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Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW024282S
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00:17 ♪[music ends]♪♪
00:19 >>John Bradshaw: This is "It Is Written." 00:20 I'm John Bradshaw. Thanks for joining me. 00:23 In a small village in Maharashtra State in India, 00:26 Hindus and Muslims have been gathering 00:28 for more than seven centuries to observe an unusual ritual 00:32 believed to ensure good health 00:34 for babies and prosperity for their families. 00:37 Babies are taken up onto the roof of a building, 00:40 placed one at a time in the hands of a man 00:43 who shakes the babies 00:45 before dropping them about 40 feet from the building. 00:49 The dropped baby is caught in a sheet or blanket 00:52 held by 10 or so men before it is returned to its family. 00:58 A similar thing happens each December 00:59 near the village of Indi in Karnataka State. 01:02 Two hundred babies are dropped, one by one, about 30 feet 01:08 by their parents and caught by people below holding a cloth. 01:12 Again, the thinking is that the children will be healthy, 01:14 strong, and live longer. 01:17 Odd religious or quasi-religious traditions 01:20 are not rare. 01:22 Every June in a village in northern Spain, 01:25 babies are placed on mattresses in the village's streets 01:29 while men dressed as the devil run through the streets 01:33 and jump over the babies, 01:35 supposedly absorbing the sins of the babies 01:39 and bringing them protection from disease and misfortune. 01:42 In a city just outside Manila in the Philippines, 01:45 the Easter season sees young Roman Catholic men 01:47 whip or beat themselves, sometimes with chains and wood, 01:53 in an attempt, in a futile attempt, 01:56 to atone for their sins. 01:59 But as strange as these things might be to the uninitiated, 02:02 imagine for a moment you had never heard of Christianity 02:06 or of Jesus, and you were at the sea or by a lake 02:09 and you witnessed people wade out into that sea or lake 02:13 while one of them lowered the others one by one into the water 02:18 as though they were being buried. 02:20 If you've never seen it before, 02:22 or if you were unaware of the meaning, 02:24 you might wonder what in the world is going on. 02:28 If you're familiar with baptism, you get it. 02:31 Even if your church doesn't practice baptism, 02:33 you're familiar with it. 02:35 But if you weren't, baptism might seem a little...bizarre. 02:41 So, what is baptism, and why do Christians do it? 02:44 The Christian church traces baptism back to the ministry 02:47 of a man named John, known to us today as John the Baptist-- 02:51 not because he was a Baptist in the denominational sense 02:54 but because he baptized people. 02:56 He was John the Baptizer. 02:58 John the Baptizer's mother and Jesus' mother were cousins, 03:01 making John the Baptist and Jesus second cousins. 03:04 Mary visited Elizabeth, while both women were expecting, 03:08 at the direction of the angel Gabriel. 03:10 John's father Zacharias was visited by an angel 03:13 as he ministered in the temple. 03:15 According to the custom of the priest's office, 03:18 his lot was to burn incense 03:20 when he went into the temple of the Lord. 03:22 When the angel informed him 03:23 that his wife was going to give birth to a son, 03:25 Zacharias expressed doubt: 03:28 "Whereby shall I know this? 03:29 For I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years." 03:33 But as a spiritual leader, 03:36 Zacharias should not have doubted God. 03:39 He certainly knew about other miracle births. 03:43 Abraham was close to 100 years old when Isaac was born, 03:46 and Sarah was around 90. 03:48 Rebekah, Hannah, the wife of Manoah-- 03:51 they'd all given birth in miraculous circumstances. 03:55 So, Zacharias was made to be mute for the duration 03:58 of his wife's pregnancy, testifying that this 04:01 was something out of the ordinary 04:04 and that their child had a special calling upon his life. 04:09 John the Baptist lived in the wilderness. 04:11 He didn't wear designer clothes, and he ate a very plain diet. 04:15 The Bible says that he ate, among other things, 04:18 locusts and honey. 04:19 And while those locusts may have been carob pods, 04:23 they also may well have been locusts. 04:25 They're not unclean, so eating them would not have been 04:27 against any biblical requirement, 04:29 and at certain times they would have been plentiful. 