"The Lake of Fire"

Good morning, church.

Happy Mother's Day.

It's good to be with you all today.

So you probably noticed from the tank being out

that we're celebrating a baptism today.

In fact, this Sunday and next Sunday,

over the course of these two Sundays,

we'll be celebrating five new baptisms.

So we're thrilled to see all that God is doing in our midst

as these folks make a public profession of faith in Christ,

which is what baptism is all about.

It's a way of saying publicly

that we've put our trust in the Lord Jesus

as our Redeemer and our King.

So if you're new or you're visiting,

we're glad you're here to celebrate with us.

Now, every Sunday, what we do

is we take a passage from the Bible

and we explain it and apply it to our lives.

And in order to make sure

that we're teaching what the Scripture says

and not just picking and choosing

what we think we should say,

we usually take a whole book of the Bible

and then just walk through it section by section.

We don't skip anything.

We just let God show us what He says to us in His Word.

Now, this spring,

we've been walking through the last book of the Bible

called Revelation.

And we're nearing the end of that book.

Today, we're looking at the last few verses

of Revelation chapter 20.

Revelation 20 · chapter mention

And it's pretty fitting

that we're coming to the end of this book

as we celebrate baptisms

because baptism is a sign, as we said,

that someone's come to believe and trust

in Jesus as their Redeemer and King.

In other words,

baptism is expressing faith

that Jesus is the one who saves us.

And the end of Revelation shows us

both what we're ultimately saved from

and what we're ultimately saved for

because of Jesus.

The end of Revelation chapter 20

Revelation 20 · chapter mention

that we'll look at this morning

and the beginning of Revelation 21

that we'll look at in two weeks

are this perfect pair.

Revelation 20 shows us what we're saved from.

Revelation 21 shows us what we're saved for.

And if we peek ahead,

we see that what Christ saves us for

is beautiful.

A renewed creation without suffering

or death or sickness or sorrow

with God in our midst,

the fountain of unending joy.

Just think of all the things

that you love in this life.

A great meal,

a great soccer game,

a great friendship.

Do you realize that the joys we experience

in these created gifts

ultimately come from God?

God is our creator.

He's the giver of all good gifts.

And what Jesus saves us for

is a future where sin and decay

are finally overcome

and we experience these good gifts

in full measure.

like a city alive

when your team has won the World Series.

Go Phillies, right?

Do you know they have the best record

in baseball right now?

It's unbelievable.

Or it's like a feast

where the wine doesn't run out.

That's what we're saved for.

But Revelation also shows us

what we're saved from.

What we're saved from.

I was listening to a podcast a while ago

that was a conversation

between Barack Obama

and Bruce Springsteen.

It was really excellent.

If you don't like Bruce Springsteen,

you can come talk to me afterwards

and I'll convince you otherwise.

But at one point in the conversation,

they were reflecting

on what kind of drove them

in their professional life.

Why were they sort of so driven

to do what they did?

Now, here are two men

who've reached the pinnacle of success, right?

The former president of the United States,

a rock and roll legend.

And as they were talking about

what drove them,

Barack Obama said something very insightful.

He said basically,

he said,

you know, Bruce,

ultimately in our work,

in our labor,

aren't we really looking for salvation?

Aren't we hoping

that through what we do,

we'll find redemption?

I think he's right.

I think we're all looking for salvation.

The question is,

are we looking in the right direction?

Revelation 20 shows us.

It shows us ultimately

what we need to be saved from.

So let me encourage you

to turn to Revelation chapter 20.

Revelation 20 · chapter mention

It's page 977

in the Pew Bible.

If you're new to the Bible,

the big numbers are the chapters

and the small numbers are the verses.

Revelation 20,

we're going to look at verses 11 through 15.

That's page 977.

The author of Revelation is the Apostle John,

and God gives him a vision of the end of history

in this passage,

and John writes this.

He says,

Then I saw a great white throne

and him who was seated on it.

From his presence,

earth and sky fled away,

and no place was found for them.

And I saw the dead,

great and small,

standing before the throne,

and books were opened.

Then another book was opened,

which is the book of life.

And the dead were judged

by what was written in the books

according to what they had done.

And the sea gave up the dead who were in it.

Death and Hades gave up the dead

who were in them,

and they were judged,

each one of them,

according to what they had done.

Then death and Hades were thrown

into the lake of fire.

This is the second death,

the lake of fire.

And if anyone's name was not found

written in the book of life,

he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Let's pray together.

Father, help us to understand

this weighty passage.

