Participants:
Series Code: RAD
Program Code: RAD170017A
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00:01 What does the future hold?
00:02 Where can we find certainty in a world of uncertainty? 00:05 The book of Revelation provides hopeful answers 00:08 for today, tomorrow, and forever. 00:11 Join Mark Finley, author and world renowned speaker, 00:14 on a journey into the future. 00:22 Welcome back to Revelation's Ancient Discoveries. 00:25 Have you ever felt, "I wish I could have a new life." 00:31 "I wish I could go back and do some things over again 00:34 that I did earlier in my life." 00:37 Revelation is not only a book about mystic symbols, 00:41 cryptic images, prophetic scenes. 00:44 It's a book that touches our hearts deeply. 00:47 You remember in Revelation 1:1 it says, 00:50 "Blessed are they who read and hear and do 00:55 the things therein." 00:56 So the whole purpose of Revelation is to reach into 01:00 our lives and change them, to open our hearts 01:04 to give us that power of the living Christ for new life. 01:08 That's what our topic is in this presentation. 01:11 Let's pray. 01:12 Father in heaven, as we study about Revelation's new life, 01:16 I pray that new life would flow into each of our hearts. 01:19 In Christ's name, amen. 01:22 The topic for this presentation is indeed... 01:29 Have you ever spent an afternoon looking for a job 01:34 by perusing the want ads in a newspaper? 01:38 Maybe you're between jobs and maybe you went onto the internet 01:42 and perused it a bit. 01:43 Maybe you talked to friends, and maybe you sat on a bench 01:47 in a park just perusing the newspaper. 01:50 Chad was a college student and he needed a summer job. 01:55 He really needed it badly because he was 01:58 unable to pay his college bills. 02:00 And he thought, "If I just peruse the paper a little bit 02:04 maybe I can find something." 02:06 And he saw something that was quite attractive to him. 02:08 He saw a want ad for college students to come up to Canada 02:14 and cut wood during their summer vacation. 02:18 And he was pretty thrilled about it because he saw the price 02:21 that he would be paid for doing that 02:23 and he saw the wages he would get for the summer. 02:25 And he thought, this is an excellent opportunity 02:29 to spend time logging. 02:31 He was going to a Christian college and was 02:33 a pretty committed Christian. 02:35 When he talked to his friends about that job, they said, 02:38 "Nothing doing. 02:39 Because you're going to work with rough, tough guys. 02:43 Their cursing, swearing, smoking, drinking. 02:46 And these guys are going to eat you up. 02:48 You're a college student. 02:50 And they are going to simply demean you. 02:55 You're a Christian. 02:56 They are simply going to make a mockery of you 02:59 and ridicule you. 03:00 Whatever you do, Chad, don't go." 03:04 In spite of their counsel, he decided to go. 03:06 And in actual fact, he had a great summer. 03:09 Cutting logs and working in the woods. 03:12 It was good for him. 03:13 And when he came back to school he had enough money 03:17 for his scholarship. 03:19 And his friends said to him, "How did you ever survive 03:23 with those cursing, swearing, foul-mouthed, 03:26 drinking, smoking, carousing, partying guys 03:30 that you worked with in the woods?" 03:32 Chad looked up and said, "It wasn't difficult at all." 03:34 "What do you mean, it wasn't difficult?" 03:36 "Well I just made sure that they never found out 03:41 that I was a Christian." 03:43 You think that was a good option? 03:45 Certainly not! 03:54 And that's what the book of Revelation is all about. 03:56 In the book of Revelation there is no neutrality. 03:59 You either follow the Lamb 04:02 or listen to the voice of the dragon. 04:04 You either follow Jesus Christ or line up marching after 04:10 the banner of Satan. 04:11 You see, the book of Revelation is a book of contrast. 04:14 There are two cities: Jerusalem, the city from above; 04:17 Babylon, the city from beneath. 04:19 The book of Revelation is a book of contrast. 04:23 There are two marks: the seal of God 04:26 or the mark of the beast. 04:28 The book of Revelation is a book of contrasts. 04:30 There are two harvests: the harvest of golden grain 04:33 or the harvest of gory grapes. 04:36 In the book of Revelation there are two destinies: 04:39 "He that is holy, let him be holy still; 04:41 he that is unholy, let him be unholy still." 04:44 So in the book of Revelation we are called to take a stand. 04:48 The Bible says in Revelation 22:17... 04:58 The Bible invites us to come. 05:00 To come to partake of the grace, and the goodness, 05:04 and the majesty of God. 05:06 The Bible says, "Whoever will..." 05:08 That is, whoever chooses to. 05:10 So in the book of Revelation there is a struggle between 05:13 good and evil. 05:14 And God is inviting us to make a choice. 05:19 How do we take a public stand for Christ? 05:23 Has He given us a symbol of allegiance to Him 05:27 that He invites us to enter into today? 05:31 Revelation 1:5-6 says... 05:41 See, baptism is a symbol. 05:44 It's a symbol that we've been washed in the blood of Christ, 05:47 a symbol that we've been pardoned by the grace of Christ, 05:50 a symbol that the power of Christ lives in our life, 05:54 a symbol that we are new in Christ. 05:56 Baptism is a symbol... 06:03 When Jesus left this earth, in Matthew 28:19-20 06:09 Jesus gave these final instructions to His disciples. 06:14 He said... 06:33 Now these were Jesus' final words. 06:36 Final words are pretty important. 06:38 I travel a great deal. 06:39 And often when I'm traveling, my wife will remind me... 06:44 she's with me most of the time, but there are times 06:46 that she's not able to come. 06:48 She says to me, "Mark, did you take enough money?" 06:50 I am classically broke when I travel. 06:54 I just don't think. 06:55 I'm thinking about preaching, thinking about teaching. 06:57 I'm not thinking about what I'm going to eat next, 06:59 and putting money in my wallet. 07:01 So my wife says, "Mark, here's money. 07:02 You have to get something to eat when you travel. 