Baptism

[Music] good morning church y'all look lovely this morning so good to see you this morning on this cold snowy morning it's wonderful and warm at church isn't it we're so glad you have come and worshiped with us guests we want to thank you for coming and worshiping with us and just so you know we have a gift for you uh just right there at the door feel free to take one of those as you leave this morning and church we have the honor and the privilege of beginning our service with baptism so direct your eyes to our baptistry i also welcome the house of the lord so good to see you here today it's always a blessing when we can begin our service in the waters of baptism for it means the lord is continuing to call people to himself and they're saying yes and willing to follow him all the way into the kingdom of heaven this morning our candidate for baptism is elibeth cassary elaborate do you trust jesus christ as your savior and lord yes well upon that profession of faith in him and then obedience the command of our lord and savior jesus christ i baptize you my sister in the name of the father and of the son of the holy [Applause] let's go to the spirit in prayer father we have done as you have said in your great commission still there a room for others and we pray today as we meet here to worship as we share your word as we lift up prayers before you that others will hear you for the first time and give their heart and life to you make their profession of faith turning from sins asking you to forgive them so that you can bless them with your gift of baptism of the holy spirit and they will fall in water baptism just like we witnessed this morning we also realized lord that anytime somebody is baptized just as your son jesus was they were immediately tempted of the evil ones so we pray for elebeth today that you would bless her as she begins us walk with you and that you would keep him keep her from the evil one and we pray this in jesus name amen church let's open up our bulletins and look at our ministry announcements for the week this afternoon our trail life troupe and american heritage girls will be meeting at four o'clock this afternoon so be sure to be here uh for that uh trailman and ahg girls uh also this week we do have uh regularly scheduled um events our wednesday night adult and youth bible study and awana will be happening uh so be sure to be here uh looks like we got some valente valentine's day uh work that'll be happening during awana and man just let me remind you one week away next sunday is valentine's day so be ready be ready uh also um uh we have a mission project uh uh that we are our emissions fund rather that we are collecting money for uh in the month of february for world hunger you see their global hunger relief it says more than 840 million people around the world live with constant hunger and approximately four million children under age 12 go hungry in the united states well we can do something about that church we have our bread baskets located right here at the table in the sanctuary or right outside the sanctuary underneath the world hunger relief bulletin board and you're more than welcome to pick up a bread basket and give to that missions offering or if you're worshiping with us online you can give a gift online and designate that to uh world hunger so want to thank you for um doing that and think about how the lord may guide you to give to that mission's effort students we are gearing up for our united weekend coming up the first weekend in march you can still sign up we still have five spots available uh the cost has gone up to 65 uh so just see me if you have questions about that or you can simply scan that qr code there in the bulletin and get signed up also we have coming up a women's bible study and we have a video we would like to show for that bible study if there was ever a time where the sons and daughters of god needed to rise up in the spirit of elijah that time is right now more and more people are forgetting who our god is that he is who he has always declared himself to be and he can still do exactly what he said he can do god's hand is on you not just the missionary not just the pastor not just the sunday school leader god's hand is on you right where he has placed you to be used for his purposes and his glory because we operate by the power and the presence and the discernment of the spirit of god we should still be able to live in alignment with the promises that our god has declared to us [Music] okay ladies there are three opportunities to join in that bible study uh one is monday evening at 6 30 beginning of february 15th at 6 30 p.m in room 112 andrea howell and vicki wingo will be leading that study or you can join a bible study on tuesday morning for this bible study tuesday morning here at the church at 9 in room 112 as well miss allen sally will be leading that study or on tuesday evenings uh lifeway will be having an online study so if you're joining us online and are interested in joining the bible study in that way you can do it that way as well church i believe that is it for our announcements the psalmist reminds us in psalm 84 of our attitude in worship he says there how lovely is your dwelling place lord of armies i long and yearn for the courts of the lord my heart and flesh cry out for the living god church will you join me as i pray heavenly father we thank you for this day lord for this opportunity for our hearts and our flesh to cry out for you the true and living god lord we pray that our worship would be pleasing in your sight today in jesus name amen let's stand together let's sing about jesus living and being our heart this morning as we worship him what a wonderful change in my life has been wrought since jesus came into my heart i have lied in my soul for which long i have sought since jesus came into my heart since jesus came into my heart since jesus came into my heart but some joy or my soul like the sea village jesus came into my heart i'm possessed of a hope that is steadfast and sure since jesus came into my heart and the dark clouds of doubt now my pathway is skewed since jesus came into my heart since jesus came into my heart since jesus came into my heart bloods of joy are my soul like the sea below since jesus came into my heart i shall go