Participants: John Lomacang, John Stanton
Series Code: HCL
Program Code: HCL130024
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00:01 Hello, friends, grab your Bible and a friend
00:02 and sit back as we explore God's word 00:05 together on this edition of "House Calls." 00:22 Welcome, to another House Calls program. 00:24 We're in the saddle today. 00:26 We're ready to ride off in the sunset of the word of God 00:29 and I have got my cohort with me. 00:31 I have got my compadre. 00:33 I have got my friend in the word. 00:36 Good to have you here, John. 00:37 It's good to be here, John. 00:38 I'll tell you we roll like that. 00:41 We're both Johns and which in the Bible sense 00:47 mean the one whom He loves. 00:50 The Lord loves us and we know that 00:51 and we love you too. 00:52 And so thank you, for tuning into this program. 00:54 Thank you, for taking the time to hit the record button 00:57 and to ask the Lord to speak to our hearts, 01:01 through our hearts, to your hearts. 01:02 And so take the time with us, get your friends together, 01:05 invite your family if you're joining us from a church. 01:08 We appreciate you're doing that. 01:09 If you're sharing this with someone, 01:10 welcome to very important program 01:13 where we go to the word of God before we go to anything else. 01:17 But, we'll be covering questions today 01:19 and comments that have been sent to us 01:21 and we'll covering a continue topic on the subject of Baptism. 01:26 A lot of people don't know what Baptism really is 01:29 although, many have been baptized. 01:31 But what actually happens when a person gives 01:34 his or her life to the Lord through baptism? 01:37 However, before we answer anything or go anywhere 01:39 or do anything in concerning the word of God 01:41 we like to get power from one high 01:44 and that happens through prayer. 01:45 John, pray for us. Let's do that. 01:48 Father, You have been so good us. 01:50 And we just, we love spending this time with You. 01:54 We pray that Your word would come alive today. 01:56 That You'd send Your spirit to not only speak to our hearts 01:59 but those that are listening or viewing this program 02:03 as we study Your word especially the subject of baptism. 02:06 And then we cover a few questions too. 02:09 Lord, we just pray for You to empower us 02:11 give us insights and speak to us 02:13 that we may understand Your plan 02:15 and Your love for us more clearly. 02:17 In Jesus name, amen. Amen. 02:20 Now those of you who have sent in questions before, 02:23 you know exactly what to do. 02:25 But there are those of you who are tuning into the program 02:27 and then the Lord may be have impressed you to ask a question 02:31 here is the information that you need to get that question to us. 02:34 We have an email, housecalls@3abn.org. 02:37 That's housecalls@3abn.org Org mean organization. 02:42 So we're very organized, we hope we are. 02:46 And when we get those questions we filter through them. 02:48 John gives me questions. 02:50 He is like the, he is like the computer guy 02:52 and I'm the snail mail guy. 02:54 I had a snail mail here today. 02:57 It's in here somewhere, it's so slow I can't find it. 03:00 But we do have your questions 03:02 and I always like John to lead out on the questions. 03:05 So what do you have for us today, John? 03:07 I mean what has this person asked you that requires urgency? 03:12 Well, let's see, he asked, 03:13 she actually asked a very good question, Trish. 03:16 And she says that, "To John and John 03:18 I have trouble with Luke 14:26." Luke 14:26. 03:22 "We're told to love even our enemy. 03:25 Is there more than one meaning in Greek to the word hate. 03:30 I'm still new in the truth but this verse is hard to grasp." 03:34 And so let's take a look at Luke 14:26. 03:40 Okay. Luke 14:26. 03:44 I'm gonna read 27 as well. All right. 03:47 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, 03:52 wife and children, brothers and sisters-- 03:55 yes, and his own life also he cannot be my disciple. 04:00 And whosoever does not bear his cross, 04:02 and come after me, cannot be my disciple." 04:06 Now this word, the word hate there some have struggled with. 04:11 It's a verse that is used in the King James 04:14 and New King James translations. 04:18 The question that Trish asked here is, 04:20 is there more than one meaning in the Greek. 04:22 And yes, I think we need to do 04:24 is convey the intent of Christ words here. 04:28 The word hate of course is not exactly, 04:32 it doesn't exactly mean today what God, 04:35 what Jesus was intending to convey 04:37 in this message here to His disciples back then. 04:41 And anyway the word hate in the Greek is miseo. 04:46 Which is means to hate, that's one, but also to detest. 04:52 Well, that doesn't quite fit there either. 04:55 But another translation here is when you love something less 05:00 is the another meaning of this world. 05:02 To love less not just to detest 05:06 or to hate in the sense of the word today. 05:09 So if we add or modify that word 05:12 or put that, that definition in here 05:15 it says, if anyone comes to me 05:17 and does not love less than me 05:19 his father and mother, wife and children, 05:21 brothers and sisters then you cannot be my disciple. 05:24 That fits and that's what really what Jesus is saying here. 05:28 He doesn't want you to hate them. 05:29 In other words, cut them off don't talk to them. 05:32 That's just not even in Christ definition 05:35 or in His language anyway. 05:38 He would never ask us to do that. 05:39 In fact he says in his word to care for love, 05:43 always honor and respect your parents. 05:45 So He is not saying go against that. 05:47 But He is saying, if you don't love me more 05:50 then you love others that brought you into this world, 05:53 that hold you in this world, 05:55 that you have relationships within this world 05:57 then you cannot be my disciples. 05:59 And so John, I really see Jesus basically saying. 06:02 "Love me more than anyone else 06:04 and in that respect you are my disciples." 06:07 Matter of fact, to amplify that there has been, 06:15 this is coming on the heels of a number of statements 06:18 made by people who were invited to follow the Lord. 06:21 One said, I have some land, I need to go check it out. 06:27 And other guy said, I bought a cow 06:29 I need to go check that out. 06:32 And other one says, I have a wife, 06:35 this is funny, I have a wife I can't come. 06:38 You know, he said in other words 06:41 I loved to follow You but it's not working out 06:44 the way that you'd like it to work out. 06:47 And but Jesus talked that the price of discipleship 06:51 and this is why when you look at the story here 06:54 that's talked about here in Luke. 06:57 What verse was it again, John? 06:59 It's 26 and 27 and the rest of the passage actually explains 07:03 what Jesus is saying a little more too but go ahead. 07:07 And what it in essence is being said here 07:09 is you got to count the cost of following the Lord. 07:14 A lot of people put everything before the Lord. 07:19 That is well, I'll be there as soon as I'm-- 07:23 as soon as I'm finished this I will be glad to follow you. 07:27 Whenever this is over I'll be there. 07:30 The Lord is saying, wait a minute, wait a minute. 07:32 When you think of who I'm 07:34 compared to what you're putting before me 07:37 you got to hate those things. 07:39 When the Bible puts the word hate there. 