TODAY IS A DAY OF BAPTISM.
- We will be baptizing
- Several people into the body of Christ
AND SO TODAY’S MESSAGE
- Is all about baptism
- And the change it brings about
- In the new Christian’s heart
FOR INSTANCE,
- Let’s take Al Johnson.
- In his 50’s, he received Jesus
- And got baptized
NOT LONG AFTER THAT
- He confessed to taking part
- In a bank robbery when he was 19.
AND NOT ONLY DID HE CONFESS,
- The Statute of Limitations had run out,
- So he was safe in man’s eyes …
- But still had to repent in his own eyes.
AND REPENT HE DID!
- He repaid his portion - with interest!
BEFORE YOU GET BAPTIZED TODAY,
- I want you to fully understand
- What baptism is and what it means
TURN WITH ME TO MATTHEW 3:13-17
‘Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. But John didn’t want to baptize Him. ’I am the one who needs to be baptized by You,’ John told Jesus, ’so why are you coming to me?’
But Jesus said, ’It must be done, because we must do everything that is right.’ So John baptized Him.
After His baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on Him. And a voice from heaven said, ’This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with Him.’
HERE WE ARE
- at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.
- John the Baptist had been preaching
- about repentance and
- the need to be baptized.
THEN, SOMETHING HAPPENS.
- Jesus comes and asks John to baptize Him.
- Why would Jesus do that ?
WHEN JOHN HESITATED TO BAPTIZE THE LORD
- Jesus said, “It must be done, because
- we must do everything that is right.”
CHRISTIANS SHOULD TRY
- to be righteous,
- and that means trying
- to do things ‘the right way.’
BUT HERE ARE SOME FACTS
- about what Christians are doing -
- 20% of all the women who get abortions say they are Christians.
- 92% of American pastors are too uncomfortable to tell a stranger about Jesus.
- Many people who say they are Christian, say they do not need to be baptized!
CHRISTIANS SHOULD BE DIFFERENT
- than non-Christians
- but most of the time,
- they aren’t.
BECAUSE WE ARE AFRAID
That if we upset them,
They will be mean to us.
WE DON’T KNOW
- What real persecution is,
- And Jesus said we will be persecuted
- If we confess Him before others.
WHY WOULD ANYBODY
- claim to be a follower of Jesus
- but refuse to do the things
- Jesus told us to do?
MATTHEW 28:19,
- Jesus gave us the GREAT COMMISSION.
- It tells us to go and make disciples
- And to baptize them
IF WE ARE TO FOLLOW THE JESUS
- We must try and do
- Everything he told us to do,
- In the way He modeled it for us
EVERY TIME BAPTISM IS WRITTEN ABOUT
- it is written for believers
- It was never meant for the unbelievers.
IF AN UNBELIEVER GOT BAPTIZED,
- it would be nothing more
- than a quick dip in water
AND IF A PERSON GOT BAPTIZED
- with the wrong heart,
- it would mean the same thing.
ONLY WHEN IT IS DONE
- with a heart that yearns for Jesus,
- will it mean what it was meant to mean.
WE SEE SOMETHING ELSE IN SCRIPTURES.
- Every time somebody was baptized,
- it was because they made
- a personal choice to do so.
THEY CHOSE TO HUMBLE THEIR HEARTS
- before the Lord God
- and repent from their former ways.
SEVEN WEEKS AFTER JESUS’ RESURRECTION,
- the Holy Spirit filled the room
- where the disciples were
- and gave them power
THIS POWER WAS FROM GOD,
- And it gave them boldness
- To stand up before men
- And explain their need for Jesus
IT WAS THAT POWER
- that enabled Peter to say,
ACTS 2:38
‘Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the Holy Spirit.’
IN 1968,
- I was in Japan and saw
- Billy Graham in Tokyo.
- He preached on the same thing –
- The need to turn our lives over to Jesus.
WHEN HE GAVE THE INVITATION,
A - bout 50,000 people went forward!
- That is the same power
- Peter preached with then
HAVE WE LOST THAT POWER?
- The American church today
- Struggles to see one person come forward
- Every 4-5 months!
WHY HAVE WE LOST THAT POWER?
- Because we why away
- From saying anything controversial –
- Even when it is needed!
ACTS 5:13-14 explains that
- people were afraid of the believers,
- but they still respected them.
WHY WERE THEY AFRAID?
