mary's going to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit and going to give birth to the Savior.
00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:32.559
As an encouragement to them, he went to one of Mary's family members.
00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:34.000
There was a family.
00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:46.320
And God says, You're going to miraculously have a child well beyond childbearing age, kind of like Abraham and Sarah.
00:15:46.399 --> 00:15:50.639
And so she becomes miraculously pregnant, not the way Mary did.
00:15:51.120 --> 00:15:53.039
She and her husband did that.
00:15:53.519 --> 00:15:55.200
But they are way beyond.
00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:56.399
So here's a miracle baby.
00:15:56.480 --> 00:16:04.879
And then the Bible says that Mary went to Elizabeth and lived with them for Elizabeth to disciple and encourage her through this experience.
00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:08.960
Elizabeth's miracle baby was John the Baptist, who we're reading about.
00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:11.679
So they're in essence cousins, he and Jesus.
00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:16.080
And so they likely had a relationship, they likely knew each other.
00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:21.200
John certainly would have known about his calling to prepare the way.
00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:29.519
His dad, who is a priest, would have educated him on this whole process, and he knew Jesus was the Savior.
00:16:29.679 --> 00:16:34.960
So this is not a random comment that Jesus that John is saying to Jesus.
00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:37.759
He sees him and he knows he's the Savior.
00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:45.919
He's just said, I'm not worthy to remove his sandals, and so I don't need to be baptized, baptizing you.
00:16:46.080 --> 00:16:48.080
Jesus, you need to baptize me.
00:16:48.240 --> 00:16:50.159
That's what's going on here in this moment.
00:16:50.399 --> 00:17:00.879
And then Jesus tells him in verse 15, allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness.
00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:04.640
Then John allowed him to be baptized.
00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:10.960
And verse 16, when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water.
00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:13.279
Or in other words, he came straight up out of the water.
00:17:13.440 --> 00:17:18.640
The heavens suddenly opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him.
00:17:18.799 --> 00:17:23.279
And a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.
00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:25.680
Now let me encourage you on a couple of things.
00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:28.799
Sometimes there's a temptation when we see a passage like this.
00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:29.680
Oh, we know it.
00:17:29.839 --> 00:17:32.799
We know about the Holy Spirit in a dove if you've been in church.
00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:38.720
Sometimes we think, oh, baptism, yeah, I did that when I was nine and a half, and I got baptized, and let's like just blow through that.
00:17:38.799 --> 00:17:45.759
And we just miss the incredible truths that are going on in a passage like this simply because it becomes familiar.
00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:49.039
And then some of you are maybe this may not be.
00:17:49.200 --> 00:17:51.920
You don't have a church background, and this is a new thing.
00:17:52.079 --> 00:17:58.400
We have a lot of people in our church that we're God's bringing, praise the Lord, and they're learning these things for the first time.
00:17:58.559 --> 00:18:04.799
And so this is a fundamental passage, not because it was something you did years ago when you got baptized.
00:18:04.960 --> 00:18:12.160
It is first a fundamental passage because it establishes clearly who Jesus is and what he did.
00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:16.400
He came to die on the cross for our sins and be raised again.
00:18:16.720 --> 00:18:21.759
The next thing I'm going to tell you is there is never a room this large.
00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:46.640
I have never been in a room this large that there was not someone who was struggling with a baptism decision or needed to be baptized, or was baptized some time a long time ago, and then Jesus has intervened in their life, and now they've really become saved in that journey, and their baptism was on the wrong side of when they really knew they got saved.
00:18:46.880 --> 00:18:51.920
And so it's a fundamental issue for us because we're going to talk about the importance of baptism.
00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:59.839
And there are a lot of people here today, there are people on the internet and watch on television who I know need to be baptized.
00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:16.400
And so I'm not going to arm twist you or do some weird, you know, emotional thing or whatever, but I want to show you, I want to walk through this scripture to help you understand how fundamental this moment is and how fundamental baptism is for us.
00:19:16.640 --> 00:19:20.240
Now, let me give you a couple of key truths from this passage of scripture that we read.
00:19:20.400 --> 00:19:22.000
First of all, the word baptism.
00:19:22.160 --> 00:19:30.160
When you see the word baptism, it is literally translated into English, dip or dunk or immerse.
00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:32.079
That's literally the word.
00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:51.920
Now, when it was translated from all the original languages and Latin and all that, and they translated it into English, at that time, uh it the king who was translating it or all those things, man, they they sprinkled and they did all that, and they come to this word, and they, you know, what are we going to do with that?
00:19:52.079 --> 00:20:00.079
And they did what's called transliterated the word, and that means they just adopted it from the original language and created a new word in the English language.
00:20:00.160 --> 00:20:01.839
And they go, What does that mean?
00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:04.480
Oh, that's that thing you do after you get saved.