07:41 It puts in the context of when the Lord says, 07:44 "love the Lord your God with all your heart, 07:47 all your mind, all your soul, and all your strength." 07:50 Your love should be first and foremost to God 07:53 and nothing or no one should come before him. 07:56 That's why the words here in contrast love and hate 07:59 only then can you really understand. 08:02 Let me use an example on the contemporary setting. 08:05 Our mother says to her son, didn't you hear me calling you? 08:10 But I was at my friends. 08:12 And she would say, wait a minute let me get this right. 08:16 Your friends are now before your mother. 08:20 But mom, we were-- a mother would say, 08:25 did you or did you just hear what you just said? 08:27 You put your friends in front of me. 08:30 I'm calling you and your friends get 08:32 preferential treatment over me. 08:34 Well, earthly parents would have that kind of recoil 08:37 when a child says that about an earthly connection 08:40 that's not a blood connection. 08:42 How does the Lord recoil when He says, 08:44 wait a minute I created you. 08:46 I have given you eternal life. 08:48 Everything that you could ever hope for. 08:51 I'm the one providing that for you. 08:53 And I'm asking you to follow me. 08:54 I want you to be part of a mission that will succeed. 08:56 I want you to turn the world upside down 08:58 by the works that I will do through your life. 09:01 I'm calling you to abundance. 09:03 And I will say follow me and you'll say, 09:04 wait a minute, got to check with my dad and mom first. 09:08 So He is using word there hate as john said 09:11 he doesn't want us to become unloving. 09:14 Because, if you look at the food of the spirit, 09:16 love, joy, peace, longsuffering, 09:18 gentleness, meekness, patience 09:20 those are all the indicators of 09:21 whether or not Christ is our lives. 09:23 But, He is saying to us 09:24 don't you dare put anyone ahead of me. 09:27 That's what is in essence being said there. 09:29 Now He doesn't what us to be hateful people. 09:31 Matter of fact I like the way that He says in Matthew 15:50. 09:38 Matthew 12:50. 09:40 "For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven 09:44 is my brother and sister and mother." 09:49 Because people always put brothers, 09:50 sisters, mothers ahead of Christ. 09:53 He said, you want to know who my family is, 09:55 those who do the will of my father. 09:58 That's really my family. Yeah. 10:00 And that's what He was in essence communicating there. 10:02 Here another translation, this is New Living translation. 10:05 It says "if you want to be my disciples, 10:08 my disciple you must hate everything else by comparison. 10:11 Your father and mother, wife and children 10:13 brothers and sisters, yes, even your own life." 10:16 So, by comparison. 10:18 And, you know, I think the other thing too is 10:20 sometimes we treat our acceptance of Jesus 10:24 as an addition to our life 10:25 rather than what we really need to intend to do 10:28 which is to replace everything in our life with Him. Right. 10:32 He is an addition not a replacement. 10:35 And when we come to Jesus, Jesus is saying 10:37 as Paul is asking us to say as Paul said, 10:40 "It's not no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me." 10:44 What I used to love, what I used to do, 10:46 what I used to hold on to those have been replaced by Jesus. 10:50 Jesus is who I love, Jesus is who I hold on to. 10:53 He is the preeminence in my life. 10:56 The first and foremost of my love and affection. 10:59 And this is in essence what he is saying here. 11:02 And hate, yes, it's a strong word 11:03 but I think Jesus is trying to get across a strong point 11:06 which is, love me first and foremost 11:09 and hate everything else. 11:11 But not in the context would be unloving 11:13 but just in that I'm first and foremost 11:15 in your love and affections. 11:17 That's why when you look at the response, 11:19 there is only one response this always amazes me. 11:22 You know, as pastors we sometimes make appeals to people 11:24 to give their hearts and life to Christ. 11:31 We want to kill you so come forward 11:32 so we could plan your death. 11:34 That's not what were saying. 11:35 We are saying come forth and accept that could transform, 11:39 change, empower, strengthen and save you. 11:42 That's what we're asking to do. 11:44 When Jesus extended that invitation. 11:46 Here is indicative of what the response should be. 11:50 Matthew 4:20 the Bible says, 11:52 "They immediately left their nets and followed Him. 11:56 And they immediately they left their boat 11:58 and their father and followed Him." 12:00 No questions asked, boom. 12:03 When the Lord grips the persons life 12:06 what else is there to discuss? 12:09 You know, somebody say to you, 12:13 "If you follow me here's what I promised to do. 12:15 If you respond to my email I will instantly deposit 12:19 a million dollars into your account." 12:21 Somebody else, what is there left to discuss. 12:24 Respond to the email. Boom, no question asked. 12:27 And so but God is not giving us transitory things 12:30 or things are temperamental in earthly sense 12:33 He is giving us eternal life. 12:35 And anything that comes before him 12:37 removes his God-ship and lordship of his life. 12:40 Matter of fact Luke says in this way, 12:42 "Why call me Lord--Lord." 12:44 You see there is a savior and then there is a Lord. 12:46 The savior is one who saves us 12:48 but the Lord is the one who is in charge of our lives. 12:51 That's where we get the phrase landlord come from. 12:53 If we can't make the Lord the Lord of our lives 12:55 then He is not really in charge He is just the tenant. 12:59 You see, and that's what John was saying a moment ago. 13:02 We put God in the mix rather than making Him 13:06 the only, the first, the foremost in our lives. 13:09 Yeah. All right. 13:11 Now I'm going go to Matthew 12 here 13:14 and a person who asked this question-- 13:17 let's go ahead and turn to Matthew 12. 13:22 That's the verse that they pointed out, 13:24 Matthew 12:29, okay. 13:29 That's pretty interesting. Matthew 12:29. 13:34 Okay that's the verse they asked me to read. 13:35 So I will go ahead and read this. 13:37 It says, "Or else." 13:40 Well let me go and read the question. 13:41 Well, with-- start with even 26. 13:44 Well, yeah, read the question 13:45 and then we probably need to back up 13:46 to give the context to what is being said here. 13:51 Matthew 12:29 is referenced. 13:56 They are teaching that the strong man must be bound 13:59 saying that the strong man is Satan. 14:02 And then he can't plunder our house or work against us. 14:06 They say that when you bind that you must also loosen. 14:12 Matthew 16:19 and 18:18. 14:15 "So you need to bind Satan and his spirit 14:17 or bind the bad thing 14:20 and then loosen the sign, symptom or condition 14:25 to release the kingdom of heavens counterpart." 14:28 Now that was, that was response, 14:31 that was a response in reference to the person that said, 14:34 "She hears so much about the topic of binding and losing 14:37 what is that actually mean?" 14:38 You know when the Bible says 14:39 if you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, 14:41 whatever you lose on earth shall be lose in heaven. 14:44 That's the question that is actually being asked. 14:46 And so let me go and finish the comment here. 14:49 I don't think that Matthew 12:29 14:51 is referring to the strong man as Satan or demonic powers. 