Under the Water, Into the Fire: A Call to Baptism

The title of my message this morning is this, Under the Water, Into the Fire.

Under the Water, Into the Fire. Let's start by reading Mark 1,

Mark 1:1–11

verses 1 to 11, and I'm going to be reading from the Passion Translation.

I'm going to be reading off this device here.

This is the beginning of the wonderful news about Jesus, the Messiah,

the Son of God. See what I mean? Mark, punchy.

None of this, not worried about his ancestry or anything like that.

It's just, this is the beginning of the wonderful news about Jesus,

the Messiah, the Son of God.

There he is. It starts with Isaiah the prophet who wrote, Listen,

I'm sending my messenger ahead of you and he will prepare your way.

He is a thunderous voice of one who shouts in the wilderness,

Prepare your hearts for the coming of the Lord Yahweh and clear a straight path

inside your hearts for him.

John the baptizer was the messenger who appeared in an uninhabited region,

preaching a baptism of repentance for the complete cancellation of sins.

A steady stream of people came

to be dipped in the Jordan River as they publicly confessed their sins.

They came from all over the southern highlands, I was going to write,

All over southern Israel, including nearly all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

John wore a rough garment made from camel hair with a leather belt around his

waist, and he ate locusts and honey of the wilderness.

And this is the message he kept preaching. There is a man coming after me who

is greater and a lot more powerful than I am.

I'm not even worthy to bend down and untie the strap of his sandals.

I've baptised you in water, but he will baptise you into the spirit of holiness.

One day Jesus came from the Galilean village of Nazareth and had John immerse him in the Jordan River.

The moment Jesus rose up out of the water, John saw the heavenly realm split

open and the Holy Spirit descended like a dove and rested upon him.

At the same time, a voice spoke from heaven saying, you are my son,

my cherished one, and my greatest delight is in you.

Hallelujah. So,

As I said earlier, our baptism service is booked in for the 1st of February

next year, the 1st of February.

If it's not in your diary, please put it in your diary because we will not be here.

We will be at Wendy and Richard's house. We'll have church there.

We'll have baptism. And then we're having a potluck lunch, which sounds really awesome.

But I want to speak to you about communion. Now, this message isn't just for

those who are getting baptized on the 1st of February.

It is for each and every one of us to hear because it is a time and it's 10

weeks away and it's 10 weeks of preparation ready for this baptism service for

those, yes, who are being baptized, but for all of us as a church.

So yeah, it's not just, it is for all of us.

And I'm here to tell you that a divine appointment has been set on the 1st of February.

I want to say this with some conviction as well. Sunday the 1st of February

2026 is a heaven marked date it's a heaven marked date it's circled in eternity.

It's highlighted in the Spirit, and it's not an event. It's an appointment.

It's an appointment not to be missed, a holy moment.

It's a transformational encounter. Say transformational encounter.

And now with 10 weeks before we step into the waters of baptism,

God is preparing us, I believe.

God is preparing us. It's 10 weeks of stirring.

It's 10 weeks of conviction. who loves a little bit of conviction in their life.

Yeah. It's 10 weeks of surrender.

Again, I'm talking to those who are going to be baptized, but I'm talking to

everyone here this morning.

Maybe there'll be more by the time this message is finished and people say,

you know what? I want to get baptized on that day as well.

It's 10 weeks of consecration in preparation for that day. And most of all,

it's 10 weeks of anticipation.

What is God going to do? The baptism service is a ceremony, but it's not a ceremony, okay?

It's not a tradition, although it's happened many, many times before.

It's not a photo opportunity either, but there will be photos taken,

I can assure you, on that day.

It's a burial service. Baptism is a burial service and a resurrection service in one. Hallelujah.

It's a burial of the old and it's a resurrection of the new.

It's a moment where heaven actually touches earth.

It's a moment where chains will break. It's a moment where shame will be buried.

And it's a moment where destinies will ignite. I'm talking about water baptism.

I truly believe what I'm about to say. I truly believe this.

Some of you will come out of the waters with more breakthrough in your life

in five seconds than you've experienced possibly in five years.

That's what can happen with water baptism. Andrew, you're shaking your head and I love that.

It's true, isn't it? More can happen with water baptism in those few seconds

it takes for me to dunk you under the water and pull you back out than what

might have happened in years. So be prepared.

