Participants: Geoff Youlden
Series Code: FGW
Program Code: FGW000012
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00:27 I don't know whether you've ever stood by the bedside of someone
00:31 who is about to die 00:34 and you know that this will be 00:36 the last time that you have 00:37 any communication with that person. 00:39 Now anyone who's been through an experience like that 00:43 knows that that is a very precious time, isn't it? 00:45 Obviously, if you know that this is the last time that you are 00:49 having an opportunity to talk to that person 00:52 you don't talk about the weather, do you? 00:55 You don't talk about trivial things, you talk about 00:58 things that really are important between you and that 01:01 particular person. Now it's interesting that the last 01:05 conversation that Jesus ever had with His disciples 01:09 I wonder what subject he talked to them about. 01:12 That would be interesting, wouldn't it? 01:14 The last thing that Jesus ever said to the disciples before He 01:17 went back to heaven... at least that we know that He said 01:20 to the disciples before He went back to heaven. 01:22 That would be interesting. 01:24 Well, the Bible does record that 01:27 and I want you to notice with me. 01:28 Come over to Matthew chapter 28, the last chapter in Matthew, 01:32 and it's recorded the last conversation that Jesus had. 01:36 Notice what it concerns. 01:39 Matthew chapter 28 and verse 18. 01:42 And you'll notice that most of these verses are in red 01:46 because they're the words of Jesus. 01:47 Matthew 28 and verse 18: 02:18 Now obviously, if this was the last opportunity that Jesus 02:23 had to talk to the disciples, 02:25 He would be talking about something that mattered 02:28 very importantly, isn't that right? 02:30 He wouldn't be talking about things that are not very 02:34 important. And it's interesting that Jesus chose 02:38 to remind the disciples, the last thing that's recorded here 02:42 before He went back to heaven, the last subject 02:46 that He spoke about concerned baptism. 02:49 That to my mind would suggest that baptism is very, very 02:54 important... extremely so. 02:57 In fact, it's interesting that the very first thing that Jesus 02:59 ever did to begin His ministry concerned baptism. 03:03 He was baptized Himself in the river Jordan. 03:06 And the last thing that's recorded concerned baptism. 03:12 So baptism rates very, very highly in the mind of Jesus 03:17 and I believe it ought to rate very, very highly 03:20 in our thinking, too. 03:21 And that's why I'm glad to be talking to you about it 03:23 this morning and that we have the privilege of witnessing 03:26 this beautiful ceremony. Now when we notice these verses 03:30 here when Jesus spoke to the disciples, He said 03:33 "I want you to go into all the world and I want you to make 03:37 disciples of everybody. " 03:39 That is, everybody that would listen. 03:42 And He said: "I want you to teach them... " 03:46 "Go into all the world baptizing them and then teaching them... " 03:50 And not only teaching them about the things of God 03:53 but teaching them to... what's the next word that the 03:55 Bible gives here? "Teaching them to observe 04:00 all things that I have shown you. " 04:02 Because, you see, baptism comes 04:06 after a person has learned about the truth of God 04:10 and then it comes after a person has observed. 04:15 That is, they have taken into their lifestyle the changes 04:18 that are necessary when we become a Christian. 04:21 Because obviously it's not just an intellectual understanding 04:26 that God wants. He wants us to observe 04:30 all things that "I have taught you. " 04:41 Now that's the reason why you will not see babies 04:44 being baptized this morning. 04:47 Because the Bible never teaches anywhere 04:51 to baptize a baby. 04:55 Now that may be very different to what some of us have been 04:58 brought up to believe. I'll tell you about my experience 05:00 a little bit later because I was not brought up to 05:03 understand what I'm sharing with you this morning. 05:07 And most of us have come from churches and backgrounds 05:11 in which we have been led to believe 05:14 that babies are to be baptized. 05:17 But like many things that we have been noticing 05:20 as we have been studying the Bible 05:23 the devil has counterfeited and changed even baptism 05:28 so that baptism has been taught so that people baptize 05:34 little babies instead of baptizing people who are 05:37 old enough to understand and old enough to observe. 