SPEAKER_00: And today we're gonna be talking about why I believe or we believe in water baptism.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: So a pat uh pastor already prayed, so you may be seated.
SPEAKER_00: And we'll get into there's a lot of scriptures here today.
SPEAKER_00: I may uh go over a lot of them, reference them again because they are repeated in some areas.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, but I I usually leave some areas of blank so that way you can fill out so that way I know you're paying attention.
SPEAKER_00: You know, yeah, I'm not requiring you to turn it in for grades.
SPEAKER_00: But uh it's just it just helps us uh, you know, write some things down, write some notes.
SPEAKER_00: But I added more on there because what if you would like to teach this to somebody else?
SPEAKER_00: So I wanted to try to give as much reference and space there for you to write additional notes as the Lord leads you to write this morning.
SPEAKER_00: But like I said earlier, uh last week, we're heard from Brother Green on why we believe in one God.
SPEAKER_00: And to start off, why we believe in one God, just kind of a refresh, 2 Corinthians 5.19 says, to wit that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto him, and hath committed unto him us the word of reconciliation.
SPEAKER_00: So, in other words, he has entrusted us with the message of reconciliation.
SPEAKER_00: And that message is that in Philippians 2 9 through eleven.
SPEAKER_00: It says, Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is Jehovah's Savior, and he is Emmanuel, God with us, reconciling the world unto himself.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: And a part of that saving plan, as the as the apostles or disciples preached, part of that plan is to be baptized in immersion of water, calling on the name of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Now, if you are like me, I like to learn what you know what the Greek says and the Hebrew is best of my abilities with the help of kin.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes he likes to help me say things correctly.
SPEAKER_00: And I appreciate that.
SPEAKER_00: I glean from my elders, sir.
SPEAKER_00: But in the original Greek, I won't say the word.
SPEAKER_00: Well, it's easy to say, the word baptize is translated as baptizo, which means to immerse or submerge.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, we must be completely submerged in water.
SPEAKER_00: Baptism was a regular practice for people at that time.
SPEAKER_00: And preparation for entering the temple, there were, if you look around Jerusalem, I have not been there, but if you look up pictures and read on the history there, there are hundreds of ancient mikvas that have been uncovered and dug out all around Jerusalem and especially around the temple, which a mikvah, in simple terms, is a Jewish ritual bath in Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_00: And they were used to cleanse themselves or immerse themselves for spiritual purification before entering the temple and for other practices.
SPEAKER_00: Cleansing before entering the temple was essential in the Old Testament to symbolize the need to remove the stain of sin and to recognize the holiness of God as coming into his presence unclean could be fatal.
SPEAKER_00: You would die.
SPEAKER_00: So these rituals, such as washing with water, showed that God is holy and required his people to be set apart.
SPEAKER_00: But being baptized is more than just a religious tradition, a path to church membership, or a public proclamation.
SPEAKER_00: Baptism is essential to the New Testament plan of salvation.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: It is absolutely essential.
SPEAKER_00: And it's not by our works, but it is by the work of God that he did upon the cross.
SPEAKER_00: And it is our obedience and act of faith to what they have asked us and called us and commanded us to do, to take part in his kingdom and to be born again.
SPEAKER_00: It is for the remission of sins.
SPEAKER_00: Acts 2, 36 through 38, Peter said it like this.
SPEAKER_00: What is this?
SPEAKER_00: So Peter began to preach to them.
SPEAKER_00: And he said this, therefore, let all the house of Israel know, assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
SPEAKER_00: So this was the grand conclusion of this prophecy that they just crucified the Lord and Christ that you have been waiting for.
SPEAKER_00: So if you were like me, and if I knew that I did something that I shouldn't have, even though it was prophesied it would, I'd be like, oh, what do I do?
SPEAKER_00: How do I make this right?
SPEAKER_00: Because that's what they were used to doing, like we talked about earlier.
SPEAKER_00: How do we make this right?
SPEAKER_00: Now, when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart.
SPEAKER_00: What do you think that means?
SPEAKER_00: They're convicted.
SPEAKER_00: When my wife tells me that wasn't right, I'm pricked in my heart every time.
SPEAKER_00: She's not in here.
