WEBVTT 00:00:07.809 --> 00:00:10.169 Thank you for listening to this message from 00:00:10.169 --> 00:00:18.309 Lifehouse Church. Good morning, good morning. 00:00:18.329 --> 00:00:19.809 Turn to somebody beside you, give them a high 00:00:19.809 --> 00:00:22.309 five. Tell them, good to see you at Lifehouse 00:00:22.309 --> 00:00:25.250 on Baptism Sunday. Come on, it's good to see 00:00:25.250 --> 00:00:28.300 you. Thank you for being here today. We love 00:00:28.300 --> 00:00:32.920 Baptism Sunday. We love, this is kind of one 00:00:32.920 --> 00:00:35.179 of our favorite Sundays of all time throughout 00:00:35.179 --> 00:00:37.500 the year. I say that just about every Sunday, 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:40.020 but we do really do mean it. It's a great time 00:00:40.020 --> 00:00:43.479 to come to celebrate new life in Jesus. Amen? 00:00:44.159 --> 00:00:46.299 That's true. And before I get into the message 00:00:46.299 --> 00:00:48.439 part of this, they told me I had to be short. 00:00:48.840 --> 00:00:50.399 I didn't know what that meant, so I'm just going 00:00:50.399 --> 00:00:53.020 to preach. But I want to pray over God's word. 00:00:53.159 --> 00:00:55.299 And when I pray over God's word, I'm really praying 00:00:55.299 --> 00:00:57.420 over your ears. Because God's word is already 00:00:57.420 --> 00:00:59.659 blessed. It's just what it does in our ears, 00:00:59.740 --> 00:01:01.439 amen, in our hearts and minds. If you just bow 00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:03.560 your heads. Lord, we just come before you grateful, 00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:06.099 thankful for this day. God, I thank you for your 00:01:06.099 --> 00:01:08.519 word, God, that is so mighty and powerful. I 00:01:08.519 --> 00:01:11.280 thank you for the Holy Spirit, Lord, who empowers 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:13.939 us in your word. I thank you for your son, Jesus. 00:01:14.040 --> 00:01:15.799 And, Father, I thank you as Lord and creator. 00:01:16.280 --> 00:01:18.799 Lord, as we dive into your word. word this morning 00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:20.519 i pray that you would move upon our hearts and 00:01:20.519 --> 00:01:22.859 our ears and lord as we get ready to celebrate 00:01:22.859 --> 00:01:25.879 jesus what you've done in so many lives we just 00:01:25.879 --> 00:01:28.219 thank you we give you praise we give you glory 00:01:28.219 --> 00:01:30.219 we lift up our hearts and hands god they've already 00:01:30.219 --> 00:01:32.840 done that in worship and song and lord we just 00:01:32.840 --> 00:01:35.920 give you all the glory in jesus name and everybody 00:01:35.920 --> 00:01:39.680 said together Amen, amen. Well, listen, we couldn't 00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:42.519 think of a better way to follow up Easter Resurrection 00:01:42.519 --> 00:01:46.340 Sunday than having Baptism Sunday and celebrating 00:01:46.340 --> 00:01:48.280 new life in Jesus. And as you heard earlier, 00:01:48.439 --> 00:01:50.480 there are nine individuals who are going to come 00:01:50.480 --> 00:01:52.980 and really declare their faith in front of everybody 00:01:52.980 --> 00:01:56.840 that they are, in fact, followers of Jesus. And 00:01:56.840 --> 00:01:59.840 it is a declaration of what God's done. It's 00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:01.879 about being born again. It's what the scripture 00:02:01.879 --> 00:02:04.260 calls it. It's about coming to new life, right? 00:02:04.340 --> 00:02:07.700 And baptism really tells... the story. Water 00:02:07.700 --> 00:02:10.500 baptism tells a story. It tells the story of 00:02:10.500 --> 00:02:13.460 Jesus. It's really a perfect illustration. As 00:02:13.460 --> 00:02:16.520 a person goes into the water, represents death, 00:02:16.639 --> 00:02:19.139 right? Jesus died on the cross. He went down 00:02:19.139 --> 00:02:21.960 into the grave and came back up to life. It's 00:02:21.960 --> 00:02:24.280 a picture of that. And it's also a picture of 00:02:24.280 --> 00:02:27.120 what an individual experiences in their own life 00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:30.340 in Christ. It's that old person of sin dying 00:02:30.340 --> 00:02:33.139 away and coming up out of the water, washed. 00:02:33.639 --> 00:02:37.840 Clean, new, renewed, and alive in Jesus. And 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:40.759 really, baptism is all about the testimony. It's 00:02:40.759 --> 00:02:43.699 the testimony about being immersed in Jesus Christ, 00:02:43.840 --> 00:02:47.879 covered over, and surrounded by all things Jesus. 