14:55 He isn't the strong man referred to in that scripture 14:59 actually the believer who is supposed to be 15:01 stronger than Satan and Satan is binding up the strong man. 15:05 Let's go ahead and read the passage here 15:07 and we'll go ahead and start from verse 25 of Mathew 12. 15:12 "But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them, 15:15 'every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, 15:21 and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 15:26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself, 15:31 how then will his kingdom stand? 15:33 And if I cast out devils, by Beelzebub 15:39 by whom do your sons cast them out? 15:42 Therefore they shall be your judges.'" 15:47 Now verse 28. 15:49 "But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, 15:52 surely the kingdom of God is come upon you." 15:56 And here's where the context, 15:58 here is where the story comes together in its completeness. 16:01 "Or else how can one enter a strong man's house, 16:04 and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man 16:09 and then he will plunder his house. 16:12 He who is not with me is against me, 16:13 he who does not gather with me scatters abroad." 16:16 Well, in fact, here one of the reasons 16:19 why this text is talking about Satan seeking to bind us 16:22 is because what the Lord is making very clear is 16:26 no one could do anything to you. 16:28 Satan could not have his way with you 16:29 unless he finds way to bind you. 16:31 That's why peter when he talked about Satan 16:33 in the context of 1 Peter 5:8. 16:36 He said, "Be sober, be vigilant, 16:38 because your adversary to devil walks about 16:40 like a roaring lion seeking whom he made devour." 16:44 That is the binding. 16:45 Satan is seeking to bind us that he may have his way. 16:48 Jesus also responded in another way 16:50 speaking about house being broken into. 16:52 He says, if we knew what time of the night the thief would come 16:57 we will not allow our houses to be broken into. 17:00 So in response to the binding 17:01 and losing in this particular passage 17:03 the one that's been bound is the Christian. 17:07 The one that is doing the binding is Satan. 17:10 This is not the binding, losing as you said was making-- 17:16 was being refer to in your Sunday school lesson study. 17:20 This binding here is, Christ is warning us 17:23 Satan is seeking to bind you 17:26 and only when he's able to bind you 17:28 is he able to have his way with you. 17:30 What do you think about that, John? 17:31 Well, I think that yeah, Satan is the one doing the binding. 17:34 I see a little bit of another realm of possibility here too. 17:38 Because, initially the question here 17:40 is the challenge of the Pharisees 17:41 he says, this man is casting out demons by Beelzebub, right? 17:45 That's why they accused Jesus of doing. 17:47 And so what he is saying to the Pharisees is that 17:51 Satan is using you to bind my hand 17:54 to gain success for the work in the kingdom. 17:57 So the house here could very well be the Jews themselves 18:04 and the Pharisees are working against Jesus 18:07 binding Him from doing what He is trying-- 18:09 He want to do by accusing Him of casting on demons by Beelzebub. 18:14 So they're actually casting him in the bad light 18:16 so that He is not able to do the work that He is sent to do. 18:20 So in that respect Satan is using the Pharisees to bind Him 18:24 from what he is trying to do in His own house. Right. 18:27 Which is the house of the Jews. That's right. 18:28 And so--so yeah, Satan is doing the binding here 18:31 and they're wrong in their Sabbath school lesson here 18:33 that they're going through. 18:35 But, as you're saying that also can be applied to us. 18:38 Anybody accusing us or something unchristian like 18:42 is really binding us from doing the work 18:44 that God wants us to do. 18:46 And that's Satan motive. That's what he tries to do. 18:48 He tries to cast out. He tries to discredit. 18:51 He tries to misrepresent the character of His people 18:54 so that they can't accomplish 18:56 what God wants them to accomplish. 18:58 I'm glad you went that all because a lot of time 19:00 one of the reasons why people become unfruitful 19:03 in the works of light is because somebody 19:06 hinders the work that God can do through their lives. 19:10 And sometimes that could be simplest through an accusation. 19:13 Somebody could be hindered 19:15 by being accused of something 19:17 that they're not really guilty of as was the case here 19:21 the religious leaders accusing Christ. 19:24 And he says "So do you think I'm casting Satan with Satan." 19:31 Because they did not honestly acknowledge Christ. 19:33 They did not receive Him. 19:35 They did not accept His lordship. 19:37 So they're saying, I bet you Satan is working through him. 19:41 and He says, guys, think about that for a moment. 19:44 Satan binding Satan, 19:47 that's not what's happening here. 19:49 And so in John Chapter 1 19:52 when he talked about the share in abilities he had. 19:56 They were two times in the gospels that you'll find 19:59 that Jesus, well, actually about three times I could think of 20:02 where you find Jesus talked about 20:03 how He was not able to be effective. 20:08 One of those was when He said, 20:10 "I came to my own and my own did not receive me." 20:14 He made it very clear. I wish I could-- 20:18 I wish could something here but my own didn't received me. 20:21 Secondly, He talked about the unbelief among the people. 20:27 In Nazareth, he couldn't do very much work there 20:29 because they thought of him as isn't that the carpenters son. 20:32 They bound him by placing him in a category 20:36 that disabled him from effectively working 20:39 in their lives and in their hearts. 20:41 Then also the very place where 20:44 Jesus had established for house of prayer. 20:46 He said to the Jews, he said, 20:48 my shall be call a house of prayer for all people 20:51 but you made it a den of thieves. 20:52 And then to show how ineffective 20:54 his work had become among them he says, 20:56 behold, your house is left to you desolate. 20:59 I really can't do anything with you anymore. 21:02 Your house is left you desolate. 21:04 And then he refers to the Pharisees and leaders 21:07 as whitewashed suplicar's. 21:10 Any time we don't accept Christ in the position 21:13 of the authoritative role that he alone owns 21:16 then he cannot work His works in our lives. 21:19 I think also if Satan being bound 21:21 which is referred to null in the Book of Revelation. 21:26 But also I think you said Peter that talks about 21:28 and change of darkness. That's right. 21:31 And so when Satan is bound its God not allowing him 21:38 to do what he wants to accomplish. 21:40 So when Satan is trying to bind Christ the strong man, 21:44 he is trying to not let Christ do 21:46 what He is trying to do with his kingdom. That's right. 21:48 And that in many ways this word 21:49 is also being spoken up here as we eluded to. 21:52 All right. Okay, one more question or-- 21:54 One more question here from Pete. 21:57 Thanks for the wonderful work you do, he says. 21:59 Thank you very much, Pete, we appreciate that. 22:01 And your support and prayers we covered those. 22:04 What does John mean when he says, this is the question, 22:08 "Also there was no more sea." in Revelation 21:1. 