SPEAKER_00: Oh my goodness.
SPEAKER_00: She just saw me through the door.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe she heard me.
SPEAKER_00: But they were pricked in their heart.
SPEAKER_00: They were convicted.
SPEAKER_00: What do we do?
SPEAKER_00: And said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what do we do?
SPEAKER_00: That's what they said.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, how do we make this right?
SPEAKER_00: Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remissions of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
SPEAKER_00: Peter preached to the prophet Joel and David, reminding them of who Jesus was, and that they crucified this Messiah and the one who declared to be both Lord and Christ, because of this conviction, they were moved to make themselves right of this charge.
SPEAKER_00: This word in Greek aphesis, to pardon a crime, that's what remission means to pardon what we have done for the price of sin.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus died on the cross, so not what should we do to now make this right?
SPEAKER_00: Or send away sins.
SPEAKER_00: That's what remission means.
SPEAKER_00: And you shall be filled with the Holy Ghost.
SPEAKER_00: So they knew that something had to be done.
SPEAKER_00: And he said, okay, this is what we have to do.
SPEAKER_00: We have to repent.
SPEAKER_00: We have to turn away from our sins.
SPEAKER_00: We have to walk in a new direction.
SPEAKER_00: Turn away from those things.
SPEAKER_00: Make yourself right.
SPEAKER_00: Be baptized.
SPEAKER_00: Let the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross wash you, remit every single sin that you have now just committed, making you white as snow.
SPEAKER_00: That it cleanse you, renew you, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Because baptism washes away our sins.
SPEAKER_00: In Acts chapter 22, verse 16, Paul told a group of men here, and I'll explain here in a second.
SPEAKER_00: He said, Now why tarest thou?
SPEAKER_00: Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: So Paul was encouraging them not to wait, not to delay, but to wash away your sins.
SPEAKER_00: So we understand that remission is congruent, and baptism is connected to washing away the sins, calling on the name of the Lord, which we know is Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: It's not the water, it's the name and an act of obedience to the spoken word of God.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Just like we are born into this world of flesh, we must be born again or new birth into the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus spoke with Nicodemus at night about this.
SPEAKER_00: Y'all maybe remember this story.
SPEAKER_00: And in John 3.5, Nicodemus was talking to Jesus, and like Jesus does, he says something that's like that wasn't even on my mind.
SPEAKER_00: You know, what's the point of that?
SPEAKER_00: But it's important because Jesus said it in such a way that would help us understand.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said, answered in 3.5, John 3.5, Verily, verily I say unto you, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_00: So right there, being born again is congruent with being born of the water and of the Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: He cannot enter the kingdom of God unless those things happen.
SPEAKER_00: So it's important that we understand the water is equal to baptism, and the spirit is the being filled with the promise of the Holy Spirit, the promise of the Father, as we just read about here in Acts chapter 2.
SPEAKER_00: It is also how we identify with the barrel of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: This is one of my most favorite scriptures in Romans 6, verses 3 through 4.
SPEAKER_00: It says, Know you not that so many of us as were baptized unto Jesus Christ were baptized into the death.
SPEAKER_00: So this is Paul speaking to the to the letter, the church in Rome, and helping them understand that when we are baptized in Jesus' name, we are also conjoined with the process of the cross.
SPEAKER_00: We're baptized into his death.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, we are buried with him in baptism.
SPEAKER_00: That's why we are it's so important to be baptized.
SPEAKER_00: It's not just a public affirmation, but if we're not baptized, we cannot join him in his death.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
SPEAKER_00: Baptism is a key part of the new covenant response to the gospel then and it is still today.
SPEAKER_00: Repentance, baptism in Jesus' name, and receiving his Holy Spirit is important to being a part of the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_00: They did it, we've got to do it.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: It's still the same word, it doesn't change anything.
SPEAKER_00: It's not just for a church of old, it's not just from a church uh uh almost 2,000 years ago, but it's the same.
SPEAKER_00: We are the New Testament church, and therefore we have to be a part of the New Testament church.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Because the apostolic church has always baptized in the name of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: This is the word of God.
SPEAKER_00: This isn't through a church history or what we've done as a denominational body.