04:32 His ministry was predicted by Isaiah 04:34 700 years before John was born. 04:38 Now, significantly, John called people to repentance, saying, 04:43 "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" 04:47 And he created a real stir. 04:50 "Jerusalem, all Judea, and... the region around the Jordan 04:55 "went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, 04:59 confessing their sins." 05:01 Now, there's some misunderstanding today 05:03 about baptism. 05:04 Some believe baptism should be by immersion, 05:07 where the person being baptized is fully submerged in water. 05:11 One of the largest religious denominations on the planet 05:13 teaches baptism should be by sprinkling. 05:16 Some would say it doesn't matter, 05:17 but we're going to see what the Bible says. 05:20 We're living late in the history of the earth, 05:23 where people like to do pretty much what they please 05:26 and where we are less inclined to do things the prescribed way 05:29 and more inclined to adapt things to our own preference. 05:33 Does what the Bible say about this need to be taken seriously? 05:37 Or can this be adapted to one's own preference? 05:40 First, let's take a closer look at baptism, 05:43 especially as it relates to John the Baptist's ministry. 05:46 Now, notice, he said, 05:48 "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" 05:51 "Repent" means, literally, to think differently after 05:55 or to change one's mind or to change one's purpose. 05:59 Repentance is more than just confessing your sin. 06:03 John was calling people to a new life, 06:05 to a heart change, a mind change. 06:07 Over in Acts, chapter 2, 06:09 Peter tells people to "repent, and be baptized." 06:13 Baptism is to follow and is a sign of a change of one's mind, 06:18 a change of your life, a change of your direction. 06:22 ♪[soft contemplative music]♪ 06:23 So, what this means is that baptism is a serious thing. 06:27 It's not just something to do. 06:30 It isn't only an emotional decision. 06:33 Baptism is a sign of something. 06:35 There's a deeper meaning to baptism that's often overlooked 06:39 and completely ignored. 06:41 It's really important, 06:42 and we'll find out what it is in just a moment. 06:46 ♪[upbeat music swells and ends]♪♪ 06:55 >>Announcer: Freedom, it's something we all want-- 06:57 freedom from stress, from life's troubles. 07:00 But did you know the Bible offers us an all-encompassing 07:03 kind of freedom? 07:04 Learn more by requesting today's free offer, 07:07 "Steps to Salvation," 07:08 by calling 800-253-3000 07:12 or visiting us online at iiwoffer.com 07:16 and see how Jesus Himself shows us 07:19 how to live a life of true freedom. 07:21 Learn how to be truly free. 07:25 >>John Bradshaw: Thanks for joining me on "It Is Written." 07:28 Baptism should be one of the most straightforward teachings 07:32 in the Bible. But it isn't. 07:34 And if you think there's disagreement today-- 07:37 Catholics and some others practicing infant baptism, 07:40 most Protestants and non-Catholic churches 07:42 practicing baptism by immersion-- 07:45 disagreement was much sharper several hundred years ago. 07:50 In Zurich, Switzerland, in the year 1527, 07:53 a man named Felix Manz was executed for the crime 07:58 of baptizing people by immersion. 08:01 The state church, the reformed church, 08:03 strenuously believed that infants should be baptized. 08:07 Felix Manx maintained that it only made sense 08:09 that people who are baptized 08:11 are capable of professing their faith themselves. 08:14 He had been sentenced to life in prison for his beliefs, 08:17 but he escaped through a hole in the roof of his cell 08:20 and, along with other prisoners, 08:22 rappelled or abseiled over the prison's outer wall. 08:25 Once he was free, Manz began traveling the country preaching 08:29 and baptizing before being arrested once again. 08:32 He was drowned by the authorities 08:35 in the ice-cold Limmat River in Zurich 08:38 while his mother watched from the riverbank. 08:41 She called out to him, urging him to remain faithful to God. 08:46 Now, what happened to Felix Manz was extreme, 08:48 but it's the kind of thing that happens 08:50 when church and state are united. 08:52 And it was not uncommon back in those days. 08:55 Even the great reformer Ulrich Zwingli 08:58 approved of the execution. 09:01 Infant baptism meant you became part of the church, 09:03 and because the church was controlled by the state, 09:06 if you weren't baptized as an infant, 09:07 then it's as though you weren't a citizen of the state. 09:11 Felix Manz was an Anabaptist. 09:14 The Anabaptists were a movement 09:16 within the Protestant Reformation that believed 09:18 in baptism by immersion, "ana" meaning "again." 