A New Life - Made New (Week 5)

Let's try that again.

Good morning, church.

How are we doing?

We're doing good.

Come on.

That's awesome.

You know, this uh so special being in the house of God.

There's no place like it.

I just want to encourage you.

Man, I needed to hear Daniel Daniel Hernandez singing off tune.

I need you guys to remind me during worship about the gospel.

I need to know that, man, my whole life is a life of worship.

And that really doesn't happen any other place than the house of God.

Amen.

In the house of God is where we engage one another in an analog way that changes our lives.

And so I just want to encourage you guys who have already done the good work.

You showed up today, you won the battle of the blankets, whether whether the cowboys ever win again, and of course we know what happened to the Longhorns, but uh, you know, I know I'm stepping on toes now, but uh you've won the battle of the blankets and you've come into the house of God where, man, we rub shoulders together, where we do life together.

It's better than scrolling on social media, it's better than washing online.

You can't get this experience anywhere else but the house of God.

It's way better than talking to your artificial intelligent bot that you're trying to get counsel from.

You need the you need the people of God in the house of God, amen.

And you guys have done it, so congratulations.

Can we give God a handclap of praise?

Come on.

Well, my name is Mike Cantrell, and they usually keep me caged up over at Nealy, but I'm back with you all today.

And uh I love being here in our 191 campus, see a lot of uh familiar faces and friends, see some new faces.

I'm glad you're here.

We're gonna continue in this series called Made New, uh, where each week we've been going back to the foundations and following, you know, the foundations of following Jesus.

And I hope it's been good for you.

I know it's been good for me.

It's like, like she said in the video, you really never graduate from the foundations, you just continue to grow in them.

And I'm I'm believing that you guys are doing that as we look through that.

And then also we're learning to be a church who are disciples, followers of Jesus, but disciples who make disciples.

And so this isn't like really just about me growing in Christ, but it's me helping someone else grow in Christ.

We've been talking a lot throughout this series about our one-to-one simple discipleship guide.

We have these in the seat pockets right in front of you.

Uh, sure, you can take this home and read it, but really how you engage this is there's somebody in your life that needs foundations.

Let me say that again.

There's somebody in your life that needs foundations.

And I don't know if you know or not, they're your friend, they're not my friend.

And this is a simple tool for you to be able to take, sit down across the table, have coffee with somebody, and say, hey, let me help you follow Jesus.

I told First Service, same for you guys.

A couple weeks ago, we were preaching uh one of these messages, I think it might have been salvation, and I thought, man, I could really, you know, come up with a new salvation message and all that stuff, but why do I need to?

I literally preached at Nealy Salvation straight out of the one-to-one book.

90% of what I said, you know, asterisk, Holy Spirit got in there and worked around some, but 90% of what I said came straight out of this tool.

Why?

Because it really isn't up to me.

This gives me the words I need to say, and when I say them, God is faithful.

So I would just encourage you, take one of these books with you as you go, and understand that this series is not just about us growing in the foundations, but us helping others grow in those foundations.

And you know, last week Andrew preached repentance.

He kind of started telling the story of Peter and Acts chapter 2 and got to repentance, and really we're gonna just pick up from there.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

Today we're gonna talk about baptisms, meaning the baptism in water, baptism in the Holy Spirit.

We got a long way to go and a short time to get there.

Uh, but some of you all will check out.

Some of you already say, Oh, I did that baptism thing 25 years ago.

Some of you will tend to say, you know what, uh, really, my my faith is private.

So I don't know about all that getting dunked in a tank thing.

Some of you are like, you know, when someone asks you the question, did Adam have a belly button?

Some of y'all get that at lunchtime or when you're going to bed tonight.

You're like, when it comes to the Holy Spirit, I just put the Holy Spirit over here.

I don't really know what to do with all that.

That's not how I was raised.

Well, I hope today provokes us into some understanding and into some growth when it comes to water baptism and baptism of the Holy Spirit.

I hope it challenges us because again, we're called not only to check our foundation, establish it, grow it, grow into it, but help others too, right?

And that's what God is up to today.

Really, this message isn't about baptisms.

This message is about Jesus.