07:04 Did you take enough shirts with you? 07:06 Did you bring enough clothing with you? 07:10 Do you have enough bathroom toiletries with you?" 07:12 Her final words as I walk out the door 07:15 are some of the most important to remind me 07:19 to take everything I need. 07:21 But you know, final words are quite important 07:24 when a person is dying. 07:25 I've often, as a pastor, gathered around a bed 07:28 and noticed a husband holding his wife's hand. 07:32 She's lying in the hospital bed dying of cancer. 07:34 The children are there. 07:35 And they're listening, straining their ears 07:38 to hear the last words of their mother. 07:40 You know, when you're in a hospital room like that, 07:43 and mother is dying, one thing that you notice is 07:46 nobody is playing video games, nobody is fooling around, 07:49 nobody is watching TV, nobody is looking at the sport scores. 07:53 They want to hear the last words of their mother. 07:56 Jesus was about ready to ascend to heaven. 08:00 And His final words to His disciples, 08:02 some of the most important He ever uttered, 08:04 "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, 08:06 baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, 08:08 and the Holy Spirit..." 08:16 Now notice, Jesus said, "Go and teach." 08:20 Teach the Word of God. 08:22 He didn't say, go and plunge people into the baptism 08:25 before they knew what they were doing. 08:26 He said, go teach the Word of God. 08:28 Lead people to Jesus Christ. 08:30 Teach them everything I have commanded. 08:33 So the teaching of the commandments of God 08:35 is part of the commission to baptize. 08:38 Then He said, "Lo, I am with you always, 08:40 even to the end of the age." 08:41 So in every generation God would invite people to take a stand. 08:45 Baptism is that public stand for Jesus Christ. 08:57 And the book of Revelation is leading men and women today 09:01 to that decision. 09:02 It's leading men and women to make a decision 09:05 to follow Christ, 09:06 to make a decision to keep His commandments, 09:08 to make a decision to share their faith and witness for Him, 09:12 to make a decision to fellowship with the body of Christ 09:15 that's keeping His commandments, including the Bible Sabbath. 09:19 The book of Revelation is an appeal to step out 09:22 from tradition, step out from comfortable convenience, 09:26 to make that decision to follow Jesus Christ. 09:30 Now many people have quite different ideas about baptism. 09:35 Some people say that baptism occurs when a baby is born 09:39 and you sprinkle a little water on their head. 09:42 Others say, "No, the baby ought to be immersed 09:46 totally, fully, completely in water." 09:50 There are different ideas about baptism. 09:53 Some say, "Well, it doesn't make any difference 09:55 whether you use water or not." 09:57 And they really say you can baptize with oil. 10:00 And there are some churches that actually do oil baptism. 10:04 One of the most interesting baptisms I have ever heard about 10:08 was a snow baptism. 10:10 You say, "Pastor Mark, what did you just say?" 10:13 A snow baptism. 10:15 Here's the way the pastor argued. 10:17 He said, "I'm taking this group of young people 10:18 out for a ski weekend, and I'm going to baptize a lot of them." 10:22 Yes, pastor? 10:24 "I'm going to baptize them in the snow. 10:26 Because it doesn't make any difference whether the water 10:29 is a solid or a liquid." 10:31 So this pastor did a snow baptism. 10:33 So many different kinds of baptism. 10:36 But the Bible says, Ephesians 4:5... 10:44 One Lord: Jesus Christ, Savior of all. 10:47 One faith: true Bible, biblical religion. 10:50 One baptism. 10:52 One method of baptism. 10:55 One form of baptism, one mode of baptism. 10:59 See, there's only one method of baptism 11:02 that really clearly reveals what baptism really means. 11:08 There's only one form of baptism that catches the symbolism 11:12 that Christ gave in the Bible. 11:17 If we're going to follow in the footsteps of Christ, 11:20 how did Jesus take a public stand? 11:22 How was Jesus separated for His three and a half year ministry? 11:28 Jesus is an example to follow. 11:30 And if we want to be baptized, we ought to walk in the 11:32 footsteps of Christ. 11:35 The Bible says in Mark 1:9... 11:46 So Jesus came to the Jordan river. 11:49 And there He was totally immersed in the Jordan. 11:53 So Jesus was baptized by full immersion. 11:57 The Bible says in Matthew 3:16-17... 12:03 So He went down into the water, He came up out of the water. 12:15 The text goes on. 12:22 Now notice the things that happened 12:24 when Jesus was baptized. 12:33 One of the reasons the devil says to people and tries to 12:37 influence them not to be baptized is precisely this. 12:41 The devil knows that when we make a decision to be baptized, 12:44 to take a public stand for Christ, that we are not 12:47 strong enough to live out our baptismal commitment. 12:51 And as the result of that, the devil knows that 12:55 if we make that decision, God is going to give us 12:58 supernatural power through His Holy Spirit. 13:01 Like He did for Jesus. 13:03 So therefore the devil says, "You're not good enough." 13:05 The devil says, "You're not ready." 13:06 The devil says, "Don't move ahead." 13:08 The devil will do every single thing he can to discourage you, 13:12 my friend, from walking ahead with Jesus Christ in baptism. 13:17 And when we're baptized, we're not baptized 13:20 because we're good enough. 13:21 Christ was the only one perfectly baptized. 13:24 He was the only one who was righteous enough. 13:26 But Jesus was baptized as an example to you 13:29 and an example to me. 13:30 And we follow His example. 13:32 But when we are baptized, Christ gives us power, strength. 13:36 Now somebody says, "I don't understand what it means 13:39 that we receive the Holy Spirit at our baptism. 13:42 Wasn't Jesus conceived of the Holy Spirit? 13:46 Didn't the Holy Spirit guide Jesus through His life?" 13:49 Acts 10:38 says... 13:56 That's at His baptism. 13:57 Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit. 14:00 The Holy Spirit did guide Him. 14:01 But it's like this. 14:03 Christ was going to enter into three and a half 14:07 years of ministry. 