Love is Blind: Drive By Baptism with Pastor Clayton

Welcome to the MetaCurch Podcast.

My name's Clayton.

I'm the pastor here at MetaCurch.

And my hope is that today's podcast finds you at the perfect time in your life that God uses it to inspire and enlighten you.

I hope that you enjoy today's message.

Let me just get something out of the way.

I know that these last two messages have been fairly long, and uh I get talking about the good news of Jesus, and it is really hard for me to quit talking about it.

Um, but today we're gonna have a quick hitter because as you should know by now, this evening we are having our drive-by baptisms.

And we've just we've made the decision during this pandemic, we weren't gonna let us really slow us down.

Um, we weren't going to stop.

The church was not closing.

We can't meet in our venues, but we have known from day one.

If we know anything at Metachurch, that the church is not the building, it's not the organization, it's not the Sunday service, it's not the pastors or the staff.

You are the church.

We also believe that many people have found faith in Jesus during this time, and we want to celebrate that with baptisms this evening.

So, what I want to talk about today is exactly what we're doing.

This isn't an original concept.

My message today is called Drive by Baptism.

Would you pray with me?

Father, we love you, and we look forward to celebrating lives that have been made new, not just now, but eternally new.

We thank you for Jesus.

We thank you for this movement, and God, we pray that you continue to help us find ways to make impact in the world around us, especially right now, when things seem so broken, so dark, God, that we could step up, stand in the gap for people, and do what you've called us to do.

We love you, and we pray these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

We're gonna get right to the text today.

We're gonna be in the book of Acts in the Christian scriptures.

Acts chapter 8, and we're gonna start in verse 26.

Acts 8 · chapter mention

The book of Acts follows right after the Gospels are the story of Jesus' life.

And this is how the church was started.

In Acts chapter 8, there have been some big revivals where thousands of people came to belief in Jesus and were baptized.

Acts 8 · chapter mention

But at this point, we know pretty soon they're gonna start going out into the world.

All over the world, they're gonna start reaching Gentiles, non-Jewish people, people from all different ethnicities and walks of life.

But right now in Acts chapter 8, the movement of Jesus has really stayed contained within Jerusalem and other Jewish territories.

Acts 8 · chapter mention

But God is getting ready to change all of that.

In Acts 8, 26, it says, An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.

This is the desert road.

In verse 27, Philip got up and he went.

And there was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch and high official of Candace, queen of Ethiopia of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of her entire treasury.

And he had come to worship in Jerusalem.

And I really want to dig in to this character, the Ethiopian eunuch.

And there's three characteristics that I want to focus on.

The first is the fact that he is an Ethiopian.

We've talked about this a little, especially back in our Justice series, but at this time in human history, different races, ethnicities, and cultures really did not mix all of that well.

The category of what we call racism is pretty new in the history of humanity because it's based on an underlying belief that races should in fact coexist together peacefully and see each other as equals.

That is a uniquely Christian idea that hadn't pervaded the world at this point.

And so we have an Ethiopian man, a black man, who is in Jerusalem and finds himself truly as the ethnic minority in a time where people were not very kind to minorities as the rule.

He was also a eunuch.

This is a very difficult position because what it means is right now in Jerusalem, he definitely sticks out and stands out, but even back in his hometown, he also lives as a marginalized member of society.

Now, it's no accident that he is a eunuch.

It says he's also a high official.

In fact, he's in charge of the entire treasury of the queen of Ethiopia.

This was a very common practice to take young boys and to commit them to the service of the queen or the king.

And what they would do is they would castrate these young boys.

And the reason for that, as horrible and despicable as that is, the reason for it is it would take away their motivation to what it happens to be some of the biggest pushes that we have in life.

Things like dating, marrying, reproducing, procreating, having a family, having children.

As a eunuch, all of those things are off the table.

And so the idea was by taking away their manhood, by taking away their ability and their drive to do these things that are natural parts of growing up, that they would increase their loyalty to the king and to the queen.