- Because the believers made a point
- to live as Christians;
- to be different from those around them;
- and to adhere to the teachings of Jesus.
AGAIN, CHRISTIANS SHOULD
- look, act, and think differently
- than those around them,.
BUT WE DON’T.
- Because we like to blend in
- so nobody will notice us
- and we can be comfortable.
WE CLAIM TO BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST,
- but won’t even tell our neighbors
- that we go to church!
MANY USE THE GIFT OF TONGUES
- To elevate themselves above others Christians.
- And we rub elbows with the world,
- Not knowing we are slipping back into it
IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU
- who are going to be baptized today
- realize this is one of the two ordinances
- Jesus left for us to observe.
ONE IS THE THE LORD’S SUPPER.
- The other is baptism.
BUT BAPTISM IS SOMETHING
- That does no good
- Unless it is done
- With a heart that has been humbled to Jesus.
SOMETHING HAPPENED OVER THE YEARS,
- to the act of baptism.
- Instead of using it to
- Bring people to salvation,
THE CHURCH CHANGED
- And started using it as
- A something needed
- To join the local church
AND THEY EVEN EXTENDED THIS
- to infants who were too young
to make any decision about anything.
IN OTHER WORDS,
- the church did to baptism
- what it has done to almost everything else:
IT WATERED IT DOWN
- to where the only meaning left
- is that which benefits the church,
- not a person’s eternal salvation.
AS CHURCHES AND DENOMINATIONS BEGAN,
- they all started to
- focus on baptism.
IN ONE DENOMINATION
- The person was baptized 3 times.
- Once each for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
WE MUST BE VERY CAREFUL
- not to subvert the true word of God
- to something we feel comfortable with.
- We must be very careful
- to keep its meaning accurate.
LET ME SHARE WITH YOU
- What I believe a ’real Christian’ is.
A REAL CHRISTIAN IS ONE WHO –
- believes in Jesus as the Savior
- repents of his sins, and
- one who devotes their life to Jesus
A CHRISTIAN IS A PERSON WHO
- follows God’s word as closely as they can.
- and being baptized is one of those areas.
TOO MANY TIMES
- we hear where we cannot go to heaven
- without being baptized.
- Let me clarify the error in this belief.
IN ARIZONA, DIANA AND I
- had a nursing home ministry for a few years.
- Each Sunday, we would visit
- and have fellowship and prayer with the residents.
IT WAS THERE I CAME TO KNOW
- a man and his wife;
- both proclaiming to be atheists.
THE DAY THE MAN DIED,
- He was given another opportunity to receive Jesus
- Just hours before passing.
- He said no.
THE SURVIVING WIFE
- soon began showing signs of Alzheimer’s.
- Every Sunday, I would hold her hands
- And talk to her about Jesus.
EVERY SUNDAY
- She said, ’Maybe later.’
- And then one day,
- She saw me come in and motioned for me.
I WENT AND SAT BESIDE HER.
- She said, ;’Today! I want to meet Jesus today!’
- I held her hands, and led her in a prayer
- And her stroke twisted face
- Smiled the smile of a Saint.
FROM THEN ON,
- Every time she’d pray,
- She would look up
- And say, ’I love you, Jesus.’
BUT SHE NEVER GOT BAPTIZED.
- Her family would not give their permission,
- And the Nursing Home wouldn’t let her
- Because of the legal ramifications.
BUT THERE IS NO DOUBT
- That she is in Paradise today,
- Still looking up and Jesus,
- And telling Him she loves him.
WHY WOULD WE BE COMMANDED
- To be baptized,
- But I say she is in heaven without it?
BECAUSE GOD LOOKS AT THE INSIDE
- Where the heart is.
- And on the inside, she wanted to be baptized
- But nobody would let her.
BEFORE YOU CAN BE NEW IN CHRIST,
- you must ask Jesus into your heart.
- You must be willing
- to give your old self up –
SO JESUS CAN COME IN
- and clean you up
- from the inside out.
- Will you do that this morning?
FOR THOSE WHO ARE
- getting baptized today –
- God is very proud of you
- And so are we.
BUT WE WANT TO GIVE OTHERS
- The same chance
- To fulfill their desire for Jesus.
SOME OF YOU
- May have been baptized as a child.
- But are feeling the need to do it again,
- Now that you understand what it is.
IF YOU ARE AMONG THOSE PEOPLE,
- Please come up as we sing,
- And we will be honored
- To re-baptize you today.
INVITATION
