Scott Moore: Welcome to the "Building Faith and Family" podcast with Steve Demme.  I'm your host, Scott Moore. Thanks for joining us today. Good morning, Steve. How  are you today? 

Steve: Good. It's feeling springish. It was only in the 30s this morning and quite  pleasant. I was being thankful that I could walk, that I had ears and could see, and it  was a nice, crisp morning. The dogs make me get out. I would not be outside as much  as I am, but every time I am, I'm grateful. It's nice. How are you? 

Scott: Good. I had a nice visit with my mama over the weekend. Went down to  Nashville to see her and hang out for a while. It was good. It was the first time I'd  been there since my dad passed, so a lot of emotions, but good time. Steve: How's she doing? 

Scott: Good. It's a transition, but she's doing well. I need a good visit. Steve: It's a tough one. Are you the oldest son? 

Scott: No. I'm the youngest of all. 

Steve: There are other people that are in your life besides you? 

Scott: Yes. My older brother and one of my sisters live near her. They've been doing a  lot. I was told they were going to be out of town, so it was my turn to come down and  hang out for the weekend. 

Steve: Nice. When my mom passed, I didn't tell her, but several times, she called me  my dad's name. I was the oldest and I was in Pennsylvania. My brother was in Florida. This is part two on the water. The reason we're talking about the water is because  when you enter into the tabernacle, we offer the blood of Jesus at the altar, and then  there's a bronze basin between the altar and the tent where the priests were to wash  their feet. 

That opened up a different dimension for me. Mainly, when I thought of salvation, I  thought of the blood of Calvary, and I thought of the filling of the Spirit. Then this  water aspect, though, has been new to me, and it has stretched me. I'm walking in the  reality of it because I see it in the Bible, in the bronze basin. 

Today is part two, and we're going to read scriptures with some minor commentary,  and then we're going to finish up. I hope that we'll all have ears to hear what God is  saying to us and see how this might apply to us. 

Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word. All of your word stretches us because  we're seeking to have your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. We're seeking to  be heavenly in our intents and in our heart. We're seeking to have different focus. If you think something's important, we want to see that it's important, and we want to  get it. If you say something is chosen and precious, then we want it to be chosen and  precious in our lives. If you say that something is an abomination, then we want to  follow along with that. 

Here we are with open hearts and open minds, and asking you to teach us by your  word and by your living Spirit. In Jesus' name. Amen. 

Scott: Amen. 

Steve: I'm going to start with Psalm 51. There are three verses here. "Have mercy on  me, oh, God, according to your steadfast love. According to your abundant mercy,  blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me  from my sin." 

7th verse. "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter  than snow." I'm telling you, those verses were not in the little boxes that I had before,  but I can see that I'm cleansed from sin by the blood of Jesus. I'll be whiter than snow,  

which is similar to Isaiah 1:18. "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white  as snow." 

Again, it says, "Wash me." In the context of what we're saying, I'm simply believing the  Bible. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 say, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not  inherit the kingdom of God? You were washed. You were sanctified. You were justified  in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." 

I have three different words highlighted in different colors. My computer allows me to  change colors quickly, and I've been doing it a lot lately to help me to see how things  appear in scripture. I was washed. I was sanctified. I was justified. There are three  words there, and I think of justification through the blood of Jesus. When I see the word sanctified, I think of the Spirit, but there's also the word washed.  Ezekiel 36:24-27. This is a wonderful passage. "I will take you from the nations and  gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle  clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses. "From all your idols, I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart, and a new Spirit, I  will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a  heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and  be careful to obey my rules." 

The context is Israel that has been scattered among the nations is going to be  gathered back. The thing that He's going to do is an inner work. He's going to take  care of their heart. He's going to replace the stony heart with the heart of flesh. He's going to give them a new heart, also a new Spirit, and He's going to put His Spirit  within them. He's also going to sprinkle clean water on them, and they'll be clean  from uncleanness and from idols. This is the gospel in Ezekiel. 

Jumping to Hebrews chapter 10 verses 21 and 22. "Since we have a great high priest  over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith,  having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with  pure water." 

