FBCPS
Sermons, teachings, and podcasts from First Baptist Church in Powder Springs, Georgia.
FBCPS
The Blessing of Baptism | Matthew 3:13-17
What if your next big leap in faith could ignite a spiritual awakening within yourself and your community? Join us as we uncover the extraordinary work unfolding at First Baptist Church in Powder Springs. From the overwhelming success of our kids' ministry's Big Game Show to the heartwarming welcome of the Henry family, our new student pastor, we explore how these milestones are shaping our church community. Discover how the D-NOW weekend and the national draw of our women's conference highlight the power of faith and fellowship, while also setting the stage for a transformative 2025.
We turn our focus to the profound blessing and significance of baptism, exploring its transformative role in deepening one's connection with God. Reflect on Jesus’ journey to the Jordan River for baptism, and the ripple effect his actions have on believers today. Hear stories of our church community's spiritual growth, as seen in the surge of baptisms and membership, all testifying to God's extraordinary work among us. Emphasizing the importance of a missional mindset, we share insights into the heart of salvation, reminding listeners that it is a divine gift, not a reward for righteousness.
Embrace the importance of spirit baptism as we discuss its symbolic meaning and its vital role in a believer's life. We shed light on how engaging in worship, Bible studies, and community groups can rejuvenate our spiritual journey, encouraging participation in church activities and membership as part of ongoing growth. As we prepare for Baptism Sunday, we address concerns and offer support to ensure this significant step of faith is accessible to all. We conclude with an invitation to connect deeply with God, urging those ready to embrace their spiritual journey to reach out for guidance and celebrate the promise of salvation and eternal life in Jesus Christ.
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at First Baptist, powder Springs. God is so good and he is working among us so powerfully, so, personally, we are so thankful for that. Thank you, drew, appreciate you, my man. I just wanna just share with you just some things that God is doing. First of all, we just had the big game show for our kids' ministry this past Wednesday night. We had over 200 show up. Eight people indicated that they did not have a church home. So if you're back, welcome home. You have a church now and two people let us know that they want to be baptized. So we're just so thankful for what God did through the big game show. I want you to know that our student ministry we're gearing up for a D-NOW, d-now weekend, february 7 through 9. And we want you to be a part of that. Our new student pastor and his family are now in town in Powder Springs. So put your hands together for the Henry family. We're so thankful for them. The moving truck is at their house as we speak, so they're skipping their first Sunday, can you believe it? But they're getting all their stuff moved in. They're gonna be here this Wednesday night, so we wanna invite all of our teenagers. Maybe you're a teenager online watching or a parent of a teenager. We want to encourage you to be here this Wednesday night. Give him a big welcome, and they will be here the following Sundays and Wednesdays and all of that. So make sure that you're ready for D now.
Speaker 1:As Pastor James just talked about our women's conference this Saturday, did you know that last year we were praying for 50 women to come and 240 came? It was just an absolute miracle. And so far this year there are 243 registered. Put your hands together for what God is doing. God is so good. He's from all around our community. Women are coming. We've got three coming from the state of Alabama, three from Missouri, two from Virginia, one from South Carolina and one from Florida, who is my mother. So we're just super excited for everyone who is coming. Let's pray, heavenly Father. God, you're just so good. We just celebrate all that you are doing in our lives, in our families, in our church, in our community, and God around the world. And God, as we're about to hear your word this morning, father, we just pray that your spirit would speak to our hearts. God, when you're speaking, it don't matter who's preaching, and so, father, we just pray that you would move within us personally, you would move within our church and God, that we would truly hear what your voice has to say and that we would be able to do what you call us to do. We love you in Jesus' name, and all God's people said amen.
Speaker 1:You can open up to Matthew, chapter three this morning as we're going through this series your Best Year, yet. I believe you want 2025 to be your best year yet. I believe you want 2025 to be the best year for your family, yet I believe that God wants 2025 to be your best year. Yet. In order to have your best year does not mean an absence of difficulties. It means the presence of God. The presence of God more and more in your life, and one of the things that I want to talk to you about this morning that God has laid this word on my heart for my life and for your life is that one of the number one ways for you to experience your best year yet is by simply continuing to take your next step in your walk with Jesus, that you just continue to take your next step in your walk with Jesus, and I can't think of a better way to illustrate that, to explain that, than just to talk about the first two steps that everybody is called to take, because when we take these first two steps, it's like buttoning up a shirt. We talked about it a couple Sundays ago. It's like buttoning up a shirt If you miss the first button, the whole shirt's jacked up for the rest of the day. It's like buttoning up a shirt If you miss the first button, the whole shirt's jacked up for the rest of the day. And so we want to make sure that we take those first two steps correctly in following Jesus. Then the rest of our life will follow.