And we want to make much of Jesus around here.

Amen.

Okay, y'all are settled in now.

You got to keep keep keep talking to me a little bit.

So I'm gonna build this whole thing around one question because we've been talking about being made new, and we've talked about salvation and lordship and repentance.

We've been talking about what Jesus did to make us new, but here's the question I really want to build it around, and that is this What does Jesus do with people he makes new?

That rhymes?

Sounds good?

What does people do with the people that he makes new?

And Acts 2 is going to show us three things.

I'll give you the answers to the test.

Jesus marks us as his own, he fills us with his spirit, and he sends us on mission to be disciples who make disciples.

That's what he does.

If you're made new, then that's what God is up to in your life.

So turn with me if you have your Bible.

Acts chapter 2 will be right there where Andrew left off last week.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

Acts chapter 2, we're talking about the day of Pentecost, which, if you didn't know, is 50 days after Jesus was crucified.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

And Peter's preaching to the same city that called for Jesus' death.

I mean, that's harder than preaching to y'all this morning.

Got a few chuckles.

Okay.

We're getting there.

All right.

So, like, I mean, how do you know?

That's some that's some tough preaching.

These were the same people that were crying, crucifying, crucifying.

And now Peter stands up and preaches to him.

Look what he says in Acts chapter 2, verse 36.

Acts 2:36

It says, Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ.

That's that Lordship message we looked at a couple weeks ago, right?

Not just Savior, Lord.

Saving is what he does, Lord is who he is.

And it says, He has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus, whom you've crucified.

Now, when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, brothers, what shall we do?

You know, I would just encourage you, you know, maybe you're here this morning because uh God has been drawing you by his spirit.

Maybe you're understanding you're at this point where you realize you've been living a life uh on your own, apart from Jesus.

And you're cut to the heart.

And you're like, man, what shall I do?

How many know that's a good question?

What shall I do is a worship question.

What shall I deem do means I don't have the answer.

I'm going to Jesus for the answer.

Maybe you're at that point.

Well, let me encourage you.

You're right where God wants you to be.

I am cut to the heart.

What shall I do?

Thank God Peter gives us some of the answer.

And it says, and Peter said to them, Repent.

That's last week's message, right?

Not only once, but live a lifestyle of repentance following Jesus.

Repent and be baptized.

There's our word for the day.

Every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

There's our message right there.

So, and I love this.

For this promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself.

Man, what grace.

What mercy.

When we think about the gospel, I want you to think about it.

I want to think about how selfish you were, how sinful you were slash are, how sometimes you just try to live your life independent of God.

And think about this message this day to the same crowd that put Jesus on the cross.

Peter is offering them a promise.

How many know that is amazing grace?

Man, that is the gospel.

Sometimes we have gospel amnesia and we forget what Jesus has done for us.

But Peter's saying, no, no, no, no, no.

No, you might have put Jesus on the cross, but he went for you to give you a promise.

And that promise is his life.

And for that, that's good news.

I mean, that oughta, I ought to, we ought to shout about that.

Thank God that he offers a promise to the very people who reject him.

And with many other words, he bore witness.

I love that because I like many other words as a preacher.

And with many other words, it says, He uh, hello, where am I?

And there you go.

With many other words, he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation.

So those who received his word were.

So those who received his word were baptized, and they were there were added that day about 3,000 souls.

So what does Jesus do for people he makes new?

Number one, he gives us a new identity, he marks us as his own.

Meaning we belong to Jesus.

He marks us as his own.

Look at verse 36 again.

Peter lands this whole sermon with one phrase.

This Jesus whom you crucified.

Verse 37 goes on to say, they were cut to the heart.

Again, remember, 50 days earlier, they're yelling.

What are they yelling?

They're not yelling, praise the Lord.

They're yelling, crucify him, crucify him, crucify him.

Unless we look at disdain with this crowd and say, What were those knuckleheads up to?

We are the knuckleheads.

Every one of us has crucified Jesus over and over again.

Every time we reject him, every time we say, Ah, Jesus, I'll take it from here.

Thank you for saving me.

I'll take it from here.

Every time we said, I'm gonna do this on my own.

