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Mark 1:9-11 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

• 0:00
  Alright, and as you're being seated, please take out your copy of God's Word and turn with me to the gospel according to Mark.
• 0:29
  Last week, some correspondence from the Christian Video Licensing International, which is a good organization, a good thing to do if you're going to use multimedia video clips.
• 0:43
  There's copyright issues there, and you have to be legal and appropriate in dealing with those things.
• 0:50
  But the front of it, the advertisement here on the front of it to entice you to open it, says,
• 0:58
  Plan your upcoming events and sermon illustrations with these new releases in mind.
• 1:02
  And then it lists off the clips that are coming out.
• 1:05
  Star Trek Into Darkness, Iron Man 3, World War Z, etc.
• 1:11
  The Croods, I don't even know what that's all about.
• 1:13
  Munster University.
• 1:15
  So, I just really brought to mind not any kind of indignation or frustration with churches that tend to do that type of thing.
• 1:24
  There's value in good illustration, and I have nothing against people using media to make that point.
• 1:30
  But what it did do for me is it brought to my mind how really thankful I am that I don't feel a pressure to do things like this.
• 1:38
  That you people just want the Word of God preached to you, and that's a blessing to me.
• 1:43
  Certainly, I try to come up with illustrations and to better explain things and do so,
• 1:48
  but I'm so glad that I don't have to plan my sermon illustrations around the releases of what's coming out soon.
• 1:55
  Movies I haven't even seen.
• 1:56
  I'm going to hand that to you, so I don't have to deal with it up here.
• 1:59
  So, that being said, I appreciate you.
• 2:02
  And let's pray together, and let's thank God for His Word to us.
• 2:07
  Father, we thank you so very much for your inspired words that you gave to Mark to pin down.
• 2:12
  For the Roman believers that were his intended audience,
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  and yet, because it is your Word, it has meaning for us this day.
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  This book, penned so many years ago, has real-life implication for today, for us,
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  for those who have called on your name.
• 2:30
  And I just pray, Father, that it will be instructive in that way,
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  that you will work by your Spirit to help us understand its meaning,
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  to give us wisdom as to how we should apply it to our lives.
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  We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.
• 2:44
  So, our text for today, as Mark has been quickly pushing us into this Gospel account,
• 2:52
  he says in verse 1, the beginning of the Gospel, the good news,
• 2:56
  the proclamation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
• 2:59
  He's pressing us now to verse 9, to behold the baptism of Jesus.
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  And this is a major event, a huge event in the life of Christ.
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  Very, very important to the historical narrative here.
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  And Mark gives it all of three verses.
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  And I told you in our very first sermon that he moves and he scoots along through things,
• 3:25
  ultimately pressing the readers here to a devotion to being disciples of Christ.
• 3:32
  So, he's moving through things quickly to get us to that point, to get us to understand and to realize that.
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  So, he does it for a very specific reason.
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  I kind of feel like as we're pausing and preparing, as I'm looking at just three verses this morning,
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  I kind of feel like Mark sometimes is sitting in the office with me going,
• 3:48
  get to it, keep moving, keep moving, hurry up, go, go, go.
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  And I'm saying, yeah, but we've got to stop.
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  We have to stop.
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  These words that you penned are far too precious for us to not reflect on them at some length.
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  So, remember, last week we talked about John the Baptist, as I called him, John the Baptizer.
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  This was his significance.
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  One that was sent as a prophet of God.
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  God had been silent for 400 years and now was speaking through John the Baptist in the wilderness
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  as he fulfilled this prophecy about who he would be.
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  He was in the line of the prophets dressed in camel hair and he was preaching baptism and repentance
• 4:32
  in order to prepare the way for the one who would come after him.
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  And that is Jesus Christ.
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  The one that he says, I'm not even unworthy to unstrap his sandals.
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  And it's in these days, these days that John the Baptist is about his ministry in the wilderness
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  where we see verse 9.
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  So let's read together verses 9 through 11.
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  In those days, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
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  And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open
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  and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
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  And a voice came from heaven,
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  You are my beloved Son.
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  With you I am well pleased.
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  So we see here in these days that John the Baptist is active.
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  It is proposed, he's been active doing this ministry in the wilderness for about six months at this point.
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  Traveling up and down the Jordan Valley.
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  Heralding the coming of Jesus Christ.
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  We see that all Jerusalem and all Judea, meaning a great multitude of people,
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  are coming out of the city, coming out to receive this baptism that John was performing.
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  We saw last week that this was a baptism called proselytite baptism.
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  For those who were not of Jewish descent, but desired to worship the God of Israel.
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  They were permitted to come into that family in this way that they would be baptized.
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  And so it was significant for the Jews to be traveling out to be baptized with a proselytite baptism
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  because they were saying in doing that, that we are no better than the Gentiles.
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  We recognize our sinfulness.
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  Our blood relation is not enough to have us stand rightly before God.
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  We must repent.
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  We must believe in the Messiah who is to come.
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  So it was a radical form of repentance, but it was simply preparatory for the Jesus that would come onto the scene
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  as we see him here happening.
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  This is the only record, this account of this baptism that we see of John and Jesus interacting,
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  in person interacting.
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  And as I kind of just mused about this this week, just thought about this connection,
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  it caused me to think about the fact that they were related.
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  Mary and Elizabeth, Mary's Jesus' mother, Elizabeth, John's mother, were cousins.
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  So more than likely, depending on the paternal, maternal nature of their relationship,
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  I don't know if you even understand how the second cousin that wants to remove and all of that works,
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  but more than likely, more than likely, John and Jesus were second cousins.
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  It's likely in that way.
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  And so certainly John knew of Jesus.
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  He was sent to be the herald before him and knew that this distant relative of his,
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  this potentially second cousin, Jesus, was that person.
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  So more than likely, they knew each other as they came together to encounter one another in this way.
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  I just like to think sometimes outside of the text and just kind of imagine the conversations that are taking place
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  between Elizabeth and Mary, cousins, as they get together and talk about how their boys are doing,
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  both of them, and about their 30th year of life.
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  And Elizabeth says, oh yeah, John, he's out there full of the Spirit,
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  traveling around, wearing camel hair, doing this baptism.
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  He's eating locusts and honey.
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  And how's Jesus doing?
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  And Mary probably couldn't resist to go, oh, he's perfect.
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  He's perfect in every way.
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  I just wonder in my mind, particularly this week with our two, what a perfect baby would be like.
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  Would be nice.
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  But certainly though, even if they had not met each other up to this point in this first 30 years,
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  which I probably would think that the cousins got together and played and did some things together in their early years,
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  but certainly John knew of Jesus, right?
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  Don't know if he recognized him or not, but he certainly knew that he was the Messiah.
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  And we see that Jesus comes, the record here is, from Nazareth of Galilee.
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  And this Galilee was commonly called the Galilee of the Gentiles.
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  This was part of the land that was originally conquered by Joshua,
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  but also part of the land that was conquered by the Assyrians.
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  And during one of the captivities of Israel, they were carried away.
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  And guess who came in and replaced them in the land?
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  Gentiles, right?
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  The people of the nations, peoples who were not of Israel, came in and occupied this place.
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  And this is where Jesus comes from.
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  He comes from Nazareth of Galilee, which was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.
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  The second half of Isaiah 9.1 says,
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  In the latter time, he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan,
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  Galilee of the nations, or Galilee of the Gentiles.
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  And people miss that at every point, all of the prophecies,
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  all the things that were foretold about who Jesus was, that he fulfilled them perfectly.
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  People miss this.
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  An example, John 7, verses 40-42 says,
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  When they heard these words, Jesus just said some shocking things.