Speaker 1:So what I want to talk to you about this morning is the blessing of baptism. Everybody say blessing, the blessing of baptism. Baptism is not some religious ritual or rite that you must go through in order for God to love you. Baptism isn't even first or foremost, even just a step of obedience in your life. Do you know that baptism, first and foremost, is a blessing that God has for you in order to experience in him? I want you to know this morning that, even if you've already been saved and baptized, I pray that this morning I believe that God's going to speak to you and I believe that he's going to bring even more meaning of your salvation, even more meaning of your baptism in your life.
Speaker 1:But maybe you're here, or maybe you're watching online and maybe you've been saved but you haven't yet been baptized. After online, and maybe you've been saved but you haven't yet been baptized after your salvation Maybe you've been baptized but you haven't been saved, which means you really hadn't just gotten baptized. You really just got wet, right, you got to get saved in order to get baptized. Maybe you're here and you haven't yet been saved or baptized. I just want you to know that we do not throw guilt at anyone, we don't throw shame at anyone, we don't manipulate, we don't force, we don't rush. We want God to do the work in every single person's life. If you believe that, say amen.
Speaker 1:But here's what we want to see this morning we want to see the baptism of Jesus. We want to take a look at Jesus' baptism. Everybody say Jesus. We wanna take a look at Jesus' baptism. Everybody say Jesus, jesus' baptism. We're gonna look at that from Matthew, chapter three, verses 13 through 16. Then we'll look at verse 17,. Talk about a couple other things. You can go home and you can eat. Here we go. Matthew, chapter three, verse 13, says this. It says then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan, that's the Jordan River, to John to be baptized by him. So this is when Jesus. He just turned 30 years old. This is the beginning of Jesus' ministry.
Speaker 1:The Bible said that he was living in Nazareth, which was a small town in the larger region of Galilee. The Bible says that he went out to the Jordan River where John the Baptist was baptizing. Did you know that Jesus probably traveled somewhere between 60 to 70 miles by foot in order to go to that spot of the Jordan River where John the Baptist was baptizing? It probably took Jesus somewhere three to four days to even travel to get to that spot. Did you know that Mark, chapter one, verse five, says that all of the country of Judea, all of Jerusalem, they were all going out to John the Baptist to be baptized by him in the Jordan River because people wanted to confess their sins? If you were going from Jerusalem to that spot in the Jordan River, it would probably take you about 25 miles. It would take you between two and three days to get there. If you were coming from Judea, it would take you somewhere between 20 to 50 miles. It could be anywhere between two and five day trip to get there. In other words, how long did it take you to get to church this morning? How far was your walk from the parking lot here into the CLC right? How long did it take you to get here? Well, in Mark, chapter one, verse six, it says that they were going out to be baptized by John the Baptist.
Speaker 1:Who is John the Baptist? John the Baptist was actually Jesus' cousin. John the Baptist was known as a man who was out in the wilderness. He was out in the woods. The Bible describes him as Mark 1, 6. John was clothed with camel's hair, he wore a leather belt which was around his waist and he ate locusts with honey. In other words, john the Baptist is a good old redneck. Can I get an amen? He's a good old redneck, he's living out in the woods. So my question is is I'm reading this and understanding the lay of the land and people are walking by foot, traveling, staying overnight. Who knows where? Some three, four, five nights, some 50 miles of walking by foot, traveling, staying overnight? Who knows where? Some three, four, five nights? Some 50 miles of walking by foot? Why in the world are they leaving Galilee? Why in the world. Are they leaving Judea? Why are they leaving Jerusalem to go to where John the Baptist is baptizing? Here's why Because word of mouth started to spread about what God was doing and how he was changing people's lives. Can I get an amen?
Speaker 1:We are so thankful for what God is, even what he does in every church, what he's doing around the world. We're so thankful for what he's doing in our church that last year we had an increase in 2024, some 244% increase in baptisms from the year before. We're so thankful that 120 of you last year decided to join our church and become a part of our family and the move of God here. We're so thankful that we got to see an increase in our worship services, an increase in all of our groups, an increase in our children's ministry an increase across the board. We an increase in our children's ministry, an increase across the board.
Speaker 1:We're so thankful for all that God's doing, but I need you to hear me say we are not a church that's all about the numbers. See, we can share numbers and not be a church about the numbers. What does a church about numbers mean? A church about numbers is a church that's just excited because the church is growing. We're not trying to become a mega church. We want to be a missional church. Why do we share numbers? Because we believe that every number has a name and every name has a life and every life has an eternity.
