1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,560 Welcome to Walk in the Truth podcast. Have you ever looked back in time and considered 2 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:21,000 how certain defining moments have shaped your life in future? Today, John Metter, lead 3 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:25,200 pastor of Cross City Church, looks at the importance of defining moments and how we 4 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:32,200 can recognize what God is saying through them. 5 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:37,400 Matt, I'm telling you there's nothing more fun than watching that. Would you go ahead 6 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:43,160 and be seated for just a moment. So this will be the wettest I've ever preached in, I'll 7 00:00:43,160 --> 00:00:47,960 tell you right now. It's kind of wet. And so you just have to forgive the wetness, but 8 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:51,400 that's really cool water out there. I mean it's warm, but it's cool at the same time. 9 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:56,560 You know what I'm saying? Because it is the water into which people are baptized. It's 10 00:00:56,560 --> 00:01:01,640 the water where they profess Christ. That's always so powerful. A very powerful moment 11 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:05,840 that we have today. So I want to talk to you about a baptism for just a few moments and 12 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:09,960 I want to be able to explain everything that you've just seen. I want to also challenge 13 00:01:09,960 --> 00:01:15,880 you and your understanding of baptism. I want you to take this very personal. And here's 14 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:22,880 why I want you to take it personal. The act of baptism is a personal kind of statement 15 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:29,800 that nobody can make for you. And if you've never made it, you miss the opportunity of 16 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:35,840 walking in the obedience of what God calls you to do after salvation. Okay? So if you 17 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:40,160 have your Bibles, open them up and I'm going to bring the shortest message. And I know 18 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:43,440 I've made that threat several times and never fully delivered on it, but this will be a 19 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:49,960 short message out of Acts chapter eight, beginning in verse 35. And an example that we read about 20 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:56,960 all the time. And that is the name of the people in this, in this passage, Philip, who 21 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:01,920 meets in Ethiopia and eunuch. He talks to him about Jesus. Now this, this encounter 22 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:07,840 happens in a desert road that the Holy Spirit has led Philip on the South of an area called 23 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:13,360 Gaza. So there's nobody there except Philip who crosses paths with the Ethiopian eunuch. 24 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:17,360 And then by the time you read this story, you know, there's nothing coincidental about 25 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:23,200 this meeting. God has orchestrated ordained for this meeting to take place. So Philip 26 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:27,040 says, do you understand what you're reading? This man has been reading off a scroll and 27 00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:31,480 the old Testament prophet Isaiah. And the man says, how can I understand if, if nobody 28 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:37,560 explains to me what it, what it is? Verse 35 picks up the whole text and says, Philip 29 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:43,000 opened his mouth and beginning from this scripture, he preached Jesus to him. And as they went 30 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:46,960 along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, look, water, what