2nd June 2024 - Communion Service - Fire and Water Baptisms

Yeah, and uh, we're gonna look at baptisms throughout you and we're gonna

be looking at different types of baptisms. I'd encourage you to consider and remember

if you if you were back, if you have been baptized, remember when

you were baptized, Remember that moment. You know. Somebody asked me in

the week, they said, do you somebody from work. Somebody says to

me, do you christen babies in your church? And I said, no,

no, we don't. We do celebrate babies and we would dedicate them,

you know. So for baby was born and somebody wanted to make a

special moment up, absolutely we would dedicate that child under the Lord. We

would have a ceremony, we would have fun, we would have food,

but we wouldn't christen them or baptize them as a child, because we believe

as a church that they need to get to a place where they can,

for their own understanding choose Christ. And one of the ways that people I

was brought up in the church. I was brought up in a church.

When I was a child, my mom and my dad went to church and

then ended up singing in the choir and went to church three times on a

Sunday because I went to one church and then went to another church, and

then went to another church in the evening and loved the music. I loved

the music, but I hadn't been Going to church does not make you a

Christian, as Keith green White said, going to church doesn't make you a

Christian any more than going to McDonald's makes you a hamber. But I went

to church. I went all the way through a church, went off to

university. I went to a place called Ditchingham Ditcheam. If you know where

Sandringham is where the King has a country house. Just alongside sandring is a

place called Ditchingum and there is a nunnery there. And our Christian Union from

as we're talking about students that I the Christian Union from campus went away for

the weekends and i'd been going to church, so I went to the chaplain

Sea. So I went to the church the weekend Chaplaincy weekend away. Got

fed very nicely by the nuns. They were putting food out, fantastic food,

and they served us in silence, which was interesting. You know.

I didn't know whether we had to sign when we wanted something. When we

wanted salt, or pepper or another drink. I didn't know whether we had

to sign because they were in silence. But they listened to us and they

served us well. And on the Friday night, David James, who was

the chaplain, he said, we're going to explore the gospel and see how

real it is. I thought, okay, this sounds interesting. Remember I've

been to church for eighteen years. Up until now, I knew quite a

bit of scripture. And they said we're going to have a trial. We're

going to put the Gospel on trial. Okay, this sounds a bit more

interesting. I can work with some of the things that I don't understand in

the gospels in Matthew, Martin, Luke, and John. I can unpack

some of the things. Said how we going to do that? And he

said, we're going to have a trial. It's going to be prosecution and

there's going to be a defense. And the only evidence you will be able

to use is this. You can bring the characters from this and you can

tell their story. Do you know what inside me rose up something and saying

I need to be the prosecuting captain. And I was I so ardently wanted

to either prove or disprove this. If Josh mcdell and many other famous books

were much more greater legal brains said I'm going to disprove the gospel, and

they came to Christ and so on the Friday night we prepared all day Saturday.

On Saturday afternoon and evening, we called various characters to come and give

evidence. I called Mary Magdalene to come and give evidence, you know,

and somebody acted her and told her story, and we cross examined, you

know what. I got to the end of the Saturday night and I said,

do you know what? This is real? This is true. This

is not just history. God sent his one and only son, not another

son. He's one and only son. Whosoever believes in him should not perish

but have ever lasting life. You'll find that in John three sixteen. We

should know it well because it's something that's foundational to our faith. For God

so loved the world, you know, it has to be true. And

I gave my life to compart. I'm not ready to remember. I've been

going to church for eighteen years. I've heard these things, but I've never

been confronted with the good news of the Gospel. I'd never been confronted that

it was personal, it was about you and me. It's a personal choice.