Give us grace.

Give us new light

as we grapple with these eternal realities.

And turn our hearts to your Son this morning,

our Lord Jesus,

through the power of your Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Now, there are three things

that this passage shows us,

and we'll just walk through each of them this morning.

The first thing it shows us

is the reality of divine judgment.

The second thing that it shows us

is the outcome of divine judgment.

And then third,

it shows us our hope

in the face of divine judgment.

So the reality and the outcome

and our hope.

So first,

let's consider the reality

of divine judgment

that we see here.

Verse 11

is a picture of God

in His holiness.

By picturing God on a throne,

John is saying that God

is the world's true king and judge.

And here,

God steps into human history at last.

And what happens?

His presence is so awesome

that earth and sky flee away.

Do you know what happens

when someone important

walks into a room?

What happens?

Well, oftentimes what happens

is people get quiet

and they turn their heads and look.

And then,

if they want to get somewhere,

the crowd just sort of parts

to let them through, right?

But here,

when the Creator

finally steps into creation,

earth and sky turn their heads.

And they don't just part,

they flee

before the one

who is supremely worthy

and awesome.

This is the God who made us

and everything else.

And what verses 12 through 13 show us

is that everyone

will give an account

to their Creator.

John says,

the books will be opened

and you will be judged

according to what you have done.

There will be universal,

final,

divine judgment

of every human being.

You and me

and everyone

will stand before God.

Now, maybe you have

a hard time believing

that the books of your life

will be opened

before God

as your judge.

But let me suggest

that there are actually

two reasons

why you should believe

or at least should want

to believe

in the reality

of God's judgment.

First reason is

that the reality

of God's judgment

means

that your life

actually has meaning.

Notice,

John says,

even the dead

are raised to life

and are brought before God.

Well, why does that happen?

Well, because what they've done

matters to God.

It matters for eternity.

You see, friends,

your life will continue

for eternity

because God wills it so,

because it matters to Him.

But if there's no

final judgment,

if death just means

at best

our memory lives on

for a generation or two,

then we're forgotten

until eventually

the sun expands

in a few million years

and everything turns to ash.

If there's no final judgment,

then the day-to-day decisions

you make,

they don't really matter

in the end.

It's all empty.

It's all without

ultimate meaning.

But if there is a God

who sees,

who cares,

who judges,

then your actions

do matter.

What you do in this life

is not meaningless.

So the reality of God's judgment

means that our lives

actually have meaning.

Our lives count

because God takes them

into account.

So that's one reason

we need to believe

in God's judgment.

But the second reason

is that the reality

of God's judgment

is the only way

that you can really

live in freedom

in this life

from human judgment.

If you believe

that God is the ultimate judge,

then you can actually

break free

from being controlled

by what other humans

think or say about you

from their judgment.

Listen to how Paul the Apostle

puts this in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 4:3–4

chapter 4

verses 3 through 4.

Paul writes,

he says,

But with me

it's a very small thing

that I should be judged

by you

or by any human court.

In fact,

I do not even judge myself.

For I'm not aware

of anything against myself,

but I'm not thereby acquitted.

It is the Lord

who judges me.

So what will give you

freedom

from the opinions

and judgments

of others?

What will free you

from being elated

when people think

well of you

or dejected

when people don't?

I think there are only

two kind of ways

at the end of the day.

One way is to say,

well,

I'm better than

those stupid people

so I don't care

what they think, right?

You know,

but is that really

the sort of person

you want to become, right?

Is that the price

you want to pay

for your freedom

to become proud

and self-righteous

and despising

other people, right?

You sort of

kind of end up

becoming a monster

that way.

No,

the only real way

to be free

from human judgment

without ending up

like that

is to realize

that there's

a higher court.

Ultimately,

you need to be able

to say with Paul,

it's ultimately

the Lord

who judges me.

That's what really

frees you

from being enslaved

to the judgment

of other people.

Only the reality

of divine judgment

will do that.

So it turns out

we need to believe

in this fact

of universal

final judgment.

And this means

your life

and mine

will be opened up

before God's judgment

seat on the last day.

We will stand

before our Creator

and the books

will be opened.

And every thought

and every word

and every deed

will matter

and will come out

into the open

before the gaze

of God.

So that's the reality

of judgment.

But what will the outcome

of that judgment be?

Well, that takes us

to our second point,

the outcome

of divine judgment.

And this point

brings us face to face

with what is perhaps

the most sobering truth

that all of us

must come to terms with.