22:12 Does it mean there will be not sea 22:14 in the new heaven and the new earth? 22:17 Well, hopefully a fairly quick answer to this. 22:19 It says in Revelation 21:1. 22:22 "Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth 22:25 for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away 22:28 also there was no more sea." 22:31 Now couple of things are going on here. 22:33 Number one, we're called 22:35 when we look at any scripture or passage 22:37 is to put ourself in the place of the author as well. Okay. 22:41 So John, where is John sitting? 22:44 Where is John at this point? On the island of Patmos. 22:46 And he is-- he can't go anywhere, why? 22:50 He is a prisoner. Prisoner by what is around him. 22:53 He is on the island. He is on island, water. 22:55 Water everywhere. Ocean everywhere. 22:58 He can't go anywhere because of this sea 23:00 in fact he stares at it almost every day. 23:03 That's right. 23:04 Do you think John is tired of sea? I would. 23:08 I think he is tired of the ocean probably about this time. 23:11 Sea, yes. 23:14 So in one respect and not the only respect 23:18 he is saying here, there will no more sea. 23:23 It's a relief to him. That's right. 23:25 Which is probably one of the reasons 23:26 why he is commenting on it. 23:27 There was no more sea. 23:29 The sea that I have been bound to this island with 23:32 will be gone in the new heaven and new earth. 23:36 We know also that in the flood during Noah's time 23:42 that it rained and flooded the entire earth with water. 23:46 Those waters represented or became the sea. That's right. 23:51 And so there was sea in places where there was not sea before. 23:55 And to this day what we were seeing in this world is the sea, 23:58 is the world that has much more water 24:00 than it did before in the seas. 24:04 And I think one of the reasons why God did this 24:06 and this is of course just my opinion 24:09 and not necessarily supported by, 24:11 by a specific scripture itself 24:13 is that God is separating man from Himself. 24:18 It's a world full of sin. 24:21 The antediluvian world, the world prior to the flood 24:25 was this constant sharing of ideas and the spreading of sin 24:28 and the rapid spreading sin 24:30 because there weren't the barriers 24:32 created by the oceans. Right. 24:34 And so in many ways the Lord was, 24:35 the Lord through the flood 24:37 was setting up barriers between mankind. 24:40 Right. That's a very powerful. 24:41 Not allowing sin to escalate and to multiply 24:46 as it did during the antediluvian world. 24:49 And in the new heaven and the new earth 24:51 where there is no sin 24:52 there is no need to have that barrier. 24:54 It will be back to the way God originally intended it 24:56 which would be bodies of water 24:58 but not as much ocean as we see today. 25:01 You know, can you imagine how high 25:03 and I'm just using this contemporary analogy 25:07 or this present analogy 25:08 can you imagine how high Mount Everest will be 25:12 if there will be no more sea? 25:14 You think of the Mariana Trench 30,000 feet down. 25:17 Mount Everest 29,000 feet above. 25:19 That's 59,000 feet straight up. 25:22 If there will be no more sea. 25:26 You know, John, I like the way you packaged that 25:29 because truly the seas, the oceans, 25:32 the massive bodies of water that separates one continent 25:34 one landmass from another has been produced by the flood. 25:39 Now they were four rivers named in Genesis. 25:42 So its not saying there won't be anybodies of water. 25:45 But God never intended for the world 25:47 to be covered by a flood 25:49 as had happened in the days of Noah. 25:51 And so what we see now a days the water is subsided 25:54 but we have a lot of manmade lakes 25:56 out here in southern Illinois. 25:58 We have one of the larger ones, close to us is Rend Lake. 26:00 And when they tell me that was a manmade lake 26:02 I looked at that and I think, 26:04 how do they get all this water in here? 26:08 Where did all this water come from 26:09 because the Rend Lake is a huge lake. 26:12 I mean really, really a lot of shoreline. 26:18 But it was a manmade lake. And then I think of the world. 26:22 If the flood caused by sin 26:25 many of us don't think of the waters that we see 26:28 the massive bodies of water that we see. 26:29 We don't think of them as a result 26:31 of all the water that deluges the earth. 26:35 All the water that brought destruction. 26:37 So when you look at the word sea here in the Bible 26:40 the word sea is seen quite differently to modern man 26:44 than it is to the antediluvian world 26:46 because they didn't have any sea. That's right. 26:48 They didn't--that's why Noah building boat was such a scene 26:52 what's he gonna do with that. 26:54 And a boat is so big where he gonna put that thing. 26:56 What is that for? Yeah. 26:58 What's you're going to do with that? 27:01 He is gonna sail, he is gonna float when the waters come. 27:07 He has really lost it. This guy is really in trouble. 27:10 What made building that ark so unusual 27:13 is the oceans where created for it. 27:17 The ark was in act of faith because there were no oceans, 27:20 there were no seas on which that was to float. 27:23 And when you read the account it was built far away 27:26 from anybody of water, on dry land. 27:28 And the whole idea, and let me just 27:30 also add something, this is a component. 27:33 The name Methuselah, you know what it means? 27:36 When he dies the waters come. 27:40 So Methuselah, as long as he was alive 27:43 they knew that waters wont' gonna come here. 27:45 But when Methuselah died can you imagine, 27:47 "How is Methuselah?" "He died today." 27:51 "Methuselah died," and his name actually meant 27:53 when he dies the water comes. 27:56 So the year that Methuselah died the floods came. 27:59 And so the building of this ark John is seeing this ocean 28:03 that was really in fact to him a prison. 28:06 It was his prison gates, it's all around him 28:09 because he's on an island. 28:10 Which is what sin does to us as well. 28:12 And sin separates. And waters separated. 28:17 So somebody may say, "Well, hey, 28:20 I like the ocean, believes me, believe me." 28:24 My brother's a fisherman down in the Virgin Islands 28:26 believe me heaven and the new earth 28:29 is not going to be a place of discontent for anybody 28:32 who gives his or her life to Christ. 28:33 That's right. He knows exactly what. 28:35 And they were waters named in Genesis. 28:37 So that the world is not going to be 28:39 absent from any bodies of water 28:41 but we will have more land mass. 28:43 I know that then we're gonna have oceans 28:46 that presently divide our world. 28:49 Well, thank you for your questions and comments. 28:52 You know, John, sometimes we go down avenues 28:54 that are rally require sometime to develop our answers. 28:58 But thank you for coming up with some challenging ones 29:03 of binding and seas and-- 29:05 Yeah. Very good questions. 29:07 You don't sit down and thing those up. 29:10 I think that sometimes people play, stump the pastor. 29:14 And you get pretty close some times 29:17 but thank you so much 29:18 for participating in the Bible questions. 29:20 If you have any more questions you want to sent to us 29:23 you can send those to the following email address, 29:25 housecalls@3abn.org, that's housecalls@3abn.org. 29:31 And we thank you so much for your participation 29:34 and the capacity that you have undertaken. 