there to dwell in that city i know since jesus came into my heart and i'm happy so happy as onward i go since jesus came into my heart since jesus came into my heart since jesus came into my heart bloods of joy or my soul like the sea will hold scroll since jesus came into my heart for those of us that know christ are you grateful that christ has come into your heart now the question i have does he actually live and reign and rule in your heart does he guide your steps does he order your steps does do you follow that order that he's laid out there are you obedient to him each and every day you know we can say we've given our heart to christ but do our actions reflect that when we walk out of this building on sunday afternoon do they reflect it on monday tuesday wednesday thursday do they reflect it while you're at work or while you're at fam with your family do they does your heart reflect that when you're alone and you have a chance to spend time with the lord you know this morning i want to share some scripture with you hopefully that will encourage you in that as we prepare to sing our next song in psalm 37 verse 4 there's lots of verses that talk about delighting in the lord and this is one of those it says delight yourself in the lord and he will give you the desires of your heart now that's not meant to be like a santa claus whatever i want mentality but if you're focusing on the lord and you're trusting in him and you're listening to his voice your desires are already going to be his desire and vice versa his desire he will lay on your heart and that will become your desire so i encourage you to make him uh the desire of your heart in isaiah chapter 26 it says this it says in the path of your judgment so lord we wait for you your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul my soul yearns for you in the night my spirit within me earnestly seeks you for when you let's see for when your judgments are on the earth the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness psalm 103 says this bless the lord o my soul and all that is within me bless his holy name bless the lord o my soul and forget not all of his benefits and then in philippians 3 1 it says finally my brothers rejoice in the lord to write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you so meaning that when you put your faith and trust in the lord it doesn't matter what this world thinks you're willing to take a stand for him because you've given your heart to him i want us to sing about that this morning lord i give you my heart [Music] this is my desired you and lord with all my heart i worship you and all i have within me i give you praise is with you [Music] lord i give you my heart i give you my soul and i live for you alone every breath that i take every moment i'm awake lord have your way in me let's sing that again and this is my desire to honor you lord with all my heart i worship you and all i have within me [Music] i give you praise all that i adore is in you lord i give you my heart i give you my souls i live for you alone every breath that i take every moment i'm awake lord have your way in me lord i give you my heart i give you my soul i live for you alone every breath that i take [Music] me [Music] sing this little chorus with me now i belong to jesus and jesus belongs to me not for the years of time alone but for eternity let's sing that again [Music] now i belong to jesus jesus belongs to me not for the years of time alone but for return [Music] amen you may be seated and again i welcome the house of lords so good to see you here today uh i also wanted to say welcome to all you who braved the blizzard in order to be here with us and for those of you who are watching online from the northern states maybe i should tell them we had about an inch of snow last night so i'm sure the folks from up north uh i've had more snow than that but if you have your bulletins please look at the back page at our prayer list have a promise from the lord ask and it shall be given to you seek and you shall find knock and it will be open to you again we praise the lord for el beth coming by baptism to join our church and nancy skilling recovering from surgery last week we continue on to pray for who's your one who do you have in mind that does not yet know jesus christ as savior and you're praying for them and seeking opportunities to lead them to the lord we pray for those you see listed there from our church family and for our parents who are expecting and adopting children also extended family and friends if you'll look on the last line you'll see bill mcclung there he is a pastor of lock galley church up in west virginia uh that our mission team has been going up there the last uh five or six years now i guess too to help out in that community and so pray for him as he's been tested with tested positive with cobid that he gets well soon i want to pray for those in long-term care again you see tom henderson underlined he is our eldest member at 100 years old and he's fighting off some pneumonia so be in prayer for him and also a couple of lines below that you'll see frank and judy ray uh frank will be having a heart procedure on 15th and judy will be having a knee procedure on the 23rd so be in prayer for them as that's coming up we do want to pray for our missionaries who are serving around the world and today we want to highlight as i'm sure has already been announced that we're in the middle of our global mission global hunger fund and all the money that comes from that is used by our missionaries to feed hungry people and also to share the gospel with a hopeless world that needs to hear it continue to pray for our nation for our president and for all those serving under him and also i want to add one a grieving family brother dennis who's leading our food pantry ministry said they have a client named aaron who passed away this past tuesday only 36 years old so be in prayer for aaron's family as well and let's go the lord in prayer father we thank you for this opportunity we have together as brothers and sisters in christ in this place and also for those of our congregation who are watching online as we join our hearts together to worship you the true and living god we thank you lord for the gift of salvation that was displayed this morning in the