Participants: Pr. Lyle Albrecht
Series Code: RIN
Program Code: RIN000013
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01:00 Good evening and welcome to each of you.
01:02 It's time to travel so fasten you're seatbelts if you will 01:05 as the lights go out. 01:06 Our journey this evening is one of my very favorites. 01:10 We're going to go to Pisa. 01:14 The city of Pisa is laid out from Piazza del Duomo, 01:20 The Place of the Cathedral. 01:21 This cathedral, ladies and gentlemen, is more than 01:24 a thousand years of age. 01:26 And it's famous, not only for its age and its architecture, 01:31 but also because of some parishioners of whom we're 01:35 going to speak in just a little bit. 01:38 If you have an address in the city of Pisa, 01:41 and it says, "18 blocks North and 7 West," 01:46 you that this address is 18 blocks north of the cathedral 01:51 and 7 blocks west of it. 01:52 Now there's an American city that is laid out in 01:56 the very same way. 01:57 And I'll bet someone here knows which city it is. 02:00 Which one? 02:02 Not Washington, DC. No. 02:04 There it is. Salt Lake City. 02:06 That's right. 02:07 It's laid out from the temple, Salt Lake City, 02:09 in the very same sort of way. 02:11 Well when you say this name, by the way, 02:14 don't call it "Pizza. " 02:17 I've discovered that folks over there are just a little bit 02:23 disturbed when you call their city "Pizza". 02:26 It's "Pisa". 02:28 And 800 years ago, it was twice the size that it is today. 02:33 Two reasons for that. 02:35 It was a major university, a major teaching center. 02:38 Particularly with emphasis upon mathematics and other sciences. 02:43 And the other reason was, it was, 800 years ago, a sea port. 02:46 I mean, it was a sailor town and the ships dropped anchor 02:50 a stone's throw from right here. 02:52 And the sailors did commerce and brought a lot of money and 02:55 unloaded and offloaded. 02:57 And that has all changed because the Arno River, 03:01 the same Arno that runs through Florence where we visited 03:04 the Medici chapel and those other famous places 03:08 a few evenings ago. 03:09 That same Arno runs here, ends here. 03:12 And over the centuries, it has dumped a delta here 03:16 so that it's now about 7.5 miles out to the Mediterranean Sea. 03:20 So for those reasons, no longer a great university center, 03:23 no longer a sea port center. 03:25 And the city then has, like not very many places in the world, 03:32 gotten smaller and smaller and smaller still. 03:36 Now, from here we have a wonderful view of the 03:39 Leaning Tower of Pisa. 03:43 It is the bell tower. 03:45 You probably knew that. 03:47 And it is about 50 feet in diameter, 03:49 it's about 150 feet high except to the top of the bells. 03:54 And the final circle up there, that's another 03:57 20 or 30 feet high. 03:59 And you can see how badly it leans. 04:02 There has, over the centuries, been the worry, the real concern 04:06 that there might come an earthquake, because there are 04:09 faults in the area, and the thing might topple 04:13 down to the ground. 04:14 Well, just a few years ago, they decided it was finally time 04:18 to do something about it. 04:19 And we'll talk about that something in just a little bit. 04:22 First, however, let's look at the facade of this 04:26 beautiful, beautiful cathedral. 04:27 I want you to notice a number of things. 04:29 Firstly, I want you to notice out on the corners 04:32 there are gargoyles. 04:34 If we had a close-up you could see that they're 04:37 hideous looking creatures. 04:38 They're really ugly, kind of dragon animal things 04:42 with bared fangs. 04:44 And they were put there for two reasons. 04:46 One was practical and the other was ridiculous. 04:50 The practical is, they're the down spouts. 04:53 When the rains run off of the stone roof, 04:57 they run down to the gutters and then make their way 05:00 to the gargoyles. 05:01 And the water goes inside the bodies of these gargoyles 05:05 and then spews out the mouth and lands several feet away 05:09 from the wall and the foundation. 05:12 And that keeps the basement dry. 05:13 So that was the practical side of it all. 05:16 The ridiculous side was, these cathedrals, many of them 05:20 including this one, were built during the dark ages 05:23 where there was a great amount of superstition. 05:25 And folks really believed that if they would put these hideous 05:29 dragon-like things around the corners of the church 05:32 it would keep the devil from coming to church. 05:35 Yeah ridiculous, huh. 05:37 Well, look at the style. 05:39 This is a combination of what is called Tuscan and Romanesque. 05:43 And we saw that also in Florence at the great cathedral of 05:47 St. John the Baptist. 05:49 I'm going to talk to you now about how history was made 05:52 inside this church and about it's most famous parishioner. 05:58 We've alluded to him on prior evenings. 06:00 His name was Galileo Galilee. 06:05 Galileo was a child prodigy. 06:07 Today we would say he was gifted. 06:12 His daddy was a musician for two royal families; 06:16 the Medici family over in Florence, 06:20 and the Dougal family over in Venice, the Doge. 06:27 He was an organist of great repute 06:31 and he was also a flautist. 06:36 It was his desire that his son, Galileo, follow in his steps 06:41 and perhaps become the musician, the chief musician 06:45 for some king or queen of Europe. 06:48 And so when he was just a little guy, senior Galileo began to 06:54 teach little Galileo how play upon the organ. 06:58 And by the time he was 9 or 10 years of age, 07:01 they were dueting together and it was quite remarkable. 07:05 But by the time he was a young teenager, 13 or 14, 07:10 he was developing interest in another area; 07:13 mathematics, particularly as it was applied to the movements 07:17 of the heavenly bodies and to the great scheme of 07:20 things time-wise. 07:24 Now Galileo did not invent but did perfect the telescope 07:28 and made it to be a very useful item. 07:32 And by the time he was 19 or 20, he had already spent years 07:36 tracking the movements of the heavenly bodies 07:39 in their orbits, and measuring time and putting mathematical 07:43 equations together that would shock teachers of math 07:48 that had been around for many, many, many years. 07:51 When he was still really basically a kid, or surely 07:54 just a young man, he was asked to come and be 07:57 a fellow professor in the mathematics department 08:00 here at the university. 08:02 And while here, he would come to this church 08:06 to worship on weekends. 