The Bible Truth about Water Baptism in Jesus Name | Senior Pastor Kenneth Carpenter
by Kenneth Carpenter
First Apostolic Church of Maryville (Maryville, TN)
Kind: teaching
Scripture: 2 Kings 5:1-14, Romans 3:23, 1 Peter 3:18-21, Genesis 6:13-15, Genesis 6:22, Mark 11:27-33, Luke 7:28-30, Genesis 7:13-16, Romans 6:1-6, John 3:17-21, Psalm 103:12, Micah 7:18-19, Acts 2:37-38, Acts 22:12-16, Acts 9:5-6, Matthew 28:19

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/kenneth-carpenter--the-bible-truth-about-water-baptism-in-jesus-name
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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Well, let's get our Bibles. It's Bible study time. Let's get our Bibles out. Let's turn to Second Kings. Second Kings chapter number five. We're going to begin reading at verse number one. Second Kings chapter 5 verse number one. How many glad for Bible study? Singing can put something on you, but teaching will put something in you. Amen. Singing will put something on you. Ain't nothing wrong with singing. Ain't nothing wrong with singing, but singing alone will just put something on you. It's like an emotion. It's like an emotion. But when you get some preaching, some teaching in you, and that's something that tomorrow you you'll say, "Hey, remember what we said? Remember what the word, you know, before we read this text, I'm going to use this as part of our prayer. I have a friend of mine have a friend of mine in Mississippi. Um, and he sent me a text this morning. Matter of fact, he sends me a lot of text messages. Brother Russell Trim, he's probably watching tonight. Brother Trim, he'll send me text every now and then. He sent me a text this morning and the text said this. It said, "If life was war, and today was your last arrow, you had one arrow, then where would you aim it? Where would you aim it?" And I thought about it. I thought, "If I had just one arrow to shoot and to kill anything, what would it be?" And I text him back. I said, "My flesh. My flesh. If I if if I was going to put something to death, it would be my flesh." You know, folks, if we can get out of the way, God can do a whole lot. I said if we can get out of the way, God can do a whole lot. So now you you you don't know, brother Corbin, it's the devil. No, it ain't the devil. It's a we but the devil I read a story one time of of of somebody was walking down the road and the found the devil sitting on a stump crying and he said, "Mr. Devil, why are you crying?" And he said, "I'm crying because everything them crazy Christians get into, they blame it on me." One thing I wouldn't shoot the arrow at the devil because he's already been defeated. But my flesh is yet to be defeated. And the only way that I can defeat my flesh is to continually bring it in submission to the spirit of God and the word of God. Now, having said that, let me say this again. It's amazing what God can do when we get out of the way. When we get out of the way. Well, let's read tonight. Second Kings 5 and1. Now non captain of the host of the king of Syria was a great man with his master and honorable because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria. He was a might he was also a mighty man in valor. But the next five words cancels it all out. Just cancels it all out. but he was a leper. Tonight, we're going to minister to you on the subject, the Bible truth. Maybe an odd scripture, but the Bible truth about water baptism in Jesus name. Would you lay your Bibles down? Would you go before the Lord with me tonight in prayer? Heavenly Father, we come unto you tonight. God, we're so thankful, Lord, that you gave us your word. We're so thankful, God, that you left us, God, with this word tonight. Lord, we have faith, God, in the word. We believe you're you are the God of the word that we read tonight. Lord, I just ask you tonight, Lord, to let your word seep into our hearts. Lord, let our minds be open, God, to your word tonight. Lord, let our hearts be fertile soil for the seed of your word. Lord, let that seed fall into deep into our hearts tonight that we may be able to be witnesses for you. That we may be able, Father, to give an answer of the hope that is within us. Lord, in Jesus name we pray. Amen. And amen. You may be seated tonight. It's an odd verse of scripture to go to. It'd be an odd read tonight when you're saying, "Well, you're going to talk to us about you're going to teach to us the Bible truth about water baptism in Jesus name." But I feel like that this story in the Old Testament of a captain by the name of Non who um had this fatal disease had this fatal disease of leprosy. This fatal disease this disease that would eventually take his life. So it says in verse number one, it tells all of his accomplishments. It tells everything that he had done, but it ends with those last five words that render it really the end of his life because non has leprosy. Let's go to verse two now. And the Syrians had gone out by companies and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid. And she waited on Non's wife. She waited on Non's wife. Now, going down this this this story, going down the narrative of this story, you're you're going to see me go between the disease that he had called leprosy and the disease that every one of us were born with called sin. Everyone of us tonight were born with the fatal disease called sin. We didn't become sinners. We didn't be you didn't become a sinner when you when you sinned your first sin. You you had the nature you had you had the nature of sin. You were born in sin. For the Bible says in the book of Romans, how many have sinned and come short of the glory of God? Somebody read your Bible. Could you help me out? How many have sinned? All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. It could be said about us regardless of our accomplishments. It could be said about us as it was said about non. It could list all of our accomplishments, but at the end of it, it would say, "But he or she was a sinner." And that would seal the doom. But, uh, the Syrians had went out in verse two, and they had taken