Latest / Citipointe Church Caboolture / Water Baptism: Clothing & Union | Ps Graeme Politanski

Transcript

Water Baptism: Clothing & Union | Ps Graeme Politanski · Citipointe Church Caboolture

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Hey, welcome to the City Point Church podcast.
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Thanks for joining us. Every day is an opportunity to
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take hold of. So we hope this message inspires
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you and build your faith that it helps you have more of a God
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perspective for your day. Enjoy.
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Declare out loud today. My heart is open, my ears are
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alert to grow and change and to never be the same.
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Amen. Please be seated.
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Well, today is water baptism Sunday and I tell you what,
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it's, it's such a fun day in the house, water baptisms.
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I just want to welcome any family that's here today For
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someone that's been baptized. It's so good to have you with us
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in the house. And people are making the a
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great decision today to establish their faith in Jesus
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and to declare it to the world. But also it's an inward
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declaration. It's like a solidification of
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who I am now as a child of God. So congratulations to those our
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next steps. You know, we've got a banner at
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the rear of the auditorium where you can scan the QR code for
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things like baptisms. And we've had 18 people already
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register for baptisms today using the next step QR code.
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So well done on that. I have a message that I've
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titled Water Baptism Clothing and Union, Clothing and Union.
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Now it's established in the Bible in Galatians 327, and it
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says this for all of you who were baptized into Christ, into
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a spiritual union with the Christ.
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The anointed have clothed yourselves with Christ and that
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is you have taken on His characteristics and His values.
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The first thing that we all need to know here today is that water
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baptism brings us into spiritual union with God.
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It brings us into a spiritual union with God.
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Galatians 517 tells us that there is always tension between
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our flesh nature and our spirit nature.
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And when I read this scripture many years ago and I realized
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what it was actually saying to me, it strengthened me in my
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Christian walk because it's completely fine to struggle with
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sin. Christians struggle with sin.
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Sinners embrace sin. Christians struggle with sin.
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It's completely fine that the addictions that you've dealt
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with in your life keep knocking on the door of your life.
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Now we don't accept them, but it's fine that they do because
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we live in a sin bound world and the enemy is going to try
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everything possible to take you and I out.
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But the reality is, is the flesh wars against the Spirit and the
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Spirit wars against the flesh. Now Eddie Christian in the
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house, we know who's won the battle ultimately.
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Amen. It's Jesus Christ and that was
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was what the cross was all about.
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But as we are living life, there is a constant tension.
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There is a constant that are pulling towards the things of
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the world, the relationships of the world, the culture of the
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world, and then again to the culture of the Word of God and
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the things of the Word of God. It's completely fine to have
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this tension in your life. In fact, I say this to people.
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The day the enemy actually wins in your life is the day you stop
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fighting. But while you stay in the fight,
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you are on the winning side. The victory's been won.
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But who's in heaven right now? No, no, the newly marrieds might
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say that they're in heaven right now, but for the rest of us, we
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are down on planet earth at the moment and we realize that a day
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is coming and Jesus has won the war.
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But your day-to-day life, we rise up every morning and we
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say, Holy Spirit, would you strengthen me for today?
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I put on the armour of God as I walk into today.
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The victory is one with you and so I walk in union with you
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today. So Galatians says that there is
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a flesh battle and a spirit nature battle.
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Our flesh desires sin and our spirit desires righteousness.
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So we need a spiritual union with God in order to overcome
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the flesh. Amen.
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Who's overcome all their desires just without God?
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No, no one, right? We need God walking with us
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everyday. We read in verse 27 of today's
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scripture baptized into Christ, into a spiritual union with
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Christ. The anointed water baptism is
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the moment where our relationship with God is
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solidified. It's a moment of solidification.
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We know that God is Father, Son, and Spirit, and baptism now
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solidifies us into this relationship.
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The Bible teaches this is what spiritual union means.