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  He says,
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  Some of the people said,
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  This really is the prophet.
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  Others said,
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  This is the Christ.
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  But some said,
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  Is the Christ to come from Galilee?
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  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David,
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  and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?
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  And here we see Christ perfectly fulfilling all these prophecies
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  as he was born in the town of Bethlehem.
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  I hope you're all familiar with that story.
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  So here we see him perfectly accomplishing this.
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  Now, this place that he came from,
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  has some interesting significance,
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  because it was rather far away from Jerusalem.
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  And it was understood in these days that the further you got away from Jerusalem,
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  the less the Israeli population existed.
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  It was more and more Gentile,
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  and therefore in their minds, more and more pagan.
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  So for him to come from Galilee of the Gentiles,
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  in their minds, in the Jewish mind,
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  was not a holy place for him to be from.
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  They would have much preferred their Savior,
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  their King,
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  to come from Jerusalem.
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  Born in the center of town.
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  That's where they would have liked to have seen him come.
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  Isn't it amazing that the most significant man
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  to have ever lived
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  came from a place that was little
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  and insignificant?
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  In fact,
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  the fact that it records here
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  that he was from Nazareth of Galilee,
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  because Nazareth is a totally insignificant town.
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  Completely insignificant.
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  It doesn't exist in any historic record outside of the Bible.
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  Small, dinky town.
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  Not worth talking about in any other literature at all.
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  Dahlonega at least has some history
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  being the side of the first American gold rush, right?
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  But some of you experienced,
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  somebody asked,
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  where are you going to school?
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  All of you who were in college?
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  I go to school in North Georgia.
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  It's in Dahlonega,
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  in Lumpkin County,
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  about an hour north of Atlanta, right?
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  You always feel like you have to add some qualifiers, right?
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  To help people understand
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  where it is that you live, right?
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  This would have been the case,
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  and that's what Mark is doing here for us.
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  He's from Nazareth of Galilee,
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  a very insignificant place,
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  and out of that comes much significance.
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  I hope that's a little bit of encouragement to you,
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  those of us who live in small towns like Dahlonega.
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  And as he came,
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  he was baptized by John in the Jordan.
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  See this record of that.
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  Let's look at it also in Matthew 3,
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  verse 13-15.
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  Please turn there with me.
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  Matthew 3, beginning in verse 13.
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  Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John
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  to be baptized by him.
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  Here's some of the interaction between the two of them in this.
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  John would have prevented him,
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  saying, I need to be baptized by you,
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  and do you come to me?
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  But Jesus answered him,
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  Let it be so now,
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  for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.
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  Then he, being John, consented.
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  So here we see a little bit of the interaction that takes place.
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  And the thing I want to get into your mind
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  is the significance of what Jesus came to do.
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  Isn't it very interesting
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  that this day,
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  as we do baptisms together
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  in our stock tank on our stage,
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  that what we're saying
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  is that there's been a change in our hearts
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  that we once were sinners.
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  This was our nature.
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  Enemies of God.
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  But because of what Christ has done for us
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  and our faith in Him,
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  we are now believers.
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  We've been buried with Him in baptism.
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  Raised to walk in newness of life.
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  It's a symbol of that death
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  that has come spiritually
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  and the newness we now have in Christ.
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  That's the symbol of what this is.
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  It's what it was designed to do for us.
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  So how is it that Jesus was baptized?
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  Was Jesus made new at this point?
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  Certainly not.
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  Jesus was without sin.
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  Did He need to experience radical repentance?
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  No.
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  He had nothing to repent for.
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  So why?
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  Why?
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  Did Jesus Christ,
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  the Son of God,
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  come to John
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  to be baptized.
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  John didn't understand it
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  until he explained it to him.
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  And that's where we're going to get to
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  here in just a moment.
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  But I want to show you three
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  significant things
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  that we can notice,
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  that we can observe here.
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  So what is the significance of Jesus' baptism?
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  Three matters.
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  And they're all incredibly important,
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  but they move in level of importance,
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  the way I'm going to present them to you.
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  So let me say that to you.
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  Number one, important.
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  Number two, a little more important.
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  Number three, of utmost importance.
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  So number one,
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  Jesus set for us an example in baptism.
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  He didn't need it.
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  He didn't need to experience this proselyte baptism.
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  He didn't need to have an outward showing
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  of repentance as a man set apart.
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  Right?
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  The God-man who had lived in perfection
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  up until this day.
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  But He did it for us
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  as an example.
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  Mark 16.
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  This is the great commission charge
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  recorded in Mark.
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  Jesus says,
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  whoever believes and is baptized
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  will be saved,
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  but whoever does not believe
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  will be condemned.
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  So notice,
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  it's not that baptism saves us,
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  but whoever believes and is baptized
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  as evidence of that belief
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  will be saved.
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  Because notice,
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  He doesn't say next,
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  but whoever does not believe
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  and is not baptized
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  will be condemned.
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  Right?
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  It's not an equation.
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  Believing plus baptism equals salvation.
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  But simply,
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  believing.
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  And the obedient outflow
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  of that being baptism
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  is the evidence of this belief.
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  And you will be saved.
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  So here's the command,
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  the turning out of that.
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  For those of us
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  who now have faith in Christ,
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  we are to be baptized
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  as believers.
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  Right?
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  We believe in that.
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  Believer's baptism.
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  The fancier term for it is
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  credo baptism.
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  Right?
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  We're credo Baptists here
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  at Christ's Family Church.
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  Matthew 28.
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  18-20.
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  Probably a more familiar
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  account of the great commission.
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  And Jesus came and said to them,
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  All authority in heaven
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  and on earth
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  has been given to me.
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  Go therefore and make disciples
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  of all nations,
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  baptizing them in the name
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  of the Father and the Son
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  and the Holy Spirit,
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  teaching them to observe
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  all that I have commanded you.
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  And behold,
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  I am with you always
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  to the end of the age.
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  So again, we see here
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  this process of going
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  and making disciples
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  begins faith, repentance, baptism.
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  Right?
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  It's the obedient thing
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  that should be happening
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  as an outflow
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  of what God has done for us,
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  displaying to a community
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  of believers
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  what He has done.
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  It's a beautiful,
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  beautiful picture.
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  Symbolic in every way.
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  What a beautiful picture.
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  We do baptism
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  the way we do baptism.
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  We find it all together
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  to be biblical
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  because we see here
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  that Jesus was baptized.
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  The Greek is baptizo.
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  It's where we get this word from.
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  Which means literally
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  to immerse or submerge.
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  It in no way
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  in any stretch
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  of the imagination
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  could possibly ever mean
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  to sprinkle.
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  It's impossible.
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  Right?
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  Not a,
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  let's do some work
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  with the Greek,
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  let's really wrestle with this.
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  No, there's no way
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  this word can be made
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  to mean that.
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  An absolute impossibility.
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  It means to immerse
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  or to submerge.
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  Notice that Jesus
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  was baptized by John
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  in the Jordan.
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  Not next to it.
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  It wasn't an ample source
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  of water for John
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  to go around and dip from.
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  They got in the water together.
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  Verse 10 says,
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  and when he came up
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  out of the water.
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  Right?
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  Not referring to him
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  walking out of the Jordan,
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  but that he actually
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  was underwater
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  and he came up
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  out of the water.
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  So here's the example
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  that he's given to us
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  for how this should be done.
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  And just think,
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  if this is meant
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  to be something
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  that's symbolic
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  of our death
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  and resurrection,
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  we ought to be immersed
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  in that case.