Speaker 1:We're so thankful for what God is doing. In fact, did you know? Every Monday afternoon when we have staff meeting, we start with one question. The question is what is it that you see that God is doing in the life of our church? And over the past few Mondays we were amazed. We were amazed with the past few Mondays because we started sharing and comparing notes and we've had all these first-time guests coming in and maybe some of those are you that have been coming for your first time today or maybe for the past few Sundays and first first time guests. And we've asked how did God bring you here? And the number one answer that we've heard this year so far is I don't know. I was just driving by and God told me to come in. I was just driving by and God told me to come in. In other words, god is doing a work that we could never do. We don't want people to come and see what we're doing here. We want people to come and see what God is doing here. Can I get an amen? Because what is happening is all about the Lord.
Speaker 1:Also, in Mark 1, it says that John the Baptist is a fulfillment of Isaiah, chapter 40, verse 3, which says the voice of one crying in the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight. What was John doing? He was just a voice. John was just a voice used by God that God was bringing people to him so that God could make paths straight, in other words, that John could help them in their way of coming to Jesus. And that's all that God is calling you to do. God is just calling you to be a voice. God is just calling you to make it smooth, to straighten the paths in order to come to Jesus.
Speaker 1:Every time that you serve somebody, every time that you pray for someone, every time you pray with someone, every time that you encourage someone, every time that you share your story, every time you share your testimony, every time you invite them to church, every time you share the gospel of Jesus Christ, the story of Jesus, in their life, what are you doing? God is just using you as a voice in their life to make it easier for Jesus in order to make that connection with them. In order to make that connection with them, god is using you in the lives of others, and here's what we see in Matthew 3, 14. In Matthew 3, 14, john said John said John would have prevented Jesus, saying I need to be baptized by you. John is like I don't wanna baptize you, I need to be baptized by you In Jesus. You come to me. I can't blame John. In fact, that word prevented it actually means that he refused in that moment to baptize Jesus. You know, when Jesus came on the scene, all these people are getting baptized, all these people from Judea, all these people from Jerusalem we're talking probably hundreds, if not thousands of people walking all of these miles in order to be baptized. And out of this crowd, this sea of people in comes walking Jesus.
Speaker 1:The Bible says, when Jesus comes on the scene, that John stops what he's doing and he looks at him and he says behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The Bible says that John was Jesus' cousin. Now, I've never had a cousin say that to me whenever I come on the scene. Right, behold the Lamb of God, the Son of God, god the Son. My cousins would never say that about me because they know my sin, and I sure would never say that about them because we know each other. But the Bible even says that there was a time that John, as the cousin of Jesus, did not recognize him. It doesn't mean that John didn't know who Jesus was as his family. It meant that John didn't know who Jesus is as the Messiah. And there had to come a moment, even in the life of John the Baptist, where he had to believe in his own cousin, jesus of Nazareth, as the son of God in order to be saved. And the same is true for you and the same is true for me. And John had it right.
Speaker 1:John said in John 1, 27,. He said I am, I'm not even worthy to untie his Jesus' sandals. That is what the servants would do when you walk into somebody's house they would untie the sandal and take them off for the person. And John says I'm not even worthy to be a servant of Jesus. He goes on to say in John 1.30,. He says that Jesus ranks before me. In other words, what John was saying was I am nothing. Jesus is everything. This is the heart of salvation when our life is not about what we can do for Jesus, but our heart, ultimately, first and foremost, about what Jesus can do for us, what Jesus can do in you, realizing that Jesus is absolutely everything and we are absolutely nothing without him. Does your heart cry out, jesus, you rank before me. You are everything. I am nothing, jesus. I am unworthy of you. Jesus, I believe in you. Jesus, you are the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Does your heart cry out for Jesus?
Speaker 1:I can remember being in Pigeon Forge with my family several years ago and my nephew, jaden, who's in his 20s now, in his early 20s. He was probably about eight years old at the time and we went into the Miracle Theater, which is a theater in Pigeon Forge, where they would do all these Bible stories, dramas, plays, all this kind of stuff Really good. It was great stuff. I don't even know if it's still there, but we would go in and I remember Jaden eight years old and they were going through the life of Jesus and it was the part of Jesus' life where they wanted to stone the adulterous woman right for all of her sin, but Jesus stopped the stoning and Jesus saved her and I still remember that scene there in that drama, in that play, because out walks this woman, this adulterous woman, onto the stage and they had her dressed like an adulterous woman. And I remember the theater was just quiet at the time, everybody was watching the drama and my little eight-year-old nephew did not have an inside voice, he only had an outside voice. And she walks on the stage and little eight-year-old nephew did not have an inside voice, he only had an outside voice. And she walks on the stage and my eight-year-old nephew says mommy, I like that woman, that's a beautiful woman. Mommy, I like that woman. Wow, she's pretty. Mommy. I look at my sister like what kind of son are you raising here in this house, goodness gracious, what is wrong with y'all?