prevents 31 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:53,960 me from being baptized? And Philip said, if you believe with all your heart, you may. 32 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:59,720 And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. And he ordered the 33 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:04,240 chariots to stop. And they both went down into the water, Philip, as well as the eunuch 34 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:10,840 and he baptized him. Say, pastor, why do you keep coming back to this text? Why do we hear 35 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:15,680 about it pretty frequently? And there's a number of reasons for that. Number one, it's 36 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:21,080 very early in a church life. Number two, it's very personal for this Ethiopian unit. Number 37 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:26,960 three, there's all kinds of supernatural things happening in Acts chapter eight. I mean, God 38 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:31,960 just brings this witness to this man who's been reading about Isaiah and he learns about 39 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:38,960 Jesus. And because baptism was so important to what Philip said, put your faith in Christ, 40 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:44,340 be willing to be baptized as a public testimony of your faith, then the Ethiopian unit wanted 41 00:03:44,340 --> 00:03:48,940 to be baptized. Now we have two ordinances in the church and the New Testament church 42 00:03:48,940 --> 00:03:55,940 there are two. In communion, we proclaim his death, Christ's death. We talk about the bread 43 00:03:56,260 --> 00:04:00,780 being the body and the juice being the blood of Jesus. But in baptism, we proclaim his 44 00:04:00,780 --> 00:04:07,300 life. The phrase every time is buried with Christ in baptism into death, raised to walk 45 00:04:07,300 --> 00:04:12,440 in what? In newness of life. So we're proclaiming his life. What we're saying is there's life 46 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:18,100 after Jesus that's very different from life before Jesus. That is not just eternal life. 47 00:04:18,100 --> 00:04:24,620 It is the life he promises, abundant life. And so this baptism represents all that. So 48 00:04:24,620 --> 00:04:30,420 let's talk about the who and the when and the what and the where and the why of baptism 49 00:04:30,420 --> 00:04:35,440 today. First of all, the who of baptism. Verse 37, he answered and said, I believe that Jesus 50 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:42,440 Christ is the son of God. So as Phillip was preaching, he made it very clear that what 51 00:04:42,500 --> 00:04:48,940 the Ethiopian unit thought about Jesus Christ was incredibly important. And when he came 52 00:04:48,940 --> 00:04:53,780 to the point of understanding that he was the son of God, then he also had to have shared 53 00:04:53,780 --> 00:04:59,180 with him that that public way to proclaim that is through baptism. And so he baptized 54 00:04:59,180 --> 00:05:04,500 him right there on the spot. Now that's very consistent with Peter's message at Pentecost 55 00:05:04,500 --> 00:05:11,500 in Acts chapter two, verse 37 and 38. That same day, 3000 people were baptized. So it's 56 00:05:11,500 --> 00:05:15,800 really, really something that happens close to our salvation or it should be as close 57 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:21,420 to our salvation as possible. But the who of baptism is those who have put their faith 58 00:05:21,420 --> 00:05:27,700 and trust and confidence in Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone. Baptism doesn't save us. 59 00:05:27,700 --> 00:05:32,900 Baptism proclaims that we trust Jesus. So that's the who of baptism. If you put your 60 00:05:32,900 --> 00:05:39,620 faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone, you fit the bill of the who of baptism. Number 61 00:05:39,620 --> 00:05:45,420 two is the when of baptism. The Bible says in verse 38, he ordered the chariot to stop 62 00:05:45,420 --> 00:05:49,940 and he baptized him. Now if I'm going through a desert, I don't want to stop unnecessarily, 63 00:05:49,940 --> 00:05:55,620 but