waters of baptism we pray today if there's someone who has not yet received jesus christ our savior lord that day is the day that they would make that profession of faith in him we also thank you lord as part of our relationship with you that you give us the opportunity to pray and we have a long prayer list printed out and even more that people are thinking about and praying for right now during this time and we thank you lord that you're ever present god who is hearing all the prayers that's being lifted and you will answer those according to your good will and purpose and in that we are confident lord bless us now as we continue to worship you for we pray this in jesus name amen [Music] [Music] [Music] and thank you amy for leading us in that meditation of i love you lord and i hope that is your heart cry this morning as we go into this time of studying god's word if you have your bibles please open to matthew chapter 3 as we continue through this gospel and allowing the holy spirit who inspired these words to illuminate them to our heart so that we can be the children of god we're called to be and also so we can conform ourselves to the image of god's son we'll begin reading in matthew chapter 3 and i'll start up in verse 11 and in verse 11 john the baptist is speaking he said i indeed baptize you with water unto repentance but he who is coming after me is mightier than i whose sandals i am not worthy to carry he will baptize you with the holy spirit and fire his winning fan is in his hand he will thoroughly clean out his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire then jesus came from galilee to john at the jordan to be baptized by him and john the baptist tried to prevent him saying i need to be baptized by you and are you coming to me but jesus answered and said to him permit it to be so now for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness then he that is john the baptist allowed him who is the lord jesus when he had been baptized jesus cut came up immediately from the water and behold the heavens were opened to him and he saw the spirit of god descending like a dove and lighting upon him and suddenly a voice came from heaven saying this is my beloved son in whom i am well pleased today we're going to study baptism in a baptist congregation uh this is a topic that should be easy for us uh but as the bible says in hebrews chapter 2 and verse 1 we need to review things from time to time we need to remember things from time to time we need to refresh ourselves lest at any time we should let them slip so we don't want the significance of what we just witnessed in the baptistry to slip from us we need to know what was happening in that moment when we baptized elibeth this morning what is baptism well baptism translator transliterates a greek word baptizo that means to immerse to submerge to dip under to sink like a ship there are several christian denominations that have interpreted baptism to be sprinkling with water but nowhere in the bible does baptizo mean sprinkle it always means to immerse baptizo was also a fuller's term we don't use fullers anymore but basically fuller back in those days was the laundry man he was the dry cleaner and he also would dye your garments suppose you had your wool and it's all white but you wanted to have something made red well he would baptize baptizo that white cloth into red dye and to baptize not only means to dip but it also means to change the identity no longer could you get that white garment back once it made red it was red forever so keep those definitions in mind as we look at the baptism of john the baptist and baptism of jesus and christian baptism in the church today notice now verse 11 john the baptist refers to three baptisms of baptism with water and with spirit and with fire now before we get into the baptism of christ i probably need to clarify the difference between the baptism of john the baptist and the baptism of jesus john's baptism was a baptism of repentance he came calling people to repent which we talked about last time to turn from their sins and prepare to meet the soon-coming savior the savior who was on the way and in matthew 3 8 he said for those who brought forth fruits worthy of repentance that is if they came to john the baptist and they were willing to change their living and and turned from known sin then john would baptize them as a sign that they had committed themselves to living holy lives as they prepared for as they anticipated the coming of the lord and at this time john the baptist didn't know who the lord was going to be he's going to have to wait till what was it the sign of the holy spirit descending like a dove he said when he saw that then he would know that was who it would be but until then he was baptizing people to repent of their sins and get ready for this soon-coming messiah and of course the baptism of jesus is different from john's as you can see john said he's going to baptize you with the holy spirit and with fire and john could only call people to repent and turn from their sins and prepare to meet the lord of all the earth but you've got to remember jesus is the lord of all the earth and as the son of god he had the ability not only to hear your confession of your sins to see our repentance of sin and the ability to forgive us and give us a holy spirit who guides us in the will of god in his in this life and also prepares us for eternal life the next life he guides us into this and that's what john called in verse 11 the baptism of the holy spirit so now let's look at the threefold baptism of jesus jesus was baptized with water and with the spirit and with fire we see that beginning in verse 16 we see jesus was baptized with water but to prepare him for that if you look at verse 13 jesus came from galilee to john at the jordan river to be baptized by him and john tried to prevent him saying i need to be baptized by you and you're coming to me but jesus answered and said permit it to be so now for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness well that begs the question how was jesus being baptized by john fulfilling all righteousness well part of that has to do with a word called identification again one of those definitions of baptize we saw a little bit ago was to change identity remember that white