00:20:04.720 --> 00:20:12.000
And they created a lot of this struggle through the years because they didn't directly translate the word.
00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:17.839
The word means dunk or immerse, it means to dip something completely in the water.
00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:23.680
And you get that every time you read baptism, you get it and you understand it.
00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:30.480
And the Bible says when Jesus was baptized, he came up or went up immediately from the water.
00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:33.440
You can't come up out of sprinkle.
00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:38.400
I mean, it's just the reality of it.
00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:42.240
He came up out of the water because they put him all the way down in the water.
00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:49.200
And so baptism is an act that is a complete dunking, and we'll talk about why in a minute.
00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:52.559
Because it is an adapted cleansing ceremony.
00:20:52.799 --> 00:21:01.359
They had dunking type ceremonies, cleansing ceremonies in the Old Testament Jewish life.
00:21:01.599 --> 00:21:04.640
They were not as common as some of the others that we talk about.
00:21:04.799 --> 00:21:12.640
It certainly wasn't as common as sacrificing, you know, turtle doves and lamb and all that stuff, but it was a part of their life.
00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:18.319
And it represented a ceremonial cleaning or cleansing of who you are.
00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:32.640
It was often used when a Gentile wanted to be a follower of Jehovah God and identified with the Jewish faith and nationality and became Jewish.
00:21:32.799 --> 00:21:49.599
And it had this connotation that you went down in the water, you were ceremonially cleansed, you did that because of your commitment to follow Jehovah God and become one of his children, and you were raised up out of the water, and now you had a new identity.
00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:54.880
You went from who you were now to Jewish.
00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:59.759
And that's one of the reasons it was so offensive to the Pharisees because they would have known.
00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:09.119
This and they thought that they were going to have a place in heaven because of their identity in who they were, not in the Messiah.
00:22:09.279 --> 00:22:24.559
And when he is taking this ceremonial cleansing and adapting it to everybody's got to repent, and your identity is changed when you're repented, they found that horribly offensive, bordering on heresy.
00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:26.799
It is clearly symbolic.
00:22:27.119 --> 00:22:29.680
John explains to them what's happening.
00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:33.599
First of all, it comes from a symbolic cleansing.
00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:42.160
And then John explains to them, I am only baptizing you with water, but when the Messiah comes, he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.
00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:51.039
And so what we're doing here is simply a precursor and a picture of what the Messiah will do when he brings salvation.
00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:55.039
That is a spiritual occurrence that happens through the work of the Holy Spirit.
00:22:55.279 --> 00:22:58.319
And then finally, he makes it clear it follows repentance.
00:22:58.640 --> 00:23:05.359
Like this is an indicator of a decision of faith that you have made in your life and your heart.
00:23:05.599 --> 00:23:21.119
I am repenting of my sin, and that's why I'm going through this ceremony, because I am identifying with someone whose sins are clear, and I am identifying with someone who trusts in the promised Redeemer.
00:23:21.359 --> 00:23:23.920
That's what John is teaching and what's happening there.
00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:28.319
And from that, we begin to understand how important baptism is for us.
00:23:28.559 --> 00:23:33.599
Truth number one, that this is a first and foremost about Jesus.
00:23:33.920 --> 00:23:48.400
The reason that you have this discussion between John the Baptist and Jesus, and I'm not going to baptize you, you should be baptizing and all that, is because Jesus is coming to do one thing.
00:23:48.640 --> 00:24:00.000
Jesus is submitting to baptism because he is identifying who he is as the Savior, and Jesus is identifying with our sin and humanity.
00:24:00.720 --> 00:24:04.559
Jesus is coming, he has to come and be born in the form of a man.
00:24:04.720 --> 00:24:06.960
He has to be a human to die for human sins.
00:24:07.200 --> 00:24:10.160
The Bible says all of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory.
00:24:10.240 --> 00:24:14.559
And then the Bible says that for the wages of sin is death.
00:24:14.880 --> 00:24:21.920
God is a holy God, must judge sin, but he is also God of grace, not just holiness.
00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:26.079
He's going to judge that sin, but he steps out of heaven in the form of Jesus.
00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:28.160
He becomes a person, a man.
00:24:28.319 --> 00:24:32.640
That's why you have the miraculous birth with Mary and the virgin birth and all of that.
00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:34.240
He can be a human now.
00:24:34.319 --> 00:24:35.359
He lives a human life.
00:24:35.519 --> 00:24:36.640
He goes to the cross.
00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:39.519
There is no judgment attached to his life.
00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:42.559
Jesus would never die because he was not judged.
00:24:42.799 --> 00:24:44.960
The wages of sin is death.
00:24:45.119 --> 00:24:46.720
But that's why death occurs.
00:24:46.880 --> 00:24:52.480
So Jesus goes to the cross and he voluntarily places himself there on the cross.