I won't go to heaven because of my mum and my dad. I'll

go to heaven because of Christ and me accepting him as savior. Because there

is a consequence to wrongdoing. For anybody who's ever been in jury service,

you've had that privilege to sit there with eleven other people and represent and decide

whether someone's guilty or not based upon the evidence that you see. But you

know, if something has been done wrong, there is a sentence, there

is a price to be paid. And how many people get it right all

the time? Notice no hand, no hands go up at all. We

might get it right some of the time, but I'm sure every one of

us has some element where if we could rewind the tape, if we could

rewind the tape and do something again, we'd do it again, and we

do it differently. Maybe we'd say things differently, maybe we'd do things differently,

Maybe we'd be less judgmental, maybe we'd be more loving. But God

so loved this world, He loved you and me, and so I want

to talk about baptism and set the scene a little bit around baptism, because

there's various different types of baptism we could talk about. There is the baptism

in water. And let's look firstly at Luke chapter three, verses fifteen and

sixteen. As the people were in expectation and all reasons in their hearts about

John, John Bada Baptist, whether he was the Christ or not, John

answered them and said saying to all, I indeed baptize you with water.

But one mightier than I is coming, whose sandals strap I am not worthy

to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

So in this one verse we have two baptists of the baptism of water and

the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the baptism in water. If you've

ever seen someone baptized, we believe in full immotion baptist. We'd encourage people

to be and just for anybody who wonders. Because I was asked this question

a few weeks ago, asked you, Dave, where do we baptize people?

Are running me Christian Fathership. Well, I've been here thirty years now,

and we baptize people in the river. I'm not recommending we do that

again. That's a bit smelly and that we had done it. Or we

baptize people in the swimming pool and the schooled just the other side of the

railway. We baptize people in another swimming pool that a friend who has we

baptized. We baptize people in the sea. We baptized people in French and

ponds, if you know where that is. There's a number of places where

there's a place where we can go. And it's symbolic because in that moment

we're saying I am dying to my old self and rising to a new self

in Christ. And that symbolic going under the water and coming up again is

leaving pipe behind our old life and stepping into our new life. And what

happens when baptism occurs In Luke chapter three, reading on later on in twenty

one and twenty two, it says when all the people were baptized, it

came to pass that Jesus also was baptized. So Jesus was baptized, he

sets an example for us. And whilst he prayed, heaven was opened,

and the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon him, and

a voice from heaven said, you are my be a loved son. In

you, I am well pleased. Does anybody want someone to say that to

you? These simple sensencees in you, I am well pleased, just on

an earthly level. If your parents say, son, daughter, I am

pleased with you, well done, I don't know. Just hearing those words,

my heart's going. I'm appreciated. But when God, who created the

heavens and the earth, says this to his son, in whom you are

a beloved son, in whom I am well not just pleased, well pleased,

you know, and he hasn't He hasn't gone to the cross yet.

This is long before the crucifixion. And how many people can be baptized?

Is it just for one or two? In Romans Chapter six, Verses three

and poets, or do you not know that as many of us who are

baptized into Christ were baptized into his death. Therefore we are buried with him

through baptism into death. That just as Christ was raised from the dead by

the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in the newness of

life, that promise of a changed life. For there is one body and

one spirit, and we're all following in the hope of our calling. In

Matthew chapter ten, it tells us this, Therefore, whoever confesses me before

men him, I will confess before my father, who is in heaven.

But whoever denies me before men him, I also will deny before my father,

who is in heaven. Christ wants us to declare who hears. He

intercedes on our behalf. He speaks to the father. He whispers in the

Father's ear on our behalf. Are we going to leave behind the old and

step into the new? Are we going to leave behind the rubbish and step

into the gold? Because some of the things that we've been through God will

turn for good. Not everything we see as rubbish remains as rubbish. Philipp

Hannah, who is with us, I think four or five years ago she

shared on the principle of kintsugi, which is a Japanese principle when something gets

broken, you repair it with God. And so that scar. And I'm

sure we've all got scars, and anybody got a scar, Most of us

got a scar some kind of injury. You can't you want to hide it.

I'm just trying to see what I remember one distinct scar that I was

just hidarious, taking the dog out for a walk with the extendable lead.

And so taking the dog out for the walk with the extendable lead, I

noticed that the teddy ol dog had seen another dog and he was off and

running, and I wasn't holding the lead property. So I grabbed the rope

as it was running out through and it left the scar on my hand.