05:40 Because remember the Bible says not only are you to teach 05:44 the people but you're to teach them to observe. 05:48 That's what Jesus taught. 05:50 And you can't teach a baby anything and you certainly 05:53 can't teach a baby to observe anything, isn't that right? 05:56 Far too young. 06:01 In fact, the church has not only altered and changed the teaching 06:04 of the Bible on this matter 06:06 but what they've done is they've done it in reverse. 06:09 Because when a child is born 06:12 the Bible says we ought to follow the example of Jesus 06:15 and His parents brought Him along to the church, 06:18 and the minister there dedicated Him when He was 8 days old. 06:25 And then Jesus was baptized at a later time. 06:28 We're going to read about what age He was in a moment. 06:30 Now the church has reversed that. 06:34 They say we baptize them first and then we catechize them 06:38 a bit later... 06:40 which is the exact reverse of what the Bible teaches. 06:43 See how mankind has changed everything? 06:47 And Jesus said a person is to go... 06:49 to be taught and taught to observe. 06:51 The Bible says in another place that before we are baptized 06:54 we are to repent. Well a baby can't repent. 06:57 Baby's got nothing to repent of. 07:00 Doesn't understand to repent. 07:02 The Bible says that we are to confess our sins. 07:05 A baby can't do that. 07:07 A baby can't believe because the Bible says 07:09 before you're baptized you're to believe. 07:12 None of those things fit into a baby. 07:16 And so Jesus here clearly teaches that, um, 07:20 baptism is very important. 07:22 Come over to Mark the 16th chapter, which is the next book. 07:24 And this is Mark's recording of the same conversation. 07:29 Mark 16 and verse 16. 07:31 And obviously all that Jesus said was not recorded 07:35 by Matthew but Mark adds something here in verse 16. 07:39 Mark 16 verse 16. 07:47 So would you suggest, then, that baptism is important? 07:50 If Jesus says "he that believes and is baptized 07:52 will be saved, " is baptism important? 07:55 Absolutely! 07:57 Very important... very, very important. 08:02 Now I know that many people have been brought up to believe 08:08 as we said that baptism comes when you are small. 08:13 In fact, sometimes people say to me: 08:14 "Well what age should a person be when they are baptized? " 08:17 Well that's a good question. 08:19 Actually the Bible does not specify an age 08:23 because it's not so much our physical age that's important 08:26 as our spiritual age. That's what's important. 08:29 Because a person could be as old as Methuselah 08:31 and still not be ready for baptism. 08:34 And when a person understands the claims of Jesus 08:38 upon their heart, then they are old enough to be baptized. 08:41 But not until then. 08:43 Now what age was Jesus when He was baptized? 08:46 Come over to Luke chapter 3. 08:47 This will give us a major clue: Luke chapter 3 and verse 21. 08:51 Right down the bottom right-hand corner of the page. 08:54 Luke chapter 3 and verse 21 says: 09:19 Now notice the next verse: 09:21 "Now Jesus Himself was just a baby... " 09:25 Is that what it says? 09:31 So Jesus was an adult when He was baptized. 09:34 He wasn't a baby at all. 09:37 Now there's a particular reason why Jesus was baptized at 30. 09:42 I don't think the Bible is saying there that a person 09:44 can only be baptized at 30. 09:46 Otherwise that would be hard for some of us, wouldn't it? 09:50 No, the point that the Bible is making here is that Jesus 09:54 was an adult... He was a mature person when He was baptized. 09:57 And there's a particular reason why Jesus began His ministry 10:01 at 30... which we will study about as we continue to study 10:05 the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. 10:07 But Jesus was an adult. 10:10 He was a mature person. 10:12 In fact it's interesting to notice what Saint Peter 10:15 himself said over here in the Bible. 10:18 Come over to II Peter 10:22 chapter 2... Or is it I Peter? 10:27 I Peter chapter 2 and verse 21. Yes. 10:30 I Peter chapter 2 and verse 21. 10:48 You see, the reason why Jesus came onto this earth 10:51 was to do more than die and be resurrected for us... 10:56 although that's the foundation of the Christian message. 