29:38 Well, John, let's dive back into the topic of baptism. 29:42 We're gonna winding this topic upon this program 29:45 but we ended the last program in the Book of Romans 29:48 then we went to the Book of Galatians 29:50 and we talked about how we're completely and capable 29:54 until we give our lives to Christ we are personally, 29:57 completely incapable of doing anything 30:01 worthy of the righteousness of Christ. 30:04 Because, we're doing it in our own effort 30:07 rather than allowing God to work in us 30:10 both to will and do of His good pleasure. 30:12 Yeah, and I think baptism is a symbol 30:16 of dying to self-dependence and a differing to Christ 30:22 and his grace doing the work in us. 30:24 That's right. That's really what it is. 30:26 It's saying, "I'm no longer going to 30:28 depend upon myself to live my life. 30:31 I'm going to set my aside. I'm going depend upon Jesus. 30:34 He's gonna takeover. 30:35 He's gonna help me live a life the way He wants me to." 30:37 I was reading a devotional last night 30:39 before my wife and I went to bed. 30:41 It was so beautiful where in the devotional, 30:44 it was from the book called Lift Him Up, 30:46 one of the Ellen White's devotionals. 30:48 And it says one day Satan is going-- 30:50 well, not one day but even now Satan stands back 30:52 and looks at the transformation that's taking place in our lives 30:56 and he wonders how did God do that? 30:59 How did He take that? 31:00 How did he take Apostle Paul a murderer, a criminal 31:05 and enemy of the church, turn him around 31:08 and make him such a bulwark for the New Testament church 31:11 to make him such a champion, a soldier of the cross. 31:14 How did He do that? 31:16 How did Paul become a person 31:18 beyond the temptations beyond the influence, 31:21 beyond any of the subtle suggestions 31:24 or outright suggestions of the enemy? 31:26 How did he ever get to be such a powerful strong man? 31:29 The devil stands back and wonders how did God do that? 31:33 Well, for it is God who works in us 31:36 both to will and to do of His good pleasure. 31:40 Now the other thing we have to point out 31:43 is the component of baptism. 31:46 What do you have first? Do you have-- 31:47 Well that's what I was going to talk about 31:48 as we been saying baptism but what is the word mean 31:51 and what does it mean to be baptized? All right. 31:53 And I thought we would go to Acts 8:38 for that. Okay. 31:56 We can see an example we also-- 31:59 In fact may be you could do the Jesus baptism. All right. 32:02 I want you go there and I will go to Acts 8:38. 32:06 Okay, I will go to Matthew. 32:07 And we'll start with, we'll start with Jesus. 32:10 I think we always should and let's see His example 32:13 of what baptism not only means but what it looks like and-- 32:17 Okay, here it is. 32:18 What passage are you going to? I'm in Matthew 3. 32:24 Matthew 3:13. 32:29 "Then Jesus came from Galilee to John 32:32 at the Jordan to be baptized." 32:36 And by the way I want to put this 32:37 in the context of John 1:29 where he says "Behold! 32:41 The Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world!" 32:44 He Introduces the Jesus in this context in that way. 32:47 And John it says, "When Jesus came from Galilee to John 32:53 at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 32:56 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, 33:00 'I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?'" 33:07 It is a disarming thing, I think, John, 33:09 I probably would have responded to the very same way. 33:12 And you're Christ, right? Yeah. 33:15 Could we kind of switch roles here 33:17 because I need to be baptized by you. 33:21 But Jesus says in verse 15, 33:24 "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting 33:28 or necessary for us to fulfill all righteousness. 33:33 Then he allowed Him." 33:36 Then Jesus, "When He had been baptized, 33:39 came up immediately from the water." 33:42 Some translations says straight way, out of the water. 33:47 It says, immediately He came up from the water 33:50 and behold, the heavens were open to Him 33:53 and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove 33:56 and alighting upon him." 33:58 And suddenly the Bible says, 34:00 "A voice came from heaven saying, 34:02 'This is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased.'" 34:07 So the baptism talked about here is Jesus was, 34:11 Jesus was lowered into the Jordan 34:13 and then He came up out of the Jordan. 34:17 That's the illustration that we're getting here 34:19 from the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. 34:23 And Jesus went all way under. 34:25 That's right. The water. 34:28 The word baptism, baptism to immerse, right? 34:34 Exactly, baptizo. 34:35 Yes, to immerse completely underneath 34:38 and of course we see lots of different examples. 34:41 It depends upon what church you go into. 34:43 Some don't baptize that way. 34:48 They don't put the baptism 34:52 or candidate under the water entirely, 34:53 what they do instead sprinkle them with water. 34:56 But the word baptism doesn't even lend to that. 34:59 It's almost a contradiction in terms 35:02 when you say I baptize you and you're sprinkling 35:04 because that's not immersing anybody in water. 35:08 And Jesus I think gave the example here in that 35:12 He went down into the water completely 35:15 and then came up from the water. 35:17 And if He is our example in other things 35:19 shouldn't He be our example in what true baptism looks like. 35:23 I believe so. 35:25 You know, John, what's amazing 35:27 in Christianity now a days is people have-- 35:31 we're living in the age of duplicity or multiplicity 35:36 if I could use that phrase or that word. 35:38 But where people are designing methods 35:43 already established by Christ. 35:45 People are preferring, well, I know what the Bible says 35:48 but I prefer this method. 35:52 There is a pamphlet that Amazing Facts does 35:54 on the topic of baptism. 35:56 There are so many methods of baptism. 35:59 There are rose petal baptism. 36:00 There is a confession baptism by the mouth, 36:03 if you confess to the Lord with your mouth 36:04 and believe in your heart 36:05 you shall be saved and you will be saved. 36:07 No watering away, no water. 36:11 Then there is this sprinkling, 36:12 then there is the dry cleaning method somebody refer to it as. 36:15 Just say you want to saved and that's all that is necessary 36:18 for your life to be changed or transformed. 36:21 But here the Lord made a very clear 36:23 and you'll notice that not only was this method established 36:26 and followed in the baptism of John 36:29 or the baptism by John the Baptist 36:32 but also the Disciples of Christ. 36:34 Because in Acts Chapter 8, 36:36 did you read verse 36 of Acts Chapter 8 already? 36:38 That's where I was heading. Go ahead read that for us. 36:41 Well, go there. Yeah. 36:42 This is we'll start with verse 37 of Acts 8. Okay. 36:47 This is Philip and his baptism of the eunuch that he met. 36:51 "Then Philip said, 'If you believe 36:52 with all your heart, you may.' 36:56 And he answered if you believe 36:58 with all your heart you may be baptized." 36:59 That's what he is saying. 37:00 "And he answered and said, 'I believe that Jesus Christ 37:03 is the Son of God." Okay. 37:05 "So he commanded the chariot to stand still. 