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  I think many of you
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  have heard me say,
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  if we change our traditions,
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  the way we deal
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  with dead bodies,
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  right,
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  where we just simply
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  lay them on the ground
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  and throw dirt
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  on their face
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  and we walk away,
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  I might consider,
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  maybe,
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  I wouldn't actually
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  because of the example
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  given to us in scripture,
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  but then maybe
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  we could make some
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  justification for sprinkling
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  being the case for baptism.
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  That's not how people
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  are taken care of
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  when they die,
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  is it?
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  Right?
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  They are entombed,
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  put in the earth
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  and if they raise again,
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  they come up out
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  of the same
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  and that is what
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  we're showing forth.
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  It's a better picture.
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  To the degree
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  that it's worth
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  all the work it takes
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  to get this thing
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  in here
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  and get it filled.
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  On Friday,
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  some great guys
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  stick around
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  and help me
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  get it all set up
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  and then we worked
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  on filling it
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  and I said,
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  you guys take off,
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  I'll take care of it,
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  no big deal.
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  And I went downstairs
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  and I forgot
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  that it was filling
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  again.
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  This is the second time
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  this has happened.
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  This was worse
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  than the last time.
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  Those of you
• 19:38
  who experienced,
• 19:39
  the last one happened
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  at a college Bible study.
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  This one,
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  fortunately,
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  the homeschool co-op
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  that meets here,
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  a couple of the kids
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  were here a little bit early
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  and came frantically
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  running downstairs.
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  There's water everywhere.
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  And there was.
• 19:50
  I mean,
• 19:50
  it was water everywhere
• 19:52
  all over the stage.
• 19:53
  I had to get a shot
• 19:54
  back out
• 19:54
  and vacuum it up
• 19:55
  and I think I dumped
• 19:56
  about 15 gallons
• 19:57
  of water out the door
• 19:58
  from the shop vac.
• 20:00
  If you could just imagine,
• 20:01
  hey,
• 20:01
  but look,
• 20:02
  everything is okay.
• 20:03
  Now everything's dry
• 20:04
  and managing quite well.
• 20:07
  It all got taken care of.
• 20:09
  Kim Luttrell rightly
• 20:10
  said that we probably
• 20:12
  in the budget next year
• 20:13
  need to put in
• 20:13
  a stage repair line item.
• 20:17
  And I said,
• 20:17
  why don't we call it
• 20:18
  pastor's mistakes?
• 20:19
  Let's just go ahead
• 20:20
  and designate some dollars
• 20:21
  for that kind of thing.
• 20:23
  I'd like to say
• 20:25
  that I'm a smart man
• 20:26
  so I learned from my mistakes
• 20:27
  and hopefully it took two
• 20:29
  in this case
• 20:30
  and it will never happen again.
• 20:31
  It was a lot of trouble though.
• 20:33
  Let me say to you,
• 20:33
  it was a lot of trouble.
• 20:35
  Even if we had done it right,
• 20:37
  it was a lot of trouble.
• 20:39
  But certainly,
• 20:39
  having done it wrong
• 20:40
  and never once
• 20:42
  in all of that time
• 20:43
  that I think,
• 20:44
  I wish we just did this
• 20:44
  a different way.
• 20:46
  Man,
• 20:46
  wouldn't it be easier
• 20:47
  if we just did this
• 20:49
  a different way?
• 20:49
  It would be wrong,
• 20:51
  I believe,
• 20:52
  to do it a different way.
• 20:53
  This is the way
• 20:53
  it should be done
• 20:55
  by immersion
• 20:56
  to show
• 20:57
  what is happening
• 20:58
  in the heart.
• 21:00
  I hope that as you guys
• 21:01
  experience this today
• 21:02
  that it's beautiful to you,
• 21:04
  that the imagery
• 21:05
  means something
• 21:06
  to you.
• 21:07
  That it's not just like,
• 21:07
  oh yeah,
• 21:08
  baptism's great,
• 21:09
  fine, right?
• 21:10
  But that you see
• 21:11
  that it actually
• 21:12
  is a picture,
• 21:13
  something we can kind of
• 21:14
  sort of see
• 21:15
  and wrap our minds around
• 21:16
  what actually happens
• 21:17
  in the heart of men
• 21:19
  when they believe
• 21:20
  in Jesus Christ.
• 21:21
  So,
• 21:22
  that's the first one.
• 21:23
  Jesus set for us
• 21:24
  an example
• 21:25
  of baptism.
• 21:26
  He didn't need to.
• 21:27
  We do.
• 21:28
  He didn't need to,
• 21:28
  but He did it anyway.
• 21:31
  Secondly,
• 21:32
  Jesus affirmed
• 21:35
  His deity
• 21:36
  in being baptized.
• 21:39
  He affirmed
• 21:40
  His deity
• 21:41
  in being baptized.
• 21:42
  As Wes mentioned earlier,
• 21:43
  in verse 10 and 11
• 21:45
  we observe
• 21:45
  a rare moment
• 21:47
  that we can observe
• 21:48
  in the Scriptures
• 21:49
  when the Father,
• 21:50
  the Son,
• 21:51
  and the Holy Spirit
• 21:51
  are all recorded
• 21:53
  as being present,
• 21:54
  seen,
• 21:55
  heard,
• 21:56
  interacting
• 21:57
  together.
• 21:59
  We see this happening
• 22:00
  right here.
• 22:01
  There's some debate
• 22:02
  about who
• 22:04
  experienced it.
• 22:05
  You'll notice that
• 22:05
  in verse 10
• 22:06
  it says,
• 22:07
  when He came up
• 22:07
  out of the water
• 22:08
  immediately He saw
• 22:09
  the heavens
• 22:09
  being torn open.
• 22:10
  This would have been
• 22:11
  Jesus that they're
• 22:12
  referring to
• 22:12
  in this case.
• 22:15
  One of the commentators,
• 22:16
  a book that I've picked up,
• 22:17
  to help me with my study
• 22:18
  of Mark,
• 22:18
  said that Jesus
• 22:19
  was the only one
• 22:20
  that experienced this.
• 22:21
  He saw the heavens
• 22:22
  torn open,
• 22:22
  saw the Spirit
• 22:23
  descending like a dove.
• 22:25
  Jesus was the one
• 22:26
  that experienced this.
• 22:29
  I disagree.
• 22:30
  I disagree entirely
• 22:31
  with Him,
• 22:32
  in fact.
• 22:33
  Because what's happening here
• 22:34
  is this fulfillment
• 22:35
  of Old Testament prophecy.
• 22:37
  It's the confirmation
• 22:37
  of who Jesus is.
• 22:39
  It's a coronation ceremony,
• 22:41
  so to speak,
• 22:43
  of Him becoming
• 22:44
  the King.
• 22:44
  He already was,
• 22:46
  but this is like
• 22:46
  the crown is being placed
• 22:49
  upon His head now
• 22:50
  to confirm
• 22:51
  who He is.
• 22:53
  Why would God deny that
• 22:55
  for the people observing?
• 22:57
  Why would they not
• 22:58
  experience this
• 22:59
  to be true?
• 23:01
  Isaiah 64.1
• 23:02
  Isaiah has been
• 23:03
  prophesying
• 23:04
  of the coming
• 23:05
  of the Messiah
• 23:05
  all along,
• 23:06
  and then in 64.1
• 23:07
  he prays,
• 23:08
  Oh,
• 23:08
  that you would
• 23:09
  rend the heavens
• 23:10
  and come down.
• 23:11
  After this 400 years
• 23:13
  of prophetic silence,
• 23:15
  God finally did
• 23:17
  just that.
• 23:18
  Pour the heavens
• 23:20
  open.
• 23:22
  The Greek here,
• 23:23
  schismo,
• 23:24
  our word schism
• 23:25
  comes from that.