Because the question is,

what do we deserve

apart from Christ?

I think our knee-jerk reaction

is to say,

well, I'm a good person,

right?

So I deserve something good.

But when we say,

I'm a good person,

what standard

are we using?

Are we actually

measuring ourselves

against God's word for us,

against God's standard for us?

Or are we really

just measuring ourselves

against other people?

If we're not measuring

ourselves

according to God's standard,

word,

then when we say

or think,

I'm a good person,

all that you can

really mean is,

I'm a better person

than some other people

I know of.

It's like when I say,

I'm a good chess player.

What I really mean is,

I'm a better chess player

than a lot of other people

I've played chess against

who are mostly my children.

Right?

Right?

But is that good enough?

Is that good enough?

You know,

you can kind of imagine

two swimmers

on the shore of California

with a dream

of reaching Hawaii,

of getting to Hawaii,

of visiting Hawaii one day.

Right?

You know,

one is sort of

an average swimmer.

The other is

an Olympic level athlete.

And if they both

hit the water

and start swimming,

right,

I mean,

how many miles

does the average swimmer go?

Right?

Like a mile?

Two miles maybe?

Three?

Four?

Four?

But then they sink.

But the Olympic swimmer

hits the water

and they go maybe

five or ten times

that distance,

right?

Like clearly

the Olympic swimmer

is good.

In fact,

they're great.

But what's the goal?

Which one of the swimmers

made it to Hawaii?

Neither of them.

Neither was even close.

In fact,

from that perspective,

right,

those two swimmers

weren't actually

all that different.

One went five miles,

the other went 50,

but there's still

like 2,400 miles

left for both of them.

So which one was better

on that perspective?

You see,

when the books

of your life

are opened

before God,

it might be better

than your neighbor,

but that final day

will not be a day

of comparison.

You won't be judged

on the basis

of what someone else

did or didn't do,

but according to

what you have done.

Verse 13 says,

they were judged,

each one of them,

according to what

they had done.

And when you start

turning the pages

of your life

before God,

how will you fare?

Did you love God

with all your heart,

soul,

mind,

and strength?

Did you love your neighbor

as yourself?

But that's an impossibly

high standard,

you say.

Who could meet that?

But it is a just standard,

isn't it?

Isn't that a just standard?

I mean,

if God is God,

He deserves

our total affection.

If our neighbors

are created

in God's image,

they deserve our love

as much as we love

ourselves.

But just for the sake

of example,

well,

let's lower the bar,

right?

Did you do that

75% of the time?

Probably not.

Did you live that way

50% of the time?

Meh.

10%.

1%?

And for whose sake

did you do those things

even at the lowest level?

Was it for God's glory?

Or was it also

for your own?

Did you gladly submit

to God's rule

in your life,

treating your very existence

as a gift from Him,

which it is,

to be joyfully lived

according to His will,

which it should,

or did you run

your life

your own way

and treat God

as a nice idea

but not really

the center

of your life?

Turn the pages

of your life.

Open the books.

Can you really say

that you've given God

what He deserves

with your life?

Have you returned

to God

even a fraction

of what He deserves

as your creator

and sustainer?

Have you treated Him

with even the modicum

of respect

and honor

and love He deserves

as the infinitely worthy

and holy

and beautiful one?

No.

No one has.

Not you.

Not me.

Instead,

we dream

of big careers

and easy retirements

and making a mark

and yes,

at times we dream

of doing good

and leaving the world

a better place

but God?

He's not really part

of the equation,

is He?

He's like a footnote

on a couple of pages

of the books

of our life.

In fact,

most of the time,

God just gets in the way.

So we ignore Him

and we push Him

to the margin.

We give Him lip service

and we get on

with our lives.

And so what do

our lives deserve?

What do we deserve

before the only

judgment seat

that really matters?

The truth is,

we,

all of us,

live our lives

wanting to be independent,

wanting to run

our lives without God

and so,

at the final judgment,

God will render

a completely fair

and just verdict.

He will look at our lives

and say,

you've chosen to live

your life without me,

on your own,

as your own king,

as your own queen,

so this is my verdict.

Thy will be done.

And God will give us

what our lives

have in essence

truly asked for

every waking moment,

separation from Him

forever.

We wanted a life

without God

and God in His justice

will give it to us.

But what does

eternal separation

from God mean?

Well,

in Matthew chapter 25,

Matthew 25 · chapter mention

Jesus tells

three parables

about what

that final reality

entails.