Speaker 1:And the play goes on and it comes to the part of the play where they're crucifying Jesus. And I remember my little eight-year-old nephew, jaden, and he screams out in the middle of the crucifixion Mommy, why are they hurting him, mommy? Why are they killing him, mommy? Why is he dying? He didn't do anything wrong, he didn't even sin. That is the heart of salvation.
Speaker 1:I just want to be clear and very plain for the next few moments, for those who are here, for those who are watching online, what is salvation? In other words, why did Jesus get baptized? You know, jesus did not get baptized because he was a sinner. John was doing baptism for people confessing and repenting of their sin. Jesus had no sin to repent of or to confess.
Speaker 1:There were five reasons that Jesus got baptized. You ever thought about this? Reason number one Jesus got baptized because his father, god the Father, called him to. Number two, because the Holy Spirit led him to. Number three he wanted to identify with all the Old Testament people who have come before him. In other words, they were in the Jordan River, the same exact river that God parted as they were coming out of the Exodus, out of the wilderness and into the promised land. And Jesus steps into the same river.
Speaker 1:The Bible says that the Old Testament people of God were baptized into the sea. So Jesus is identifying with the Old Testament people and Jesus is identifying Luke, chapter 12, verse 50,. Jesus says there's a baptism that I must undergo, and he was speaking of his crucifixion and his death and his resurrection. Jesus was identifying what he was about to do for the people. And also Jesus was identifying with you, because Jesus calls each and every one of us to be saved and to be baptized and to be baptized. And what Jesus does for you, he does it for you so that you can do it for him. In other words, your heavenly father calls you to be saved and baptized. The Holy Spirit calls you to be saved and baptized. You can identify with all the people of the past. You can identify with Jesus in his death and resurrection through baptism.
Speaker 1:Jesus says that he fulfilled all righteousness. What is the gospel? What is salvation? It is not how good you can get or how good you can be for God. It is not you being so righteous that then God will love you, then God will accept you, then God will forgive you, then God will save you. It is not you doing anything for God. It is everything that God does for you through his son, jesus Christ. Can I get an amen?
Speaker 1:The Bible says that Jesus never sinned. The Bible says that everything Jesus did was to fulfill all righteousness, to fulfill the law of God. Why did Jesus have to do that? Because Jesus had to go to the cross on your behalf and to take on my sin and to take on your sin. The Bible says that he not only bore our sin. The Bible says that he literally became our sin and he had to go to the cross as a perfect, acceptable, appropriate sacrifice, so that he could pay for your sin, my sin, the sin of the whole world, so that the heavenly Father would accept us. He would save us through the blood of Jesus Christ. In other words, 2 Corinthians 5.21 says for our sake, god made Jesus to be sin Jesus who knew no sin, so that in Jesus we might become the righteousness of God. In other words, the only thing we bring to our salvation is our sin, and what he brings to us from our salvation is his righteousness. In other words, god desperately loves you and because God desperately loves you, he sent his son, whom he loves, his beloved son, to the cross to die for your sin. And Jesus rose from the dead so that when you believe in him, when you place your faith upon him, the Bible says you will be saved.
Speaker 1:I don't do this ever, but I wanna stop right now, mid-sermon. I believe that God is working in someone's heart. Can we just bow our heads and close our eyes for a moment? I don't wanna go any further without giving you an opportunity to give your life to Jesus. Maybe you're here right now and you've never been biblically saved, that you've never fully trusted in Jesus for your salvation, that you always thought maybe it was all on you or a little of you and a little of him. It's none of you and it's all of him. And so I want to pray right now and give you an opportunity.
Speaker 1:I can't save you, I can't pray this prayer for you, but you can say it in your own words, from your own heart to God, and you can say something like this right here God, I believe in you and I need Jesus. God, I believe in you and I need Jesus. And I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sin and I ask you to forgive me of all my sin. And I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I wanna turn from my sin and I wanna turn and follow him because he's alive and he's real. And the Bible says in Romans 10, nine that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe with your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. So call on Jesus right now. Jesus, be my Lord, be my God, be my savior, and the Bible promises that he will save you and you will always be saved and you can't lose your salvation and you will have a relationship with him on earth and you will have a home with him in heaven. We believe that and we pray that in Jesus' name. And all God's people said put your hands together for anybody that just gave their life to Jesus. We just want to say welcome to the family. Nothing is more important in this moment than your salvation.