00:24:53.200 --> 00:25:03.359
And he dies a death that has no judgment attached to it because he understands a human must pay the price for humans' sins.
00:25:04.160 --> 00:25:11.359
He is buried and he is raised then in resurrection power, conquering death and sin.
00:25:11.519 --> 00:25:18.400
And when Jesus goes through this deal, what he is saying is, listen, John, I get what you're saying.
00:25:19.039 --> 00:25:20.880
I love you, cousin, for that.
00:25:21.119 --> 00:25:22.960
That's not what we're doing here.
00:25:23.440 --> 00:25:25.680
This is so that righteousness can follow.
00:25:25.839 --> 00:25:27.359
This is so that everyone will know.
00:25:27.519 --> 00:25:45.680
This is so we're showing who I am, and I am identifying with people that I'm dying on the cross for their sins, and I am coming up out of the water and symbolizing that I will bring new life, and that is going to be my ministry, and that is why I've come, and that is what I am going to do.
00:25:46.079 --> 00:25:50.240
And Jesus, his entire adult ministry begins in this moment.
00:25:50.400 --> 00:25:53.200
In fact, we know very little about Jesus up to this moment.
00:25:53.359 --> 00:25:56.000
We only know about the virgin birth and all of that deal.
00:25:56.079 --> 00:25:58.960
Then we have one story when he was twelve.
00:25:59.119 --> 00:26:08.000
And if you'll remember this story, or if you've been reading this week as we've started the New Testament, Jesus, his family goes to Jerusalem for the Passover.
00:26:08.160 --> 00:26:11.200
When they leave, they have that conversation.
00:26:11.680 --> 00:26:16.000
His mother and father, Mary and Joseph, have the conversation that we all dread, right?
00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:20.559
They're a few days out, and one of them goes, Hey, have you seen Jesus?
00:26:20.799 --> 00:26:22.799
And then Mary says, No, I haven't seen him.
00:26:22.880 --> 00:26:24.240
I thought he was with you.
00:26:24.880 --> 00:26:27.440
And Joseph says, No, I thought he was with you.
00:26:27.680 --> 00:26:30.799
And Mary says, Well, maybe he's with the cousins, and they go check.
00:26:30.880 --> 00:26:34.160
Maybe he's with the, you know, Abraham Joneses or whatever.
00:26:34.240 --> 00:26:35.200
And where's Jesus?
00:26:35.279 --> 00:26:36.559
And then they have this panic moment.
00:26:36.720 --> 00:26:37.359
Where's Jesus?
00:26:37.440 --> 00:26:39.359
He's not in the caravan, heading home.
00:26:39.519 --> 00:26:42.000
They go back and they find Jesus at the temple.
00:26:42.240 --> 00:26:43.599
Jesus is 12 years old.
00:26:43.680 --> 00:26:51.200
The Bible tells us that that's important because that was the traditional age for a young man to start for a person to start being becoming a young man.
00:26:51.359 --> 00:26:55.119
He would start learning the father's business and the family business and all of that.
00:26:55.359 --> 00:26:57.599
And so here he is as a 12-year-old.
00:26:57.680 --> 00:26:59.279
He's sitting at the feet of the priests.
00:26:59.359 --> 00:27:00.640
They're having these conversations.
00:27:00.720 --> 00:27:02.079
They're in awe of what he knows.
00:27:02.319 --> 00:27:03.920
They say, Jesus, where have you been?
00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:05.279
Man, we've been worried sick.
00:27:05.359 --> 00:27:06.640
And he says, Why were you worried?
00:27:06.720 --> 00:27:15.039
Don't you know I would be about my father's business of being the Messiah.
00:27:15.119 --> 00:27:24.480
And that's all we have until this moment when Jesus is 30 years old and he steps into the world and he begins it with identifying with us and our sins and who he's going to be.
00:27:24.799 --> 00:27:34.400
Truth number two, it's not just Jesus identifying with our sins, but now you reverse that.
00:27:34.640 --> 00:27:39.039
And baptism is us identifying with Jesus.
00:27:39.359 --> 00:27:45.200
It symbolizes what we believe and what happened to us at salvation.
00:27:45.519 --> 00:28:02.480
So after this moment where Jesus shows what salvation is and he baptizes, then we are commanded to follow in Jesus' example and do what he did because now God has created baptism as our identification with Jesus.
00:28:02.640 --> 00:28:05.039
I want you to look at these scriptures in Romans chapter 6.
00:28:05.119 --> 00:28:06.799
It explains it better than I ever could.
00:28:06.960 --> 00:28:07.759
Here's what he says.
00:28:07.920 --> 00:28:09.119
Verse 4 and 5.
00:28:09.359 --> 00:28:13.039
Therefore, when you see the word therefore, you ask what was there for.
00:28:13.200 --> 00:28:15.359
We've been talking about salvation and all of that.