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You now have God's life beating within you to overcome flesh
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desires in your life. This is the why the Bible says
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that you and I, we are more than conquerors.
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We are more than conquerors. In other words, we don't have to
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struggle to conquer. We are more than conquerors.
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We are in union with Christ. Amen.
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So water baptism is more than a symbol, it's an action that
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identifies you spiritually as a son and a daughter of God.
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So let's look at when Jesus was water baptized in the
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Scriptures. In Matthew 316, verses 16 to 17,
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it says this. Jesus came up immediately from
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the water, and behold, the heavens were open to him, and he
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saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and a lighting upon
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him. And suddenly a voice come from
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heaven saying, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well
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pleased. I have a theory, if you get
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water baptized, the heavens open and someone speaks to you in a
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loud voice that everyone can hear, you should pay attention
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to that person being baptized right in this imagery through
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scripture we see the Father, the Son, and the Spirit all in one
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place at one time all together. Listen, when we are baptized, we
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are part of this union because scripture tells us that we are
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baptized into Christ Jesus. See, the reality is, if you go
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back through historical documents, when we receive the
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salvation of Jesus Christ, the blood of Jesus washes our sins
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away, makes us white as snow. Therefore, Father God sees you
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and I believe this as righteousness in all of our
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mass, in our imperfections that you and I are walking daily.
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Our Father in Heaven sees you and I as righteous, not because
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we are righteous, but because Jesus is righteous and we are in
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Him. Does this make sense?
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We are in Jesus, so #1 is water baptism brings us into spiritual
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union with God. The second thing we need to know
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is that water baptism clothes us.
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It clothes us today in Galatians 327.
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It said clothe yourself with Christ.
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That is that you are taking on his characteristics and his
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values. You have taken on his
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characteristics. Where are the characteristics
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and the values of God held? They are held in our word, in
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our Scriptures. And so when we are baptized
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today, we are clothing ourselves with characteristics and values
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of heaven from Jesus Christ. When we come out of the water,
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we are clothed, clothed with a new set of characteristics and
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values. So baptism is a symbol of our
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flesh and our sinful life dying with Jesus Christ.
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However, Jesus didn't stay dead under the ground.
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Thank goodness for that. And we don't stay dead under the
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water either. We will lift you out of the
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water today, I promise you that. We rise again just as Christ
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rose again. This is what salvation.
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I'll get that word. Salvation is actually about just
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as Jesus went into the grave and then he.
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He broke the chains that sometimes ensnare our lives.
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He broke the addictions in its power that wants to ensnare our
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lives. He broke your past for you so
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that you and I can rise up with Christ into a brand new day.
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Let me tell you, church, this is what it means to be born again.
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Amen. We are born again with and in
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Jesus Christ. The power of baptism isn't in
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the dying. The power today is in the rising
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out of the waters again to put on the new nature.
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As we rise out of the water, we are clothed with the
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characteristics and the values of God.
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These are illuminated on our hearts.
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These are more the more we participate in the union with
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God through prayer, through fasting, you need to join the
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Monday night prayer meetings here at the church with Pastor
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Rachel. The more we do this in our union
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with through prayer, through fasting, through Bible reading
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and Sunday fellowship. This is why all these things are
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such important practices for a a a believer in Christ, a
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follower. The more we are clothed with
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God's characteristics and values.
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What am I saying by that? Because I can see the mechanics
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of this some people might be struggling with this morning.
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The reality is, is we are coming to a spiritual God and we can't
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define God by our human understanding.
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It's impossible to do that. If we could do that, we might be
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sitting right next to God. We can't.
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His ways are higher than our ways.
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Amen. Thank goodness for that.
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And So what we have to understand is we are in a
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spiritual world as well. And when we come to Jesus Christ
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and get water baptized, we join into the spiritual union through
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Jesus Christ. It's the only way to enter.