I don't need you, Jesus.

We may not say it verbally with our mouth, but we say it physically with the way we live our lives.

And so just know this morning we are the crowd.

We are the crowd.

My sin and your sin put Jesus on the cross.

Every one of us has said to God, I'll do my own thing.

Or maybe it's just me.

Some of y'all, you all are looking at me like an old cow standard staring at a new gate.

You're like, who is that up there?

Man, we've all put Jesus on the cross.

Amen?

Yes?

And so, man, it's good news.

And Jesus said this in Luke 12.

He said this.

He said, I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished.

What baptism is he talking about?

Is he talking about baptism in water, baptism in the Holy Spirit?

No, he's talking about going to the cross.

He's talking about his sinless life nailed to a cross, dying a thief's death for me and for you.

It says here, I love Jesus.

He keeps it real.

How great is my distress?

But where was his focus?

How great is my distress until what?

It is accomplished.

See, Jesus on the cross changed everything.

He exchanged his perfect life for our sinful life.

He gave us his righteousness, his holiness for our sinfulness.

And that's the baptism he's talking about.

Jesus wasn't just talking about baptism of water here, he was talking about the cross.

And we identify with Jesus in water baptism.

What is the water baptism all about?

Think about it.

Kind of close your eyes and think about that image.

There's a person standing in water, and they are what we say, dunked, immersed in water, and then raised.

And when that moment, we're identifying with what Jesus did for us.

He went to the cross, crucified the flesh, was buried in three days.

But praise be to God.

Three days later, he what?

Rose again in the newness of life.

How many know that's what happens to us in that moment?

We're identifying with what God did in us.

Paul said it this way in Romans chapter 6.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

Do you not know that all of us have been baptized into Christ Jesus?

We're baptized into his death.

We were buried with him, therefore, with him by baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in the newness of life.

That's where we get this message title from A New Life.

It's in that moment that we realize that God has changed me.

It's in that moment that I've been saved by grace alone, through faith alone, through the cross alone.

That in that moment I realize I'm identifying with Christ.

He is marking me as his own.

He's saying, I belong to Jesus.

When you go under the water, you're saying, My old life died with Jesus.

And when you come up, you're saying, I've been raised with him to live a new life.

If you look back at the scripture in Acts 2.38, he said, Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

To be baptized in Jesus' name is to declare that you belong to Him.

So there's the first answer right there.

What does Jesus do with people He makes new?

He marks them as His own.

Now be clear, baptism doesn't save you, Jesus saves you.

Amen?

All right.

Baptism is not a work we perform to earn salvation.

Baptism is a response, uh, it's a response of faith.

Water baptism, I like to say it this way, is a public declaration.

It's going public with your faith.

It's a public declaration that I belong to Jesus.

I've been united with him in his death and resurrection and am now called to walk in the newness of life.

It is literally, friends, the gospel going public.

It is gospel evidence.

And that's why we need to think back.

Maybe you're here and it's been a while since you were water baptized.

Man, we never need to forget that moment when we went under the water.

Why?

Because that moment, sort of like communion, preaches the gospel over and over again.

What Jesus did for me.

It is that public declaration.

Think about a wedding ring.

If you think about a wedding ring, I mean Chrissy and I have been married 31 years.

That's amazing.

She did catch a trophy husband.

Praise God.

I don't know anyone that does it better.

But anyway, this ring doesn't make me married.

This ring, though, says I belong to her.

When you are baptized, it doesn't make you saved, but it tells the world, I belong to Jesus.

I belong to Jesus and his church.

Amen.

There's nothing like it.

Baptism works in the same way, and I'll never forget when I was water baptized.

I better check my time because I got a long story here, but I'll give you the condensed version.

If you think I'm crazy now, which most of you are convinced of that by now, man, I was crazy then.

I was a wild high school football coach, and I'd never been in church.

So the day Jesus saved me, it was it was nothing but power.

And a few weeks later, I was part of a little church plant that was in our my the town I was living in.

Thank God for church plants.

And the pastor there, he didn't believe in 101 and 201.

We had a 12-week membership class.

He called it membership, but it was really discipleship.