00:28:15.519 --> 00:28:24.319
And then he begins this chapter with a rhetorical discussion about now that I'm saved, I shouldn't be sinning like I was anymore.
00:28:24.559 --> 00:28:26.000
My life should be different.
00:28:26.160 --> 00:28:31.279
Therefore, we were buried with him by baptism into death.
00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:33.279
See, we are identifying.
00:28:33.519 --> 00:28:35.680
Jesus died for my sins.
00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:40.799
I am a sinner under judgment and penalty of death for my sin.
00:28:41.039 --> 00:28:44.799
I am going to trust in Jesus' death on the cross for me.
00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:57.359
And so I am identified when I go down under the water, I am identifying with Jesus that I am dead in my sins and that Jesus paid the price for them.
00:28:57.680 --> 00:29:06.880
In order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too walk in newness of life.
00:29:07.119 --> 00:29:16.319
And so now I know when I come up out of the water and it's dripping down my face and hair and all that kind of stuff, I am realizing I am a new person in Christ.
00:29:16.480 --> 00:29:21.359
Not because of the water, but because of Jesus.
00:29:21.920 --> 00:29:32.079
I am identifying with Jesus' death on the cross, and I am surrendering my life to him, and I'm giving my trust to Jesus and what he did to pay the price for my sins.
00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:37.359
And then I am trusting Jesus when he was resurrected that that's how I am born again.
00:29:37.599 --> 00:29:39.119
That that's how I have a new life.
00:29:39.279 --> 00:29:43.359
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians, if any man's in Christ, he is a new creation.
00:29:43.519 --> 00:29:46.400
Old things have passed away and all things have become new.
00:29:46.880 --> 00:29:47.599
What does that mean?
00:29:47.759 --> 00:29:50.559
How am I born again, as he told Nicodemus?
00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:56.400
Because Jesus resurrected from the dead, and I've placed my faith in him and I am identifying with him.
00:29:56.799 --> 00:30:02.799
And baptism is an exercise that teaches us that truth.
00:30:04.160 --> 00:30:12.880
For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection.
00:30:13.039 --> 00:30:14.640
First of all, likeness.
00:30:14.960 --> 00:30:16.720
Baptism doesn't save you.
00:30:16.960 --> 00:30:23.839
There are people through the years who have preached that you're not saved until you go down and come up out of the water.
00:30:25.119 --> 00:30:27.519
It's called regenerational baptism.
00:30:27.680 --> 00:30:29.519
That's not what the Bible teaches.
00:30:29.759 --> 00:30:34.960
Paul said it was, I mean, John the Baptist said it was symbolic, and now Paul says it's symbolic.
00:30:35.200 --> 00:30:38.640
In the likeness of his death, and the likeness of his resurrection.
00:30:38.799 --> 00:30:46.319
And again, he's proving the point that if you confess your sins and you give your life to Jesus, he will save you.
00:30:46.559 --> 00:31:02.319
If we are united with him, if we are identified in the likeness of his death, we will be, we will be, certainly be, absolutely be, definitely be, born again and raised in newness of life.
00:31:02.640 --> 00:31:11.519
Because we're identifying with Jesus, who is the author of life, the giver of life, the saver of life, and the one of resurrected life.
00:31:12.160 --> 00:31:13.759
And so that's what it is.
00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:21.680
And so it is a chance for us to identify with Jesus the way he's identified with us about our salvation.
00:31:21.920 --> 00:31:33.680
And then truth number three baptism is an important command that you must obey in your relationship with Jesus.
00:31:33.920 --> 00:31:41.920
It is vitally important that when you give your life to Christ, you follow up in baptism.
00:31:42.160 --> 00:31:46.720
I want you to read again what it says in Romans, the next couple of verses in chapter 6.
00:31:47.039 --> 00:31:52.559
For we know that our old self, that's Greg before he was saved.
00:31:52.720 --> 00:31:55.680
That's sometimes the Bible says old self or old man.
00:31:55.759 --> 00:31:58.319
It's talking about the person before we were saved.
00:31:58.480 --> 00:32:02.079
That old self was crucified with Jesus.
00:32:02.559 --> 00:32:08.799
So that the body that once was ruled by sin, as a sinner, you're captive.
00:32:08.880 --> 00:32:11.200
You keep sinning whether you want to or not.
00:32:11.519 --> 00:32:13.920
But when you're saved, you're changed.
00:32:14.240 --> 00:32:26.799
We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be slaves to sin.
00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:37.440
Since a person who has died is free from sin, now if we died with Christ, we believe that we also will live with him.
00:32:37.920 --> 00:32:40.160
And that's what baptism is picturing.
00:32:40.400 --> 00:32:44.799
It is teaching us our identity in Christ.
00:32:45.039 --> 00:32:49.759
And what he's saying is, listen, I used to sin whether I wanted to or not.
00:32:49.920 --> 00:32:51.200
I was captive to that sin.