SPEAKER_00: This is strictly from the word of God and what they experienced.
SPEAKER_00: So every recorded baptism in the book of Acts was performed in the name of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Acts 238.
SPEAKER_00: We just read that.
SPEAKER_00: Peter preached baptism of remissions of sins in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: Acts chapter 8, verse 16.
SPEAKER_00: It says, For as yet he was fallen upon none of them.
SPEAKER_00: So there's a group of people that had been preached to by Peter and John.
SPEAKER_00: They were preaching Samaria, and that believers would receive the Holy Spirit because they had been preached in the name of Jesus by Philip, but they had not received his spirit yet.
SPEAKER_00: For as yet he was fallen upon none of them, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: So there again is another record that they have been baptizing in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: Acts chapter 10, verse 48.
SPEAKER_00: Peter preached at Cornelius' house.
SPEAKER_00: This was a Gentile.
SPEAKER_00: Jews and Gentiles didn't mix.
SPEAKER_00: But we understand it's now both for Jews and Gentiles.
SPEAKER_00: Because Peter received the dream from God that he would go and preach this to him, and he obeyed.
SPEAKER_00: He didn't want to be obeyed.
SPEAKER_00: Many of us don't want to do something God calls us to do, but when we act in obedience, God blesses.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: So Peter preached at Cornelius' house.
SPEAKER_00: And while he was preaching the word, they received the Holy Spirit just like Peter and the others did in the upper room.
SPEAKER_00: While he was preaching the word, so they hadn't been baptized yet.
SPEAKER_00: So it shows you there that you can receive the Spirit of God before you're baptized in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: You just got to repent.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: You got to make your heart available for God to do something.
SPEAKER_00: Usually we we it uh we're not in this subject, that's for next week, but for many of us, we're resistant because we're holding on to things, holding on to past all these different things that are going on and thoughts, and which which is normal.
SPEAKER_00: I I had those feelings.
SPEAKER_00: But when you're open and you're ready to receive anything from God, you want to fully commit yourself to Him and you have an open heart, God can touch you and fill you with His Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: That's why they received it.
SPEAKER_00: They were hungry and thirsty, and God also appeared to Cornelis and said, Someone's going to preach to him.
SPEAKER_00: So he was ready.
SPEAKER_00: He was ready to hear whatever he had to say.
SPEAKER_00: He came with expectation.
SPEAKER_00: And so while they have received the Spirit just like the others did, he said, Well, they received the Spirit like we did, so he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord, which we know is the name of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: So if they received the Spirit, they need to be baptized in Jesus' name too.
SPEAKER_00: They are linked together.
SPEAKER_00: Those things, those things go together.
SPEAKER_00: In Acts chapter 19, verse 5.
SPEAKER_00: Am I moving too quick?
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
SPEAKER_00: In Acts chapter 19, verse 5, Paul found apostles of John the Baptist who were only baptized from John of repentance.
SPEAKER_00: He was John the Baptist because that's what he was known for, baptizing for repentance.
SPEAKER_00: That's why he was called John the Baptist.
SPEAKER_00: And he taught them, he came up to them and he asked them, Well, what way were you baptized?
SPEAKER_00: Well, we we've only been taught by John for the baptism of repentance.
SPEAKER_00: And he said, Well, I'm going to teach you to believe on Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And he baptized them in his name.
SPEAKER_00: And when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: There was no delay, there was no hesitation.
SPEAKER_00: When they heard it, they obeyed and were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: So you don't have to be a Jew, and you may be baptized a different way.
SPEAKER_00: He said, You need to be baptized in the name of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: They obeyed and they were baptized in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: Acts 22, 16.
SPEAKER_00: We mentioned this earlier.
SPEAKER_00: Paul retells his conversation story to others, his conversion story of how he was converted and how he was baptized in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: And he tells them that he was commanded to not wait, arise, be baptized, don't delay, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: I didn't mention this here, but there was a time where Philip was on the way and there was a eunuch reading, I'm sorry, an Ethiopian, not a eunuch.
SPEAKER_00: Ethiopian was on the road, and Philip was uh sent to him and he preached to him, and he was reading Isaiah 53.
