[0:00] Welcome to our service and today the sacrament of baptism will also be administered.
[0:10] As we come around the word of God, let us seek his blessing upon his word. Let us pray. Eternal and ever blessed Lord, we give thanks unto thee for the great privilege that is a wishless day when we can come around thine own word, when we can read thy word and when we can meditate upon it. And we pray, O Lord, that it may please thee to grant to us of thine own spirit to apply thy word to our hearts, that it may bring forth evidence in our lives to the glory of thy name and to the eternal good of our soul. We seek thy blessing upon our communities, upon our homes and families, and pray that it may please thee to meet with each one of us at our point of need. We give thanks that we have access into thine own presence, that we can come with boldness and with confidence to our throne of grace, to seek thy mercy and to seek thy grace to help us in our time of need. As we come before thee, O Lord, today, acknowledging our sinnership, we give thanks for the provision that thou hast made for us in thy son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks for the efficacy of his finished work, that is able to cleanse us from our sin, that is able to reconcile us to our God, and so that we can have fellowship and communion with God. We pray for those who are ill and seek thine healing hand to be upon them. And those who mourn. We pray that thine own comfort would be their portion this day. We pray, O Lord, that thou would bless each one of us gathered in thy name according to our individual needs. O that we would receive the riches of God's grace through the Lord Jesus Christ, that we would experience the riches of thine own grace today. As we thank thee, O Lord, for the salvation that thou has wrought out for us through thy son. And we pray, O Lord, that through thy spirit that would see our need of that salvation would see our need of that salvation, and that we would see the sufficiency of that salvation to meet with our need. We pray, O Lord, for all assemblies of thy people this day, all those who have gathered in thy name to worship thee. And we pray, O Lord, that thou would bless thy word to them. May they know the unction of thine own spirit upon them, granting them to proclaim the gospel with all boldness and with all confidence. We pray, O Lord, that thou would bless us now as we come to wait upon thee. And all that we ask for the forgiveness of our many sins in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen.
[3:46] Let us now read the word of God as we find it in the Old Testament in the book of Deuteronomy and chapter 6.
[4:01] Now these are the commandments, the statutes and the judgments which the Lord your God commanded to teach you that ye might do them in the land whether ye go to possess it, that thou mightest fear the Lord thy God to keep all his statutes and his commandments which I command thee, thou and thy son and thy son's son, all the days of thy life, that thy days may be prolonged. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it, that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy father shall promise thee in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. And thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind.
[4:55] And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart. And thou shall teach them diligently unto thy children, and thou shall talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shall bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as friendlets before thine eyes. And thou shall write them upon the posts of thy house and on thy gates. And it shall be when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities which thou buildest not. And houses full of all good things which thou fillest not, and wells digged which thou diggest not, then yards and all of trees which thou plantest not, when thou shalt have eaten and be full.
[5:52] Then beware lest thou forget the Lord which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. Ye shall not go after other gods of the gods of the people which are around about you. For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you, lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth. Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God as he tempted him in Massey. Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God and his testimonies and his statutes which he hath commanded thee. And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the Lord sware unto thy father, to cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the Lord hath spoken. And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments which the Lord our
[7:00] God hath commanded you? Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's born men in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the Lord showed signs and wonders great and sore upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household before our eyes. And he brought us out from thence that he might bring us in to give us the land which he swore unto our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always, that he might preserve us alive as it is at this day. And it shall be our righteousness if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us. May the Lord bless unto us the reading of that portion of his word, and seeking his blessing unto self. Let us turn now to verses 6 and 7 of Deuteronomy chapter 6.
[8:05] And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the post of thy house, and on thy gates. The long years of Israel's wilderness travels were almost at an end.
[8:51] Moses and the children of Israel has reached the plains of Moab. And Moses knows that he cannot accompany the children of Israel into the promised land of Canaan. He knew that this would be his final opportunity to preach God's word before the children of Israel moves on to their new land.