• 23:26
  The heavens were
• 23:27
  ripped open
• 23:28
  as Isaiah
• 23:29
  had prayed for,
• 23:30
  and the Spirit
• 23:31
  descended
• 23:32
  like a dove.
• 23:35
  Right?
• 23:35
  So we see this picture
• 23:36
  of this rather
• 23:37
  graphic thing happening.
• 23:38
  I have no idea
• 23:39
  how to even describe
• 23:40
  what that might have
• 23:41
  looked like to you.
• 23:42
  The heavens being
• 23:43
  torn open,
• 23:44
  and the Spirit
• 23:45
  descending.
• 23:46
  So this
• 23:47
  almost violent thing,
• 23:49
  and then this
• 23:49
  very gentle thing.
• 23:51
  Right?
• 23:52
  The text does not read
• 23:53
  that the Spirit
• 23:53
  descended as a dove.
• 23:55
  Most of us have
• 23:56
  probably seen
• 23:57
  some photo,
• 23:58
  or painting,
• 23:59
  I shouldn't say photo,
• 24:00
  painting somewhere
• 24:01
  of Jesus coming
• 24:02
  out of the water,
• 24:03
  and a dove.
• 24:04
  Right?
• 24:04
  It's usually got
• 24:05
  some light lines
• 24:06
  around it
• 24:07
  coming down.
• 24:08
  It does not say
• 24:09
  that the Spirit
• 24:10
  descended as a dove,
• 24:11
  but rather like a dove.
• 24:13
  And I think that the
• 24:14
  picture we're meant
• 24:14
  to see here is that
• 24:15
  it came down gently,
• 24:17
  and rested on Christ.
• 24:20
  Again,
• 24:20
  some commentators
• 24:21
  have tried to do
• 24:21
  some interesting things
• 24:22
  with this.
• 24:22
  They've tried to relate
• 24:23
  this to the dove
• 24:25
  with Noah,
• 24:26
  and the ark
• 24:27
  that Noah sent out.
• 24:29
  Nope.
• 24:31
  Right?
• 24:31
  That was just a dove
• 24:32
  that brought back
• 24:33
  an olive branch.
• 24:33
  That's the significance
• 24:34
  there.
• 24:35
  It was an animal
• 24:35
  that he sent away.
• 24:37
  Certainly,
• 24:37
  we know that doves
• 24:39
  are very gentle.
• 24:40
  Right?
• 24:40
  This is the description
• 24:42
  that's happening here.
• 24:43
  Right?
• 24:44
  We know that John
• 24:45
  saw it.
• 24:47
  In the Gospel of John,
• 24:48
  chapter 132,
• 24:49
  it says,
• 24:50
  and John bore witness.
• 24:52
  I saw the Spirit
• 24:53
  descend from heaven
• 24:54
  like a dove,
• 24:55
  and it remained
• 24:56
  on him.
• 24:58
  Right?
• 24:58
  There's a record.
• 24:59
  John the Baptist
• 25:00
  saw this
• 25:01
  as well.
• 25:04
  This is so key
• 25:06
  and so important
• 25:07
  that the Spirit
• 25:08
  came down
• 25:09
  and descended
• 25:10
  and rested
• 25:11
  and remained
• 25:13
  upon him
• 25:14
  because,
• 25:14
  remember the point,
• 25:16
  Jesus affirmed
• 25:16
  his deity
• 25:17
  in being baptized.
• 25:18
  Again,
• 25:19
  the book of Isaiah,
• 25:20
  chapter 11,
• 25:21
  verses 1 and 2.
• 25:23
  There shall come forth
• 25:24
  a shoot from the stump
• 25:25
  of Jesse,
• 25:26
  and a branch from his root
• 25:27
  shall bear fruit.
• 25:28
  This is his Davidic line.
• 25:30
  And the Spirit
• 25:31
  of the Lord
• 25:31
  shall rest upon him,
• 25:33
  the Spirit of wisdom
• 25:34
  and understanding,
• 25:35
  the Spirit of counsel
• 25:36
  and might,
• 25:36
  the Spirit of knowledge
• 25:37
  and the fear
• 25:38
  of the Lord.
• 25:40
  Right?
• 25:40
  This fulfillment here
• 25:41
  of this prophecy,
• 25:42
  the Spirit of the Lord
• 25:42
  shall rest upon him.
• 25:43
  Who is he talking about?
• 25:44
  They're talking about
• 25:45
  the Messiah,
• 25:46
  the Christ,
• 25:46
  Jesus,
• 25:47
  the Son of God.
• 25:49
  Again,
• 25:49
  Isaiah 42,
• 25:50
  1.
• 25:51
  Behold my servant
• 25:52
  whom I uphold,
• 25:54
  my chosen,
• 25:55
  in whom my soul
• 25:56
  delights.
• 25:57
  I have put my Spirit
• 25:58
  upon him.
• 26:00
  He will bring forth
• 26:01
  justice to the nations.
• 26:03
  So here we see
• 26:03
  this fulfillment,
• 26:05
  this confirmation
• 26:06
  of Jesus' deity.
• 26:10
  It's said to the observers,
• 26:12
  this is the Christ.
• 26:15
  A coronation ceremony,
• 26:18
  so to speak.
• 26:19
  And the people there,
• 26:20
  if they knew their Bibles,
• 26:22
  knew this was
• 26:23
  the Son of God.
• 26:24
  So,
• 26:26
  firstly,
• 26:26
  Jesus was baptized.
• 26:27
  Significant.
• 26:28
  Sets for us an example.
• 26:29
  Secondly,
• 26:29
  he affirmed his deity
• 26:30
  in being baptized.
• 26:31
  And remember,
• 26:32
  moving in levels
• 26:33
  of importance.
• 26:33
  I would say to you,
• 26:34
  number three,
• 26:34
  is the most
• 26:35
  important thing
• 26:37
  for you to hear
• 26:38
  and to grasp
• 26:39
  and to wrap your mind
• 26:40
  around this morning.
• 26:42
  The third one,
• 26:43
  Jesus maintained
• 26:44
  a perfect obedience
• 26:46
  in being baptized.
• 26:48
  Jesus maintained
• 26:49
  a perfect obedience
• 26:50
  in being baptized.
• 26:52
  Do you remember
• 26:52
  what he said to John?
• 26:54
  His response to John?
• 26:55
  The thing that we see
• 26:57
  recorded for us
• 26:58
  in Matthew
• 26:58
  that causes John,
• 27:00
  the simple record
• 27:01
  of Matthew,
• 27:02
  is that then he consented.
• 27:04
  Then John consented.
• 27:06
  Jesus answered him,
• 27:06
  said,
• 27:07
  Let it be so now,
• 27:08
  for thus it is fitting
• 27:10
  for us to fulfill
• 27:11
  all righteousness.
• 27:14
  So here is Jesus,
• 27:16
  the man,
• 27:18
  the only man
• 27:19
  who ever didn't need
• 27:21
  to repent,
• 27:23
  who was perfect
• 27:24
  to this time,
• 27:25
  had no need of it
• 27:26
  whatsoever,
• 27:27
  but because God
• 27:28
  had commanded
• 27:29
  the baptism of repentance.
• 27:31
  Isn't that what
• 27:32
  John was preaching?
• 27:34
  Mark records for us,
• 27:35
  that was John
• 27:36
  was traveling around
• 27:36
  and preaching
• 27:37
  that very thing.
• 27:37
  As a prophet
• 27:38
  sent by God,
• 27:39
  he was teaching people
• 27:40
  that they ought
• 27:41
  to be baptized
• 27:41
  to show repentance.
• 27:43
  So Jesus
• 27:46
  was baptized
• 27:47
  to be fully obedient
• 27:51
  to the commands
• 27:51
  of the Father.