this baptism was pretty important. So he stopped. The biblical practice for baptism 64 00:05:55,620 --> 00:06:02,420 is immediately upon conversion. In Acts chapter two, verse 41, that's what happened. They 65 00:06:02,420 --> 00:06:08,060 came to faith in Jesus and they immediately baptized them. So we baptized the person as 66 00:06:08,060 --> 00:06:13,100 soon after they profess Christ as we possibly can. When they know beyond doubt that's true 67 00:06:13,100 --> 00:06:16,980 and when we can make all the arrangements or family comes in, whatever it might be, 68 00:06:16,980 --> 00:06:20,580 we make those arrangements to baptize people as soon as possible. And I know there are 69 00:06:20,580 --> 00:06:25,100 some out there that say, but what about those that have come from a really rough background? 70 00:06:25,100 --> 00:06:30,740 How do we know that we're sure that they're ready to be baptized? And I look at the Apostle 71 00:06:30,740 --> 00:06:35,980 Paul, a religious terrorist before he came to faith in Christ, killing people, right? 72 00:06:35,980 --> 00:06:41,740 That's pretty bad on anybody's scale. But when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, 73 00:06:41,740 --> 00:06:49,740 the scripture says that he was to be baptized immediately. In fact, in Acts chapter 22 and 74 00:06:49,740 --> 00:06:56,500 verse 12, it says, why are you delaying? Be baptized now in the name of Jesus. Okay. All 75 00:06:56,500 --> 00:07:00,940 right. If Paul's a religious terrorist and he doesn't have to wait a six week time period 76 00:07:00,940 --> 00:07:04,580 to make sure he's serious about this, that I think it's fine for people who put their 77 00:07:04,580 --> 00:07:09,700 faith and trust in Jesus immediately after that salvation experience. We don't need to 78 00:07:09,700 --> 00:07:15,740 delay. We just need to define very clearly, who are you trusting? Who have you put your 79 00:07:15,740 --> 00:07:22,060 faith in? And if you put your faith in Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone, then it's time 80 00:07:22,060 --> 00:07:28,820 to be baptized. That's the win of baptism. You know, I wear on my hand every day a ring 81 00:07:28,820 --> 00:07:34,500 that I received at my marriage ceremony. My father actually did the ceremony. He's a pastor. 82 00:07:34,500 --> 00:07:39,180 He was a pastor. And so my wife and I did the vows and we were up there at the front 83 00:07:39,180 --> 00:07:43,540 and I put the ring on my wife's finger and then she put the ring on my finger. What if 84 00:07:43,540 --> 00:07:47,460 I'd said, wait a minute, I'm going to wait about six to 10 weeks before I wear that ring 85 00:07:47,460 --> 00:07:52,540 to make sure that this thing's going to work out okay. Now obviously I didn't do that. 86 00:07:52,540 --> 00:07:57,480 I was making a commitment to my wife at that moment. I wanted to wear that ring from day 87 00:07:57,480 --> 00:08:05,380 one and that ring is the public profession. If someone didn't see my wife standing next 88 00:08:05,380 --> 00:08:09,520 to me, a public profession, I'm a married man to my wife and baptism is that public 89 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:15,140 profession that you're married to Christ. You've put your faith and trust in him. And 90 00:08:15,140 --> 00:08:18,980 so I want to do that as soon as I put my faith and trust in him. That's the win. Now the 91 00:08:18,980 --> 00:08:25,820 water baptism in the verses that we read, verse 30, he baptized him. The water baptism 92 00:08:25,820 --> 00:08:34,820 is by immersion. The word baptism is an exact transliteration. Baptized is baptizo and the 93 00:08:34,820 --> 00:08:40,860 word means to dip repeatedly, to immerse or submerge. That's why we baptize people the 94 00:08:40,860 --> 00:08:45,220 way we do. Listen, it'd be more convenient just to sprinkle them as they walk by. More 95 00:08:45,220 --> 00:08:50,300 convenient just to pour water over them. That'd be super simple, but that's not symbolizing 96 00:08:50,300 --> 00:08:55,580 anything that baptism is supposed to symbolize. Baptism is supposed to symbolize death to 97 00:08:55,580 --> 00:09:01,860 an old way of life and a brand new life coming up out of that grave. And that's why we baptize 98 00:09:01,860 --> 00:09:08,060 the way we do. The word baptism or baptizo actually is in a recipe, an ancient Greek 99 00:09:08,060 --> 00:09:15,580 word. And in that Greek language they used that word to describe a cucumber that was 100 00:09:15,580 --> 00:09:20,020 submerged or immersed in simmering vinegar and it came out something different. What 101 00:09:20,020 --> 00:09:24,180 did it come out as? A pickle. How many of you know that that's the way you make a pickle? 