08:07 He would also come to just pray and meditate when the 08:15 place was quite empty. 08:16 He would come mid-week and take a seat in the pew, 08:19 or perhaps kneel in front of a pew, and just meditate. 08:23 And on one such occasion while he was meditating, 08:27 praying, in came the caretaker. 08:31 We would call him the janitor, I suppose. 08:34 He had with him his high ladder and he put the ladder up 08:38 beside one of the chandeliers, climbed it, reached over and 08:41 took hold of the chandelier that was hanging upon its chain, 08:46 he trimmed the wick and filled the bowl, and then released it 08:50 and moved on, did the caretaker, to the next and the next. 08:54 But Galileo was fascinated by the swinging 08:58 of that first chandelier. 09:00 For the longest time, back and forth it swung. 09:04 Back and forth. 09:05 And from that happy accident in this church, 09:08 the theory of pendulum motion was born. 09:10 And all of the grandfather clocks, any pendulum clock, 09:15 the metronome for the piano, and all of those devices 09:18 were born here in the creative mind of Galileo Galilee. 09:25 Now, he would get in trouble here and it would 09:31 nearly cost him his job, and some say almost his life. 09:34 But before we talk about that, let's talk about 09:36 this tower again. 09:39 When first I visited here, you were allowed to, after paying 09:44 a few dollars, go inside and climb the serpentine staircase 09:50 and come out at each level or at whatever one you choose 09:55 including the very top. 09:59 They have, in the last few years, prevented that. 10:01 They will not allow anyone to go inside. 10:04 And the major reason, of course, is the possibility 10:07 that it could collapse. 10:09 Now, I'm going to tell you folks how badly it leans. 10:15 If we were to go inside and go over to what they call 10:19 the downhill side or the leaning side, right here, 10:22 and there we drop a plumb-bob, or we have a long string with a 10:27 rock on it, we hold that right against the side up here and 10:31 drop it, and when it hits the ground down here 10:34 it's going to be 18 feet away. 10:37 That is a serious list, isn't it. 10:39 That's quite a lean. 10:41 Well, why does it lean? 10:46 Simply because it was not built upon solid ground. 10:50 It's built upon an ancient seabed, upon the sands of 10:55 the old sea of the Mediterranean. 10:57 And they didn't put proper foundation beneath it. 11:01 And it began to tilt a little bit, and then a little bit 11:04 more under pressure. 11:05 The more it tilted, it would grow greater. 11:08 And so they decided a few years ago they were going to 11:10 do something about it. 11:11 They sent out the problem to the major engineering 11:14 schools of the world. 11:16 And it was a young man from 11:18 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 11:20 that sent back a suggestion that was considered by the scholars 11:24 to be the best of all. 11:26 His idea was, 11:29 we build a container around the whole tower. 11:32 I mean, we put it inside a can, if you please. 11:38 We make this container to be water tight. 11:42 And then between the can, the inside wall of the can 11:47 and the wall of the tower, we put freezing rods. 11:52 Fill it with water, energize the rods, freeze the thing until its 11:58 encapsulated in an ice cube. 12:00 Maintain it in that suspended way and then with great cranes 12:06 remove it, set it aside and build sufficient foundation 12:11 to hold it upright, and then reverse the process. 12:14 Now that could be done and it wouldn't cost 12:17 a great amount of money. 12:18 But it hasn't been done and it won't be done. 12:21 And I think you know why. 12:23 There are thousands, yes hundreds of thousands of people 12:27 who, every year, bring multiplied millions of dollars 12:31 to come and see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. 12:35 And they know of certainty that there would be few people 12:38 who would come, and fewer dollars by far spent to see 12:43 the straight tower of Pisa. 12:47 But they did, a few years ago, become concerned enough 12:51 to do something that they hope would prevent it. 12:55 From the uphill side, they began to auger, at an angle 12:59 I think they said of around 18 degrees, six inch holes. 13:03 Bored six inch holes, several of them, back underneath 13:08 the uphill side with the idea that the thing might settle back 13:13 the other way just a little bit. 13:16 And it worked. 13:17 It did that. It has worked. 13:19 And in spite of that, they don't let folks go inside. 13:23 And I think that is a really good idea. 13:28 When I was here first, you were allowed to 13:31 go inside, as I mentioned. 13:33 And up near the top, I saw children, little children, 13:36 I'm sure pre-schoolers, loose from their parents 13:40 and running around up there. 13:42 And I thought that over especially on the downhill side, 13:46 the leaning side, it could be very dangerous 13:48 because there are no restraints. 13:51 There's no chain, there was no netting, there was no fencing. 13:55 There was nothing. 13:58 Now after my first trip here, I came back and casually 14:04 bumped into a lady who had once been my parishioner. 14:10 And she asked me where I'd been and what I enjoyed most of all. 14:14 And I said, "Well, I made an amazing discovery, 14:17 a shocking discovery at the Tower of Pisa. " 14:20 "Oh," she said, "my grandson from Seattle is going to go 14:24 to Europe with a group of young people. 14:25 I must tell my grandson to be sure and see the 14:29 Leaning Tower of Pisa. " 14:32 And she told her grandson and he came to the 14:35 Leaning Tower of Pisa. 14:37 And somehow, this 14 year old grandson fell from 14:41 the top to his death. 14:45 So I'm glad they've stopped folks from going up inside. 14:48 I'm really very thankful for that. 14:52 But you can see folks up in there. 14:54 By the way, I shot that picture from inside the main doorway. 14:58 And it kind of makes the doorway 15:01 look crooked, doesn't it. 15:04 That is what, in Idaho, we call an obstetrical illusion. 15:17 Ah, enough silliness. 15:20 Well, separate and apart from the cathedral and the tower 15:24 is this building. 15:26 Circular and lovely, and after the same style 15:30 and the same design. 15:31 And it was in there that I made the discovery that we're 15:35 going to talk about tonight. 15:36 This building, ladies and gentlemen, is the baptistery. 