This one here that I'm holding up, or not sure what page number, if you've got a different one.
So Acts 1094.
And on the little sheet here that I'm holding up, with Alex's story on the inside,
on the very back, there's a place there where you can take notes.
So if you want a pen, that's what the box is being passed around.
If you want a pen and you want to take notes or jot down anything, just put up your hand and you can get a pen.
But you can fill that sheet out on the back there or just jot down any notes or any questions that you might have after our talk.
And I'm going to ask Stephen, who's going to come up and who's going to read for us from Acts.
Thank you, Stephen.
Acts chapter 2, verse 37.
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles,
Brothers, what shall we do?
Peter replied, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins.
And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, for all whom the Lord our God will call.
With many other words, he warned them and he pleaded with them.
Save yourself from this corrupt generation.
Those who accepted his message were baptized and about 3,000 were added to their number that day.
Thank you, Stephen.
Well, I'm going to pray and then we're going to look at that passage that was just read and see what it has to say to explain baptism to us.
So let's pray again.
Our Father God, we thank you for your word.
We thank you for the Bible.
We thank you that it is written in our own language and in a way that we understand.
But most of all, we thank you that this is the way in which you, the creator God, speaks to us.
This is your word to us.
And so we pray for the help of your Holy Spirit to understand that, not just with our heads,
but that it would change our hearts and change our lives.
So that we too understand what it is to follow Jesus and to make him the most important person in our whole life.
So help us now, we pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, the other day when I went to collect this portable poo over here for today's baptism,
I was loading it into the boot of the car because it all breaks down very neatly.
And this man was walking by and he stopped and he asked me,
what is it?
So I began to explain what it was and was trying to explain baptism.
And this is what he says, oh, it's a jacuzzi.
Well, I hope I do a much better explanation this morning than what I was obviously making then.
And he started to make some joke about making lots of bubbles.
Well, in case you think Alex is going to be coming up and having a jacuzzi while we all watch,
let me explain.
Again, baptism is all about a person, Jesus Christ.
In the book of Acts, which we just had read to us,
the whole book is actually a story about the good news of Jesus
and how it begins to spread all the way across the world to all kinds of people in all kinds of places.
And as people hear the good news about Jesus,
as they hear, in response, people get baptised.
So in chapter 2, verse 41, of what we just had read,
look at what it says there.
Those who accepted his message, that's the message of Jesus Christ, were baptised.
So they heard and they were baptised.
Or let me give you another example.
You can flick on a couple of pages to Acts chapter 8.
So keep going in your Bible until you see a big number 8 on your page
and then find a smaller number which says 35.
So Acts 8, verse 35.
This is a different person speaking.
This person is called Philip and he's speaking about Jesus to a very wealthy and important man
from Ethiopia.
And he's been reading the Bible and then, verse 35, it says,
Philip began with that very passage of scripture
and told him the good news about Jesus.
And as they travelled along the roads,
they came to some water
and the eunuch said,
Look, here's water.
Why shouldn't I be baptised?
And he gave the orders to stop the chariot.
And then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water
and Philip baptised him.
So they heard the good news about Jesus
and they were baptised.
Now although Alex is going to be getting baptised very shortly,
it's actually not about him.
It's all about Jesus Christ.
In fact, baptism is a wonderful picture
about the good news of Jesus Christ.
It pictures two things.
First, believing in Jesus.
It's a picture of believing in Jesus.
Now when we talk about believing in Jesus,
we don't just mean we believe that Jesus exists.
If we were to do a survey,
lots of people would say,
Yeah, I believe Jesus exists.
It's actually about entrusting your whole life to Jesus.
So let me give you an example.
If your house was on fire
and you were up at the top window
shouting for help
and the fire brigade arrives
and the fireman comes along
and he puts up his ladder
and he climbs up
and there he is right beside you at the window,
it's no good at that point saying,
Oh, I believe in firemen
and telling all the rest of the people,
Look, a fireman!
I believe in firemen.