00:02:48.180 --> 00:02:52.680 It means being soaked and submerged. Say submerged 00:02:52.680 --> 00:02:55.039 this morning. Come on, it's about being submerged 00:02:55.039 --> 00:02:58.849 in Jesus. Water baptism symbolizes the change 00:02:58.849 --> 00:03:02.330 that happens in me when I am submerged in Jesus 00:03:02.330 --> 00:03:06.270 Christ. And it's, you know, I know this about 00:03:06.270 --> 00:03:08.689 being submerged, right? It changes things in 00:03:08.689 --> 00:03:11.810 our lives. Being submerged in water changes some 00:03:11.810 --> 00:03:13.889 things in your life. You know, as I thought about 00:03:13.889 --> 00:03:16.409 this message this morning and being submerged, 00:03:16.669 --> 00:03:18.509 and I didn't do it. I thought about doing it. 00:03:18.550 --> 00:03:19.949 But how many of you have ever seen, especially 00:03:19.949 --> 00:03:21.770 summertime's coming? I saw this the other day. 00:03:21.849 --> 00:03:24.479 Some kid was running through the yard. with a 00:03:24.479 --> 00:03:26.599 super soaker how many know what a super soaker 00:03:26.599 --> 00:03:30.139 is it's an enormous water gun okay i don't know 00:03:30.139 --> 00:03:31.979 where they got this thing they could barely carry 00:03:31.979 --> 00:03:34.460 it it was so big and they were firing up what 00:03:34.460 --> 00:03:37.000 i'm assuming was her brother all right it was 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:39.159 a girl she was right if i had that this morning 00:03:39.159 --> 00:03:41.879 i i would be here and i would submerge all of 00:03:41.879 --> 00:03:45.930 you Okay? I would hydrate you in Jesus' name 00:03:45.930 --> 00:03:49.050 this morning. Come on, across the field. How 00:03:49.050 --> 00:03:51.729 many know when I got done hydrating you with 00:03:51.729 --> 00:03:54.490 a super soaker, everybody might look just a little 00:03:54.490 --> 00:03:56.870 bit different, right? How many know when you 00:03:56.870 --> 00:03:59.030 go into the water, you don't look the same way 00:03:59.030 --> 00:04:02.250 when you come out? It changes how you look. You 00:04:02.250 --> 00:04:04.569 don't look the same. And for those of you... 00:04:04.919 --> 00:04:06.939 that have hair in the house this morning. Some 00:04:06.939 --> 00:04:09.500 of us don't, right? When you come out of the 00:04:09.500 --> 00:04:11.719 water, I mean, your hair is just a little bit 00:04:11.719 --> 00:04:14.000 different, right? You spent two hours this morning 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:16.259 getting your hair ready, and you go into the 00:04:16.259 --> 00:04:18.279 water, and you come up, and it looks completely 00:04:18.279 --> 00:04:21.240 different. You wouldn't feel the same. When you 00:04:21.240 --> 00:04:24.860 come out of the water, you might feel cool because 00:04:24.860 --> 00:04:27.379 of the water on your skin, or you might feel 00:04:27.379 --> 00:04:29.800 hot because I just shot you with a super soaker, 00:04:29.819 --> 00:04:32.550 right? You're going to feel different. Ladies, 00:04:32.589 --> 00:04:35.389 if you don't have waterproof makeup on, how many 00:04:35.389 --> 00:04:37.670 know there's going to be a change that takes 00:04:37.670 --> 00:04:40.730 place, right? It's going to happen. And what 00:04:40.730 --> 00:04:43.569 I'm saying is that once you're submerged, once 00:04:43.569 --> 00:04:47.129 you're under, once you're submerged in Jesus 00:04:47.129 --> 00:04:51.990 in particular, things change. Once I submerge 00:04:51.990 --> 00:04:55.279 myself in him. Once Jesus surrounds me on every 00:04:55.279 --> 00:04:57.839 side, above, below, on the sides, and underneath, 00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:01.819 water is a picture. Water baptism is a big picture 00:05:01.819 --> 00:05:05.500 of big change when I'm surrounded and submerged 00:05:05.500 --> 00:05:09.060 in Jesus. I'm going to say it again. Water baptism 00:05:09.060 --> 00:05:12.160 is a picture of big change when I am submerged 00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:17.050 in Jesus. It looks different in our lives on 00:05:17.050 --> 00:05:19.970 every side, and it should. 2 Corinthians 5, 17 00:05:19.970 --> 00:05:22.389 says this. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, 00:05:22.569 --> 00:05:27.490 he is a new creation. Old things have passed 00:05:27.490 --> 00:05:31.269 away. Behold, all things become new. Not some 00:05:31.269 --> 00:05:34.990 things. All things become new. All things get 00:05:34.990 --> 00:05:37.949 hydrated. I'm going to use water analogies all 00:05:37.949 --> 00:05:39.949 morning, so just get used to it. All things get 00:05:39.949 --> 00:05:43.480 hydrated in Jesus, right? Some things get washed 00:05:43.480 --> 00:05:47.759 and cleaned in my mind. Something shifts and 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:51.120 waves begin to hit my soul and my spirit. I begin 00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:54.560 to come alive. Things become new in my body. 00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:57.199 What happened on the inside even begins to show 00:05:57.199 --> 00:05:59.879 up on the outside, in the exterior. And I don't 00:05:59.879 --> 00:06:02.300 think the same. I don't move the same. I don't 00:06:02.300 --> 00:06:04.819 live the same. I don't believe the same. I don't 00:06:04.819 --> 00:06:07.699 do the same things I used to do. I've become 00:06:07.699 --> 00:06:11.220 a new creation in Christ. Something has changed 00:06:11.220 --> 00:06:14.629 when I get submerged by Jesus. And I love talking 00:06:14.629 --> 00:06:17.110 with those who have recently been changed by 00:06:17.110 --> 00:06:19.649 Jesus Christ. I get the opportunity sometimes 00:06:19.649 --> 00:06:21.769 when somebody's brand new in the faith, they've 00:06:21.769 --> 00:06:23.490 never come to faith before, they've never put 00:06:23.490 --> 00:06:26.430 their faith and trust in Christ, and they get 00:06:26.430 --> 00:06:29.509 wet, man. They get submerged in Jesus, and it's 00:06:29.509 --> 00:06:31.389 an awesome thing to come and talk with them and 00:06:31.389 --> 00:06:34.050 to listen to their story. And you can see and 00:06:34.050 --> 00:06:36.370 you can sense the change that begins in them. 00:06:36.410 --> 00:06:39.029 You can see something new starting to take place. 