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You make a covenant with. You either make a covenant with
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the world, meaning the devil and his ways, or you make a covenant
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with Christ and his ways. And so when we make a covenant
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with Christ in salvation, we get water baptized and we come out
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and we clothe ourselves with the characteristics and the values
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of the Word of God. But how does that actually apply
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in our lives? Well, firstly, we learn them
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through the Word of God at the and we, we allow our spiritual
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union to grow through things like fasting, through prayer,
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learning how to pray well without what I call like surface
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prayers, but pray real spiritual prayers.
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It's very simple. But you do need to understand
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that you that when I come to, to prayer, I am entering into a
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spiritual zone. And the more I understand what
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I'm entering into, the more power and authority I have in
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that place. And so some people just pray at
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the dinner table and things like that.
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I love that that's a good ritual to have in your life.
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But you can't say to me, Pastor, I do pray because when I, when
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I, when I hear someone say pray, what I am assuming is that they
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are moving into the inner courts of heaven and that they are part
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of a battle in a spiritual realm.
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And you and I are conduits. This is where the beauty and the
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power of prayer, when we get into some serious prayer, we
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become conduits for planet earth and where you and I start to
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conduct our lives and we walk around the presence and the
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power of God is on our lives and coming out of who we are.
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And so the characteristics of heaven start to become our
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characteristics as well. Does this make sense?
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And so the more we get into prayer and with Sunday
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gatherings with the Saints and hearing the word into life
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groups in your, in your demographics and, and we Start
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learning, we are clothing ourselves with the
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characteristics and the values of heaven.
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Amen. And so #1 water baptism brings
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us into spiritual union with God, and #2 water baptism close
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us now. I have two questions this
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morning, two questions that I'm assuming that you might ask.
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So let's see if I'm right. Why full immersion?
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And what's the value of water with baptism And so immersion in
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the Bible, Jesus himself, as our standard, was baptized by full
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immersion in water. In fact, every baptism in the
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Bible was full immersion. The word baptism comes to us
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from the Greek word baptizo. This literally means to dip,
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immerse, or submerge. So I'm not in any way making
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mockery by my next comments. But sprinkling and baptizing
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babies is not the Bible teaching of water baptisms.
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That is a religious act. It's a procedure that is created
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by humankind. But the reality is the Word of
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God talks about full immersion, just like our example.
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Jesus Christ was baptized fully. Amen.
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So today we are seeing why the Bible standard of water baptism
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through full immersion is required.
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Let me read to you Romans 6 verses 3 to 4.
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It says, or do you not know that as many of of us as were
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baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death,
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therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death.
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That just as Christ was raised from the depth dead by the glory
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of the Father, Even so we also should walk in the newness of
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life. When someone dies, we don't bury
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a portion of the body. Come on.
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That deserves way more than that.
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That's what my my wife would call a dad joke or being
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accidentally funny. Sometimes it works, sometimes it
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doesn't. The whole body goes into the
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grave and the whole body rises again.
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I am grateful that when Jesus rises me again from the grave,
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it's not just my arm. OK, take 2 was a bit better.
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That's great. We want to be, we want to be
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fully dead. I don't want to be partly dead
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from this world. I want to be fully dead from
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this world. And I want to fully rise into my
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new life, Amen, into my new beginnings.
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Just as the whole body should go under the water, the whole body
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should rise again in its new self.
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Baptism is identifying ourselves in the burial and the
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resurrection of Jesus Christ. So what's the value of water in
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baptism? At the very beginning, before
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land, before animals, and before sin, Water was Genesis 1/2 and
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the earth. Earth was without form and void
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and darkness was over the the face of the deep and the Spirit
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of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
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Water doesn't experience decay, not even after sin entered the
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world. Water does not experience decay.
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Being baptized with water represents a return to that
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original purity, pre decay existence.
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A return to a pre sin condition. Baptism is a submerging into the
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purity that existed before sin came.
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I return to coexisting with God without decay or sin.
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Who says that that is good news this morning?
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Listen to this great scripture, 2nd Corinthians 517.
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Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, there's the words again.