captive out of the land of Israel several Israelites, and they had taken captive a little maid, a little girl, and she became the maid of Non's wife. She got close to non or she was close to non. She was close. She heard the conversations about leprosy. She heard uh maybe uh he tried physicians and she heard uh the stories about the physicians and no doubt that she heard that uh that there was no help. There was no help for leprosy. There was no cure for leprosy. Just like there's no cure for sin outside of Jesus Christ. Let me say it again. There's no cure for sin outside of Jesus Christ. You can give a lot of money to charity. You can even be a good moral person. You can be a good moral person. You can volunteer. You you you can do all kind of good things. But that will never and has never saved anyone. Never saved anyone. But uh this little little maid was there in verse three. She said unto her mistress, "Would God, my lord, were with the prophet that is in Samaria, for he would recover him of his leprosy." Now, here's where we come in. Here's where we come in. Because this little girl has the answer for Non's dilemma. This little girl, this little girl has the answer. This little girl has that answer. And it is the word of God. And she says to Non's wife, "I wished or I would that Non was in the land of Israel. I I would that he was in Samaria. He would recover him of his leprosy." You see, this is the ministry of the church tonight. One of the reasons I'm teaching this is the world is living in sin. The world has got all kind every problem, every issue that our world has today can be can be threaded right back to that threeletter word called sin. And she said if he was in the land of Samaria, he could recover of his leprosy. Verse four, one went in and told his lord, saying, "Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel." And the king of Syria said, "Go to go." Now, just kind of pause right there at verse 5. Listen to what the king says. Then the king of Syria said, "Go to go." That kind of sounds like to me he said, "If there's a cure, get after it. If there's a cure, if there's a cure for your leprosy, go to go." In other words, I I sense in the reading he said, "If there's a cure, get to it in a hurry. Go to it." And so, the Bible says that he said, "I will send a letter unto the king of Israel." And he departed and took with him 10 talents of silver, 6,000 pieces of gold, and 10 thou 10 changes of raignment. Now, look at this. Now, why would they send such a large amount of money and such a large amount of clothing? Why would they send all that? Because the way they fought was if there is a God there in that land, then this God wouldn't give us healing for free. Evidently, you you you see, we have to help people see today how good our God is. Because our world today has a mindset much like the king. He said, 'Well, there's a God in Samaria that could heal. Then take the 10 talents of silver, take the 6,000 pieces of gold, and the 10 changes of raignment. Verse six. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, "Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I I have therewith sent non my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy." And it came to pass when the king of Israel had read the letter that he rent his clothes and said, "Am I God to kill and make alive, that this man does send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? Wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me." Now, here's what the king, and I'm going to liken the king, I'm going to liken the king to religion, all right? Because man-made religion puts limits on the sin cleansing power of God. Man-made religion limits a limitless God. Man-made religion can see God doing something up to one point but not all the way. This king of Israel, he could see God doing some things. But when the letter came from the king of Assyria to the king of Israel, the king of Israel said, "Look here, this king is trying to start a war with us. Am I God?" Did y'all hear me read that? Am I God to kill and make alive? Who does he think I see how he And so religion that puts a limit on the cleansing power of God is always sending people away. It's always sending people away. But let's keep on reading. Let's keep on reading verse number eight. And it was so when Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes that he that he sent to the king, saying, "Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? Let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel." Now the king Elijah sent to the king because the king is all perplexed because he thinks that they're trying to start a a quarrel and the king is perplexed. But when the man of God that was in touch with the word of God, the living powerful delivering word of God, the lifechanging word of God, he sent to the king and said, "Send him to me. Send him to me and he's going to know that there's a prophet in Israel." Can I tell you that the apostolic church here in this city is not a church that puts limits on the power of God. There's not a sin nor sinner that our God cannot deliver. If you want to be delivered, there's not a there's not a vice, there's not a habit, there's not a length of that habit, there's not a depth of your perversion that can limit a God that can do all things. Send them to us. Send them to us. Oh, don't you love him tonight? Elisha said, "Send him to me." So verse number nine, follow this closely. So non came with his horses and with his chariot and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, "Go wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean." Clean, he said. Now, here's the answer. Here's the answer. Go wash seven times in Jordan and you will be clean. But look at what happened in verse number 11. But non was wroth, mad, angry, infuriated, and went away and said, "Behold, I thought he will surely come out to me, stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, strike his hand over the place, and recover the leprosy. Are not abena and farpar rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them and be clean? So he