SPEAKER_00: And from reading Isaiah 53, he said, What hindereth me to be baptized?
SPEAKER_00: And he was reading Isaiah.
SPEAKER_00: Now I don't know a lot, but I had a conversation with a gentleman on Friday about this, and I would have to dig more into the history of it, but he said, in that, in that, in that time of history, those roads can be very dangerous.
SPEAKER_00: Uh they can have a lot of thieves and a lot of people on those roads, and you don't know what can happen.
SPEAKER_00: So, because he didn't know what kind of, you know, is my life gonna, am I gonna die?
SPEAKER_00: Is it's is my, you know, what's gonna happen after I that you leave here?
SPEAKER_00: What's gonna hit with me to be baptized?
SPEAKER_00: If my life is taken and I don't respond, what's gonna happen?
SPEAKER_00: There was no hesitation.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we we hesitate because we feel like tomorrow was promised, but we're not promised tomorrow.
SPEAKER_00: It says, Why do you wait?
SPEAKER_00: Why do you delay?
SPEAKER_00: There's all kinds of reasons why we delay.
SPEAKER_00: I have my own personal story, but I'm gonna wait for the end to do that.
SPEAKER_00: But we can see how here how clearly they baptized in Jesus' name, and how the disciples and others, including Paul, understood that baptism was done with immersion in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: From this, we can understand that when Jesus gave the command in Matthew 28, 19, right before he ascended to heaven, that when Jesus said to baptize using the phrase in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, they understood and obeyed, knowing that name is Jesus, the only saving name of God given unto humanity.
SPEAKER_00: There is no biblical evidence that they invoked using the phrase Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost.
SPEAKER_00: Because if they did, then they disobeyed.
SPEAKER_00: If they didn't invoke the name the way that Jesus told them to invoke it in Matthew 28, 19, then they disobeyed.
SPEAKER_00: But we look in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and they all say the name of the Lord, the name of the Lord Jesus, or be baptized remission of sins.
SPEAKER_00: And they obey that in Acts chapter 2, verse 38, and throughout the book of Acts that I just showed you.
SPEAKER_00: So the name of Jesus is the fulfillment of Matthew 28 and 19.
SPEAKER_00: Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are not names, but they are titles, the same way I am a father and I am a son.
SPEAKER_00: I am not a spirit, but I am also an uncle.
SPEAKER_00: I am also a cousin.
SPEAKER_00: They are titles.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus is the name that expresses the fullness of God's identity.
SPEAKER_00: You would like to know more about that in One God, again, look up in our Spotify or uh YouTube channel.
SPEAKER_00: We you can go through the One God lesson from last week, and it's a great lesson.
SPEAKER_00: But one of those scriptures that was mentioned is Colossians 2 9.
SPEAKER_00: It says, For in him, Jesus, dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
SPEAKER_00: I don't remember him having different bodies.
SPEAKER_00: He had one body, and that one body was given a name from an angel to Mary and Joseph.
SPEAKER_00: You're going to call him Jesus, Jehovah Savior, Emmanuel God with us.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is the manifested person or the face of God upon this earth.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is the name, Jesus, Jesus' name is the revealed name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost.
SPEAKER_00: The apostles obeyed Matthew 28, 19 by baptizing in the singular, in the singular name of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Are we good?
SPEAKER_00: Am I moving too fast?
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: Trying to slow down.
SPEAKER_00: Because I'm halfway done.
SPEAKER_00: So sorry.
SPEAKER_00: I'll slow down a little bit.
SPEAKER_00: So we understand that the name of Jesus is the saving name.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: How many of you believe that?
SPEAKER_00: All right.
SPEAKER_00: So there is a biblical emphasis on the power and authority of his name.
SPEAKER_00: Acts 4.12 says it like this.
SPEAKER_00: Neither is there salvation in any other.
SPEAKER_00: For there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.
SPEAKER_00: And that name is Jesus, the only saving name that has been given to us.
SPEAKER_00: Colossians 3:17 says, and whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.
SPEAKER_00: We pray in His name, we rebuke in His name, we lay hands on the sick in His name, we baptize in His name.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Demons are subject to His name.