10:58 Nothing's more important than that, but Jesus came 11:01 to do even more than that. 11:02 Because if Jesus came to die for us only 11:06 and to be resurrected for us 11:08 He could have come down Thursday afternoon 11:10 and gone back to heaven Sunday morning, couldn't He? 11:12 If that's all He came to do. 11:15 But He came to do more than that. 11:17 He also came to show us how to live. 11:20 And that's why Peter - who had spent so much time with Jesus - 11:24 recognized that Jesus came as an example for you and for me. 11:29 And as a Christian we are to look to Jesus as our example 11:34 in everything. 11:37 Because He lived on this earth. He was born as a baby. 11:40 He grew up as a young child. 11:42 He grew up into the teenage years. 11:44 He grew up into mature years. 11:47 Because He came to live as an example for you and for me. 11:53 And if we take the example of Jesus, 11:55 I tell you, it makes it very, very simple. 11:58 Because, you see, Jesus is called the Word of God. 12:04 That's an interesting expression, isn't it? 12:06 Jesus is called The Word in John 1:1. 12:08 "But, " you say, "isn't the Bible the Word of God? " 12:11 Yes it is! Both are the Word of God. 12:14 With the Bible we have the written Word of God; 12:18 in Jesus we have the living Word of God. 12:20 Get the thought? And it doesn't matter 12:23 very much as whether we look at the Bible 12:26 to find out what is right or we look at the life of Jesus 12:29 to find out what is right because both say the same thing. 12:37 So we study the Bible. That helps us to understand 12:40 God's will for us. Or we look at the life of Jesus 12:43 and that tells us what God's will for us 12:46 because He lived it as an example. 12:48 And I want to say something this morning. 12:51 If we take the example of Jesus, 12:54 tell me, what day will be go to church on? 12:58 I tell you you'll never go on Sunday 13:00 because Jesus never went to church in His entire life 13:03 on Sunday. Is that right? 13:06 And as I've often said, if there was no other Sabbath keeper 13:11 in the entire world but Jesus that would satisfy me. 13:14 That's all I need because Jesus is our example. 13:18 And when we study the Bible we've got to make sure 13:20 that we don't misinterpret the Bible to make the Bible 13:23 say something that's different from the life of Jesus. 13:25 Can you see the point? 13:27 Because both go together... one supplements the other. 13:30 One helps to explain the other. 13:35 He's the Living Word; the Bible is the written Word. 13:39 And when we take the example of Jesus, we will be baptized 13:43 like Jesus was baptized. 13:46 Because obviously Jesus wasn't baptized for the reasons 13:50 that our six candidates need to be baptized today 13:53 or any of us have ever been baptized. 13:56 Because we need to be baptized to wash away our sin. 14:00 But Jesus wasn't baptized to wash away His sins, was He? 14:05 In Him was no sin. 14:07 Well then, why was Jesus baptized? 14:10 If He didn't sin, why was He baptized? 14:15 As an example to show us what is important as a Christian. 14:21 So we look at the life of Jesus and that's why I come back 14:24 to this matter of the Sabbath that we've been studying 14:26 which is a big difference in Christianity today. 14:29 When we take the example of Jesus it simply answers the 14:34 question as simple as A-B-C. 14:36 There is no more dispute 14:39 because Jesus' life totally agrees with what the Bible says. 14:44 And He is our example in everything. 14:47 He's certainly our example when it comes to baptism. 14:50 And it's much easier to follow an example than it is 14:55 just a theory. That's why following the example of Jesus 14:58 is so helpful. For example, if I said to you: 15:01 "Look, I want a podium made. I want it so high, 15:04 so wide, so deep. I want it black and so forth. " 15:07 And if I wrote out my instructions clearly 15:10 and drew them up, plan and elevation and so forth correctly 15:13 you would be able if you could follow and read plans 15:16 you would be able to make a desk exactly like this one. 15:18 But if I said to you: "Look, 15:20 I want a desk just like this one. " 15:24 That's much easier, isn't it? Because - ah-hah - I can see 15:27 the way. I can see the rounded edges. 