He's in Jerusalem, he's on the margins of society.

Even when he's in Ethiopia, he's on the margins of society.

The third thing I want us to see is that he had come to Jerusalem to worship.

Now, this was somewhat rare, but it wasn't unheard of that people who were not ethnically Jewish believe in the God of the Jews, the God of Israel.

And this Ethiopian eunuch has been on a long, arduous journey all the way to Jerusalem.

He has come to worship the God of the Jews, and he must have been severely disappointed.

Because what we know about the Jewish religious system at that time is that the temple operated in a way where there were concentric courtyards.

And if you were not ethnically a Jew, you could not come to the very center of the temple.

You would not be allowed in.

And what that means after this long journey in Ethiopia, where he is seen on the fringes of society and where he is not able to live the normal life we all lived long to live, he has now come and endured being ethnically in the minority of all the Jewish people.

But you know what?

He seems to be convinced that the Jewish God might be something special, but even when he goes to worship their God, he is limited in his access.

In other words, he's had a very disappointing trip.

And now he is headed home in verse 28.

The Ethiopian eunuch was sitting in his chariot on his way home, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah out loud.

And the Spirit told Philip, Go and join that chariot.

In verse 30, when Philip ran up to it.

And here's, I just want to pause because this moment in scripture is always so, so important to me.

And I long to be a Philip.

Because number one, this is a guy who is listening and looking for spiritual opportunities around him.

He is leaning in to the spirit's promptings in his life.

These are the kind of people that God is looking for.

These are the kind of people that God can use in immeasurable ways to make a difference in the world around us and the lives of the people who are around us.

And this guy is going in his chariot.

I mean, he's he's got a long trip.

He might not be going top speed, but he's moving.

And the Holy Spirit tells Philip go.

Go to his chariot.

And Philip runs.

And to be transparent, I can think of times in my life where I have felt God prompting me to go.

And it's not crazy.

I've never felt the Spirit call me to run somebody down in traffic, to take off after somebody's Hyundai.

Like I've never felt that.

Like I should pray for the person across from me.

Like maybe I should just ask the waiter that's giving me attitude if they're alright.

Instead of just being mad that my drink's not on the table, understanding that maybe they're going through something, living through something.

Maybe their heart is broken, maybe their home is broken.

Promptings to check in on someone right across the office.

God is looking for people.

And when he says go, we'll run.

They'll run into traffic, they'll run after chariots.

I believe that MetaCurch is being called to be that movement, to be those people.

We say we do whatever it takes to get people to Jesus.

Where are the chariots that God is calling you to?

Who are the people that God is pointing you in their direction?

And will we be the people who will run after them?

Philip doesn't know what he's running up to.

He doesn't yet know that he's Ethiopian.

He doesn't yet know that he's a eunuch.

He doesn't yet know that he's interested in the God of Israel.

He doesn't yet know about the disappointing experience or why he would even be in town.

It doesn't matter.

Those are the details.

And sometimes we get so stuck in the details that we don't run after our destiny.

And God is putting things in our path, and He's putting opportunities in front of us.

He's saying go.

And when He says go, we run.

What if we are the people who will run after the chariots, who will put ourselves in harm, who will put ourselves up to the shame and ridicule of people around us, who will be willing to be rejected by someone who doesn't want your prayer.

The results are up to God.

The obedience is up to us.

And the Spirit told Philip, go, and Philip ran.

In verse 30, when Philip ran up to it, he heard him reading the prophet Isaiah.

And he had to have been shocked.

He can tell by the chariot, he can tell by the man's dress, by his complexion, he can probably tell by his accent.

This guy's not from around here.

This guy's clearly not a Jew, and yet he's reading Isaiah, the Jewish prophet.

Philip had to know.

Hey, bro, do you understand what it is that you're reading?

How can I?

The eunuch said, unless someone guides me.