00:32:51.279 --> 00:32:53.839
I was certainly captive to the judgment of that sin.
00:32:54.079 --> 00:32:57.200
But when I give my life to Christ, my sins are paid for.
00:32:57.359 --> 00:33:04.319
They are buried, they are dead and gone, and the old person that I was as a sinner died with Jesus.
00:33:04.559 --> 00:33:14.160
And when I come up out of that water, and that water's dripping down my face and all of that, I am reminded that what happened to me when I gave my life to Jesus was I was born again.
00:33:14.240 --> 00:33:15.039
I was made new.
00:33:15.119 --> 00:33:15.759
I'm a new person.
00:33:15.920 --> 00:33:18.319
The old man is gone, and this is a new Greg.
00:33:18.720 --> 00:33:25.839
And I have a new future, I have a new eternity, I have a new heart, I have a new life, I have a relationship with Jesus I did not have.
00:33:25.920 --> 00:33:32.079
I have the Holy Spirit working in my life, and because of that, I am no longer a slave to sin.
00:33:33.039 --> 00:33:35.759
I do not live that way anymore.
00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:38.720
I don't have to, I don't want to.
00:33:39.039 --> 00:33:44.000
I am pursuing a new path because I am a new person.
00:33:44.480 --> 00:33:46.079
And that's what he's teaching us.
00:33:46.240 --> 00:33:51.599
And baptism is an important lesson to learn in that moment.
00:33:51.759 --> 00:33:53.359
Now here's what I'm gonna tell you.
00:33:53.599 --> 00:33:54.960
I've been in church my whole life.
00:33:55.119 --> 00:33:57.599
My parents, I've told shared my testimony before.
00:33:57.759 --> 00:34:03.519
My parents were church people, Sunday school teachers, deacons, Janet's parents were church people, same testimony.
00:34:03.759 --> 00:34:08.880
When I was nine and a half years old, I gave my life to Jesus, and from then on I was, you know, a church guy.
00:34:09.039 --> 00:34:11.360
I mean, I was involved in student ministry and all the stuff.
00:34:11.519 --> 00:34:13.519
In college, I started teaching Sunday school.
00:34:13.760 --> 00:34:20.320
Pretty much every Sunday since I was 18, except for three years in law school when I was in the library most of the time.
00:34:20.480 --> 00:34:28.239
Uh I was I've taught almost every Sunday of my life since I was 18, either teaching Sunday school or preaching or whatever.
00:34:28.400 --> 00:34:33.199
And in all of that, in all of that church life, in all of that pastoring and all that, here's what I can tell you.
00:34:33.360 --> 00:34:34.559
Oh, what I can tell you.
00:34:34.800 --> 00:34:40.159
When people struggle with baptism, it is a spiritual decision.
00:34:40.960 --> 00:34:42.960
And people do, they struggle with baptism.
00:34:43.039 --> 00:34:44.079
We have some here this morning.
00:34:44.159 --> 00:34:46.880
So I'm not trying to pound on you or whatever.
00:34:46.960 --> 00:34:49.119
I'm trying to teach you and encourage you.
00:34:49.280 --> 00:34:54.960
And if it is a hard decision for you, then that tells you it's a significant decision.
00:34:55.199 --> 00:34:57.840
Anything that's difficult to do has to have some weight in it.
00:34:57.920 --> 00:34:58.719
That's why it's difficult.
00:34:58.800 --> 00:35:03.280
I mean, how hard is it to go up there and to get like in the bathtub?
00:35:03.599 --> 00:35:05.280
It's just a bathtub.
00:35:05.519 --> 00:35:08.800
And as long as we remember to turn the heater on, it's warm water.
00:35:09.519 --> 00:35:12.719
Every now and then it doesn't work, and that's pretty cold.
00:35:13.280 --> 00:35:16.559
But it's a whole lot better than the Jordan River, let me tell you.
00:35:16.719 --> 00:35:20.880
I've been to the Jordan River, you couldn't pay me enough to get in that nasty water.
00:35:21.039 --> 00:35:23.760
I mean, you think the Arkansas River's bad.
00:35:24.079 --> 00:35:24.480
Ugh.
00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:26.079
You don't want to get in the Jordan River.
00:35:26.239 --> 00:35:30.960
I went on one of those trips and all those people are paying$100 to get baptized again in the Jordan River.
00:35:31.039 --> 00:35:33.599
I'm thinking, you're paying to get into that?
00:35:33.840 --> 00:35:34.960
Are you kidding me?
00:35:35.199 --> 00:35:36.159
Like, no way.
00:35:36.239 --> 00:35:37.119
I'm not doing that.
00:35:37.280 --> 00:35:39.679
You couldn't pay me$100 to get in the middle of that.
00:35:39.840 --> 00:35:44.400
I mean, I know why they're doing it and all that, but listen, we you it's just water.