[9:16] And his words have been preserved for us in this book, the book of Deuteronomy. Jesus treasured this book and its message, and undoubtedly he memorised passages from it, making use of them and quoting them during his days of severe testing by the devil in the wilderness of Judea. Along with the books of Genesis, Psalms and Isaiah, it is the most frequently referred to book by the New Testament writers.
[9:55] It is a book that reminds us of the character, the authority and the importance of God's word. God's word is presented to us as practical instruction, as a word of comfort and promise, as a word of rebuke and warning, as a word of command, as a word of reassurance and encouragement.
[10:23] God speaks clearly here to his people about the authority of his message. The words of God are transmitted by Moses, but spoken by God.
[10:37] But in chapter 1, verse 3, we read, And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel according unto all that the Lord had given him in commandment unto them.
[10:56] The people were not free to add or to subtract from them. The Lord said, So that the importance of God's word is conveyed to us through the variety of different methods of communication.
[11:24] The principle method of communication is, of course, through the preaching of the gospel or the preaching of the word. And we can see this in the impassionate preaching of Moses and through the example of Jesus Christ himself, and also through the example of his apostles.
[11:45] However, it is not exclusively left to the preaching of the word and large audience in a public setting. But privately, in a smaller unit, the word must also be shared through family education.
[12:03] In chapter 4 of this book, we read, Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thy eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life.
[12:20] But teach them, thy sons and thy sons' sons, specifically the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me, the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days, that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.
[12:44] In chapter 11, we read, Therefore shall ye lay up these words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontless between your eyes, that, and ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them, when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
[13:09] And of course, the words that we have taken today from chapter 6. We see here the importance that God was laying on the fact of teaching our children the word of God.
[13:26] Of course, there are other methods of communicating the word brought before us in the book, but our main focus today is going to be on family education.
[13:36] Moses had led the people through the wilderness for 40 years. The generation that did not go up to occupy the land when they first approached it has now died.
[13:52] But Moses is now speaking to their children and to their grandchildren, to the children of the people that left Egypt and the grandchildren of those people.
[14:04] And Moses rehearsed the law and reminded the people of the circumstances in which it was given. And now he sets forth its essentials and its fundamental doctrines, the nature and attributes of God, and the way of worshipping God.
[14:23] They are just about to enter into the promised land of Canaan, and we can almost feel a sense of urgency in the voice of Moses. He is coming to the end of his ministry as the leader of the people, and will soon pass the leadership on to Joshua, who will have the responsibility of leading the people into the promised land of Canaan.
[14:50] So Moses gives these words in preparation for the many changes that are about to take place in their lives. But he is mostly concerned about their spiritual welfare.
[15:06] He knew that the quality of their spiritual as well as their physical well-being was related to their obedience to God. The promised land, Canaan, was inhabited by people who worshipped many different gods.
[15:24] Moses reminds the people that the God who brought them out of Egypt and led them through the wilderness, is not like the gods of the people whose land they are about to possess.
[15:38] The God of Israel is God, the one God. And to this one God, a love must be given with the heart.
[15:49] The heart, which is a place of feelings and affections. To this one God, must be given the place, not only the place of their heart, but the place of their soul.
[16:02] They must love the Lord with their heart and with their soul. The soul, the place capable of intelligence and thought. And they were also to love the Lord with strength of body.
[16:18] Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might.
[16:31] These words which I commanded this day shall be in thine heart. The passage of our chapter here from verse 4 to 9 is perhaps the best known portion of the book, especially among those of the Jewish faith.
[16:49] Jews commonly refer to it as the Shema, which means here, which is the first word that we find in that section. The Shema is the Jewish creed that opens synagogue worship and is recited twice a day by the devout Jews.
[17:07] Now the purpose or the reason for giving the law was to awaken fear or reverence and obedience.
[17:19] That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou and thy son and thy son's son, all the days of thy life, that thy days may be prolonged.
[17:36] Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it, that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee in the land that floweth with milk and honey.
[17:50] Notice that twice he addresses them by their special name, Israel. Israel, his covenant people.