Speaker 1:But don't get it wrong, the sermon's not over. Here we go. So we want you to know, we want you to know here that in Matthew 3, 16, it says and when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water. All throughout scripture. When people get saved by Jesus, they get baptized right immediately, right away. In other words, here's what we see. Baptism is our first step of obedience after our salvation.
Speaker 1:You might wonder, well, but Pastor Chip, I've been saved for a long time. Well then, I would just encourage you be faithful, be obedient and get baptized. We see the word baptize. Actually, the Greek word is baptizo. It means immerse or to submerge. It means to go under the water. Why is it that we go under the water for our baptism. When you go under the water, you are signifying, you're making a public profession that I believe that Jesus died for my sin. When you come out of the water, then you're saying that I believe that Jesus rose from the dead. You are giving a public profession of faith with your faith in the gospel.
Speaker 1:So as a pastor, I've had so many people ask me these questions when should I get baptized? I want to encourage you to get baptized, not to be saved, but because you are saved. In other words, baptism doesn't save you. We get baptized because of our salvation, as a public profession that we've been saved. Another way to say it is I want to encourage you to not get baptized before you're saved, but after you're saved.
Speaker 1:Some people think the Bible teaches that you get baptized before you're saved because it kind of washes away your sin so you can be saved later. That is not what the Bible teaches. Every time someone gets saved in the Bible, they're getting saved. They're getting baptized excuse me after their salvation. Why? Because baptism is your public profession of faith. How should I be baptized? So many people have asked me. I would encourage you that the Bible says the Bible never talks about sprinkling for your baptism Not one time. If I'm wrong, show me. But the Bible never talks about sprinkling for your baptism. Not one time. If I'm wrong, show me. But the Bible never talks about sprinkling for your baptism. The Bible talks about baptizo to be submerged, to be immersed. Why? Because baptism is a picture of Jesus's death and resurrection. So my question for you today is have you been baptized not for your salvation, but because of your salvation? Have you been baptized not before your salvation, but biblically baptized after your salvation? Have you been biblically baptized by immersion, by going under the water and coming back up? Because that's the way that God calls us to get baptized.
Speaker 1:I've heard it explained baptism is like a wedding ring. Just because you wear a wedding ring doesn't mean that you're married. Just because I wear my wedding ring doesn't mean that this ring helps me to love my wife more. This ring helps me to be more faithful to her. This ring does anything magical or loving whatsoever. No, this ring is just a sign to everybody that I am married to. Michelle Marie Dean.
Speaker 1:I heard a pastor say it this way the reason I wear a wedding ring is for you to know you can't have this right. The reason you wear that wedding ring is because no one else can have you beside your spouse. In the same way, when you get baptized, you're saying devil, you can't have me, world you can't have me, sin you can't have me. I belong to Jesus and our baptism doesn't make us saved. Our baptism is a sign that we have been saved, but here's what we see next, what happens in Jesus' baptism story.
Speaker 1:This is the last two verses.
Speaker 1:Here we see spirit baptism.
Speaker 1:Everybody say spirit, spirit. This is the Holy Spirit, spirit baptism, matthew 3, the last part of 16. And behold, the heavens were opened to Jesus. Could you imagine being there? The heavens were opened, meaning God, the Father himself, opened the heavens so that everyone standing there, from Judea, from Jerusalem, would have a glimpse, a vision into heaven. Did you know that when you get saved, god gives you a spiritual glimpse, a spiritual vision of heaven, that you desire to live for eternal life and not just for your earthly life, that you don't treasure the things on earth, you treasure the things that await you in heaven and that you see the rest of your life as your opportunity to see more people saved because of your life, because that you are longing for and you are awaiting heaven. That's how God opens the heavens to us spiritually, but here, physically. The heavens were open to him and he saw the spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, descending like a dove and coming down to rest upon him.
Speaker 1:You ever wondered why a dove Could have said a lot of things, right? Could have been an eagle and they could have been singing Sweet Home, alabama while the eagle came down, or whatever, right? There could have been so many different things that have happened. But in Genesis, chapter eight, verse 11, it was a dove you ever thought about this that brought back the olive branch to the ark, signifying the judgment of God is over, the salvation of God is here, new humanity has begun. In other words, when we get saved in Jesus, we're saying that God's judgment is no longer upon our life, that now we have the peace of God in our life, peace with God in our life, peace with God in our life, and we are a new creation.
Speaker 1:The Bible says, in other words, 1 Corinthians 12, verse 13. You ever notice this? It says for in one spirit we were all baptized into one body, jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and all were made to drink of one spirit. In other words, when you get saved. The Bible says this that you, in the moment, the instant that you give your life to Jesus, you make him the Lord of your life. In that instant you are baptized with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit fills you, the Holy Spirit dwells in you, the Holy Spirit rests upon you.