37:08 And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, 37:11 and he baptized him." Okay. 37:14 But look at verse 37. Well, at verse 36. 37:19 "Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. 37:22 And the eunuch said, 'See, here is water. 37:24 What hinders me from being baptized?'" Right. 37:27 He could have easily-- in the methods nowadays 37:30 he could have said, you don't need to stop 37:33 and just accept the Lord Jesus Christ and that's it. 37:36 But the commission Jesus gave was very significant here 37:39 and this is what we have to keep in mind 37:41 one of the things that we can't apologize for 37:43 is the parameter that the Bible establishes. 37:45 And I think that's very important. 37:47 You know, the Lord is the Lord 37:48 and if He says do it this way then do it this way. 37:50 That's one of the things 37:51 that Christianity is missing out on nowadays. 37:54 We have so many methods, 37:55 we seek to convenience man and inconvenience God. 38:00 I think Billy Graham said while he says, 38:02 "In modern society we're so careful 38:04 about no offending anybody but God." Yeah. 38:08 And God is saying baptism, He left an example. 38:12 And when you look at the examples of Jesus 38:14 and you simply follow the examples of Jesus. 38:16 You will never get to the place 38:17 where you are missing out on anything. 38:19 If Jesus went down into the water 38:22 to leave us an example of what baptism is. 38:24 That's what we should do. What do you think? 38:25 Yeah, I completely agree. 38:27 This is an example here of a follower of Christ 38:31 following Christ example of going down 38:33 into the water and being baptized. 38:35 I like that. There is no doubt. 38:36 Okay. And also-- 38:40 But one thing before you go to something else, 38:42 one of the things I think we mentioned earlier 38:44 in the first part of this program is that 38:47 when you get baptized it doesn't mean 38:49 that of the sudden your life is going to be easy. 38:53 Okay, and Jesus set that example as well 38:56 because for Matthew 3 we find a transition to Matthew 4. 39:01 Okay. That's right. 39:03 And it says "When he came out of the water 39:07 the voice came from heaven saying, 39:09 'This is my beloved son in whom I'm pleased.'" 39:11 And then notice the very next verse 4:1. 39:14 "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness 39:17 to be tempted by the devil." 39:18 Okay, I like to, I like to go back 39:20 and just emphasize something very quickly. 39:23 In whom I'm well please then. Yes, there you go. 39:27 That's the transition there. 39:29 Then, you should see what happened next. 39:32 Then, then and that's the transition-- 39:35 Other books actually, others, I can't remember who it was. 39:39 Mark or is it John said immediately. Right. 39:43 He went, He was led by the spirit. 39:45 So then is very appropriate, it happened right away. 39:48 And so when you see this whole transition 39:50 what people need to be mindful 39:52 and I do this with all our baptizmo candidates. 39:54 All the people that I baptize I often said, 39:56 "okay, now that you just been baptized be careful." 40:00 Because the devil says, okay, 40:01 now you're no longer in the stands 40:03 I have used that analogy for many, many years. 40:05 I used the football game analogy. 40:07 There people sitting on the stands 40:09 cheering on the football team, they don't get hit. 40:11 They don't have to worry about 40:12 anybody pinning them to the ground. 40:14 There legs being cut off from under them, 40:16 they're being knocked down. 40:17 But the moment you get out of the stands 40:19 and get on the field and you're on the team of Christ. 40:23 There is another team determined to defeat 40:25 everything about you and it starts with temptation. 40:28 So here is the point I want to make 40:29 so that you don't be operating in this unrealistic realm. 40:35 You're battles really begin after baptism. 40:40 That's right. That's when they start. 40:41 Look at the battles that Jesus faced. 40:44 Not only did He face these battles 40:47 because they were predetermined 40:48 that He will face the devil in the same way 40:51 that we daily have to face this enemy. 40:54 He has to face him on the same ground 40:56 that we face him on everyday. 40:58 I've actually had someone mentioned to me 41:00 after baptism a few months afterward. 41:02 Had I know and it was going to be this difficult 41:05 I'm not sure that I would have been baptized. 41:08 It was so discouraged about the sin that they were facing 41:11 and their inability to overcome that sin 41:13 and the battle they were having 41:16 that they just, they weren't sure 41:18 that it did truly counted the cost. 41:21 And so we talked about that 41:22 and I let him to be able to continue to trust the Lord 41:26 and the Lord didn't just start His faith 41:28 He would finish His faith as well. 41:30 And don't be discouraged 41:33 if you have been baptized and you had struggles. 41:35 That is exactly what Jesus went through himself. 41:39 Lot of people I know young man that joined the military, 41:43 when he joined the military he did it for this reason, 41:46 he says, you know, I want to get a college degree, 41:49 I also want to be able to own a house one day 41:51 and through my veteran benefits I will be able to get a house, 41:55 and when I'm done, 41:56 I will go back to school and get a college degree. 41:59 He has his goals lined up. 42:02 But when he got in the military, 42:04 he said, man, there's got to be an easy way. 42:06 There's got to be a-- this is my second tour in Iraq. 42:10 There's got to be a different way then getting a house. 42:14 There's got to be a better and less arduous way 42:18 to get a house and get a college degree. 42:20 A lot of times people enter this world called the Christian walk 42:24 and think of it as, hey, my troubles are over. 42:28 No, no, no, your troubles have just started. 42:31 You have to keep in mind that the devil is upset 42:33 and he is against you and he will do whatever he can 42:35 to discourage you, to try to get to go back 42:38 and turn your back on the faith. 42:40 That's right. That's right. 42:41 One other aspects of baptism 42:43 I think that is very important to realize 42:46 is how the word of God 42:49 is connected in with the decision for baptism. 42:52 It is when we receive the word, 42:55 when we convicted by the word that we decide to be baptized. 42:59 And it doesn't, it shouldn't surprise us, John, 43:01 over the comment you made earlier 43:02 that some are being baptized different ways 43:05 because they're not following the word. 43:08 And so the issue, the symptom 43:11 is that they're not been baptized right. 43:14 But the real problem that's at the heart of this issue is 43:18 the receiving of the word 43:19 and if you look at, at Acts 2:40-41. 43:26 It says, "And with many other words 43:28 he testified and exhorted them, 43:29 saying, 'Be saved from this perverse generation.' 43:32 Then those who gladly received His word were baptized, 43:37 and that day about three thousand souls 43:39 were added to them." 43:40 So the receiving of the word of God for what it is. 43:44 God speaking to us is necessary for baptism. 43:48 And that isn't just receiving the word as in 43:50 okay, well I believe it's the word of God. 43:52 It's following, it's receiving and obeying its precepts. 