15:42 Before we go inside, however, I'm going to tell you about 15:45 a cemetery that is behind the wall. 15:48 There's the wall. 15:50 I wish that I had a picture, but it's really only 15:55 a cemetery, a graveyard, with headstones 15:57 and that sort of thing. 15:58 Not so terribly unusual. 16:00 But the cemetery itself has quite a history. 16:03 While the cathedral a thousand years ago was under 16:05 construction, the fathers of the city sent an armada of ships 16:11 over to the Holy Land. 16:14 And along the coast of Palestine, the Holy Land, 16:17 they dug up sand and dirt, and took it aboard these ships. 16:22 And then they brought it back and scattered it out 16:26 over this ground that's behind the wall 16:28 and began to sell cemetery plots with the guarantee 16:33 from the church that if you're buried in this cemetery 16:37 beneath the soil upon which the feet of the apostles 16:41 and Jesus Himself may have walked, you're guaranteed 16:45 to come up in the first resurrection. 16:47 And those cemetery plots sold out in a hurry. 16:50 You can be sure of that. 16:53 Well, what is the significance of this building, 16:58 the baptistery? 17:00 Let's go inside. 17:03 In the very center and beneath the dome, 17:06 there is a large Baptismal font. 17:12 Where I'm standing to shoot this picture, there is a 17:15 little stairway where the pastor would climb up from the outside 17:20 and then go down the stairs into the water. 17:23 And there he would baptize. 17:27 Now this I learned, ladies and gentlemen, 17:29 that for the first 1200 years of Christianity, 17:33 every single person that was baptized was immersed 17:38 totally, completely beneath the water. 17:42 We, last night over in the city of Rome, went to 17:46 the Pope's church, you remember. 17:47 The Cathedral of St. John's Lateran. 17:49 And I showed you, last night, the baptistery in which 17:52 Constantine was immersed. 17:54 For the first 1200 years of Christianity, everybody that 17:59 was baptized, was baptized the Jesus way by immersion. 18:04 Laid back totally, completely beneath the water. 18:09 And then in the 12th century, a change came in this way. 18:13 Not from the Bible but from a church leader, 18:17 there came a doctrine called the doctrine of original sin. 18:22 And a thumbnail sketch of that doctrine is this. 18:26 As soon as a baby takes its first breath outside the 18:31 mother's womb, that infant is tainted with the sin 18:35 that has been passed down generationally from Adam and Eve 18:39 to the present. 18:41 Original sin. 18:43 And moreover, if that baby should die without the right 18:49 and the sacrament of baptism, that baby would go to limbo 18:54 or perhaps purgatory or even something worse. 18:59 Now suppose you're the mother or the grandmother, 19:05 the baby is born, and as soon as the baby is born, 19:09 soon as the delivery is over you know there's something 19:14 wrong with this baby. 19:17 Its skin is cyanotic, blue. 19:20 It's not breathing properly. 19:24 And we have no modern medicine and we're quite sure the baby 19:28 is not going to live not for very long. 19:30 "What if our baby dies without baptism?" 19:32 And so we rush our baby down to the baptistery 19:35 and we pay the required fee. 19:40 And the pastor goes over the side and into the water. 19:44 And over the wall we hand the pastor our baby 19:48 and he puts the baby down beneath the cold water. 19:54 For this is long before they have the ability 19:56 to heat the baptisteries. 20:00 History says that many an infant, ill or otherwise, 20:03 died as a result of the shock of being submersed 20:08 in that cold water. 20:10 And especially if it's ill, it simply adds to the problem. 20:18 And so, an amendment was made. 20:21 It said, "Instead of handing the baby over and putting the baby 20:26 down beneath the water, we shall, into the water, 20:30 put a blanket, completely submerse the blanket, 20:35 and then bring it out and wrap our baby in the blanket. " 20:39 And they did that for a good while. 20:43 But many children died as a result, many babies were 20:46 shocked because of that. 20:48 And by the way, it was from that experience in the baptisteries 20:52 and in the history of the church that there came a phrase 20:54 that we still today use. 20:56 "It's about as popular as a wet blanket. " 21:02 Or, "He threw a wet blanket on my party," you know. 21:04 The wet blanket expression came from this 21:08 practice of the church. 21:10 And so the church leadership said, "Well, we're going to 21:14 make a little change because that's not so helpful. " 21:17 And so they then put a serviette or handkerchief in the tank 21:22 and submersed it and put it upon the head 21:26 of the infant or the older person, whomever. 21:30 And then a few years after that, they changed again 21:34 to what is still the practice. 21:36 And that is the pouring upon the head of the person 21:40 of a little water and calling it baptism. 21:45 The question tonight is, does it matter? 21:48 What difference does it make? 21:52 We're going to learn the answer from our Bible again tonight. 21:55 I must be sure to go on record to say, 21:58 we're never going to, here, sit in judgment upon anyone's 22:02 relationship with Jesus whether Catholic or Protestant 22:04 or Muslim or whatever else. 22:07 We never sit in judgment upon folks relationship with God. 22:11 But at the same time, we do have to look at teachings 22:14 and practices, and what prophecy says about them, 22:18 and the response of history. 22:20 We have to ask here, night by night, 22:22 "What is the will of Jesus?" 22:24 Wouldn't you agree with me that's what's important? 22:27 What would Jesus say? What is the will of Jesus? 22:30 And so we'll talk about that tonight. 22:31 I want to thank you now for travelling with me. 22:37 And now, ladies and gentlemen, is our subject. 22:39 Bible Baptism, Is It Important? 22:44 Please open your Bibles with me if you will to 22:46 Matthew's gospel chapter 28. 22:48 This, oft times, is referred to as the 11th commandment. 22:52 Sometimes, it's also called the final marching orders of Jesus. 22:57 Our Lord has come to the end of if His ministry, 22:59 this has been 40 days after His resurrection 23:06 and just hours, perhaps, before His ascension. 23:11 And He gives to His disciples their final marching orders. 23:15 So I'm going to read then from chapter 28 of Matthew's gospel, 23:19 verses 19 and 20. 23:22 The last words of Jesus, the 11th commandment. 