00:35:44.559 --> 00:35:45.599
It's a symbol.
00:35:45.760 --> 00:35:47.039
It's just water.
00:35:47.280 --> 00:35:47.599
Okay?
00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:49.280
It's just water.
00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:58.400
We have for next week scheduled two baptisms at our celebration service on our property next week.
00:35:58.639 --> 00:35:59.039
Two.
00:35:59.280 --> 00:36:01.920
One person from this campus, one person from the next campus.
00:36:02.079 --> 00:36:06.159
And when we baptize them, we're going to take our horse straw that we use out of the Chaffee campus.
00:36:06.239 --> 00:36:12.480
And one of the guys in our church is a construction guy, rancher, got a big old water thing, puts on the back of his truck.
00:36:12.559 --> 00:36:16.400
He's going to fill it up, and we're going to baptize folks on our property out there.
00:36:16.960 --> 00:36:17.599
Right?
00:36:18.079 --> 00:36:19.840
But why are we doing that?
00:36:20.480 --> 00:36:25.039
Because it is an important command that teaches us who we are.
00:36:25.280 --> 00:36:27.280
Now I want you to think about these things right here.
00:36:27.440 --> 00:36:30.719
As you're praying through that baptism decision, I want you to see this.
00:36:31.039 --> 00:36:34.159
Identity affects behavior.
00:36:34.639 --> 00:36:36.320
Identity affects behavior.
00:36:36.480 --> 00:36:41.440
Who you think you are guides the choices that you make.
00:36:42.239 --> 00:37:01.199
Who you recognize yourself to be, what your identity is, what your heritage is, what your personage is, what your thoughts, what you have set as the vision for your life, what your identity is, it directs your behavior because you make decisions based on who you are and where you want to go because of who you are.
00:37:01.440 --> 00:37:09.039
And what the Bible tells us is this whole picture in Romans is that we are identified with his death.
00:37:09.199 --> 00:37:11.039
Our old man is gone.
00:37:11.360 --> 00:37:20.960
We are identified with new life in Christ because of what he did, and I am no longer captive to sin because Jesus paid for it on the cross.
00:37:21.280 --> 00:37:25.920
And my identity now is a blood-bought son of the child of God.
00:37:26.320 --> 00:37:40.079
And because of that, I am free to be who Jesus saved me to be, and I have a vision who he saved me to be, and who he's working in my life to make me, and when I have that identity, my behavior is completely different.
00:37:40.639 --> 00:37:42.239
And that's important for all of us.
00:37:42.400 --> 00:37:46.960
Whether you've been baptized or not, listen, your identity is supposed to determine who you are.
00:37:47.360 --> 00:38:00.880
All this nonsense about playing Christian and barely waving at it and faking at it and giving Jesus the last part of your time, money, effort, and emotional whatever, that is not who Jesus saved you to be.
00:38:02.079 --> 00:38:15.119
Jesus himself went into the water and was baptized and came back knowing that he would teach us this identity issue and model it for us because he knew we would need it.
00:38:16.639 --> 00:38:19.119
I had a discussion this morning, just one of our guys over there.
00:38:19.199 --> 00:38:20.000
It was a great discussion.
00:38:20.079 --> 00:38:22.719
We were talking about sports and all yesterday and all that.
00:38:22.880 --> 00:38:29.280
And then we came up to, somehow we got on paramutual betting and online betting and apps.
00:38:29.519 --> 00:38:36.400
Do you know in just the short few years that that has started, we are now billions of dollars in the hole?
00:38:37.280 --> 00:38:38.800
Do you understand that?
00:38:39.119 --> 00:38:40.960
Billions of dollars in the hole.
00:38:41.199 --> 00:38:44.960
If you have that app on your phone, you need to repent of that sin.
00:38:45.440 --> 00:38:47.199
Did you hear you, Pastor?
00:38:48.400 --> 00:38:49.599
It's wrong.
00:38:49.920 --> 00:38:50.719
It's wrong.
00:38:50.960 --> 00:38:57.760
And what happened is all of these men, especially in their 20s, it is epidemic with young men in their 20s.
00:38:58.079 --> 00:39:04.960
Like we'll never recover from the financial crisis that's already been created because of that.
00:39:05.199 --> 00:39:13.760
And if you are thinking those 20-somethings that don't know anything, and you're going to the casino, well, you need to repent for your sin also.
00:39:15.360 --> 00:39:16.480
It's just sin.
00:39:17.280 --> 00:39:19.039
And we have Christians everywhere.
00:39:19.280 --> 00:39:30.079
Statisticians are now telling us that Christians give at a less rate than people outside the church.
00:39:31.920 --> 00:39:38.880
They give more to colleges and hospitals and all this other stuff than we give to Jesus.
00:39:39.679 --> 00:39:41.519
That's an identity issue.