09:22 They believed that if you'd been baptized--or, really, 09:25 christened--as an infant, you should be baptized again. 09:29 They were so insistent on this, 09:31 to the point of being willing to lose their lives 09:35 because they were committed to the Bible 09:36 as the sole rule of faith and practice. 09:39 And they believed that as followers of Jesus, 09:41 they should be obedient to His Word. 09:43 And they believed, correctly, 09:45 that the Bible does not teach infant baptism. 09:49 John the Baptist clearly baptized by immersion. 09:53 That's why he was baptizing in the River Jordan, 09:55 so he could immerse people. 09:57 It's almost 20 miles from Jerusalem to the Jordan River. 10:00 No doubt he could have found a body of water in Jerusalem 10:03 that would have sufficed, but John was so committed to this 10:05 that he didn't take baptism on the road. 10:07 He could have if it was by sprinkling. 10:10 A container of water and a donkey 10:12 and he could have baptized people all over Judea. 10:15 Jesus was baptized by immersion. 10:17 "Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan 10:20 "to be baptized by him. 10:22 "When He had been baptized, 10:23 Jesus came up immediately from the water." 10:26 The Ethiopian government official? Same thing. 10:29 He'd been reading Isaiah 53 10:31 when the Holy Spirit led Philip to approach him. 10:34 "Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, 10:37 "preached Jesus to him. 10:39 "Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. 10:41 "And the eunuch said, 'See, here is water. 10:44 "What hinders me [to be] baptized?' 10:47 "Then Philip said, 'If you believe with all your heart, 10:50 "you may.' And he answered and said, 10:52 "'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.' 10:55 "So he commanded the chariot to stand still. 10:57 "And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, 11:01 and he baptized him." 11:03 It was fear of babies and young children dying 11:06 and losing eternal life that brought infant baptism 11:09 into the early church in the first place. 11:12 The first clear reference to infant baptism was written 11:15 by an early church writer named Tertullian, 11:17 who wrote around 200 A.D., and he was against it. 11:21 Not long afterward, Origen, the famous teacher from Alexandria, 11:26 wrote that "infants are baptized for the forgiveness of sins." 11:31 According to the historian Adolf Harnack, 11:34 Origen believed that sins could be committed in a former life. 11:38 So, infants would need to be baptized 11:40 for forgiveness of sins. 11:42 He also claimed that the church had "from the apostles 11:46 [a] tradition [to give] baptism even to infants." 11:50 Of course, he gave no evidence for those claims from the Bible 11:54 because there is none. 11:56 The Bible teaches only, and clearly, baptism by immersion. 12:01 So, why are there so many people who believe in infant baptism, 12:05 or even baptism by pouring? 12:08 It's simple. Traditions are really hard to overcome. 12:13 There are many of them in Christianity-- 12:15 not biblical, just traditions. 12:18 And people love their traditions. 12:20 So, what should win out 12:22 when a tradition runs contrary to the Bible? 12:25 Well, the answer is obvious. 12:28 But let's say that's all that this was, 12:31 a matter of preference. 12:32 If that's all it was, you might be convinced 12:34 that it really doesn't matter how a person is baptized, 12:37 even though the word "baptized" means "to immerse." 12:41 That's what it means, "baptizó" in the Greek. 12:43 Those who dyed cloth baptized the cloth in dye. 12:48 There was even a figure of speech used in old times 12:50 that someone drowning in debt was being "baptized in debt." 12:56 Infant baptism might be called baptism, but it isn't baptism. 13:01 Baptism by pouring, same thing, it isn't baptism. 13:05 If you're going to do it, 13:06 you really ought to call that something else. 13:09 But from a biblical perspective, this goes way beyond preference. 13:14 It goes to the symbolism of baptism, to its deeper meaning. 13:19 So, what is the deeper meaning? 13:22 What is the strange truth about baptism? 13:26 We'll look at that in just a moment. 13:28 ♪[upbeat music swells and ends]♪♪ 13:37 >>John: Thank you for remembering that It Is Written 13:39 exists because of the kindness of people just like you. 13:43 To support this international life-changing ministry, 13:46 please call us now at 800-253-3000. 