15:29 I can see it's black. I can see the way it's done. 15:34 I can measure it and it's easy because I've got an example 15:37 to follow. That's why Jesus lived on this earth 15:42 for 33 years: as an example to show us how to live. 15:49 Now the Christian is often asked: "How should a person 15:52 be baptized? " 15:56 Come over to the book of Ephesians toward the back 15:58 of the Bible... Ephesians the 4th chapter. 16:02 We come over past Romans, Corinthians, and then Ephesians 16:05 the 4th chapter and verse 5. 16:09 Because there are four basic methods of baptism 16:13 that are used in the Christian church today. 16:20 Have a look at chapter 4 and verse 5. It says there is: 16:32 You see, just as there is only one God 16:37 and there's only one faith in spite of the fact 16:40 that many Christians have the concept that all churches 16:43 are just different roads leading to heaven. 16:46 You can go the Anglican way or you can go the Catholic way 16:49 or you can go this way or that way. 16:51 It doesn't really matter... they all finish up in the same place. 16:55 Now the Bible does not teach it like that at all. 16:58 Because the Bible says there is one Lord, 17:00 there is one faith that is correct, 17:03 and there's one baptism that is correct. 17:05 That's why it's up to us to study the Bible to find out 17:08 which faith is correct, which baptism is correct, 17:11 and which God is correct. 17:13 And there's only one way to do that, and that's 17:15 to study the Word. 17:16 To look at the life of Jesus. 17:20 So if you go into the Christian church around here 17:24 you will find there are four different methods. 17:25 There will be one method where you go along to the church 17:28 and they will get some water and they usually sprinkle it 17:31 on you. Mostly it's a baby but not in every case. 17:36 Another church will take a cup of water 17:38 and they'll pour it on a person's head. 17:40 Mostly it's babies but sometimes it's even adults. 17:43 Another church will baptize you three times face downward. 17:48 They call this triune baptism. 17:50 Once in the name of the Father, once in the name of the Son, 17:52 once in the name of the Holy Spirit. 17:55 They usually give you a little time to breathe in between. 17:58 Three times. See? 18:00 Then there is the method that you are going to see 18:03 this morning which I believe is the correct Biblical method - 18:07 and I'm going to explain why that is so in just a moment - 18:09 where a person is laid down once underneath the water 18:13 face upwards and lifted back. 18:16 Now there's a very good reason why the method that you are 18:20 going to see this morning is the correct Biblical way. 18:23 And I want to explain that because it's very important 18:27 that we understand what we're going to see. 18:29 That's why I wanted to talk to you before we had the baptism 18:31 so that you will understand what you are witnessing. 18:34 Because the method of baptism is what is important. 18:38 And the church has changed that, too. 18:45 In fact, let me read you how Jesus was baptized. 18:49 Come back to Mark... just back a few books. 18:52 Mark chapter 1 and verse 9. 18:55 Mark the 1st chapter and verse 9. 19:00 Mark 1 and verse 9. Halfway down it says here: 19:25 You know they tell me that when they filmed that film 19:29 The King of Kings... It's an oldie, it's been around 19:32 for many years now, but usually it's recycled on television 19:35 around about the time of Easter... 19:37 and they have Jesus being baptized. 19:40 Interesting. And He's down by the river Jordan 19:43 standing on the side of the river 19:46 and there is John the Baptist with Him. 19:49 And along side both of them there is a bucket of water. 19:52 And John the Baptist has an oyster shell. 19:55 And he dips the oyster shell into the bucket of water 19:59 and then pours it on the head of Jesus. 20:01 Tell me: is that what we just read how Jesus was baptized? 20:05 With a bucket of water and an oyster shell? 20:07 No. You know, people say to me: "You ought to go along 20:10 and look at those religious films. You learn so much 20:11 about the Bible. " 20:13 I want to tell you, if you want to learn about the Bible 20:15 don't waste your time watching those. 20:17 Because the theology of films like that are dictated 20:20 usually by the religion of the director. 20:25 And in this particular case, he was a Catholic 20:27 and so forth, and so that idea comes through. 20:32 But we go to the Bible to find out what is the truth. 