cloth once it went down into the red dye and was submerged it would no longer be white it would be a red cloth after that so jesus by being baptized with sinners was identifying with sinners jesus was becoming one of us think about that for a minute a holy god a sinless god identifying with sinful human beings so that we could be made righteous like him that's what it means to fulfill all righteousness is by jesus becoming one of us he was going to give us an opportunity to become like him it's awesome thought when you think about that's why the apostle paul wrote about it in second corinthians 5 21 god has made christ to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of god in him so jesus sinless never sinned god the father made him to become sin for us so he could take our sins so that we could have forgiveness of sin and everlasting life so jesus identified with us made it possible for all who are willing to believe in him and follow him to be identified with him in his coming kingdom another thing that fulfills all righteousness something called sanctification which we don't have time to explore all that that means this morning but at the baseline it means to be set apart and that's what he was doing when jesus went to be baptized he was being set apart for his father's purpose jesus was not baptized to remove his sins how many of you know that okay so his baptism he hear that baptism washes my sins away well that is not why jesus went to the jordan to be baptized because he was the sinless son of god what jesus is saying in his his baptism that he's denying himself of his desires of his ambitions he's putting all that to death he's giving up what he wants to be when he grows up how many of you thought about that before what do i want to be when i grow up jesus was giving up what he wanted to be when he grew up that he might be what god the father wants him to be and that's what he's doing when he lay down in the water that's a symbol of death i'm dying to myself and when he come up out of that water rising up it's a symbol of new life i'm rising to walk in the ways of my father i'm going to live in the will of my father and jesus said it plainly in john 5 30 i do not seek my own will but the will of the father who sent me so jesus was baptized with water but as he was baptized in water that was only a symbol of what was already happening to him in his spirit and so that's the second thing we'll look at and that is jesus was baptized by the spirit you see that in verse 16 the spirit of god descended like a dove lighting upon him and then that same story in luke chapter 4 it says then jesus being filled with the spirit so not only did the spirit look shaped like a dove come down and land on him it also went within him he was filled with the spirit following that he was filled with the spirit of the living god and so from that we get a picture of the new life that we have in christ that's been brought to us by the trinity and what is the trinity is to let you know that the lord our god is one he is one god but he reveals himself to us in three persons the father son and the holy spirit and we see all that right here at this baptism at the baptism of jesus we see jesus son of god the second person of the trinity yielding himself to his father's will by going in for this baptism also we see the holy spirit the third person of the trinity descending and alighting upon him like a dove and also filling him his entire being with the spirit of god and then we see the voice from heaven that's the first person of the trinity god the father saying this is my beloved son in whom i am well pleased so we have jesus being baptized by water and by the spirit and then thirdly if you'll look on the chapter 4 verse 1 we see jesus being baptized by fire again we won't be able to get into that until next time but jesus was led it says in the scripture here by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil do you realize everybody's faith will be tested by fire the fires of temptation and troubles and trials to find out whether your faith is real or fake i believe that's why peter who knew jesus very well wrote in his little book first peter 1 and verse 6 rejoice even though now for a little while if need be you have been grieved by various trials that the genuineness of your faith being much more precious than gold that perishes though it's tested by fire may be found to praise honor and glory at the revelation of jesus christ so the temptations of jesus are not going to end when he goes into the wilderness that we see here in chapter four that's not going to be the only time and it certainly is not going to be the last time because jesus was often tempted and baptized by the fires of temptations troubles and trials and of course the ultimate temptation was the cross and he refers to that as a baptism a number of times one of those is in matthew chapter 20 and verse 22 if you remember james and john who were two of the disciples and they were brothers and their mother came to see jesus and they were politicking for those two boys become first and second vice presidents whenever jesus came into his kingdom i'm sure she did that earshot away from the other disciples but anyhow she was being a good mom she was trying to get some good positions for her children and if you remember what jesus said to her and she said are you or to the boys are you able to drink the cup that i'm about to drink are you ready to be baptized with the baptism that i am baptized with what was he talking about the baptism he is fixing to be tried with would be the cross the ultimate who wants to go to the cross and become sin for man and endure all he was going to have to do that was his baptism by fire yet another one of those so what kind of baptism is jesus talking about he's talking about being baptized by the fire of the cross so we see jesus was baptized by the water and by the spirit and by fire the question is how does the baptism of jesus apply to us today who are followers of jesus well jesus began his ministry to us by identifying with us in baptism and he commands us as we begin our discipleship with him to do the same thing to identify with him by being willing to be baptized notice that's what the great commission says in matthew 28 19 go therefore