• 27:53
  He didn't need to be.
• 27:55
  A unique person
• 27:56
  in this case.
• 27:57
  The only person
• 27:58
  that stood
• 27:59
  on those grounds,
• 28:00
  but
• 28:01
  he was baptized
• 28:02
  anyway
• 28:03
  to show forth
• 28:04
  a perfect
• 28:06
  obedience.
• 28:08
  And here we see
• 28:09
  the heavens have been
• 28:10
  ripped open,
• 28:10
  and the Spirit of God
• 28:12
  has descended
• 28:12
  like a dove
• 28:14
  and rested upon him.
• 28:15
  And then we hear
• 28:16
  the voice of the Father
• 28:17
  from heaven say,
• 28:19
  You are my beloved Son.
• 28:21
  With you
• 28:22
  I am well pleased.
• 28:23
  Which is a composite
• 28:25
  Scripture citation
• 28:26
  of Psalm 2-7
• 28:27
  and Isaiah 42-1.
• 28:30
  It's God's Word.
• 28:31
  He can do with it
• 28:31
  what He pleases.
• 28:32
  Right?
• 28:33
  You are my beloved Son.
• 28:35
  With you
• 28:35
  I am well pleased.
• 28:38
  Because
• 28:39
  Jesus
• 28:40
  was bringing Himself
• 28:41
  into conformity.
• 28:43
  Lived in that state
• 28:44
  of perfect obedience
• 28:46
  to the Father.
• 28:47
  And we get the blessing
• 28:49
  of God then
• 28:49
  on Christ
• 28:51
  for the ministry
• 28:51
  He was about to start.
• 28:53
  Right?
• 28:54
  Jesus Christ
• 28:55
  was perfect
• 28:57
  in every sense
• 28:59
  of the word.
• 29:01
  Right?
• 29:01
  Mary was proper
• 29:02
  to boast
• 29:03
  in her Son.
• 29:05
  He was perfect.
• 29:07
  The only way,
• 29:08
  this is the only way,
• 29:11
  God could have made
• 29:12
  a way for us
• 29:14
  back to Him
• 29:15
  as we are completely
• 29:16
  imperfect
• 29:17
  in our sin.
• 29:19
  In every way,
• 29:20
  without faith,
• 29:21
  everything we do,
• 29:23
  even the good things
• 29:24
  by the world's terms
• 29:26
  that we do
• 29:27
  are still
• 29:27
  filthy.
• 29:29
  All of our own effort,
• 29:31
  all of our righteousness,
• 29:32
  all of it
• 29:33
  is utterly
• 29:34
  filthy
• 29:35
  before God.
• 29:36
  He can have nothing
• 29:37
  to do with it.
• 29:39
  But because God
• 29:40
  is just,
• 29:41
  He must
• 29:42
  punish sin.
• 29:44
  Hear me carefully.
• 29:45
  It's not that when
• 29:46
  you believe in Christ,
• 29:47
  God just forgives
• 29:48
  your sin
• 29:49
  the way we would
• 29:49
  think of forgiveness.
• 29:50
  It's not that God goes,
• 29:52
  yeah,
• 29:53
  I was offended by that,
• 29:54
  but it's okay.
• 29:57
  God can't do that.
• 29:59
  God is
• 29:59
  all the things
• 30:00
  He is
• 30:01
  all the time.
• 30:02
  He's in no way
• 30:03
  split personality.
• 30:04
  And so if God
• 30:06
  is wrath
• 30:07
  and justice
• 30:08
  pours that out
• 30:09
  on sin,
• 30:10
  He must
• 30:11
  punish our sin.
• 30:13
  And so who did
• 30:14
  He punish it in?
• 30:16
  Christ.
• 30:17
  The perfect,
• 30:18
  the spotless
• 30:19
  Lamb.
• 30:21
  The only
• 30:22
  one
• 30:22
  that was
• 30:23
  without
• 30:23
  flaw.
• 30:25
  He poured out
• 30:26
  His wrath
• 30:27
  on Christ
• 30:28
  for you.
• 30:30
  And in a sense,
• 30:31
  our sins are forgiven,
• 30:32
  just not the way
• 30:33
  we typically think of it.
• 30:34
  We are now
• 30:34
  justified
• 30:35
  before God
• 30:37
  because of that.
• 30:38
  You often get a picture
• 30:39
  of justification
• 30:40
  of standing in a courtroom
• 30:41
  before a judge
• 30:43
  of a crime
• 30:44
  you are absolutely
• 30:45
  guilty of.
• 30:46
  And the judge
• 30:47
  knows it full well.
• 30:48
  The evidence is there.
• 30:49
  They've played the video.
• 30:50
  They've seen you do it.
• 30:51
  You paused
• 30:52
  and stared at the camera.
• 30:53
  They know
• 30:53
  it's you.
• 30:55
  You held up your license.
• 30:56
  You said,
• 30:57
  hey,
• 30:57
  my name is Nathan.
• 30:59
  Without a doubt,
• 31:00
  you committed the crime.
• 31:01
  And the judge says,
• 31:02
  you know what?
• 31:03
  I'm going to pardon you
• 31:04
  for this crime.
• 31:06
  We get an idea of that.
• 31:07
  That is a sense
• 31:09
  of what justification
• 31:09
  looks like.
• 31:10
  But more than that,
• 31:12
  more than that,
• 31:13
  there was a man
• 31:14
  sitting in the courtroom
• 31:15
  that's innocent
• 31:15
  and the judge says,
• 31:17
  I'm going to pardon you
• 31:18
  for the crime
• 31:18
  and I'm going to punish
• 31:19
  him instead.
• 31:20
  He's going to take
• 31:21
  your punishment.
• 31:22
  And this is the way
• 31:22
  God must act.
• 31:24
  And so,
• 31:27
  Christ being completely
• 31:28
  obedient
• 31:29
  in every way
• 31:31
  is good for us.
• 31:34
  Because God
• 31:35
  is pleased
• 31:36
  with Jesus Christ.
• 31:38
  With His
• 31:38
  perfect obedience.
• 31:42
  For those of us
• 31:43
  who have placed
• 31:43
  our faith in Christ,
• 31:44
  He is also
• 31:45
  pleased
• 31:45
  with us.
• 31:48
  For those of us
• 31:49
  who have believed
• 31:49
  in Christ,
• 31:50
  Christ's perfection
• 31:52
  has been given
• 31:53
  to us.
• 31:54
  Imputed is the
• 31:55
  big fancy term
• 31:56
  for that.
• 31:57
  Martin Luther
• 31:57
  called it
• 31:58
  the great exchange.
• 31:59
  Jesus Christ
• 32:00
  gave us
• 32:00
  His righteousness
• 32:01
  and He took
• 32:02
  our sin.
• 32:03
  He swapped it
• 32:04
  with us.
• 32:06
  So when God
• 32:07
  sees us now
• 32:08
  in Christ,
• 32:09
  in the Beloved,
• 32:10
  He sees
• 32:11
  Christ.
• 32:14
  Ah!
• 32:15
  If you
• 32:16
  don't know
• 32:17
  this Christ,
• 32:19
  God sees you
• 32:20
  and He sees
• 32:20
  your sin
• 32:21
  and because
• 32:22
  He's perfect
• 32:23
  and holy
• 32:23
  and just,
• 32:24
  He must
• 32:24
  punish that
• 32:25
  sin.
• 32:26
  You deserve it
• 32:27
  to be clear.
• 32:27
  Don't place
• 32:28
  that blame
• 32:29
  on God.
• 32:30
  You've rejected
• 32:31
  His ways.