20:35 And when Jesus was baptized it says He went down 20:37 into the river Jordan. 20:39 And after His baptism He came up out of the river Jordan. 20:46 And you'll see why that's important. 20:48 Come over to John now the third chapter. 20:50 Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John chapter 3 and verse 23. 20:56 John 3 verse 23. 20:58 And it explains here why John was baptizing 21:02 at Aenon near Salim. Have a look at verse 23. It says: 21:17 So the baptism that Jesus was baptized with requires 21:21 a lot of water. That's the first big clue. 21:24 Requires a lot of water. 21:26 You see, if it's an oyster shell a buck of water goes a long way. 21:30 But Jesus' baptism wasn't like that. 21:33 He requires lots of water. 21:37 So that helps us. 21:39 Now we have an illustration in the New Testament 21:41 in the book of Acts, if you come over to the 8th chapter of Acts, 21:45 of how the apostles actually baptized. 21:48 It's recorded there. Acts 8 and we'll pick up the story 21:52 here about the Ethiopian eunuch. 21:54 He was on his way... In fact, he was 21:57 studying the scriptures, the Old Testament. 21:59 In fact, he was reading Isaiah chapter 53 22:02 and he couldn't work out who this was talking about... 22:06 this servant who was wounded for our transgressions, 22:11 bruised for our iniquities. 22:13 And the chastisement of His peace was upon us. 22:16 The poor Ethiopian couldn't work out what that was all about. 22:21 And he happened to spy Philip. 22:25 And Philip saw him reading and he went up to him 22:28 and he says... Philip said to him... 22:31 the eunuch said to Philip: 22:32 "Who is this man that's being referred to here? 22:36 Is he talking about himself or someone else? " 22:39 Well we'll read from verse 34: 23:27 So this wonderful black man from Africa 23:32 studying Isaiah 53 became convinced that this was about 23:37 Jesus as Philip explained it to him. 23:39 And as soon as he was convicted in his heart about Jesus 23:43 he wanted to be baptized. 23:45 And the Bible says when Philip baptized him they both went down 23:50 into the water. And after the baptism they both came up 23:54 out of the water because it's the story of 23:58 baptism by immersion. 24:00 Because when the apostles baptized, both got wet. 24:04 That is: the person doing the baptism 24:07 as well as the person being baptized. 24:10 Both got wet! 24:12 Because they both went down into the water 24:15 and they both came up out of the water. 24:19 Now when we understand the significance and the meaning 24:23 of baptism it really settles the method of baptism 24:26 once and for all. Just come over to the book of Romans... 24:29 Romans chapter 6 and we'll notice here verse 3. 24:35 Romans 6 and verse 3 24:37 where Paul now is explaining the meaning of baptism. 24:40 He says this in verse 3: 24:52 So the first thing that baptism reminds us of 24:56 is the death of Jesus. 24:58 It reminds us of a death. All right, let's read on. Verse 4: 25:16 So you see baptism reminds us of the three essentials 25:22 of the Christian message. 25:23 It reminds us of the death of Jesus. 25:26 It reminds us of the burial of Jesus. 25:30 And it reminds us of the resurrection of Jesus. 25:33 That's what baptism is all about. 25:35 That's what the symbol means. 25:38 Now when we bury someone... when someone dies 25:41 what do we do? Do we go out to the cemetery 25:44 and we get a bit of dirt and we sprinkle it on their heads? 25:47 We don't even get a cup of dirt and pour it on their head do we? 25:51 And we certainly don't lay them down three times face downward 25:55 or face upward. 25:57 There's only one way a person is buried, and that is 26:00 they are laid in the ground once face upwards. 26:02 And the Bible says that death, burial, and resurrection 26:07 is symbolized by the method of baptism. 26:12 And as you see the candidates baptized today 26:17 you will notice that they are going to be laid down 26:19 under the water because they are saying to you 26:23 that they have died to their former life. 26:27 Then they will be buried underneath the water. 26:32 And so for that swift moment their life - their old life 26:35 so to speak - is buried underneath the water. 26:39 Then they are raised - just like Christ was raised 26:45 from the dead - they are raised from the water indicating 26:49 that the power of God has come into their life 26:53 to enable them to now live a new life... 26:55 a resurrected life. Get the thought? 