(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Jesus has taken my sins away, oh say but I'm glad. Oh say but I'm glad, I'm glad, oh say but I'm glad. Jesus has come and my cup's overrun, oh say but I'm glad. Wonderful, marvelous love he brings into a heart that's sad. Through darkest tunnels the soul just sings, oh say but I'm glad. Oh say but I'm glad, I'm glad, oh say but I'm glad. Jesus has come and my cup's overrun, oh say but I'm glad. We have a fellowship rich and sweet, tongues can never relate. Abiding in him the souls retreat, oh say but I'm glad. Oh say but I'm glad, I'm glad, oh say but I'm glad. Jesus has come and my cup's overrun, oh say but I'm glad. Won't you come to him with all your care, weary and worn and sad. You too will sing as his love you share, oh say but I'm glad. Oh say but I'm glad, I'm glad, oh say but I'm glad. Jesus has come and my cup's overrun, oh say but I'm glad. Brother Sean, can you open us with a word of prayer? Amen. The next hymn is 39, How Beautiful Heaven Must Be, page 39. On the first. We read of a place that's called heaven, it's made for the pure and the free. These truths in God's word he hath given, how beautiful heaven must be. How beautiful heaven must be, sweet home of the happy and free. Fair haven of rest for the weary, how beautiful heaven must be. In heaven no drooping nor pining, no wishing for elsewhere to be. God's light is forever there shining, how beautiful heaven must be. How beautiful heaven must be, sweet home of the happy and free. Fair haven of rest for the weary, how beautiful heaven must be. Pure waters of life there are flowing, and all who drink may be free. Rare jewels of splendor are glowing, how beautiful heaven must be. How beautiful heaven must be, sweet home of the happy and free. Fair haven of rest for the weary, how beautiful heaven must be. The angels so sweetly are singing, up there by the beautiful sea. Sweet chords from their gold harps are ringing, how beautiful heaven must be. How beautiful heaven must be, sweet home of the happy and free. Fair haven of rest for the weary, how beautiful heaven must be. Amen at this time, we'll have the announcements. Good morning, everybody. Welcome to Shure Foundation Baptist Church. Let's take our bulletins and go through the announcements. If you need a bulletin, just lift up your hand and the ushers will bring you a bulletin. Anybody need one? Going once, going twice. All right, kids, you're never getting one. All right, on the front cover, we have our verse of the week. It says, The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the word of our God shall stand forever. Isaiah chapter 40, verse 8, great verse there, and a great truth. On our inside page there, we have our service times, Sunday morning service, 10.30 a.m. I'm continuing through the New Believer series, and I'll be preaching about baptism this morning. And Sunday evening service, 3.30 p.m., we are having a men's preaching night tonight, so hopefully some guys have something together. Who's preaching tonight? Just raise your hand if you're planning on preaching. Maybe. Keep your hands up, guys. Who's preaching? One? Two? There better be more than two. Come on, guys. Three? All right. You got one there? He's a new preacher in the house right there. All right. All right. Well, hopefully we have somebody else that wants to step up and preach. I had more hands raised before that, so I don't know what happened. You guys, mind yourself off the list there. If there's more time, then you can split it up to 20 minutes each or something if there's three guys. All right. Let's see. Then there's going to be the Thursday services. We're going to be in 1 Chronicles 10 this Thursday, and so we're past all the names and all the genealogies, and we're going to be right into the story of where Saul dies in battle. Let's see. The Saulian times are listed there below. We'll have Saul this afternoon. The maps are already in the groups, so make sure that you know what group you're in today for the Saulian. In the praise report, you can see the salvations, baptisms, and attendance totals. We've had six baptisms in the last couple weeks here, so that's a great praise there. We're about almost halfway to where we were for the full last year, so hopefully we keep that trend going. Let's see. Our men's preaching night. Let's see. We've got the family and friends weekend, and I forgot to ... I didn't tell Rylan this, but Pastor Mendez is not going to be coming for our preaching for that weekend, and I meant to actually say something about that to Rylan, but that's my fault. We're still having the family and friends weekend. Everything with the pumpkin patch is still going on, but Pastor Mendez is not going to be able to come and preach for us that Sunday. He's not mad at me, so don't worry about that. It doesn't have anything to do with that, so we're cool, but he just isn't going to be able to make it. We do have Brother Daniel Kutzar coming from Spokane, and he's going to be preaching for us, so their whole family is coming down. We have a family from Canada. We have a couple families from Spokane, and I feel like we have ... oh, some people from Seattle are going to be coming, so we're going to have a full house that day, so it'll be a great weekend for family and friends. Can somebody turn that AC on? I know it might get too cold in here, so if it gets too cold, it's okay to dial it back down, but yeah, I think Amy's over there dying. I'm dying. Some people are probably ... Tony's getting mad, but it's okay. We'll all try to get along and dwell in unity somehow. And then, let's see, so yeah, that weekend's still going on, and so it's still going to be fun, so plan on showing up. The Word of God's going to get preached regardless, so plan on being here. October 27th is the Super Soul Winning Saturday. I apologize for canceling the Soul Winning Marathon. It's not something I normally do. I know I got a lot of text messages. Are you okay? Yeah, I was fine. I just kind of hit the wall. I've been doing a lot, and there's just been a lot going on, and I just needed some time to recover, so I decided to put it on hold, and we'll just ... We're still going to have the St. John's Soul Winning, and we'll just do it next month on the 27th. And then, let's see, October 31st is going to be a chili and cornbread potluck, and notice that cornbread is with that, so it's not chili without cornbread, at least as far as I'm concerned, but if you don't like cornbread, then you're just not right with God, but I mean, you can still come and have the chili, and I'm not of the Pastor's chili doctrine, where chili without beans is the only way to have it. If you believe that way, that's okay. I do like chili with beans, but I also like chili without beans, but it might be a catastrophe, seeing as how we're having it right before church. We'll see. We might have to have it chili without beans just for the sake of having chili before church, so I don't know. We'll see what happens. But this is an experiment. We've never done this before, so in all the years of our church, I've just decided we'll do it this year, and we'll see what happens. But it's also going to be a game night, so chili with beans and a game night? I don't know, man. It's going to get wild in here, but it'll be Thursday before church. You're welcome to show up before that if you maybe have the afternoon off and you want to play a game of Risk or something. You're more than welcome to do that. 4 to 6 p.m. isn't time for a game of Risk or Monopoly, necessarily, so if you want to come