[0:00] These individuals up here are nervous, okay? I don't think as nervous as I was when I got baptized, but they're nervous. This isn't an easy command that God gives us, but really what it helps me see is what God has seen all along. You see, when I get baptized, when I agree with God and obedient to God to get baptized after my salvation experience, knowing how difficult it is, there is only one way I would do that is if I sincerely meant it in surrendering my life to Christ and I put him in charge because by myself I wouldn't do it. But because now Christ runs my life and he tells me to do it, well then I do it because I know I'm now starting a great adventure with the Lord in charge of my life at the expense of myself. So one of the things that baptism does, it helps me, it challenges me to look back at that moment when I verbally confessed and invited him into my life to be in charge. You see, if I'm not willing to get baptized, I need to go right back to my salvation experience and say, did I put him in charge? Because if I put him in charge, then that means I obey him with the very first command he gives me. So it helps me go back in my mind and really begin to understand what it meant to have somebody other than me in charge of my life.
[1:37] The second thing is that God wants all your whole network of family and friends to make the same decision you did. They need to know that apart from Jesus Christ, they're hopelessly separated and doomed to an eternal destiny of agony. But because of what Christ did, he's offered them a gift, a free gift, a way out. People will say, I can't believe that if Jesus is a loving God, he'd send anybody to hell.
[2:08] My friend, Jesus never sends anybody to hell. We choose to go there when we reject his only way out.
[2:20] And so we always like to have somebody else to blame for whatever might go wrong with our life. But as we think about this second thing, if my network of friends, people I work with are important to the Lord, and I now have something they need, I need to share my faith about how they can make the same decision. And you know what? We sell ourselves, well, Tim, I've only been saved for so long. Oh, they'll ask me questions that I won't know the answers to. And then the Lord will tap you on the shoulder. You know, Tim, you did that in front of over 300 people. I think you can do it one-on-one. Oh, yes, I guess I did. See, God's preparing you to step out and share your faith with others. Remember, behind every one of God's commands, it always benefits me somehow. And that's the wise wisdom that we draw from Scripture when we ask the why question. Why does he do this? Why does he want me to do? It's all for me. And that's why it's a command for me. So as you see people getting dipped into the water, the Bible does not say they have to be dipped backwards, frontwards. It just means to dip under the water. Now, then you've got problems with those who really believe that sprinkling is the way to go. The word baptize is a Greek word. It means to dip under the water. And so when they get dipped under the water, it is a picture of their life before they invited Christ in their life. It's all for your benefit for you to get a visual about what actually happened when they got saved. They were separated from this holy God. God was not living in here. The penalty for all their wrongdoing is all upon them. They're spiritually dead or separated from this holy God. But as we take them back into the water, it is a picture to everybody that's watching that when they invited Christ into life, God washed away every sin they've ever done and ever would do. Now, the water didn't do it, but it's a picture to you about what happened when they did give their life to Christ. And as they come up out of the water, it's a picture of a brand new life that God gave them to live where he's in charge.
[4:42] And so they're teaching you, each and every one of us, what they have already done. So that if anybody here has any doubts about where they spend eternity, they are through an object lesson, helping you understand what they have already done. And so why we take them backwards is because in our culture, when somebody dies, we lay them in a coffin on their back. If it's to be a picture of death, then it makes sense we take them backwards. The important thing of what God says is to dip under the water to give a clear message that when they gave their life to Christ, everything was removed. Everything that I did was wrong was placed on Jesus. Jesus' perfection was placed on my account. And it humbles me to realize that I get to talk to the Lord. I get to live with the Lord for all of eternity, all because of Jesus.
[5:42] So we're so grateful that all of you have come that might be visiting this morning just to see certain individuals. Just remember, they are displaying to each and every one of you that they understand what it means to give their life to Christ, to confess with their mouth and invite him in just as the scripture instructs. And remember, Jesus has the right to dictate how we get saved since it was he that paid the price for the debt. So Pastor Dan will now start baptizing. Let me just challenge you after each one. Clap. Because when they gave their life to Christ, God said all of heaven rejoiced. Isn't that mind-boggling? That when you verbally invite him into your life, all of heaven goes crazy. We didn't get to be there when they gave their life to Christ. So we're hearing about for the first time, some of us. And we're excited to know we got brothers and sisters in Christ for all of eternity. And so appropriate response would be just out of excitement to clap after each one. Would you do that? All right. I'm turning it over to Dr. Dan.
[7:06] Please don't call me doctor. If somebody does, somebody falls down in the middle of the service, I'm not that kind of doctor. So don't look at me. I'm going to find someone that's trained that way.