102 00:09:24,180 --> 00:09:28,060 Some of you in the room know that. But every time you eat a pickle you just keep in mind 103 00:09:28,060 --> 00:09:35,920 that it's been baptizoed in vinegar. That's a good reminder for you. So the symbolism 104 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:41,700 of baptism is that we are buried with Christ and raised to walk in the midst of life and 105 00:09:41,700 --> 00:09:44,740 the fact that it's by immersion meant that everywhere in scripture where people were 106 00:09:44,740 --> 00:09:48,900 baptized they had to find much water. They had to go to a place where there was enough 107 00:09:48,900 --> 00:09:53,420 water to do that. You see that in the baptism of Jesus. Mark chapter one verses nine and 108 00:09:53,420 --> 00:09:59,900 ten, John chapter three verse 23. Jesus went to John who was in the river Jordan. They 109 00:09:59,900 --> 00:10:04,580 were both in the water. They both went down under the water. Jesus did he come back up 110 00:10:04,580 --> 00:10:10,860 out of the water. All that phraseology is in the words in Mark and in the book of John. 111 00:10:10,860 --> 00:10:16,380 It's not convenient but it's a powerful confession that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. Years 112 00:10:16,380 --> 00:10:23,820 ago there was a young lady in a church I pastored in Oklahoma and she had spinal muscular atrophy 113 00:10:23,820 --> 00:10:28,180 and once she put her faith and trust in Jesus it wasn't going to be easy for her to be baptized. 114 00:10:28,180 --> 00:10:32,500 By then she was a young girl in a wheelchair. I baptized her I think she was at the age 115 00:10:32,500 --> 00:10:39,220 of 16. In fact she may be even watching today because we still sometimes correspond and she 116 00:10:39,220 --> 00:10:44,020 does watch our services sometimes. When Kimberly was baptized it wasn't simple it wasn't easy. 117 00:10:44,020 --> 00:10:48,220 It would have been so much easier just to sprinkle her with water. No. Kimberly wanted 118 00:10:48,220 --> 00:10:53,460 to follow what the scripture said and so we got her in that baptistry. We baptized her. 119 00:10:53,460 --> 00:10:57,420 You've never heard such a celebration as when she came up out of that water because everybody 120 00:10:57,420 --> 00:11:02,220 knew this is not convenient for you. This is not easy for you but you just wanted to 121 00:11:02,220 --> 00:11:09,220 obey Jesus and she did. So the water baptism is something that we do no matter how inconvenient 122 00:11:11,580 --> 00:11:16,620 it is because of the power of this testimony. Then the water baptism. The Bible says in 123 00:11:16,620 --> 00:11:22,740 verse 36 as they went along the road they came to some water. So this Ethiopian man 124 00:11:22,740 --> 00:11:27,940 was baptized in the desert in a place where there was much water in the desert. Jesus 125 00:11:27,940 --> 00:11:32,540 was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist and the New Testament people were 126 00:11:32,540 --> 00:11:39,100 baptized in rivers, streams and ponds. Churches began building baptistries after they built 127 00:11:39,100 --> 00:11:46,100 churches. My point is that baptism is not a religious act. It's not a religious act. 128 00:11:47,620 --> 00:11:52,460 It's not something that just happens in churches and when someone is baptized it's not a religious 129 00:11:52,460 --> 00:11:58,700 act just because it's in a church. It is a public profession of faith in Jesus wherever 130 00:11:58,700 --> 00:12:05,140 it's done. That's so important because we're really talking about Jesus. Now I've baptized 131 00:12:05,140 --> 00:12:10,900 in churches. I've baptized in truck stops. I've baptized in cool mountain streams at 132 00:12:10,900 --> 00:12:15,980 church camps and in swimming pools. I've even baptized in the Jordan River. I, John the 133 00:12:15,980 --> 00:12:22,980 Baptist, have done that before. But the always best greatest thrill is the next one that 134 00:12:25,300 --> 00:12:31,340 gets baptized no matter where because I know they're taking a courageous stand to identify 135 00:12:31,340 --> 00:12:38,340 with Christ. Then the wire baptism. The Bible says that Eunuch went on his way rejoicing. 