00:06:39.209 --> 00:06:42.529 There's a new creation. There's a sense of newness 00:06:42.529 --> 00:06:44.509 that's all around. They don't even know what 00:06:44.509 --> 00:06:47.170 to do with it sometimes. And the Holy Spirit 00:06:47.170 --> 00:06:49.850 begins to renovate from the inside out because 00:06:49.850 --> 00:06:52.110 that's what happens in salvation. Holy Spirit 00:06:52.110 --> 00:06:55.870 comes in and he begins to change. He recreates, 00:06:55.870 --> 00:06:59.029 right? It's a new thing. And new things start 00:06:59.029 --> 00:07:02.529 pouring out of their spirit, starts pouring out 00:07:02.529 --> 00:07:05.170 of their mouth, right? Some things that used 00:07:05.170 --> 00:07:07.290 to fill their mouth no longer fill their mouth. 00:07:07.550 --> 00:07:10.730 The vulgar, right? And the vile disappear. And 00:07:10.730 --> 00:07:12.649 all of a sudden you start to hear virtuous words. 00:07:13.149 --> 00:07:16.029 come out. Gossip goes away and the gospel starts 00:07:16.029 --> 00:07:19.649 to come out. I was in a coffee shop this week 00:07:19.649 --> 00:07:22.850 at the Cracked Pot. Yes, I'm going to do a shameless 00:07:22.850 --> 00:07:24.350 plug here. If you haven't gone to the Cracked 00:07:24.350 --> 00:07:26.509 Pot in Carlisle, you need to. Stop in there. 00:07:26.689 --> 00:07:28.589 Not only will you get coffee and something good 00:07:28.589 --> 00:07:30.829 to eat, but you also get an opportunity to support 00:07:30.829 --> 00:07:32.870 a ministry that does amazing things. All right, 00:07:32.930 --> 00:07:35.550 commercial's over, but please stop in. All right. 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:38.100 But I was there this week and I was spending 00:07:38.100 --> 00:07:41.399 a little bit of time preparing for this message. 00:07:41.540 --> 00:07:43.519 And sometimes I just go to a coffee shop to get 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:45.860 away and study and read. And I was there and 00:07:45.860 --> 00:07:48.720 I know some of you do this because some of you 00:07:48.720 --> 00:07:50.600 are going to laugh. But I was kind of eavesdropping 00:07:50.600 --> 00:07:52.899 on the conversation. It was about five feet away 00:07:52.899 --> 00:07:56.220 from me. There was two people, individuals talking. 00:07:56.360 --> 00:07:58.259 It was this young man that walked in and he was 00:07:58.259 --> 00:08:00.740 talking to a woman who was probably, I'm going 00:08:00.740 --> 00:08:03.420 to guess, roughly 20 years older than he was. 00:08:03.949 --> 00:08:06.970 And they clearly knew each other. And I started 00:08:06.970 --> 00:08:09.970 listening to this young man. And I didn't have 00:08:09.970 --> 00:08:12.230 to ask him anything. I wanted to jump into conversation. 00:08:12.430 --> 00:08:13.889 I'm not going to lie. I wanted to get into conversation. 00:08:14.290 --> 00:08:16.569 Because he just started talking about Jesus. 00:08:16.829 --> 00:08:18.829 He started talking about what Jesus did in his 00:08:18.829 --> 00:08:21.470 life. And he's just telling this lady, he's going 00:08:21.470 --> 00:08:23.829 on and she's just so excited. And he's telling 00:08:23.829 --> 00:08:26.110 her. And then he starts talking about God's word 00:08:26.110 --> 00:08:28.649 and how it changes everybody. And his speech, 00:08:28.769 --> 00:08:31.790 his mannerisms, it was just spewing out of him. 00:08:31.850 --> 00:08:34.149 And I'm just leaning, right? I'm leaning in and 00:08:34.149 --> 00:08:36.289 grabbing ahold of everything I can hear. And 00:08:36.289 --> 00:08:38.669 you can see it in everything he does. Somewhere 00:08:38.669 --> 00:08:41.330 along the way, he got submerged in Jesus. I don't 00:08:41.330 --> 00:08:42.950 know where it happened. I don't know when it 00:08:42.950 --> 00:08:44.629 happened. I didn't get the chance to ask him. 00:08:44.690 --> 00:08:47.250 I don't even know who he was pre -Jesus. I'm 00:08:47.250 --> 00:08:49.490 sure it looked a lot different. But I know one 00:08:49.490 --> 00:08:51.929 thing. I know what I saw post -Jesus. I saw a 00:08:51.929 --> 00:08:54.629 young man who was submerged in Jesus Christ. 00:08:54.750 --> 00:08:58.009 And it changed who he was. And it reminded me 00:08:58.009 --> 00:09:00.909 of what we read in Acts chapter 4. Verse 13, 00:09:01.070 --> 00:09:03.809 and this is talking about Peter and John. Peter 00:09:03.809 --> 00:09:05.289 and John were preaching the gospel, and they 00:09:05.289 --> 00:09:07.610 got arrested, and they got brought in before 00:09:07.610 --> 00:09:10.309 a bunch of leaders of that day. And it said this, 00:09:10.370 --> 00:09:12.610 now, when they saw the boldness of Peter and 00:09:12.610 --> 00:09:15.090 John and perceived that they were uneducated 00:09:15.090 --> 00:09:17.289 and untrained men, okay, they realized these 00:09:17.289 --> 00:09:20.289 guys aren't educated, but they marveled. And 00:09:20.289 --> 00:09:22.809 they realized that they had been with Jesus. 00:09:24.210 --> 00:09:26.769 These guys are standing in front of a council 00:09:26.769 --> 00:09:29.009 group of people. They know they're not educated. 