early with your kids, you're more than welcome to do that. But I encourage everybody to, you know, you don't have to make enough chili for the whole church, but just bring enough for a good-sized family, and then we can all share together, right? And then, let's see, November 6th through 10th is the Faithful Word Missions Conference. December 15th, Dr. Phil Stringer. And the other thing I forgot to put in here is Dr. Phil Stringer is actually coming earlier. He had a cancellation. He's going to come October 12th. Well, actually, he's going to come the 13th. So, October 13th is going to be him preaching here, both services, so note that in there. Man, I really messed up. I pulled a rile on this morning, man. I really messed up. He's been doing so good. I did announce it on Thursday night in the announcement, so I figured he would just put it in there anyway, but he didn't. It's my fault. I've got to take the blame. I'm the pastor. So, anyway, Dr. Phil Stringer is going to be here preaching the 13th, and I figured that might be a consolation. Pastor Jimenez is not being able to be here. We've got two preachers coming to preach for us. So, anyway, that would be great, and if there's something that you, he might ask me, like, what do you want me to preach about? If there's some King James issue that you want to hear more about, he probably knows about that issue. So, if there's something that you want to know more about, yeah. I was just going to say, if there's something that you want to hear more about, so if you want to familiarize yourself with King James. Yeah. And are you talking about on the King James Research Council thing? Yeah. Okay, yeah, he has a YouTube page. Well, it's not just him. It's a bunch of other preachers, too. Is he, like, the president of that council or something? Anyway, he's got, yeah, there's a YouTube. I think the King James Research Council, and so, yeah, there's a bunch of sermons on there. He's pretty knowledgeable about the false Bible versions, too, so if you just want to hear him rip on, like, the NIV or some other specific topic, that would be good to hear. I kind of would like to hear him rip on the King James Version ER. It's called the Easy Reader, and I don't know. I've never heard anybody rip on that. I was going to, but I just haven't had time to read the ER, and I really don't know if I want to or not. It just might mess me up. So anyway, let's see. So he still is planning on coming the 15th. That may or may not get changed. He might not want to come in the middle of the winter. I don't know. We'll see what happens. So other than that, we're family integrated. You all know that mother-baby rooms take your children there if they need anything or if they're just crying really loud or whatever. You need to use the mother-baby rooms or dad-baby room for your convenience. Silence of cell phones, and the offerings and ties information is at the bottom of the page. And then Amy Lambert's birthday is the 30th, which is what, Tuesday? Is it Monday? What's the date today? 29th? 30th. Oh. Oh, yeah. It's my mom's birthday. Yeah. I was thinking my mom's birthday is Monday, and then I was like, hers is Tuesday. There's not 31 days in the month, but then it's not the 31st. Oh, man, I'm retarded today. All right. So, okay, let's see. So Amy's birthday is Monday, and then Joe and Audrey's anniversary, the 28th, so that we didn't get to sing happy anniversary to them. And then Bobby and Ramon is also their anniversary on the 30th. So we'll sing happy birthday first to Amy. Oh, and then brother Joe's birthday is the first, and Esther is the first, and Olivia is the third. So we've got lots of birthdays coming up. And so we'll sing happy birthday to all the birthday people right now, and then we'll sing happy anniversary to all the anniversaries. All right? We'll sing happy birthday first. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday. God bless you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday. All right. Now let's sing happy anniversary, Joe and Audrey. How long have you been married now? 28 years. That is a long time. Long time. I think maybe that might be the longest in the church. Yeah, a long time. So and then brother Ramon and Bobby? 13. All right. The lucky 13. All right. We'll sing happy anniversary. Happy anniversary to you. Happy anniversary to you. God bless you and keep you. Happy anniversary to you. All right. And many more. All right. That's all I have for announcements. Let's go ahead and sing another song, and then we'll receive the offering. All right. Our fifth song after those two additional songs will be 97. I need the every hour. 97 in the red or the green. I need the every hour. Most gracious Lord. No tipper voice like mine can peace afford. I need thee. Oh, I need thee. Hurry or I need thee. Oh, bless me now my Savior. I come to thee. I need thee every hour. Stay thou nearby. Temptations lose their power when thou art nigh. I need thee. Oh, I need thee. Every hour I need thee. Oh, bless me now my Savior. I come to thee. I need thee every hour. Enjoy your pain. Come quickly and abide. For life is vain. I need thee. Oh, I need thee. Hurry or I need thee. Oh, bless me now my Savior. I come to thee. I need thee every hour. Most holy one. Oh, make me thine indeed. Thou blessed Son. I need thee. Oh, I need thee. Oh, I need thee. Hurry or I need thee. Oh, bless me now my Savior. I come to thee. Amen. We will now collect the offering. And let's see us first come forward. Brother Sean, can you bless the offering? Lord, thank you again for this day. Thank you, Lord, so much. Here comes your house. Let's be word preached for it. Pray to you. Pray to you. Pray to you. Romans 6, if you don't have a Bible, there should be one under the seat in front of you. Romans 6, the Bible reads, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him, knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lust thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom he obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men, because of the infirmity of your flesh. For as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness unto iniquity unto iniquity, even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were freed from righteousness. What fruit had ye then, in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, ye become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end to everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Brother Eli, we pray for us. Amen. We're in Romans chapter 6. I'm going to begin in Acts chapter 2, but before I do that I'm just going to introduce the sermon just a little bit. I've started a new series and it's called Steps for New Believers, and of course we have a lot of old believers in here, but I think it's important that we have sermons like these preached from time to time, maybe not every year, but every so often, because we do have new believers that are in our church and people that haven't necessarily been saved for a long time, I think it's important that they understand the importance of what to do after being saved, and last week I preached a sermon called Assurance of Salvation, where I just went through and just made sure that people understand there's some pitfalls that people can fall into, where people will teach people that maybe are already saved some bad doctrine, and I kind of tried to dispel some of those things that they would say that would try to get you to believe you could lose your salvation. I mean, really in Galatia, in the churches of Galatia, they were trying to do that with