[7:20] I always tell people it makes people think you're smarter than you really are. And it puts the expectation too high. But you know what? I'm excited to get to be back here because we, man, it's been awesome. The baptisms, the last one we did was a high record number here. And usually you don't have a big number to follow up after that. And so this is really a monumental moment for you all to be able to be present for this just because of all the people that are making these choices of obedience. And in times like this, isn't it refreshing to see God growing his church? And isn't it refreshing to see people acting out in obedience to him in a time when we see so much disobedience? And so I'm excited to get to baptize these people. It's an honor for me. And so we're going to start with the younger individuals first, just because they're probably a little bit more stir crazy than the adults. Maybe, I don't know. And so we're going to start first with Faith Rosenthal.
[8:25] Will you come on down here, Faith? Faith, the first question I want to ask you is, have you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ to be your savior? Yes. And could you tell us when you made that decision?
[8:37] Go ahead. At VBS, I gave my life to Christ and then one day I was at the dinner table and I told my dad that I wanted to get baptized and he asked me the three questions. Awesome. Awesome. And so Faith, why do you want to get baptized? To obey the Lord. Awesome. Well, it's now my privilege and honor to baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. Buried in the likeness of his death.
[9:10] Raise in the likeness of his death. Next, we have Faden McCartney. Faden, come on down. Okay, Faden. Why don't you get up here so they can all see you? Wow, now he's real tall. Okay. Faden, have you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ to be your savior? Yes. And could you tell us when you made that decision? It was the night after the last, it was the night after the last baptism. Awesome. Who led you through that decision?
[9:50] My sister. I always have to credit whoever, you know, the person is that did that. That's pretty cool. It was Leilani. Why don't you say her name right here? Um, my name? Oh, her name. Uh, Leilani.
[10:04] Leilani. Okay. Awesome. Thank you. Well, and tell me this. Why do you want to be baptized? To follow the light. To follow the light of Jesus. Awesome. Well, it's now my honor and privilege to baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Buried in the likeness of his death.
[10:29] Raise in the likeness of his death. Thank you. Awesome. Thank you. Lena's already looking at me. She's like this.
[10:46] The anxiety wears off when you see all the people. Don't worry. Come on down here. Lena, I'm not going to try to pronounce your last name because it's, I'm going to have you pronounce it real quick. Should I say my whole name? Please do. My name is Lena Felicitas Braunmiller.
[11:04] You can see why it's better coming from her. You're like Daniel's clear in his throat. That's me trying to say your name. Well, she is awesome. Lena, it's been, I've gotten to know you, uh, through the youth group and it's been really cool. She is from Germany. And if you don't know, and as far as Chris and Brie back there, she's been part of the foreign exchange program.
[11:32] Really awesome when we get that opportunity. And it was extremely awesome when she came in and Brie and Chris were like, we want to be praying for her as soon as we get her. And I think we can say right now that there's answered prayer right here and, uh, pretty cool to see her grow.
[11:52] Gave her a Bible within like a week or two. She came in and showed it to me and she already built her own homemade tabs on all the chapters. It's cool to see a high school student take their Bible and literally like wear it down. And she's already doing that. So it's pretty exciting. So Lena, now that I've said all that about you, come on up here. Okay. So Lena, the questions I'm going to ask you now are first, have you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ to be your savior?
[12:18] Yes, I did. Now that you got your notes right there. Yeah. Yeah. Can you share with us when you made that decision? Yeah. I will talk a little bit about a background story. My mom opened the door to God for me by having me baptized when I was a newborn, even though I never had God in my daily life. My family goes to church every year on Christmas and some years also on Easter, but I can't remember a single Sunday where my mom went with me to her normal service or youth group. I learned how to read the Bible in school and we did talk in our religious lessons about God, but Jesus was never a part of my life or something I believed in. My grandma, my grandpa passed away when I was a baby.
[13:04] And even though I never believed in God, I always was clear. It was always clear to me that he was with God in heaven and in a better place and that he was watching over his family, which shows me that I always knew that God is a safe place. I just never accepted him. Every time I went to church, I felt like I didn't belong there. I went to a youth group for some time, but I always, it was always a fight for me to go there and enjoy the time. And church always just seemed so strict to me and praying was weird.
[13:40] In August, 2022, I arrived here in Colville and in the beginning of this year, 2023, I changed my, to a new host family, the Sears. They're sitting over there. Hi. I started going to church with them and something changed. I felt so welcome in our church and so much respected. The things Daniel talked about made so much sense to me. I realized so many things I need to work on and I was willing to do that. I remember that I had a two-hour conversation with Bree, my host mom, and after a few weeks, yeah, this conversation was after a few weeks. I had so many questions and so many thoughts running through my mind. We talked about Jesus and everything started to turn into a clear vision.