SPEAKER_00: Luke 10, 17 says, And the seventy return again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
SPEAKER_00: I encourage people, whenever you're going through something and you know it's not something you did, and you know that it's the enemy and you're facing something.
SPEAKER_00: There was a situation once where I was at my apartment and I was taking a nap uh in Odessa, and I I I don't have a I'm not I don't have a lot of encounters where I see angels and all that kind of stuff, but I felt very pressed in my in my body, in my mind, and my heart.
SPEAKER_00: I felt a heaviness, almost felt like dread, and I'm like, this is not this isn't something that just came into my room, but I felt like it was something very supernatural that was not of God, and so I felt that I felt heaviness, and I I set up and I said, in the name of Jesus, and it went away instantly.
SPEAKER_00: It wasn't congestion, it wasn't me being sick or I had a cold.
SPEAKER_00: I definitely felt that the enemy was trying to pressure me down.
SPEAKER_00: There was some kind of spiritual attack happening, and I would have none of it.
SPEAKER_00: And he left in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Demons are subject to the name of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And you can read out through a New Testament where there's encounters of people who are faced with demons.
SPEAKER_00: Even when that demon that was uh called legion ran to the feet of Jesus and begged him to put my demons in these pigs to destroy me some other way.
SPEAKER_00: There's life-changing power in the presence of Jesus because the name of Jesus is powerful.
SPEAKER_00: Healing comes in his name.
SPEAKER_00: Acts 3.6 says, Then Peter said to this man at the gate and said, Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, give I thee.
SPEAKER_00: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.
SPEAKER_00: And he did.
SPEAKER_00: They have that authority, we have that authority, and we just got to have the boldness to get up and you his use his name for his kingdom and his glory.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Not for our own selves.
SPEAKER_00: We hear about Simon the sorcerer and he wanted to use it and he wanted to pay for it and all that.
SPEAKER_00: But but that's not that's not the way to do it.
SPEAKER_00: We have to use it to bring him glory and him honor.
SPEAKER_00: It's not about us, it's about using God through us so that we can be tools and vessels that he can use to bring people to Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: It's our responsibility.
SPEAKER_00: Who's gonna tell them?
SPEAKER_00: We can't wait and be hesitant on and telling somebody about what his name can do.
SPEAKER_00: We've got to tell them.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Because this is what the word of God says, and we've been commanded to preach and to teach this word, this gospel.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: So if salvation is in the name of Jesus, then baptism, the moment sins are washed away, must be performed in his name.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Baptism in Jesus' name expresses faith in who Jesus truly is.
SPEAKER_00: Baptism expresses Jesus as Savior in Matthew 21.
SPEAKER_00: Let's go to that scripture right now.
SPEAKER_00: Can you put that up for me?
SPEAKER_00: Matthew 21?
SPEAKER_00: As a reference, but I didn't put it down here.
SPEAKER_00: Matthew 1, 21.
SPEAKER_00: And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.
SPEAKER_00: He was given the name at the beginning.
SPEAKER_00: A promise that who he was and what he came to do, he will save his people from their sins.
SPEAKER_00: The next one will be 1 Timothy 3.16.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus as God manifested in the flesh and without controversy.
SPEAKER_00: Great is the mystery of godliness.
SPEAKER_00: People stop there.
SPEAKER_00: But this is the answer.
SPEAKER_00: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: And he said unto them, These are the words which I speak unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning me.
SPEAKER_00: Who said that?
SPEAKER_00: So this was prophetic that he had to come do this.
SPEAKER_00: And because through baptism, all these things are being implied at baptism and our walk with him.
SPEAKER_00: It's a fulfillment of what God wanted from the very beginning.
SPEAKER_00: And baptism expresses Jesus as the one who gives his spirit.
SPEAKER_00: John 14, 16 through 18.
SPEAKER_00: And I will pray the Father, and he shall give unto you another another comforter, that he may abide with you forever.
SPEAKER_00: Go to verse 17.
SPEAKER_00: Even the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but you knoweth him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
SPEAKER_00: Who is dwelling with the disciples?
SPEAKER_00: And shall be in you.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, then he follows it up with this on verse 18.
SPEAKER_00: I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you.