26:57 That's what the symbol of baptism is all about. 27:00 That's what it means! 27:03 And just as the pastor raises them from the grave 27:08 by a power outside themselves so they are recognizing 27:12 that they are going to live the Christian life now 27:15 by a power outside themselves. 27:17 That's what it's all about. 27:20 Now when the devil came along, of course he didn't want people 27:23 to understand that truth so he has counterfeited that 27:27 and changed it. 27:29 And what he has done... He has put the emphasis 27:33 on the water making it holy water 27:37 with no emphasis on the methodology 27:40 because the methodology's not important. 27:42 Sprinkling a bit of water on a person or a baby's head 27:46 doesn't symbolize anything. 27:49 In fact, that comes from paganism. 27:51 That's what they do in the pagan religions. 27:53 When I was over in Egypt I saw all the Egyptians. 27:57 When they were born they were sprinkled with water on their 28:00 head by the sun-worshiping priest. 28:03 That's where they got it from. 28:04 They just didn't make it up I can tell you. 28:06 Because they didn't get it from the Bible. They copied it 28:08 from the pagans. They brought it into the church 28:11 and called it baptism. 28:13 That's what we've been saying through the week. 28:15 They have renamed everything, and because the name baptism 28:18 is associated with sprinkling people think that it must 28:21 be of God, it must be from the Bible, and it must be Christian. 28:24 It's got nothing to do with Christianity at all... 28:26 it's pagan! 28:27 But the method that God has is altogether different. 28:31 It places no emphasis on the water whatsoever. 28:34 The water's not holy; it's just ordinary water out of the tap. 28:39 What is holy is the method of baptism. 28:44 Because as you see the candidates lowered down 28:47 this morning, they are saying to you that they have accepted 28:50 Jesus' death, His burial, and His resurrection for them. 28:54 That's what they are declaring publicly. 28:56 Because baptism is a public declaration of our commitment 29:00 to Jesus. It's like marriage. 29:03 You can't get married in private nor can you get baptized 29:07 in private because it is a public witness. 29:10 it's a public declaration of our commitment to Christ 29:15 the same as marriage is a public declaration 29:17 of our love for our partner. 29:21 And so the two things are important for us to understand. 29:26 Now you see, unfortunately as time went on 29:32 there was more and more emphasis put on the idea 29:37 that babies need to be baptized. 29:40 You see, I was baptized as a baby. 29:43 Now I don't remember anything about it 29:44 because obviously I was very young. 29:47 But I do know about it because my parents 29:50 kept an album of my... first part of my life. 29:57 A very detailed one, in fact. 29:59 And some years ago they bequeathed to me 30:03 this album... this picture album. 30:06 And when you open it up you can see on the right-hand page 30:10 Geoff - 1 day old Geoff - 2 days old 30:13 Geoff - 3 days old Geoff - 4 days old 30:15 You turn the page: Geoff - 5 days old and so forth. 30:18 I'm not going to bore you with all this, but I've got 30:20 this in my library at home... big thick album. 30:23 And because, you know, when you're the first born 30:27 in the family parents get excited about the first baby. 30:30 I guess they're still excited about the others, 30:32 but they're not quite so camera happy as time goes on. 30:37 But they are on the first one, and I happened to be 30:39 the first one... so there's lots of pictures. 30:42 Now on the album when you open it up 30:45 on the left-hand side there is only one picture. 30:48 In my mother's most neat handwriting she has written 30:51 Geoff's christening day in a half circle. 30:54 Geoff's christening day. There is a picture - 1 picture 30:57 on the page. And if you can imagine what I looked like 31:01 in a white frilly frock, 31:03 then you've got a picture of me 31:05 being baptized. 31:07 Now I want to tell you this: 31:08 that's the only time I've worn a frock and I'm not planning 31:11 to wear another one. See? 31:13 But that's what my parents believed was the right thing. 