[14:30] I would describe it as finding a missing piece to a puzzle. With time, I realized that there were already so many situations in my life and so many things that happened. I wasn't able to believe anymore that this is just luck. Something bigger, something more loving was the reason behind all these miracles. I always believed that I have an angel next to me who takes care of me and protects me. I still believe that. I just, now I know that God sent me this angel. A few weeks after my talk, I raised my arm and gave my life to Christ. I remember this moment so clearly. My heart started to beat super fast and it felt so right. Bree told me that this was the Holy Spirit that finally touched my soul. I already had so many options to walk through God's door during my 17 years of life and finally be saved. But I also know he needed me to wait. Wait for this amazing family that gave me a new home and wait for this wonderful and unique woman, Bree, who helped me by taking my hand and do this final step through his door. She's the person I have to thank for all the blessings I'm finally able to achieve in my daily life. And since then, God already teached me so much and I believe I turned into a better person. There's still a lot I want to change and learn and I know I will because God loves me and he believes in me and I know that he knows what he's doing and I trust him. Thank you.
[16:13] I'm glad you wrote those notes because I don't think it could have been said any better or clearer. And you got to take that back to Germany because now you're one of our missionaries over there. And I know that that story, I've seen it in action. And it is such a blessing for me and everyone in that youth room because they all play a part in that. And I know as much as you look at Bree and Chris and look at them as a blessing, they would probably look at you and say you truly are a blessing to their heart too. It's amazing how you probably even grew them as in many ways as they were growing you. And so it's that time now. Before I get to baptize you, I have to ask you this one last question. Why do you want to be baptized?
[17:04] I'm getting baptized to express my faith and commitment to God. I also want to set a statement for myself, for the community and God. And I want to work on my relationship and make it even deeper and more loving. Awesome answer. Thank you. Well, it's now my privilege now to baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Okay, ready? Okay. Here we go. Buried in the likeness of his death.
[17:35] Praise the likeness of his death. Thank you. Thank you. How are you?
[17:46] Thank you. Don't you love hearing everyone's unique story? If that doesn't encourage you, I don't know what else does.
[18:00] Well, the next person we have is Eden Hastings. Come on down, Eden. This is Eden. And Eden's special to me in a lot of ways too because I got to have her in vacation Bible school class.
[18:13] And she's the first one ever I got to meet with that said she appreciated me more than strawberries. I was going to share that. I had to share it after you said it. I mean to embarrass you, but I thought that was special.
[18:27] And so anyways, just really cool to get to know you, Eden, and just even just you growing up. And it'll be exciting to get to know you even better as you grow up even more. But first things first, I want to ask you, have you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ to be your Savior?
[18:43] Yes, I have. And could you share with us when you made that decision? Well, the first time it was a few years ago, and that was when it was just like I was a kid, so I didn't really understand it.
[18:54] But when I fully understand it and stopped doubting God, it was like a couple months ago. Well, a few. I don't really know exactly. Do you remember where you were when you made that decision?
[19:06] You were preaching, and we were in the high schooler room, and that was the day that I fully put my faith and trust in Jesus.
[19:17] Awesome. And why do you want to get baptized, Eden? I don't want to get baptized. God wants me to get baptized. I'm just obeying. That's honesty right there, Eden.
[19:36] I think everybody else, we should change our normal answer to that. Well, now it's my privilege to baptize you now in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Buried in the likeness of his death.
[19:49] Raise your likeness to the great light. Congratulations. I didn't think she was expecting her hair to get over her eyes like that.
[20:06] I have the same problem, you know. There we go. Okay. Okay. Next, we have Kathy Garrison. Come on down.
[20:18] Kathy, it has just been so much fun to get to know you. And if you don't know her yet, go out of your way to go and say hi to her. You know, people think someone's scary or anything.
[20:31] Like, not you probably, but, you know, we have a hard time talking to new people. And I think you totally are missing out when you don't get to know people that have a face that you haven't maybe gotten to know yet.
[20:43] So I felt that way with you, Kathy. And so, Kathy, it's just a privilege to have you here and at this stage. And so, Kathy, the first question I want to ask you is have you put your faith in Jesus Christ to be your Savior?
[20:57] Yes, I have. They've got to hear you. Yes, I have. And could you share with everybody when you made that decision? It was April 3rd with Pastor Tim in his office.
[21:11] And I grew up with a Catholic background. As I got older, faith was not a part of our environment, and I grew away from the church. Through life's ups and downs, I found my way back to the Lord and gave my life to Him because I wasn't doing such a great job at it.