00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:31.879 But everything about them says that these two 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:34.460 guys have been with Jesus. And all the leadership 00:09:34.460 --> 00:09:37.960 saw it and knew it, right? When we submerge ourselves 00:09:37.960 --> 00:09:42.340 in Jesus, everything becomes new at any age. 00:09:43.139 --> 00:09:45.720 Even if you come to Christ in your old age, like 00:09:45.720 --> 00:09:48.620 you're 40 or something, right? That was a little 00:09:48.620 --> 00:09:53.299 joke, all right? You can get submerged, even 00:09:53.299 --> 00:09:57.909 if you're very young. and you get submerged, 00:09:58.149 --> 00:10:00.649 it'll start to show up in who you are. Even if 00:10:00.649 --> 00:10:02.769 you're ancient like I am, because I passed 40 00:10:02.769 --> 00:10:06.470 up a long time ago, right? If you get submerged 00:10:06.470 --> 00:10:09.289 in Jesus Christ, it'll start to come out. Even 00:10:09.289 --> 00:10:11.850 if you get re -submerged, we should get re -submerged 00:10:11.850 --> 00:10:14.190 all the time in Jesus. Sometimes, how many know, 00:10:14.250 --> 00:10:16.149 when you serve God for a long time, you just 00:10:16.149 --> 00:10:18.289 kind of get dry and dusty, and you need Jesus 00:10:18.289 --> 00:10:21.049 to come along with a super soaker, right? And 00:10:21.049 --> 00:10:24.080 surround you again. And all of a sudden, people 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:26.320 start to see Jesus coming out of you. The joy 00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:28.899 starts to come out, right? The joy of the Lord 00:10:28.899 --> 00:10:31.179 is your strength. It's your strength because 00:10:31.179 --> 00:10:33.960 it's what other people see in you. It really 00:10:33.960 --> 00:10:36.399 is. And if we take a little closer to that first 00:10:36.399 --> 00:10:38.580 verse I started with, which you hear quoted so 00:10:38.580 --> 00:10:41.600 often, 2 Corinthians 5, 17. If you start to look 00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:44.379 at the verses before and a couple after. this 00:10:44.379 --> 00:10:45.419 morning, we're just going to look at the ones 00:10:45.419 --> 00:10:48.019 before. You start to understand, you start to 00:10:48.019 --> 00:10:50.620 see what takes place when you get submerged in 00:10:50.620 --> 00:10:52.740 Jesus. So if you got your Bibles, you can go 00:10:52.740 --> 00:10:54.679 ahead, skip on back to second Corinthians five, 00:10:54.740 --> 00:10:58.019 chapter one, or chapter five, verse one. And 00:10:58.019 --> 00:10:59.820 I'm going to pick up and we're going to read 00:10:59.820 --> 00:11:03.159 right on down to 17. It says this, for we know 00:11:03.159 --> 00:11:05.480 that if the tent, now I got to stop right here 00:11:05.480 --> 00:11:06.779 for a second. All right. I know I didn't get 00:11:06.779 --> 00:11:09.480 very far, but when it says tent there, it's not 00:11:09.480 --> 00:11:11.460 talking about your tent that you go camping in. 00:11:11.690 --> 00:11:14.509 All right? Your tent is your body. Point to your 00:11:14.509 --> 00:11:17.129 body right now. That's your tent. Look at the 00:11:17.129 --> 00:11:18.889 person beside you. Point at them. Tell them that's 00:11:18.889 --> 00:11:21.169 your tent right there, your tent. Don't laugh 00:11:21.169 --> 00:11:23.730 when you say it. That's your tent. Okay? That's 00:11:23.730 --> 00:11:26.669 your tent. So for this particular portion of 00:11:26.669 --> 00:11:28.850 Scripture, know that. For we know that if the 00:11:28.850 --> 00:11:32.009 tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we 00:11:32.009 --> 00:11:34.809 have a building from God, a house not made with 00:11:34.809 --> 00:11:38.649 hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent, 00:11:38.830 --> 00:11:42.879 this body, We groan, longing to put on our heavenly 00:11:42.879 --> 00:11:45.940 dwelling, an immortal body, really, if indeed 00:11:45.940 --> 00:11:48.580 by putting it on we may not be found naked. And 00:11:48.580 --> 00:11:50.779 it's talking in a spiritual sense. For while 00:11:50.779 --> 00:11:54.100 we are still in this tent, in this body, we groan, 00:11:54.100 --> 00:11:56.960 being burdened, not that we may be unclothed, 00:11:56.960 --> 00:11:59.220 but that we would be further clothed, so that 00:11:59.220 --> 00:12:03.009 what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Paul 00:12:03.009 --> 00:12:05.950 is saying if I'm submerged in Jesus, if I'm in 00:12:05.950 --> 00:12:10.470 this tent, if I'm in this tent now, in this body, 00:12:10.610 --> 00:12:12.750 it's all good. It's all Jesus. It's all life. 00:12:12.870 --> 00:12:16.409 And if one day when I die and I go to the other 00:12:16.409 --> 00:12:19.090 side and I'm in Jesus, it's all good and it's 00:12:19.090 --> 00:12:22.250 all life. I used to have a gentleman who attended 00:12:22.250 --> 00:12:24.009 this church. He's passed on and went on to the 00:12:24.009 --> 00:12:25.690 Lord. He always thought he'd come in every Sunday. 00:12:25.789 --> 00:12:28.580 Pastor, it's a win -win. Man, if I live and I'm 00:12:28.580 --> 00:12:31.620 here, and if next week I'm not here, it's a win 00:12:31.620 --> 00:12:34.460 -win. He had a lot of heart troubles. He had 00:12:34.460 --> 00:12:39.120 a lot of difficulties. And he died of COVID. 