How can I, unless someone guides me?

And I want to be guided, clearly.

I just drove from freaking Ethiopia, and now I'm here.

I want to know what this is all about.

I want to know what this Isaiah guy is saying.

Man, it's like pulling me.

It's like, I man, I want to know.

I came all this way, but how can I know if someone won't guide me?

I came all the way to the temple and they wouldn't let me in.

I came all the way to Jerusalem and I was just seen as someone too different.

How can I know unless someone guides me?

And so he invited Philip to come up and sit with him in the chariot.

And he began to show him what he was reading.

In verse 32, the scripture passage he was reading was this: He was led like a sheep to the slaughter.

And as a lamb is silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth.

In his humiliation, justice was denied him.

Who will describe his generation?

For his life is taken from the earth.

And in this moment, Philip knew why God said go.

And there are many times in my life where I have felt the Spirit prompting me to stand up, to say something, to pray with someone, to speak a word to somebody, to be with someone.

And in my pride, in my lack of courage, my lack of faith, I failed to do so.

And yet there have been times where I have thrown my own caution and the things that hindered me to the wind, and I have followed the Spirit's prompting, and the craziest things will happen.

Man, when you become the person that when God says go will run, when you become a chariot chaser, you will experience things that you can only imagine if you stay silent.

He didn't know who he was running up to, he didn't know who he was running after, he didn't know what the situation would be, but he walked in to an Ethiopian eunuch reading from Isaiah 53.

Isaiah lived 700 years before Jesus.

700 years.

And Isaiah is a Jewish prophet that we read about in the Jewish scriptures.

And these prophets came to pave the way for the coming of the Messiah, to call Israel back to their God-given purpose to follow God and one day to bring the light of God, not just to the Jewish nation, but to all of the nations.

And many people didn't see it.

In their mind they had the idea that the Messiah would come and he would be a person of war and a person of royalty, that he would be born into the palace, that he would ride on a triumphant white horse, that he would lead them into battle, and he would free them from whoever was oppressing them.

Isaiah tried to tell them, but they missed it.

If we just look at the two verses, Isaiah 53, the whole thing is about Jesus.

Just look at the two verses that the eunuch would have been reading.

This is right where he would have been in the scroll, right before Philip got there.

We call it verses five and six.

It says, But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities.

Punishment for our peace, punishment so that we could have peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds.

We all went astray like sheep, we all have turned to our own way, and the Lord has punished him for the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53 was prophecy about the coming of a Messiah, the coming of a savior who would not come dressed in royalty and leading with military might, but a savior who would come in humility and would win by losing.

They missed it.

And this is still the Jewish scripture, still to this day.

And Isaiah 53 has been explained throughout the years, and it's one of the greatest difficulties for people who cling to the Jewish religion and yet reject Jesus because it so clearly lays out what Jesus did for us.

What an opportunity.

What an affirmation.

What a blessing for Philip, the chariot chaser.

So often when we're willing to step out in faith and follow the promptings of God in our life.

And some of you are like, I don't hear from God, you know.

Like, I wish God would just text me.

You know, for some of you, if God's gonna talk to you, it's gonna have to be in an Instagram comment because you never get off your phone.

Like, for some of us, we think it's so magic, but really all God needs us to do is to be quiet every once in a while, to be in his word consistently, to be praying, and to learn to feel when God is moving us to action.

And maybe you have actually felt it before.

You have felt like you should comfort, you have felt like you should lay down your pride, you felt like you should pray for someone.

And we can come up with every excuse in the world not to do it.

Oh, I don't really know all that many scriptures, you know.

And what if they ask me about the scriptures and I don't remember any of the words, the songs that we sing, you know, and I mean I pray, but I don't really know how to pray.

I just kind of talk to God, and I don't have any of the these and the thous, you know, and I'm pretty sure you say in Jesus' name at the end, but then somebody say in the Father's name, and then you know, somebody else, they kind of say like in God's name, and I'm like, do I say what I wouldn't really know how to close my prayer off?