and make disciples of all the nations what baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit and teaching them so if jesus indeed our lord should be willing to follow willing to follow his footsteps then that begins with baptism and that's what we'll be talking about next what about our baptism by water which we just saw this morning again jesus was not baptized to remove his sins he was sinless what jesus was saying with his baptism about water is i'm denying myself i'm putting away my desires my ambitions i'm putting all that to death and i will rise out of this water and i will walk in the ways of my lord i will live in the will of god and that's what our baptism should mean as well of course ours does require repentance because we're not sinless so to get the whole ball rolling we must repent as we talked about last time but once you've repented of sins and received jesus christ your savior then baptism is the next logical step and that's what our baptism is all about the only way a man or woman can be righteous is to deny himself or herself and serve the lord that's why jesus his invitation to come and become a follower in all the gospels matthew chapter 16. if anyone desires to come after me let him deny himself what take up his cross and then come and follow me so he's saying let the cravings of my body and the desires of my heart die in order that my eternal spirit may live in obedience to god and that's really what the testimony of baptism is all about in colossians chapter 2 verse 12 it says we are buried with christ in baptism in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of god who raised christ from the dead so again it's the picture that you're seeing here is when you go under the water that's a symbol of you dying you're dying to yourself to your own selfish will and you rise to walk in a new life you're going to follow jesus christ that's what that symbolism is all about baptism says as jesus took up his cross and obeyed his father i'm also going to take up my cross and live according to the will of god now you know preachers hear a lot of things uh and i've been doing this for about 30 years so i've heard a lot of things but i've heard a number of people say well i believe in jesus and i'm a christian but i just don't see the need to get wet in front of a crowd of people in order to verify things you know but when you think about it that's a little bit illogical matter of fact it's a lot of logical because really what you're saying is i'm a christian jesus is my lord i'm his follower i'm a disciple i'm a servant of christ but i'm not willing to obey his first commandment after you become a christian what's the first step in christianity is being baptized and you say well i'm willing to do that but i just don't really see why i need to do it well jesus was willing to be baptized for you you need to be willing to be baptized for him somebody say amen okay so that works also it's very doubtful that you'll ever obey the lord and taken up your cross and following him if you're not willing to if you're afraid or you're embarrassed to be baptized it's not all that hard just so y'all know if you want me to baptize you i have not lost one yet we have not drowned a single soul since i've been doing this so there's really nothing to be afraid of also i've heard some say well the thief on the cross was not baptized well that's absolutely true and if you get saved while you're hanging on a cross then you don't have to either but and by the way i've led people to christ on their deathbed and obviously you can't work it out where they can be water baptized they're baptized by the spirit and that's really the only thing that matters but if you're physically able after you become a christian then you need to follow the lord in believers baptism and that's what mark chapter 16 verse 16 he who believes and is baptized will be saved but he who does not believe will be condemned acts 2 38 peter preaching on the day of pentecost says repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of the lord jesus for the remission of sin and you shall receive the gift of the holy spirit so you ready to die to sin live to the lord jesus christ he gives you the holy spirit within you and then baptism is a symbol of all that's going on there this is why bab as baptist we do not believe in infant baptism because baptism is a profession of faith by believers you must be old enough to believe in order to be baptized and there's no real reason for doing it otherwise also on the other extreme we've got some christian denominations that believe water baptism is essential to salvation if you hadn't been baptized in water then you can't be saved or so they say but peter differs with them on that and first peter chapter 3 verse 21 reminds us that water does not save you baptism now saves you not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward god through the resurrection of jesus christ in other words again it's symbolic of the death and resurrection of christ so you see clean skin does not make you right with god confessing and repenting of sins and receiving the gift of the holy spirit is what gives you a good conscience toward god so again water baptism is only a symbol of what supposedly already happened to you already and that is you've been baptized by the holy spirit and billy graham the great evangelist summarized this very well he used to say baptism is an outward sign of an inward grace he was talking about water baptism he said that water baptism is an outward sign of an inward grace water on the outside does nothing unless there has been a spiritual baptism on the inside water baptism is your public profession on the outside of what the holy spirit has done for you on the inside water baptism is your public profession on the outside of your sincere willingness on the inside to die to yourself die to your sins and live a life in consecration to the lord jesus christ and when you do that as peter would say that's what gives you a good conscience before god water baptism shows our identification with the death burial and resurrection of our savior again romans chapter 6 verse 4 explains it again paul does this in several places we are buried with him through baptism unto death that just as christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father