And in there we had a lesson, much like today, much like we find in the one-to-one, is about baptism.

I'm like, I haven't been baptized.

And he literally says, All right, Mike, tonight's tonight.

I'm like, wait a minute.

We're at the YMCA.

He goes, Oh yeah, you're gonna go public with your faith.

You ready to go public with your faith?

I'm like, I guess so.

He's like, go in that locker room, change clothes.

I guess I had, I don't know where clothes came from, but I got clothes, praise the Lord.

And how many of you know I went public with my faith?

I put the C back in Y M C A.

I come out of the locker room, and that little church plant is all gathered there around the water, and they're cheering me on.

How many of you know we need the family of God?

When you're baptized, you're baptized into Christ, but you're also in the family of God.

How many of you know we need a family?

Amen.

That spiritual family was cheering me on.

I got down in the water.

There's swimmers trying to get their laps in, you know, there's kids splashing around in water.

I mean, we were going public, baby.

We were going public with our faith.

But I'll never forget, in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus, bam! And I come up out of that water and I realize Jesus had marked me as his own.

Has that been your experience?

Do you remember your baptism?

Or maybe you've been holding back.

You know, I talk to people a lot of the time, I'm like, why haven't you been baptized since you gave your life to Christ?

They're like, well, my faith is private.

Well, I can tell you one thing.

Jesus didn't save you in private.

He carried a cross through the streets with the crowd roaring and jeering.

He carried a cross to Galgotha on the hill outside of Jerusalem.

He laid himself on that cross because they didn't put him on the cross.

He voluntarily laid down his life for us.

And they strung him high and wide for all to see.

Meanwhile, you're walking out this private faith that it's so private you haven't even told yourself.

And Jesus saying, Maybe today, maybe there's been some stuff hanging on to you that you just can't explain.

Can I tell you, there's something about freedom when you take a step of faith in Christ and do the thing He told you to do.

So if you've been sort of just living this private life and say, you know, I really don't want to do all that thing, that's fine.

We'll come to you and dunkier in your tub because there's nothing holy about the water.

It's about a step of obedience and faith.

Just like my pastor said, there's some water, there's a YMCA pool.

It's not about that, it's about the fact that I'm going public taking a step of faith, saying, I belong to Jesus.

What does Jesus do with people he's made new?

He marks them as his own.

And maybe today God is calling you to take that step.

Sometimes there's a lot of confusion.

I talk to people around water baptism, and they're like, do I need to be baptized?

Do I not?

I got, you know, baptized as an infant and this and that.

The Bible's real clear.

Repentance, baptism.

If you haven't been baptized since you repented, then man, it's your time.

I would just encourage you to do that.

Jesus himself was baptized.

We can follow Jesus in this.

If Jesus did it, I probably need to do it.

Jesus told us to go and make disciples, baptizing them.

It's part of it, right?

And then we see when Peter stood up and preached, 3,000 people were saved.

And B word, baptized.

There you go.

Right?

And so God is calling us to do that.

He marks us as his own.

Second point.

Not only does he mark us as his own, giving us a new identity, he gives us new power.

He fills us with the Holy Spirit.

Look at the second half of verse 38.

Peter doesn't stop at forgiveness.

He says, And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

That gift is the Spirit Himself.

The greatest gift to the believer to be able to walk out their faith is the gift of the Holy Spirit.

How can we bear the fruit of the Spirit if we don't have the gift of the Spirit?

If we don't acknowledge the Gift of the Spirit.

If we don't embrace the gift of the Spirit, if we look back a couple of scriptures out from where you are in Acts chapter 2, most of you probably closed your Bible or never opened it.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

That's all right.

It says verse 33 being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.

Here's what I want you to understand.

Most of us are real comfortable with the fact of Jesus pouring out his life on the cross.

But how many know Jesus didn't stop pouring out his life on the cross?

He pours out his life over and over and over and over and over again.

What happened on the day of Pentecost was an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

But it didn't stop on the day of Pentecost.

The Bible says that the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, obviously there in Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

He said, Man, this is gift is for you.

All you know, every one of you received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

A lot of us like kind of lock in and are like, we tend to think our journey with God is like check marks.