[18:02] His emphasizes is that they are a people that are bound to him in the special relationship of covenant love.
[18:14] They were a privileged people, having the statutes, the commandments, having the word of God. And we are a privileged people also in having the word of God.
[18:29] The Lord says to Israel, And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart. You see, true love will be regulated by regard to the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which must be laid up in the heart.
[18:50] God commands that the head of families teach them to their children. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children.
[19:02] For how will the next generation find out about the things that God has done? As we have already noted the words found in chapter 4, To be brought up under spiritual or biblical instruction is a great honour.
[19:36] Which we should lay up into our hearts. And which we ought and should pass on to our children. In these words there is a system of parental instruction.
[19:50] Provision was made for the remembrance of the commandments. So that Israel would keep a sense of duty in their minds.
[20:01] And it was ordered that they should carry these great principles into their daily life. It shows us that parents must start the task of learning.
[20:28] We must be deliberate and spend time teaching our children the essential truths concerning God and his word.
[20:39] And we must be careful that those truths are lived out throughout our own lives. For example, how did Abel and Cain learn to sacrifice?
[20:53] Well, they must have been taught by their parents. God says of Abraham, For I know him that he will command his children and his household after him.
[21:06] And they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him. Regarding the Passover, the children of Israel was instructed in Exodus chapter 12, And it shall come to pass when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?
[21:31] That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians and delivered to our houses.
[21:43] And the people bowed their head and worshipped. And further on we read, And there shall show thy son in that day, Saying, This is done because of that which the Lord had done to me when I came out of Egypt.
[21:58] For the children of Israel passed over Jordan. They took twelve stones and set them up where they camped that night. And the Lord instructed them, He says to them, He says to them, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, Saying, What mean these stones?
[22:17] Then ye shall let your children know, Saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, Until ye were passed over, As the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, When he dried up from before us, Until we were gone over.
[22:36] Then that all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, And it is mighty, That ye might fear the Lord your God forever. Psalm 78 we read, I will open my mouth in a parable, I will utter dark sayings of all which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us.
[23:00] We will not hide them from their children, Showing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord and his strength, And his wonderful works that he had done. For he established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which he commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children, That the generations to come might know them, Even the children which should be born, Who should arise and declare them to their children, That they might set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep his commandments.
[23:38] There it is quite easily brought before us, That parents should pass it to their children, Who will pass it to their children. Hear what Paul has to say about Timothy, Young Timothy.
[23:53] He says about him, When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, Which dwelt at first in thy grandmother Lois, And thy mother Eunice. And I am persuaded that in thee also.
[24:06] And that from a child, Thou hast known the holy scriptures, Which are able to make one wise into salvation, Through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
[24:17] You see, If we do not know God's commandments, Statues and judgments, If we do not know God's word, What are we passing to the next generation?
[24:29] You see, The next generation cannot do what they do not know. And in order for them to have that knowledge, We must pass it on to them.
[24:40] And as we noted, There was a sense of urgency in the voice of Moses, As he spoke to the people. And also, There ought to be a similar sense of urgency in our lives, And especially, In regard to raising children.
[25:00] While we are not on a journey leading to a physical promised land, We are on a journey from the realm of time into eternity, On a journey to our long home.
[25:13] We are in a world that is hostile towards God. A world that entices us away from serving God. And it is important that we make a spiritual investment, By instructing our children in the knowledge of God.
[25:33] Like the Israelites of old, Mankind is tempted to pursue after many different false gods. What is a false god or an idol?
[25:44] It is anything that causes your focus to shift from complete dedication to God. Anything that can divert your attention and cause you to pursue after it, Rather than God.
[26:02] Now we must remember that children are quick to pick up on what is important to their parents. They are learning from our conversations, What their ambitions and dreams should be all about.
[26:14] And the question is, What are you telling your children about what is most important in life? And especially in your life.
[26:25] The Jews were extremely successful at making religion an essential part of life. They used the context of daily life to teach about God.