We actually read

one of those parables

from Matthew chapter 25

Matthew 25 · chapter mention

earlier in the service.

And these metaphors

that Jesus uses

describe something

that is

unimaginably

terrible.

In fact,

Jesus Himself

talked more

about this reality

than anyone else

in the Bible.

So,

even if you don't believe

that Jesus

was the Son of God,

if you at least

think that Jesus

was a great

spiritual teacher,

you have to consider

what He says

about this.

And the metaphors

that He uses

to describe

this eternal

separation

from God

are exclusion

and darkness

and fire.

Exclusion,

it's like being

cut off

from a feast,

Jesus says,

and left alone.

And after all,

if God is the source

of joy and love,

which He is,

the eternal

separation

from Him

must mean

the absence

of those things.

So,

what's left

then?

Bitterness,

regret,

anger,

gnawing,

loneliness?

darkness?

And then Jesus

says,

it's like darkness.

After all,

if God is the source

of all light

and truth,

what must

eternal separation

from Him

mean

but the cold

reality of darkness

and fear

and deception?

And finally,

Jesus says,

it's like fire.

Of course,

fire is not just

painful.

It's not,

fire is not just

an image of suffering

but fire also

disintegrates,

doesn't it?

It turns everything

it touches

to ash.

And after all,

if God is the source

of our wholeness

and our safety

and our peace,

then to be separated

from God

must mean

the eternal

anguish

of seeing

our lives

amount

to nothing

but ash.

And you know,

the greatest terror

of all

is that this outcome

of divine justice,

this separation

from God

will be without end

and without repentance.

We've all experienced

exclusion

and darkness

and even fire

in this life.

But it's been

temporary,

right?

Eventually,

there's a stay.

Eventually,

there's a reprieve.

But when the books

are opened

and God renders

his judgment,

when the final

thy will be done

is issued,

it will be forever.

And what's more,

in every picture

that the New Testament

gives of this

eternal state

of separation

from God,

we see this.

in that final state,

no one repents.

No one admits

they've done wrong.

No one asks God

for forgiveness

and release.

Instead,

it's only a perpetual

hardening of heart

as our earthly trajectory

of self-justifying,

self-centeredness

just continues forever.

forever.

It's like a coin

that's dropped

in a bottomless well

and it just keeps falling

and never rises.

this outcome

of divine judgment

is what

Jesus calls

hell

and what John

calls here

the lake

of fire.

And like so much

else in Revelation,

the image of a lake

of fire

may be symbolic,

but if it is

a metaphor,

don't you see?

It's a metaphor

for something

infinitely worse.

The just wrath

of a holy God

poured out

on those

who have rejected him.

Now when we think

about eternal

separation from God,

we sometimes think

that,

man,

the punishment

doesn't seem

to fit the crime.

I mean,

how could my 60,

70,

80 years on earth

deserve eternal

separation?

But the reality is

to sin

against an

infinite God

creates an

infinite offense

with an

infinite debt

to be paid.

When the books

of our life

are opened,

how many offenses

will we read there?

how many times

have we disregarded

and disobeyed

this infinitely good

and holy

and beautiful God?

How many infinites

have we piled up

in our short

span of life?

the cost

of our sin

is mathematically

impossible

to grasp.

So what is it

that we need

to be saved from?

Well,

we need to be saved

from the books

of our own life,

from the record

that we've written.

the reality

of this final judgment,

it's our only hope

that our lives

have any meaning

at all,

but what we find

is that the books

we bring,

the record

that we arrive

with,

they write our

own condemnation.

So what do we do?

Where do we go?

Well,

maybe we think,

I'll start writing

some new chapters,

right?

I'll turn over

a new leaf,

I'll be a good person,

I'll arrive

with a better book,

but friend,

it won't work.

Sin is too great.

Maybe you'll swim,

maybe you'll swim

an extra 10

or 20 miles offshore,

but you won't reach

the destination.

you'll still sink.

And even those

extra chapters

that you've written,

won't they just be

another testament

to your desire

to try to live life

independently of God,

to try to write

a righteous record

of your own,

to do it your own way

so you don't have

to submit

to God's righteousness.

You arrive

with just another

testament

to your self-justifying

project

to be your own

Savior and Lord.

So what do we do?

How can we be saved

from the books

that we bring

to the judgment?

Well, this brings us

to our last point.

We see in this text

not just the reality

and the outcome

of divine judgment,

but we also see

our only hope

in the face of judgment.

You see,

in John's vision,

the books of our lives

are opened

and they render us

condemned,

but there's another book.