So I mean, if I'm gonna pray for them and I suck at praying, like that's probably just gonna hurt them more than it's gonna help.

And really, I mean, that there's some other people at my job who are way more Christian than me, and God's probably gonna use them anyway, and I'm just gonna sit this one out.

And if you would chase the chariot, if we would run when God says go, He will bring affirmations to your life.

It doesn't mean that's gonna go perfect.

I've reached out to people and been shut down.

And even in being shut down, there is an internal peace that comes from following after what God is calling you to do.

And I'm telling you, I've been shut down, but more times than not, when I have been like willing to step out in faith, man, God is faithful.

And Philip's got the hookup.

This guy could have been anywhere from Genesis to Malachi, and he's in Isaiah 53, the suffering servant.

In verse 34, the eunuch said to Philip, I ask you, who is the prophet saying this about?

Himself or someone else?

This is a question that members of Judaism still must ask themselves today.

And Philip proceeded to tell him the good news about Jesus, beginning with that scripture.

I don't gotta take you to John 3.16, I don't gotta take you to Genesis and tell you the creation of the world.

I can start right where you're at.

Isn't that just like God?

God meets you right where you are at.

This isn't a movement where you must clean yourself up, pick yourself up, learn all the go to the membership class, memorize it all, get it all straight, fix your life.

God meets you right where you are.

Yes, yes, he wants you to move with purpose.

Yes, he wants you to live a holy, a set-apart life, but he doesn't leave you to do it on your own and then accepts you.

He comes alongside you and walks through the mess with you.

Philip told him the good news about Jesus, beginning with that scripture.

It was Jesus who was the sheep led to the slaughter.

It was Jesus who was crushed for our iniquity.

It is Jesus who took the punishment so that we could live in peace.

And as they were traveling down the road, they came to some water.

And the eunuch said, Look, there's water.

What would keep me from being baptized?

It's the first drive-by baptism.

Not only did God provide Philip to explain to this Ethiopian eunuch what he's reading, but now he has provided water for the eunuch to demonstrate and celebrate what he now believes.

But when you look at this text, we often read this from our own point of view.

What would keep me from being baptized?

And we happen to be a very entitled culture.

I'm not condemning us for that.

I think it's just a fact.

And we've had all these drive-bys.

We've had drive-by birthdays, we can't get together, we're quarantined, we've had drive-by anniversaries, we've had drive-by retirement parties, we've had drive-bys for everything in the last six months.

And we read this from a sense of entitlement.

And the Ethiopian is saying, There's some water.

There's no reason for me not to get baptized.

This water showed up just for me.

God put this water here for me, bro.

Like, let's get in.

Here I am.

I came all the way, it was pretty disappointing.

Temple was kind of a you know let down, but here I am.

God gave me water.

There's no reason.

That's how we read it.

We read it like he said, There's no reason for me not to get baptized.

If you look at the Greek that this was actually written in, that is not at all, at all, at all, what the Ethiopian eunuch is saying.

In fact, when he says, What would keep me from being baptized?

He anticipates a response.

He's not saying there's no reason, he's saying, Surely there is a reason.

It's like, what a coincidence that there's water, but surely there's a reason that I don't qualify for baptism.

And just think about the life he's lived.

He's been disqualified from everything.

He's disqualified from dating.

No woman would want him.

He's a eunuch, he's disqualified from getting married, he will never have kids.

He only has one purpose in life, and that is to serve the queen and to oversee the treasury.

And it's great.

He probably lives a comfortable life, but you can be as comfortable as you want and still not have any purpose in your life.

He's ostracized.

He obviously doesn't believe in the gods that they worship in Ethiopia, so he's not welcome there.

He's not welcome in that temple.

He takes a long drive down here.

He's interested in the God of Israel.

He gets to that temple.

He's not allowed in there either.