[26:40] And the key to teaching our children to love God is clearly set out in these verses. If you want your children to follow God, You must make good God part of your everyday experience.
[26:58] You must teach your children to see God in all aspects of life. Not just those that are church related. One day a week at a church is not going to have profound effect upon your children's understanding of God and his word.
[27:15] That's what has been taught the other six days of the week in the home. A.W. Tozer said, There is a proverb which goes, Action speaks louder than words.
[28:06] What you say is of great importance. But so also is the way you live and the daily choices you make concerning what you will do and strive for in life.
[28:21] Because these things reveal to your children what things you value most in life. Your words are only as good as the actions that support them.
[28:33] Your children are watching you. They trust you without reservation. They will determine their value in life based upon how you live. They will imitate your actions because it is only natural to want to be like their parents.
[28:51] We need to be careful that our life matches up to our words. Nothing is more confusing to a child than to hear a person say one thing and then to see that person doing the exact opposite.
[29:07] Children are watching our lives in order to figure out what life is all about. They want to know what life is all about. They want to know what is really important and worth pursuing after.
[29:22] What lessons are they learning from us? What are we teaching them concerning the true meaning of life? What legacy do we want to pass on to your children to the next generation?
[29:39] Moses is here telling us that he is teaching what God commanded him to teach. This command to teach their children was not a vague thing.
[29:49] It spoke of where, when and how. Where? Verse 7. When thou sittest in thine house. This is what happened to Timothy.
[30:01] His mother and grandmother taught him from God's word. We should not leave it to the Sunday school or to the church. It is also important that parents are not absorbed with the passions of this world so that the spiritual welfare of their children are seriously neglected.
[30:23] Impress the word of God on your children's mind and make it a subject of natural, everyday conversation. When?
[30:35] When thou walkest by the way. In other words, you are to speak to them everywhere. You are to teach them everywhere.
[30:48] It is to happen all the time. When thou liest down and when thou risest up. Some have taken these words to suggest a twice-daily practice.
[31:03] Now we know, those of us who are older, we know that in earlier generations, family worship was an important aspect of spiritual devotion, both morning and evening, when families came together to read the word of God and to pray.
[31:21] But unfortunately, the pressure and pace of contemporary life makes it difficult or impossible for families to come together, even to eat a meal, never mind coming together for worship.
[31:38] Nevertheless, parents should strive to bring their children together for a time of spiritual devotions. And how is that to be done?
[31:51] Diligently. It requires earnest and frequent action. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
[32:10] And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. Well, the Pharisees have distorted the language here about binding God's word on your hand and placing them between your eyes into the practice of wearing little boxes on their foreheads with texts from Exodus and Deuteronomy.
[32:35] But these words are actually to be taken symbolically and refers to personal faith. Thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
[32:48] It speaks of personal faith. We are not only to seek that our children have saving faith, but that we exercise saving faith ourselves.
[32:59] And they shall write them upon the posts of thine house and on thy gates. Again, many Jews take little boxes with texts from Exodus and Deuteronomy and fix it to their doorposts.
[33:14] However, again, I think this is to be taken in the same manner symbolically. What it says to us is, Our faith is not to be kept for ourselves.
[33:25] We are to give our neighbours the opportunity to learn something about our personal faith. And then, of course, we have from verse 20.
[33:36] And when thy son asketh he in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies and the statutes and the judgment which the Lord our God hath commanded you? Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were fairest bondmen in Egypt.
[33:50] And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the Lord showed signs and wonders great and sore upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh and upon all his household before our eyes.
[34:02] And he brought us out from thence that he might bring us in to give us the land which he swore into our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always, that he might preserve us alive as it is at this day.
[34:18] And it shall be our righteousness if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God as he hath commanded us. We can just summarise these words like this.
[34:29] What it tells us is this. You are not to forget God. You are to serve God with obedience, with loyalty, with gratitude.
[34:45] And you are to teach and pass yourself as an example to your children so that they can pass it on to their children and to many generations.