• 32:32
  He gave you
• 32:32
  a conscience.
• 32:33
  He gave you
• 32:34
  evidence of
• 32:34
  Himself
• 32:34
  and the nature.
• 32:35
  You're fully
• 32:36
  guilty of the
• 32:37
  things that
• 32:37
  you've done
• 32:38
  against Him.
• 32:39
  Don't blame it
• 32:39
  on Him
• 32:39
  and His character.
• 32:40
  His character
• 32:40
  is perfect
• 32:41
  and holy.
• 32:42
  You are utterly
• 32:43
  sinful.
• 32:44
  For those of us
• 32:45
  who do know
• 32:45
  Christ,
• 32:47
  we get to
• 32:48
  stand before
• 32:48
  Him justified.
• 32:49
  He sees
• 32:50
  us as He
• 32:52
  sees Jesus.
• 32:54
  This is a
• 32:55
  massive blessing
• 32:56
  because we
• 32:56
  are not
• 32:56
  perfect.
• 32:59
  The faith
• 32:59
  we have
• 33:00
  wasn't even
• 33:00
  ours to
• 33:01
  begin with.
• 33:01
  Don't think
• 33:02
  you're better
• 33:02
  than anybody
• 33:02
  else.
• 33:03
  God gave
• 33:03
  it to you
• 33:04
  as a
• 33:04
  gift.
• 33:06
  So as we
• 33:07
  struggle in
• 33:08
  this life,
• 33:09
  as we've
• 33:09
  experienced
• 33:10
  these great
• 33:10
  gospel truths
• 33:11
  and yet we
• 33:11
  live in
• 33:12
  contradiction
• 33:12
  to them
• 33:13
  all the
• 33:13
  time,
• 33:14
  we can
• 33:14
  go back
• 33:15
  to God.
• 33:16
  We can
• 33:16
  continue to
• 33:17
  return to
• 33:17
  Him because
• 33:18
  we've been
• 33:19
  given
• 33:19
  Christ's
• 33:21
  righteousness.
• 33:22
  Charles Spurgeon
• 33:23
  once said
• 33:23
  in similar
• 33:24
  words,
• 33:25
  God is so
• 33:26
  boundlessly
• 33:26
  pleased with
• 33:27
  Jesus that
• 33:28
  in Him
• 33:28
  He is
• 33:29
  altogether
• 33:29
  pleased with
• 33:30
  us.
• 33:32
  Let me
• 33:32
  read that to
• 33:33
  you again.
• 33:33
  God is so
• 33:34
  boundlessly
• 33:34
  pleased with
• 33:35
  Jesus that
• 33:36
  in Him
• 33:36
  He is
• 33:37
  altogether
• 33:38
  pleased
• 33:38
  with us.
• 33:41
  Ephesians 1
• 33:42
  6 in the
• 33:43
  ESV translation,
• 33:44
  which is what
• 33:44
  I'm using and
• 33:45
  I know many of
• 33:46
  you use.
• 33:47
  It says that
• 33:48
  He, being
• 33:48
  God, has
• 33:51
  blessed us in
• 33:52
  the Beloved,
• 33:53
  Jesus Christ.
• 33:55
  King James, I
• 33:56
  really like the
• 33:56
  way it renders
• 33:57
  that.
• 33:58
  He hath made
• 33:59
  us accepted
• 34:00
  in the Beloved.
• 34:02
  We are
• 34:02
  accepted in
• 34:04
  the Beloved
• 34:05
  for all the
• 34:06
  reasons that I
• 34:06
  just said to
• 34:07
  you.
• 34:07
  If you've
• 34:07
  placed your
• 34:08
  faith in
• 34:08
  Christ,
• 34:08
  God sees
• 34:10
  Jesus when
• 34:11
  He sees
• 34:11
  you.
• 34:12
  1 John 3,
• 34:16
  1-3,
• 34:17
  John writes
• 34:18
  this letter.
• 34:19
  It says,
• 34:20
  See what kind
• 34:20
  of love the
• 34:21
  Father has
• 34:21
  given to
• 34:21
  us, that
• 34:22
  we should
• 34:22
  be called
• 34:23
  children of
• 34:24
  God, and
• 34:25
  so we
• 34:26
  are.
• 34:27
  The reason
• 34:27
  why the
• 34:28
  world does
• 34:28
  not know
• 34:28
  us is
• 34:29
  that it
• 34:29
  did not
• 34:29
  know Him.
• 34:31
  Now here,
• 34:32
  listen carefully
• 34:33
  to this.
• 34:34
  Verse 2,
• 34:35
  Beloved,
• 34:37
  we are
• 34:38
  God's
• 34:38
  children now,
• 34:40
  and what
• 34:40
  we will be
• 34:41
  has not yet
• 34:42
  appeared, but
• 34:42
  we know
• 34:43
  that when
• 34:43
  He appears,
• 34:44
  we shall
• 34:45
  be like
• 34:45
  Him, because
• 34:46
  we shall
• 34:47
  see Him
• 34:47
  as He
• 34:48
  is.
• 34:49
  And
• 34:49
  everyone
• 34:49
  who thus
• 34:50
  hopes in
• 34:50
  Him purifies
• 34:52
  himself as
• 34:53
  He is
• 34:54
  pure.
• 34:55
  Notice what
• 34:56
  John does.
• 34:57
  The language
• 34:58
  that he uses
• 34:58
  here.
• 34:59
  Verse 2.
• 35:01
  I think this
• 35:02
  is so good.
• 35:02
  I have heard
• 35:03
  people preach
• 35:04
  from the book
• 35:05
  of 1 John
• 35:05
  and talk about
• 35:06
  how John
• 35:06
  was very
• 35:07
  old at this
• 35:09
  point that he's
• 35:10
  writing, and
• 35:10
  so he had
• 35:11
  the right to
• 35:11
  call everybody
• 35:12
  children.
• 35:13
  That was the
• 35:13
  explanation that
• 35:14
  was given for
• 35:14
  that.
• 35:15
  Oh no.
• 35:16
  What he's doing
• 35:16
  is he's helping
• 35:17
  believers understand
• 35:19
  their identity.
• 35:20
  He's calling us
• 35:20
  children because
• 35:21
  we are children
• 35:22
  of the Most
• 35:23
  High God.
• 35:23
  That's why he's
• 35:24
  using this
• 35:24
  language, and I
• 35:25
  think we see
• 35:25
  this best at the
• 35:27
  beginning of verse
• 35:27
  2 of 1 John
• 35:28
  chapter 3.
• 35:29
  Beloved, there's
• 35:30
  that word,
• 35:31
  beloved.
• 35:31
  Like, in your
• 35:32
  mind when you
• 35:32
  read that, I
• 35:33
  hope that you're
• 35:33
  hearing God
• 35:34
  from heaven saying
• 35:35
  to Jesus Christ,
• 35:37
  you are my
• 35:38
  beloved son.
• 35:39
  With you I am
• 35:40
  well pleased.
• 35:40
  This is a title
• 35:41
  that God gives
• 35:43
  to Jesus, and
• 35:44
  here John on the
• 35:45
  inspiration of the
• 35:46
  Spirit gives it to
• 35:47
  us.
• 35:49
  Have you ever
• 35:50
  wondered in my
• 35:51
  preaching why
• 35:51
  sometimes I refer
• 35:52
  to you all as
• 35:53
  beloved?
• 35:54
  I'm not talking
• 35:55
  about my love for
• 35:56
  you, although I do
• 35:57
  love you very much.
• 35:59
  I'm giving you the
• 36:00
  title that God has
• 36:02
  given you in
• 36:03
  Christ.