14:09 He was soon after His baptism to face the temptations of Satan. 14:14 He was soon to be in the midst of the greatest temptations 14:20 to His life up until that point. 14:23 And as the result of that, God gave Him additional 14:28 abundant resources of the Holy Spirit. 14:32 When you receive the Holy Spirit at baptism, 14:34 it's not because you didn't have any of the Spirit before. 14:38 The Spirit guides us. 14:39 The Spirit impresses our heart. 14:41 The Spirit leads us to a revelation of truth. 14:45 So the Spirit has been guiding you down through your life. 14:48 But when you're baptized, you take a public stand for Christ. 14:52 You stand for the Creator rather than the beast power. 14:55 You stand for Jesus rather than the dragon. 14:58 You stand with the people of God rather than 15:01 in neutrality or against the people of God. 15:03 You become part of the body of Christ, Christ's great church, 15:07 His body of believers that love Him, and are obeying Him, 15:10 and who are following Him. 15:12 And as you do that, the Holy Spirit comes into your life 15:16 to give you strength. 15:17 The Holy Spirit comes into your life to give you power. 15:20 Now something else happens when Jesus is baptized. 15:23 The Bible says the Father spoke to Him from heaven. 15:26 And He said in Matthew 3:17... 15:34 It's one thing to please your father, your mother, 15:37 your sister, your brother. 15:38 It's another thing to please Jesus. 15:42 Fish were made to swim. 15:44 Birds were made to fly. 15:46 And you and I, deep within the fabric of our beings, 15:49 were made to please God. 15:51 And so the most amazing wonderful sense is, 15:55 you walk into that baptismal pool, 15:57 you are filled with God's Spirit, He strengthens you. 16:01 You walk into that pool and you have this sense, 16:02 "I'm pleasing God. 16:04 I'm fulfilling the reason for my existence. 16:07 I'm going into that pool, and as I go into that water 16:10 I'll be cleansed from the sins of my past. 16:12 And I come up out of that water to serve Christ, 16:15 just as when Jesus was baptized He left for His ministry." 16:19 Three and a half years. 16:21 So when you and I are baptized Jesus has a plan for us 16:24 to share His love, to share His grace. 16:26 He leads us on a wonderful adventure for Him. 16:39 If you've not yet been immersed, you can make that decision 16:43 during this telecast. 16:45 And Christ will fill your life with His strength. 16:49 And deep within your heart you will hear that voice. 16:52 Oh, it won't be a loud voice. 16:54 It won't maybe be an audible voice. 16:56 But by faith you can imagine Christ saying, 16:58 "This is My beloved son, this is My beloved daughter, 17:02 in whom I am well pleased." 17:04 Baptism throughout the New Testament was always 17:07 by full immersion. 17:09 Remember the story of the Ethiopian eunuch? 17:13 The Ethiopian was a very wealthy man; 17:15 the treasurer of the queen. 17:18 And as he was riding along on the chariot, 17:20 he was studying the Bible. 17:22 He had been up to Jerusalem to worship. 17:24 He was going back home now to Africa, to Ethiopia. 17:29 And as he was riding on the chariot, 17:31 studying the prophecies of Isaiah, Isaiah 53, 17:35 God led Philip to join him. 17:37 And Philip said, "Do you understand what you're reading?" 17:39 And the man said, "No." 17:42 And finally Philip explained it to him. 17:44 The man was converted to Christ. 17:45 He had a background in biblical teaching, 17:48 but he just didn't know Jesus. 17:49 Acts 8:36-39, the Bible says... 18:03 "I've come to Jesus. 18:05 I see Him as the Messiah in Isaiah 53. 18:08 I've come to Jesus, the living Christ. 18:10 And I accept the teachings of His Word. 18:14 I know the things that He's commanded. 18:16 There's nothing for me to wait for any longer. 18:20 Here is water. 18:21 What hinders me from being baptized?" 18:26 In other words, if you trust Christ, 18:29 if you believe in Jesus, if you accept His words, 18:32 if you accept His teachings, if you accept His Word, 18:36 if you believe Christ enough to follow Him. 18:39 "See, here's water. What hinders me?" 18:42 "If you believe with all your heart, you may." 18:48 Christ is my Savior. 18:50 Christ is my Lord. 18:52 Christ lives in my life. 18:53 And the Bible says... 19:04 So notice, both Philip and the eunuch went into the water. 19:07 So I can just imagine Philip leading that eunuch there, 19:10 Philip raising his hands and saying, 19:12 "I now baptize you in the name of the Father, 19:17 and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." 19:20 And then lowering that eunuch under the water. 19:23 The water totally covers him. 19:25 His sins of the past are gone. 19:28 And he comes up with new life in Jesus Christ. 19:31 The Bible say they went down into the water. 19:33 Acts 8:39, they came up out of the water. 19:37 So according to the Bible, baptism is full immersion. 19:55 Baptism in the New Testament, representing taking a stand, 19:59 is full immersion. 20:13 This word, baptizo, was not only used in religious ceremonies, 20:18 but it was used for a woman, for example, who 20:22 wanted to dye a piece of cloth. 20:25 She must immerse that cloth totally, absolutely 20:29 covering it with water. 20:32 And so here, this woman wants to take this white cloth 20:38 and make it purple. 20:40 So she totally immerses it. 20:42 What is baptism? 20:44 I come with all my sinfulness, with all my shame, 20:49 with the dark degradation of my life. 20:51 Somebody says, "Well, I'm not that bad." 20:54 You don't know what God knows. 20:57 You see, the Bible says, "All have sinned 20:59 and come short of the glory of God." 21:01 So every one of us have selfishness and greed. 21:05 And every one of us at times have spoken critical words, 21:09 words that are less than honest. 21:10 See, one sin is worthy of death. 21:12 When we come to Christ, our sins are forgiven. 21:15 But when we go into the baptismal pool, 21:17 every sin that we've ever committed, 21:18 whether we remember it or not, 21:20 whether we've confessed it or not, 21:22 we say, "Jesus, just declare the whole thing sin. 21:25 And I want this body of sin to go into the water, 21:29 to be totally cleansed by the grace of Christ." 