00:39:41.760 --> 00:39:43.599
That's an identity issue.
00:39:43.920 --> 00:39:46.719
And you come back to that gambling deal and they fall into that.
00:39:46.800 --> 00:39:47.679
Why do they fall into that?
00:39:47.760 --> 00:39:57.280
Because they do not have a fundamental, foundational identity question that defines how they face things moving forward.
00:39:58.960 --> 00:40:04.239
If I'm a bloodbought child of Jesus, I'm not going to that app because that's sin.
00:40:04.480 --> 00:40:10.800
And that's not where my money goes, and that's putting me in a mental place that is walking away from Jesus, and all of that is wrong.
00:40:10.880 --> 00:40:15.519
And I'm validating that for all the other people that get lost and can't handle it.
00:40:15.679 --> 00:40:28.480
Listen, the only two businesses in America that are paying their own dollar to advertise not to use their product are sports betting and alcohol.
00:40:30.800 --> 00:40:38.000
They are literally paying millions of dollars to tell you not to use their stuff.
00:40:43.119 --> 00:40:46.719
I'm at a loss at this point in life how we get involved in that.
00:40:47.440 --> 00:40:52.480
Except you come back to this fundamental issue about your identity affects your behavior.
00:40:52.880 --> 00:41:02.159
Are you allowed to take Jesus, redeemed mind, life, focus, and checkbook through that?
00:41:02.880 --> 00:41:03.199
No.
00:41:04.159 --> 00:41:06.480
Identity affects behavior.
00:41:07.119 --> 00:41:09.599
And then you get to spiritual choices.
00:41:09.840 --> 00:41:12.400
And that is a spiritual choice of baptism.
00:41:12.559 --> 00:41:14.159
It affirms our identity.
00:41:14.320 --> 00:41:16.079
That spiritual choice that I make.
00:41:16.159 --> 00:41:18.960
If it wasn't difficult, then why is it difficult?
00:41:19.119 --> 00:41:20.880
It's difficult because it is significant.
00:41:21.039 --> 00:41:28.719
And we understand when I do this baptism thing, I am reaffirming this salvation and I am reaffirming my identity in Christ.
00:41:28.880 --> 00:41:32.559
It doesn't have anything to do with how big the room is or any of that kind of deal.
00:41:32.719 --> 00:41:37.199
It is a spiritual decision that I am working through, and that's a good thing.
00:41:37.360 --> 00:41:38.320
Praise the Lord.
00:41:38.559 --> 00:41:46.480
Man, I would want you to be hesitant and work your way through that because it shows you understand it's a significant decision.
00:41:46.639 --> 00:41:50.719
So if it's a decision that you've been struggling with, this is not a negative thing for you.
00:41:50.880 --> 00:41:58.719
This is positive because I'm saying, listen, I know that it's a real decision, and praise the Lord, you understand it as a significant choice.
00:41:58.880 --> 00:42:00.000
That's awesome.
00:42:00.239 --> 00:42:01.599
Now make the choice.
00:42:01.840 --> 00:42:02.320
Why?
00:42:02.639 --> 00:42:23.440
Because it is significant, it is spiritual, it has an impact because it shows that you understand when I come out out of that water, physically I'm just wet, but spiritually, when I came up out of that water, I am, I cannot do that without thinking through, man, Jesus came out of that grave for me.
00:42:24.320 --> 00:42:26.239
Jesus died for me.
00:42:27.119 --> 00:42:29.280
Man, I'm wet, but I'm also clean.
00:42:29.440 --> 00:42:31.599
Praise Jesus for what he did for me.
00:42:31.840 --> 00:42:33.679
And it's a spiritual decision.
00:42:33.920 --> 00:42:36.719
And finally, it practices the process of obedience.
00:42:36.880 --> 00:42:37.840
How does that work?
00:42:38.079 --> 00:42:39.599
Well, it works this way.
00:42:39.760 --> 00:42:53.519
You know that the Christian life is I'm going this way, and let's say Jesus is Jesus is there, and I'm over here, and I'm going this way, and I repent, that means turn from myself and my own way, and I turn to Jesus and I place my faith in him.
00:42:54.000 --> 00:43:00.480
Then I am entering a journey where I am growing to change and learn to walk with him, become more like him.
00:43:00.800 --> 00:43:01.760
It's a journey.
00:43:01.920 --> 00:43:04.960
But at the beginning of it, I don't know all that how that works.
00:43:05.039 --> 00:43:06.000
It's all new for me.
00:43:06.079 --> 00:43:07.039
I'm trying to figure this out.
00:43:07.119 --> 00:43:09.119
I'm excited, but I'm trying to figure this out.
00:43:09.280 --> 00:43:12.000
And God says, listen, go be baptized.
00:43:12.320 --> 00:43:13.360
Well, I can do that.