Baptism is not only symbolic, it's supernatural.

Baptism is supernatural. And you know what? Jesus set that standard for us.

We've just read about it. Full immersion.

Oh, here we go. We're going to be talking about full immersion baptism as opposed

to the little sprinkling of water, okay?

But it's all right. I was sprinkled with water.

I think probably many of us were probably sprinkled with water.

I was sprinkled with water actually as probably a 14-year-old,

a 13 or a 14-year-old, so that I could be confirmed in the Anglican church. Okay.

And so I could take communion. I'm here to tell you actually this morning that

if you love Jesus, you take communion with the rest of us.

You don't need confirmation. You don't need baptism.

If you love Jesus, you take communion. Amen?

Amen. So Jesus set the standard for full immersion water baptism.

And that's what we're going to be doing on the 1st of February.

We're going to be in Richard and Wendy's pool.

And we're going to be dunking people fully under the water.

Anyone want to pull out now?

I'm strong. I'll have someone strong with me. Dunk you under and we'll pull

you straight back out again. So it began with Jesus.

Okay, let's read Matthew 3, verse 16. And it's from the English Standard Version,

Matthew 3:16

which declares, And when Jesus was baptized,

immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to

him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him.

And behold, a voice from heaven said, this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased.

Notice he didn't stay on the shoreline. He didn't stand ankle deep.

He didn't receive a sprinkling of water. He went down into the water and he came up out of it.

Many people will say, well, that's the only way to be baptized by full immersion

because that's what Jesus did.

And yes, Jesus was actually baptized in the Jordan River. So does that mean

that we all need to go to the Jordan River to be immersed in water?

No, no, we're going to go to Richard and Wendy's house. The water's probably

cleaner there. It's probably, well, maybe warmer there.

I've asked for 30 degrees, 30 degrees.

So I believe in full immersion for these reasons that we're going to talk about.

Why was Jesus baptized, you ask? Why was Jesus baptized?

He was sinless. He didn't need to repent of anything. It's not because he had sin.

It's not because he needed cleansing, but it was because he was modeling obedience.

You see, to be baptized in water is to be obedient.

He was declaring, Jesus was declaring, come, follow me.

Come and follow me. And what happened in that moment when Jesus was baptized?

We can read about it again. The heavens opened.

The Spirit descended and the Father spoke. Those three things. Heavens opened.

The Spirit descended and the Father spoke.

The same pattern, I believe, will touch every believer who steps into obedience

on the 1st of February next year.

Where there's obedience, the heavens open.

Where there's surrender, the Spirit moves. and where there's humility, the Father speaks.

That will happen on the 1st of February. So let's have a look at this meaning.

What is the meaning of full immersion? Well, it's burial.

That's what it means. Romans 6 and verse 4 says, For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism.

And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father,

now we also may live new lives.

When you go under the water on the 1st of February, you're not getting wet,

you're getting free. You're getting free.

Under the water is actually the grave for your sin.

It's the grave for your shame. It's the grave for perhaps any addictions that might be there.

It's the grave of your trauma and worry.

It's the grave perhaps of your past life, under the water, the enemy loses his

claim over your life, which is awesome.

And then we rise from the water and that's resurrection.

Romans 6 verse 4, as we just read, finishes by saying, now we also may live

Romans 6:4

new lives. When you rise from the water after water baptism, you rise forgiven.

You rise free. You rise cleansed. You've been cleansed. You're empowered.

You rise up out of the water empowered. You rise resurrected.

You rise, resurrect. Baptism is not symbolic only. Baptism is actually prophetic.

It's an act that activates resurrection power in our bodies.

So immersion is total surrender. What's the Greek word for baptism, Andrew?

Baptizo? Okay, I'm talking about the word baptizo.

Baptizo this morning, which means to submerge. It means to plunge,

and it means to overwhelm.

That's what baptism is. It's submerging, it's plunging, but it's being overwhelmed.

Baptism is a picture of full surrender.

You cannot sprinkle surrender, I believe, can you?

You cannot sprinkle a little bit of surrender on you. You cannot dip obedience.

You cannot drizzle transformation.

All of you goes in and all of you comes out changed.

That's what baptism was all about. The power of water, the power of the water,

you won't believe it, but on that day in your pool, Richard and Wendy,

the power of the water will be in God's hands.