There's another book

that's brought forth

what John calls here

the book of life.

And those whose names

are written

in the book of life

are rescued

from the judgment

that their own lives deserve.

And what is this book of life?

Elsewhere in Revelation,

it's called

the Lamb's book of life

or in another place,

the book of life

that belongs to the Lamb

who was slain.

And if your name

is written in that book,

then you do not need

to receive the judgment

your books deserve.

If your name is written

in that book,

you won't receive

the judgment

your books deserve.

Why?

How could that be?

Because for every name

that's written

in the Lamb's book of life,

their judgment

has already been paid.

Their sentence

has already been served.

It's a record of everyone

whose judgment

has been paid.

But how could that be?

Think of it this way.

Here's the book

of your life, right?

Not the Bible.

I'm just using it

as an example, right?

Think of this as,

this is the record

of your life, right?

Well, it's books

in Revelation,

so there should be

two of them, okay?

Here are the books.

You've brought them, right?

This is all your thoughts,

all your words,

all your deeds,

all your sins,

all your failures,

oh wait,

all your secrets

that no one

but God knows,

okay, they're all here.

But God saw you.

He saw you

carrying that record.

He knows the weight

and He knows the guilt

and the shame.

And in love,

He came in the person

of His Son, Jesus.

Jesus Christ,

the eternal Son of God,

became human

and lived a life

of complete obedience

to the Father.

Jesus actually did love God

with all His heart

and soul and mind

and strength.

Jesus actually did

love His neighbor

as Himself.

His record was flawless.

But His mission

wasn't just to live

the life that humans

should have lived.

His mission was also

to come and to die,

to be the Lamb

who was slain.

So you see,

on the cross,

Jesus wasn't just

laying down His life

for His own sins.

He didn't have any, right?

Like, there's no record

of wrong in Jesus' life.

He was laying down

His life for your sins.

At the cross,

your record,

your books,

were laid on Him.

So what's left for you?

You see, on the cross,

Jesus was willing

to undergo

the exclusion

and the darkness

and the fire

of separation

from the Father.

Jesus descended

into hell

on the cross

to pay the full

judgment of sin

for everyone

who repents

and trusts in Him.

And because He

is the eternal Son,

the infinite God incarnate,

He can actually pay

an infinite cost.

So do you see

how much

He loves you?

You know,

we often think

about hell

and we ask,

how could God

be a loving God

if hell is real?

But don't you see,

hell actually

shows us

the utter depths

of God's love

for us.

He was willing

to pay

even that price

to win you

and rescue you

and save you

from your own record.

heart.

Jesus endured

hell for you

so you can face

the final judgment

and live.

This is how

we're saved,

by trusting

in the One

who bore

our sins

on the cross

and who was

raised from the dead

three days later

to demonstrate

that the sacrifice

was complete,

that the penalty

was paid in full,

and that all

who trust in Him

receive the full

forgiveness of sins

and resurrection life

so that your name

could be written

in another book.

So the choice

before us

is this,

will you arrive

at the final judgment

trusting

in your own books

or trusting

in Christ?

And if you have

trusted in Him,

then your name

is written

in His book of life

and no one

can blot it out,

no one

can erase it,

it's there

permanently

and forever.

forever.

You didn't deserve

to have your name

written in there,

so there's nothing

you can do

to deserve

having taken it out.

So Christians,

do you realize

what this means?

Do you realize

what it means

that your name

is written

in the book of life?

First,

it means

that you have

a ground

for rejoicing.

You have a reason

for rejoicing

like nothing else.

It's very interesting,

in one point

in Jesus' ministry,

the disciples

come back to Jesus

after a super

successful ministry tour.

They've preached

and people believed,

they've cast out demons

and they've fleed,

and the disciples

come back

and they're ecstatic.

And Jesus says,

I saw Satan

fall like lightning

from heaven.

In other words,

He's like,

good job.

But then Jesus

says this,

He says,

nevertheless,

do not rejoice

in this,

that the spirits

are subject to you,

but rejoice

that your names

are written

in heaven.

To know

that your name

is in His book

written in heaven,

that you're known

and loved

by the King

of the universe,

free from condemnation,

free for eternal life,

that will give you joy

like nothing else.

It's a joy

that your failures

can't touch

and it's a joy

that your successes

can't even compete with.

Jesus looked at them

and said,

you had a great day.

Don't even rejoice

in that.

There's something

even better.

Your name's written

in heaven.