No, if you really believe in firemen,
you'll jump into his arms
and let him rescue you
or jump onto his shoulder
or whatever you want to do.
But you will entrust your life to him.
And in the same way,
if we believe in Jesus,
that means we entrust our whole life to him
to rescue us.
And that's essentially what this passage in Acts chapter 2 is about.
Let me explain.
Look at verse 37,
the first part of our reading.
Acts chapter 2, verse 37.
Sorry, you need to go back there
and we'll stay in Acts chapter 2.
Acts chapter 2, verse 37.
It says there right at the beginning,
When the people heard this,
well, what have they just heard?
When they heard this,
what have they just been hearing about?
Well, Peter is the speaker
and he's been telling them
all about the good news of Jesus.
And it starts back in verse 22.
So have a look at verse 22.
Peter began to explain who Jesus is.
Men of Israel, he said,
listen to this.
And we need to listen too.
Jesus of Nazareth was a man
accredited by God to you by miracles,
wonders and signs
which God did among you through him
as you yourselves know.
You see, when Jesus came onto this earth,
when he lived his life on this planet,
he did many miracles and wonders.
We may have read about it
or heard about it.
By a simple word,
by just speaking,
he calmed a storm.
By a simple word,
he silenced demons
and he controlled evil.
And by a touch of his hand,
he healed people.
And by a touch of his hand,
he could even raise the dead.
And all of these amazing miracles and wonders,
look at verse 22,
were signs.
These signs,
these miracles,
were pointing
to who Jesus is.
You see,
Jesus was doing
what only God could do.
Only God
could calm the storms.
Only God
could raise the dead.
So here was Jesus,
God,
in human form,
walking on the earth,
a person just like you and me,
controlling the world
and controlling
all that was wrong
and putting it right.
And he was showing everybody
who he was.
That he was God
come down to earth.
But look what happened
to this Jesus
in verse 23.
Let's read verse 23.
This man,
this Jesus,
was handed over to you
by God's set purpose
and foreknowledge
and you,
with the help of wicked men,
put him to death
by nailing him to the cross.
Incredible, isn't it?
He was going around
healing people,
raising the dead,
calming storms,
silencing demons
and then people
put him to death.
He was a man
who had done nothing wrong.
No fault
could be found in him.
He was perfect
without sin.
But yet,
he was put to death
and verse 23 tells us
they nailed him
to the cross.
Why?
Why would they do this
to this man,
Jesus?
Well,
look at verse 23
at the very beginning.
It tells us
that Jesus' death
was actually
part
of God's plan.
It wasn't an accident.
It wasn't a mistake.
But it was all part
of God's perfect plan.
But what does
his death mean?
Why did he have to die?
Well,
listen to this.
This is the way
Alex puts it
in his story.
You can read it
afterwards
in the middle pages.
This is what Alex says.
The death of Jesus
wasn't just
an ordinary death.
Unlike most deaths,
it was a good thing
because it was for us
so that we could have
eternal life.
You see,
Jesus' death
on the cross
was God's means
of dealing with
the problem
of sin.
Let me try
and explain that
to us
a little bit better.
I've got a CD here
or a DVD
if you like.
And I want you
to imagine
that this is
a record
of your life
up to this
very point.
So that means,
Alex,
everything
you've ever said
or anything
that we've ever said
is on here,
public or private.
It's been recorded
and it's on here.
Everything
that you've ever done
has been videoed,
public or private.
And it's all on here
to watch.
Everything.
But not just
everything you've said
or everything you've done,
everything you've thought.
So this is a very clever CD
or DVD.
It knows your mind
and it's got
every single thought
recorded here.
Now,
who of us
would like
our life
uploaded
onto YouTube
or published
on Facebook?
Would you?
I'd like
some parts
of my life
on YouTube
but there's
an awful lot
that I would not
want anybody
to know about.
And I think
Ewan
would be
exactly
the same.
You see,
every one of us
has things in our life
that we're deeply ashamed of,
embarrassed about,
things we do wrong,
things we say wrong,
things we think
that are wrong.