SPEAKER_00: Who said that?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And it said here that there received the Spirit, the promise of the Father.
SPEAKER_00: So then that means that Jesus is the Spirit of the Father dwelling inside each and every one of us whenever we receive his spirit.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: He said, I didn't say it, it's not my words.
SPEAKER_00: Take it up with him.
SPEAKER_00: I remember when I got taught this Bible study, I'm like, well, I just can't believe this.
SPEAKER_00: This isn't what I was raised to believe.
SPEAKER_00: This isn't, I'm like, he said, my buddy Josh, maybe you know who he was?
SPEAKER_00: He goes, it's not my words, Tyler.
SPEAKER_00: Don't be mad at me.
SPEAKER_00: He goes, it's what the word of God says.
SPEAKER_00: And we have to be obedient to what the word of God says because we're gonna be held accountable to his word.
SPEAKER_00: We have to obey.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: If there's a fire and my kids in their house, or there's so much struggle, and there's a firefighter there, and there's people in the house, they're gonna say, Listen to my voice.
SPEAKER_00: Do you hear my voice?
SPEAKER_00: Come to me.
SPEAKER_00: Like, I hear your voice, but if they don't react in faith to what he's telling them to do, they're gonna die.
SPEAKER_00: And some of us at times we're like the person in the fire, and someone's calling us out.
SPEAKER_00: And they're like, hey, you need to come to me.
SPEAKER_00: You need to hear my voice.
SPEAKER_00: My voice like, yeah, but my mom and dad said I don't have to do that.
SPEAKER_00: I don't need to go that direction.
SPEAKER_00: They said I was fine, okay.
SPEAKER_00: I just stay in here and the fire will take care of itself.
SPEAKER_00: That's not how it works.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Our faith is expressed in obedience to the spoken word of God.
SPEAKER_00: And they say that if we're gonna receive a spirit, we're gonna receive his spirit.
SPEAKER_00: If we're gonna be baptized in Jesus' name and it washes away our sins, we need to be baptized in the name of Jesus today.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: This is both theological and relational, a declaration of trust in the identity and the work of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, it's the application of grace, his work in us, and the expression of our faith in obedience to his word.
SPEAKER_00: To be baptized in Jesus' name is to fully identify with the one who died and was buried and rose again.
SPEAKER_00: And we talked about that when we're buried in Christ in baptism.
SPEAKER_00: We have to be identified with him.
SPEAKER_00: It wasn't just something he did, and then that was it.
SPEAKER_00: But it's our belief in our faith and action and obedience to the word of God.
SPEAKER_00: We're not saved by works, it's the work of God, it's not our works.
SPEAKER_00: The work of God is already being done.
SPEAKER_00: We're just now obeying what he told us to do, to identify with him.
SPEAKER_00: And then baptism in Jesus' name is the apostolic pattern of today.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: It is how Jesus commanded it, it is how the apostles and the early church did it.
SPEAKER_00: And as the church of today, we should follow that same pattern as the apostles.
SPEAKER_00: We must preach Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: We've got to preach about Him, we've got to preach about His name, we've got to preach about His mercy, we gotta preach about His grace.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: If you could bring that up, sister, Acts chapter 5, verses 41 through 42.
SPEAKER_00: And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.
SPEAKER_00: And daily in the temple and every house, that means our house, and in this place, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: They shouldn't stop doing it, we shouldn't stop doing it.
SPEAKER_00: We need to preach it in our homes, we need to preach it at our jobs, we need to preach it in the grocery stores, we need to teach it to the highways and to the byways.
SPEAKER_00: We've got to compel them to come that they need to be saved.
SPEAKER_00: The alarm bells are ringing, things are going on all around the world.
SPEAKER_00: We do not have time, folks.
SPEAKER_00: But the time we do have, we need to use for the glory of God to get people into the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_00: They need to be born again of the water and of the Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: We must preach Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: We must call all to repentance.
SPEAKER_00: Second Peter chapter 3, verse 9.
SPEAKER_00: At the end of that section, it says, But in long suffering, I love this.
SPEAKER_00: It says the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness, but as long-suffering, he is patient.
SPEAKER_00: He is giving us time.