the Apostle Paul's converts, and I just showed some of those things, and also just showed the verses that show that you are saved by faith alone, by believing in Jesus Christ, and that once you believe in Jesus, you have eternal life and that you can never lose it. So this morning I'm going to be preaching about Steps for New Believers number two, and that is on the topic of baptism. So why is this the number two in the series? Well, because it is the next thing that we should do after being saved, and turn to Acts chapter two, verse 41. We'll get back to Romans chapter six, but I do want to go through some other verses before we get back to Romans chapter six. Acts two, verse 41, and my first point in the sermon is baptism is the first thing we should do after getting saved. So Acts two, 41 says, then they that gladly received his word, they took the Lord's Supper, is that what it says? They went out sowing, is that what it says? I mean, that wouldn't be a bad thing either, but it says we're baptized. So the first thing that they did after gladly receiving his word, that's talking about getting saved, were baptized, and the same day there were added unto them about 3,000 souls. And so the Bible teaches here that they got saved on the day of Pentecost, they got baptized, and they were added to the church. So what does that mean? Well, they were added to the number of that church. So we also believe in this church that once you get baptized here, you become a member of this church. As long as you're attending the services on a regular basis, you are part of this church because when the whole congregation gathers together here, then you are the church. So that's what we believe. We don't have some role, and I'm not against people that do that. We don't have a role where we say, hey, you're a member in this way. But if you come to church and you're a regular attender, you've been saved, you've been baptized, you are a member of this church. Skip down to verse 37, it says, now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. So what's he say, repent, and he's not talking about repenting of your sins, of course we've talked about that before, but he's not talking about repenting of your sins, he's talking about repenting and forgetting what you believed before, turning from whatever you believed before and changing your mind. That word repent can have a lot of meanings, so you don't want to get a pitfall of what repent means, it can mean a lot of things in a lot of different contexts. So it can mean to turn, it can mean to change your mind. So when the children of Israel left Egypt, and God didn't send them in the way of the Philistines, he said, lest they repent and turn back to Egypt. That doesn't mean unless they repent of their sins and go back to Egypt, it meant unless they turn around and go back to Egypt, so repent can mean a lot of things. So what is Peter talking about, he's talking about let repent and be baptized, he's talking about change your mind, believe the gospel basically here. So now look at Acts chapter nine, Acts chapter nine. This is when the apostle Paul gets saved, and what is the apostle Paul supposed to do? Well he's supposed to go after Jesus, he sees Jesus on the road to Damascus, and Jesus appears to him, he blinds him, and he sends him to Damascus to a man named Ananias, and it says in verse 17, and Ananias went his way, and entered into the house, and putting his hands on him said, brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way, as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes, as it had been scales, and he received sight forthwith, and arose and took the Lord's Supper, went soul winning, no, was baptized. So the first thing he did, after getting saved, is that he got baptized. So now look at Acts chapter 10, verse 44. Acts chapter 10, verse 44, the Bible says, while Peter yet spake these words, so he's preaching the gospel to Cornelius in his Italian band, and it wasn't a rock band, but he's preaching to Peter, Peter's preaching, and he says, while Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. So they're hearing the word of God preached, they get saved, they believe on him, on the Lord Jesus Christ, while he's preaching, it says, and they of the circumcision which believe were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost, for they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God, then answered Peter, can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord, then prayed they him to tarry certain days. So what happened? He said, hey, now that they're saved, now that they've received the Holy Ghost, let's get them baptized. Can any man forbid them water? So now turn to Acts chapter 16, I know I'm belaboring this point, but I just want to show you multiple scriptures in the book of Acts, because Jesus left the apostles to do the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he said to go get people saved, go get people baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost, and to teach them the Bible. Acts chapter 16, verse 30, it says, and brought them out. This is the Philippian jailer story, it says, and brought them out, and said, sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved in thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in the house, and he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes, and was baptized. He and all his, straight away. So they said, hey, if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you're going to be saved, and we're going to get your whole house saved, and he took them the same hour of the night, washed their stripes, so they got beaten, they got thrown in prison, so he takes care of them, gives them some first aid, and what happened? He got baptized, and it says, he and all his, straight away. What is that word, straight away? Well, if you ever go to England, they say that word a lot. We don't usually use that word a lot, but straight away means immediately. So what's the first thing you're supposed to do when you get saved? You're supposed to get baptized straight away, immediately, okay? Now a lot of people, they wait, and they're like, well, I just want to wait. And it's like, well, why? The scriptures teach that you should just get baptized right away. Well, I want to understand it. It's not really that difficult to understand. God wants you to do it. Just do it, okay? Number two, you must be saved first, or your baptism does not count. So if you got baptized, it doesn't matter what mode you did it in, if you got sprinkled, if someone splashed you with a super soaker, if they dunked you three times, they power slammed you, it doesn't matter how it happened, or what church it happened in, if you were not saved, then it doesn't count. So it's null and void, right? Look at Acts chapter 26, or Acts chapter 26, Acts chapter eight, verse number 26. Acts chapter eight, verse number 26, the Bible says, and the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip saying, arise and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went, and behold a man of Ethiopia and eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, was returning and sitting in his chariot, read Esaias the prophet. Then the spirit said unto Philip, go near and join thyself to his chariot, and Philip ran thither to him and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, understandest thou what thou readest? So the spirit of God has told Philip to go and preach the gospel to this Ethiopian eunuch. He's running up to him, he runs up to his chariot, he's already reading