And the problem
with that is,
we call it sin,
is it acts as a barrier.
So if God is there
and we are here,
it's a barrier.
It cuts in the way
of a relationship
with God.
We cannot enjoy God.
We cannot know God.
We cannot love God
as we ought to.
So why did Jesus die?
Well,
when Jesus came,
he was perfect,
wasn't he?
And he takes
my record
and your record
of your life
and he takes it
on himself,
all the bad things
that we've ever done
and Jesus
is punished.
He takes the blame
for all the wrong things
we have ever done.
That's why he died
on the cross.
But not only that,
listen to this,
it gets even better.
Jesus doesn't just
take our record.
I want you to change
this around now.
Imagine this is
the record of Jesus.
His perfect,
pure,
good life.
Nothing wrong.
Sinless,
perfect in every way.
That record
is now given to us.
So when God
looks at us,
he doesn't see our life,
he actually sees
the life of Jesus.
The record of Jesus
is given
to us.
Listen to how Alex
puts it
in his story again.
He says this,
Jesus died for us.
He died to take away
our sins
so that we could
have eternal life.
Jesus died for all
the sins I committed
in the past
and all the sins
I'm going to commit
or continue to commit.
He took the blame
for all the wrong things
I have done.
Without him doing so,
there would be no one
to take away my sins
so I would have
no chance
of getting into heaven.
Isn't that incredible?
What a wonderful story
to be able to tell.
That's why Jesus
is the most important person
to Alex's life.
But Jesus didn't just
stay dead, did he?
Thankfully,
look at verse 24.
God raised him
from the dead,
freeing him
from the agony
of death
because
it was impossible
for death
to keep its hold
on him.
Jesus did die
but God raised him
from the dead.
Now this is meant
to be a time
of celebration
and we don't really
want to be talking
about death,
do we?
Because death means
the end of relationships.
It means
separation
from those
we love the most,
sadness,
heartache
and pain.
And we can find
a cure
for most things
in life,
for most illnesses
and diseases,
we can find a cure
but nobody
has ever come up
with a cure
for death.
Except
when Jesus
rose from the grave
he defeated
death.
He destroyed
death.
He beat it.
Or as it says
in verse 24,
it was impossible
for death
to keep its hold
on him.
He broke out
of its chains.
He defeated it.
And he offers
that to us.
So here we have
this wonderful picture,
this wonderful story
of Jesus
who comes to us,
the God-man,
to defeat
or to deal
with our sin
by dying on the cross
and to defeat
death for us
by rising again
from the grave.
Now that is
good news.
But what do we do
with this good news?
Is it just information
for our heads
and go,
hey, that was a nice story
that I heard
on Sunday morning?
No, it requires
a response.
Look at verse 37
of Acts chapter 2.
When the people
heard this,
so when they heard
this good news
about Jesus,
his life,
his death,
his resurrection,
they were cut
to the heart.
They were deeply
affected in their lives
and they said
to Peter
and the other apostles,
brothers,
what shall we do?
And Peter replied,
repent
and be baptized
every one of you
in the name
of Jesus Christ
for the forgiveness
of your sins
and you will receive
the gift
of the Holy Spirit.
it.
So, in response,
there's two things.
Repent
and be baptized.
Now, repentance,
a religious word,
but it's a double action.
It means two things.
It means
turning away
from something
or someone,
turning away
from believing
in yourself
and turning
to believe
and entrust
your life
to Jesus.
I don't know
if you know
that Alex
is presently
learning to drive.
I think he reckons
himself to be
a good driver.
And for Alex,
he's,
well,
he can't just
have an ordinary car.
He's got to have
a BMW E30.
If you don't know
what that is,
it's one of those
old models
with the square back
and those square lights
and maybe a flat top
as well.
Yeah, yeah,
you'd like that.
Okay.
Now, imagine Alex
has just passed his test
and he's driving
along down the road
elbow out the window.
You know how it is.