31:19 But friend, when I started to study the Bible 31:22 and I found that God wants us to be baptized the correct way 31:26 by immersion then I was baptized that way. 31:29 And I want to encourage all of us 31:33 because baptism is very important. 31:38 Now sometimes people say to me: "What? I've been baptized 31:41 that way. " And thank God there are some churches that 31:43 teach that still... the way you're going to see baptism 31:46 this morning. And I'm very glad that there are. 31:50 But sometimes those people come to me and they say: 31:52 "Well I don't need to be baptized again. " 31:54 Just come over to the book of Acts. Let me read you 31:56 Acts 19. And here is the experience that the apostle 32:02 Paul had on one occasion 32:05 when he went down to Corinth 32:08 with Apollos. In chapter 19 it says verse 1: 32:50 Tell me: how many times were these disciples baptized? 32:55 Twice. They were first of all baptized by John's baptism. 33:00 Was that a good baptism? 33:02 Absolutely. Why do we know that it was a good baptism, 33:05 there was nothing wrong with it? 33:07 Jesus was baptized by John... so there's nothing wrong with it. 33:10 But what was the problem with these disciples who were 33:13 baptized by John the Baptist. There was a major problem, 33:16 and what was the problem? 33:19 As you read down here, what hadn't they been instructed in? 33:24 The teaching of the Holy Spirit. 33:26 They knew nothing about the Holy Spirit. 33:28 And so when Paul came along and Apollos 33:31 they instructed them about the Holy Spirit. 33:34 And so when they heard about the Holy Spirit - 33:37 such a major teaching as the Holy Spirit - 33:39 they then said: "We've got to be baptized into the full truth. " 33:43 And I believe that that's like some of us who are coming 33:46 from Sunday-keeping churches. 33:48 That we have not understood all of the truth. 33:52 You did the right thing when you were being baptized. 33:54 I want to applaud you for doing that. 33:56 But it is not wrong to be re- baptized into God's complete 34:00 truth because now you're learning new major truths. 34:06 I mean a major truth is the Sabbath. 34:08 The prophecies of Daniel and Revelation... they will open up 34:11 to you major truths that you've never heard before. 34:18 What we studied about today in health... 34:22 I'll guarantee that most of you have never heard that before 34:26 and it requires big changes in our thinking and our lifestyle. 34:31 And I believe that we do the right thing in being baptized 34:35 into God's complete truth. 34:36 We're not denying our first baptism... it was meaningful. 34:40 But God wants us to take another step with Him 34:43 and we're baptized into God's complete truth 34:46 for these last days. 34:47 And we have Biblical examples to support that. 34:50 Now sometimes people say to me: "Well, Geoff, my problem is 34:54 I just don't feel good enough yet to be baptized. " 34:57 You know, that's the trouble with many of us. 34:59 We feel that we've got to graduate to a certain standard 35:02 before we can be baptized. The Bible doesn't teach that at all. 35:05 The Bible says that we ought to be baptized as soon 35:08 as we hear about it... as soon as we understand 35:11 and are able to get our life in harmony with what God wants us 35:14 to do we ought to be in a hurry to be baptized. 35:16 We ought not to put it off 35:19 because baptism is not a graduation. 35:22 Baptism is the beginning of the Christian life. 35:26 And when we are baptized... 35:27 The candidates this morning are not saying to us 35:29 they've arrived. I'm sure they'll tell you that. 35:33 They don't feel that they've arrived at all. 35:36 But what they are saying is they're like babes... 35:38 we are beginning the Christian life. 35:40 And we are beginning the Christian life just to mark... 35:44 our baptism marks that. It's like marriage. 35:46 When you get married there's an awful lot of water 35:49 going to go under the bridge in the future, isn't there? 35:51 Huh? True. 35:54 And I guess if we knew all the water that was going to go 35:57 under the bridge maybe we wouldn't be so anxious 35:59 to get married so quickly perhaps. 36:01 But we make a pledge together. 36:05 And so it is with baptism. 36:09 We make a pledge with God: by God's grace we're going to 36:12 live in harmony with what God wants us to do. 36:15 And so baptism comes when we've made that decision, 36:19 not when we've arrived. 36:21 Because the truth is: we'll never arrive. 