It will become holy water.

Holy water. God has Have you noticed if you read your Bible,

as I said earlier that I do, God has always used water as an instrument of transformation.

Yeah? In creation, the Spirit hovered over the waters. Okay? Right at the beginning.

In the flood, water cleansed the earth.

In the Red Sea, water broke Egypt's hold.

In the Jordan, water positioned Israel into promise.

In Naaman's moment.

Water washed away his disease. In Ezekiel's vision, water brought healing to everything it touched.

And in Revelation, water flows eternally from God's throne. Water in your swimming pool.

I can't wait. Water is not ordinary when God touches it. That's what water does.

And on the 1st of February, 2026, the waters we step into will be part of God's

eternal story of transformation for our lives. Hallelujah.

So there's a spiritual, there's a supernatural reality of baptism as well,

because baptism, when we're baptized, strongholds can be broken.

There are chains that don't always break through counseling.

Isn't that right, Elaine?

Unfortunately. There are bondages that don't dissolve just by listening to a sermon either.

But when a believer goes under the water, I believe, identifying with Christ's

death, I believe the enemy loses ground right there and then.

Amen. Hallelujah. Yeah, come on.

The Father's voice is released over our lives.

Over Jesus, the Father said, this is my beloved son.

Many rise from the water feeling God's love for the first time.

Shame loses its voice when you go under the water, but the Father gains his voice.

The Holy Spirit falls on us when we go under the water.

As Jesus rose from the water, the Spirit descended like a dove.

Baptism often, not saying always, but often unleashes spiritual gifts in the believer.

It often unleashes prophetic clarity in the believer.

It often unleashes deliverance, healing.

Fresh fire, boldness. This can all happen in Richard and Wendy's swimming pool. It releases deep joy.

Some rise speaking in tongues when they come up out of the water.

Some rise weeping in surrender. I remember I was weeping when I came up out

of the waters of baptism.

Some rise laughing with joy. Anyone been there?

Some rise utterly healed. Wow.

Utterly healed because the same spirit who hovered over the Jordan River will

be hovering over Richard and Wendy's pool on that day, on the 1st of February, 2026.

10 weeks away. 10 weeks away. So this 10-week journey to the 1st of February,

again, not just for those who are getting baptized.

And I've actually got a baptism application form available. It's out on the front table.

Even if you've told me you want to get baptized, can you please fill in one

of these and give it to me as well?

And then what I've got for you is a little bit of homework.

It's a 10-week course, a 10-week course preparing for the fire of water baptism.

And you think, oh, no, it's about five minutes per week for 10 weeks.

It's nothing. It's nothing, but it's important.

So the 10-week journey to the 1st of February is preparation for fire.

There are 10 weeks away from his holy moment in our lives.

This is not a countdown time either. It's not just a countdown.

We're not going to have a countdown to clock up on the screen here because it's not a countdown.

It's a consecration time, 10 weeks of consecration.

We need to repent deeply before that day.

Let the Holy Spirit show us what needs burial on that day. We need to seek God intentionally.

We need to choose prayer. We need to choose worship. We need to choose the reading of scripture.

And we need to choose stillness with God in preparation over these 10 weeks.

I'm actually going to fast.

Over these 10-week periods, it's 70 days, 70 days. I'm not going to have a full food fast.

I'm probably just not going to shave. How does that sound?

That's the easiest fast I could ever do. We need to fast periodically,

I believe, over those 10 weeks.

Let hunger for God replace hunger for distractions.

We need to tell our story. We need to be prepared to tell our story because

our testimony, it prepares the ground for revival.

Testimony will do it again. God will do it again.

Invite people on the day. Over these next 10 weeks, invite some people.

Get some people there. Baptism services, and I can tell you from experience,

are some of the most powerful evangelistic moments in the church.

To see what happens when people are baptized.

We need to expect encounter over the next 10 weeks.

And again, not just those getting baptized, but we as a church,

We need to expect encounter with God over this 10-week period.

So what will happen on the 1st of February, 2026?

Hopefully the weather's warm. Hopefully the pool's warm. Left that to you, Richard.

Because I believe you're getting baptized as well, aren't you?

It's in your best interest. Yeah.