the Bible. He's reading the prophet Esaias, or as we would call him, Isaiah the prophet, right? And he's reading a specific passage that's specifically talking about the savior, it's Isaiah chapter 53. So what has to happen before you get saved, or before you get baptized, you have to get saved first. Look at verse 31, it says, and he said, how can I except some man should guide me? Now we believe at this church that a spirit-filled man of God, or woman of God, has to preach the gospel to you in order for you to get saved. The Bible says a corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit. So an evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit. An unsaved person, a false prophet, cannot get somebody saved. And I've heard this recently, this is not true. Judas never got a single person saved. He was a phony, he was a fake, he was a devil from the beginning, that's what Jesus said. He never believed, he might have pretended to get people saved, he might have been saying the same things that they were saying, but an evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit. So this Ethiopian eunuch understands, he says, how can I except some man should guide me? And you can't get saved just reading the Bible by yourself. That's another fallacy that people try to say, well I just got saved reading the Bible. Well did the Ethiopian eunuch get saved just reading the Bible? He said, how can I except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, he was led as a sheep to the slaughter and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth. In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away and who shall declare his generation, for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip and said, I pray thee of whom speaketh the prophet this? Of himself or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus. So Philip is going to expound and to help him understand that this is talking about Jesus Christ and he's gonna get this guy saved. And so it says, and as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water and the eunuch said, see here's water, what doth hinder me to be baptized? He's saying, what is stopping me from being baptized? And if you read the NIV or the NASB or the HIV or the whatever Bible club of the month, it's not gonna tell you this next verse. This next verse, verse 37, is completely deleted out of every modern version Bible. And you know why it is? Because they don't want you to know what this says because they're false Bible versions. This next verse is very important to this point. It says, and Philip said, if thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. What is Philip saying? You have to believe in Jesus. Just like I preached last week, you have to believe in Jesus to be baptized. You can't just get baptized, I mean you can get baptized, but all you did is got wet. All you did is got splashed. All you did is got super soaker or whatever it is, the mode that you got baptized in, you just got dunked in the river, it didn't mean anything if you weren't saved already. That's what is happening here. He said, you have to believe in Jesus. And answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. What happens next? And he commanded the chariot to stand still. And they went down both into the water, this'll be important for another point later on, but they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the spirit of the Lord caught away Philip that the eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing. So what happened here? Well, this is what we call believer's baptism. This is the verse that I, when I get somebody saved at the door, I take them to these verses and I show them, hey whatever, you're supposed to get baptized after you get saved. And so I want people to know this because they might not ever come to our church. Not everybody that gets saved out so when he comes to our church, and in fact they might look our church up and say, hey, I don't know if I want to go to this church. Or their family might say, oh that's great, you got saved, come to our church. And so they just might go to another church, maybe they never go to church. But I feel like it's my responsibility to tell them, this is what you should do next. And what do they need to know? They need to know that you have to be saved first before you get baptized. That's the responsibility that me as a pastor or the soul owner should tell them, hey, your baptism before this did not count. If you got baptized, because most people, a lot of people that professed Christianity before have been baptized before. But if you were not saved, it doesn't just transfer over, okay? It doesn't count. It's null and void, all right? So they're like, well I've already been baptized. Well, yeah, but what's the Bible say here? If this guy had already gotten baptized by a Catholic priest, you know, when he was a baby and he took a teaspoon and dropped some water on his head or something, that doesn't count. Okay? I'm not trying to be mean here, but it's just the truth. If you were at a Presbyterian church, and I don't know what they do, what do they do, Brother Bill? With a teaspoon or something? Oh, the hand, they just go psh, psh. Yeah, so whatever it is, you know, if you're at, what is it, an Orthodox church, they actually do dunk you because they understand that baptized means to plunge or to dunk. And so they take the babies, if you've ever seen, you can look it up online, and they take the babies and it looks, it looks like abuse, that's what it looks like. But they take the babies and they dunk them three times, and they, you know, they just come up out of the water looking like they're drowning because they probably almost are. But they dunk these babies three times because they say in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, but that's not the way it tells them to baptize. But I got another point about that, so let's move on to point number three. So you have to be saved before you get baptized, and number three, baptism is a picture ordinance of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. It is a picture ordinance. It does not wash away your sins. It does not make you extra holy. It is a picture ordinance of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. So an ordinance is just like a rule that you would follow that pictures something. So turn to First Corinthians chapter number 11, First Corinthians chapter number 11. First Corinthians chapter number 11, verse number one. Now Paul in this passage is gonna preach about hair length, about men and women, how long your hair should be, and what's the picture there is that men have short hair because Jesus had short hair, and God's a man, and he doesn't have long hair, and women are supposed to have long hair, and that's just the way things are. That's what the Bible teaches. So if men have long hair, then it's a shame unto them. So anyway, he goes on to teach that. He teaches about the Lord's Supper, and the way we're supposed to take the Lord's Supper, but notice verse one, it says, but be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances as I delivered them to you. So what's he saying? He said the way I told you to keep the ordinances, that's the way you should do them. Follow me because I'm following what Christ showed me and taught me. That's how he taught me. So now I'll turn to Colossians chapter two, verse 12. Colossians chapter two, verse 12, and then we'll go to Romans chapter six after this and get into the text that we read before the sermon. Colossians chapter two, verse 12 says, buried with him, I'll let you get there, I hear pages turning still, so that's good. Colossians 2, 12, buried with him in baptism. Are you literally buried in the ground with him? No. Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him. Are you literally risen with him? Did you literally rise with him? No. It's a picture. You're risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. So when you get baptized, it's picturing something, that you're buried with him. When you go under the water, it's picturing the fact that you're buried with him. Now it's interesting also that when Jesus died, he didn't just die and was buried in a tomb only, his body was buried in a tomb, which either was barely below the surface of the ground or maybe at ground level, the Bible doesn't really say, but a stone covered the grave. So what does that tell you? When the stone covered the grave, they're at ground level, aren't they? So it could have been dug under a little bit, it could have gone back, but it was big enough to where people could walk inside of it, because people walked inside of it, right? So we don't know. Maybe it was dug down a little bit where you could walk down a couple steps and there was like a room in there or something that you could walk up and maybe stand up in it. It wasn't completely, it wasn't like a burial like we would do where you dig a grave, six feet, bury it with dirt, okay? But we get baptized in water, what is the picture of judgment besides fire? It's water, isn't it? So when Jesus died, in Jonah, the waves going over him pictured the judgment and the wrath of God upon him. In Psalm chapter 88, it's talking about all the waves of wrath going upon the Lord Jesus Christ and when the flood came and destroyed the whole world, that was the wrath of God. I mean, if you think about how scary a flood is, not too long ago there was some big floods in the Philippines and the water was getting up to, you know, it flooded, I think, Verdi, Pastor Stuckey's church, the new church they're building. It flooded it, you know, it didn't do much damage but it did flood it but like Brother Duncan who's over there, it got up to his house level and the water when it's coming past that fast, I mean, it's scary. So my point is though is that, you know, that water also, you know, it pictures death because if you get taken away in a flood, you're gonna, you're mostly likely gonna die, you know? So it's just interesting that he uses water for the baptism, of course. But anyway, so turn to Romans chapter 6, verse 1, but when Jonah is thrown into the waters, it's a raging, you know, storm that he's thrown into and then a whale swallows him, goes down to the bottom of the ocean and then the picture of Jesus, you know, is that it's the sign of Jonah, right? Anyway, Romans chapter 6, verse 1, the Bible says, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? Know ye not that so many of us were baptized into Jesus? Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death. That like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. So we're buried with him by baptism into death. So what is it picturing our death? It's identifying us with Christ's death and we're in water, right? Like as Christ, it's not like, we're not actually dead, but like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. So it is a picture of us being resurrected with Christ and that we would walk in the newness of life because he has new life, right? When he rose from the dead, he has a new body and he has a body that can't die and we are raising up out of that water and we are to walk in newness of life. So when I baptize somebody and when I bring them up out of the water, I said raise to walk in newness of life. That's why I say that and it says in verse five, for if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, so it's in the likeness. See it's a picture. We shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. So we're planted in the likeness of his death, we're raised out of the water in the likeness of his resurrection. So a likeness means it's like a picture. So it says, knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him, knowing that Christ being raised from the dead, dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over him. So he is resurrected, he can never die again, he has a body that can't die, Christ can never die again. For in that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now when we get baptized, it doesn't take away our sin nature in our fleshly bodies. So we're, it's a symbolic thing. It's not washing all of our sins away. It cannot do that, because our bodies have to have a body like Christ, and we will not get that until Christ comes again. So again, it is a picture, it's a symbolic thing, and yes, we want, it's something that we should want. Yes, we don't want to walk in sin. We do want to walk in newness of life, and so it is a symbolic thing, but it says, let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it and the lust thereof. So I mean, we should want to fight those lusts. It's not like we should allow sin to just reign in us and not try to fight against that. Even though we have a sinful flesh, when we get baptized, what is he saying, that that baptism should spark something in us, that hey, we should think about these things, and we shouldn't just allow this sin that's in our life, the sin that's in our bodies, to just reign over us. We should fight against it, because we have the Spirit of God. Unsaved people don't have that. They don't have the ability to fight against that. We have the new man. The old man is crucified, and the lust thereof. We have something that other people don't have. We have the Holy Spirit. Does that mean we're never going to sin again? No, but we have a powerful weapon against sin, and we have the Holy Spirit. It says in verse 13, neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. We should live our lives in righteousness unto God, where we're not just allowing ourselves to be used by the devil, used by the world. Our lives should be in service to God, and baptism is one of those things that we should think about. Even if we've already been baptized, just think about the fact that when you got baptized, that's what it symbolized. You don't need to just keep getting baptized over and over again. You can still think back to your baptism and think, hey, that's what that symbolized, and then think back to the time when you got saved, and you got baptized. You're like, hey, that's where my mindset was. That's what my mindset needs to be today still, too. These things can apply to us that have already been baptized. I got baptized over 20 years ago, but we can still look back on that baptism. That's why it's just a one-time thing. If you've been baptized more than once, that's okay. Maybe you got baptized and you weren't saved, or maybe you got baptized and it was like some wolves in sheep clothing or something. It didn't sit right with you or something. You just want to get re-baptized. That's fine. There's nothing stopping you from doing that. But anyway, let's look at verse 14. It says, for sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law but under grace. So we're not under the Old Testament. We're under the New Testament. We are under grace. And so because of that, you would think, well, we can just have a card that we can play, the grace card where sin covers everything, or the blood covers everything so we can do as much sin as we want. That is true, but you can get punished a lot, too, because