See, there's more here. We're expanding even as we say that. "Our hearts sprinkled  clean." This is real similar to Ezekiel. "But now our bodies are being washed with pure  water," which my mind connects with baptism. 

It was Jesus who said in John 17:16 through 19, "They are not of the world even as I  am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent Me  into the world, so I have sent them into the world. For their sake, I sanctify Myself that  they also may be sanctified in truth." 

This is another aspect that's been added. It's not just water that is washing us. It's the  truth. His word is sanctifying us, making us holy. Being exposed to the Word of God  impacts us. 

John 15:3. "You are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you." His words  made the apostles clean, and His word is connected to water, the washing of water  with the word. Jumping back to something in Ephesians 5, which I'm about to read. "Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her,  that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the  word, so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor without spot or  wrinkle or any such thing that she might be holy and without blemish." It appears that the word of God, which is connected to the washing of water, has an  impact in sanctifying us and setting us apart. 

2 Thessalonians 2:12-13. "We are bound to give thanks to God for you, brethren,  beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits to be saved through  sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth." I feel my own heart expanding  reading these passages. 

Psalm 119 verse 9. This was not in my notes, but God brought it to my mind the other  night, and I quickly got up and wrote it down. "How can a young man cleanse his way?  By guarding it according to your word." 

So far this morning, we've had washing with water. We've had cleansing with water.  We've had washing through the truth, through His word. We've had sanctification from  the truth. I can almost hear people saying, "Well, no. I can’t make that fit into my  theology because you see sanctification is a work of the Spirit, and the Spirit..." We are simply letting the word of God expand us, and we’re believing it because each  one of these verses is adding another facet. Remember, that's what we started with.  This is a diamond. These truths about the blood of Jesus, about the water, they're  diamonds. There's lots of different facets to truth. 

With that background, now we're going to get into washing of regeneration, being  born from above. John 3:3, 5-6. 

"Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born from above, he cannot  see the kingdom of God. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the  Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh, and  that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit.'" 

Born of water and the Spirit. We've already read those wonderful words, that the world  was born out of water and through water. It was the Spirit that was moving upon the  face of the waters at creation.We shouldn't be surprised. At re-creation, at  regeneration when we are born from above, the water and the Spirit are present. 1 Peter 1:23-25. "You have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of  imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God. For all flesh is like grass,  and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, the flower falls, but the  word of the Lord remains forever. This word is the good news that was preached to  you." 

James 1:17-18. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the  Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of His own  will, He brought us forth by the word of truth. He brought us forth by the word of  truth that we should be a kind of first fruits of His creatures." 

That's why when I read John 3, I rarely say born again because it's a work of God. He  brought us forth by the word of truth. We have been born from above. He sent the  water. He sent His Spirit, and He worked in our hearts and brought us to himself. Continuing in James 1. "Receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to  save your souls. Be doers of the word and not hearers only." If I can receive with  meekness, with a gentle, teachable, humble heart, His word, He will implant it and  write it on my heart, and it's able to save my souls. That's what the Bible says. Titus 3:4-6. "When the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He  saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His  own mercy, by the washing of regeneration." 

I think I did some work on this in the Greek, and you could translate that. The bath of  new birth, the washing of regeneration, and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He  poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our savior. 

Our salvation, our being born from above, our regeneration is connected to the word  and the washing of the word, which I think has a connection with baptism. Tough  subject to talk about with a multi-denominational listener audience. Matthew 3. "Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. John  would have prevented Him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to  me?' but Jesus answered him, 'Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all  righteousness.' Then he consented. 

"When Jesus was baptized, immediately, He went up from the water, and behold, the  heavens were open to Him. He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and  coming to rest on Him. Behold, a voice from heaven said, 'This is My beloved Son,  with Whom I am well pleased.'" 

Matthew 28:19. "Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in  the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Mark 16:15 and 16.  "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes  and is baptized shall be saved." 

Acts 22:16. When I was asking God whether I should be baptized, He led me to this  passage, "Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on His name." Mark  1:8-9, "I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. In  those days, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the  Jordan." 