23:26 Jesus said to His disciples, "Go ye therefore 23:29 and teach all nations, and then baptize them in the 23:32 name of the Father and the Son and the... " help me now. 23:36 "'... and the Holy Ghost, and teach them to observe 23:39 all the things that I have commanded you. 23:41 And lo, I'll be with you always, even to the 23:44 end of the world. ' Amen. " 23:51 I have, on various occasions, had folks come to me and say, 23:53 "Well, when it comes to this baptism business, I just 23:57 personally don't think it matters. 23:59 This way, that way, any way, no way. 24:01 It doesn't matter because baptism is only just a symbol. " 24:06 And If I say to you baptism is a symbol, that's correct. 24:09 But a good deal hangs on the way that I say it, 24:11 and perhaps even the tone and intonation that I use to say it. 24:17 I remember a senior citizen, an old gentlemen 24:22 who had never been baptized. 24:24 And we were making an appeal to the man, 24:27 "You ought to be baptized. " 24:28 And he kind of put his hands on his hips and he said, 24:31 "It doesn't matter. 24:32 It's only just a symbol, just a symbol that's all. " 24:39 And then he was asked, "Sir, have you ever been married?" 24:45 And he instantly softened. 24:48 "Oh yes," he said, "I was married to the sweetest girl 24:52 for more than 50 years. 24:54 And she recently passed away. " 25:00 "Did you love your wife sir?" 25:02 "Oh, more than life. " 25:09 "Did your wife ever kiss you?" 25:20 And the tears came. 25:26 "Oh yes. 25:31 Every morning, every night, every time I left the house. " 25:38 "Well, that kiss was only a symbol. " 25:47 Yeah. 25:52 I have another symbol in my pocket here, I believe. 25:56 Yeah, surely enough. 26:05 What do you think? 26:08 By the way, had I presented this message 10 days from now, 26:15 instead of showing you this with 5's in the corners, 26:19 I could have shown you one with 20's in the corners. 26:22 Because our check would have come and Peggy would have 26:25 given me my allowance. 26:28 She never fails, I mean within a day or two after the 26:31 check clears the bank, I'll in my wallet or in my pocket 26:35 a crisp 20 dollar bill. 26:39 Sometimes if things are good, I might even find 26:42 an additional one there. 26:44 My allowance is always on time. 26:47 But you know what? 26:49 It's only a symbol. 26:53 And nearly every week of my ministry, I visit with someone 26:56 or see someone, a neighbor perhaps, who is killing himself 27:00 for this symbol. 27:01 It's become vitally important to them. 27:02 They're spending 60, 70, 80 hours a week and then 27:06 half of the night playing with the computer trying to 27:08 get more of this. 27:11 It's only a symbol. 27:16 There are other symbols in the church that many 27:21 consider to be sacred. 27:22 I'm one of them. 27:24 One of those happens to be the Lord's supper. 27:29 Do you partake of the Lord's supper when you worship? 27:31 Yeah. 27:33 Of course. 27:34 But they're only symbols. 27:36 That bit of bread and that juice. 27:40 Jesus Himself said, "This symbolizes my body 27:44 that was broken for you. 27:45 This symbolizes My blood spilled for you. " 27:50 But they're vitally important symbols. 27:52 Life is filled with very important symbols. 27:55 Bible baptism, ladies and gentlemen, symbolizes 27:58 three very important things. 27:59 And I'm going to underline them and then I'm going to 28:01 innumerate them to some larger degree. 28:03 It symbolizes birth, new birth particularly. 28:07 It symbolizes, moreover, marriage. 28:09 Becoming a part of the bride of Christ. 28:11 Further, it symbolizes death. 28:13 Death to sin and death to the old way of living. 28:16 Our Lord Jesus said, "You must be born of the water. " 28:20 John chapter 3. 28:21 We may refer to that again as time allows. 28:24 And then baptism symbolizes marriage. 28:27 A marriage to Jesus, becoming part of His bride. 28:30 I've often been asked, "Lyle, how can I be sure 28:33 that I'm part of the bride of Christ?" 28:35 Because in Matthew chapter 25, there the 28:38 parable of the virgins. 28:39 Five wise and five otherwise. 28:41 It says, "At midnight the cry went up, 28:42 'Behold the bridegroom cometh. Go ye out to meet Him. '" 28:45 And the bride, of course, is the church. 28:47 And you come to Revelation chapter 19, 28:49 and there at about verse 7-9 it says about our Lord Jesus 28:53 that His bride has made herself ready. 28:56 And to her is granted that she be dressed in garments 28:59 pure and white, for the white garments symbolize the 29:02 righteousness of the saints. 29:03 And so, sometimes I'm asked, "How may I be absolutely certain 29:06 that I'm part of the bride, that I'm ready?" 29:08 And sometimes, in partial answer at least, I ask them, 29:11 "Have you been baptized?" 29:13 Because in a symbolic, in a vitally important symbolic way, 29:17 baptism is a marriage to Jesus Christ and becoming 29:21 part of the family. 29:22 And I want to say to you, it's the happiest family 29:25 I have ever found. 29:27 A wonderfully happy family. 29:30 Welcoming into the family at baptism. 29:33 That means that we're going to have support and we're 29:34 going to have encouragement. 29:36 And we need that in these days and times, don't we now. 29:39 We need it desperately. 29:41 Encouraging one another. 29:43 I was reading the other evening a story about the 29:45 Special Olympics from some magazine. 29:47 Doesn't matter which one. 29:49 You know about the Special Olympics. 29:51 Those that are held for children that are not as well off 29:55 as we are physically or perhaps mentally. 29:57 They're challenged in some way or another. 29:59 And they were doing the 100 yard dash. 30:01 And there was one that had really been practicing. 30:03 I mean this guy had been working and working and working 30:06 for more than a year for this Special Olympics. 30:09 And they shot off the gun and he went from the blocks. 30:13 And in just a little bit, he was well ahead of the others. 30:17 He came to the first curve and he stumbled and he fell. 30:25 Do you know what the others did? 30:27 You'd have thought they'd have passed him by 30:29 and said, "Goodbye, sorry. Too bad for you. " 30:32 No, they all stopped 30:37 and helped him up. 30:41 And then walked across the finish line together. 30:44 And that's the way it ought to be in the church. 30:47 Especially in the last days. 30:49 Hebrews chapter 10:25, "Forsake not the assembling 30:52 of yourselves together as the manner of some is. 30:54 And much more as you see the Last Day approaching. " 30:58 And so, this idea of being part of the bride of Christ is 31:02 being welcomed into the family. 31:04 And encouragement shared with those that share 31:08 like beliefs and like faith. 