21:32 If you go back to the ancient churches, 21:35 ancient churches reveal the method used in baptism. 21:40 Let me give you a couple of examples of that. 21:42 Let's go back to the first century. 21:44 The Christian church was established very early 21:48 in Philippi in the first century. 21:51 You remember the apostle Paul started a house church 21:54 in the home of Lydia. 21:56 The ruins of the church that we are looking at here 21:59 were of a later period, not first century. 22:02 They met in a house church. 22:03 But in the early centuries as soon as churches 22:06 began to be built, they would build baptisms in them 22:10 so people could be baptized by immersion. 22:13 Now that tradition or that teaching of baptism 22:18 by immersion, that biblical teaching, 22:21 lasted for centuries. 22:23 It was the common place to baptize by immersion 22:27 down through the centuries. 22:28 This is the second holiest church in Rome. 22:31 It's called, Saint John of Lateran. 22:33 And if you go down a little side aisle and a little side alley 22:38 of this church, you'll come to the 22:40 baptistery building behind it. 22:42 And our Roman Catholic friends baptized for centuries. 22:45 Here's the baptism in Saint John of Lateran 22:49 where people could have stood in there and been immersed. 22:51 And they were. 22:53 If you go to many Roman Catholic churches in Italy 22:57 you'll see the remains of baptisteries like this one here. 23:01 One of the most famous is the baptistery behind 23:06 the leaning tower of Pisa. 23:08 Pisa has its major cathedral. 23:10 And right behind the leaning tower that you see on the 23:13 right of the picture there is the cathedral. 23:15 And you will notice in that cathedral they had a baptistery 23:19 where our Roman Catholic friends for centuries 23:22 baptized by immersion. 23:26 Come with me to Cappadocia, Turkey. 23:28 This is an amazing place. 23:29 We visited this a number of times. 23:32 Here, carved out of the rock, many of the Christians lived 23:37 when they were being persecuted in Europe. 23:40 Many of them fled here to this remote area of Turkey. 23:44 When the invades came too close, these Christians 23:49 had dug underground cities. 23:52 As many as 10 to 15 thousand people lived 23:56 in the underground cities. 23:57 It's amazing. 23:58 Many of these cities were connected 24:00 by underground tunnels. 24:02 As you go down, and I've been down seven stories deep, 24:07 eight stories, there are places on the outer part 24:11 of these cities, the first story down where they 24:12 kept their animals. 24:14 There were kitchens. 24:16 You can still see the smoke filled, the charcoal ceilings 24:21 where the smoke left its mark. 24:23 And you keep going down, there are places of worship. 24:26 There are houses that are carved out where people 24:29 would have slept. 24:30 And also, one of the most amazing things is, 24:33 down in those rocks you see a carved out baptistery. 24:37 These early Christians were so committed to Christ, 24:40 so dedicated to Christ, that they of course 24:43 baptized by full immersion. 25:01 So there were many practices not found in the Bible 25:05 that came into the Christian church. 25:07 The idea of idols, images, bringing into the church 25:11 not found in Scripture. 25:12 The Bible says, "Thou shalt not worship a graven image 25:15 or bow down to them." 25:16 But yet in the early centuries there was compromise. 25:19 They were brought into the church. 25:21 The idea of Sunday worship was not found in ancient times 25:26 in Scripture, it's not a scriptural doctrine. 25:29 The Bible says, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 25:33 Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, 25:35 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." 25:39 So Sunday worship came in in the early centuries. 25:43 Sunday, dies Solis; the day of the sun. 25:47 The sun worship was practiced by the Egyptians, 25:49 the Babylonians, the Persians, the Romans, 25:53 That came in. 25:54 The idea of the immortal soul came in 25:56 through Greek philosophy. 25:57 So there are many traditions, many teachings, 26:01 many human teachings that came into the Christian church. 26:04 Sprinkling was another one. 26:06 For 1300 years the biblical practice of baptism by immersion 26:12 was practiced by the church. 26:15 But then the Council of Ravenna said, 26:17 "No, we'll accept sprinkling." 26:18 Now how did that come in, and why? 26:20 Often people put off their baptism until death. 26:24 Often they put off their baptism till the 26:27 later part of their life. 26:28 They were becoming, often in those older years, 26:31 becoming sick. 26:32 And so when they'd call for a priest and say, 26:34 "We want to be baptized because the Bible says, 26:36 'He that believes and is baptized shall be saved.'" 26:40 So they'd call for their priest. 26:42 He would come. 26:43 They were too sick to take to the water, 26:46 too sick to take to the baptismal pool. 26:48 So often the priest would wrap from their feet to their head 26:51 in wet towels. 26:53 Well, that became really inconvenient. 26:55 So there were times then the religious leaders 26:57 began to sprinkle them. 26:59 But then somebody said, look, rather than waiting till death, 27:04 they developed an idea of original sin. 27:07 That every person, every baby born into this world is 27:11 guilty of the sins of Adam. 27:14 And if indeed they are not baptized, 27:17 that guilt will be on, quote, "their soul"... 27:20 The Bible of course doesn't teach an immortal soul. 27:22 ...and they will be lost. 27:23 Therefore, let's baptize every baby. 27:25 So a meaningful experience, a meaningful symbol. 27:30 Baptism: a symbol of our belief in Christ. 27:34 Our symbol of our commitment to Christ. 27:36 Our symbol of our allegiance to Christ. 27:38 That was put aside for this idea of sprinkling 27:43 every baby in the non-biblical idea that the baby 27:47 would be lost if it wasn't baptized. 27:49 Now what's the true meaning of baptism? 27:51 We walk into the water. 