Not allowed to have family.

Not allowed to have kids.

Not allowed.

Not allowed.

Not allowed.

Now there's water.

It seems like everything's worked out, but he can't shake the idea.

Because of who I am, there's always a reason.

There's always something holding me back.

I mean, there's water, and Philip probably told him just a couple weeks ago when 3,000 people got baptized.

It's telling him all about Jesus and this movement that he started.

Yeah, there's some water, but surely there's something that would keep me.

And we're doing a drive-by baptism this evening.

If you're live streaming, it's this evening, the 27th, 5 to 7 p.m., the 151 saloon.

And in my heart, it feels like there are some of you.

And you've been coming, or maybe you come because your spouse comes, or your girlfriend comes, or your boyfriend comes, and you like it, and it's like you want to live a life of purpose, and you like a lot of what we talk about, but you know, you know there's something.

It might be good for other people, and maybe God loves other people, and and maybe Jesus died for other people, but not you.

Never you.

It's never been you.

You didn't come from the right place, you didn't come from the right family, you don't have the right amount of money, you didn't get the right education, you fell off, you've made some really bad decisions.

Maybe you served some time, maybe you missed serving some time, but you should have served some time.

Maybe you've got some addictions, maybe you have some undisclosed relationships, maybe all your relationships are toxic, maybe you haven't been a great dad, maybe you haven't been a great mom.

There's something holding you back.

And you like when we do baptism services and it brings a tear to your eye, but you know that it's not you.

You're not the kind of person that gets in the water.

If that's you, maybe you can understand a little bit about what the Ethiopian eunuch was feeling.

Maybe it's good for everyone else, but surely you don't belong.

And there's a reason that this story is told in scripture because at this point the gospel hasn't gone beyond the Jews.

At this point, it's just one nation, one people, one kind of person from one background and one cultural context.

But now, God's making a statement.

In verse 38, Philip ordered the chariot to stop.

And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water.

And that day he was baptized.

And in Ethiopia today, 2,000 years later, there's a sect of Christianity that traces themselves back to this one moment.

I'm talking about generations and family trees who have all been changed for 2,000 years now, because one guy was willing to chase the chariot, and one guy was willing to say that maybe, just maybe, there is a God whose love is blind, who knows exactly what I've done, but has a plan for me anyway.

And I know many of you believe what you believe and have disqualified yourself because of the church experience you grew up in.

And there are some churches that make it so freaking hard to get baptized.

And man, before you do it, you gotta go through this list of classes, and you gotta memorize this many verses, and you're gonna sign a little card, and before you get baptized, you're gonna sign a card, and this is how you become a member.

And one of the first things we did when we started MetaCurch is we say, there are no membership rules, because as soon as there's members, there's an us and there's a them, and God did not come for us and not them, he came for us all.

And before you get baptized in some churches, you sign this little, little piece of paper that says, I will give 10% of my income to the church.

Now you're good.

Now you get baptized.

Look, I don't hide the ball on this.

I'm always gonna keep it 100.

You should be funding this thing, you should be giving to this, but I need you to hear me.

I really need you to hear me.

If you've never given one penny to Medichurch and you never plan on giving one penny to Medichurch, but you have put your faith in Jesus and you have not gotten baptized, you better get in your freaking car and be here by five o'clock because we are going to celebrate you tonight.

There is nothing that God holds as leverage over the people that he is seeking.

If you ever doubt that, look to a cross where he was willing to give his son.

Too many times in my life, I felt like there are this huge list of reasons of why I don't qualify, why I don't measure up.

And God continues and continues to remind me that He loves me, that He created me with purpose.

God loves you, He created you with purpose.

He sent His Son not to come in royalty and splendor, but in humility and poverty to die in your place.

If you believe that, it is time to celebrate it.

It's time to get in the waters, it is time to continue a 2,000-year-old tradition and to have your own drive-by baptism.