Faith, check mark, baptism, check mark, Holy Spirit, check mark.

But let me tell you about the Holy Spirit.

Jesus starts pouring and he never stops pouring.

There is more available to you every day of your life.

If you look at the disciples in the book of Acts, in two chapters later in verse 4, it says, and the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit.

What?

They were filled in Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

No, they were actually also filled in Acts chapter 4.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

And if you keep reading in the book of Acts, the journey of the disciples, they were filled and filled and filled again.

Why?

Because Jesus never stops pouring.

Acts 13, 52 said the disciples were filled with joy and were continually filled with the Holy Spirit.

I have no idea where I am on my notes, but I'll try to get back on there.

What does Jesus do with the people he makes new?

He fills us with his spirit.

Before he ascended, Acts chapter 1, verse 8 says, You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria to the end of the earth.

Acts 1:8

Notice this order.

Spirit, power, witness.

The Spirit isn't given, guys.

Let me just say this.

I just got to lock in here and say this, just in case you're confused.

The Spirit isn't given so Christians can have an interesting emotional experience.

The Spirit isn't given so that you can feel superior to your brothers and sisters in Christ that are still trying to figure it out.

The purpose of the Spirit is that the greater one lives in us and we're able to live this new life in Christ.

And not only live this new life in Christ, but we can go on mission for Jesus.

See, he doesn't just save you and then leave you alone.

He saves you for a mission.

He saves you for a purpose.

And thank God that he didn't just say, Go fulfill this purpose, but I'm not gonna be with you.

Go fulfill this purpose, but you're gonna be powerless.

He says, No, I've given you power to do the mission.

Are you with me?

You guys are quiet.

It transforms us if you look at Peter.

He can be our example today.

If you've if a couple weeks ago when we were talking about repentance last week, I talked about, you know, basically the three fires of Peter.

And those first fire, the first fire, what did Peter do?

He stayed at a safe distance from Jesus.

He continued following, but he was at a safe distance.

Some of you are continuing following Jesus, but you're only at a safe distance.

And that distance from Jesus, three times the Bible says he denied Jesus.

That was the first fire.

The second fire is when he jumped out of the boat when he saw Jesus cooking some ribs on the shore.

And in that moment, Jesus restored Peter.

But what was on the other side of the repentance?

What was on the other side of the restoration?

An assignment.

See, once we get our lives aligned with Jesus, we don't just have alignment.

There's an assignment.

There's something he calls us to do.

And thank God, before I preach all of my third point, he gives us power that we don't have to do it alone.

The scripture calls believers to keep depending on this Holy Spirit power.

I want you to think this morning about two boats.

I'm kind of thinking about a bass boat, but I hadn't seen one of those in a while.

Think about a rowboat and a sailboat.

Some of us are living rowboat Christianity.

When you're in a rowboat, all the movement, all the strength, all the effort depends on who?

You.

And you row until your arms give out.

And a lot of us are living rowboat Christianity, and we're just trying to row through life, which is a hot mess.

This life is not easy.

Now, sometimes we expect in this life, we like place a demand on this life that will only come in the second life.

So we get real disenfranchised with God because we expect heaven on earth, and he says, no, there's a greater destination.

But anyway, we're navigating through this myth and we're rowing and rowing and rowing, we're tired.

That's rowboat Christianity.

But Jesus is literally saying, I pour and I keep on pouring.

A reference to the Holy Spirit, I think it's John chapter 3, says, the Spirit is like wind.

John 3 · chapter mention

Think about the difference in a rowboat and a sailboat.

In a sailboat, you still set the course and you raise the sail, but you depend on the spirit.

You depend on the wind.

The spirit.

That's a different kind of Christianity.

That's the Christianity we're called to live when He makes us new.

I want to ask you a question.

Am I actively pursuing being continually filled with the Holy Spirit?

Oftentimes, we're trying to live this life for God as it all depends on us.

Man, I am thankful that the greater one lives on the inside of me.

I am thankful that I can engage the Holy Spirit.

I thank you that the Holy Spirit was present at regeneration when I was made new.

But I thank you that the Holy Spirit is available every day of my life.