27:53 And there in that water we stand, saying, 27:57 "Jesus, I'm coming to You." 27:58 We are put under the water by the pastor, representing Jesus 28:02 lowering us into this watery grave. 28:07 The pastor represents, he stands in the place of 28:12 our Lord who is the true One whose grace and power 28:17 and love we're baptized into. 28:18 We come up out of the water and we have new life in Christ. 28:23 We have new joy in Christ. 28:25 Our sins are washed away in Christ. 28:29 The Bible says, Romans 6:3-4... 28:38 We come to the water, we unite with Christ. 28:41 The pastor lowers us into the water. 28:44 We are baptized into Christ's death. 28:47 We die to sin, we die to self, we die to pride and arrogance. 28:53 Does that mean we'll never sin again? 28:54 No. But it means we are committed. 28:56 We are focused on following Jesus. 29:00 The Bible says in Romans 6:3-4... 29:06 So we are buried, this old person. 29:09 We say, "Lord, I want to live a new life in Christ." 29:18 We take a public stand. 29:20 We are walking in newness of life in Christ. 29:24 His Spirit fills our heart. 29:26 Jesus says, "This is My beloved son, 29:29 this is my beloved daughter, in whom I am well pleased." 29:34 Baptism represents the death, the burial, 29:38 and the resurrection of Christ. 29:40 It represents that Jesus is living in our hearts. 29:43 That there is new life in Christ. 29:46 It represents that we're dying to the old sinful way of life, 29:50 that we are going down into that watery grave, 29:54 that we're looking for that cleansing 29:56 that only Christ can bring. 29:57 That we're burying our sins in that watery grave 30:00 and burying this old life in the watery grave. 30:03 That as we go down, we come up, rise again 30:08 out of the water to walk a new life in Christ. 30:10 Would you like a new life? 30:12 It's one thing to get a new pair of shoes. 30:14 That could be nice. 30:15 New suit, new dress, new car, new house. 30:19 But what about a new life in Christ? 30:24 Jesus offers to you a new life. 30:27 He wants to put a new sparkle in your eyes, 30:30 a new smile on your face. 30:32 He wants to put a new spring in your step. 30:36 But most of all, He wants to put peace in your heart. 30:40 He wants to put His power in your life 30:43 so that you can serve Him and follow Him. 30:49 It doesn't mean you'll never fail. 30:51 But it means you've changed the direction 30:54 in your life. 30:55 You're moving in a new direction. 31:04 It's saying, "I am taking a stand." 31:06 The book of Revelation calls us to take a stand. 31:10 The book of Revelation calls us to commitment. 31:13 The book of Revelation calls us to decision. 31:16 You may never have been baptized before. 31:19 You may have never made that decision 31:21 to follow Christ before. 31:23 You may have been watching 3ABN, 31:26 and you have been hearing messages that are 31:28 touching you deeply. 31:30 And you say, "I want to follow Christ. 31:32 I want to walk in the ways of Jesus. 31:34 I want, by His grace and through His power, 31:36 to be obedient and to be part of His commandment keeping, 31:39 Sabbath keeping people. 31:41 Jesus is appealing to you tonight 31:43 to start that new beginning, to make that decision in your life. 31:52 It gives us a sense that the past, with its shackles 31:57 and chains, are gone; that we are new, new in Christ. 32:01 It gives us a sense of spiritual power. 32:03 It is not the water that gives us spiritual power. 32:06 It is Jesus Christ that does. 32:08 When we make the decision to walk in the water, 32:11 we open our hearts to Jesus and He gives us that strength, 32:15 He gives us that power. 32:19 Very specifically, what does the Bible say? 32:27 But you say, "Pastor Mark, I thought my sins were forgiven 32:29 when I confessed them." 32:31 They are. 32:32 But have you remembered every sin you've ever committed? 32:35 Certainly not. 32:36 But we walk into the water, we say, "God, cleanse me 32:39 from every one I ever confessed and every one I didn't confess. 32:42 Just count my past life as sin and give me new life." 32:45 Acts 2:38 32:57 So we walk into the water. 33:00 What a feeling! 33:02 Amazing. Isn't it? 33:04 To have that sense that every sin can be forgiven. 33:08 That not one tinge of guilt need remain in your life. 33:12 That there's cleansing in Jesus. 33:15 But somebody says, "Pastor Mark, what about 33:17 the thief on the cross? 33:19 He was never baptized. 33:22 What about him?" 33:23 Look, friend of mine, the first thing that he would have done 33:27 would have been, gone into the water 33:31 once he came off the cross. 33:32 Jesus wouldn't keep from people, from the cross, 33:35 who are physically incapable of being baptized. 33:37 Certainly not. 33:38 Jesus wouldn't keep them from heaven. 33:40 So there are always exceptions. 33:42 But the general principle in the Bible 33:46 is that when you hear the word of God, 33:48 you feel the tugging of Christ in your life, 33:51 that you move ahead in baptism. 33:55 Now the second thing that happens in baptism is this. 34:00 The Holy Spirit has been guiding you through your life. 34:02 But when you're baptized, God gives you extra power, 34:05 extra strength. 34:07 Yes, the Holy Spirit convicts us. 34:08 Yes, the Holy Spirit reveals truth to us. 34:10 But when we're baptized, we have that power that comes, 34:14 flows into our life. 34:16 Do you want every sin forgiven? 34:19 Do you want the sense that all your guilt is gone? 34:22 Do you want the sense that there is new power 34:27 in Christ, through His Holy Spirit, 34:29 to live a victorious life over Satan? 34:32 Make your decision for Christ. 34:34 Take your stand with those men and women 34:36 down through the ages. 34:38 And take your stand with God's last day people 34:40 outlined in the book of Revelation. 34:42 When Jesus comes up out of the water, the Bible says... 34:50 The Holy Spirit will come upon you 34:52 as you make that decision for baptism. 34:55 The Holy Spirit will touch your life. 34:57 Acts 2:38-39 35:04 How many to be baptized? 35:05 Every one. 35:12 Was that only for those on the day of Pentecost? 