[34:58] So we see here that the emphasis is upon educating our children in the word of God.
[35:10] So as they grow up, that they will not forget God, what they have been taught by you. I know that sometimes parents do their best.
[35:24] And I know that sometimes their children can become rebellious. And they go their own way. But it's always an encouragement to me, at least, when I think of the prodigal son who grew up in the father's house.
[35:41] And when he came to age, he wanted freedom. He wanted independence. He wanted away from his father's house. And off he went. And he was riotous. He went into all sorts of vices.
[35:54] But there came a moment. And he came to himself. And what happened? He remembered his father's house. In the midst of all his rebellion, he did not forget his father's house.
[36:11] And so if you are here today, and perhaps you're saying, well, I did my best. But my son and my daughter, they have gone their own way. They are rebellious.
[36:22] My dear friend, be encouraged. Remember the prodigal son. He came to himself. He remembered his father's house.
[36:33] And he arose and came to his father. May the Lord bless to us these thoughts. Let us pray. Eternal and ever blessed Lord, we give thanks unto thee today for thy word.
[36:50] And we pray that thou would grant to us the grace to enable us to fulfil what we have been meditating upon today. That we will be given that grace and that thou would grant to us that we would be able to teach our children the word of God.
[37:10] Not only by our conversation with them, but that they would see the word of God being practised in our own lives from day to day. We ask, O Lord, that thou would bless us now as we come to the sacrament of baptism.
[37:27] That thou would lead us and guide us. And all that we ask is in the name of our dear Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. We come now to the sacrament of baptism.
[38:04] And we have the warrant to hold the sacrament of baptism from the word of God and from the gospel of Matthew and chapter 28.
[38:20] The gospel of Matthew and chapter 28. And we shall read that verse 19. That portion that is known as the Great Commission.
[38:33] Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.
[38:48] And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. In compliance with Christ's command, the Christian church has always practised baptism with water in the name of the triune God.
[39:08] In Reformed theology, baptism is a means of grace that God uses to help our faith. It is a commanded ordinance.
[39:23] We have the authority of God for doing this which we have just read. It is not an arrangement made by the church itself.
[39:33] It is not an arrangement that the church has built up. But besides being a commanded ordinance, it is also a visible ordinance. In this sacrament, God presents his word to us in a visible form.
[39:49] It is the same word but in a different form. There is the preached word, there is the written word, but there is also the visible word which speaks to our senses to encourage us in our weakness.
[40:04] The sacrament is a sign. The water is a sign. It tells us that we need to be cleansed. that we need to be cleansed, that it reminds us that we are sinners and that we need to be cleansed.
[40:22] It is a sign for us of the work of salvation as brought out by Jesus Christ on the cross of Golgotha. The Bible reminds us that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.
[40:41] Baptism in the New Testament replaces circumcision in the Old Testament. On the eighth day after birth, the male babies were circumcised. It reminded them of the need for repentance.
[40:53] It was prescribed for them a spiritual surgery. And we know that the Bible, that God through the Bible calls people of all generations to a circumcised heart.
[41:08] He is a Jew who is one inwardly and circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit not in the letter whose praise is not of men but of God. In this ordinance we must rise above the water, the element that has been used, water.
[41:26] The service is not complete merely in the sprinkling of water. Although water is of immense significance but we must lift our minds and hearts above the water to what it represents.
[41:43] It is a sign of, as we said, of God's gracious work of salvation. It reminds us that we are defiled sinners who need God's cleansing.
[41:56] Baptism brings us to the cross of Jesus Christ. It declares to us an objective truth that justification comes only by faith in God's promise.
[42:09] This is a visible sign as we said but it teaches a spiritual reality. It is a visible sign that we see but it teaches us something that must take place inwardly in our hearts, in our souls, to be cleansed to the salvation of Jesus Christ.
[42:31] Our Westminster Confession says what is baptism? It says baptism is a sacrament wherein the washing with water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit does signify and seal our engrafting into Christ and partaking of the benefits of the covenant of grace and our engagement to be the Lord's.