[21:28] I went to church off and on, prayed off and on, but always felt something was missing. I still had the feeling of emptiness. About four months ago, Gene asked me if I would go to Grace Church with him.
[21:41] After listening to that first sermon from Pastor Tim, I found what I had been missing all these years. Through Pastor Tim and Gene, my faith has been renewed and strengthened.
[21:53] I'm learning how powerful the gospel of the Lord is. I have a sense of peace that has been missing and a new church family that will speak the gospel with me.
[22:12] And Kathy, why do you want to be baptized? To publicly confess my faith and commitment to the Lord and because the Lord asked me to. Perfect answers.
[22:23] Thanks for sharing that. Well, now it's my honor and privilege to baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Here we go. Buried in the likeness of His death.
[22:40] Raise in the likeness of His death. And welcome His life. And the next individual is Amy.
[23:01] Amy Paul. Come on down. All right. It's not bad, is it? That was bad. I know. Well, Amy is one of those people that I haven't gotten to know really well yet.
[23:17] But, you know, the funny thing is I've heard so many good things. And so everyone's told me about you and all these awesome things. So I'm just excited to get to be in here with you here.
[23:28] So, Amy, can you tell us, our first question, have you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ to be your Savior? Yes. And could you share with us when you made that decision?
[23:39] I'm going to be short and sweet. I was sitting in Pastor Tim's office March 15th at 1.30 p.m. And I truly felt the need to be a part of something bigger than myself.
[23:51] God has a purpose for every individual believer, and I want to be a part of that. Awesome. Awesome. And so why would you like to be baptized?
[24:01] You kind of answered it, but we'll have to say it again. Because I want to be obedient to him. Awesome. Perfect answer. Well, now it's my privilege now. Hey, you can get those glasses. All right. To baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
[24:14] Okay. Ready? Yep. Right there. And then you want to grab my hand right here. Buried in the likeness of his death. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[24:27] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Here we go.
[24:38] All right. Come on down here, buddy. This is Ulrich Krieger. It's been awesome to get to know this guy, too. Just realized you're, I think you're taller than me.
[24:51] Anyways, it's pretty cool because your wife wasn't baptized too long ago.
[25:02] She's over there. Yeah. And just watching your family transition together. And just watching your family transition together, step by step. I don't know if there's anything more exciting at church than this G family members just go through the line.
[25:16] And I think that's the way it should be. And it's so exciting. Ulrich, I know you wouldn't be here if you didn't truly believe in your heart everything that we're talking about here this morning. Ulrich, first question I have for you is, have you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ to be your Savior?
[25:35] Absolutely. Can you let us know when you made that decision? Well, about three months ago, after a particularly rough day, I found myself at the graveyard here in town looking for my wife's grandma's gravesite.
[25:58] And I couldn't find it because we haven't, I hadn't made it a priority in my life to get a headstone for her.
[26:10] And when I did find it, there's a lot of feelings I had, but I kind of realized in that moment the kind of person I had become.
[26:23] And I didn't like it. So, it just kind of hit me.
[26:42] And I didn't want to be that person anymore. So I threw my hands up. And I asked for forgiveness.
[26:53] I had always known there was something more, but never, never accepted it. I never cared to really look into it. But I finally did.
[27:07] I finally accepted his love. And it's the best thing I've ever done. So, I got a hold of Pastor Tim, actually.
[27:20] And a couple days later, I talked, met with him, and said the sinner's prayer. And here I am.
[27:37] Thanks for sharing that with us, Ulrich. Ulrich, why do you want to get baptized? To obey the Lord. Perfect answer. Awesome.
[27:48] Thanks for sharing that. Well, it's now my honor and privilege to baptize you now in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. You ready? Yep. Okay.
[28:01] Buried in the likeness of his death. Congratulations, buddy. Thank you. Pretty awesome.
[28:24] And the last individuals, we're going to do it together because it's a husband and wife. And so Jonathan and Caitlin McCoy, could you all come down here?
[28:36] Here, if you guys want to come over here together. Well, like I said, watching a family come together.
[28:53] Well, here you have it, husband and wife. Pretty exciting stuff to get to see this and for you both to get to do this together. And so, you know, what we'll start, we'll start with ladies first and then baptize you and then we'll go with you if that's okay?
[29:13] Yeah. Okay, awesome. Okay, Caitlin, we're going to start with you. Caitlin, have you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ to be your Savior? Yes, I have. Can you share with us when you made that decision?
[29:23] I made that decision on February 5th with Terry up here at the end of service. I was struggling making choices. I was really angry at life in general and everything that was going on.