you are going to get punished. If you have that mindset, you're going to get punished a lot. So you don't want to just get punished all the time. So when I get people saved and I'm explained to them in baptism, I use my wedding ring. My other one broke, but I have a rubber one. I got so used to wearing the rubber one that I don't like wearing the metal ones anymore, but I've grown weak. But the ring is a symbol that, you know, I just say this, this is my wedding ring. What does this say about me? And most people are smart enough to figure out that it means that I'm married, right? And then I just say, is this my wife? Is this my wedding? Is this my marriage? No. But it symbolizes the fact that I'm married. People look at this and they can see I'm married. So just like this ring symbolizes that I'm married, when I get baptized, it's a symbol that I identify with Christ, that I'm dying to myself, and I'm walking in newness of life. So number four, getting baptized is a commandment of God. So yes, it's the first thing we're supposed to do, but it's not just some optional thing. It's something that we're commanded by God to do. So it's not just, oh yeah, we should do it. It's an optional thing. No, it's not optional. It's something that God's commanded us to do. But do you have the option to not do it? I mean, you do. But sometimes I just find it strange that people are just like, yeah, I don't know. I'm just waiting. It's like, who are you, Constantine? You're just waiting until the day you die or something? What do you actually believe? Why are you waiting to get baptized? If you're saved, just get baptized. Look at Matthew chapter 28. Matthew chapter 28. The reason why I say Constantine, because I think he got, he didn't get baptized the day he died or something like that, because he was afraid if he didn't get baptized that he'd go to hell because he believed that baptism saved you. So don't be Constantine, because baptism doesn't save you. So Matthew chapter 28, verse 19, the Bible says, Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you, all way even unto the end of the world, amen. So he's commanding who? His apostles to teach all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. So if it's a commandment to go do that, then it's gotta be a commandment for them to get baptized, right? And then it says even to teach them to observe those things. So if it's a commandment to teach them to observe all things, then those things have to repeat. It's not like just the apostles baptized and then nobody else gets baptized after that. They're teaching those things to other people, those other people are being ordained, and they're baptized in other people also. Turn to Matthew chapter three, Matthew chapter three. Now, Jesus got baptized. Jesus got baptized, and he was saved. He was born saved, and he never sinned. But he did have to fulfill all righteousness. He did have to keep all the commandments, and he never sinned. He had to live a perfect life. He had to keep all the commandments. He had to do whatever his mom and dad said. And so, look at what it says in Matthew chapter three, verse 13, it says, then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him. But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness, then he suffered him. Then he allowed him is what that means. So, why did Jesus get baptized by John? Well, what's Jesus say? For thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. What is righteousness? Doing right. So, why did Jesus get baptized? Because he had to do the right thing. So, he got baptized, because it was the right thing. So, and it says, and Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water, and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon him, and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am, what does it say there? Well pleased. Why was he well pleased? Because he got baptized. Because he did that righteous act. And it wasn't just that thing, but did Jesus need to get baptized to be saved? Of course not. No, but to fulfill all righteousness. So, notice when he did that, great things happened. The Holy Ghost came upon him. The Father's voice of pleasure, verbally, came from heaven, and other people heard that. God will be pleased also with you, if you keep his command to be baptized as well. But here's what you might not expect. You shouldn't expect the clouds to roll away, and doves to land upon you, and God's voice to say, well done, Son, or anything like that. You might, you shouldn't expect that. But, you know, we also are sons and daughters of God, so what you do know is that God will be well pleased with you when you keep his commandment to be baptized. You might not have the same experience, but God is still well pleased with you nonetheless. Because if he is well pleased when Jesus did it, and he's his only begotten Son, we, when we are saved, are sons and daughters of God, nonetheless, and he will be well pleased with you also. Number five, there's only one mode of baptism. Only one mode. There's only one mode of baptism. What do I mean by that? Well, in Ephesians 4-5 it says, one Lord, one faith, one baptism. There's only one God. There's only one faith, there's only one way to get saved, and there's only one baptism. There's only one way to get baptized. Jesus said, go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. That's what he said to do. That's how he said to do it. Turn to Mark chapter one, Mark chapter one. So when I say one mode of baptism, I already explained a few things that people do that are unbiblical, right? But Mark chapter one, and I've already told, showed you the other baptismal, I've already showed you a couple different times where so Philip, they walked down into the water, and he baptized the eunuch. Both of them went into the water. Matthew chapter four, we just read, he went down into the water when Jesus came up out of the water. Mark chapter one, right here in verse nine, says, and it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized of John in Jordan, and straightway coming up out of the water. So what if he was coming up out of the water, what does that tell you that he, where he was before he came up out of the water? Where was he at before that? In the water. Yes, yes, boys and girls, he was in the water. He saw the heavens open, and the spirit like a dove descending upon him. So he came up out of the water, and just to help you, he was under the water first. So how did Jesus get baptized? Did he get a priest to come and sprinkle water upon his head? No, he had a man of God named John, last name, or middle name the, last name Baptist. And he was a prophet of God who God sent. He didn't go to the Pharisees, he didn't go to the Sadducees, he didn't go to the priests, he went to John the Baptist. And he didn't pour a cup of water on his head, he didn't dunk him three times. He, you know, and we already saw it, like I said, we already saw the Philip in the Ethiopian eunuch, he dunked him under water, same thing. Turn to John chapter three. Now, what if there's no water? Well, you're gonna have to find a place for this water. That's what John did. And look, we live in the Pacific Northwest, there's water all over the place. I realize it might be a challenge sometimes to get a place where you can have some warm water. But, I mean, warm water's a luxury, okay? Not everybody has the luxury of warm water. I mean, I don't know what the Jordan River temperature was at the time of the baptisms, but I'm sure that, you know, sometimes it was a little colder than they liked, you