And he realises
he's gone the wrong way.
So he throws it
into reverse,
tears backward,
pulls up the handbrake,
does a 180 degree
turn.
Don't worry,
mum and dad,
he won't do that.
Just an illustration.
And he drives off
down the road
in the opposite direction
to what he was going.
That's what repentance is.
It's a sudden
and radical change
in direction.
The conscious moment of
I'm going in the wrong direction,
I need to turn around
and go in the right direction.
So you turn around
and you believe,
you entrust your life
to Jesus.
No longer do we believe
in our own ability
to deal with sin and death.
Instead,
we throw ourselves,
we entrust our life
to Jesus
who deals
with the punishment
that we deserve.
He takes the blame
for the record
of our wrong
and he destroys death
that we can never defeat
on our own.
So in response,
we repent,
we say sorry,
we entrust our life
to Jesus.
But it also says,
doesn't it,
in verse 37,
repent and
be baptised.
Now baptism
is very simply
a visible demonstration
of believing in Jesus.
It's a big,
big picture
of what it is
to trust Jesus.
So when Alex
gets baptised here,
he's going to go down
into the water.
He's going to go
backwards down
into the water.
Which is a picture
of Jesus dying.
So when Alex
gets baptised
and he goes down
under the water,
Alex is in effect
as saying,
you know what?
Jesus died for me.
And when Jesus died,
he was dying
in my place,
for me.
And I am accepting
Jesus' death
on my behalf.
And then,
of course,
we will bring him up again.
He doesn't have to hold
his breath for too long.
But he's going to come up
out of the water,
which is a picture
of resurrection.
Jesus was raised
for me.
And Alex is saying
at that moment,
when I come out
of the water,
I'm saying that
Jesus defeated death
for me in my place.
I can never do it,
but I am trusting
Jesus with my life
so that when I die,
I will just rise
and live with him
for all eternity.
So the act of baptism
is this wonderful picture
of believing in Jesus.
And then second,
and this is going
to be quick,
baptism is a picture
not just of believing
in Jesus,
but belonging to Jesus.
Because we all want
to belong,
don't we?
Nobody wants to be
left out and to be
Norman no-mates.
Most of us long
for a real community.
I hope there's no
Normans here,
by the way,
and that you have
got friends.
But we all want
relationships,
don't we?
We want that support
and encouragement,
a place where we're safe
and have that sense
of belonging.
And we don't want
to be left out.
So when we believe
in Jesus,
we also belong
to Jesus.
We become part
of his family,
where we're welcomed
into the family
of Jesus.
We can call Jesus
our brother
and God our Father.
We won't ever
be left out.
Look at verse 40.
With many other words,
he warned them
and he pleaded with them,
save yourselves
from this corrupt
generation.
Now, they're very
strong words
to be saying
save yourself
from this corrupt
generation.
Well, basically
what he's saying
is this.
He's saying
leave your old
way of life,
a life without
Jesus,
and now devote
yourself to your
new way of life,
a life in the
family of Jesus.
So you're leaving
your old life
and you're now
joining the family
of Jesus.
Now, when we join
the family of Jesus,
we're joining those
who also believe
in Jesus,
which is what we
call church.
Joining the family
of Jesus is becoming
part of the family
of Jesus,
people who trust
him.
So look at verse
44.
We didn't read this,
but I think it's
helpful just to read it.
In verse 44,
this is what it
says here.
All the believers,
so all those who
have entrusted
their life to Jesus,
all of them
were together
and they had
everything in common.
They shared
their life together.
Selling their
possessions and
goods,
they gave to
anyone as he
had need.
So those who
had extra
were able to
give to those
who didn't have.
And they made
sure that nobody
was left
on their own.
Verse 46,
every day they
continued to meet
together in the
temple courts.
They would eat
bread,
they would just
simply have meals
together in their
homes,
eating together
with glad and
sincere hearts.
You see,
they would,
just like we're
doing now,
they would meet
together to read
the Bible and pray
and talk about
Jesus.