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He is a new creation. Old things have passed away and
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behold, all things have become new.
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Let me tell you, if you're in this place today and you don't
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classify yourself as a Christian, let me tell you
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something about that verse I just read is we can obviously
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read that as the eternal realm, right?
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That eventually all things will become you.
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But let me tell you this, when you give your life to Jesus
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Christ, we give our life to him because he is the Son of God.
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And he did. We went through the death and
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the resurrection as God in flesh.
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He has the power and He has the authority to make yours and my
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life brand new right here and right now.
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This is the power of our salvation.
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Well, what do I mean by that? Because when I go home, drugs
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are still on the table, or when I go home, I still have this
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world around me. What?
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What do you mean, Pastor Grey? My life is new.
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Well, let me tell you this. When you go home, you go home
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with a weapon you've never had before, and it's called the
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Spirit of God who's now living inside you.
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What that means is all things are new.
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You now have the power to overcome every situation in your
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world and the things God does not expect a human to give their
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lives to God. And literally in a moment,
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everything is perfect and rosy. You know what I mean?
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Like finances are all sorted out, drug addiction just gone.
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I don't smoke anymore. You know, I don't speed when I
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drive to church on Sunday mornings.
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You know, that's just for the Christians.
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It's because they're always the. Late ones, it's you know what
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God doesn't, God doesn't do that, but what he does is he
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gives us the power to overcome. You know, I still have arguments
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with my wife. I think the last one was about
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10, maybe 15 years ago. And, and I remember back then
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when I had an argument with that, like, I can barely
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remember. It was so, so much in our past.
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But, but I remember back then being in my car, really, really
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angry. Now, I was a Christian.
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I was probably even a pastor. And I was crazy angry.
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You know, the angry where you're trying to punch your steering
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wheel, but you're kind of really conscious at the same time,
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you're about to cause an accident.
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I was like that. But you know what I had in my
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car? The Holy Spirit.
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And you know who I directed my frustration to?
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Not at him, but sue him. God, I can't handle this.
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I don't have the capacity. I don't understand the female
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gender. I don't.
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I don't. You made them.
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You must, must know the answer, right?
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It's like this is this is the era where I learned the the the
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best prayer that we could all have.
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And it's God. Give me the key to unlock.
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Yeah, because I I did definitely did not have the key to unlock
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my wife. Now what I didn't realize is God
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had to give her the key to unlock her husband.
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But yeah, so now I'm balancing this a little bit.
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And so the problem back then 15 ish years ago was actually me.
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And it's anyway you didn't get that.
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So the problem, the problem was all me.
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And and so my prayer just ended up into God.
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You are the Lord God. And the things I don't
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understand, I know that you understand.
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So God, would you give my wife the key so she can work out her
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husband and teach me how to behave.
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That ended up my prayer at the end.
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And all the women said, Amen, Amen.
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And I just taught all the husbands how to be a good
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husband. So all the men in the church
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said, thank you, pastor, go, yeah, humble yourself and asked
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that the Lord would give the wife the key anyway, new
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creation. That's what I was talking about.
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And so the reality is is when when we give our lives to Jesus
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Christians, I'm talking to you right now, we don't need to
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complain to someone else. We don't need to get frustrated
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with the situation. You know the preaching on
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Sunday. He's talking about all this
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baptism stuff. I don't understand.
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I've been saved for 15 years. You don't have to call a friend.
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You can say Holy Spirit, I don't understand that stuff.
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I don't understand my spouse. I don't understand my workplace.
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I don't understand the world around me.
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But you and I, as new creatures in Christ, we have the power to
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overcome. Behold, all things are new for
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you and I Amen received that this morning.
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So being in Christ through water baptism means that you are a new
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creation. It means a return to coexisting
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with God before decay. In other words, even though you
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and I struggle with our sin, we are still washed by the blood of
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Jesus. And the reason why that can be
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so is because the blood of Jesus was eternal and is eternal
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blood. And so when he died for you and
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I on the cross and washed our sins, He washed our sins
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eternally. Amen.