136 00:12:38,660 --> 00:12:43,980 He had done something significant in his life because it was a public profession. Basically 137 00:12:43,980 --> 00:12:49,460 he said, I belong to Christ now. I belong to Christ. I don't belong to anybody else. 138 00:12:49,460 --> 00:12:56,460 Secondly, it's an act of obedience. It says I will follow him. Thirdly, it is an unmistakable 139 00:12:58,900 --> 00:13:05,900 picture of the gospel. I will proclaim him. Now listen, at baptism we believe and in baptism 140 00:13:07,780 --> 00:13:12,860 we walk with God in obedience, in salvation I mean we believe. Let me say it again. In 141 00:13:12,860 --> 00:13:19,860 salvation we believe. But in baptism we walk with God in obedience. We follow him. That's 142 00:13:20,060 --> 00:13:26,900 why this Ethiopian Eunuch had great joy. He said, I will follow Christ. I believe in him. 143 00:13:26,900 --> 00:13:32,820 I will follow him and I will obey him. I will proclaim him. That's part of what baptism 144 00:13:32,820 --> 00:13:37,900 says as well. I'm going to proclaim Jesus everywhere because I'm willing to do it here. 145 00:13:37,900 --> 00:13:43,900 Now you've seen the baptisms today. When I baptize people I say these words to them because 146 00:13:43,900 --> 00:13:47,860 of the public profession of your faith in Jesus Christ our Lord, in obedience to his 147 00:13:47,860 --> 00:13:53,060 command and then I put my hand on the back of their neck and I'll hold their arms with 148 00:13:53,060 --> 00:13:58,940 the other hand, buried with Christ in baptism and to death raised to walk and to survive. 149 00:13:58,940 --> 00:14:04,060 Romans 6, 4 is something that we've shown you today and that basically is a simple translation 150 00:14:04,060 --> 00:14:08,980 of what I've just said. For we died and we're buried with Christ by baptism and just as 151 00:14:08,980 --> 00:14:14,740 Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live 152 00:14:14,740 --> 00:14:21,220 new lives. Friends that's what we appeal to you to do today. There are those who have 153 00:14:21,220 --> 00:14:25,780 already been baptized and they're doing that and you've seen the gospel preached every 154 00:14:25,780 --> 00:14:31,540 time and that's why it must be on the forefront. That's why we like to baptize people because 155 00:14:31,540 --> 00:14:36,980 it shares the gospel over and over again. It reminds us over and over again that being 156 00:14:36,980 --> 00:14:41,060 buried with Christ is powerful enough to wash away our sins and being raised with Christ 157 00:14:41,060 --> 00:14:48,060 is powerful enough to give us new life. My piercing question to you today is have you 158 00:14:48,060 --> 00:14:55,540 done this? Have you done this? Now some of you are here today and you may say, you know 159 00:14:55,540 --> 00:15:00,220 at some point in my life I decided to follow Jesus and I know beyond doubt that I followed 160 00:15:00,220 --> 00:15:04,500 Jesus and put my trust and faith in Him and I can see in my life that I am a Father of 161 00:15:04,500 --> 00:15:09,580 Christ today because of fruit, because you're thinking differently, you're living differently. 162 00:15:09,580 --> 00:15:13,100 But if you've never been baptized there's a step of obedience that you do not want to 163 00:15:13,100 --> 00:15:19,540 omit or miss. I firmly believe that when we take that step of baptism God blesses us in 164 00:15:19,540 --> 00:15:25,340 even greater ways and I walk with Him. So if you put your faith in Christ but you've 165 00:15:25,340 --> 00:15:29,740 never been baptized, why would you not want to do it today in front of a group of people 166 00:15:29,740 --> 00:15:34,300 that will applaud and cheer you on and pray for you all the way through it? That's number 167 00:15:34,300 --> 00:15:41,780 one. But number two, maybe today you realize you've never had the opportunity or never 168 00:15:41,780 --> 00:15:49,860 taken the opportunity to actually trust Christ. The fact that He died on the cross and paid 169 00:15:49,860 --> 00:15:54,620 for our sins by doing that, the fact that He offers the gift of eternal life and