31:10 Our Lord Jesus is our one and only Bridegroom. 31:15 I want to read a scripture with you right now. 31:17 So go with me to Galatians chapter 3. 31:20 Galatians chapter 3, and there are so many folks who 31:23 really love the gospel, that love Galatians and Ephesians. 31:27 They're similar in so many ways and yet different in some. 31:31 Romans and Galatians and Ephesians. 31:34 Galatians chapter 3, and I want to read for us tonight verse 27. 31:39 Galatians 3:27 31:40 Here's what God, through Paul, says to us, 31:44 "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ 31:47 have put on Christ. " 31:50 You know what the bottom line symbolism is? 31:52 It means that at this point, we two have become one. 31:56 Does that remind you a little bit of your marriage ceremony? 32:00 It's not right that man should live alone. 32:02 Therefore, God has said that man ought marry 32:06 and you two become one. 32:09 Baptism brings that symbol and it's a beautiful one. 32:13 And then it symbolizes death. 32:17 Death to the former life. 32:18 Death to the old self. 32:20 Death to the lusts. 32:22 And death to the practices that destroy the home and the family 32:26 and disrupt the community. 32:27 It symbolizes death 32:29 and burial. 32:31 At the instant the one who comes to baptism 32:35 is lowered back into the water, that person is saying 32:39 by this beautiful symbol, "I believe that Jesus Christ 32:42 died for me. " 32:44 And in that brief instant that the person is lowered totally 32:48 completely beneath the water, he or she is saying by that 32:51 symbolic deed and act, "I know that Jesus Christ 32:55 was buried in my place. 32:57 His death, his burial was for me. " 32:59 And in the instant that person is raised up out of the water 33:03 dripping wet, he is saying symbolically, "I know that Jesus 33:08 was raised for me and He now lives and intercedes for me. " 33:12 Bible baptism symbolizes death, it symbolizes burial, 33:16 and it also symbolizes resurrection. 33:19 Now folks, you know surely the difference 33:26 between burying that which is dead 33:30 and sprinkling it a little bit. 33:39 You bury the past. 33:41 And with burying the past, there comes a ridding of guilt 33:44 and those complexes. 33:47 There's a wiping away of the slate, 33:49 there's a starting anew with Jesus Christ. 33:53 And I have discovered that those who really understand baptism 33:57 and go into it with the fullness of that understanding, 34:01 their lives change. 34:04 No one, by the way, had to explain to me the power 34:07 of the gospel of Jesus Christ because I saw it demonstrated 34:11 in my own daddy. 34:12 And one of these times soon in an evening or two, 34:14 I'm going to tell you our family story once again. 34:18 My dad, let me just shorten it to tell you, was an alcoholic 34:22 by the time he was 20 years of age. 34:24 And he had no religious background, none whatsoever. 34:28 And by the time I was first able to understand him, 34:32 I could hear those filthy, filthy words that he spoke. 34:37 Hardly a sentence without 3 or 4 expletives deleted. 34:40 And he had some other habits that were life destroying 34:44 and were not pleasant to be around. 34:47 And then he found Jesus Christ. 34:50 And I want to tell you that when my daddy came up 34:52 out of the water, he was indeed born again. 34:56 And all of that past and all of the guilt that went with it 34:59 was left in the tank behind him. 35:01 He was washed clean and remade. 35:04 He had died to self and left it behind him 35:08 and was raised to walk in newness of life. 35:11 How many of you folks think that Christians ought to be 35:13 the happiest people in the world? 35:14 Do you believe that? 35:16 Yea, we ought to have clear consciences and clear minds. 35:19 How many of you think that Christians ought to talk 35:22 differently from the average man on the street? 35:24 I think we should. 35:25 We ought to have that pure language that the Bible says 35:27 that we're going to have in the earth made new. 35:28 "They shall call on My name with one accord 35:31 and I'll give them a pure language. " 35:32 And we ought to begin to practice that now like we 35:34 practice these other things that get us ready 35:36 for the kingdom of God. 35:37 We ought to be the happiest people. 35:39 Our language ought to be different. 35:40 How many of you think that Christians ought to act 35:43 differently and go to, perhaps, different places than the 35:46 average of the street, huh? 35:48 Sure, we ought to be different. 35:50 We know where we've come from, we know why we're here, 35:55 and we know where we're going. 35:56 We should be the happiest people on the face of God's earth. 35:59 How many of you believe it now? 36:00 Come on, I want to see your hands now. 36:03 Well, now look. 36:04 Some of you need to tell your faces. 36:07 "Yea, I want to be the happiest people in the world. " 36:12 Some of us look like we were weaned on pickle juice. 36:23 Happiest folks on earth. 36:24 Changed and different. 36:26 Different from the rest of the world. 36:27 Unfortunately these days, some folks go to church 36:32 and they're even baptized and you can't tell them from 36:36 the folks that go to the bar and some of the rest of the places. 36:38 It was Billy Sunday who's biography I was reading 36:40 not so very long ago. 36:41 And he put it this way. 36:42 I felt that, on the outset, it was a little crude but there 36:45 may be a lot of truth in it. 36:46 He said, "Christians have lowered the bar, the standard, 36:50 so low that any old hog with two suits can get in. " 36:56 But Christians are different. 36:57 God, through Peter, in 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 9 said, 37:01 "I want you to be a peculiar people. " 37:05 And that didn't mean weird, it didn't mean some 37:07 strange thing that stands on the street corner and shouts. 37:10 It simply means we ought to be different. 37:15 We ought to act differently. We ought to look different. 37:17 We ought to go to different places than the average 37:20 person in the world. 37:21 Now, we're going to go once more to the last 37:25 commandment of Jesus. 37:26 Matthew chapter 28. 37:28 We'll review it and then we're going to put together with it 37:31 a similar verse from Mark's gospel. 37:35 We need to review. 37:36 And by the way, I'm going to suggest, folks, that you 37:38 memorize this verse or these two verses 37:40 because they're so very, very important. 37:44 Matthew 28:19-20, once again. 37:49 "Go ye therefore," a commandment of Jesus. 37:51 The eleventh. 