You know, that's a reminder I need to pay attention to my dog.

Yeah, every time I look at my hand, I need to remember I

need to pay attention. The scars are not necessarily all bad. They may

be painful at the time, but do you know what they're a reminder And

the scars that we remember that Christ, the hands that were pissed, the

body that was broken. That which we celebrate and remember around communion is that

He went to the cross for you and me. He paid the price for

you and me. Reading on in Matthew chapter ten says this, if the

household is worthy, let your peace be upon it. But if it's not

worthy, let peace return to you. And whoever will receive you will hear

your words. When you depart from that household city, shake the dust off

your feet. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable

than the land of Solomon Gomorrah in the day of Judgment, than of that

city. Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of walls.

Therefore be wise as serpents, and harmless as does But beware of men,

for where they will deliver to the councilors and scurge you in the synagogues.

God wants us to go out with confidence and faith. God wants us

to take the faith that we have and share it with others. He wants

us to be wise. There's something about when God touches our lives, we've

got to tell somebody. We've tell it doesn't need to be shouted from the

front, doesn't need to be broadcast on the internet, but we need to

share it with someone. Our words carry power, our words carry truth.

Peter's response in Acts. And when they had heard this, they were cut

to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, men

and brethren, what shall we do? And Peter said to them, repent,

and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ

for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy

Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to

all who are afar off, as many as the Lord Gods will call.

And it's this verse thirty eight. And then Peter said to them, repent,

repent, repent, turn away from your sin. Let every one of

you be baptized. So baptism is for all. Juny and I got baptized

in the sea. We had been Christian as children, because that was the

tradition that we'd been brought up in. But out of obedience, we felt

we should get baptized. And so we think we got baptized in the sea

many many, many years ago. But for me died to my old self,

and the rolls rose in a new way. And it's the promise.

It's not just the promise of dying to old and rising to new. But

God will enable us, equip us and empower us to do what He's called

us to do. So as we pray for Elijah and and the and the

other students, for Charis and for Hannah, God enables you. God enables

you by the power of His Holy Spirit. And it's a gift. It's

a gift, the gift of the Holy Spirit. So let me pray Father

on thank you for sending your one and only son into this world. Thank

you, Jesus, for being faithful to your father to pay the price for

me and for others, for all of us, Lord God, as you

went to the cross the sacrificial lamb, you were crucified, you died,

but you rose again. He rose again, as it was promised in scripture,

as it was prophesied in scripture. He rose again. And the tomb

is empty, and the grave clothes are gone. And as the angel said

to the women as they rushed to the two, he is not here.

He has risen. Indeed, Hallolu. And that resurrected Christ is the promise

to you and to me, because he intercedes for us. He paid the

price for you and me, and accepting him as our savior put him in

his rightful place in our lives, that we repent of sin and away from

our wicked habits and choose to follow him and his father, our God.

And as Jesus said to his disciples, I'm going, as we celebrated Penticoff

Sunday recently, I'm going to be with the Father. But I will send

a greater comforter the Holy Spirit to empower you, to enable you. And

he then said to his disciples, and you shall do greater things than I

have done. You know what, As I'm praying, I'm thinking, Jesus,

you did so many amazing miracles. Lord, do more in this time.

Do more in this world. Our world desperately needs you. Our world

desperately needs the hand of a loving Father at work. A church that arises

again filled with the Holy Spirit. Are people who are willing to be sold

out for God, and sold out without question, without without shame, going

with confidence and boldness into conversations, going with confidence and boldness into situations,

going with confidence and boldness into places where maybe it's not natural to be,

but supernaturally it's exactly the right place to be. And so, Father,

I pray for all hearts that are being stirred this morning as we gather around

your word, as we've pressed in. Father, let your kingdom come,

Let your will be done in our lives, and for those listening at home,

those listening later, Let your kingdom come and your will done in our

lives. O God, let your light shine in us and through us.

Let it be less of us and more of you, that you will be

glorified. There are we many more in the kingdom because of our stories,

our testimonies, and our willingness to serve us. Help us. We pray

in Jesus' name.