[42:53] In our sermon earlier we noted that Israel would have people bow to him in a special relationship of covenant love. Well, in baptism we are engaging the child to be the Lord's.
[43:09] Now, we know when a couple gets married or rather when a couple gets engaged we look forward to marriage but we know that engagements can be broken and sadly it does not arrive at marriage.
[43:27] Well, baptism is an engagement. Baptism is not marriage. It is not a saving ordinance. The child will have to accept Jesus as their own saviour.
[43:43] Our child today will have to accept Jesus as her own saviour for it to become marriage. But the parents today are engaging this child to be the Lord's and our prayer is that that engagement today will arrive in the Lord's time at marriage and that the child will not only be engaged to be the Lord's but that the child will be married to the Lord.
[44:14] That the baptism of which is only a sign today will become a reality in the life of this child today. That the baptism of the spirit will be her portion.
[44:27] That the baptism of the Lord will be her portion. That she will be engrafted in marriage to the Lord and receive the cleansing that only the Lord can give.
[44:42] Baptism is important. We have a story in the Bible of God's wrath against Moses and it was not because he neglected the ordinance of circumcision for himself but because he had neglected the circumcision of his children.
[45:04] So it is important. Baptism is important. Paul says of the children of Israel that they were all baptized into Moses by that he means that they entered into a new relationship with Moses and so it is with those who are baptized into a relationship in the name of the triune God.
[45:26] A special relationship with the church. Children that are baptized are solemnly admitted into the visible church.
[45:37] So today we bring this child and we baptize this child and from now on this child will have a special relationship with the church. This child has been admitted into the visible church.
[45:55] The duty of parents is a most difficult task. It requires much patience, wisdom and devotion. And on your part to enable you to do this most important work in the best and most effective manner you are to look to look to the Lord to enable you to fulfill that work.
[46:22] God's testimony must not only be taught to the children but the utmost diligence must be used to make them understand them. You are duty bound to sow in the hearts of the children the seeds of spiritual truth.
[46:38] To instill upon them the observance of moral duties and to instill in them an attachment to the ordinances especially the preaching of the gospel. It is never too early to bring a child under the preaching of the gospel.
[46:56] There is nothing so amazing and so wonderful and so precious as to hear a little child in the means of grace under the preaching of the word.
[47:07] to pray that in their attendance upon the word of God that they may receive the enlightenment and grace of the Holy Spirit to render the word of truth as the power of God into their salvation.
[47:22] Now the child should be brought up being told that they have been baptised which is due to tell the child that she has been baptised and to explain the significance of her baptism to her.
[47:38] You see when your children get out into the world they will see and hear things and they will ask you why you believe what you believe? Why you live the way that you do?
[47:51] And you need to have an answer for that. And one thing that will help you is being able to explain why certain things are right and wrong from a biblical perspective.
[48:03] This is the duty of both parents. And let you both impress upon this child the words of Proverbs 6. Keep thy father's commandment and forsake not the law of thy mother.
[48:21] We now come to a very solemn moment in our service of baptism where we ask the father to take certain vows.
[48:33] Will the father stand? Now what this vow contains is your acknowledgement that a person is saved through faith in Christ not through anything a person has done or ever will do.
[48:48] You acknowledge that baptism is not a saving ordinance. This child will have to accept Jesus as her own saviour when she comes to the age of accountability. You are admitting this child into the visible church and you seek by God's health and to the best of your own ability to raise this child in the fear and in the discipline of the Lord to pray for and with the child and to be faithful in your home life for Jesus Christ.
[49:19] Christ. So now I ask do you kneel acknowledge God Father Son and Holy Spirit as revealed in scripture to be your God? Do you kneel acknowledge and believe that salvation is to be found only through faith in Jesus Christ?