37:53 "Go ye therefore and baptize all nations. " 38:00 Now what Jesus is saying is, "I want you to go 38:07 to Moses Lake, but I also want you to 38:10 go to Mankato, Minnesota. 38:14 I want you to go to Payette, Idaho but I also want you 38:16 to go the Philippines. 38:18 I want you to go to the Alto Plano, Bolivia 38:20 but I also want you to go to the Gobi Desert. 38:23 I want you to go to that remote place way out there in the 38:27 Nevada desert where only 3 or 4 folks live, 38:30 but at the same time I want you to go into the ghetto 38:33 of the inner city. 38:34 I want you to go to the whole world. 38:36 You must go everywhere. 38:38 Every man must be given this opportunity. 38:40 Every person, every child must hear of 38:43 My righteousness and My grace. 38:45 Go into the whole world and teach the gospel, 38:47 this good news that I have died for them, 38:51 I have been buried for them, I have risen again, 38:54 and I now live to intercede. 38:56 Go and tell everybody. 38:59 And when this job is done, I'll come again. 39:02 And in the interim, I will be with you until 39:05 the job is completed. " 39:06 That's good news. 39:07 That's really good news. 39:08 When I was sent out on a job that was tough, oft times 39:12 my daddy-in-law would go with me. 39:14 Experienced, 39:17 knew how to do it. 39:19 I wouldn't be alone. 39:20 And if it didn't work out exactly right, I could 39:24 share the blame, you know. 39:26 The boss is with me. 39:29 "I'll be with you to the very end, always. " 39:33 Now, without any transition, we're going to go from here 39:35 to Mark's gospel and we're going to read the famous last words 39:39 of Jesus as Mark remembered them. 39:41 And by the way really, this is Peter's remembrance 39:44 because the gospel of Mark is really the gospel 39:47 according to Peter. 39:48 Mark was not one of the original 12 disciples, 39:50 but rather was a traveling companion of Peter. 39:53 And Peter would go here and there, and Mark as his secretary 39:56 would go with him and he'd write down whatever 39:58 Peter has said. 39:59 And so we're going to read now, something that Peter remembered 40:03 of the final commandment of Jesus, the famous 40:06 last words of Jesus. 40:07 Mark chapter 16, verses 15 and 16. 40:11 He said, "Go into all the world and preach the 40:14 gospel to every person. 40:16 And he that believeth and is... " 40:19 Now you tell me what it says. 40:21 "... baptized, the same shall be saved. " 40:27 Our Lord Jesus connected Bible baptism with eternal life. 40:33 "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved. " 40:39 And the clear inference is that if you don't believe, 40:43 you'll not be baptized. 40:44 You see. 40:46 Here, our Lord Jesus himself, connected Bible baptism 40:49 with eternal life. 40:52 "He that believes and is baptized is going to be 40:54 saved in my kingdom. " 40:56 Now I need to talk to you for just a little bit 40:58 about the word itself. 41:01 "Baptize" 41:03 It is a New Testament word. It is a Greek word. 41:06 And the root form is "baptizo" which means "I baptize. " 41:12 The verb form, "I baptize. " 41:14 "Baptizo" 41:17 It has taken on kind of a churchy context since its 41:21 relationship with Jesus and the church and the disciples 41:25 and the commission, and the example of Jesus of course. 41:29 But it was an everyday common household sort of a word. 41:34 When the ladies were doing the dishes, they were baptizing. 41:39 That's exactly right. 41:40 When they were washing their husband's shirts, 41:42 they were baptizing them. 41:45 And you ladies, again, know the difference between 41:48 sprinkling the dishes and baptizing them. 41:51 It does make a difference. 41:53 To those that say, "Well look, it's unimportant. 41:55 Do it this way or that way or don't do it at all. 41:57 What does it matter? 41:59 It matters not. " 42:00 No, the word means only to submerse and to immerse. 42:04 And I'm going to read you a couple of quotations 42:06 and then I'm going to make a statement that I hope 42:08 doesn't sound harsh. 42:10 I don't mean it in that context, and yet at the same time 42:12 I have to make it so clear that children can understand. 42:15 So you listen. 42:16 A man wrote to Dr. Martin Luther, 42:18 whom I believe to be one of the greatest Christians, 42:20 and certainly one of the greatest New Testament scholars 42:23 since the apostle Paul. 42:25 A man wrote to Dr. Martin Luther over in Germany and he asked 42:30 him this question. 42:31 "I have been asked to baptize a certain gentlemen. 42:34 How should I go about it?" 42:36 And Martin Luther wrote back and I'm going to 42:38 read you what he said. 42:40 "You must fill a large tub completely with water. 42:43 And having divested this man of his clothing, I ask you please 42:48 cover him with a white garment. 42:49 Then you ask him to sit down in the tub and you must 42:52 baptize him completely beneath the water. " 42:56 Yea, Martin Luther. 42:58 John Wesley, another one of my heroes. 43:01 The originator of the Methodist church. 43:02 Someone asked him about baptism and here's what he said. 43:09 "It was certainly the method of Jesus and the practice, 43:15 the only practice, of the early Christian church. " 43:20 Yeah. 43:22 Martin Luther again, he said, "The act or right of baptism 43:26 consists in being placed inside the water 43:31 which flows over us and being drawn up from the water again. 43:35 These two things, being placed in the water and the waters 43:39 flowing over us and emerging them from it, signify the 43:43 power and the efficacy of God in Bible baptism. " 43:48 And he's exactly right. 43:50 And so another quotation quickly. 43:53 Or maybe a couple. 43:55 Martin Luther, and I'm quoting, said, "In the Greek language, 43:59 to baptize signifies only to submerse and to dip. 44:03 And I could wish that all of the baptized be totally immersed. " 44:07 You wonder sometimes, don't you, why those who 44:11 take his name now days don't follow his own beliefs 44:13 in so many areas. 44:15 John Calvin, the Presbyterian reformer, said and I quote, 44:18 "The very word baptize means to immerse. 44:20 And it's certain that immersion was the only practice 44:23 of the Christian church. " 44:24 Now listen, please, very carefully. 44:29 If you, as a child or an adult or whatever, 44:34 were sprinkled upon or poured upon 44:39 surely it has been recorded in the big Book, the Book of Life, 44:43 that you are dedicated or that your parents were dedicated 44:47 to raise you to know and love Jesus. 