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Is that good? And so a return to this
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coexisting with God without decay of sin, a reminder that we
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will one day be returned to the wholeness and the purity of our
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God. This is why some scriptures say
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that we must be baptized. Now, listen, even though
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salvation doesn't rely on baptism, I'm teaching you some
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doctrine right now. Salvation does not rely on
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baptism. You got to read the rest of the
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Bible. There is significant power and
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value in being baptized today, and I say congratulations to
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everyone that's making such a great declaration today.
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People are entering a spiritual union with God like none other.
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They are being clothed with the characteristics and the values
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of God illuminated in their hearts today, no longer stuck in
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the state of decay, but rather the joy of the Lord is set
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before you because your future is a heavenly future.
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And they are acknowledging that they are new creations today in
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Jesus Christ. They are not only acknowledging
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that before all the men and women in this great church
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today, not only acknowledging that to themselves and
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solidifying their faith, but in the spiritual realm, they are
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entering into a new realm and they are starting their fight in
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the spiritual fight by declaring I am covered by the blood of
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Jesus and I am a son or a daughter of God today.
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So this is the clothing and the union of water baptisms.
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Now this morning I've spoken a lot about what this means to be
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to come into union and and being washed and clothed through our
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union with Jesus Christ through water baptisms.
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But I've also talked a lot about the power of the cross, what
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Jesus Christ has made available for all humanity.
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Today I have shared with us all in this room that no matter the
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level of our sin, no matter our past, the assignments that have
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been against our life, where you feel like you can't move forward
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in life, like there's this ceiling hovering over you.
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The reality is, is no matter your past, no matter your
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present, no matter your fleshly desires, because we all have
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them, Jesus died for every single one of us and he can wipe
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the worst away. This is what I love, you know,
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Jamie and Eden was up here and he got partially healed even
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more so for those who saw that he got on platform half healed,
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he left home. We prayed even more in the foyer
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and he went home like 3/4 healed.
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It's interesting, but it is what it is.
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But I said to him, I said, Jay, you're going to be 100% healed.
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Like it's an amazing miracles what's has happened.
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I said, can I ask one thing? Don't ask that your scars
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disappear. And he's like pastor great.
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That's what I've been praying for that God won't take my scars
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away. Let me tell you this about
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scars. Every scar that you have in your
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life, God wants to use that for someone else's life.
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See the Bible teaches something so amazing.
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It says for those who believe and place their faith in Jesus
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Christ, He will turn all things together for good.
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Your past might be whatever it is.
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Things have been done to you without your permission.
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Your your past is just whatever it is and it still remains
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though. But when we give our life to
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God, he can't magically go into the past and change that because
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everything of the past is a result of people's decisions,
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not always yours, but someone's. But what he does do is it comes
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and he heals the past. And the Bible says that sin has
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no sting on me. In other words, you see the
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scar, but he will restore you. So the scars, the pain, the
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suffering will no longer have a sting on your life.
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But in other words, in other in place of that, it'll be your
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testimony for life. And the reality is, is every
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pastor, they reckon that the greatest, the greatest pastors
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are the ones with the most scars.
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And here's the reason why is I can't walk someone to a place
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I've never been myself or from a place that I've never
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experienced myself. And so we have a pastoral team
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with all our own pains and experiences and we work together
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as a team to help our church walk through things into their
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future. Let me tell you everything till
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today God is going to use for His glory and for yours and my
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good, and this is what God does when we give our lives to Him.
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The other option, if you don't choose option A, you will walk
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with what you've always walked with.
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You will continue to never have the answer or the key that
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you've never had. There isn't a magical thing out
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there because there is only one God and His name is Jesus
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Christ. The Bible says that there is
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only one way to the Father and it's through Jesus Christ, which
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simply means placing our faith in Him and acknowledge that he
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died and rose for you and for I and so that.