They would look
after each other's
needs in a
practical way.
They would care
for one another.
And for many
people,
church is just
boring.
It's that kind
of little slot
on a Sunday
morning when I
want to be in
bed and do my
own thing and
get up at kind
of two o'clock
and play games
or whatever we
do.
But church isn't
just about a
meeting on a
Sunday morning,
it's 24-7.
It's all about
people who believe
in Jesus and
belong to Jesus.
It's about a
family that cares
and supports.
And so Alex
is saying,
I belong to
the family of
Jesus.
In fact,
listen to what
he says in
his story.
He says,
the good thing
about being a
Christian is that
you know you're
going to heaven.
I wonder if you
could say that,
that you know
you're going to
heaven.
Where there's
eternal life with
all the other
believers.
So that's
something to
look forward to.
But what about
now?
He says this,
another good thing
about being a
Christian is that
you get to meet,
to be with
the other
believers.
You see,
church is all
about people who
believe in Jesus
and belong to
Jesus and who
share this life
of Jesus
together.
Now the question
is, how do
people know
that you belong
to Jesus?
Well, they were
baptised.
That's how people
knew.
So in verse
41, this is
where we started.
Those who
accepted his
message were
baptised.
And about
3,000, only
one is getting
baptised today,
but there were
3,000 on that
day.
3,000 and
they were added.
They joined.
They became
part of the
family of
Jesus.
So when Alex
is getting
baptised, he's
not just saying
I believe in
Jesus and
this is some
kind of little
private thing
that I'm doing
all on my
own.
He's saying,
no, this is
something public.
I'm joining.
The family
of Jesus.
So,
where does
that leave
us all?
Well, Alex
has found
out who
Jesus is.
He believes
in Jesus.
He knows
he belongs
to Jesus.
And he's
going to get
baptised.
But what
about you
and me?
Is this just
for Alex?
Or is this
for you and
me as well?
Well, look
at verse 39.
The promise,
he says,
this promise
of forgiveness,
the promise
of the Holy
Spirit,
is for you
and for all
your children
and for all
who are far
off, for all
whom the Lord
our God
will call.
You see,
this isn't
just about
Alex.
This is
something for
everybody,
for you
and for
me.
And it
requires all
of us to
respond.
So I want
to leave us
with this
question.
What is
your response?
We know
what Alex's
response is,
but what's
your response
to this good
news about
Jesus?
Will you
believe in
your own
ability to
deal with
your own
sin and
death?
Will you
present your
record to
Jesus and
go,
right,
I've done
a good way
of excusing
everything so
far in my
life.
I think I'll
kind of
excuse most
things with
God.
Will you
trust him
with just
your life,
your record?
Or will you
present the
record of
Jesus as
being perfect
for you?
Will you
entrust
yourself to
Jesus who
deals with
death?
Have you
found a
cure for
death?
The only
cure for
death is
Jesus who
rose again
from the
grave.
Do you
believe?
And do
you belong
to the
family of
Jesus?
We must
answer that
question,
each one
of us.
Alex has
responded with
a big yes
to all of
those.
I hope
you do
too.
Let's
pray.
Father, we
thank you
for the
good news
of Jesus.
Thank you
that he
died.
Thank you
that he
rose again
from the
grave.
We thank
you for
Alex's
clear and
sure
testimony
of his
believing in
Jesus,
entrusting
his whole
life to
him,
and his
trusting in
the resurrection
of Jesus
that he
will live
with him
forever.
Please help
us to
understand what
we have
heard,
and please
help us if
we are not
yet believing
in him,
to believe in
him,
and if we
are,
that we would
go on trusting
in him all
our lives.
Amen.
Before we
do baptise
Alex,
we're going
to sing
one last
song.
When I
was lost,
you came
and rescued
me.
Reach
down.
This is
Jesus who
came down
to reach
down to
us so
that we
could belong
to him.
Look at
those words
there.