00:12:39.720 --> 00:12:41.779 But it was a win -win for him. And that's kind 00:12:41.779 --> 00:12:43.480 of what was being said here. Verse 5 says this. 00:12:43.620 --> 00:12:46.159 He who was prepared for us for this very thing 00:12:46.159 --> 00:12:48.940 is God, who has given us a spirit, this spirit 00:12:48.940 --> 00:12:51.460 as a guarantee. That's the Holy Spirit. So we 00:12:51.460 --> 00:12:53.320 are always of good courage. We know that all 00:12:53.320 --> 00:12:55.399 the while we are at home in the body, we are 00:12:55.399 --> 00:12:57.720 away from the Lord. For if we walk by faith, 00:12:57.740 --> 00:13:00.279 not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage and 00:13:00.279 --> 00:13:02.559 we would rather be away from the body and at 00:13:02.559 --> 00:13:05.019 home with the Lord. So whether we are at home 00:13:05.019 --> 00:13:08.580 or away, we make it our aim to please him. We 00:13:08.580 --> 00:13:10.960 all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ 00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:14.759 so that each one may receive what is due for 00:13:14.759 --> 00:13:17.399 what he has done in the body, whether good or 00:13:17.399 --> 00:13:19.610 evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, 00:13:19.690 --> 00:13:23.129 we persuade others. But what we are is known 00:13:23.129 --> 00:13:25.929 to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. 00:13:26.169 --> 00:13:28.490 We are not condemning ourselves to you again 00:13:28.490 --> 00:13:31.669 or commending ourselves to you again, but giving 00:13:31.669 --> 00:13:34.610 you cause to boast about us so that you may be 00:13:34.610 --> 00:13:38.490 able to answer those who boast about our appearance 00:13:38.490 --> 00:13:41.509 and not about what is in the heart. For if we 00:13:41.509 --> 00:13:44.409 are beside ourselves, it is for God. If we are 00:13:44.409 --> 00:13:48.059 in our right mind, it is for you. Now, the first 00:13:48.059 --> 00:13:50.980 11 chapters is all Paul writing. And Paul hits 00:13:50.980 --> 00:13:53.179 a lot of things really quick. But if I had to 00:13:53.179 --> 00:13:55.720 summarize it, first of all, he was saying it's 00:13:55.720 --> 00:13:58.350 all good in Jesus. Right? If you're submerged 00:13:58.350 --> 00:14:00.889 in Jesus, it's good. It's good in life. It's 00:14:00.889 --> 00:14:02.950 good in death. It's all good for a Christian. 00:14:03.070 --> 00:14:05.190 And then he goes on and says the Father has sent 00:14:05.190 --> 00:14:08.049 a guarantee in Jesus, and that's the Holy Spirit. 00:14:08.230 --> 00:14:10.110 When the Holy Spirit comes to live and dwell 00:14:10.110 --> 00:14:13.190 with you in salvation, that is God's seal. That 00:14:13.190 --> 00:14:15.950 is God's guarantee that you are surrounded by 00:14:15.950 --> 00:14:18.870 him. And he says it is our aim then to experience, 00:14:19.029 --> 00:14:22.750 right, and to please the Lord. And knowing all 00:14:22.750 --> 00:14:25.210 this, he said we're going to give an account 00:14:25.210 --> 00:14:27.830 one day. We're going to stand before the judgment. 00:14:27.970 --> 00:14:30.009 Now, when he's talking about the judgment there, 00:14:30.129 --> 00:14:32.090 he's not talking about a judgment that has to 00:14:32.090 --> 00:14:34.389 do with either getting in. It's not a heaven 00:14:34.389 --> 00:14:37.370 or hell judgment. It's not a condemnation judgment. 00:14:37.450 --> 00:14:40.049 When we go before Jesus as followers and believers 00:14:40.049 --> 00:14:42.450 of Jesus, right, we go before the judgment seat 00:14:42.450 --> 00:14:44.789 of Christ. He's just determining how much reward 00:14:44.789 --> 00:14:47.139 you're going to get. He said, by the works that 00:14:47.139 --> 00:14:48.419 you do. Now, I don't know if you know that. You 00:14:48.419 --> 00:14:50.940 can study that out in God's Word. But it's talking 00:14:50.940 --> 00:14:54.059 about reward for the works that you've done as 00:14:54.059 --> 00:14:56.700 a believer and follower. And all this leads up 00:14:56.700 --> 00:15:00.240 to verse 14. He sets the tone, right? That's 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:02.360 how Paul does. He says this, for the love of 00:15:02.360 --> 00:15:04.799 Christ controls us, because we have concluded 00:15:04.799 --> 00:15:07.759 this, that one has died for all, therefore all 00:15:07.759 --> 00:15:10.500 have died. And he died for all, and those who 00:15:10.500 --> 00:15:13.559 live no longer live for themselves, but for him, 00:15:13.580 --> 00:15:17.690 for their sakes. died and was raised. What's 00:15:17.690 --> 00:15:21.889 Paul saying? What's he kind of concluding? He's 00:15:21.889 --> 00:15:25.389 concluding this. If we're submerged in Jesus, 00:15:25.549 --> 00:15:32.190 it changes my primary function in life. If I'm 00:15:32.190 --> 00:15:35.870 submerged in Jesus, it changes my primary function 00:15:35.870 --> 00:15:39.830 in life. Verse 15 says, and those who might live 00:15:39.830 --> 00:15:44.809 no longer live for themselves, but for him, who 00:15:44.809 --> 00:15:48.809 for their sake died and was raised. I no longer 00:15:48.809 --> 00:15:52.509 live for me. I no longer live for myself in Christ. 