35:15 Was that only for those in the days of Peter? 35:18 Our text goes on. 35:27 We're far off from that event, aren't we? 35:29 And the promise is to us. 35:31 God promises you His Holy Spirit in abundance. 35:34 He promises you that as you walk into that water, 35:38 you'll be filled with that Spirit, you'll be strengthened. 35:41 The shackles that bind you will be gone 35:45 as you open your heart to receive the Holy Spirit, 35:54 There's nothing magic about the water. 35:56 But when you open your heart to Christ 35:58 and you claim His promise, and you say, 36:00 "Lord, I claim the promise of Your Spirit," 36:03 that Spirit enters your life for two reasons. 36:05 One, to empower you to be a victorious Christian. 36:08 But secondly, to give you a ministry. 36:11 When Christ is baptized, He goes right out to be 36:14 tempted by the devil. 36:15 He overcomes by the power of the Spirit, 36:17 but then He enters into His ministry. 36:19 God has something for you that you can't imagine. 36:21 God has a plan for your life that you'll never dream of. 36:24 God has a purpose for your life that is far beyond 36:27 what you can ever imagine. 36:29 But I'll tell you something. 36:30 If you hold back, if you don't move ahead in baptism, 36:33 if you resist the claim of God, 36:35 you're never going to know your destiny. 36:37 You're never going to know what God can do for you. 36:40 He can do for you something amazing. 36:42 Every sin is forgiven. We're cleansed. 36:44 The Spirit is given to us. 36:45 We're adopted into God's family when we're baptized. 36:49 You know, sometimes people say, "Oh when I'm baptized 36:53 do I join a church? 36:54 I'm kind of nervous about that church business. 36:57 I just want to be a believer in my home." 36:59 The Bible says in Acts 2:41... 37:10 Who were they added to? 37:12 Added to the church. 37:14 They become part of God's commandment keeping people. 37:18 So, you know, it's one thing to be born. 37:22 Are there any children that are born and they're just 37:24 left on the street? 37:26 Children don't have much chance if they're left on the street. 37:29 When you're born again, you're born into the family of God. 37:33 God's church is not perfect. 37:35 You will not find God's church to have flawless people. 37:40 But when you come to Christ and you become part of His 37:44 Commandment keeping, Sabbath keeping body, 37:47 just like those New Testament believers 37:49 God gives you gifts to serve in that body. 37:53 If you have not yet followed Christ in baptism, 37:56 why not right now say, "Jesus, I want to follow You. 37:59 I want to be part of those people around the world 38:02 that are keeping Your commandments. 38:04 I want to be part of a Sabbath keeping body." 38:06 Why not seek out a Seventh-day Adventist church? 38:08 You've been watching 3ABN. 38:10 You've been watching at home. 38:12 Maybe watching with your family. 38:14 And you've been thinking through the years, 38:16 "Shall I or shouldn't I make that break?" 38:19 This is the time to do it. 38:21 God is speaking to your heart. 38:23 This is the time now to seek out a Seventh-day Adventist church. 38:27 This is the time to seek out a Sabbath keeping body. 38:29 This is the time to take your stand with God's last day 38:34 commandment keeping people. 38:35 Look at what the Bible says about those who were baptized 38:38 on the day of Pentecost. 38:39 Acts 2:42 38:44 You've been hearing the truth of God's Word. 38:46 It's time now to make a decision. 38:57 What church? 38:59 The New Testament church. 39:00 A church that emphasizes the Word of God. 39:03 A church that talks about the grace of Christ. 39:06 A church that talks about the cross of Christ. 39:08 A church that talks about the commandments of God, 39:11 and the Bible Sabbath, and the truths you've been hearing. 39:13 This is your opportunity to follow Jesus. 39:17 This is your opportunity to step out for Him. 39:26 There are relatively three steps. 39:31 Have you done that? 39:32 Have you said, "Jesus, I'm repenting. 39:34 Jesus, I want to follow You." 39:36 Repentance is being sorry enough for my sins 39:39 that I'm willing to turn away from them. 39:40 Are we perfect? No. 39:42 But when God points something out in our life, 39:44 we say, "God, I'm sorry for that." 39:47 You know, the Bible says, "Believe and you will be saved." 39:51 So it's belief in Christ and it's belief in the message 39:55 of Christ and the biblical teachings of Christ. 40:02 You're not going to know everything 40:04 before you're baptized. 40:05 But if you have repented of your sin, 40:08 if you have believed in Christ, 40:10 if you've been instructed in His Word, 40:13 now is the time to make that decision. 40:16 Now is the time to step out in faith. 40:24 Because I know there are Christians watching this 40:26 telecast and they're thinking, 40:27 "You know, I already went into the water. 40:29 This doesn't make much difference to me. 40:31 I'm a first day believer." 40:32 Maybe a lovely Baptist Christian, 40:34 or maybe a lovely Pentecostal Christian, and you're thinking, 40:37 "You know, baptism, I've already done that." 40:40 In the Bible there's an instance of people being re-baptized. 40:46 Let me share with you that passage 40:48 of Scripture and explain why. 40:50 Acts 19:2-5 40:53 Here, Paul comes to the upper coast of Ephesus. 40:57 And he says to this body of believers... 41:07 So he asked them a question. 41:08 He says, "Who baptized you?" 41:11 And they say, "John." 41:13 And then the Bible says he re-baptizes them. 41:16 Why? 41:17 They were once baptized, but they didn't fully understand 41:22 the truth of God's Word. 41:24 Now there are two reasons why to be re-baptized. 41:27 Number one, you may have come to Christ 41:30 but maybe you departed from Christ. 41:32 Maybe you knew the message of truth, 41:34 but you turned your back on Christ. 41:36 Acts 19, we have a symbol of people that were baptized, 41:40 but they didn't understand the fullness of truth. 41:43 We have a symbol of people that were baptized, 41:45 and they were re-baptized. 