[49:38] Yes. Do you kneel therefore promise in the presence of God and these witnesses here today that with God's self and to the best of your ability to live before this child a life that becomes the gospel that the child be brought up in the Christian faith and that the child be taught the holy scriptures and learn to give attendance upon the public worship of God.
[50:07] For the congregation now stand. Let us pray eternal and ever blessed Lord as we come to this point in our service today a very solemn point in which we admit into the visible church this child.
[50:49] We pray O Lord that thy blessing may be upon the child and thy blessing will be upon the parents who are today bringing this child before us and who have a desire that this child be brought into the visible church who have vowed to bring this child up in the knowledge of God to teach this child the Holy Scripture and we pray O Lord that through the work of thine own spirit that it may be made effectual to her and that this household may know the great blessing of God and of his salvation through Jesus Christ through the finished work of thy son on the cross of
[52:08] Golgotha and give thee peace Amen The congregation may now be seated in baptizing Sylvia Grace we sought God's blessing to be upon her with these words the Lord bless thee and keep thee the
[53:11] Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace these words are incredibly special because they are the words that the Lord commanded Aaron and his sons that's the priestly tribe to use when they were to bless the people of Israel we find them at the end of Numbers chapter 6 the emphasis in the blessing is upon God for it is the Lord who blesses the people and does for them what they cannot do for themselves this is more than just seeking a general blessing for this child today it is asking for protection the Lord bless thee and keep thee the Lord make his face shine on thee and be gracious to thee this line of the blessing has to do with experiencing
[54:12] God's favour we are seeking God's favour and grace for this child we seek that grace may be not merely a name for her but that it may be an experience what is the grace that we seek for her where each letter that makes up the word explains the grace God's riches at Christ's expense the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace this line of the blessing continues the theme of the face or the countenance of God the Bible tells us that when the people were faithful to God his face was towards them but when they were disobedient he was angry with them then his face was turned away from them in this blessing we are seeking for God's face to be upon Sophia Grace we are seeking for God's face to be upon this child with herself that the child would have peace and this peace is not the absence of hostility but that she may experience peace with
[55:25] God peace and peace and peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ what are we seeking in our blessing for this child that the child may experience God's favour in his grace and peace and as we seek those things for this child it would be good for us all to make sure that we are the recipients of that blessing and that each one of us knows God's favour in his grace and peace through his son the Lord Jesus Christ now before we leave and conclude this service the congregation today also takes a very solemn step we are taking on responsibility today we are taking on the responsibility to be praying for
[56:29] Sophia Grace and also for her parents Neil and Laura we are praying that the Lord would help them and that we would be able to help them in practical and spiritual ways in which we can their home is across the minch but that doesn't excuse us at all because we can bring this child we can bring Sophia Grace and Neil and Laura to a throne of grace and they lay out our petition for them in the presence of God and that is the responsibility of this congregation it is the responsibility of the church because we have admitted a child into our fellowship today and it is our responsibility to help the parents bring that child up in the instruction of
[57:29] God the congregation will be accountable to God let us not neglect that duty let us pray eternal and ever blessed Lord we give thanks unto thee for all thy goodness and kindness to us and we give thanks unto thee oh Lord for this child Sophia Grace as she has been now admitted into the visible church and we pray oh Lord that as she grows up that she will know God's word and that she will know God's word in action in her home and that she oh Lord would come to know thee as her own personal saviour oh Lord we give thanks to thee that
[58:30] Neil and Laura has desired that their child which is thine own heritage that the fruit of the womb is thine known reward that they have desired to bring this child to be baptised to bring this child into the fellowship of the church and we pray oh Lord that we would be given the grace to exercise our own responsibility to them and to Sophia Grace that we would be able by thy grace to help them in practical and spiritual ways as far as that we are able to do so to bear them always to the throne of grace to pray for them for we acknowledge oh Lord that we live in a world that is hostile to thee that we live in a world that entices our thoughts our minds away from the things of God but we pray that thou would remember us in compassion in pity and in mercy and love and we pray oh
[59:33] Lord that thou would continue with us may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and forever more Amen