Speaker 1:Why does the Holy Spirit do that? Because the Holy Spirit is the power of Jesus in you. When you get the Holy Spirit, he fills you, he guides you, he convicts you, he seals you, he sanctifies you, he empowers you, he teaches you, he reminds you, he counsels you, he comforts you and he assures you. Put your hands together for all the Holy Spirit does in you and in your life. So when you get saved, you get indwelled with the Holy Spirit. But the Bible says that you need to continually be filled. Why? Because you leak, because I leak, because when we sin, we're leaking the Holy Spirit, we're getting filled with sin and we need to constantly be filled with the Holy Spirit. How do you get filled? Constantly?
Speaker 1:Continue with the Holy Spirit by the word of God, by worshiping Jesus with your church, by getting together in groups and communities, like these Bible studies, these groups, these Sunday schools that we. Do you ever been to a group and do a Sunday school? And you didn. These Bible studies, these groups, these Sunday schools that we do you ever been to a group and do a Sunday school and you didn't wanna go? But when you left you didn't want it to end. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is filling you.
Speaker 1:You ever not wanted to serve in your church and use the gifts that God has given you, but when you do, you wondered why you never did it before. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is filling you. You ever not wanted to share your faith with someone, but when you do, because the Lord, god, calls you to, and you feel so good after you wanna find somebody and do it again. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is filling you. See, the more that you subject yourself to God, the more he fills you with his spirit. It's kinda like when you get filled with protein, you get muscle. When you get filled with carbs, you get energy. When you get filled with fat, you get fat. When you get filled with beans, you get gas. But when you get filled, but when you get filled with the Holy Spirit, you get filled with Jesus, and Jesus does a work in your life that no one can undo.
Speaker 1:I want you to see this when we get saved, we get baptized with the Holy Spirit, and that's why we get baptized with water later, because we're saying I've now been baptized with the Spirit, I believe that Jesus has died for my sin. I believe that Jesus risen from the dead. He said we were baptized into one body, the body of Christ, and that's why the Bible teaches that you should be a member of a church, that you should join the church that you're a part of. Why? Because you're already made a part of the body of Christ, and so God calls us to become members of a body of Christ, a member of the church. And that's why we do things like our Next Step Lunches. On February, the 2nd, we've got a Next Step Lunch at noon, right behind this wall, in our fellowship hall. It's a free lunch with free childcare. It only lasts for an hour and you'll be able to learn what all God is doing here and all the opportunities that God has for you. And maybe God is calling you to become a part of our church. Maybe God is calling you to join, to be a part of one of our groups, to serve, or whatever it might be.
Speaker 1:But here's what I need you to hear me say as your pastor, I want you to do what the Holy Spirit is leading you to do. When the Holy Spirit is leading you to do it, I do not want you to feel any pressure. I do not want you to feel rushed. I never want you to feel forced. I never want you to feel manipulated. I never want you to feel shamed into anything, because I know that there are many of you here that are coming out of church hurt and I need you to hear me say I believe that God is calling First Baptist Powder Springs to be a place of healing. I believe that God is calling First Baptist Church, powder Springs to be a place where people can come and you can rest in Christ and you don't feel the pressure to serve in that season. You don't feel the pressure to do anything in that season besides God healing you and he will let you know when it's time. He will let you know when it's his time in your life to do what he is calling you to do.
Speaker 1:Because this is what we see when Jesus is baptized the heavens are open, the spirit rests on him like a dove. The Bible says and behold, can you imagine being there? Behold, a voice from heaven said this is my beloved son, in whom I'm well pleased. In other words, god shows his love for Jesus. And if you are in Jesus, then God loves you too. That Jesus is God's son, and when you give your life to Jesus, you become a son and you become a daughter of God too. That God is pleased in Jesus. And when you give your life to Jesus, no matter what you've done, no matter what you do, that God is pleased in you because you are in Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:Here, in the baptism of Jesus, we see the Trinity. In the Trinity, we see the awe of God, because we could never fully understand God and so, therefore, we just can't help but worship God. In the Trinity, we see salvation and all that took for the Trinity in order to save us. And we see, in the baptism of Jesus, the Trinity. In the Trinity, we see community and we see love, father, son and Holy Spirit. God himself is the community. They love one another in perfect community together, and they are one God as the triune God. In the same way he created you and I to need and to grow in community, to grow in love with one another. We see in the Trinity. We see unity in diversity. The Father's not the Son, the Son's not the Spirit, the Spirit's not the Father. We see this diversity within the Godhead, diversity of role and even of function, but yet they're all perfectly unified as God. In other words, god is most glorified when his church is diversified in finding their unity in Jesus.