41:48 If you've come to Christ, and in coming to Christ 41:52 you have been immersed, it's like a marriage to Christ, 41:56 but you've drifted away from Christ in a life of sinfulness, 41:59 God might say to you, be saying to you, 42:01 might be convicting you by His Holy Spirit, 42:03 "Come back. Come back. 42:05 Be re-baptized. Start life over again." 42:08 But there may be somebody else that says, 42:10 "But I've been a faithful Baptist, 42:11 faithful Pentecostal Christian. 42:13 How does this relate to me?" 42:14 Well Acts 19 does relate to you. 42:17 Because, you see, you may be a committed Christian, 42:20 but you've discovered new truth in God's Word. 42:23 These people in Acts 19 were committed. 42:27 They were baptized to John. 42:29 And they were following God. 42:31 But they had never heard of the Holy Spirit, 42:33 a new truth that was so amazing to them. 42:36 And Paul says, "Step ahead, become part of the 42:40 Christian body of believers." 42:42 You may be a Baptist, a Pentecostal, 42:44 you may be Church of Christ, you may be a Lutheran Christian, 42:50 and you've never followed Jesus all the way 42:54 in the sense of understanding the fullness of His truth. 42:58 You've been following Jesus, but you've not known 43:00 the fullness of truth. 43:01 Like the truth about the Sabbath. 43:03 Like the truth about your body is the temple of God. 43:05 Like the truth about the state of man in death. 43:09 You've never fully grasped that. 43:11 But you've been watching the telecast. 43:13 You've come to understand that. 43:15 And you are a committed Christian. 43:18 You've discovered the truth of God's Word, 43:20 and you say, "Jesus, I want to be part 43:22 of Your commandment keeping people. 43:24 Jesus, truth is just opened up to my mind so beautifully now." 43:28 When you are re-baptized as a committed Christian, 43:32 you are not denying anything in the past that you believed. 43:37 You're just shedding falsehood and tradition, 43:41 and following more truth. 43:43 You've always believed the Bible is the Word of God; 43:45 you still do. 43:47 Now you're accepting it in its fullness. 43:48 You've always believed in Christ; you still do. 43:50 Now you're accepting all of His teachings, 43:52 including the Bible Sabbath. 43:53 You have always believed that He was coming again, 43:56 but you didn't have that sorted out. 43:58 And now you understand in its fullness. 44:01 Re-baptism for you is not denial of the past. 44:06 It is rather acceptance of the truth that God has for you. 44:10 Remember what Jesus said? 44:12 He said, "Walk while you have the light." 44:15 Walk while you have the light. 44:16 We walk in the light of God's truth as He revealed it. 44:22 Jesus told Nicodemus this... 44:33 Why does Jesus say that. 44:35 Here's why. 44:37 To be born of water is to be baptized. 44:41 To be born of the Spirit is to have our lives changed 44:45 by the Holy Spirit. 44:47 So what Jesus is saying is, when you are changed inside 44:51 you testify of that by being baptized and following Christ. 44:55 The Bible says in Mark 16:16... 45:04 So salvation comes as we believe in Christ 45:09 and as we manifest that belief in baptism. 45:13 2 Corinthians 6:2 45:21 This is no longer a time to wait. 45:23 This is no longer a time to hesitate. 45:25 This is a time to step out. 45:28 Acts 22:16 says... 45:38 This is the time. 45:40 Arise, be baptized. 45:41 Step out, become part of Jesus' people, 45:45 His commandment keeping people. 45:47 Step out with the people in the book of Revelation. 45:50 Around the world God is moving powerfully. 45:53 Around the world men and women are stepping out 45:56 Come with me to Moscow. 45:58 Come with me to Red Square. 46:00 There I preached in the Kremlin Auditorium. 46:04 6500 people, two sessions a night. 46:09 13,000 people a night. 46:11 We saw the Spirit of God come down. 46:14 We saw God touch the hearts of those Russians 46:17 there in the Kremlin Palace. 46:21 The most amazing auditorium in all of Russia, 46:24 one of the most amazing in the world. 46:25 Fourteen elevators, chandeliers made of crystal. 46:30 This is the place that the Communist Party met for decades. 46:35 But I walked onto that stage where Andropov had spoken, 46:39 where Chernenko had spoken, where Khrushchev had spoken, 46:43 where Gorbachev had spoken, where Yeltsin had spoken, 46:46 and opened the Word of God and made strong appeals 46:51 to our Russian brothers and sisters. 46:54 They came to Christ. 46:55 See this picture? 46:57 Notice carefully as you look at the picture, 46:59 right-hand side, there's a Russian army truck. 47:02 They were delivering Bibles, 20,000 Bibles, to our meetings. 47:06 Men and women made their decision. 47:08 They said, "We will follow Christ." 47:10 More than 3000 baptized in our three years of meetings. 47:14 In Plekhanov University, the Kremlin, the Olympic stadium 47:19 in Moscow, they went down into the water 47:22 with joy on their faces and peace in their hearts. 47:26 Men and women around the world, God's last day message is being 47:30 taken to the ends of the earth. 47:31 I think of the Moscow Olympic Stadium. 47:35 And there in that stadium 18,000 people gathered 47:39 every single night, and they came to Jesus. 47:42 I think of the cultural center in Kiev in Ukraine. 47:48 It was here that Nikita Khrushchev said in the 1950's, 47:55 early 1950's, "There will be no more Christians 47:58 in the Soviet Union. 47:59 Wait, but when there's one, because we're going to 48:01 stamp them out, we're going to get rid of them all, 48:04 but when there's one left we'll stuff him, 48:07 put him in a museum up in Moscow so future generations 48:11 will know what a Christian looked like." 48:13 I walked into that same auditorium. 48:15 We satellited that meeting across the former Soviet Union 48:20 and throughout the East Bloc countries. 48:22 Tens of thousands of people watched it. 48:25 They jam-packed that auditorium. 48:27 And there, men and women came to Jesus. 48:30 They went down into the water. 48:32 Look at the joy on this woman's face. 48:34 Look at the peace in her eyes. 48:35 You can have that joy, my friend. 48:37 You can have that peace. 48:38 God is doing something around the world. 