36:24 Because the closer you get to Jesus the more you will sense 36:28 your need of Jesus. Get the idea? 36:29 And the more you will not want to talk about your 36:35 achievements... you'll want to talk about Jesus. 36:37 That's the closer you get to Jesus. 36:39 The further you are away from Jesus the more you talk about 36:42 you know you pay 100 cents on the dollar. 36:44 You never do your neighbor a bad turn. 36:45 You live a good life; you don't need to go to church. 36:47 You don't need God. You know how people talk. 36:49 That shows that a person's a long way away from Jesus. 36:52 But when you get close to Jesus you don't talk about that 36:54 at all. You begin to talk about Jesus 36:57 and you talk and recognize your own sinfulness 37:00 because you're coming up close to the light. 37:02 Let me read you a verse over here in... in Galatians 3. 37:08 Galatians at the back of the Bible. 37:11 Galatians chapter 3 and verse 27. 37:15 Galatians 3 and verse 27. 37:21 And this is what it says: 37:28 So we put on Christ when we're baptized. 37:33 When I am married, I take unto myself a wife 37:36 or a husband if you're a woman. 37:37 So that's... when we're baptized we take Christ. 37:41 That's why we are a Christian. We're all brothers and sisters 37:44 in the church. And I love... In the Adventist church 37:46 we often refer to one another as brother and sister 37:49 because we are indicating that we're a part of God's family. 37:54 No matter where you go, whether your skin is black 37:56 or white or yellow or in between 37:59 it makes no difference because we are all brothers and sisters 38:03 in Christ. Because when I am baptized 38:06 my name is Geoffrey Earl Youlden Christian. 38:09 When you're baptized your name is that: Christian. 38:12 So we're all related; we all have the same surname. 38:14 That's why we're brothers and sisters 38:17 within the family of God 38:20 and we have Christ as our Helper. 38:23 One last verse: I want to read I John chapter 2 and verse 6. 38:27 I John chapter 2 and verse 6 where it says this: 38:43 See, the plan for a Christian is that we walk exactly 38:47 as Jesus walked. And you can never make a mistake. 38:50 You can never get confused. If you simply make Jesus as your 38:54 example it just about finishes every dispute. 38:57 There are no more disputes if you look to Jesus 39:00 as our example. We walk as He walked. 39:03 No more dispute over the commandments. 39:05 No more dispute over the Sabbath. 39:07 No more dispute about any of those things 39:09 because we simply follow Jesus. 39:10 That's what the Bible keeps emphasizing. 39:12 Peter says He's our example; 39:14 John says we walk just as He walked. 39:18 And if God is going to say I'm wrong then Jesus is wrong. 39:22 Because if my life is patterned on Him 39:25 I can't be wrong because Jesus is my example. 39:30 And I want to tell you this, friends... 39:31 I want to tell you the best part of the story 39:33 is that when you ask Jesus to come into your life 39:36 He gives you the power and the strength to be able to do 39:38 all that God wants you to do. 39:39 You know, sometimes people say: "Well you can't keep all 39:41 the commandments. " That's a half truth. 39:43 You can't keep the commandments in your own strength 39:45 but when you have Jesus in your heart you're able 39:47 to be able to do everything God wants you to do. 39:50 And that's the exciting thing: that when we link our life up 39:53 with Jesus all power in heaven and on earth is ours. 39:58 Everything. Every angel in heaven will come to my side 40:02 if I need it in a situation. 40:05 That's why we can be so excited about being a Christian. 40:09 And the candidates this morning as they are baptized 40:13 are saying that we are linking our life with Jesus. 40:17 And when we link our life with Jesus, all power is ours. 40:21 Let's just bow our heads together in prayer. 40:24 Our Father in heaven, I just want to thank you 40:26 this morning again for the power that is in the gospel. 40:30 Thank you that the power is to change our lives. 40:33 And I thank you for these dear candidates today 40:35 who have indicated their desire to start the Christian life, 40:39 to start to walk with You. Bless them we pray 40:41 and strengthen them day by day. May they always 40:44 feel Your presence with them. I pray for Christ's sake, Amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17