forgiveness 170 00:15:54,620 --> 00:15:59,020 to all those who have put their faith and trust in Him. Have you never heard that before 171 00:15:59,020 --> 00:16:03,940 or have you never trusted that before? And given your life to Jesus, maybe today that's 172 00:16:03,940 --> 00:16:09,420 the decision you need to make but one of those two decisions can be made right now. I'm going 173 00:16:09,420 --> 00:16:13,500 to walk the room. That means I'm going to get off the stage and I'm going to walk through 174 00:16:13,500 --> 00:16:17,900 the building. And if you need to make one of those two decisions today, here's what 175 00:16:17,900 --> 00:16:21,860 will happen. I'm going to ask that you stand up and follow me through the room. If someone 176 00:16:21,860 --> 00:16:26,660 stands up today, if many someone stand up today to follow me there will be much applause, 177 00:16:26,660 --> 00:16:31,060 we will rejoice. We'll be praying for you the whole walk. I'll walk around the room, 178 00:16:31,060 --> 00:16:34,660 we'll gather here at the front and then I will pray with you. And as I pray with you 179 00:16:34,660 --> 00:16:40,340 afterwards, I'll send you over to this corner of the building and we'll prepare as the congregations 180 00:16:40,340 --> 00:16:45,740 worships for you to be baptized after you talk to someone about that decision. We will 181 00:16:45,740 --> 00:16:51,800 not baptize you quickly. We don't rush this thing. We make sure that you know the decision 182 00:16:51,800 --> 00:17:00,660 you're making is accurate and right and clear. We want it to be crystal clear. Are we clear? 183 00:17:00,660 --> 00:17:05,500 We want to be clear. I'm going to walk through the room. I have the courage, if you will, 184 00:17:05,500 --> 00:17:10,980 to stand with me at the file of Christ. For some reason I always walk this way first. 185 00:17:10,980 --> 00:17:14,740 It's been such a blessing over the years to walk through this room and I always say 186 00:17:14,740 --> 00:17:19,820 this, if nobody stands and comes with me, it's fine. Because the bottom line is I believe 187 00:17:19,820 --> 00:17:26,700 I'm being obedient to the Lord by making this walk and by inviting people to come. So Jesus 188 00:17:26,700 --> 00:17:30,980 would not ask anyone to follow him without personally walking with him. I would not ask 189 00:17:30,980 --> 00:17:35,100 you to make a decision without me personally walking with you. So if I walk by and it's 190 00:17:35,100 --> 00:17:40,900 time for you to make a decision, you stand up right now. I'll walk kind of slow and if 191 00:17:40,900 --> 00:17:44,380 it's you that needs to make the decisions, you go right ahead and stand up and follow 192 00:17:44,380 --> 00:17:49,420 me. And I promise a celebration when anybody's ready to do that. I wouldn't miss anybody 193 00:17:49,420 --> 00:17:55,860 is this young lady coming my way? Are you coming my way? Wow. Now not all of you can 194 00:17:55,860 --> 00:18:01,100 see this young lady, but she's got as much courage as anybody in the room. All right. 195 00:18:01,100 --> 00:18:05,620 All right. How about, how about anybody in this section? You want to come with me? You 196 00:18:05,620 --> 00:18:10,020 want to follow Christ and this young lady in professing Christ and following him in 197 00:18:10,020 --> 00:18:15,660 believer's baptism. If you want to do that, you can get up right now and follow me. As 198 00:18:15,660 --> 00:18:19,540 you can tell people will celebrate. We'll be excited about it. Don't let me walk by 199 00:18:19,540 --> 00:18:25,980 without you responding personally. If that's what you need to do. Anybody else in this 200 00:18:25,980 --> 00:18:29,620 section here? We're going to, you're going to have the longest walk because you started 201 00:18:29,620 --> 00:18:36,540 first with me. We're going to walk back this way. Anybody want to come and walk with us 202 00:18:36,540 --> 00:18:41,540 today as we ask people to follow Jesus. We're going to get a counselor to go right with 203 00:18:41,540 --> 00:18:45,540 us here. Thank you so much. All right. We're going to walk back this way. Stay with me 204 00:18:45,540 --> 00:18:53,860 here. Not too fast yet. Anybody here take the time to think through the decision I'm 205 00:18:53,860 --> 00:19:02,860 asking you to make. Somebody coming? Come on. Hi. So glad you're