What can I leave you with on this point?

Is I can't go through all the theological things and untie all the theological knots in this moment.

But what I can tell you is we need more of the Holy Ghost, more than ever before.

We need the Holy Spirit like never before.

And I want to ask you if you've been made new, are you hungry for the Holy Spirit?

Do you desire more of his presence?

And then if you start thinking about what he's called us to do, man, we're trying to live marriages, live lives.

I mean, don't look at the person beside you, but that person you live with is kind of hard to live with.

I don't know about your kids, but I need help.

Wherever you work, I'm sure they're not angelic.

Shoot, I'm a good Christian until the alarm clock goes off in the morning.

And then I know I'm not a good Christian just driving to work.

I mean, this is middle of Odessa.

I lose my religion at the first traffic light.

I need me some Holy Ghost.

I need to embrace in it and grow in it.

And good news is that Jesus pours and he keeps on pouring.

And it's available to us.

The new life Jesus gives you was never meant to be powerless.

And point three is this he gives us a new mission.

I've already been preaching on this a little bit, but let me just wrap this part up here.

Jesus sends us to make disciples.

Make no mistake about it.

Once you get your life in alignment with him and he marks you as his own, with that alignment comes an assignment.

And I know you make excuses, and I know we we make excuses.

And I know we're like, well, that's just for the elite few, or I know you're like, I, you know, I might need to go to cemetery.

I mean, seminary.

Uh, I need another class, or I need this.

And I know in your mind you've believed a lie that because you know how like messed up you are.

Like, I know, like when I look in the mirror, like I'm not right.

And so me not being right is like I can't help anybody else, but you're right, your wrong is right than some other people's wrong.

Like you're further along than some people.

And you're believing this lie, you're believing this myth that Jesus is not ready to use me yet.

And the whole time Jesus is saying, I'm ready to use you right now.

I've poured out my life on the cross for you.

I've marked you as your own.

I've marked you, I have filled you with the Spirit.

And now, man, you can live for me.

Go help somebody else follow Jesus.

And you're like, Well, what would I tell him?

You know what I tell them a lot of times?

I'm like, I'm messed up.

I'm like, man, you wouldn't believe what I did this week.

I wouldn't, you wouldn't believe how much grace I needed on Tuesday.

See, you think we've got to have some sort of perfection, but it's actually the imperfection relying on the grace of God that's gonna encourage that brother over there to say, you know what?

If you can do it, I can do it too.

A lot of times we look at it like you've got to be super spiritual.

Sometimes it's just about being real and saying, Man, I had to have his grace today.

I needed his mercy today.

And that story of his grace and mercy will change someone's life.

Are you with me?

There are no excuses, there's only an assignment.

And I have no idea where I'm at.

Let's start here.

Jesus gives us a new mission.

I said this: a mature believer isn't someone who has outgrown the foundations.

I'm gonna step on some toes with this one.

Leah Hammett, here I'm coming for you.

A mature believer, you're doing this though.

A mature believer isn't someone who has outgrown the foundations.

A mature believer is someone who helps lay those foundations in someone else's life.

Can I tell you that you've probably capped out in your spiritual growth until you start giving away what God has given you?

Oh, I gotta go to another class.

Oh, I gotta do another thing.

Oh, I gotta, and you don't realize Jesus is saying, I'm gonna slide some more weight on the bar.

Now you start caring for somebody else, and you're like, hey, I don't really know how to do this, but they gave me this book, and hey, let's just read page three, and all of a sudden it's like, oh, God used me.

And when God used me, it's like a phone booth moment, like, God use me.

Absolutely.

God wants to use you.

So let me ask you this question: Who are you walking towards Jesus?

I mean, Jesus told us go and make disciples, baptizing them, right?

He told us that, right?

We call that the Great Commission.

But you know, one of the greatest assaults on the church is that it really hasn't been the great commission for us, it's been the great omission.

We think we could continue to do church on our own and make it all about us and not do the things that Jesus told us to do.

I'm guilty too.

I know I'm preaching strong.

That's the only way I know how.

I'm not mad at you, I love you.

Daniel told me to tell you, I love you, I love you.