But if your name

is in His book,

if your name

is in His book,

it's not just

a ground for rejoicing,

but it also means

that your books

take on a new meaning.

If your name

is written

in the book of life,

then your books,

the books of your life,

start to take on

a new meaning.

You know,

it might be tempting

to think,

well,

look,

if I'm not saved

by my works,

then my works

must not mean anything,

right?

And the truth is,

your works

will never justify you.

They will never save you.

But for those

who trust in Christ,

God says,

I've prepared good works

in advance

for you to do.

You'll see the hungry

and you'll feed them.

you'll see the naked

and clothe them.

You'll see the sick

and imprisoned

and you'll go visit them.

You will become

a force of love

that the world

doesn't understand.

Only those

who know the freedom

of having their names

written in heaven

can love freely.

Because it's those

who know mercy

that show mercy.

And that means

that there's this

new thread,

there's this new

literary motif

that starts to weave

its way

through your books.

It's this thread

of grace.

It's a thread

of God's glory.

It's a thread

of the Holy Spirit

making you more

and more like Christ.

Because now

your story

isn't about you anymore.

Suddenly,

the books you bring

to the judgment,

they're not about you.

They're not about

how far you can swim.

They're about Christ.

The hero of your story

isn't you anymore.

It's the Lord Jesus.

And that's what

baptism says.

In a beautiful

and symbolic way,

it says,

my life is about Christ now.

So for those of you

who are getting baptized

over these next two Sundays,

let me say this

to you,

when you go down

into the water

and come back up again,

you're saying

that your life

from now on

is about Him.

Jesus united Himself

to you

in the incarnation,

taking the judgment

you deserve

and rising again.

In other words,

He went down

and came back up.

And now,

through faith,

you've united yourself

to Him.

Your old life

has gone down

and your new life

has risen up.

He's the hero

of your books now.

But remember

what Jesus says,

because some days

will be good

and some days

will be full

of trials and doubts.

But remember

that you have a joy now

that outstrips

even your best days.

Rejoice in this,

Jesus says,

that your names

are written in heaven.

In other words,

keep eternity in view.

The King has gone

through the eternal fire

for you.

He's engraved you

on the palms

of His hands

and in His grip

He'll never let you go.

Your name will never,

ever be erased

from His book.

And that's true

of everyone

who's put their trust

in Christ.

So live with that in view.

Live with the freedom

and the joy

and the perseverance

that that brings.

And friend,

if you haven't

put your life

into the arms of Christ,

what do you wait for?

Christ has done everything

to save you

from the eternal consequences

of your sin

and to save you

for a life of joy

and purpose

now and without end.

It doesn't matter

how thick or thin

your books might be.

It doesn't matter

how young or old you are.

It doesn't matter

how dark or shameful

your pages may be.

Jesus said,

the one who comes to me,

I'll never cast them out.

Never.

So come to Him.

Let's pray together.

As we bow before God,

let's take a moment

of silence

before God.

We've considered

some weighty things today.

Things that our minds

often push to the margins

of our hurried lives.

But right now,

we have the opportunity

to consider

the most important question

a human could ever ask,

where do I stand

with God?

Some of us

have been attending services

and hearing the things

about Christ

and the gospel

and some of us

are maybe realizing

for the first time

that it is time.

It's time to lay down

your books

and give yourself

to Christ.

If the Holy Spirit

is convicting you

in that way,

you might even pray

something simple

in your own heart

like this.

Father,

I realize that

in my own deeds,

I don't deserve

to be called

your child.

In fact,

I deserve eternity

apart from you.

But I trust

in what Christ

has done,

dying for my sins.

So I turn

from my sins

and my efforts

to save myself

and I take you,

Jesus,

as my Lord.

I commit my life

to you

and thank you

for receiving me,

forgiving me,

and making me

your child.

Fill me

with your Spirit

and let me live

all my days

in the assurance

that my name

is now written

in your book

of life.

Father,

we also pray

for those

who have turned

to you

and are getting

baptized over

these next two Sundays.

We pray for Jack

today.

Next week,

we pray for Dawn,

for Sherry,

for Stacy,

for Mandy.

Fill them

with your Spirit

as they make

this public

profession of faith.

Fan into flame

the good work

that you've begun

in them.

Let their lives

be lived

for your glory.

And would all

who've placed

their faith in Christ

rejoice

that our names

are written in heaven.

And would we be eager

to share this joy,

this good news

of the gospel.

Use our church,

Lord,

for the glory

of your name.

and for the advance

of your gospel

among all nations.

Amen.