13:50 You can send your tax-deductible gift 13:52 to the address on your screen, 13:53 or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com. 13:57 Thank you for your prayers and your financial support. 14:00 Our number again is 800-253-3000, 14:03 or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com. 14:08 >>John: It was home to some of the most magnificent temples 14:11 in the ancient world, temples built to honor Artemis, 14:15 Hadrian, Serapis, and the Roman emperor Domitian. 14:20 And surrounded by rampant idol and emperor worship, 14:24 a small band of Christians formed their own church 14:27 in the city of Ephesus. 14:30 Maintaining their faith in the midst of this pagan culture 14:34 was anything but easy. 14:36 Today, only ruins remain 14:38 of those once-spectacular structures, 14:41 but the story of Ephesus lives on, 14:43 continuing to hold both historical 14:45 and spiritual significance. 14:47 Join us as we explore the messages of Jesus 14:50 to the seven churches of Revelation 14:52 and discover God's messages to the church of the past 14:56 and the church of today. 14:58 "The Seven Churches of Revelation: Ephesus," 15:02 brought to you by It Is Written TV. 15:05 ♪[music ends]♪♪ 15:08 >>John Bradshaw: If baptism were just a matter of preference, 15:11 that would be one thing. 15:13 But I'm going to show you that it isn't. 15:15 Jesus said in Mark 16:16, 15:18 "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; 15:21 but he who does not believe will be condemned." 15:24 Now, that ups the ante a little bit, doesn't it? 15:27 And when it comes to the Bible, 15:30 if the Bible plainly teaches baptism by immersion 15:33 and you reject that for a tradition 15:35 or a personal preference, what's to stop you from doing that 15:38 with the rest of the Bible? 15:40 "I don't like what the commandments say, 15:42 so I won't keep them." 15:43 "I don't like where Jesus said, 'Love your enemies," 15:45 so I won't do that." 15:46 "I'm not really into this forgiveness thing 15:48 that Jesus spoke of, so I won't do that." 15:50 A Christian is a follower of Christ and of His Word, 15:54 and followers of Jesus don't decide to reject 15:57 the parts of the Bible that they don't like. 16:00 Baptism goes much further than preference. 16:04 And I want to say here that most Christians, 16:06 no matter what their belief on baptism, miss this. 16:11 What I'm about to share with you can absolutely change 16:14 your life, revolutionize your Christian experience. 16:17 If you've been halfway with God, this can change that. 16:21 If you've been living a life where you're up and down, 16:24 inconsistent, struggling along, 16:26 this is going to radically alter your entire life. 16:32 Let's look in the book of Romans, chapter 6. 16:35 Paul has just spoken about justification by faith. 16:38 He says we are sinners, 16:39 but because of sin, God gives us grace. 16:42 Now, knowing those words could be misinterpreted, 16:44 Paul then writes, "What shall we say then? 16:47 Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" 16:52 Fair question, given what he's been writing about. 16:54 If we sin, more grace. 16:57 Should, then, we keep sinning? 16:59 He answers that question by saying, "God forbid. 17:02 How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" 17:07 Now, that expression "God forbid" 17:09 means something like "certainly not" or, or "far from it." 17:14 And notice his rationale for why a believer in Jesus 17:17 who has been justified or pardoned should not sin. 17:22 He says, "How shall we, that are dead to sin, 17:27 live any longer therein?" 17:29 Dead to sin. Dead to sin. 17:34 Here we're getting to the heart 17:35 of the strange truth about baptism. 17:38 And it's what many people miss. 17:40 Paul writes, "Know ye not, that so many of us 17:43 "as were baptized into Jesus Christ 17:47 were baptized into His death?" 17:50 This is the truth that will change your life. 17:54 Coming to Jesus is not just a matter of taking on 17:57 a new belief system. 17:58 And it's a fantastic belief system: 18:00 forgiveness for sin, a Savior who bore your sins, 18:03 the promise of everlasting life by grace alone 18:07 through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. 18:09 Nothing else offers you what Christianity offers you. 18:12 In many communities you're seen as respectable 18:15 if you're a church member. 18:16 Everywhere you go you meet fellow believers. 18:18 You have the promise of the love and favor of Almighty God, 18:21 which will connect you with power to change your life. 18:25 It's a great belief system. 