Speaker 1:We don't find our unity in me. It's okay that you disagree with me. I don't agree with me all the time, it's okay. We don't find our unity in one another. We don't find our unity in our love in one another. We don't find our unity in our love. We find our unity in Jesus. We all agree upon Jesus, we all agree upon his love, and that's why God is glorified when there are different ethnicities that are coming together to worship him, just like it says in Revelation, chapter seven, that every tribe, every tongue, every language, every nation will be wrapped around the throne worshiping Jesus. And we don't have to wait to experience that until we get there. We get to experience that here, now, today. Can I get an amen? We see the holiness of God in the obedience, the perfect obedience, of Jesus, and these are all signs of the evidence that the spirit of God is within you.
Speaker 1:I love someone who asked the question what would it take in order for the devil to get to me and take my salvation from me? The best I've heard it explained what it would take is first of all, you need to know that you've been dipped in the blood of Jesus. The Bible says that you've been dipped in his blood. The Bible says that the hand of the Holy Father is around you and holds you. The Bible says that you are. Then the hand of the heavenly Father is sealed with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God is wrapped around him. In other words, in order for the devil to get you to take your salvation, he would have to unwrap the Holy Spirit from the hand of the Father. And if he could unwrap the Holy Spirit from the hand of the Father, he would have to pry open, be able to pry open the hand of the Father, finger by finger, just to get to you. And then, even if the devil was able to open up the hand of the Father, the devil would have to dip into the blood of Jesus just to get to you, just to get to you. And if the devil ever dove in the blood of Jesus, he'd be a saved devil. In other words, you're saved. If you are truly saved, you are saved for all of eternity. And God has baptized you with his spirit so that you can live your life for Jesus. And lastly, and I'm done, we talked about Jesus' baptism and spirit baptism. I wanna talk about your baptism. Everybody say your, your baptism.
Speaker 1:We see very quickly different baptisms in the Bible. The Ethiopian eunuch he was a high-ranking official who was searching for truth because he had such success in his life, but yet he was still so empty. A man by the name of Philip, filled with the Holy Spirit, came to the Ethiopian eunuch, shared the gospel with him and he was saved. And he immediately right there. They saw water and he got baptized. Saul Saul was a man you know that saw water and he got baptized. Saul Saul was a man, you know, that persecuted the church. He hurt the church. And when Peter came to him and shared the gospel with him and Saul got saved, he went from hurting the church to helping the church.
Speaker 1:Cornelius Cornelius was a Roman centurion, a high-ranking official of the military. He was known as a religious man who believed in God, but he didn't yet believe in Jesus. Peter went to Cornelius, showing us that, no matter what our background or what our status is, god loves us and he wants to save us. The Holy Spirit spoke to Cornelius and to his family and they all he and his family got saved and baptized. Lydia, she, was a successful businesswoman. She was known as a worshiper of God but did not yet believe in Jesus. The story of Lydia shows us that we can be successful and we can be spiritual, but that does not mean that we're saved. God opened up Lydia's heart. She believed in Jesus and her whole family ended up in Jesus and her whole family ended up believing and her whole family ended up getting baptized.
Speaker 1:But maybe my favorite was the Philippian jailer. The Philippian jailer, the man who guarded Paul and Silas in prison as they would sing these worship songs, as they were incarcerated and shackled and left for dead. God sends an earthquake and it opens up all the cells, but Paul and Silas know that if they leave, the Philippian jailer is killed. Out of love for the jailer, they stay, and he was so impacted by their love for him that he gave his life to Jesus, who they were singing about all along, and the Bible says that he got saved, his family believed and they all get saved. In other words, your decision may not just be your decision. Your decision will impact and will influence others in their decision for Jesus, just like your decision for Jesus.
Speaker 1:Next Sunday we're having Baptism Sunday and in Baptism Sunday, next Sunday it is for anybody that has been saved that needs to get baptized. You might be thinking well, pastor Chip, I can't get baptized. I have a disability. I baptized my four-year-old daughter with cerebral palsy just this past year. We have people that can help you and we can do it together. Maybe you're online or you know someone that is homebound. You're thinking I can't get baptized because I can't get to church. I'll never forget the day I got to go to a 94-year-old lady's house who was bedridden. Four of us picked her up by the corners of her sheet, walked her over to her garden tub, dipped her down, put her back on her bed, all because she had never been baptized. She had been saved and she wanted to follow the Lord Jesus in baptism. We've had so many dads get baptized over this past year and turn around right then, right there, and baptize their kids who had gotten saved. We had a grandma get baptized in our church this past year and she had five generations of her family that came to watch her get baptized here at First Baptist.