00:43:13.440 --> 00:43:17.519
I just get in the water, and then Pastor Matt, when he does baptism, goes like this.
00:43:20.880 --> 00:43:21.519
Right?
00:43:22.719 --> 00:43:26.639
Or you get Eli and he's gentle and sweet, and he goes like that, you know.
00:43:26.800 --> 00:43:29.360
And I mean, it's kind of how everybody does it, right?
00:43:29.599 --> 00:43:30.719
But I can do that.
00:43:30.880 --> 00:43:33.039
And I'm in there with a brother in Christ.
00:43:33.280 --> 00:43:35.519
I've got my family cheering me on.
00:43:35.760 --> 00:43:39.360
And I go down and I do this baptism and I sign up for it.
00:43:39.440 --> 00:43:40.239
I commit to it.
00:43:40.320 --> 00:43:41.440
I'm excited about it.
00:43:41.599 --> 00:43:44.000
People are praying with me before I go into that.
00:43:44.079 --> 00:43:54.880
And I go into that baptism, and my church family cheers for me, and I come up out of the water, and I know what it means, and I feel the significance, and I've taken a step of obedience, and God blesses you for it.
00:43:54.960 --> 00:43:59.519
And all of a sudden, you have this first step experience that God has built into the journey.
00:44:00.159 --> 00:44:10.960
To teach you how to obey and to teach you how to take a step of faith and to teach you how he blesses you and how wonderful it is, and it encourages you how you step out in faith and obey him.
00:44:11.440 --> 00:44:25.039
He embeds in the process this incredibly wonderful spiritual moment where you are encouraged and you are taught the rhythm of how we step out in faith and obedience and God blesses and we begin that journey.
00:44:25.760 --> 00:44:45.840
And I can't tell you how many folks I talked to and have through the years that when they face the significance of that baptism decision and they're working their way through that, if they have not said yes, they miss this opportunity.
00:44:46.480 --> 00:44:57.039
They miss this beginning step, and they miss the identification of, man, I am clean before Jesus because of what he did for me on the cross.
00:44:57.599 --> 00:45:13.760
And listen, if you're missing that opportunity, if you're missing that identification moment, I'm gonna ask you, either during the invitation or afterwards, come out there and see me, we want to baptize you.
00:45:22.480 --> 00:45:24.000
Be baptized.
00:45:24.880 --> 00:45:38.159
And if you've never trusted Christ as your Savior, one of the reasons you may be holding back, you may have this baptism idea and you have a different picture of what it is.
00:45:38.719 --> 00:45:42.719
It's just water, it's just a picture.
00:45:43.679 --> 00:45:56.159
But it is an opportunity for you to know who Jesus saved you to be to help you begin the journey of walking with Him in a beautiful way.
00:45:56.800 --> 00:46:04.159
If you've never accepted Christ as your Savior, man, there is no clearer time to be saved than a message like this right here.
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If you've never been saved, you're online, you're watching on television, you're in the room.
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Listen, wherever you are, whatever you're doing, I want you to give your life to Jesus.
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Trust him to save you.
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Give your life to him, identify that he paid the price for your sins, and realize that because he died for you and you trusted him to pay the price for your sins, when you are saved, you are clean.
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And then let us baptize, do baptism with you.
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Not for us, for you and your journey, as we've explained today.
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I want you to bow your heads as we close.
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Lord, I thank you for this incredible picture of baptism.
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And I want to ask, Father, this morning, you get me out of the way, putty the cracks for whatever's going on.
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And Father, I pray that you will speak to hearts this morning.
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I pray that there are people who be saved.
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Because they got this picture of what it means.
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They got a picture of how you've built in from the very beginning the chance to help us learn how to walk with you.
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And Father, I pray for brothers and sisters in Christ who've been saved, but this has been a hard decision for them.
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First of all, I want to ask you to bless them for taking it seriously and recognizing it's significant.
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It is.
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And so thank you for that sense that they have of how important this moment is.
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And I pray, Father, today, that you'll use the example of Jesus, the teaching of Paul and Romans, the teaching of John the Baptist with those crowds.
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Schedule that baptism, to take that significant step of faith, to walk in obedience into that moment so that you can bless them and encourage them and give them a sense of identity.
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And since we've talked some about identity here, Father, I pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ, already been saved, already baptized.
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But Father, I pray that in this picture of baptism and what it means and the significance when we did it, that it will challenge us and our identity to redefine according to Jesus who we are.
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Something here for all of us today, Lord, and I pray you'll help us respond to you.
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In Jesus' name we pray.
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Everybody said, We pray this message has been a blessing to you and helped to strengthen your walk with Jesus.
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Please know we want to minister to you and pray for you.
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Send an email to contact us at fsfbc.org and let us pray for you and help you in any way we can.
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Thank you for listening to Chapter and First, the Bible Teaching Ministry of Fort Smith at First Baptist Church.