You know
all the
things I've
ever done,
but Jesus'
blood,
that's a
reference to
his death,
has cancelled
everyone if
we believe
in him.
Let's
stand
together.
As we
sing this
song.
When I
was lost,
you came
and rescued
me.
Reached
down into
the pit
and lifted
me.
Oh,
Lord,
such love,
I was as
far from
you as
I could
be.
You know
all the
things I've
ever done,
Jesus' blood
has cancelled
everyone.
Oh,
Lord,
such grace
to qualify
me as
your own.
There is a
new song
in my mouth,
there is a
deep cry
in my heart,
a hymn of
praise.
to almighty
God,
hallelujah.
And now
I stand
firm
on this
rock,
my life
is hidden
now,
with Christ
in God,
the old
has gone,
and the new
has come,
hallelujah.
Your love
has lifted me.
me.
Now I
come into
your family,
for the
Son of God
has died
for me.
Oh,
Lord,
such peace
I am as
loved by
you as
I could
be.
In the
full assurance
of your
love,
now with
every
confidence
we come.
Oh,
Lord,
such joy
to know
that you
delight
in me.
There is a
new
song
in my
mouth,
there is a
deep
cry,
in my
heart,
a hymn
of praise
to
almighty
God,
hallelujah.
And now
I stand
firm
on this
rock,
my life
is hidden
now,
with Christ
in God,
the old
has gone,
and the new
has come,
hallelujah.
Your love
has lifted me.
Many
are the
wonders
you have
done,
many
other
things
that you
have
planned,
beautiful
the grace
that you
give to
us,
all that
we don't
deserve,
all that
we cannot
earn,
but it's a
gift of
love,
your love
has lifted
me.
love,
there is a
new
song in
my mouth,
there is a
deep
cry in
my heart,
a hymn
of praise
to almighty
God,
hallelujah.
And now
I stand
firm
on this
rock,
my life
is hidden
now,
with Christ
in God
the old
has gone,
and the new
has come,
hallelujah,
your love
has lifted
me.
please do
take your
seats,
I'm going
to ask
Alex to
come up,
and Rob,
Rob,
Rob isn't
getting
baptized,
he's just
the unpaid
dunker.
Is it
cold?
Yes,
we want
it to be
memorable.
We're going
to come in
and join
you in
just a
minute,
Alex,
but just
to let
people know,
well,
if you can't
see and you
want to see,
you can stand
up at the
back or
gather around,
that's fine.
this water
is just
ordinary
water,
a little
bit of
hoss,
just a
teeny
weeny
bit.
It's not
going to
change
Alex's
life,
the water
itself,
I'm not
going to
pray over
it,
it's not
magical
in any
shape or
form,
it is
simply
a symbol,
a picture
of Alex's
belief,
and his
entrusting
himself to
Jesus,
this death,
this
resurrection,
and he
has come
to see that
Jesus is
the most
important
person in
his life.
So,
Alex,
I'm just
going to
ask you
two questions
and then
we're going
to jump
in there
and baptise
you.
So,
here we
go.
Do you
believe
that Jesus
died for
you and
rose again
from the
grave for
you so
that you
might belong
to Jesus
now and
for all
eternity?
Yes,
I do.
And do
you promise
with the
help of
the Holy
Spirit to
serve
God
in the
family of
Jesus,
that is
the
church,
and in
the
world,
now and
for so
long as
you live.
Yes.
Okay.
Alex, on your confession that you trust the Lord Jesus Christ
with all of your life, we now baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Well, we're going to continue the celebration and have tea and coffee and there'll be some
food served from the hatch. Before we do, we're going to pray. And so let me just pray
for us all right now. Let's pray together.
Father God, we thank you so much for today. We thank you so much for the story of Alex,
for his life. We thank you so much for his family. Thank you for his testimony that he
follows you and loves you. We pray that you will strengthen him all of his days as he
seeks to walk with you and to live for you. Thank you for the food and the drink that
we're going to enjoy together. We thank you for your many gifts. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen.
Thank you.