18:27 But Christianity is more than simply taking on 18:31 a new belief system, and many people either don't know this, 18:35 or they're just not willing to go there with Jesus. 18:38 Christianity is about accepting Jesus 18:41 and dying a death to the old life you once lived. 18:46 That old rotten, angry person who came to Christ, 18:49 if they die to self, die to sin, 18:52 God gives them a new heart, a new mind. 18:55 They are new to the extent that the old is gone. 18:59 This is what many people miss, thinking that faith in Jesus 19:02 is just a modification of what they used to be, 19:06 an improvement maybe, 19:07 sanding off some of the rough edges. 19:10 But that's not what Christianity was ever meant to be. 19:14 When you come to Jesus, the old you, the sinful you, dies. 19:20 And Paul says in Romans 6 in verse 4, 19:22 "We are buried with Him by baptism into death: 19:25 "that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory 19:28 of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." 19:33 Many people aren't living the new life. 19:35 They're still mean. They've still got a dirty mind. 19:38 They're still selfish. They're still proud. 19:40 But when you come to Jesus, that old you dies. 19:44 You accept Jesus, who lives His life in you, and you walk in-- 19:50 now, what did Paul say?-- "newness of life." 19:54 That's what's missing in the experience of so many people. 19:58 They're not walking in newness of life 20:01 because they've never chosen to die to sin and self. 20:07 There are understandable reasons why. 20:09 You might like the old life. Sin can be enjoyable. 20:12 It even says so in the book of Hebrews. 20:14 And death isn't easy. Death can be a struggle. 20:17 If you've been practicing sin for years, 20:19 it's deeply ingrained in you. 20:22 Your spiritual muscle memory 20:24 instinctively bends you towards sin. 20:26 It comes natural to you. It's impulsive. 20:29 So, what do you do? 20:30 The same Bible writer answered that question 20:33 when he said in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 31, 20:36 "I die daily." 20:38 This is a daily thing. It's not one and done. 20:42 You die daily. 20:43 Your bad habits are deeply ingrained, 20:47 but Jesus living in you can get you over them. 20:50 Remember, the old you dies, and a new you is created. 20:54 This needs to happen every day. 20:56 If it's not, that's why you're stumbling and bumbling along. 21:00 Look at what Paul writes: "Knowing this, 21:02 "that our old man is crucified with Him, 21:04 "that the body of sin might be destroyed, 21:07 that henceforth we should not serve sin." 21:09 The old man or old woman is crucified. 21:13 This is why Jesus said we're to take up our cross daily, 21:16 Jesus said, and follow Him. 21:18 The body of sin is destroyed, and, see this, 21:21 from that moment on, you do not serve sin. 21:25 You've had that experience 21:26 where sin seems to govern you, control you. 21:29 That's because you haven't died the death to the old life. 21:32 Paul says, "For he that is dead is freed from sin" 21:36 and that "sin shall not have dominion over you." 21:41 Grace frees you from the power of sin. 21:45 While you're growing in this, there's going to be 21:47 times of trial and times of stumbling, 21:49 but you'll remember that God loves you 21:51 and has you in His hands, and God will grow you. 21:55 And this connects directly to baptism. 21:58 The strange truth about baptism 22:00 is that baptism is a burial service. 22:04 Once you've chosen Jesus and died to sin, 22:07 the old you is buried, 22:09 buried in a watery grave. 22:12 You can see how baptism by sprinkling or pouring 22:15 just destroys the biblical imagery, the biblical meaning. 22:19 You don't bury someone by sprinkling dirt on them, 22:22 and you don't bury a sinner by sprinkling water on them. 22:27 Baptism is that powerful ordinance 22:29 in which a person declares that he or she is a servant of Jesus 22:34 to the extent that they're turning their back 22:36 on the old life and choosing to live a new life 22:41 through the grace of Jesus. 22:43 And how does a person know that he or she is dead to sin? 22:46 How does this happen? 22:47 Well, it happens with a declaration, with an intent, 22:50 with a prayer, with a belief. 22:52 Paul wrote, "Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, 22:57 but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord." 23:02 When you reckon it, believe it to be so, it is so. 23:08 So, how is it with you right now? 23:11 How's the battle with sin? 23:14 And when you understand this correctly, 23:15 you'll never have to say, "I'm just too weak," 23:18 because faith in God is not about you being strong 23:22 but about Jesus being strong in your life. 23:25 You rely on His strength. 