43:56 And that is a very important piece 43:59 of our decision to be baptized 44:02 and following the Christ with everything we have got. 44:04 A lot of people thinks though that when you get baptized 44:06 that you get baptized and stay home. 44:09 And be in church, you know, and amongst yourselves. 44:11 Or a lot of people say, "well I want to accept Jesus." 44:16 This is been categorical challenge to many pastors. 44:19 I want to get my life to Jesus 44:21 but I don't want to join your church. 44:24 I don't want to be member of your church. 44:25 I just want to be a follower of Christ. 44:30 But that completely goes against what the Bible teaches. 44:34 Let me give you a couple of examples, Acts 2:47. 44:39 When you go to Acts Chapter 2-- 44:41 Yeah, you just continue reading on 44:42 and we'll see what happens here. 44:43 Good, read verse 47. 44:46 Matter of fact verse 46 and 47. 44:48 Yeah, as we read on a few verses from where we just where. 44:51 "So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, 44:54 and breaking bread from house to house, 44:56 they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart 44:59 praising God and having favor with all the people. 45:02 And notice "The Lord added to the church daily 45:06 those who were being saved." Right. 45:08 They were added to church, they were not dispersed in the land. 45:13 Say okay, now that we baptized you, see you later. 45:16 No, there's a body of believers 45:18 in the same way the football team, 45:19 the baseball team, the basketball team, 45:20 the corporate office, the corporate team, 45:22 the worship team, all these things are teamed. 45:25 The devil wants to fragment. 45:27 But the reason why joining a church is so significant 45:29 is because the prayer that Jesus prayed in John 17. 45:32 "Father I pray that there may be one. 45:35 As you and I are one." 45:36 This unity Ephesians 4, 45:39 "Till they all come to the unity of the faith, 45:41 to the knowledge of the son of God. 45:43 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 45:46 one God, one father of all." 45:49 But then there's another component. 45:50 1 Corinthians 13, 45:53 this is Chapter 12, sorry and verse 13. 45:56 1 Corinthians 12:13. 45:59 This is a concept that's taught in scripture 46:02 rather than the concept 46:03 this is the truth that's taught in scripture 46:05 that's not often talked about very, very much. 46:08 1 Corinthians 12:12. 46:11 It says, the Bible says, "For as the body is one 46:16 and has many members, 46:19 but all the members of that one body, being many, 46:23 are one body, so also is Christ." 46:27 And then verse 13. 46:28 "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into--" 46:32 how many? "One body. 46:35 "Whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free 46:38 and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 46:43 For in fact the body is not one member but many." 46:48 So when you think about the body 46:49 we have all been given the privilege 46:51 to be part to this body but we're many members. 46:55 And that's the thing that people often say. 46:56 You know, they would say, 46:57 "if I don't join your church I don't have any problems." 47:00 You know the friends, the reality of it is 47:01 is the only perfect church is an empty church. 47:03 There is no problem with the building 47:04 it's the people on the side. 47:06 You see, somebody often said 47:07 the church is the hospital for sinners. 47:10 Well, I often sometimes refer to it 47:11 is an asylum for crazy people. 47:15 Because you will be faced with challenges 47:17 but that's where the Lord wants to be. 47:19 And how will you grow unless you're placed in the position 47:23 where you must grow against the challenges. 47:27 You must grow in the face of the things 47:29 that test your Christianity. 47:31 Someone said, trials are God's workmen 47:35 that grow us spiritually. That's right. 47:37 The challenges of life. That's the way God grows us. 47:40 You know, John, when I joined a new church as a pastor. 47:47 It was on the hills-- about a year before that 47:50 they had an evangelistic series 47:51 and they baptized quite a few actually. 47:53 I think they baptized around 35. Wow. 47:56 Which was a large number for the size of this church. 47:59 And one of the things that I heard 48:01 after coming in from couple of the elders there 48:05 was that after the baptism and several of the members 48:13 or the new members of church weren't there. 48:15 They didn't come to church. 48:17 And they wondered what in the world is going on 48:20 so they went out to meet each one of them 48:22 to make sure they followed up 48:23 and begin to nurture them as well in faith. 48:26 And these individuals had, some of them had no idea. 48:30 That they became a part 48:31 of the Seventh-day Adventist church. 48:34 They didn't know that. Wow. 48:37 So even the baptism occurred. 48:39 Apparently, something within that, 48:41 there was a disconnect somewhere 48:43 where didn't really conceive and realized 48:46 they became part of Christ body the church. That's right. 48:50 And we need to be very clear that we're spelling that out. 48:53 As pastors letting people know 48:55 listen, when you're being baptized 48:56 you're being baptized as a member of God's church. 48:58 You're connected now 48:59 with your brothers and sisters in Christ. 49:02 And you know, just like any family 49:06 we often fight more within our families 49:07 than we do with our friends, right. 49:09 So as the church which is your family 49:11 and there's gonna be arguments, there's gonna be fights, 49:13 there's gonna be challenges. 49:15 But yet God has called us to be one and to work together 49:17 and to love each other 49:19 and have compassion upon each other. 49:22 You know, may be in the last few minutes here, John, 49:24 there is a few questions that are out there 49:26 that linger from in regard to baptism. Okay. 49:30 One of them I know 49:31 and may be I will throw this question out to you 49:33 and you can you know, take us on a role to answering its. 49:38 If you weren't actually baptized is it then, does it means 49:43 that you absolutely are not saved? 49:46 In other words, if you are baptized 49:49 are you saying that I cannot be saved? 49:51 Well, how do we respond to that question? 49:53 Well, you know, the whole point of the baptism of Christ 49:56 was significant to, to making provision 49:59 for those who could not be baptized. 50:01 It didn't make sense to John at the time 50:03 but when Jesus repeated these words and in Matthew 3. 50:08 "Permitted to be so now for thus it is necessary 50:11 for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." 50:18 Christ is our righteousness. 50:19 Jeremiah says "Christ the Lord our righteousness." 50:24 All full cap letters. 50:26 Well they're not instances where everybody has the opportunity 50:31 or the way with all to make it into the baptizmo pool. 50:34 But there are some individuals that do have that opportunity 50:38 and can say, well, I never had that opportunity. 50:41 We've instances where people 50:43 have accepted the Lord on their death beds 50:46 and that's why this whole thing about imparted righteousness, 50:50 imputed righteousness. 50:52 The merits of Christ are now applied to your account. 50:56 Your sins are forgiven, they're applied to your account. 50:59 And the righteousness that brings salvation 51:03 is now recognized in your life. 51:06 Now there're instances in the Bible 51:07 one of the classic instances is the thief on the cross. 