even so we should all walk in newness of life again there's that symbol i go down in the water symbolic of me dying i come up out of the water a symbol of resurrection a new life that i'm going to be following the lord jesus until he calls me home so before we baptize with water we should have already been baptized by the spirit and that's what we see again in the baptism of jesus matthew 3 16 when jesus had been baptized he came up immediately from the water and behold the heavens were opened to him he saw the spirit of god descending like a dove a lighting upon him and suddenly a voice came from heaven saying this is my beloved son in whom i am well pleased jesus went for water baptism symbolizing his willingness to surrender and sacrifice his own plans to do the will of his heavenly father and god blessed him with the means of doing it and that's called holy spirit baptism of course after the ascension jesus promised the same to all his disciples in acts 1 5 he said john truly baptized you with water but you shall be baptized with the holy spirit not many days from now and if you've read the new testament before you know the holy spirit of christ did come in a powerful way on the day of pentecost we read about that in acts chapter 2. and the same holy spirit is available for believers today i know some christian denominations are sitting around waiting on a second pentecost a second feeling no there's only going to be one pentecost and the holy spirit came and he stays among believers at the heart of the church uh down through the centuries so uh the very instant today you are saved the instant today that you pray in forgiveness of sin and ask jesus christ to come into your life come into your heart and save you then you're filled with the spirit right then right there as the scriptures say in ephesians chapter 1 verse 13 in christ you also when you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation and believed in him you were sealed with a promised holy spirit and i know some denominations teach a second blessing no this is the first blessing and it's the only one that matters is when you believe you automatically receive the holy spirit of god he comes upon you right then right there ephesians chapter 4 verse 4 therefore there is one body and one spirit just as you were called in one hope of your calling one lord one faith and two baptisms is that what it said one baptism so again the instant you pray to receive jesus christ you're as saved as your ever be and you're filled with the holy spirit you may not be filled as you'll ever be because sometimes we kind of fall away from things and get out of step but that's why we need to have fresh feelings of the holy spirit from time to time to keep us on track with what's going on with the lord galatians chapter 3 verse 27 for as many of you were baptized into christ and put on christ that me we might received adoptions as sons or daughters and because you are sons god has sent the holy spirit of his son into your heart so the holy spirit moves in he indwells your heart he indwells your life he indwells your being and that's what it means to be baptized with the spirit so believers today are baptized with water just like we saw a few moments ago i also baptized with the holy spirit which is symbolic of what on the outside of what's already happened to you on the inside and it seemed like we mentioned the baptism by fire do we have to be baptized by fire yes we do i give you the bad news this morning after baptism with water in the spirit even jesus face temptations troubles trials we see that in matthew chapter four verse one he is led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil you know when you decide to follow jesus uh you just made a powerful enemy in first peter chapter five in verse eight it says be sober be vigilant because your adversary of the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour and folks that's your baptism by fire your baptism of fire is the temptations troubles trials that come into your way uh they're pitched in your path by satan in order to try to discourage you from serving the lord just a quick survey this morning since you become a christian how many of you experienced any temptations troubles trials and i see it's pretty universal uh that's that's what happened here that's what he's talking about uh jesus temptation in the wilderness again we're only the beginning of his trials by fire luke chapter 12 verse 50. jesus said i have a baptism to be baptized with and how distressed i am until it's accomplished again he's talking about the cross and then he goes on to say do you suppose that i came to get peace on earth i tell you not at all but division what's he talking about there's a spiritual battle out there between good and evil between god and the devil and the question is which side have you chosen to be on it's there to give me an example of how this baptism by fire goes i had a military advisor and an instructor at north georgia college up the road here when i was a cadet many moons ago anyway his name was captain kunzig and one day he told me about his first day in the war in vietnam he was a young lieutenant he was a recent graduate of north georgia up the hill uh he went from there to fort benning to the infantry officer basic course and there became airborne ranger all these other things that go with it and then he was assigned to the famous 101st airborne division and he was shipped off to vietnam everything on his collar and on his shoulders said that he was a good soldier he had all the badges and ribbons and rank and stuff that went with it as he flew over he said he even mentally prepared a speech and i think every lieutenant does that i remember doing that too i'm going to meet these guys and i'm going to inspire them you know like macarthur or something so you're thinking about all the things that i'm going to tell my platoon hello boys you know we're fixing to go out to warren you know he had his speech all prepared but when they landed in vietnam he met his battalion commander who said so you're the new lieutenant we're kind of busy today you're going to get your baptism by fire get your gear and get on the chopper and i'll meet you in a few minutes he boarded the helicopter flew