here. Come with me. 206 00:19:02,860 --> 00:19:10,620 All right. Not too fast now. We want to give everybody an opportunity. Sometimes I walk 207 00:19:10,620 --> 00:19:15,540 fast and run fast, but not on this day. I don't do it on this day. All right. Anybody 208 00:19:15,540 --> 00:19:19,980 in this section here? Never too late for you to stand up and come. How about anybody on 209 00:19:19,980 --> 00:19:24,420 the side or the other? People are praying for you right now, by the way. Those that 210 00:19:24,420 --> 00:19:27,780 have been in these services before know it's an important time where the Holy Spirit is 211 00:19:27,780 --> 00:19:33,260 working in people's hearts. And we want you to respond if that's what's going on. Are 212 00:19:33,260 --> 00:19:40,860 you coming? God bless you. So glad you're here. Stay right here for just a second. How 213 00:19:40,860 --> 00:19:45,580 about anybody in this section? I'll be back around in a second, but think through it. 214 00:19:45,580 --> 00:19:49,980 Okay. Now we're going to be in this section right here. Y'all come on down here. Anybody 215 00:19:49,980 --> 00:19:58,540 on either side here that wants to follow Christ or follow the Lord in believer's baptism. 216 00:19:58,540 --> 00:20:04,220 We're just wait. We're determined to wait for you to be here. We're determined to be 217 00:20:04,220 --> 00:20:12,460 present for you and make this decision. Anybody else? Would you come? In this section? Here's 218 00:20:12,460 --> 00:20:20,900 a man. Come on, sir. Good courage. Thank you so much. All right. We're going to keep walking. 219 00:20:20,900 --> 00:20:25,780 Okay. I'm going to keep you with me. Come on. Don't, don't leave us. There's going 220 00:20:25,780 --> 00:20:29,340 to be a gentleman come and stand alongside you right now. All right. We're coming back 221 00:20:29,340 --> 00:20:34,020 this way. Now anyone comes, you're going to walk with me. We're going to help you with 222 00:20:34,020 --> 00:20:37,980 the decision. We're going to counsel you through it. We're going to make sure you know what 223 00:20:37,980 --> 00:20:43,220 you're doing today. Anybody else is going to stand and come? All right. How about this 224 00:20:43,220 --> 00:20:47,500 group right here? You knew I'd be this way. Didn't you? You've been thinking about it. 225 00:20:47,500 --> 00:20:52,580 There's somebody over here. Okay. She's trying whichever side you want to go on. Y'all let 226 00:20:52,580 --> 00:20:59,580 her out. Amen. Let's celebrate it. Celebrate it. 227 00:20:59,580 --> 00:21:07,660 Top her over here, Elizabeth. That's great. So glad that you came and make this decision 228 00:21:07,660 --> 00:21:11,500 today. So glad. All right. We're going to keep walking. All right. We have the section 229 00:21:11,500 --> 00:21:17,180 right here. Anybody? They want to stand and follow Christ. Do it now. We're here. Anybody 230 00:21:17,180 --> 00:21:29,820 else? Come on. So glad that you've done this. Stick right with me here. All right. Anybody 231 00:21:29,820 --> 00:21:34,460 else here? We're going to move up into the section. Are you coming with us? Come on. 232 00:21:34,460 --> 00:21:40,660 Come on. Look at this young lady. So glad you're making this decision. Come on. All 233 00:21:40,660 --> 00:21:49,020 right. Anybody else up here? Are you coming, sir? Praise the Lord. Come on, man. He gave 234 00:21:49,020 --> 00:21:55,780 me the biggest handshake in the world right here. All right. Anybody here in this section? 235 00:21:55,780 --> 00:22:00,780 We're going to make our way through this section right here. And again, just let the Holy Spirit 236 00:22:00,780 --> 00:22:05,500 move you. You know this decision needs to be made. You're willing to make it today. 237 00:22:05,500 --> 00:22:09,940 We're willing to help you today. Everybody in this room is eager to see what God may 238 00:22:09,940 --> 00:22:14,740 do in your life. How about anybody in this section or this one right here before we head 239 00:22:14,740 --> 00:22:22,580 to the front? Anybody at all? All right. All right. This section now. If this is the decision 240 00:22:22,580 --> 00:22:27,420 that any of you need to make today, stand up and join the rest of us as we make our 241 00:22:27,420 --> 00:22:34,100 way to the front right now. Anybody here? Anybody here need to make a decision? We won't 242 00:22:34,100 --> 00:22:38,900 be laborer, but it's never too late. Never too late. I've seen people walk from the other 243 00:22:38,900 --> 00:22:44,060 side of the room. They've watched the whole process and then actually one year someone 244 00:22:44,060 --> 00:22:50,100 ran across the room and that's very appropriate to run in church when it comes to that. Right? 