48:40 He's giving His last day message from the book of Revelation. 48:43 And men and women are responding. 48:45 Come with me to Budapest, Hungary. 48:48 One of the most amazing cities in the world. 48:51 The Danube River runs through. 48:53 Buda on one side, Pest on the other. 48:55 During the days of Communism, I got permission from the 48:58 Communist government during the days of Communism 49:01 to preach here. 49:03 The first night of my meetings it was absolutely packed. 49:06 But right after my meetings there was a rock concert 49:11 in the same auditorium. 49:12 And that rock concert was to start right when I 49:16 let out my meeting. 49:18 We had a meeting at five o'clock. 49:19 Preached the gospel of Christ. 49:21 Meeting at seven. 49:22 When we opened the doors for the seven o'clock meeting, 49:25 young people, hundreds of them on the streets, 49:28 thought, "They're opening for the rock concert." 49:31 They rushed in. 49:33 I never had so many young people in a meeting before. 49:34 They were all over the place. They were loud. 49:37 That very night these four young women came in 49:40 to what they thought was a rock concert. 49:42 They were groupies following the rock band. 49:46 As they came in, they stood five back in the balcony. 49:51 So many people were there. 49:52 But the Spirit of God got a hold of their heart. 49:54 They came night after night after night. 49:57 And eventually they were baptized in the name of 50:00 the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 50:02 What has happened to them? 50:03 Three of these young women today have become workers for God. 50:07 Two of them have married pastors. 50:10 And one of them was a Bible worker for Christ. 50:12 You know, it's amazing to see what God does 50:17 as His Word is preached and proclaimed. 50:20 Here's my wife on the left with these three young women. 50:23 And they today have had their lives changed and transformed 50:28 by the grace of the living Christ. 50:31 Jesus reaches out to you, my friend. 50:34 Around the world His message is going forth. 50:37 Come with me to Cuba. 50:39 It was the 50th anniversary of Cuba. 50:41 And the Cuban government gave us the opportunity 50:44 to preach God's Word, and over 400 were baptized in one day 50:49 in the Olympic swimming pool there in Cuba. 50:53 Come with me to a stadium in Peru 50:57 where 60,000 people gather. 51:00 This is not a football game. 51:02 This is a celebration of Christ and His Word. 51:06 People, men and women, boys and girls, are coming to Christ. 51:10 This Peruvian general walked into the baptismal pool, 51:14 and he said, "I'll wear my general's outfit 51:16 because I want to acknowledge that Christ is my true Ruler, 51:20 and Master, and King, and Lord." 51:22 Around the world something is happening. 51:24 Come with me to India where thousands are being baptized 51:28 and following Christ. 51:30 Come with me to Africa. 51:32 And there as we travel through Africa 51:34 men and women, boys and girls, in these stadiums 51:37 are gathering there coming to Christ. 51:39 God is doing something amazing in Ghana. 51:42 20,000 baptized in one day. 51:46 The Word if God is going out. 51:48 The Bible says... 51:57 "Go," Jesus says. 52:04 Revelation is calling men and women 52:08 to make their eternal decision. 52:10 God is speaking to you. 52:12 God is talking to your heart. 52:14 Think of what it's going to be like 52:16 the first minute of eternity. 52:18 Nothing is worth losing your soul for. 52:23 You've been watching these telecasts. 52:26 The Spirit has been stirring your heart. 52:29 The Spirit has been moving in your life. 52:32 Think about eternity. 52:35 Think about eternity. 52:37 And listen as Danny sings. 52:40 And let the Spirit of God touch your heart right now. 52:51 Well, sometimes I've wondered is it worth it all 53:01 when the road seems rough and so long. 53:10 Then I look towards heaven and think on that day 53:20 when Jesus will call me away. 53:28 The first moment of eternity 53:38 will be worth all the trials down here. 53:48 When I hear the King of all ages 53:56 say, "Come home, child. 54:00 Come home to stay." 54:07 For every rough road traveled in this world below 54:16 my reward will be a million years. 54:24 For every pain and sorrow that ever got me down 54:34 I'll receive a robe and a crown. 54:43 The first moment of eternity 54:52 will be worth all the trials down here. 55:01 When I hear the King of all ages 55:10 say, "Come home, child. 55:14 Come home to stay." 55:20 When I hear the King of all ages 55:29 say, "Come home, child. 55:33 Come home to stay." 55:49 Think about that first moment of eternity. 55:52 Any sacrifice you make here, my friend, is going to be worth it. 55:57 Any sacrifice to follow Christ, to stand for Him, 56:02 will be worth it just to see Jesus 56:06 in that first second of eternity. 56:09 Wherever you are right now, would you like to bow your head, 56:13 would you like to say, "Jesus, I've kind of been holding back. 56:18 But there's a breakthrough in my heart right now. 56:21 The Spirit is convicting me right now. 56:24 I can hold back no longer. 56:26 I'm going to step out. 56:28 I'm going to become part of the Adventist family. 56:33 I'm going to walk ahead and be baptized, 56:37 giving my life to Christ to serve Him forever." 56:42 If you'd like to make that decision right now, 56:44 why not make it in your heart as we pray. 56:46 Father in heaven, You know that man, that woman, 56:49 that boy, that girl has been thinking about this decision. 56:54 You know that individual who has slipped away, 56:56 and You're winning them back. 56:58 You know that person who is a lovely Christian 57:01 but has not followed all of Your truth, and You're calling them. 57:04 Father, thank You, right now You're convicting them. 57:07 Thank You there's a place in Your heart just for them. 57:10 Thank You, Father, that eternal decisions are being 57:14 made in Your name. 57:15 Give us the courage and strength to do that, 57:18 through Christ our Lord. Amen. 57:20 Thank you for joining us for 57:22 Revelation's Ancient Discoveries. 57:24 Stay with us for the rest of this series. |
Revised 2018-05-21