• 36:03
  Beloved, we are
• 36:04
  God's children
• 36:06
  now.
• 36:07
  And the rest of
• 36:09
  that verse, verse
• 36:09
  2, just talks
• 36:10
  about how we've
• 36:11
  yet to come into
• 36:12
  perfection.
• 36:13
  We're not quite
• 36:14
  there yet, this is
• 36:15
  what I was just
• 36:16
  saying, but we're
• 36:16
  on our way in that
• 36:18
  direction.
• 36:18
  We're moving that
• 36:19
  way to be like
• 36:21
  Christ.
• 36:25
  I'll read to you
• 36:26
  another quote from
• 36:26
  Charles Spurgeon.
• 36:28
  I should try not to
• 36:28
  quote the same guy
• 36:29
  twice in a sermon,
• 36:30
  but this was way
• 36:30
  too good.
• 36:31
  I believe that
• 36:35
  when we have been
• 36:36
  in heaven 10,000
• 36:38
  years, this will
• 36:39
  still be a subject
• 36:40
  of rapture and
• 36:42
  surprise, that he
• 36:43
  should ever have
• 36:44
  found anything in
• 36:46
  us which he could
• 36:47
  take delight.
• 36:50
  That he should
• 36:50
  ever have found
• 36:51
  anything in us
• 36:52
  which he could
• 36:53
  take delight.
• 36:54
  To pity us, to
• 36:55
  show mercy to us,
• 36:57
  that I can
• 36:58
  understand, but to
• 36:59
  love us?
• 37:00
  The big heart
• 37:01
  of God to love
• 37:02
  a creeping thing
• 37:03
  like man.
• 37:05
  The infinite soul
• 37:06
  of the Most High
• 37:07
  to pour itself out
• 37:09
  on such a mean,
• 37:11
  worthless creature
• 37:12
  as man.
• 37:13
  The everlasting
• 37:14
  God who fills all
• 37:15
  in all to
• 37:16
  concentrate as it
• 37:17
  were the powers
• 37:18
  of a spirit and
• 37:19
  set the whole
• 37:20
  upon a creature
• 37:21
  that his own
• 37:22
  hands have made.
• 37:23
  A creature that
• 37:24
  had revolted and
• 37:25
  rebelled and at
• 37:26
  the best is still
• 37:27
  worthless.
• 37:28
  At the best is
• 37:29
  still worthless.
• 37:31
  Oh, sing of this,
• 37:32
  you spirits before
• 37:33
  the throne.
• 37:34
  We cannot speak of
• 37:35
  it today as we
• 37:36
  should.
• 37:37
  Hear what he's
• 37:38
  saying.
• 37:38
  There's no way we
• 37:39
  can even comprehend
• 37:40
  now.
• 37:41
  There's no way we
• 37:42
  could possibly sing
• 37:43
  the praises of God
• 37:44
  for what he's done
• 37:44
  for us in Christ
• 37:45
  now.
• 37:46
  And he's saying
• 37:46
  that even when
• 37:47
  we've been in
• 37:48
  heaven for 10,000
• 37:49
  years, he thinks
• 37:50
  that this will
• 37:50
  still be a subject
• 37:51
  of rapture and
• 37:52
  surprise.
• 37:54
  To think that God,
• 37:55
  a merciful, holy
• 37:56
  God, perfect in
• 37:57
  every way, would
• 37:58
  condescend to
• 37:59
  show love to
• 38:00
  man.
• 38:02
  Charles Spurgeon
• 38:03
  says that he
• 38:04
  could get maybe
• 38:05
  mercy, but to
• 38:07
  love us the way
• 38:09
  he loves the
• 38:11
  Son.
• 38:12
  As he said to
• 38:13
  the Son, you
• 38:14
  are my beloved.
• 38:16
  With you I am
• 38:17
  well pleased.
• 38:18
  Someday he will
• 38:19
  say to us, because
• 38:21
  if we have placed
• 38:22
  our faith in
• 38:22
  him, he sees
• 38:23
  us as he sees
• 38:25
  Jesus.
• 38:28
  I hope that
• 38:28
  you are with me
• 38:29
  in wanting that
• 38:30
  to be true.
• 38:32
  In recognizing
• 38:33
  that if that's
• 38:34
  not true,
• 38:35
  eternal damnation
• 38:36
  is your place.
• 38:37
  Destruction
• 38:38
  forever.
• 38:39
  I can't even
• 38:39
  comprehend how
• 38:40
  very horrible
• 38:41
  that will be.
• 38:43
  Separated
• 38:44
  eternally from
• 38:45
  God.
• 38:46
  Thrown into a
• 38:47
  place of fire
• 38:48
  and weeping
• 38:49
  and gnashing of
• 38:50
  teeth.
• 38:50
  Right?
• 38:51
  And again,
• 38:52
  don't blame that
• 38:52
  on God.
• 38:53
  That is not
• 38:54
  his fault.
• 38:55
  You bought it.
• 38:56
  You were told
• 38:57
  the way you
• 38:58
  ought to live,
• 38:59
  which we fail
• 39:01
  at every point.
• 39:01
  You were told
• 39:02
  to believe in
• 39:03
  Christ.
• 39:04
  You're accountable
• 39:04
  for that.
• 39:06
  And yet you
• 39:06
  rejected him.
• 39:08
  You deserve
• 39:08
  eternal punishment.
• 39:11
  I hope that you
• 39:11
  don't want to
• 39:12
  experience that.
• 39:13
  I hope this
• 39:13
  morning that
• 39:14
  there's a
• 39:14
  pricking in
• 39:15
  your heart
• 39:15
  if you've
• 39:15
  never placed
• 39:16
  faith in
• 39:16
  Christ to
• 39:17
  respond in
• 39:18
  faith today.
• 39:19
  The simple
• 39:20
  call of the
• 39:20
  gospel is to
• 39:21
  repent and
• 39:22
  believe.
• 39:23
  Turn from
• 39:23
  your sin and
• 39:24
  turn towards
• 39:24
  God.
• 39:25
  Recognize that
• 39:26
  your sufficiency
• 39:27
  comes from
• 39:28
  him.
• 39:29
  And so I
• 39:29
  just have
• 39:29
  three questions
• 39:30
  for you just
• 39:31
  to kind of
• 39:31
  filter some
• 39:33
  of that.
• 39:34
  Are you
• 39:35
  found in
• 39:35
  Christ?
• 39:36
  When God
• 39:37
  looks upon you
• 39:38
  this morning,
• 39:39
  can he say
• 39:39
  of you that
• 39:41
  you're his
• 39:41
  beloved?
• 39:42
  Does he see
• 39:42
  Christ when he
• 39:44
  sees you?
• 39:44
  And so just
• 39:44
  three questions
• 39:45
  for you to
• 39:45
  ponder.
• 39:46
  Firstly,
• 39:47
  do you depend
• 39:48
  on the
• 39:48
  beloved?
• 39:49
  Do you depend
• 39:49
  on Christ
• 39:50
  for your
• 39:51
  salvation?
• 39:51
  Is he
• 39:52
  your salvation?
• 39:54
  Or is it
• 39:54
  some manner
• 39:55
  of works?
• 39:56
  Being a
• 39:57
  member of a
• 39:57
  particular church
• 39:58
  or denomination?
• 39:59
  Or is it
• 40:00
  Christ that
• 40:02
  is your
• 40:02
  salvation?
• 40:04
  Do you
• 40:04
  bear fruit
• 40:05
  as one who
• 40:07
  is dependent
• 40:07
  on the
• 40:08
  beloved?
• 40:09
  Do you
• 40:10
  live as you
• 40:11
  should live?