[29:40] Sorry. It's okay. You're doing good. So, I gave my life to Christ and so I can have him help lead me to the right decisions.
[29:52] And it's incredible the feeling that you get when you do give your life to Christ. Awesome. Thank you. And so, why do you want to get baptized? Because the Lord commands me to.
[30:04] Awesome. Great answer. That wasn't so bad, right? No, it wasn't. Okay, it's now my honor and privilege to baptize you now in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Okay. Ready? Yeah.
[30:15] If you want to go over this way just a little bit. Okay. Buried in the likeness of his death, raised the light through the전.
[30:27] All right.
[30:38] There we go, man. Well, Jonathan, you already know the questions right here. Have you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ to be your Savior? Yes, I have.
[30:49] And can you share with us when you made that decision? January 15th to 2023 is when I gave my life to Christ. But leading up to the events, I was living the life nothing but for myself.
[31:06] I wasn't thinking of my children. I wasn't thinking of my fellow employees. I wasn't thinking of my wife or any of my family. I was solely focused on myself and my addictions.
[31:16] And I started attending service here after becoming alcohol-free, which I have been alcohol-free for about six months now.
[31:29] Thank you. And I was raised in a church, and I've been baptized and all that, but I didn't understand it at the time.
[31:40] And now that I do understand it, I am ready to show them that I'm obedient. I didn't mean to answer the last question. I'll probably ask you. But, yes, so January 15th.
[31:51] Awesome. And why do you want to be baptized? I don't want to be baptized. I'm just kidding. To show my obedience to the Lord, to make so that way he is sure that this time I am obedient.
[32:07] This is monumental here, man. And I just want to credit that, you know, it's important for all ages, but it's really nice to see men, dads, fathers, taking the lead to do that because that is truly one of the issues I see across the board.
[32:27] Thank you. One thing I wanted to add. And one other thing I wanted to add is we would have never came to this church if it wasn't for my daughter and your son getting to know each other in school.
[32:38] So, and that's why we originally came to church, just because my daughter has a crush on your son. She's not here right now, so. I do believe the feelings are mutual there.
[32:52] Well, that's special. I didn't know that. That's exciting. Thanks for sharing that.
[33:02] I figured right now would be the time, right? Yeah, this is the perfect time. Yeah. Well, it's definitely now my privilege to baptize you now in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
[33:13] That's awesome, too. Buried in the likeness of his death. Thank you.
[33:49] I don't want to turn anything off after that. I think we got a sermon already there. But, you know, let's just give it up one more time for just everybody up here in their decisions. And definitely for all of you that maybe were unmentioned but were a part of these individuals' lives.
[34:14] You know who you are. You know whether you were a prayer warrior for them. You were in their life where you spoke truth in their life. You encouraged them in their life. I'm hoping that their life can be just as much of encouragement for you as it definitely was for me this morning and most of you.
[34:29] And so with that, we're going to pray, and that will take us right into our next part of the service here. Lord, just, it's overwhelming, just overwhelming to get to hear these stories.
[34:47] And you hear it from them and you see their face. There is nothing staged about it. There's nothing that they were coerced into saying.
[35:00] It came from their heart and a heart changed by you. Lord, I truly believe the greatest tool to reach other people is just a genuine changed person.
[35:16] But a change that, Lord, we know apart from you is impossible. And so, Lord, we're just thankful that you allowed us just to be in the presence of powerful stories.
[35:31] Not so much their stories, but your story in their world. And, Lord, we just want to pray for them as they continue on life. We know the challenges are still very real. And that it doesn't get easier.
[35:44] It does get tougher. And, Lord, I pray that this church will be a family of support for all of their challenges. That you'll hold us accountable as a church body to be there for them as the family ought to.
[35:58] Lord, thank you again. And may we honor you in the rest of this service this morning. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. We've witnessed the examples of lives as they've shared them with us.
[36:13] And it's always good then to hear directly from the Lord. If you'll open your Bibles to Matthew 28, a familiar passage. And we want to just look at two verses as we wrap things up.
[36:25] Matthew 28, 19, and 20. And whenever we open up the pages of Scripture, it's really important that we realize this is God talking to us.
[36:36] Okay? It is not Tim, or it's not what our church believes. When we open up the pages of Scripture, it's thus saith the Lord. And so we want to look at just these last two verses that conclude the Gospel of Matthew.
[36:50] And we'll discover that they not only conclude Matthew's Gospel, but Mark, Luke, and John's Gospel as well. Matthew 28.
[37:02] Hopefully you brought Bibles. You need them here. And we'll read those two verses together. Some of you have got these memorized. Go you, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.
