Baptism - Pastor Pete Wright

Hey there, this is Jen Wade, part of the core team here at Springs Church.

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And if you'd like to find out more about Springs Church, please visit our website springschurch.co.uk.

Here's today's message.

Amen.

Amen.

God, we just want to say thank you for your goodness to us.

Is there anyone in the room who has known God's goodness in their lives?

Is there anyone?

Come on.

If you've known God's goodness in your life, will you just throw your hand up?

People take a look around.

There's a lot of stories in this room of the goodness of God.

Thank you so much.

Hey, listen, if it's your first time here at Springs Church once again, it is so good

to see you.

Friends new, friends old, it's just so, so good.

You come to support Dave and Wayne today.

Can you just give Dave?

Not Dave, you were last time.

Can everyone just give V and Wayne a great big round of applause and encouragement?

We're going to baptize these amazing people in a short while.

In a short while.

Lindsay is absolutely right.

You may not be familiar with the kind of baptism that we practice in Springs Church, but I

want to encourage you, there's nothing dodgy about it.

It's the way Jesus did it.

And so when you read the scriptures, when you read the holy Bible, you'll find that

Jesus himself was baptized fully in water, not a sprinkling, not a christening, but a

full on splashing.

And there was a reason that he was baptized.

And there's a reason that he encouraged his followers to be baptized in that same way.

We believe as Christians that when we baptize people fully in water, it's a mysterious,

powerful symbol of what God has done for us.

What do I mean by that?

It's simply this.

We believe as Christians that Jesus Christ died on a cross for us as a sacrifice to pay

for any sin and any muck in our lives that separated us from God.

Now we're not called to be crucified.

That's good news, isn't it?

Come on now.

No one's becoming a Christian if that's what it takes, right?

However, there is this sign called baptism where when somebody is dunked in the water,

it represents their old life away from God being gone and washed away.

And when they come up out of the water, it represents the resurrection of Jesus, but

also the resurrection of the soul of the person being baptized.

Is that good or is that what?

It's amazing.

And so when we baptize people, yes, there's all sorts of things you could say.

Is it a cleansing?

Yeah, I guess if you like, you could call it that.

Is it a washing away of sin?

Yeah, you could call it that if you like.

But what it is more than anything else is a declaration of the private thing that God

has done in an individual's heart and going public with it.

That's pretty cool, isn't it?

You see the scriptures, the Bible, Jesus says, he says, look, you're not called to be hidden

under a bucket.

He literally says that.

It says you are called to be light to the world and no one hides a light under a bucket.

So listen, if you know Jesus, tell the world about it because what you have is the answer

for all of us.

So this is amazing.

This is amazing.

I'm just going to share a few thoughts about Jesus and I'm going to share a really intense,

slightly weird story that Jesus was involved in just to illustrate the fact that Jesus

loves all of us.

Is that okay?

And then after I've done that, in around 10 minutes time, I'm going to invite V and I'm

going to invite Wayne to come and join me.

And they're going to share part of their story as to how the heck did they become a Christian?

What on earth are they doing here?

Why have they dragged family and friends to witness what we're doing today?

So before we get there, let me ask a few questions.

Who is Jesus?

Who is Jesus?

I wonder what you think of what image you have in your mind when somebody says the name

Jesus.

I don't know whether you think Jesus is some kind of like, I mean, I could be describing

myself here, slightly weedy white guy with a beard.

I just want to be like my Lord, all right?

Leave it out.

But I've got news for you, like Jesus was not a weedy white guy.

He was Middle Eastern and he was Jewish by ethnicity.

And so maybe that changes the way you think about Jesus straight off.

Maybe you think that Jesus is that Meek and Myel baby in a manger.

But I want to tell you today that the scriptures tell us in our experiences that Jesus is no

weak presence in our lives.

But in fact, Jesus is what the Bible describes as a lion.

Oh my word, a lion, a lion with teeth, a lion that is unafraid.

And so when we come to Jesus in faith, we're not joining a passive kind of weak religion.

We're actually becoming part of a living faith.

Is that amazing?

Who is Jesus?

We believe as a church that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

And wrapped up in that mysterious title, Jesus in fact is God.

We believe that God is Father, God the Spirit and God the Son.