SPEAKER_00: He's long-suffering to us, Word.
SPEAKER_00: Not willing that any should perish.
SPEAKER_00: He's giving us enough time.
SPEAKER_00: We got to save as many people.
SPEAKER_00: Not us doing the work.
SPEAKER_00: We got to teach them the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: We've got to explain it to them.
SPEAKER_00: We got to teach it to them.
SPEAKER_00: We got to disciple them.
SPEAKER_00: We've got to bring them along with us.
SPEAKER_00: It's not just the preacher's job or the prophet's job or all these other titles.
SPEAKER_00: It's my job.
SPEAKER_00: It's your job to do it.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: You may not know.
SPEAKER_00: I'm still learning all this.
SPEAKER_00: You don't have to have like this pedigree to teach them your testimony and tell them what happened when you were baptized and that he washed you of your sins and show them the word.
SPEAKER_00: Let the word speak for itself.
SPEAKER_00: Let God do the work.
SPEAKER_00: You just be the vessel.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: All should come to repentance.
SPEAKER_00: That he is long-suffering to us.
SPEAKER_00: Not only that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
SPEAKER_00: Everybody should repent.
SPEAKER_00: When you sin, you repent.
SPEAKER_00: You turn away from your sins.
SPEAKER_00: We don't live in shame, but we thank God that his work can continually be in our lives when we ask for repentance.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: We must baptize in the only same name of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: We read that scripture earlier.
SPEAKER_00: Acts 4.12.
SPEAKER_00: There's no other name given to men by which we must be saved.
SPEAKER_00: The name of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Acts 2, 38 and 39.
SPEAKER_00: We said that scripture earlier.
SPEAKER_00: We preach and believe that all should have the Holy Spirit, just like they did in the early church.
SPEAKER_00: Can you put that up on verse 39?
SPEAKER_00: Acts 2.38 and 39.
SPEAKER_00: It says, for this promise is unto you and unto your children.
SPEAKER_00: So not just them, but unto your kids, the generations, and to all that are far off.
SPEAKER_00: That's me and you.
SPEAKER_00: That's everybody.
SPEAKER_00: Even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
SPEAKER_00: Is God calling you?
SPEAKER_00: The Bible says that we are spiritually led.
SPEAKER_00: He's drawn to draw all men unto him.
SPEAKER_00: If he's calling you, then we are obligated to this word.
SPEAKER_00: He's here to save you, to help you, to deliver you.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: He's here to redeem you and free you from the death of sin in your life.
SPEAKER_00: From the life of sin.
SPEAKER_00: This is not just a denominational practice, it's the biblical pattern and it's the word of God.
SPEAKER_00: At Romans 1, verse 16.
SPEAKER_00: Can you put that up for me, please?
SPEAKER_00: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation.
SPEAKER_00: So everyone that believeth, how many of you are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ?
SPEAKER_00: I'm not ashamed to be a Christian.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not ashamed to live holy.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not ashamed to live separate from the world.
SPEAKER_00: I'm in the world, but not of the world.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: I love everybody.
SPEAKER_00: To everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
SPEAKER_00: It's for everybody.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not ashamed of it.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not ashamed to live it.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not ashamed to talk about it, to pray about it, to tell people about it, to pray with anyone.
SPEAKER_00: We shouldn't be ashamed of it.
SPEAKER_00: He's redeemed you and helped you and been patient with you, and sometimes in my ignorance and and my my my stubbornness in my life, but he was patient with me because without him we can do nothing.
SPEAKER_00: So he's patient with us.
SPEAKER_00: And as someone who, and I'm coming to a close, and as someone who was first not baptized in the name of Jesus that we have uh explained here today, but after shown the scriptures, I became convicted.
SPEAKER_00: I became convicted that the the way I was living was leading me to death.
SPEAKER_00: It was leading me in a valley of death that I felt like that God was not with me in, even though I knew He in the scripture it says he is.
SPEAKER_00: And I was convicted of the truth.
SPEAKER_00: Trying to make excuses why I can't.
SPEAKER_00: Well, this was the way I've been taught, and this.
SPEAKER_00: What about my family?
SPEAKER_00: What are they gonna say?