out to a ridge in the central highlands as they got closer he could see bullet tracers flying everywhere mortars and artillery were pounding the ridge his commander pointed to a group of men who were heavily engaged in the fight and he said lieutenant there's your platoon go join them and take that hill dawned on him he wasn't going to get to give his speech that day you know i mean what do you do i mean you look like a soldier he was dressed like a soldier he talked like a soldier but was he a soldier see your baptism by fire is your moment of truth are you who you claim to be do you go join those men in battle or do you cry for mama and tell your commander you can't do it you hang out behind a tree until the shooting stops you know the same thing happens in the christian life we have this baptism baptism by fire where god sorts us out look back to chapter three and verse uh verse 12 there where it says he separates the wheat from the chaff that's where this baptism by fire the the judgment the true the tribulation that comes along there he puts you in positions where you've got to uh where the lord's going to separate the contenders from the pretenders um where the faithful christians are going to be separated from the fake christians you all look like a group all of you look like really good christians this morning how many of y'all are christians this morning you know how many of you got a necklace with a cross on it yeah you look like a how many of you got a bible i mean have you got one in your computer you know that's a sort of bible y'all are out there looking like christians how many of you have a nbc magnet on your car north lake baptist church yeah yeah so er you know you look like a christian but are you a christian see every christian is baptized by water and sooner or later every christian gets baptized by fire the fires of temptation troubles trials persecution problems and it sorts out whether you've truly been baptized by the spirit for if you've been baptized by holy spirit then you will stand in your suffering you will persevere in your persecution you will be victorious in your trials why because of first john chapter 4 and verse 4 because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world looking back over how'd you do with your last trial how many of you know that they don't always announce themselves you're just walking along it's gonna be a normal week you're not paying any attention and then boom it happens and what do you do you see the holy spirit of god working through you in the situations that you find yourself in will you be tested you can count on it again peter after traveling around with jesus tries to explain this to us in first peter chapter 5 verse 8 be sober be vigilant because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour resist him steadfast in the faith knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood by your fellow church members in the world but may the god of all grace who called us to his eternal glory by christ jesus after you have suffered for a while perfect establish strengthen and settle you to him be glory and dominion forever and ever and all god's people said amen so satan tempted jesus and he's going to tempt you and when it happens remember this first peter chapter 5 passage first of all you are not alone remember he said other believers in the world are experiencing the same things we've got to end this church in the state in this nation around the world and we need to pray for and encourage one another as we go through our trials another comment is you are not alone because of first peter chapter 5 verse 10 it says god is with you not only is he putting you out there to see if you can stand up to the title that you've given yourself that is christian which means christ-like are you really christ-like in your troubles so he puts us to the test but in the end he uses all those things to not to destroy us but to perfect us and establish us and strengthen us and settle us and call us to glory so no baptism is not a ritual that you go through that brings good luck to your life baptism is a symbol on the outside of what god is doing on the inside baptism by water is where you promise before god and everybody else watching that you've repented of your sins and you've died to yourself and you're going to live for jesus baptism by the spirit is how god enables us to keep that promise god gives us his holy spirit to indwell us so that we're no longer our own but we start to respond to things as jesus would respond to them and not as we would in our old sinful human nature and then the next thing is have you been tested by fire have you been baptized by fire have you been through any temptations lately any troubles any trials i'll go ahead and tell you we've got a few going on in the church right now temptations troubles and trials the question is what are we going to do with those things don't give up keep the faith and another thing you need to think about too if you go through that and say you know well brother danny i i haven't had many trials lately you need to check up if you're not having any trials of your faith you're probably not living by faith so you need to go back and say am i saved and if i'm saved am i living a sanctified life am i living like jesus enough for the devil to see me as an enemy and want to cause me any trouble you know as long as you're not causing me any trouble he's probably not going to mess with you as long as you're living like the world why should he bother you it's only when you're living like the lord jesus christ that you can expect to have these baptisms by fire and so take those as a compliment when they come and i think that's why jesus told us a little bit later on when we get there we're supposed to rejoice in our persecution because it means the devil sees you as a threat and that's a good thing so as we come to the conclusion here let's ask ourselves a few questions first of all have you been saved can you go back to date time place where you prayed and asked jesus christ to forgive your sins and to come into your life and be your savior and be your lord if you've never done that won't you take care of that today and now after that have you been baptized once jesus becomes your savior lord have you made a public