05.16.2010 Baptism!

05.16.2010 Grace Summit Sermon - BAPTISM! from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

Scroll down for the videos of each person's baptism!

Grace Summit Baptism - Alissa from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

Grace Summit Baptism - Rexanne from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

Grace Summit Baptism - KerryLynn from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

Grace Summit Baptism - Bob from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

Grace Summit Baptism - Kyle from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

Grace Summit Baptism - Mandy from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

Grace Summit Baptism - Bradley from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

Grace Summit Baptism - Tyler from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

SermonAudio

In May of 2008, I read about Carnegie Mellon Computer Science professor Randy Pausch who had been given a prognosis that afforded him less than a year to live. In the time from the diagnosis, he inspired what would become known as ‘the last lecture series’ – encouraging professors to share what is most important to them in ‘one last lecture.’ In his last lecture - he spoke of the importance of achieving your childhood dreams; and he spoke about helping others - he encouraged people to ask for feedback – and to not complain – and to show gratitude – and to find the best in everybody – and to live your life in a way to make your dreams come true. And people listened. Do you know WHY people listened? The last words are often the most important.

Before Jesus ascended into heaven – he gave a ‘last lecture’ – summing up the most important things he wanted his disciples to do:

Matt. 28: 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. "

This is known as The Great Commission. Here at Grace Summit – we are a Great Commission Church. And Jesus gives us a few commands here –

First – GO! That means stretching beyond our comfort limits –

Second – Make disciples – we call them “Fully committed followers”

Third – He commands us to baptize them, in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit

Fourth – to cover all the bases – to teach them to observe all that He commanded (including this commandment!) – and with this, He gives a promise –

I am with you always – even to the end of the age.

Today is a very special day at Grace Summit – because at least 7 of you have chosen to obey this command of the Lord Jesus. I say, ‘at least’ – because the opportunity is open to all of you who have put your faith in Christ and have not yet been baptized. Today I’d like to give a bit of a Biblical explanation for baptism – Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father, thank You for this opportunity today to come together as a congregation to affirm the faith of these who have put their trust in You and are now choosing to affirm that commitment in Baptism. I pray that the power of Your Holy Spirit would be evident as we worship together and witness the commitment of Your followers. Lord, You have commanded that we obey You in baptism – and I ask that You would give us a deeper understanding as we seek Your insight into Your Holy Word. We pray in the most powerful name of Jesus.

Phil was the type of Christian that we all wish we could be – he really knew what it meant to ‘walk in the Spirit’ – so much so, that the Spirit would say to him - go over here – and Phil would go over here. Or the Spirit would say – go talk to that guy there – and he would go talk to that guy there.

One day, a large Ethiopian man was sitting in his automobile, reading the Bible – and it did not make any sense to him. At the same time, Phil was walking along and the Spirit said – go talk to him. Have you ever had a prompting from God – like – ‘you should go and talk to this person.’ – but have been too afraid to act on it? When you are walking in the Spirit – the fear goes away, because there is the confidence that He will speak through you. So the Spirit led Phil to the questioning Ethiopian.

“Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

And the Ethiopian eunuch replied – “Well, how can I, unless someone guides me.”

I know you haven’t all had an opportunity to read the testimonies of those who are getting baptized today – but the Ethiopian’s question reminds me of a conversation that is highlighted in KerryLynn’s testimony – she wrote:

“When I would open my Bible it was still just a bunch of words with no rhyme or reason to me. Then I had the opportunity to meet with Jeff and Melissa Yackley. I confessed to them that I have tried to read the Bible many times, but it was just plain gibberish to me.”

Let’s pick up the story of the Spirit-led follower, Philip, and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:32 Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: "He was led as a sheep to slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He does not open His mouth. 33 "In humiliation His judgment was taken away; Who shall relate His generation? For His life is removed from the earth." 34 And the eunuch answered Philip and said, "Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself, or of someone else?" 35 And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.

I would love to have sat in on that conversation! But Philip patiently explained the Scriptures and the Ethiopian patiently listened. I think all of our Christian journeys are a series of ‘AHA! Moments’ – This was an ‘Aha moment’ for the Ethiopian, and as you read KerryLynn’s testimony – that day she had an ‘Aha moment’ with Melissa and me.

I don’t know what Philip said to the Ethiopian eunuch, but I kind of like to think that it wasn’t too dissimilar from what we shared with KerryLynn – we described what it means to be ‘Born of the Spirit’

We described John 3, where Jesus is having a conversation with a man named Nicodemus. Nic was a member of the Jewish ruling council – and Jesus says to him:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." 4 Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" 5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

How are we born of the Spirit?