00:15:53.129 --> 00:15:57.169 When I'm submerged in Jesus, my primary function 00:15:57.169 --> 00:16:02.590 changes. When I get baptized in water, I symbolically 00:16:02.590 --> 00:16:07.929 go down and I die to myself. right? My previous 00:16:07.929 --> 00:16:12.809 primary function disappears, right? It's salvation. 00:16:13.070 --> 00:16:15.809 And when I come up, that function is different. 00:16:16.070 --> 00:16:21.029 The old is gone and the new comes. Galatians 00:16:21.029 --> 00:16:23.309 2 .20 says, I've been crucified with Christ. 00:16:23.809 --> 00:16:26.269 It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives 00:16:26.269 --> 00:16:28.470 in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, 00:16:28.570 --> 00:16:31.470 I live by faith in the son of God who loved me 00:16:31.470 --> 00:16:35.090 and gave himself for me. My old primary function 00:16:35.789 --> 00:16:40.149 is deceased. It has died. It is dead. I'm from 00:16:40.149 --> 00:16:42.509 Western Pennsylvania. They would say it croaked. 00:16:42.570 --> 00:16:44.950 How many ever heard that before? Yeah, come on. 00:16:44.970 --> 00:16:48.509 It croaked. It's gone, right? The primary function 00:16:48.509 --> 00:16:53.269 is gone. And everything changes. Everything changes 00:16:53.269 --> 00:16:56.000 when the primary function changes. Now, you're 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:58.519 sitting in a building right now, and this building 00:16:58.519 --> 00:17:00.980 has a primary function. It actually has two primary 00:17:00.980 --> 00:17:03.399 functions. One, it's a church, right? You're 00:17:03.399 --> 00:17:04.980 sitting inside a sanctuary. You're sitting inside 00:17:04.980 --> 00:17:07.079 a church. But this is also, the rest of this 00:17:07.079 --> 00:17:09.960 building is used on a daily basis during the 00:17:09.960 --> 00:17:13.140 week for a Christian school. So the primary function 00:17:13.140 --> 00:17:15.859 for this building is that it is a church and 00:17:15.859 --> 00:17:17.660 it is a Christian school. It is a place where 00:17:17.660 --> 00:17:19.640 people come to learn about Christ. It's where 00:17:19.640 --> 00:17:22.339 Christian education takes place, right? But what 00:17:22.339 --> 00:17:24.619 if that primary function in this building changed? 00:17:25.299 --> 00:17:27.660 What if we decided one day, you know what? We're 00:17:27.660 --> 00:17:29.660 going to make this Lifehouse Restaurant instead 00:17:29.660 --> 00:17:32.559 of Lifehouse Church. How many know that would 00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:35.599 change everything in the building? Right? Everything 00:17:35.599 --> 00:17:38.269 would begin to look different. Everything would 00:17:38.269 --> 00:17:41.670 change in its function. Everything would shift. 00:17:42.089 --> 00:17:45.230 What was happening in the building? Who was in 00:17:45.230 --> 00:17:47.869 the building, right? What kind of equipment were 00:17:47.869 --> 00:17:50.390 used in the building? What things we do in the 00:17:50.390 --> 00:17:53.789 building? Every purpose related to this building 00:17:53.789 --> 00:17:56.490 and the structure starts to become new. It would 00:17:56.490 --> 00:18:00.029 look, feel, smell, and seem completely like something 00:18:00.029 --> 00:18:03.509 different because it would be. It changes it. 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:06.740 When we come to Christ, when we get saved, when 00:18:06.740 --> 00:18:11.039 we get submerged, our primary function changes. 00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:13.900 And along with that, so does everything else. 00:18:14.420 --> 00:18:16.480 Now, listen, I know there's remnants of what 00:18:16.480 --> 00:18:18.700 you looked like pre -Jesus, right? You've been 00:18:18.700 --> 00:18:20.980 saved for a long time. You didn't change your 00:18:20.980 --> 00:18:23.819 physical appearance, but everything else should 00:18:23.819 --> 00:18:26.819 change. Galatians 2 .20, right? I've been crucified 00:18:26.819 --> 00:18:30.579 with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but 00:18:30.579 --> 00:18:34.160 Christ who lives in me. And oh yeah, you might 00:18:34.160 --> 00:18:37.319 function as a mom, a dad, a husband, a wife, 00:18:37.460 --> 00:18:40.859 a daughter, a son, a friend. Your career might 00:18:40.859 --> 00:18:43.140 be exactly what it was before you got saved and 00:18:43.140 --> 00:18:45.660 met Jesus. You may have the same hobbies and 00:18:45.660 --> 00:18:48.220 interests. You may see the same face looking 00:18:48.220 --> 00:18:49.900 back in the mirror every morning when you get 00:18:49.900 --> 00:18:52.440 up and you go into the bathroom at your home. 00:18:52.680 --> 00:18:55.720 But my primary function in Jesus will change 00:18:55.720 --> 00:18:59.059 every aspect of the secondary functions that 00:18:59.059 --> 00:19:02.289 I just mentioned. If your primary function is 00:19:02.289 --> 00:19:06.829 in Jesus and you're submerged in him, your parenting 00:19:06.829 --> 00:19:09.390 will begin to look different in Jesus. It really 00:19:09.390 --> 00:19:13.349 will. My marriage will be different. My marriage 00:19:13.349 --> 00:19:14.970 to Dixie should look different because I learned 00:19:14.970 --> 00:19:16.869 how to love Dixie because I learned how to love 00:19:16.869 --> 00:19:19.289 from Jesus, right? And not just trying to guess 00:19:19.289 --> 00:19:23.190 or do it my own way. It will change how I function 00:19:23.190 --> 00:19:26.309 as a son or as a daughter or as a friend. My 00:19:26.309 --> 00:19:28.549 hobbies and interests might take a different 00:19:28.549 --> 00:19:31.589 tone of priority in my life. If Jesus is primary. 