SPEAKER_00: And and I just knew that I wasn't doing it to be defiant to my family.
SPEAKER_00: I I had to be obedient to God and what he said I had to do.
SPEAKER_00: It's not about my family.
SPEAKER_00: I can't save my family.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible says, to save yourselves from this untoward generation, I have to take responsibility for my own soul.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: I had to take responsibility for myself because I'm gonna stand before God.
SPEAKER_00: It's not gonna be like, well, show me your wife and your kids that they do well, okay, you're safe.
SPEAKER_00: No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_00: This is between me and God.
SPEAKER_00: My my act of faith and obedience to his word.
SPEAKER_00: I was convicted, and if I don't respond when I'm convicted, what other chances will I might have?
SPEAKER_00: I don't know, but I responded.
SPEAKER_00: I had to I had to respond to this confirmed belief that I had to be baptized, receive his spirit.
SPEAKER_00: And I was asked a question.
SPEAKER_00: Can we stand this morning?
SPEAKER_00: I was asked a question.
SPEAKER_00: And I will ask you the same question.
SPEAKER_00: Whether you've been baptized any other way than what I've described to you today in the name of Jesus, just like the scriptures have instructed, but just like Paul said to those who have been baptized into John's and baptism unto repentance, why are you waiting?
SPEAKER_00: Why are you waiting?
SPEAKER_00: Why do you delay?
SPEAKER_00: What's holding you back?
SPEAKER_00: Is it yourself?
SPEAKER_00: Is it your past?
SPEAKER_00: Is it the way you believed your entire life?
SPEAKER_00: I don't know, but all that matters is that you responded to this gospel.
SPEAKER_00: He said, Arise, be baptized right now and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna encourage you today, when we conclude here, if you have not been baptized in Jesus' name, the way it says here, we'll baptize you in Jesus' name today.
SPEAKER_00: What day to be baptized on the day we believe in water baptism?
SPEAKER_00: I know some people like to wait for their families and make a big thing, but I'm gonna say the same thing.
SPEAKER_00: Why delay?
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: I didn't delay.
SPEAKER_00: I love my family.
SPEAKER_00: I said, I want y'all to come.
SPEAKER_00: Things happened the way it didn't work out, I guess.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
SPEAKER_00: But I got baptized in Jesus' name because that's what I felt like I needed to do, because that's what the Bible says.
SPEAKER_00: I received the Holy Ghost before I was baptized in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: Well, just like he said, they received the Spirit the same way we did.
SPEAKER_00: What's gonna stop them from being baptized?
SPEAKER_00: They need to be baptized in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: So I was baptized in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: In my life, walking with Christ has never been the same.
SPEAKER_00: He's walked with me ever since.
SPEAKER_00: It's been tough, it's been hard, but he's never left me, he's never forsaken me.
SPEAKER_00: And I encourage you today to hear the words that Jesus and the apostles have spoken.
SPEAKER_00: Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins.
SPEAKER_00: It's not my words, but it's the word of God.
SPEAKER_00: So I encourage you.
SPEAKER_00: If it has not, if you have not experienced this, or you don't remember because you were too young, let's baptize you today in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: We have water, we have clothes, we have towels.
SPEAKER_00: There's nothing stopping you from being baptized today in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, can we just thank the Lord right now for the spoken word of God?
SPEAKER_00: Lord, we love you.
SPEAKER_00: God, we thank you for that blood.
SPEAKER_00: God, what can wash away my sins?
SPEAKER_00: Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: What can make me whole again?
SPEAKER_00: Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, precious the flow of your blood that makes me white as snow.
SPEAKER_00: The blood of the Lamb that washes and covers our sins.
SPEAKER_00: Lord Jesus, help us, Lord God.
SPEAKER_00: Be convicted of this word so that when we go here today, we now have scripture, we have tools that we can teach someone, a Bible study.
SPEAKER_00: Someone says, What way were you baptized?
SPEAKER_00: Let me show you.
SPEAKER_00: God, help us be instant in season out of season.
SPEAKER_00: Let us walk with the authority of your name.
SPEAKER_00: We believe in water baptism.
SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: Can we just thank him this morning for his presence today and for his word?