know? But John 3.23, it says, oh, yeah, John 3.23, it says, and John was baptizing in Aenon near Salem because there was much water there, and they came and were baptized. Why did he have to do it? Because there was much water there. Well, I'll tell you why. Because you can't just pour water on people as a baptism. Because there's one baptism. And you know what the mode is? Is that you go under the water. That's why. Because that's the mode. That's every example I've already showed you in Mark chapter one, Acts chapter eight, Matthew chapter four, when people get baptized, they go underwater. And that's why we dunk people underwater. We're a Baptist church. When we baptize, we know what the word baptize means. It doesn't mean throw a Dixie cup in your face with water. It doesn't mean, I mean, when I say super soaker, the reason why I say that is because there's videos of people on YouTube where they're just shooting people with super soakers and they're calling that baptism. There's people that go off, there's churches, these mega churches that have slides where people are sliding off into water and calling that baptism. Or people are slamming, like wrestler type dudes are slamming people in water, calling that baptism. That's sacrilegious. It's just wicked. And then you got the baby baptizers. How are you gonna baptize a baby when you have to believe first? How do they get the confession out of them? Goo goo goo goo goo goo. It's like, oh yep, I think he believed, you know. That's, no. The mode has to be, there has to be a proper candidate, first of all, someone that's saved, and then that candidate has to be baptized in water. They have to be able to go under the water. So now different preachers, different pastors have different ways that they do things. And I'm trying to make my technique a little bit better because there's been a couple times where hands have been out of the water. So I've tried to rein in that where that can't happen anymore, all right? So I actually had someone baptized here not too long ago and somebody in the video commented and said their hand was out of the water. It doesn't count or something. I was just like, okay. And then, so now, from now on, I'm not gonna allow that to happen. I'm gonna be like, you gotta grab this hand or, you know. We're in this together, okay? We're all going in. But look, it's completely dunked under water. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. That's what Jesus said, okay? And then I believe that the person should be ordained or commissioned to do so, okay? Now, the Bible doesn't specifically say that. And you're like, well, if the Bible doesn't say it, then you shouldn't say that. Well, I'm going by the principle. So every time you see someone get baptized in the Bible, it's done by an ordained person. So you could say, well, I don't know about Ananias. What about John the Baptist? Well, you don't think John was ordained? Was he a prophet? Okay, well, did the prophets in the Old Testament pour oil on people and ordain them as kings? Well, I think that John was ordained. I think that Ananias, you know, God directly spoke to Ananias. And so I would say he was probably a prophet or maybe one of the 70 apostles. It doesn't say, but God's never specifically spoken to me in an audible voice, so I would say he was probably ordained. Philip was a deacon. He was ordained. And, you know, the 12 were sent to ordain. Paul the Apostle was ordained. Apollos was ordained. Timothy was ordained. I mean, so the Bible doesn't say you have to be ordained, and I get that, so I'm not gonna be like dogmatic about that necessarily, but I'm not gonna have Jack come up here and baptize his dad in the baptismal. First of all, he couldn't do it, okay? Second of all, it'd be really weird. So let's just use some common sense. It's just like the Bible doesn't say that thou shalt wear a shirt, but nobody's coming topless to church next week. Doesn't say that it's nakedness to not to, you know, but let's use some common sense, people. Nobody's coming shirtless to church, men or women, period. So don't be dumb, all right? But that's just my rule. Now, if I specially commissioned someone and said, yes, you're going on this missions trip, I will allow you to baptize somebody, I would do that. But normally, that's not what I would do. So because the Bible doesn't specifically say it, I would say that it's okay, but I don't know. It's getting off into territory that I just don't really like. But I'm not, you know, again, the Bible, we do have to go by what the Bible says, okay? But if you don't have a clear scripture for it, then you go by the principle that you see in scripture. So that's what I believe. Anyway, so now, also, what do I believe on the mode? It's completely dunked under water. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, the person has to be saved and should be someone that's ordained or commissioned by God to do so. And, you know, the wording after that, or asking someone have they believed in Christ, you don't see that in the scriptures. I just do that because I want people to hear a clear, yes, I'm saved, testimony. And then saying, you know, buried in the likeness of the Savior's death, raised to walk in the witness of life. People have different combinations of things that they say. The Bible doesn't say I have to say that, but I just do it. I just do it. Because, anyway, I think that God gives us grace to say certain things, and it's not required for me to say that, though. It's not required for me to give out baptismal certificates, either. So, anyway, let's see. Last, I think it's the last point. Baptism does not save you or wash your sins away. Number six. First Corinthians 11, 1-11 says, for it hath been declared, let's actually go to that scripture. First Corinthians 1-11. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you sayeth, I am of Paul, that every one of you sayeth, I am of Paul, and I have Apollos, and I have Cephas, and I have Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you but Crispus and Gaius, lest any of you should say that I had baptized in mine own name. And I baptized also the household of Stephanas, besides I know not whether I baptized any other. For Christ sent me not to baptize but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. So my point in reading this, well first of all, people shouldn't get weird about who baptizes them when it comes to like, oh well I need Pastor Jimenez to baptize me, or I mean there's nothing wrong with having that request I don't think, but like, I just think when people, it leaves room for carnality. You know, well I was baptized by Pastor Andrew, I was baptized by Pastor Jimenez, right? You know what I mean? This is what he's talking about. And then he's like, was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? He's just like saying that's a carnal thing to think about, or just a carnal way to think. But the point I'm wanting to make here, is that baptism doesn't save you, and Paul kind of makes this distinction here, he says Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel. So what does that tell you? The baptism and the gospel are two different things. And people will say that being baptized is part of your salvation, and it's a lie straight out of hell. Okay? Baptism does not save you, baptism does not wash your sins away, and people will go to verses and try to say, and twist them and say, oh it says baptism saves you, or baptisms for the dead, or whatever. And look, people that want to twist the scriptures will try to just twist them anyway. They'll say that baptism saves you, but it doesn't. And people go to Mark, chapter 16, verse 16. Go ahead and turn there. But Paul said, Christ didn't send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel. So if baptism was part of the gospel, then he wouldn't say that. He would say that God sent me, Christ sent me to baptize and preach the gospel. Or he would say, you know, to preach the gospel, and part of that's baptism or something. He wouldn't separate those two things. He was saying I hardly baptize anybody, so if baptism is part of it, then Paul was doing a really bad job of getting people saved if baptism is part of salvation. Right? Now here's a really bad scripture that people will use to try to justify saying that baptism saves you, because it seems to say it in the first part of the verse, but you gotta read the whole thing. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. People just stop right there. But look at the rest of the verse. But he that believeth not shall be damned. It doesn't say he that believeth not and is baptized shall be damned, and is not baptized shall be damned. It just says he that believeth not. So they twist that verse. They leave out, notice it leaves that part out because it's if you believe not. And then if you go to all the other verses and compare them to this, it says if you believe not, in the book of John multiple times, you have to believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be saved, right? And then they'll say, but what about first Peter chapter three verse 21? Go ahead and turn there. What about that one though? And like when you show people stuff, and when you tell people verses, like when you go to First Corinthians 117 and show them that Paul didn't come to baptize but to preach the gospel, they'll go, but what about Mark 16, 16? And you know, what about people? They're always gonna have another one. But just, I mean, these might be ones that you wanna write down in your Bibles for the people at the door that will say, you know, what about this one? First Corinthians 117, Mark chapter 16 verse 16, First Peter chapter three verse 21. First Peter chapter three verse 21, it says, the like figure whereunto even baptism doth now save us. Oh, case closed, yep, baptism saves us, right? Well look at the brackets there. It says, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh. So what's it saying? It doesn't wash your sins away. But the answer of a good conscience toward God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So that's, it's not talking about washing away your sins. It's not talking about that it puts away the filth of the flesh. It doesn't, that's not the salvation that it's talking about. What if I told you that save doesn't always mean salvation, like a heavenly salvation? When Peter's, you know, he walks on water for a second because he has a little faith and he starts to doubt and he starts to sink, and he says, Lord save me, is he asking them for salvation? No, he's saying, I'm drowning, will you please take my hand? Take, put me, bring me back into the boat. He's not talking about a literal, a heavenly salvation, he's talking about a physical salvation. So in closing, you know, if you're a new believer, you should get baptized as soon as you can and make sure it's in a Bible believing church. And that's the other thing I didn't bring up. So Jesus chose a man called the Baptist to baptize him. Kind of makes sense, doesn't it? Not the Calvinist, not John the Catholic, not John the Orthodox, not John the Jew, not John the Pentecostal, not John the non-denom, not John the Presbyterian, not John the Wesleyan, not John the Mormon, not John the Jehovah's Witness, not John the Seventh-day Adventist, John the Baptist to baptize. And I'm not saying that only being baptized in a Baptist church is the only church you can get baptized in, I mean, but he did get baptized by a Baptist. And he didn't go to anybody else. He actually, John tried to say, no, you need to baptize me. He's like, no, I'm getting baptized by you. It's gonna happen. He's like, okay. And he did. He baptized him, right? Let's go to one last scripture here, one last scripture, and we'll be done. I think this is a fitting verse for those that kind of refuse to get baptized, or they just are waiting. Like, why wait when God has already just told you to do it? You know, if you're saved, get baptized. And if you're just in a good church that believes the Bible, then you're good to get baptized. If they're gonna baptize you the right way, then get baptized. It says in 1 Samuel 15, verse 22, it says, And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. What is he saying here? He's saying, doesn't matter how much money you give in the offering plate, doesn't matter how much sacrifice or whatever else you're doing for God, he wants you to obey his voice. He wants you to obey. That's the best thing that you can do. And if God's saying when you get saved to get baptized, that's the next thing to do, my friend. That is the next thing that God wants you to do. And to our soul winners, let's not forget to encourage our converts to get baptized. Don't leave that part out of the Great Commission, because you might not ever see them again. And so, it just takes a few extra moments to teach them about baptism. Go to Acts chapter eight, maybe even throw in a little plug for the King James Bible, because if they have some NIV or some other cruddy version, that might be the opportunity to do the switcheroo with your King James, and just show them that they're trusting in a terrible version of the Bible. Maybe get them on the King James there. It does not save them. Make sure to tell them that. And if they don't understand that at that point, maybe you didn't do a very good job, but it is a commandment of God, and it is important as such. So, let's pray. Lord, we thank you so much for the teaching of the doctrine of baptism. And Lord, it's a simple one. I pray, Lord, that those hearing this sermon would be encouraged to get baptized, Lord, and just obey your voice, Lord, and that they would just do something that's really simple and easy to do. And Lord, even if they're shy, and don't feel like being in front of crowds, and maybe they're a little introverted, Lord, they would just put away those things and just do what you've commanded them to do, and make that a priority today. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Page 144, in your red or your green, a mighty fortress is our God. ["Almighty Fortress Is Our God"] Come on, look first. All mighty fortresses are God, the bulwark's ever-failing, our helper, He, our myth of God, a portal is prevailing for still our ancient foe. God's seed to work us well, His craft and power are green, and on with cruel hate, on earth is not His equal. Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing? Our helper, He, on our side, the man of God's own choosing, doth ask who that may be, Christ Jesus, it is He, Lord, survey of this name, from age to age the same, and He must win the battle. And though this world with devils fill, shall trodden to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for Him, His rage we can endure, for lo, His doom is sure. One little word shall fail Him, that word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them abideth the Spirit and the gifts of ours, through Him who with most sighteth let God's unkindred go. This mortal life all sown, for body they may give, God's truth all mighteth still. His kingdom is forever. Amen. If you'd remain in your seats just for a moment.