00:19:32.190 --> 00:19:35.789 If he's the primary function in me. He will change 00:19:35.789 --> 00:19:40.170 every aspect of my secondary functions in life. 00:19:40.390 --> 00:19:44.829 He truly will. Worship team, if you'd come. John 00:19:44.829 --> 00:19:48.089 14, 6 says this. Jesus said to him, I am the 00:19:48.089 --> 00:19:52.130 way, I am the truth, and I am the life. No one 00:19:52.130 --> 00:19:55.849 comes to the Father except through me. When my 00:19:55.849 --> 00:20:00.430 primary function is submerged. in all things 00:20:00.430 --> 00:20:03.769 in Jesus Christ, it is my secondary functions 00:20:03.769 --> 00:20:08.269 that begin to shift as well. And all of a sudden, 00:20:08.329 --> 00:20:12.869 say all of a sudden, all of a sudden, my way 00:20:12.869 --> 00:20:16.089 of life, right? Jesus is the way. My way of life 00:20:16.089 --> 00:20:18.990 changes. It starts to look different in him. 00:20:19.289 --> 00:20:20.930 It starts to look different when I'm submerged. 00:20:21.589 --> 00:20:25.569 My truth changes. It's no longer about what my 00:20:25.569 --> 00:20:29.089 truth is. It's about what's true because he said 00:20:29.089 --> 00:20:34.589 it. My truth changes. My life changes. My life 00:20:34.589 --> 00:20:37.029 starts to look more like his life. Starts to 00:20:37.029 --> 00:20:40.730 take on more attributes, right? And I die to 00:20:40.730 --> 00:20:44.269 me. And I gauge into all kind of things that 00:20:44.269 --> 00:20:47.910 are Christ. His way, the truth, and life. And 00:20:47.910 --> 00:20:51.849 the strange thing is, is that when I die to me, 00:20:51.970 --> 00:20:57.549 and it's not until I die to me, Did I really 00:20:57.549 --> 00:21:04.170 begin to live at all? See, things in Christ are 00:21:04.170 --> 00:21:06.190 completely opposite of what you see out in the 00:21:06.190 --> 00:21:09.329 world. It's completely counter -cultural to how 00:21:09.329 --> 00:21:13.829 the world functions. You know, the enemy, Satan, 00:21:13.950 --> 00:21:16.849 and really the word will tell us, you know, you 00:21:16.849 --> 00:21:19.190 just got to live a little more for yourself, 00:21:19.470 --> 00:21:23.369 right? If you indulge just a little bit more. 00:21:24.730 --> 00:21:26.589 Sooner or later, you're going to hit the utopia 00:21:26.589 --> 00:21:29.269 of a full life, right? It's just going to be 00:21:29.269 --> 00:21:33.490 on the other side of this, whatever it is. How 00:21:33.490 --> 00:21:37.109 am I going to know it never is, right? At the 00:21:37.109 --> 00:21:40.430 most, when we indulge in those things, sometimes 00:21:40.430 --> 00:21:44.990 it just becomes a cheap forfeit that is momentary 00:21:44.990 --> 00:21:48.789 in nature. And we'll experience that happiness 00:21:48.789 --> 00:21:51.390 for a moment. And we'll run back to it again. 00:21:51.529 --> 00:21:54.509 And we keep trying to find it. And Jesus said, 00:21:54.609 --> 00:21:57.130 it's the opposite. You keep looking for life 00:21:57.130 --> 00:21:59.890 and thinking if you just live for you, you're 00:21:59.890 --> 00:22:02.750 going to keep finding it. And he said, no, you 00:22:02.750 --> 00:22:07.869 die. You die to you. And then you begin to live. 00:22:09.109 --> 00:22:14.329 And it's true. The moment we begin to start letting 00:22:14.329 --> 00:22:18.730 God surround us, Jesus surround us, and we die 00:22:18.730 --> 00:22:22.049 to ourselves, we begin a brand new life in Jesus. 00:22:22.490 --> 00:22:25.450 That's when he's submerging us, right? It's true. 00:22:25.569 --> 00:22:29.369 I'm asked to be standing this morning. We're 00:22:29.369 --> 00:22:31.109 going to get to baptism in just a little bit, 00:22:31.150 --> 00:22:32.809 but I want to give you an opportunity. And if 00:22:32.809 --> 00:22:34.269 you would right now, I just want you to bow your 00:22:34.269 --> 00:22:35.569 head and close your eyes, and they're going to 00:22:35.569 --> 00:22:41.809 begin to play some music softly. And today we're 00:22:41.809 --> 00:22:44.670 going to celebrate nine people that have said, 00:22:44.710 --> 00:22:48.609 I've given my life to Christ. I'm submerged. 00:22:49.329 --> 00:22:51.670 Now, I know that's a process in life. I'm still 00:22:51.670 --> 00:22:55.869 surrendering parts of my life in a weekly and 00:22:55.869 --> 00:23:01.099 daily time frame. But it's somebody saying, I'm 00:23:01.099 --> 00:23:02.599 going to start giving this all over to Jesus. 00:23:03.240 --> 00:23:06.059 I realize I can't do this on my own. I realize 00:23:06.059 --> 00:23:08.680 I can't fix my sin problem. I realize that I 00:23:08.680 --> 00:23:13.660 keep chasing things that I think are going to 00:23:13.660 --> 00:23:16.359 bring me life. And I think there's this utopia 00:23:16.359 --> 00:23:18.099 right around the corner and I never get to it. 00:23:19.660 --> 00:23:21.579 And it might be that you're following something 00:23:21.579 --> 00:23:24.339 that's completely opposite of what God designed. 