[37:26] And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age. If we were sitting by a loved one, and they just had minutes to live, and they wanted to say something to us, they would probably tell us the most important thing they would want to pass on.
[37:49] If you were living the last days of your life, and you had children, grown children, around you, what would you tell them is the most important thing that you could tell them?
[38:01] And that is, as Jesus is now about to return to heaven, he's got his disciples around him, and he's going to tell them the most important thing that he could ever say.
[38:13] And as we look at this, it's really important that as we read Scripture, it's the most important thing he could tell us. Would that not be true? And so as we look at these two verses, it is important that the Lord would mention it, not only here, but as he concludes Mark's Gospel, it says the same thing.
[38:37] As it concludes Luke's Gospel, it says the same thing. As you conclude John's Gospel, it says the same thing. The Lord does not repeat information just to be wordy.
[38:52] But if something is repeated, it's repeated for emphasis. In other words, don't miss these last words that I am sharing with you.
[39:03] Now whenever we hear God's Word taught or read to us, there's three things that Solomon wrote in the book of Proverbs for us to navigate our way through.
[39:16] The first one you've heard me talk about is knowledge. Knowledge is the ability to recite some facts. I know, I might know a lot.
[39:28] But if you know somebody that knows a lot, there's one thing that seems to emanate from their life. Paul says those that center on knowledge are arrogant people to be around.
[39:40] I thought maybe someone would say amen at that. You need a little coaching, don't you? And so we want to know, but we don't want to be known for what we know.
[39:53] And so Solomon goes on and says, knowledge is important. You've got to know what the Bible has to say, but you need to understand it. You need to understand why it's important that I know those facts.
[40:06] Because if every command that God gives me, if it's for my good, if it is either going to protect me from something or provide something for me as he claims it does, then to understand it would be to answer the why question.
[40:20] Where I could see where it would be helpful to me and it would be helpful to anybody else that would know that information. It's practical. I can see how relevant it is.
[40:31] And that's understanding. But wisdom, as you look at in the book of Proverbs, it says wisdom cries out in the street. Nobody's listening for wisdom.
[40:42] Nobody wants to hear it. And how wisdom differs from knowledge and understanding is wisdom is you take the information that you heard and you apply it.
[40:54] You plug it in. You make a choice on the basis of that information. And when I make choices on the basis of accurate information, I then am acting wisely.
[41:08] Solomon contrasts acting wisely versus acting foolishly. And we want to be wise. We don't want to be fools. So wisdom is the bottom line even to why Jesus would say these things.
[41:25] Notice with me three simple points. Go you therefore to all nations.
[41:38] What are we going to do? We are going to announce to them the good news. The good news is that there is a remedy for every one of us.
[41:51] Romans chapter 3 verse 10 through 12 announces to us there is none righteous, no not one. You know what that means? Nobody can be good enough to get to heaven.
[42:05] Nobody ever has and nobody ever will. In fact, he says in Romans 3 23 all have sinned and fallen short of God's standard.
[42:17] And the paycheck for falling short is to be eternally separated from God for all of eternity. Now that's pretty bleak what we call the bad news.
[42:29] But it's truth. It's spelled out to us in the book of truth. So we know that's true. We understand as we look around that nobody's perfect.
[42:42] So what wisely do I need to do as a result of that? Jesus Christ being creator God went to the cross. and he took upon himself all of my unrighteousness from day one.
[43:01] And he took all the consequences for everything I would ever do that is wrong and he paid for it by giving up his life in exchange for mine. Now some people might conclude that would mean then that all of us go to heaven because Christ died for everybody.
[43:18] the problem with that is although Jesus provided a free gift for everybody that gift is not mine until I take it and possess it.
[43:34] Right? I could see that you have a million dollars in your bank account that I put there but you know if you never go to that bank account it will do you absolutely no good.