44:49 But, if you were sprinkled or poured upon and have not 44:55 yet been immersed, it has not yet been recorded in God's Book 45:01 that you've been baptized. 45:06 To submerse. 45:07 That's what it always only means. 45:11 Well those say, "Well, it's unimportant. 45:13 It's unnecessary. It doesn't matter. 45:14 He does it this way, she does it that way, 45:15 some don't do it at all. 45:17 So what, it's just a symbolism. It doesn't matter. " 45:19 Listen, if I take that position, I am sitting in judgment 45:22 upon the mind of God Almighty. 45:25 How dare any of us. 45:27 How dare any of us to tell God He doesn't know the difference 45:31 between commandments and teachings and examples 45:33 that are important and those that are unimportant. 45:36 How dare any of us sit in judgment upon the 45:41 mind of Almighty God. 45:42 Jesus said, "I am the Way, I am the Truth, and I am the Life. " 45:49 And that's from John's gospel chapter 14 verse 6. 45:52 We've used it before. 45:53 The Way and the Truth and the Life. 45:54 And from 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 21, 45:58 there we're told again, Christ is our example that we ought to 46:01 walk in His footsteps. 46:02 And when it came to the example regarding baptism, 46:06 you know well what Jesus did, don't you. 46:09 He gave us an example as to how to live and how to 46:12 conduct ourselves in every area of Christian endeavor. 46:16 When it came to the idea of rest and worship, 46:19 He kept the Sabbath, it was His custom. 46:21 He exampled us that Saturday is the day of rest and worship. 46:25 When it came to baptism, He told us and taught us 46:29 not only by His mouth but also by His example. 46:32 And maybe we ought to read it. Shall we do that together? 46:36 Let's do it, Matthew chapter 3. 46:38 One of the two places where the baptism of Jesus 46:41 is very, very clearly spelled out. 46:43 Matthew's gospel chapter 3, and we'll read at verse 15. 46:48 Matthew chapter 3, reading the 15th verse. 46:52 Matthew 3:15 46:57 Jesus went to John the Baptist, and then it says in verse 15, 47:00 "And Jesus answering said to John the Baptist, 47:02 'Suffer it to be so... '" 47:04 New translations say, "Allow me please. " 47:06 "Don't forbid me. " 47:08 "Suffer it to be so for thus it becometh us 47:11 to fulfill all righteousness. " 47:14 And then John baptized Him. 47:17 And then Jesus, when He was baptized, straightway 47:20 He wiped the water off His forehead. 47:23 Is that what it says in your Bible? 47:24 Huh? 47:25 He flipped that which was on His hair off? 47:29 What does it say then? 47:31 "Straightway, Jesus came up out of the water. " 47:35 It wasn't that a little water was on Him, somehow 47:37 poured or sprinkled, but rather that He was totally and 47:39 completely immersed down beneath the water. 47:42 He's my example in every area. 47:44 "And thus it becometh us to fulfill 47:47 all righteousness," He said. 47:49 And that word righteousness has a basic meaning 47:52 of right doing. 47:53 Jesus said, "I've come here to show you how to do it right. 47:57 I've exampled you as to how to do it right. " 48:01 Jesus was determined to leave no question as to how 48:05 right ought be done. 48:07 When Jesus concluded His ministry, in John's gospel 48:11 chapter 17 verse 4. 48:13 John 17:4, put it in your notes. 48:15 I hadn't meant to bring it up but it just came into my mind 48:17 so I'm going to share it with you. 48:18 Jesus, in His great High Priestly prayer, 48:21 said to the Father at the end of His ministry, 48:23 "I have finished all of the work that You gave Me to do. " 48:27 And part of that was exampling us as to how 48:30 we ought to be baptized. 48:33 "I have finished all of the work that You gave Me to do. " 48:38 Now listen, ladies and gentlemen. 48:42 When it dawned upon my mind what Jesus had done for me, 48:48 when I came to realize all that He had given up for me, 48:53 that He, Jesus the Creator of the universe, 48:57 had stepped off His throne where He had 49:00 for eternity been worshipped and adored. 49:04 Stepped off His throne 49:08 and stepped down beneath the rest of the God family, 49:12 stepped down lower than angels, 49:16 came down to this earth and here didn't wear a crown. 49:20 Here He stepped down beneath the dignity of kings and queens. 49:24 Here He became less than presidents or senators. 49:28 Here on this earth He was willing to become a tiny baby 49:31 in a stinky cow barn. 49:33 And the Bible says He would have done that if there was 49:35 only one lost sheep. 49:36 Had I been the only one, He would have stepped off 49:39 the throne and given His life for me. 49:42 He would have died in my place, 49:44 He would have been buried in my place, 49:46 He would have risen for me. 49:51 And when that realization caught my mind, 49:55 then I wanted a baptism that went all the way for Him. 50:01 No half way business for me. 50:04 No. 50:05 I wanted a dedication of my hands to do His work, 50:11 my feet to run His errands, 50:12 my ears to hear His Holy Spirit, my eyes to see His goodness, 50:17 my lips to sing His praise, 50:20 my hands to reach out and bless. 50:25 I wanted the total dedication of myself to the Jesus 50:30 who gave everything for me. 50:35 I remember early in my ministry, very early, 50:39 the baptism of one of my best buddies. 50:43 His name was Charles Fulmore. 50:46 Some of you know him as Chuck. The Chuck and Dona Fulmore Trio. 50:50 Yeah. 50:51 And he'd slipped away from Jesus and he wanted a re-dedication. 50:55 And so he came to the pastor. 50:57 And the pastor happened to be a dear friend of mine. 51:00 In fact, I followed him in the district and those were 51:03 big, big shoes to fill. 51:05 He name was Pastor Willard Coffman 51:08 and he happened to be a brother of Alice Morgan. 51:11 How about that, huh. 51:14 And Chuck went to Willard and he said, "I want to be baptized. " 51:21 And Pastor Willard said, "Fine, let's do it. " 51:24 And Chuck said, "There's just one thing. " 51:26 He said, "I've always had a problem with being honest 51:29 with my money. " 51:32 And so he said, "When I go in the baptistery, 51:34 I want to be able to go in there with my wallet in my pocket. 51:37 Is that alright?" 51:38 "Alright. " 51:39 And so Chuck baptized his wallet. 51:41 A total dedication because Jesus had done everything for him. 51:44 And he's done the same for you. 51:46 Now, I want you to turn with me please to Colossians 51:49 chapter 2 and we're going to notice verse 12. 51:53 Colossians chapter 2 and we're noticing together verse 12. 