A few verses later, Jesus explains further:

16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. 17 "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. 18 "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

When we put our faith in Christ – when we truly BELIEVE in Him – we are born of the Spirit.

I remember sharing with Kerry Ephesians 1:13, which says:

13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation-- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.

So when we listen to the message of truth – and we BELIEVE in Christ, we RECEIVE His Holy Spirit of promise – which is God’s pledge to make us His own.

But believing is not just a head-knowledge or affirmation that Jesus was who He claimed to be – it is also a matter of the will – we need to submit ourselves to His authority in our lives. We need to die to ourselves and allow Him to live in us.

I love Paul’s explanation in Galatians 2:

20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.

Some have asked why we don’t baptize infants here at Grace Summit – instead, we have a baby dedication patterned after Hannah’s dedication of Samuel in 1 Samuel 1. To answer that question, the Biblical pattern is always to first believe in Jesus – and in doing so, to receive the Holy Spirit – and then to be baptized – identifying ourselves with His death, burial, and resurrection – a symbol of that which has already taken place in our hearts.

Let’s continue with Philip and the Ethiopian in Acts 8

35 And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. 36 And as they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, "Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?" 37 And Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." 38 And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch; and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing.

A couple of things to note – I love love love the heart of the Ethiopian Eunuch – He understands the gospel – and Philip must have done a really good job of explaining everything – because they come to some water – and the eunuch’s reaction is – “Look – Water – What prevents me from being baptized?” – He is just ready to take the next step of obedience.

Also – I know that this was penned by the Holy Spirit – so the Spirit could have just told the author of Acts – Luke – but it is my guess – that the Ethiopian Eunuch got connected with the believers in Jerusalem – because Luke knew Philip – but there would be no way for him to know that last line – he went on his way rejoicing – had he not heard it from the Ethiopian eunuch himself.

We’ll come back to the Ethiopian Eunuch one last time at the end of the message… but for now,

Let’s look at a section of Scripture that really answers a lot of questions about what Baptism means – Romans 6

Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin.

8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin, once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

So here is the picture – by being baptized, we are identifying with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection. We are dying to our old way of life – when we go under the water – we are identifying with his death and burial. Paul says we are united with Him in the likeness of His death – our old self being crucified with Him that our body of sin would be done away with and we would no longer be slaves to sin. But it doesn’t stop there – thank goodness! In the same way that the Easter story doesn’t end on Good Friday - As we come up out of the water – we are identifying with being raised from the dead – so we too should walk in the newness of life. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. (not a separate slide)

In the same way – sin is no longer master over us. We were DEAD in our transgressions and sins – but God has made us alive in Christ.

This is reaffirmed in:

Colossians 2:12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

Now, back to the question of the Ethiopian Eunuch – here is water – what prevents me from being baptized? I am obligated to ask – What prevents YOU from being baptized? Philip’s answer was: 37 And Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may."

You would think that a pretty good excuse would be that you are in Iraq…- but that didn’t stop this man from being baptized…

Maybe you struggle with belief. If you do, I’d encourage you to do two things –

First) ask God to help you with your unbelief

Second) Read a good apologetic book, like Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ, or Josh Macdowell’s Evidence that Demands a Verdict.

Maybe you feel like you need to clean up your act first.

Well, Romans 5:8 says that “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”

Maybe you feel like you don’t understand enough – well all you really need to understand is summed up in that simple song we learned as kids – Jesus loves me, this I know – or in John 3:16 – for God so loved the world that He gave…

Maybe you feel like your ‘religion’ is good enough to save you?

Let me tell you, it is not about religion, it is about a relationship – a personal relationship with Jesus Christ – Paul made it personal – who loved me, and gave himself up for me – we need to make it personal too.

Maybe you feel like your sin is too great? I remember one friend of mine who said he had probably broken all ten of the commandments – but he recognized that God’s grace is greater than our sin. If you feel this way, you are basically saying that Jesus’ sacrifice was not sufficient to pay for your sins. But Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient to pay for ALL of your sins – not just the ones you have already committed but even the ones you will commit in the future!

Maybe you feel like you are just not ready yet? I remember in college I was bothering a friend of mine, and she said, Hey Jeff – why don’t you go and see if Leon is saved yet! - so I invited Leon into the room next door and asked him – is there anything keeping you from committing your life to Christ? He hemmed and hawed a bit – and talked about procrastination…but when it came down to it, there was nothing keeping him and he prayed and asked Christ into his heart right then and there and I had the privilege of baptizing him a short time later.

So I ask you – is there anything keeping you from committing your life to Christ and affirming that commitment by being baptized?

Let's pray...