[43:46] When I confess with my mouth the fact that Jesus being God went to the cross for me died was buried and rose again and that he did that to take my penalty I need to acknowledge that to be absolute truth and then I need to act upon that information and the book of Romans again gives us the answer to that that if you confess Romans 10 9 and 10 if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus now why does he say Lord Jesus Jesus the word means Savior you see with all that bad news that my righteousness isn't going to make it I need some good news and the good news is that creator God Jesus Christ went to the cross to save me that's what Jesus that's what his name meant but it's Jesus Christ the Lord so when I need not only somebody to take the consequences of my sin
[44:53] I need to have somebody different in charge of my life because that's why we continually blow it through life is because we want to be in charge and when I give him my life I verbally invite him into my life and I take possession of the free gift it is not coming in in sections it doesn't come in a little bit this year and a little bit next year he is either all there or he's not there at all and he only gets there not because of my parents not because of any other decision but my personal choice to say I need a savior I'm inviting Jesus as almighty God into my heart and I'm asking him to run my life from this day forward Romans 10 9 and 10 says that if I confess with my mouth Lord Jesus believing in my heart acknowledging his truth Christ raised from the dead then it says thou shalt be saved you know what's so special about that he doesn't say maybe he doesn't say he's going to put you on probation first he doesn't say you're saved as long as you don't do this this or that that verse says thou shalt be saved and just in case you missed it the next verse says the same thing and if you think that maybe you're too far gone that nobody can save you just go down another verse or two and you come and stumble across
[46:30] Romans 10 13 for whosoever you write your name in there for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved my friend your salvation when you confess with your mouth and you believe and inviting him into your heart to save you he's knocking at the door of your heart and you invite him in Jesus says I will come in and I will never leave you or forsake you your salvation my friend when you invite him in rest in what Jesus does rather than what you do if it rested in what you did how much wrong could I do and still go to heaven you see James reminds us that if we broke the law in one point we've broken the whole thing we're hopelessly separated apart from what Jesus Christ offers to us and then he says he continues after announcing this good news tell them they need to surrender their life to
[47:36] Christ go anywhere and everywhere telling people about that that's what we tend to do here at grace and then he says those individuals who believe and confess with their mouth inviting Christ into their life he says instruct them to be baptized!
[47:59] God says that's what you're acknowledging absolutely now God knows our hearts right the problem is my heart is deceitfully wicked and I don't know it and so God backs me up a little bit and he says so Tim you put me in charge right okay good because I'm going give you the very first command and that's to go get baptized and then we say well God can we start some other place moms and dads when you give instruction to your kids when do you want them to do it isn't it funny we got the idea down with our kids it just doesn't apply to adults right when we give our life to Christ how does Christ want us to respond to him the same way we want our children to respond to us right away with a good attitude doing the best we could and that's what you have seen these individuals doing and so when
[49:01] Satan tempts them down the road and says you know I don't know if you really meant business with God or not then they sit back and say wait you know baptism wasn't easy I know I would have never done that had I not already given my life to Christ God says now see why I did it that's just one reason here's another somebody told you I will never forget Mrs.
[49:28] Himes the age of seven going to a vacation Bible school that I didn't want to go that my parents made me go and we were in the parsonage and it had an old big round furnace in it and it looked like we were stepping down into hell this little class and she explained the bad news that I had blown it and I didn't have any time arguing with her about that I couldn't count how many times I had been corrected already and that the Lord's remedy was putting my faith and trust in him verbally inviting him into my life not only to save me of my sin but to take control of my life I am so thankful for Mrs.
[50:25] Hyne she's now with Jesus but just a few years ago I was back visiting my dad before he passed away we walked into this little diner and there she was I thought she was really old when I got saved but there she was and she walked up to me she says I have just one question for you do I have any grandchildren in Calvary that dear saint led so many people to placing their faith and trust in Christ and I can't wait to see her right after Christ when I see him but I can't wait to see her because had she not told me I would have never known and who knows where I would have been today you know we've heard about vacation Bible school teachers we've heard about Olympian we've heard about parents we've heard all different ways of how people come to know Christ through their testimonies here but if they had not said a thing nobody would be able to be experiencing the truth of what it means to be born!
[51:35] God is now equipping every one of them to be faithful sharers of what they've already experienced and they got to do it in a big group so that Satan can't silence them down the road and say well you can't do that you haven't been saved long enough and the Lord just reminds him hey you did in front of over 300 people you can do it to one so once and then teaching them to obey all things whatsoever I've commanded you is the third you need to go to a local church that insists that you bring this you ought not to be interested on what grace evangelical free church even means most of us don't I'll sit down with you and explain it to you if you want to know!
[52:34] But anyway it's not about a denomination it's not about a church and who goes there or that my family always used to go to that church a church is a place where you need your Bible and the instruction comes each week from the Bible because that is absolute truth just like you heard me as we covered these two verses we need to go someplace and what am I going to gain from I'm going to be taught what God's word has to say and what it is I'm supposed to obey because if I'm supposed to obey something and he's in charge of my life and it's always for my good man I want to find out about that as much as fast as I can you know so many times do I have to go to church now remember God says if you to what you're going to learn from
[53:36] God's word that you not only will understand but plug into your life for the rest of the week and then one more thing if this book tells me all about Jesus you know what coming every week just isn't enough second Timothy 2 15 says study to show yourself a workman that needed not to be ashamed rightly dividing!