23:27 You die; He lives in you. 23:30 And baptism is so strong in its symbolism. 23:35 When a person is baptized, they're buried in the water, 23:38 then raised up out of the water. 23:41 It's a resurrection that takes place. 23:43 Notice this, Romans 8, verse 11: 23:46 "If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead 23:49 "dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead 23:53 "will also give life to your mortal bodies 23:56 through His Spirit who dwells in you." 23:59 Just as Jesus raises you up out of the water 24:02 because you've died to sin, and the Holy Spirit dwells in you, 24:06 He promises to raise you up when Jesus returns 24:11 and give your resurrected body life, new life, eternal life. 24:17 So what are you waiting for? 24:19 It's time for you to attend a funeral, your own funeral. 24:24 Tell God you want to be dead to the old life, 24:27 that you accept Jesus by faith, 24:30 and believe that through the operation of divine power, 24:33 you're now walking in new life. 24:37 ♪[soft contemplative music]♪ 24:38 About 800 years ago the indigenous people 24:41 of my home country arrived by canoe at a harbor 24:45 on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. 24:49 They'd left their homeland, known as Hawaiki, 24:52 and arrived in a beautiful new land where food was abundant 24:56 and the climate was welcoming 24:57 and where there was room for them in peace. 25:00 Upon arriving at present-day Kawhia, 25:03 the Maori Tainui people did a fascinating thing. 25:08 They buried their canoe, buried it in the ground. 25:12 It's still there today, 25:13 just 35 miles in a straight line from where I was born. 25:17 They made a statement, didn't they? 25:19 "We're not going back. We're here to stay. 25:22 "We won't need this oceangoing canoe any longer. 25:26 This," they were saying, "is a new start." 25:30 Baptism is a new start. 25:33 It's where you bury your canoe. 25:35 It's where you say, 25:36 "By the grace of God I am not going back. 25:39 "I'm surrendering my life to Jesus and expecting Him 25:43 to live His life in me." 25:44 And you commemorate that decision by being baptized 25:47 in the manner Jesus was baptized. 25:51 There's something I'd like you to have 25:53 to help you on your spiritual journey. 25:54 It's this little book, "Steps to Salvation." 25:58 I wrote this with you in mind. 25:59 It will speak to you about baptism and its rich symbolism 26:03 and how you can give your life to Jesus and live confidently 26:07 with heaven in view. 26:09 Call now to get your copy: 800-253-3000. 26:13 If the line's busy, call again; you'll get through: 26:16 800-253-3000. 26:20 Or you can go online; 26:20 visit us at iiwoffer.com. 26:23 We'll send it to you completely free just as soon as possible. 26:28 Let's pray now. 26:29 And I want to ask God to do His great work in your life. 26:33 Let's pray. 26:34 Our Father in heaven, we thank You today for the blessing 26:37 of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus. 26:43 And we thank You, Lord, that faith in Jesus means a new life 26:48 and that the old life is gone completely. 26:51 Now, certainly this is going to be a growing experience, 26:53 and this is why we must die daily, 26:55 and we thank You for that privilege. 26:57 We're inviting You now to allow Jesus to live His life in us. 27:02 And, friend, right now if you are praying that prayer, 27:05 you want Jesus to fill you with His presence 27:07 and take away the old life, you want to be dead to self, 27:10 would you tell God that right now? 27:12 Say, "Yes, Lord, I want to be new. 27:15 I want the old life gone." 27:17 Father, all across this land and all around the world 27:20 there are people right now saying, 27:22 "I want to live a new life." 27:23 They're tired of being dominated by sin, 27:25 tired of being governed by the old life. 27:27 And we thank You now that a decision for Jesus 27:30 is a decision to die the death to sin and self 27:35 and to live a new life in Him. 27:37 We thank You, we love You, 27:39 and we thank You for Your great goodness 27:42 and the gift of salvation through Jesus, 27:44 in Jesus' name. 27:46 Amen. 27:48 Thank you so much for joining me. 27:49 I'm looking forward to seeing you again next time. 27:51 Until then, remember: 27:53 "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, 27:57 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" 28:00 ♪[dramatic, triumphant theme music]♪ 28:26 ♪[music ends]♪♪ |
Revised 2024-06-04