What will happen on the 1st of February, 2026? When you step into the water,

something ancient, something powerful, something eternal will occur.

The old will die, I believe, not symbolically, not emotionally,

but spiritually, and most importantly, decisively.

The old will die.

The new will then rise. You will rise. You will rise forgiven. You will rise free.

I believe prophetically you will be rising healed.

You will be empowered.

You will be anointed. you will be filled and you will be called.

All of those things as you rise up out of the water, it's going to be busy.

The water is both a grave and it's a womb.

Your old life ends and then your new life begins. Josh, come on up for me.

So the 1st of February, 2026 is our date with destiny, I believe.

It's an important date in our church calendar.

The 1st of February, 2026, I believe, is not optional either.

It's not incidental. It's not accidental.

It's a divine appointment. Sunday, the 1st of February, 2026.

Jesus went under the water for you.

Will you go under the water for him?

The next 10 weeks matter. They matter a lot. It's this season of preparation matters. It matters.

The surrender over these next 10 weeks, it matters.

This is your moment to say, yes, Lord, I will obey.

Yes, Lord, I will surrender. Yes, Lord, I am ready for resurrection life.

Who is ready for resurrection life?

Under the water and into the fire.

Under the water, into the fire, into the fire and into your calling.

It's so good. It's so good. So if the Holy Spirit is stirring your heart this

morning, let me say this as well.

If you've been baptized before, I'm happy if you want to come and get baptized again.

It doesn't matter. It matters a lot. It matters a lot that you are obedient to God's call.

If the Holy Spirit is stirring your heart, if you feel the pull to be baptized

on the 1st of February, if you sense God speaking to you, if you know February 1st is your moment,

then receive it. Then receive it.

Say yes to Jesus. Say yes to freedom.

Say yes to the burial of the old and the resurrection of the new.

The waters are waiting. The waters are waiting for us. Heaven is preparing for us.

Your breakthrough is near. Hallelujah. Your breakthrough is near.

So if you want to get baptized on the 1st of February, grab one of these forms

from the front table out there.

Fill it in. It's only a few questions. the questions are what's your name what's

your phone number what's your email address why do you want to get baptized

that's it even angela angela loves filling in forms don't you angela even angela

would have no problems filling that form in.

Sorry?

I can make it so that it does. I can make it. And then an agreement.

Then you sign a little agreement and that agreement says, I understand that

baptism is a public declaration of my faith in Jesus Christ.

That's what baptism is. Hallelujah.

Amen. Let's pray this morning. Lord, we thank you.

We thank you for Jesus. We thank you that he came.

And Lord, before he did anything else, before any of his ministry started, Lord, he was baptized.

He was baptized by full immersion in the Jordan River.

And he came out and the presence of the Holy Spirit fell upon him.

And the words of Father God said, this is my son in whom I am well pleased.

Lord, I pray in Jesus' name that, Lord, as we obediently answer the call to

be baptized, Lord, and those amongst us who want to be baptized as they obey

and agree to be baptized,

that, Lord, this 10-week period of preparation will be a time when the Holy

Spirit will prepare us all.

And Lord, we would be prepared to take steps and to make decisions for your glory in Jesus' name.

Lord, so we thank you that Jesus came and was baptised and he did it to show

us what needed to be done.

He said, come and follow me. Come and follow me into the waters of baptism.

Come and put that old life to death and raise anew with me.

Lord, I pray in Jesus' name over every person here this morning,

every person who is listening in this morning.

That they would be preparing themselves for this day being the Sunday,

the 1st of February, 2026, Lord.

That way they would be preparing for an encounter. They would be preparing for a breakthrough.

They would be preparing, Lord, for the prophetic gifts to fall upon them,

that they would be preparing, Lord, for all your glory to fall upon them in Jesus' name.

So we thank you for that, Lord. I thank you for the people considering.

I thank you for the people who have made up their mind.

Lord, I thank you for the support people, those who will be praying on the day.

Lord, those who will be holding towels on the day. All of those people,

it's all a divine appointment, Lord, for your kingdom and your glory to fall on this place.

And we thank you for it in Jesus' name.

Thank you, Lord. Praise your name. Thank you for your kingdom.

We thank you for salvation.

We thank you for the power of the cross. We thank you for the power of the waters of baptism.

In Jesus' name, and everyone said, amen, amen.