51:11 But not everybody is in the same position. 51:13 Not everybody has his or her hand nailed to the cross 51:16 and say, "Well I can't come down so I guess, 51:18 I guess it's too late for me." 51:20 He confessed the Lord Jesus with his mouth. 51:22 He believed in his heart. 51:24 And as the Bible says, "If you confess 51:26 the Lord Jesus with your mouth and believe in your heart." 51:28 You know I heard this very, very moving story, 51:30 somebody was telling me, I can't tell, 51:32 I can't tell you the contemporary setting. 51:35 I mean I won't tell you the setting on the air 51:37 because it could endanger those 51:40 who are the part of the this community. 51:42 But, in the particular country around the world 51:44 where baptism of Christianity is prohibited. 51:48 One of the Christians that were there 51:50 an evangelist was there. 51:51 And he was approached by gentlemen that was-- 51:54 And I'm going to be vague in my description. 51:56 He was approached by gentlemen that in his religious community 52:00 was known to be of such strong position 52:05 that he had the authority 52:07 to persecute and to kill a Christian. 52:09 Because it was frankly against the law 52:12 for Christians to proselytize convert 52:16 and to baptize was the ultimate. 52:19 The ultimate act of betrayal. 52:20 So this person walked up to this Christian or evangelist 52:24 and said come, come with me I want to show you-- 52:27 I want you to go with me somewhere. 52:29 So he took him to this building very large building. 52:31 And he discloses his identity 52:34 and the Christian who told me the story said, 52:35 I knew right then and there I was dead. 52:39 Because, this person in that society 52:40 had the right to carry out that kind of execution 52:43 or carry me before the authorities 52:45 and surely my end result would have been 52:46 not to in prison but death. 52:48 Because I did the cardinal thing that they-- 52:51 that you cannot do in that society. 52:54 So he said I knew I was dead. 52:56 So he said immediately I began to speak a little fast 52:59 because I knew I don't have much time. 53:02 And then the guy stopped him 53:03 in the midst of the conversation and he says, come with me. 53:05 And he took him even further deeper into this building 53:08 into a room where they were 20 other men. 53:11 And they identified what religion they were a part of. 53:14 And he says, they said, we want you to baptize us. 53:20 We can't let this be known publicly. 53:22 They had the baptizmo pool already set. 53:26 And all 20 of these men that where identified 53:28 and there culture to be members of a different sect 53:32 a different religion said we-- 53:34 and he said, but I must study with you. 53:36 And they said, oh, no, oh no. 53:38 You don't have to study with us, we are ready. 53:40 The man in white has visited us for months 53:43 and we have studied, we know. 53:45 And the pastor for two days he stayed with them 53:49 and reviewed and to his surprise they understood everything 53:54 about the Seventh-day Adventist message 53:57 and they went forth baptizing 21 men in that country. 54:01 Now I can't tell you where it is. 54:03 I'm doing that vaguely. 54:04 But this was a true story. 54:06 I know of the individual to whom this actually had occurred. 54:10 And they said but now what they are hearing is 54:13 as they go around different parts of the world 54:14 in cultures where it's against the law to do this. 54:18 People are saying the man in white, 54:21 or the men in white taught us. 54:24 Who were those? Angels. 54:26 Just like the bibles says in the Book of Acts. 54:28 Two men stood by in white appearel 54:30 and said to the disciples, 54:31 while stand ye gazing into heaven. 54:32 So the angels of God are getting people ready 54:35 in all cultures and all societies. 54:36 And what we are seeing here 54:38 according to the topic is they're being baptized. 54:42 But if you're part of a culture where it is so prohibited 54:44 that your life maybe on the line the righteousness of Christ 54:49 has been imparted to you and will be acceptable by Him. 54:52 Even His-- through His baptism. 54:54 Through his-- that's what 54:55 His baptism provides the righteousness. 54:57 So if someone is kind of making excuse not be baptized. 55:01 That's this is not giving them license to just say 55:03 they are not gonna be baptized 55:05 but there is any opportunity at all 55:07 follow the command of Christ, 55:08 follow the command of the disciples. 55:10 The word of God it says, believe and be baptized. 55:13 But if you just cannot do that under any circumstances. 55:16 You're in bad and you've got cancer 55:20 and you cannot be moved out into baptism tank. 55:23 Trust the Lord is your baptism as well 55:27 As your righteousness and that's an important thing. 55:30 Because these subjects come up all the time. 55:32 You know, these technicalities that people want talk about 55:35 and I think we cover that pretty well. 55:38 There was a young man 55:39 and Mark Finley talks about this young man 55:41 one of the eastern block nations. 55:43 His body had wasted away from whatever the disease 55:46 that was eating him up 55:48 and he had been almost flesh and bones 55:52 from just this terrible disease. 55:55 And when Pastor Mark Finley went to visit him 55:57 he went to visit him his home. 55:59 And this young man said, I wanted to be baptized. 56:02 He said, but you can't we cannot-- 56:07 I mean, this is physically impossible 56:08 for us to get you from to-- 56:09 I mean, you just had the point. 56:10 You're on your death bed. 56:12 And this young man insisted 56:14 through the weakness of his breath 56:15 he said, please baptize me. Baptize me. 56:18 I want to be baptized. Please baptize me. 56:20 How do you say no to dying man? 56:23 You know what they did. 56:24 They filled the tub--they filled bath tub in his house. 56:27 And Pastor Mark Finley has this story, 56:28 he picked this young man up very easy to carry, 56:31 because he had been so emaciated. 56:33 And baptize him, Mark knelled down, 56:35 lowered him down into the tub 56:37 and baptized him into his home. 56:39 The day later that young man died. 56:42 His greatest desire. 56:43 So if a man at that point in his life wants to be baptized 56:46 and makes every provision for his heart to be given to Christ. 56:48 We should not-- 56:49 And it sounds like it was his greatest joy as well. 56:52 He wanted to do that. 56:53 The other thing too I'm just gonna mention really quick 56:54 because we are closing is 56:56 baptism isn't something that just-- 56:58 that needs to happen all the time. That's right 57:00 There is an ordinance that Christ instituted 57:02 which is the ordinance of humility, 57:04 the foot washing service which is meant to recall 57:07 our minds back to the original oath 57:08 we gave to Him through baptism. 57:10 And so when we come to the Lord and wash each other feet, 57:13 we are--well, basically giving out that oath again. 57:18 Saying, I commit myself, recommit my self to Jesus. 57:21 So what a beautiful picture too. 57:22 That's right so friends, praise the Lord that, 57:24 we are all desiring to follow Christ. 57:25 If you make that decision to follow Christ 57:27 you will discover in eternity 57:29 it's the best decision you have ever made. 57:31 Decide to make that decision today. 57:34 God bless you. |
Revised 2014-12-17