We believe those things.

We believe Jesus is God in flesh.

So what's He like?

Is He judgmental?

Would He keep me at arm's length?

Well, church, it's my privilege to tell you that He's far kinder than you could ever imagine

the kindest person ever been.

He is more loving than the most loving person you have ever met.

He's more graceful.

He's the least judgmental person you could ever, ever meet.

Who is Jesus?

He's confident in Himself because He is the Son of God, but He actually calls you His

friend.

Is that amazing?

But I've never met Jesus.

I've never had an experience.

I've never had a religious encounter.

That's okay.

Wherever you're at in this room today, Jesus would still look you in the eye and say, how

you doing, mate?

Let's have a chat.

Jesus, you see, He's in the business of redemption.

I don't know what life's like.

I don't know what life has for you right now.

I don't know whether you're on cloud nine or whether life's in the gutter, but the good

news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that for God's soul of the world that He sent His

only Son.

So whoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have everlasting life.

And that's good news for us today because when somebody takes that faith for themselves,

they do not have to fear in this life because there's nothing to fear in the next.

That's good news this afternoon, hey?

Listen, at the time that Jesus was kind of walking the earth 2000 years ago, God in flesh

and bone, there was this bunch of people called the Pharisees.

And the Pharisees, they were the religious elite of the day.

If anyone should have it all together when it came to faith and religion, it was these

guys.

And I say guys because no girls were allowed, all right?

And this religious elite group of people had spent their entire life stood in the Old Testament

so hard and so fast that they lived by rules and regulations and they encouraged everyone

else to live just like they did.

And if you didn't, God can't possibly have friendship with you.

And then arrives Jesus into that scene.

He makes religion very simple.

He said when it all boils down to it, it comes down to this, love.

Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.

Everything else to live a right life hinges on these two things, love God and love your

neighbor as yourself.

Thank God he sent Jesus to make relationship with God so very simple.

But you see these Pharisees, they didn't like Jesus because he was so blooming counter the

culture that he was in.

He was speaking love when most often it was a judgmentality that was being spoken.

And here we have this incredible Jesus.

You see they didn't like Jesus because Jesus didn't fit into their neat religious boxes.

And I hope when you walked into church today, what you didn't experience was a neat religious

box but a thriving community that happens to believe in God.

And that's what we're about here.

They couldn't handle Jesus.

So having said that about the Pharisees, let me give you a window into the life of Jesus,

but also a window into what's possible for every one of us.

This is a pretty mad, intense story.

You ready for that?

It's a little bit odd.

It's a bit EastEnders at Christmas.

All right.

It's got a really strange storyline.

Check this out.

So this is found in the Gospel of Luke.

It's chapter seven, verse 36.

Here's the story.

When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee's

house and reclined at the table.

Now let me just paint you a picture.

First century people didn't sit on chairs at the table.

The way they did things was they had a real low rise table and they all lay down.

I mean, that's pretty cool, right?

So, yeah.

So Jesus is invited and he goes to dinner and they're lying down at the table.

I imagine eating grapes and olives and all that kind of Mediterranean stuff.

And then he says this, a woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus

was eating at the Pharisee's house.

So she came with an alabaster jar of perfume.

That's an expensive piece of equipment right there.

As she stood behind Jesus at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with the tears.

I told you it was getting weird.

And then she wiped them, wiped her tears away with her hair, kissed his feet and then poured

perfume on his feet.

I mean, can you see yourself in the scene?

Imagine being in the room, you've been invited to this dinner with Jesus and the Pharisee

who's trying to keep it all together, lock, stock and barrel, keep it all prim and proper.

And then in comes a woman who's not even invited to the party.

She starts crying on the guest's feet and then drying his feet with her hair.

And then if things weren't strange enough, this jar of perfume, she decides she's going

to pour it over Jesus's feet.

What's Jesus going to do?

Flipping it.

When the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this, he said to himself, if this man were

a prophet, he would know who was touching him and what kind of woman she is, that she

is a sinner.

Jesus answered him, Simon, I've something to tell you.

Tell me teacher, he said.

Two people owed money to a certain money lender.

One owed them 500 dinarii, cash, pounds, let's say, and the other 50.