But I'm gonna tell you the truth.

If we're gonna change the Permian Basin, it's gonna be because we have an army of disciple makers, disciples that help people make disciples.

I don't, I would one day I would like to visit the oil field.

I've never been to the oil field.

Well, I kind of live in an oil field, but you know what I mean.

But you go to the oil field, that's your assignment.

You walk around the park with those other moms.

You show up at the library just trying to look for something to do with your kid for an hour.

Can I tell you it will change how you do those things when you realize I've been given a new mission by Jesus?

Who is the person you're walking towards, Jesus?

So let's go back to our question as we start to land the plane.

We're at least approaching the airport.

What does Jesus do with the people he makes new?

Here's the gospel story.

Here's the new life story.

You were dead.

Jesus made you new.

You belong to yourself.

Jesus marked you as his own.

You were powerless.

And Jesus, I told you this message about Jesus, gives you the Holy Spirit.

You were a spectator.

Jesus sent you to make disciples.

That's the new life.

That's the new life He came to give you.

So if you're here this morning and you've never placed your trust in Jesus, can I just tell you this?

Salvation is sort of an easy step.

Why?

I know it's not easy, but it's sort of an easy step because Jesus has already done it for you.

How do I receive new life in Christ?

How am I born again?

How am I saved?

I transfer the trust.

I stop trusting in myself for salvation and I place my trust in Him.

Think about how easy it is on online banking just to transfer money from one account to the other.

All it requires is a decision.

If you haven't made that decision, today is the greatest day ever.

The Bible says all of heaven rejoices when one center, one sinner repents and places his trust in Jesus.

You can do that today.

Just call out to him.

Beyond that, if you've trusted in Jesus, even if it was just now, the clear next step is water baptism.

Go public with your faith.

Why?

It's not from a position of perfection, it's a it's from a precision position of faith.

Today, you know how God changes people?

You probably maybe never thought about this.

How salvation comes, how you grow in Christ, it's the same process.

You encounter truth.

Today you've heard the truth.

You repent, which means you agree with God, change your thinking.

It's a change in thinking that produces a change in your heart, it produces a change in action.

You repent, and then you live by faith.

You're not perfect at that moment of repentance, and you never will be.

Water baptism is the same way.

You've heard the challenge.

You haven't done it since you've repented.

I'm just encouraging you.

There is a connection card in a seat pocket in front of you right on there, line number four.

I need to learn more about baptism.

I'm ready to be water baptized.

Make sure you put your name or information on it.

Bring it to somebody at the altar.

Drop it in the uh receptacles or go to the New Here Cube, or more than that, I'll be here.

Just come bring it to me and say, I'm ready to get water baptized.

In church, we can't storm hell with a water pistol.

We need the power of the Holy Ghost.

These are tough times, tougher than the affordability crisis.

Living in this life is not easy.

Why would we attend to live in rowboat Christianity when we have the power of the Holy Ghost available to us?

Call on his name.

Jesus, help me.

Fill me.

The greater one lives on the inside of me.

Fill me with your spirit.

I want to be like those disciples, continually filled with the Holy Spirit.

And you know what?

I don't want to stop there.

I want to help somebody else too.

It'd be real selfish of us, wouldn't it?

If you just let it stop with us.

I don't know what to do.

Hello.

Invite somebody to coffee.

Read the one-to-one.

You'll know what to do.

It's kind of like this message.

I didn't know what to do, as you could tell.

But you just show up and start talking, and God takes over.

God never intended us to make us new.

Right?

And leave us powerless.

He's given us the Holy Spirit.

Let me just say this as I close.

Jesus gives us a new identity, a new power, and a new mission.

And the new life Jesus gives us is never meant to be private or powerless.

That's the new life.

That's what Jesus does with people he makes new.

Can I pray for you?

Father, thank you so much.

There is power in your word.

God, I pray for my friends here today.

God, we don't want to play church.

We want to be the church.

Thank you, Jesus, that you give us a new identity.

You mark us as your own.

Thank you that you give us a new power.

You fill us and fill us and fill us with the Holy Ghost.

And thank you, Lord, for your mission.

Help us to be faithful in Jesus' name.