00:23:25.429 --> 00:23:30.549 Because Jesus said, if you die to you, if you 00:23:30.549 --> 00:23:33.890 let go of it all, you turn it all over to him, 00:23:33.970 --> 00:23:35.869 and you commit to follow him, he said, you'll 00:23:35.869 --> 00:23:40.269 really start to live. And it's true. There are 00:23:40.269 --> 00:23:43.289 many, many in this house that would testify to 00:23:43.289 --> 00:23:46.690 that. So with every head bowed and every eye 00:23:46.690 --> 00:23:49.289 closed, if you're in this house this morning, 00:23:49.369 --> 00:23:53.119 and you know that you're far from God, You know 00:23:53.119 --> 00:23:54.700 that you've been chasing after life yourself. 00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:58.720 You've been looking for it on your own. You think 00:23:58.720 --> 00:24:00.400 it's around the next corner with the next thing. 00:24:01.660 --> 00:24:03.900 I'm here to tell you, it's about surrendering 00:24:03.900 --> 00:24:08.119 to Jesus. It's about realizing that you're lost 00:24:08.119 --> 00:24:10.400 and you're in sin and you're far away from God 00:24:10.400 --> 00:24:13.920 and that Jesus made a way. He came and died on 00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:15.779 a cross. We celebrated it last week. He came 00:24:15.779 --> 00:24:18.420 and died on a cross. He went into a grave and 00:24:18.420 --> 00:24:21.599 he rose out of that grave to pay for your freedom. 00:24:21.960 --> 00:24:24.980 He died so that you could live. So baptism's 00:24:24.980 --> 00:24:27.880 all about he died so you could live. And the 00:24:27.880 --> 00:24:30.220 word of God says that if you believe in your 00:24:30.220 --> 00:24:32.480 heart and you confess with your mouth and you 00:24:32.480 --> 00:24:36.460 commit in your spirit and you say, God, I don't 00:24:36.460 --> 00:24:37.799 know what this is all gonna look like. Jesus, 00:24:37.900 --> 00:24:39.519 I'm not sure how this is all gonna flesh out 00:24:39.519 --> 00:24:42.019 in my life, but I want surrounded by you right 00:24:42.019 --> 00:24:44.700 now. I want you to surround me. I want you in 00:24:44.700 --> 00:24:47.460 every part of my life. I'm turning it over to 00:24:47.460 --> 00:24:49.359 you. I'm gonna start doing things your way. I'm 00:24:49.359 --> 00:24:50.720 gonna start looking at you. If that's you this 00:24:50.720 --> 00:24:53.349 morning, And it could be for the very first time 00:24:53.349 --> 00:24:55.769 or it could be a recommitment. I'm going to give 00:24:55.769 --> 00:24:57.269 this over to you. All I'm going to ask you to 00:24:57.269 --> 00:24:59.309 do, I'm not going to pull you up front. I'm not 00:24:59.309 --> 00:25:00.789 going to make you go anywhere or do anything. 00:25:01.190 --> 00:25:02.910 I'm just going to say this. If that's you, raise 00:25:02.910 --> 00:25:04.710 your hand up right now. Put it up in the air 00:25:04.710 --> 00:25:06.670 just as a way of acknowledging it. And then put 00:25:06.670 --> 00:25:08.970 it right back down. Thank you for the honesty. 00:25:09.009 --> 00:25:14.250 Thank you. Father, we come to you. In the name 00:25:14.250 --> 00:25:16.109 of your son, Jesus, I thank you for each one 00:25:16.109 --> 00:25:19.990 in the house. Lord, we want submerged. Lord, 00:25:20.089 --> 00:25:22.829 for those, God, who raised their hand, God, I 00:25:22.829 --> 00:25:24.809 pray that you just pour upon them this morning. 00:25:25.029 --> 00:25:27.569 God, that you pour into their spirits. God, that 00:25:27.569 --> 00:25:29.849 you pour into their lives. And Lord, God, as 00:25:29.849 --> 00:25:33.009 they commit to you, Lord, as they call out to 00:25:33.009 --> 00:25:35.509 you and say, I want you just in everything, Jesus, 00:25:35.549 --> 00:25:39.750 just surround me. Fill me up. Fill me over. Lord, 00:25:39.789 --> 00:25:42.450 I pray that you will. God, for those of us who've 00:25:42.450 --> 00:25:45.930 been following you for maybe years or decades, 00:25:46.069 --> 00:25:49.420 God, I pray, God, that we jump back in. Lord, 00:25:49.440 --> 00:25:51.740 to the pools of baptism. And Lord, we just want 00:25:51.740 --> 00:25:54.140 to be submerged. We want to be in all things 00:25:54.140 --> 00:25:56.740 Christ. And Lord God, we don't hold any area 00:25:56.740 --> 00:25:59.380 back. We don't try to chase anything. Lord, that's 00:25:59.380 --> 00:26:01.579 out beyond you. And we just look to you. We just 00:26:01.579 --> 00:26:04.980 give you praise. I thank you, Lord. If that's 00:26:04.980 --> 00:26:07.500 you, just praise him. Just pray to him. Just 00:26:07.500 --> 00:26:10.980 ask him right now in your own words. Lord, just 00:26:10.980 --> 00:26:14.799 cover me over. Fill me up. Immerse me in Jesus' 00:26:15.019 --> 00:26:23.759 name. In Jesus' name. Isn't he good? Thank you 00:26:23.759 --> 00:26:26.079 for those who raised your hands. Appreciate the 00:26:26.079 --> 00:26:29.839 honesty. I want to read some verse all the time. 00:26:30.140 --> 00:26:32.940 I got reminded myself this week. Amen? Amen. 00:26:33.319 --> 00:26:39.980 It's about baptism. It's about baptism. Thank 00:26:39.980 --> 00:26:46.880 you for tuning in to this message from Lifehouse 00:26:46.880 --> 00:26:50.279 Church. We pray that you were impacted powerfully 00:26:50.279 --> 00:26:53.039 by this message. If you have been personally 00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:55.619 affected by our ministry and you would like to 00:26:55.619 --> 00:26:58.880 partner with us as we love God, love people every 00:26:58.880 --> 00:27:05.019 day, visit our website at www .lifehousecog .com.