We're very excited for tonight, and maybe you can't even picture how this is going to work.

And so we've put together a video to help you see exactly what a drive-by baptism is gonna look like.

You guys check this out.

This event is happening on September 27th from 5 to 7 p.m.

at the 151 Saloon.

Have you wanted to get baptized but are not sure if you should?

If the answer is yes, then you should come and get baptized.

Do you have shorts and a shirt?

That you don't mind getting wet.

If you have a car or know someone with a car that can drive you through, say yes to those questions, you are ready.

And if you are not wanting to be fully submerged in the water, we also offer a pour over baptism option.

Parents! In addition to doing drive-by baptisms, we're going to be doing baby dedications.

If you'd like to show your commitment to raising your child in an environment that reflects the love and teachings of Jesus, we'd love to have you stop by September 27th from 5 to 7 p.m.

To sign up for baptism or baby dedications, please go to www.metachurch.tv slash baptisms and register online.

The drive-by will start on Western Hills Drive.

The first right past Rudy's on the frontage road.

From there, you will get in line and turn right into the saloon parking lot.

People under the driveway at the entrance to the saloon.

You can bring as many people as you want to celebrate this big day.

They can line up in the car behind you.

We do ask that family members only get out of the car once it is your turn.

This is going to be an amazing celebration.

MetaCurch, we hope to see you on the 27th at our drive-by baptism and baby dedication.

Tonight's gonna be amazing.

It's gonna be a celebration.

And it's not just baptisms, we're also doing baby dedications.

You can sign up for all of it at metachurch.tv slash baptisms.

Listen, if you're not sure about where you stand with Jesus, there is nothing, nothing else as critical as figuring out what you believe about who Jesus is.

If you've come to that point where you are ready to put your faith in Jesus, that he died for you, rose again, that he's coming back for you.

I want to help you acknowledge that belief with a simple prayer right now.

You can pray it right where you're at, you can say it out loud, or you can even say it in your mind where God can hear your thoughts.

You pray something like this: Jesus, today, I choose to believe in you.

I believe that you are God, and you came down to this earth in human flesh, lived a perfect life.

I believe that you died in my place.

I believe you rose again and are coming back for me.

And I choose to believe that you have given me a new and eternal life.

And I thank you.

I pray it in your name.

Amen.

I want to pray for the rest of us who maybe you've already taken that step of faith, but there's something holding you back from getting in the waters, there's something holding you back from living out your purpose.

God, I lift up everyone who feels like the Ethiopian eunuch today, who feels like they've gone too far or their life circumstances are too limiting.

God, we believe that the power of the cross overcomes it all.

We believe in a God whose love is blind.

We don't work our way to you.

We don't get there because of who we are or what we bring to the table.

God, we come into a loving union with you when we put our faith in your son Jesus.

God, I pray that you would motivate and inspire many people to come through the line, to dedicate their children, to get in the water, and we can't wait to celebrate with them.

We love you, and we pray these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

A couple of things before you guys go.

Uh, this is your last reminder.

Drive-by baptisms and baby dedications.

Tonight, it's not too late.

You can sign up at metachurch.tv slash baptisms.

Also, make sure you're keeping up with us online, social media.

Uh, also make sure you're giving to this thing.

I mean, we believe in this, and God is using this movement to change lives.

There's nothing better that we could be investing in than people's eternities.

So you can give online at metachurch.tv or by downloading the MetaCurch app.

Man, I love you guys.

Y'all continue to be safe and continue to be the movement.

Thanks so much for listening to the message today.

If this was helpful to you and you want to help us get the word out, you can subscribe to this podcast.

You can rate and review or share it with your friends.

If you want to get connected further with what MetaCurch is doing, you can go online to metachurch.tv.

There you can learn how to take next steps.

You can learn where our different venues are at if you ever wanted to visit, and you can also give financially to help push this movement forward.

Man, I love you guys, and I hope you have a great rest of your day.