• 40:12
  We saw in
• 40:13
  1 John 3
• 40:14
  there that
• 40:14
  this is
• 40:15
  something that
• 40:15
  we do
• 40:16
  because of
• 40:17
  what God
• 40:17
  has done
• 40:17
  for us?
• 40:18
  Not that
• 40:18
  our works
• 40:19
  earn us
• 40:20
  our salvation
• 40:20
  but our
• 40:21
  works are
• 40:21
  evidence
• 40:22
  of what
• 40:23
  we've done.
• 40:23
  That's what
• 40:23
  baptism is.
• 40:24
  It's an
• 40:24
  obedient act
• 40:25
  of response
• 40:26
  to what
• 40:26
  God has
• 40:27
  done for
• 40:27
  us in
• 40:28
  Christ.
• 40:29
  Do you
• 40:29
  do bear
• 40:29
  fruit in
• 40:30
  that way?
• 40:32
  And thirdly,
• 40:32
  do you
• 40:32
  love the
• 40:34
  beloved?
• 40:35
  Do you
• 40:35
  love
• 40:36
  Christ?
• 40:39
  Christ
• 40:39
  should be
• 40:40
  the most
• 40:41
  attractive
• 40:41
  thing to
• 40:42
  a regenerate
• 40:42
  heart?
• 40:44
  His
• 40:44
  person
• 40:45
  and his
• 40:46
  work.
• 40:47
  Knowing,
• 40:47
  reflecting
• 40:48
  upon,
• 40:48
  understanding
• 40:49
  what he
• 40:49
  has done
• 40:49
  for us,
• 40:50
  he ought
• 40:50
  to be
• 40:50
  the most
• 40:51
  valuable
• 40:51
  thing
• 40:52
  to us.
• 40:53
  Do you
• 40:54
  love
• 40:55
  the beloved
• 40:56
  or do you
• 40:57
  love the
• 40:57
  things of
• 40:58
  the world?
• 40:59
  These things
• 40:59
  are said
• 40:59
  in contradiction
• 41:00
  to one
• 41:01
  another.
• 41:01
  We should
• 41:01
  be ever
• 41:02
  increasing
• 41:03
  as we're
• 41:03
  growing in
• 41:04
  grace,
• 41:04
  our love
• 41:05
  for Christ
• 41:05
  and our
• 41:06
  disdain
• 41:07
  for the
• 41:07
  world.
• 41:09
  I'm not
• 41:09
  saying that
• 41:10
  you don't
• 41:10
  enjoy your
• 41:11
  family,
• 41:12
  that you
• 41:12
  don't enjoy
• 41:13
  having a
• 41:13
  home,
• 41:13
  I'm not
• 41:14
  saying any
• 41:14
  of that.
• 41:15
  What I'm
• 41:15
  saying to
• 41:15
  you is
• 41:16
  in comparison
• 41:16
  to Christ,
• 41:17
  all things
• 41:18
  in the words
• 41:19
  of Paul
• 41:19
  are rubbish,
• 41:20
  trash,
• 41:21
  vile,
• 41:22
  in comparison
• 41:22
  to knowing
• 41:23
  Jesus Christ
• 41:24
  as Lord.
• 41:25
  So do
• 41:25
  you
• 41:26
  love him?
• 41:29
  I'm going
• 41:29
  to close
• 41:29
  today as
• 41:31
  we come
• 41:31
  to the end
• 41:32
  of that point,
• 41:33
  which I hope
• 41:33
  you understand
• 41:34
  why I believe
• 41:35
  that's so
• 41:35
  drastically
• 41:36
  important as
• 41:37
  we look at
• 41:37
  this short
• 41:39
  record,
• 41:39
  these three
• 41:40
  verses of
• 41:41
  Jesus being
• 41:41
  baptized.
• 41:42
  baptized.
• 41:43
  I came
• 41:43
  across a
• 41:44
  hymn that
• 41:45
  was new
• 41:45
  to me,
• 41:45
  written in
• 41:46
  1930,
• 41:48
  called In
• 41:48
  the Beloved
• 41:49
  by a woman
• 41:50
  named
• 41:50
  Sevilla
• 41:50
  Martin.
• 41:52
  I just
• 41:52
  want you
• 41:52
  to listen
• 41:53
  to these
• 41:53
  words.
• 41:54
  Wes is
• 41:54
  going to
• 41:54
  try to
• 41:55
  put these
• 41:55
  to music
• 41:55
  for us
• 41:56
  soon.
• 41:57
  In the
• 41:57
  beloved,
• 41:58
  accepted I
• 41:59
  am,
• 41:59
  risen,
• 42:00
  ascended,
• 42:01
  and seated
• 42:01
  on high,
• 42:02
  saved from
• 42:03
  all sin
• 42:04
  through his
• 42:04
  infinite grace,
• 42:05
  with the
• 42:06
  redeemed
• 42:06
  ones,
• 42:07
  accorded a
• 42:08
  place.
• 42:08
  In the
• 42:10
  beloved,
• 42:10
  God's
• 42:10
  marvelous
• 42:11
  grace
• 42:11
  calls me
• 42:12
  to dwell
• 42:12
  in this
• 42:13
  wonderful
• 42:13
  place.
• 42:14
  God sees
• 42:15
  my Savior
• 42:15
  and then
• 42:16
  he sees
• 42:16
  me.
• 42:17
  In the
• 42:17
  beloved,
• 42:18
  accepted
• 42:19
  and free.
• 42:21
  In the
• 42:21
  beloved,
• 42:21
  how safe
• 42:22
  my retreat.
• 42:23
  In the
• 42:23
  beloved,
• 42:24
  accounted
• 42:24
  complete.
• 42:26
  Who can
• 42:26
  condemn me?
• 42:27
  In him
• 42:27
  I am
• 42:28
  free.
• 42:29
  Savior
• 42:29
  and keeper
• 42:29
  forever
• 42:30
  is he.
• 42:32
  In the
• 42:32
  beloved,
• 42:33
  God's
• 42:33
  marvelous
• 42:33
  grace
• 42:34
  calls me
• 42:34
  to dwell
• 42:35
  in this
• 42:35
  wonderful
• 42:35
  place.
• 42:36
  God
• 42:37
  sees my
• 42:37
  Savior
• 42:38
  and then
• 42:38
  he sees
• 42:38
  me.
• 42:39
  In the
• 42:39
  beloved,
• 42:40
  accepted
• 42:40
  and free.
• 42:42
  In the
• 42:42
  beloved,
• 42:43
  I went
• 42:43
  to the
• 42:43
  tree.
• 42:44
  There
• 42:44
  in his
• 42:45
  person
• 42:45
  by faith
• 42:46
  I may
• 42:46
  see.
• 42:47
  Infinite
• 42:48
  wrath
• 42:48
  rolling
• 42:48
  over
• 42:49
  his
• 42:49
  head,
• 42:49
  infinite
• 42:50
  grace,
• 42:51
  for he
• 42:51
  died
• 42:51
  in my
• 42:52
  stead.
• 42:54
  In the
• 42:54
  beloved,
• 42:55
  God's
• 42:55
  marvelous
• 42:55
  grace
• 42:56
  calls me
• 42:56
  to dwell
• 42:57
  in this
• 42:58
  wonderful
• 42:58
  place.
• 42:59
  God
• 42:59
  sees
• 43:00
  my
• 43:00
  Savior
• 43:00
  and then
• 43:01
  he
• 43:01
  sees
• 43:01
  me.
• 43:02
  In
• 43:02
  the
• 43:02
  beloved,
• 43:03
  accepted
• 43:04
  and
• 43:04
  free.
• 43:05
  Let's
• 43:05
  pray
• 43:05
  together.