Speaker 1:In all my years of preaching and pastoring, I've heard a lot of different excuses of why not to get baptized. I've heard, well, I've heard people say I don't think it's important. If it's important for Jesus to get baptized, it's important for you to get baptized. Some people have said well, I'm scared of water. Our church is 183 years old and we've not drowned one person, not one. You're gonna be okay. I've heard people say well, my family doesn't go to that church, it will be online. We'll you hand us your cell phone, we'll record it for you and text it to them so they can experience it as well.
Speaker 1:You might think to yourself well, I don't have a change of clothes and I had a bag up here, but it's oh, here it is, it's behind me. You might think to yourself well, I don't have a change. We're gonna supply everybody with a t-shirt. I want you to know that. We're gonna supply everybody with some shorts and we're gonna have sizes that will fit everybody, and nobody's business is gonna. We even got some underwear for you and nobody's business ever been in this underwear right here, ladies, you might be thinking I just got my hair done. Well, guess what? We got some hair caps for everybody right there. Okay, so you can make sure and wear your hair cap, because we wanna make sure that everybody has an opportunity to be baptized in order to obey the Lord Jesus.
Speaker 1:You might be thinking to yourself well, what will people think? I'll tell you what. People think that you love God and you wanna follow him. You might be thinking to yourself well, I want the water to be clean. Jesus got baptized in the muddy Jordan River for you. You might be thinking well, I'll ride with somebody. They'll wait for you, and if they don't wait for you, they need to be saved and baptized. You might be thinking I want someone to come with me. Well, you make sure and bring a friend, bring a family member, bring your whole row with you, and we are with you in your decision for Jesus.
Speaker 1:You might be thinking well, I was baptized as a baby. Do you know? There are 27 baptisms in the book of Acts and every single one of them happened after the person got saved. You might be thinking I don't want to shame my parents, they won't be ashamed of you, they'll be proud of you. You might be thinking well, I'll be embarrassed to be wet in front of everybody. Jesus got baptized in front of a massive crowd, for your sake.
Speaker 1:You might be thinking to yourself I've not prayed about it. The things that God has commanded you don't have to pray about you, just do it. You might be thinking I'm at home, we'll come to your home, or you can come here next Sunday and we would love the honor to be able to baptize you in your walk with Jesus. But you might be thinking the last one, I can't be baptized because I haven't been saved. And maybe you held off in that last opportunity to be saved. But you matter so much to us because you matter so much to God. There is nothing more important in this moment than your salvation, your relationship with God, your eternity with him, with every head bowed and every eye closed. If that's you this morning and you have not fully and finally and forever given your life to God, he wants you to know that today can be the day of your salvation.
Speaker 1:Right here, right now, you can pray to him in your own words. You can just say God, I love you, I need you. I believe in you. From your own heart and your own words you can say God, I believe in your son, jesus Christ. I believe that he died for my sin. So, god, I ask you to forgive me of all of my sin. I believe that Jesus rose from the dead. And, god, I turn away from my sin and I turn and I give my life to Jesus.
Speaker 1:The Bible says in Romans 10, nine that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus Lord, believe with your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Call on Jesus right now. Jesus, be the Lord of my life, be my God, be my Savior, be my everything. God, we believe that. We thank you for that promise, we thank you for that truth and we thank you for every single person that prayed that this morning. We praise you, we pray these things in Jesus' name and all God's people said one more time let's put our hands together for anybody that gave their life to Jesus, the most important thing that could ever happen on a Sunday or any day. And if that's you, I just want you to know.
Speaker 1:We've got a next step card there in front of your chair. If you, if God is moving in your heart, in your life, online or here present, and you wanna be baptized. God is leading you to get baptized next Sunday. I want you to take a next step card. I want you to put your information on it. I want you to come and bring it to me, bring it to Pastor James, take it to our next step station, or you call the church office this week, or maybe you email us. You just reach out to us in any way and we will be ready for you, and I can't wait to see all that God is gonna do in your life.
Speaker 1:In an hour church, let's stand together. We're gonna sing, we're gonna worship him. I wanna pray one more time and we'll worship the Lord Jesus once more. Heavenly Father, in Jesus' name, and we'll worship the Lord Jesus once more. Heavenly Father, in Jesus' name, god, I just pray that your spirit would move, your word would speak to us and, god, that you would have our way, that we would take our next step in our walk and journey with Jesus. God, we love you and we worship you and we pray these things in Jesus' name. And all God's people said