51:59 And we're going to find this so very helpful this evening. 52:02 Colossians 2:12 52:04 It says, "Buried with Him in baptism wherein we are also 52:08 risen with Him through faith to the operation of God 52:13 who has raised Him from the dead. " 52:17 Baptism. 52:19 God's working through us. 52:21 Baptism is a public demonstration 52:23 of our faith in God. 52:24 It is a public statement of our declaration 52:27 of our faith in Him because of all that He's done for us. 52:31 And God is watching. 52:32 You remember what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 10 verse 32. 52:36 "Whosoever confesses me before men, him will I also 52:40 confess before My Father in heaven. " 52:43 And so Jesus' heart is thrilled when we make the 52:46 public declaration and we are baptized in a public way. 52:50 God is watching. 52:52 His heart is thrilled. 52:53 I read the other day about a little girl who was standing 52:55 up against a big plate glass window during a violent 52:58 thunder and electrical storm. 53:00 And the lightening was flashing and mother came into the 53:02 family room and saw the little girl there 53:04 pressed up against the glass. 53:06 She said, "Honey get away, get back. " 53:08 "Oh no," she said, "I can't, I can't do it. 53:11 God's taking my picture. " 53:13 God's watching. 53:21 "He who confesses Me, him will I also confess before My Father. " 53:28 Now I've been asked on many occasions, "Lyle, what about 53:32 being baptized the second time? 53:36 I've been immersed the Jesus way. " 53:41 I've had some who've gone so far as to show me a scripture 53:44 that they have felt precludes them from being 53:48 baptized a second time. 53:50 And it's in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 5. 53:52 We'll just allude to it very briefly here. 53:54 Ephesians chapter 4 verse 5 where it says, 53:57 "One Lord and one faith and one baptism. " 54:02 And some have gotten the mistaken notion that it's 54:04 sort of like taking cookies to school on your 54:06 little boys birthday. 54:08 And there are only just enough, one for each child. 54:11 And some little guy comes up and says, 54:12 "Teacher, could I have two?" 54:14 "Oh no, I'm sorry. 54:15 We only have barely enough to go around, just one. " 54:17 No, that's not what God's talking about here. 54:20 He's not talking about numbers, He's talking about modality. 54:24 He's talking about methodology. 54:26 There's one true Lord. How many of you believe that? 54:28 One true Lord. That's our Lord Jesus. 54:30 One true faith. That's the faith of Jesus. 54:32 You need not raise your hand, but ask your heart. 54:35 What about one true baptism? 54:37 It becomes obvious now, that there are many man-made 54:40 additions and substitutions. 54:44 Is it alright to be re-dedicated in the water baptism? 54:47 Yes. 54:48 Let's go to Acts chapter 19. 54:52 We said the other evening that the book of Acts 54:54 is the history of the first 30 years of the Christian church. 54:58 And in chapter 19, we're going to begin to read at verse 1. 55:02 And we're going to learn something that relates 55:05 directly to our subject matter tonight. 55:07 "It came to pass while Apollos was in Corinth, 55:13 Paul, having passed through the upper coast, came to Ephesus. 55:16 And he found certain believers there and he asked them, 55:19 'Have you received the Holy Ghost since you were baptized?' 55:22 And they said to him, 'We've not heard there was 55:24 such thing as a Holy Ghost. ' 55:26 He ask them, 'Unto what then were you baptized?' 55:28 And they said unto him, 'Unto John's baptism. '" 55:31 Now, the John spoken of here is John the Baptist. 55:35 Was there anything wrong with his baptism? 55:37 Huh? 55:38 Of course not. He baptized Jesus. 55:39 There was nothing wrong with his baptism. 55:41 And so Paul goes on. 55:43 Verse 4, Paul then said, "'John verily baptized with the 55:46 baptism of repentance, saying to the folks that they should 55:49 believe on He who was to come after, 55:51 that is, on Jesus Christ. ' 55:52 And when they heard this, they were baptized again 55:55 in the name of Jesus Christ. " 55:57 The context here, my dears, is abundantly clear. 55:59 That when folks grew in grace, when they learned more, 56:03 when they got nearer to Jesus, they were re-washed, 56:07 re-dedicated. 56:10 I have had the happy privilege, in the last near 40 years now, 56:16 to be a part of the baptizing of around 5000 people. 56:19 I praise God. 56:20 Everyone is special, every one is precious. 56:29 Among the thousands, there have certainly been dozens, 56:33 dozens, who've said to me, "You know Lyle, 56:36 I didn't know until just recently, I didn't recognize 56:39 until now that unwittingly I was breaking one 56:42 of the 10 commandments. 56:43 I didn't know until just recently that I was breaking 56:46 the Lord's Day which is Saturday. 56:48 I want to be re-dedicated, I want to be baptized into that. " 56:52 And many have been. 56:54 I remember being down in Warner Robins, Georgia 56:56 preaching as I'm doing now. 56:57 And coming night after night was a man and his wife. 56:59 And I went to their home to visit, to discover that the man 57:02 had for more than 37 years been a pastor of a 57:06 Southern Baptist church. 57:08 And they came every night, every night. 57:10 And they learned about the Sabbath and wanted 57:12 to be a part of it. 57:13 And they learned about some of these other wonderful truths 57:15 and wanted to be a part of it. 57:16 Wanted to be a part of this last day movement. 57:19 And so, Bill Thompson asked me if I'd baptize him. 57:22 And I shall never forget when I raised him up out 57:24 of the water, he looked out at the congregation and said, 57:27 "You know, brother and sister, I have been a pastor for 57:30 nearly 40 years, and all of those 40 years, though I knew 57:33 Jesus and knew the gospel, I also knew something was missing. 57:36 And now I know what it was. " 57:38 And that man began to hold Revelation seminars. 57:41 And until his death in Oklahoma, he continued to write me 57:45 or phone me, "Lyle, where's that quotation? 57:46 Where's the answer to this?" 57:49 He was re-dedicated in Jesus because of his love for Him. 57:53 "He that believes and is baptized, 57:57 the same shall be saved. " 57:58 Let's pray. 58:00 Jesus dear, thank You for these many decisions made tonight 58:05 to walk in the water with You. 58:08 Don't let anything or anyone turn these dear folks 58:11 from this decision. 58:12 I beg You in Jesus' name, amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17