Two more verses. There's a chunk from Romans 6, which is deep. Many years ago, I  set out to memorize this chapter because there's so much in it. It's one of these  chapters that you could read over every morning, and you might say, "Bring your  baptism up to date." 

Not that you're changing anything, but to remind yourself what happened when you  were baptized, when I was baptized. “All of us who have been baptized into Christ  Jesus were baptized into Hs death. We were buried, therefore, with Him by baptism  into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the  Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 

“For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united  with Him in a resurrection like His. We know that our old man, our old self, was  crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that  we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from  sin.” 

We died. When we were baptized, we were baptized into His death. Something died  that day. When we were lifted out of the water, we were resurrected. We were united  with Him in His death and resurrection. 

This old man died, and we need to remind ourselves of this. This old self was  crucified with him that day. I think that's why it says, "Reckon yourselves. Count on  that. Believe it. Apply it. Walk in it." It helps me to read it over and over to get that. This is an interesting one, 2 Kings 5:10-14. You remember this was Naaman, and  Naaman was chief general, Syrian army, but he had a little slave girl from Israel. She  said, "If you could just go to Elisha, he'd take care of your leprosy." Anyway, so he came over and meets Elisha, in 2 Kings 5, "Elisha sent a messenger to  him saying, 'Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored,  and you shall be clean.'" 

Then if you remember, Naaman had a hissy fit because he said, "What's so special  about the Jordan? Man, I could do this anywhere, especially back in Syria. We have  better rivers than in Israel." His servants appealed to him, and they said, "Why don't  you try it?" 

In the 14th verse, "He went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan,  according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a  little child, and he was clean." 

Something happened because he washed himself in the Jordan, and his flesh was  clean. I think there's a lot more that happens at baptism than we realize. I think  there's a lot more that happens when we open our hearts to the word of God than we  realize. I believe that there's a sanctification and a washing that takes place. We  simply have to embrace it. 

OK, Scott. There you go. There's your bath in the Bible this morning. Scott: I think we get caught up in wanting to be able to understand everything  intellectually. I think there are probably other cultures that would not try and pick it  apart and dig so much into it as we might in the Western culture, and would grasp  them. I don't know what word to use to describe it. 

The mystical nature of water in creation and all throughout the verses you read, plus  the river of living water, the river of life, the springs of living water Jesus talks about.  

There's much more there than we can intellectually grasp. Like you said, let it wash  over you. Pun intended. It's powerful. 

Steve: I couldn't say it any better. I think there's a degree of comfort in having  everything fit in little boxes, but if we do that, we're missing a lot because the word of  God was not meant to be, like you say, completely and thoroughly understood.  Otherwise, it wouldn't be the word of God.  

If we understood God, if we could explain everything God did, then we'd be God. Scott: This makes me think of the surfer dudes who get all spiritual about water and  the oceans and stuff. I'm like, yeah, I'm not quite that much of a hippie, but when you  read all these verses together, it definitely makes you think a little more about OK,  there's something to this. I don't know. 

Steve: I feel myself expanding this morning. I feel like my chest is expanding. Just  mixing it with faith. This is what Jesus said. I think that the more we meditate on it,  and the more we hold it before God, He'll enlighten us when we need to be  enlightened, but I'm simply believing in it. I don't want to miss out on anything in  scripture. 

Scott: Amen. 

Steve: Amen. Father, thank you for your word, and thank you for the washing of water  with your word that has washed over us this morning. Thank you for the power in  your word. Thank you for the power in truth. Thank you for the power in water. We don't want to sell ourselves short and miss something because we don't  understand it. We embrace these mysteries. We embrace these truths. I pray that you  continue to give us these soft, teachable hearts so that we can receive with meekness  the implanted word, which will, it says in the Bible, save us. 

Save us from our own thinking. Save us from our own desire to have things all need,  and help us to embrace the fullness of God in a special way today. In Jesus' name,  amen. 

Scott: Amen. That's our show for this week, folks. Thanks for joining us for the  Building Faith and Family podcast with Steve Demme. If you have a question for the  show, email Steve at sbdemmeatgmail.com. Thanks for joining us. Have a great week.