245 00:22:50,100 --> 00:22:56,180 Anybody here? All right. Come up here. We have a young man coming. Elijah, coming. All 246 00:22:56,180 --> 00:23:09,780 right. Come on. Y'all come up here. All right. Come up here. Listen, let's give him a hand 247 00:23:09,780 --> 00:23:20,060 as you do that. I'm so thankful. This gentleman here, when I ask him, are you doing this? 248 00:23:20,060 --> 00:23:25,740 He goes, I'm doing it. I'm doing it. Amen. Come on. Come on. You okay? We want you here. 249 00:23:25,740 --> 00:23:30,540 We want you here. I'm getting ready to pray for them, but if you need to come today, would 250 00:23:30,540 --> 00:23:34,980 you just get up and come right now? Don't wait any longer. Don't wait any longer. Are 251 00:23:34,980 --> 00:23:48,300 you coming? Come on. Glad you're here. Glad you're here. Is there anybody else? Anybody 252 00:23:48,300 --> 00:23:58,180 else? I don't want to miss anybody. Are you coming, sir? You coming up here? All right. 253 00:23:58,180 --> 00:24:05,860 All right. You're in the right place. You're in the right place. Right here. With dad. 254 00:24:05,860 --> 00:24:10,900 Come on, man. That's a great decision to make with your father. That's an awesome thing. 255 00:24:10,900 --> 00:24:16,740 Come right here. All right. In just a moment, I'm going to have a word of prayer with them. 256 00:24:16,740 --> 00:24:22,140 We're going to have them go this way. Jack Terrell will lead them that way. Get plenty 257 00:24:22,140 --> 00:24:26,020 of conversation in. We're going to worship together because we have a lot to celebrate. 258 00:24:26,020 --> 00:24:31,420 Wouldn't you agree? It's always a time to celebrate, but it's not too late for those 259 00:24:31,420 --> 00:24:36,380 that haven't decided to do it, but believe they need to do it today. You shouldn't do 260 00:24:36,380 --> 00:24:40,420 it because somebody else is up here. You should do it because you feel that Christ is calling 261 00:24:40,420 --> 00:24:46,540 you to do it. Are you coming, sir? Come on. He's coming. You just keep on coming. Come 262 00:24:46,540 --> 00:24:55,180 over here. There you go. Now, when I get through with my prayer, they're going to lead them 263 00:24:55,180 --> 00:25:01,340 that way. If you feel like that the opportunity has been given and you did not take advantage 264 00:25:01,340 --> 00:25:06,260 of that, instead of looking for me, just look for that door. We're going to leave it open. 265 00:25:06,260 --> 00:25:12,260 We're going to leave the porch light on for you. When you walk through that door, somebody 266 00:25:12,260 --> 00:25:17,540 will meet you and say, we're so glad you've come. You'll get the same counseling that 267 00:25:17,540 --> 00:25:22,820 they do. We'll be preparing to baptize you if that's the decision you're making today. 268 00:25:22,820 --> 00:25:31,820 All right? Never too late. It's always time to follow Jesus. Can we pray? Let's bow together. 269 00:25:31,820 --> 00:25:36,900 Let's bow together. Father, I want to thank you so, so much for these that have responded 270 00:25:36,900 --> 00:25:42,220 today by faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, Lord, today I know some of them have 271 00:25:42,220 --> 00:25:47,260 already given their lives to you and now are following in baptism. Some of them today are 272 00:25:47,260 --> 00:25:52,820 giving their lives to you for the first time. Lord, I pray that your Holy Spirit will make 273 00:25:52,820 --> 00:25:58,860 it clear in their hearts and in their lives what the decision is and what it means to 274 00:25:58,860 --> 00:26:03,940 follow you in baptism afterwards. Father, thank you so much. I pray that you'll continue 275 00:26:03,940 --> 00:26:10,940 to work in a powerful way as we, your people, shout and rejoice and worship you because 276 00:26:10,940 --> 00:26:14,700 you're worthy of all these things. Lord, we ask this in Jesus' name and our God's 277 00:26:14,700 --> 00:26:34,540 people said, stand up and let's worship the Lord.