[54:04] read in your Bible and have him teach you all the things he has in store for you the promises the blessings and everything he's got in teaching them to obey all things lots of times pastors will tell you what you want to hear God expects pastors to teach you what God's word has to say what you need to hear and so that was the instruction and then as he signed off I just love this verse and lo I am with you always you are never alone again isn't that neat you guys as you tell other people about Jesus remind them that when they make this decision they're never alone again they'll finally understand Psalm 23 lo though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death what I will fear no evil for what thou art with me nothing the world can level at you can separate you from the love of
[55:13] God when you surrender your heart to him you know Paul preached this similar message in Athens and Acts chapter 17 talks about that but it talks about what happened to the people that heard the message and it's very interesting if you'll find it in Acts 17 but in verse 34 a of Acts 17 it said but some believed it in other words when they heard about the decision that they needed to make some said just like you heard it several of those individuals were in a service just like that came forward at the very end and they were led!
[55:56] to Christ right here what they did was they heard it and they said I want that I understand it and I want to make that decision and I want to do it now maybe baptism has never been explained to you and you have given your life to Christ well now you understand it and the object then here is that if God's word says it that's what I'm going to do in spite of you can say all you want that I have been raised to believe that if I live a good enough life God will always take me home to heaven Acts chapter 4 verse 12 says neither is there salvation in any other there's no other method than this that will get you to heaven if that is really true and God's word is true then that's the only option I have that can do it wisely right now
[56:58] I don't want to play the part of a fool and push it away the second thing it says many said I'll come and hear it again what are they doing they're procrastinating making that decision my friend when you procrastinate you're always telling the other person what no not now and you're gambling that you're going to get lots of other opportunities but every time you hear something your heart grows colder and colder to it and so pushing it down the road like King Agrippa and so many others that are told down here all it does is make it easier for you to say no tomorrow and then he said some mocked and rejected it entirely I don't believe it I don't accept it you know even as believers when we hear what
[58:03] God's word instructs us to do we say no I'm not going to do that my friend if I'm truly his child I want to obey him and if I'm not his child the Lord Jesus is never going to force you to make that decision he only wants individuals who understand their lostness without him that are willing to invite him in and put him in charge of their life how insistent is the Lord in that the Lord says that without if we are unwilling to repent change direction and putting him in charge at the expense of mine God says there is no forgiveness of your sin says it twice in the same chapter that's why it is so urgent that what
[59:06] God is speaking to your heart to do right now if you believe there's something you need to do don't negotiate! with God you realize how foolish that is he knows everything he did God's not in a negotiating thing and if you want to look more into that idea go read the book of Job he tried all through the book to negotiate with God and the end of the book tells you how it ended whatever it is God pricked your heart to do this morning because the Holy Spirit says he's going to do that when God's word is taught you get an opportunity to sinner's prayer is on the bottom of your outline by the way those aren't magical words but with all the noise out there we want to understand really what I need to know and to acknowledge it's true and what
[60:10] I need to do when he says I stand at the door of your heart and knock God doesn't open the door up partially it's wide open and all he's asking us to do is step through it it's all he's asking us to do and what is stepping through me acknowledging my need that I can't get there without him I need somebody to take the consequences of my sin and I believe you did that for me at the cross and right now I'm putting you in charge of my life and that's with all but I'll tell you one thing God will hear it and it'll thrill all of heaven if you make that decision this morning I'd encourage you to do something else if you make that decision right now would you tell me as you walk out drop me a note or something just so I can be thrilled for you who knows then maybe
[61:15] I'll be your neighbor up there that could be a good what a joy it would be to see each and every one of you in glory and we all have that chance to do it right now God is speaking to you and you have a question you come in a closing song and our leadership team will be right there to answer it if you were saying Tim I'm just not sure about this you come forward and we will show you and remember if you're worried about what somebody else thinks you just saw nine people who dealt with the worry about what somebody else thinks and the willingness to do it publicly tells you all kinds of things about the genuineness of the decision that they have already made you come as we have this closing song thank you Jesus so much for the time that we've had not only hearing testimonies of the miracles in people's lives but then to taking the time to jump into your word the book of truth where we sense how important it is that you would mention it at the close of every gospel so we wouldn't miss what it is
[62:37] I need to do to get to heaven bring people to Christ just as several of the individuals getting baptized gave their life to Christ after witnessing a baptism oh father it's so miraculous that no one's here by mistake may your word prick hearts take away blindfolds that have caused confusion in the past may they see clearly about the decisions they need to make right now and I pray that Satan will not be victorious by intimidating them with fear in Jesus name amen if God is pointing you won't you come