Neither of them had the money to pay him back.

And so he forgave the debt, the debts of both.

Now which of them will love him more?

Simon the Pharisee replied, well, I suppose the one who's got a bigger debt forgiven.

Jesus said, you've judged correctly, mate.

Jesus said, then he turned to the woman and he said to Simon, do you see this woman?

I came into your house.

You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped

them with her hair.

You didn't give me a kiss.

But this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet.

You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.

Therefore, I tell you, her sins, her many sins have been forgiven.

As her great love has shown, but whoever has been forgiven little, loves little.

Then Jesus said to her, your sins are forgiven.

The other guests began saying amongst themselves, who is this fellow that he's starting to forgive

sins?

Jesus says to the woman, your faith has saved you.

Go in peace.

What a crazy scene.

Imagine inviting someone to your house and then some random stranger, well, she's not

quite random, she's got a bit of a reputation.

She's known as the sinful woman.

Comes into your house, gate crashes the party and makes such an extravagant overture scene.

Like, this is weird.

And she's pouring out this oil, this perfume on the feet of Jesus.

There's no doubt about it.

This is a strange scene.

And if we have time today, there is so much to learn from this one story.

And I'd encourage you to read it in the Bible for yourselves and ask God to show you what

it all means.

But there's a few things.

Jesus's compassion on this woman went way beyond convention.

Do you hear me this afternoon?

By all rights, Jesus should have said, woman, what are you doing?

I'm trying to eat.

This is awkward.

Can you leave?

He never once said that.

He let her do what she did.

His compassion went beyond convention.

The second thing that Jesus did was he accepted her instead of rejecting her like the rest

of a community.

Is that beautiful?

And she was saved instead of being shamed.

Do you think Jesus didn't know this woman's reputation?

Of course he did.

He's the son of God.

He knows everything about you and me and about that woman that day.

And yet he did not reject her.

He accepted her.

He allowed her to come close.

I don't know what sinful activity she'd been getting up to, but the sum of her life had

bought her this expensive perfume.

Her whole life was represented in this perfume, this scent that people would have known it

was her by the smell that was coming down the street.

And then what she does is she breaks this perfume over Jesus's feet.

Everything that my life is stinks unless you're involved, Jesus.

And she pours out this expensive perfume and Jesus accepts her.

And he finishes off by saying, did you see it?

Your faith has saved you.

Who was the person that invited Jesus to the house in the first place?

Can you remember the fancy name?

The Pharisee.

The religious got it all together.

The holier than now.

I'll tell you what, if the Pharisee was in here right now, he'd be looking down on every

single one of us.

When Jesus enters the room, he lifts every single one of our heads, says, you're accepted.

I want to know you.

Whatever the sum of your life is, whatever has happened, however you have got to this

place, you can pour your life out, pour your heart out to me and I will not reject you.

Is that incredible?

I started this little message by saying, who do you think Jesus is and what do you think

he's like?

I hope this story helps to dispel a few myths because Jesus is way better than you ever

thought he was.

You need him far more than you ever thought you did.

He loves you far more than anyone else could ever love you.

This is Jesus.

As I was reading, what struck me was this, that this beautiful lady came to Jesus broken,

but left blessed.

This lady came to Jesus broken, but she left blessed.

Do you know what blessed means?

It means to have the favour of God.

I want to encourage you this afternoon, Springs Church here in Gordal, friends and family

of V and Wayne, your loved ones, those ones that have said yes to Jesus and poured out

their life to him and said, I know I need you in my life.

You can bet your bottom dollar that they are blessed and they have the favour of God today.

I'm going to finish with the scripture.

It's not on the screen.

I'm going to read the words of Jesus because his words are way better than mine.

He just says this, he says, come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will

give you rest.

Was that a phone?

I hope so.

That was hilarious.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke.

In other words, take my ways upon you and learn from me.

For I'm gentle and I'm humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke, the things that I ask you to carry are easy and my burden is light.

If you remember nothing else today, simply this, God loves you, mate.

He really does.

And he's just waiting for you to say, yeah, actually, I think I want to know you too.

And then you can ride off in the sunset on your faith journey.

That's brilliant.

Thanks again for listening.

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God bless.

My God's got me.