profession of faith in christ by being immersed in water which is symbolic on the outside of what the holy spirit of god has already done for you on the inside where you identify with the death burial resurrection of our lord and savior jesus christ and of course the third thing is have you been baptized by fire you had any temptations troubles trials simply because of your faith that's happened to you lately if it happens keep the faith and then the fourth and final thing is are you being obedient to the great commission of our lord to lead others to faith in christ so that they can experience the baptism by the spirit the baptism by water and their baptism by fire let's pray father i thank you for your word i thank you for not just giving us a rule book of things to that we should follow even though there's certainly a large amount of that in your scriptures but you also give us examples and people like john the baptist and of course our lord and savior jesus christ lord help us to be faithful and help us not just because we're baptists to think that we got baptism all figured out but help us to go back lord and see if we're uh if we experience these things in our own life and also see if we're experiencing any baptism by fire now because we're living so faithful to you we pray if there's someone here today that's never trusted christ their savior they'll take that first step today and come forward repenting of their sins receiving you as savior and being willing to follow you in believers baptism and then become a full disciple of you lord move among us now by the power of your holy spirit for we pray it in jesus name amen now's our time of invitation our altar is open if you need to come and pray whatever's on your heart you can come pray and know that we've got praying people all over the building without knowing your business but nevertheless pray that the lord will bless you and hear your prayer today as you pour out your heart before him if you've never trusted jesus christ your savior i'll be standing down front and i'd love to pray with you and lead you to faith in jesus christ maybe you've already been saved but you've never taken that next step that first step of obedience to be baptized like we witnessed this morning won't you do that today join our church be involved in the discipleship program of our church and maybe today you're already saved and baptized but for whatever reason the lord has planted you in a position where you can come here you feel like the lord is leading you to join this church and find your place of service here in the body of christ i want you to join our church today maybe there's something else going on in your life that has nothing to do with either of those just got a burden you need to pray about that's what this altar is for so listen to the voices of the spirit as we stand together and sing our hymn of invitation won't you come i'd rather have jesus than silver or gold i'd rather be his than have riches untold i'd rather have jesus than houses or lands [Music] than to be the king [Music] i have jesus than anything this world affords to [Music] i'd to his dear calls i'd rather have jesus than worldwide fame i'd rather be true to his holy name than to be [Music] i'd rather have jesus than anything [Music] this [Music] he's he's all that my hungering spirit needs i'd rather have jesus and let him lead than to be the king of [Music] i'd rather have jesus than anything this world affords to [Music] i'd rather have jesus than silver or gold i'd rather than have riches untold i'd rather have jesus than houses or lands [Music] than to be a king [Music] rather have jesus than anything [Music] this y'all know me i don't delay invitations but i feel like lord's working in the house today so i think we're going to ask the musicians to continue to play and if you'll uh bow your head close your eyes i don't think it's too late the lord's speaking to your heart we want to close the invitation just yet we assume we got forever but the bible tells us behold now is accepted time today is a day of salvation james tells us don't make too many plans for tomorrow because you don't know what today may bring so if you don't have peace with the lord won't you come down here and let's pray about it [Music] [Music] i want y'all come up stand with me we got uh eric and leanna y'all come up here and stand with me they're coming on profession of faith this morning and uh not gonna be joining our church because they're fixing to have to move out to nevada shortly and so i'll be talking with them after the service is over today but they do come on a profession of faith in jesus christ and all you who rejoice in their decisions say amen amen we've got annabelle day and mom and dad why don't y'all come up and stand here she comes on profession of faith i think she asked mom and dad some questions this last week and she prayed to receive christ as her savior so all you who rejoice in her decision say amen and we got james redmond who's uh saved and sure and already a member of another church but he feels like the lord has been leading him he's been attending our church for uh several months now uh he feels like the lord's leading him to come here and find his place of service so all you who rejoice in his decision say amen all right and we're going to ask them to remain up front so y'all can come by socially distanced of course and speak to them and welcome them into our into our fellowship and uh let's see who's there oh it's uh brother charles won't you come and dismiss us in prayer let's pray our most gracious heavenly father we thank you so much for this opportunity to come to your house and to worship you we thank you for the word of god that's been faithfully preached may it go forth to pierce and divide our hearts and souls father and truly father make your church what you want it to be in this world father we pray and we thank you for these that have come and father there are many more that can come online today and open their hearts and trust you as their savior and lord and may we live for you this and every day we pray in christ's name amen you

Channel: Northlake Baptist Church

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Length: 68min 13sec (4093 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 07 2021