return. He turned and went away in a rage. Here is what we have to help people with preconceived ideas of how God is going to work. Religion said there should have been a ceremony. Well, there should have been pomp and circumstance. There should have been a ceremony. Why? He should have come out. I thought, did you did you pick that up when I read that? I thought because religion gives you a preconceived idea of how you think God, how God should work. I got news for you tonight. It's not up to us to tell God how to work. It's us to us. It's up to us to believe God and watch and allow God to work. Should have been a circum should have been a ceremony. Should have been a ceremony that went on. He should have come out and called on the name of his God. He should have struck his hand over the place and recovered me of my leprosy. And then he said, "And don't we have in Damascus the most beautiful crystal clear waters that I could wash in and be clean?" and he turned and went away in a rage. Why? I'm now telling God how to do his work. Can I tell us? We all need to resign from thinking we're God. And we all just need to get out of the way. Here I'm back on that tonight. It would be amazing if we could just get out of the way and let God work. So here he's mad. He's taking all of his money and he's heading he's heading back. He's he's he turned. Look at the end of verse 12. He turned and went away in a what? He's in a rage. And his servants came near and spake unto him and said, "My father, if the prophet had bid thee, do some great thing. I if if he'd ask you to do some great thing like give a great sum of money that you have if he would have asked you to do some great thing would thou not have done it? How much rather then when he said to thee wash and be clean? It's that easy. Wash and be clean. Now, the act is easy. But the issue is the heart. The act is easy. Do you get that? The act is easy. You see, it's not the outward we have a problem with. It's the heart we have a problem with. Because it doesn't matter how many times you wash. If you're not obedient, then there's no power of God. And in order to wash, you have to believe what the prophet said that his God said. So, so now he said it's just simple. Why don't you just humble yourself? And I I imagine I could add this right now. I I would see him on a horse. Why don't you just come down from your high horse? Why Why don't you just Why don't you just come down and why don't you wash? But now now let's let's really Sister Glenna, let's let's look into this a little closer. Do you realize that probably non wore his sleeves down to cover his arms because his arms were eat up with leprosy. Don't you know that he might have even wore gloves to hide the ugly soores that leprosy had put on him? Don't Don't you know that he was probably covered every place he could cover? He probably he may have even had a helmet on to cover some lepous sores that that were around him. He was all covered up because religion only tries to cover your sins. Try to hide them. Man-made religion. Is isn't that what Adam and Eve did? Did Didn't Adam and Eve do that in the first place? What happened when they sinned? They made themselves fig leaves to do what? They were trying to cover themselves. And so in order for me to do what the man of God said, do you realize I have to I I have to go down there and take my shirt off and and my shirt's been hiding some pretty big gashes and my shirts been hiding some ugly oozing sores. And do do you realize if I have to take my clothes off that I'm going to stand there? I I've had a pretty good reputation up to this point. Everybody Everybody remembers the battles I wore. Look at these stripes on my shoulder. Everybody remembers all the battles I've won, everything that I But do you realize if I take this off right now and I stand there and they're they're going to see the ugliness that I really have. And you know what? That's the first step in getting help. We have got to uncover what we're trying to cover up. Because only God can forgive our sins. Only God can cleanse us of our sins. Only God. The first step in getting help is to realize that you need help. And you don't you're you're not ashamed. You're not intimidated. Who knows about it? What anybody's going to say about it? I just need to get a I need to get a healing. And so non takes his clothes off, exposes his ugly soores, and the Bible says in verse 14, "Then went he down and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God. And his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child." Sounds like he born again. unto a little child and he was clean. Can I tell you tonight? I went through that whole narrative to simply tell you this. Non did not get his healing because the water and non did not get his healing because of the number. And non did not get his healing because it was the Jordan River. Non got his healing out of one thing. Obedience. Obedience. obedience. I've had people, and please, if you're here tonight and you're one that have given me a gift of oil from Holy Land here, uh I know at the Seville church, we had a precious lady there that that brought me a vial of oil. And so, I just really think that God would bless our prayer for the sick if you use this oil comes from Jerusalem. And and please understand, it doesn't matter where the oil comes from. The power is not in the oil. The power is in the obedience. That's where the power is not in the water. We don't we don't import our water from Israel. That's just old good old blunt county water right there. But the power is not in the water. The power is in the act of obedience. And so, let me tell you tonight, the power of water baptism is in obedience. That's where the power that's where the power of water baptism lies. Well, let's flip on over to the New Testament. 1 Peter chapter 3 verse number 18. 1 Peter chapter 3 verse number 18. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins. What did he suffer for? What did he suffer for? He didn't suffer for poverty, did he? What did he suffer for? Because if we can get a hold of sin, poverty will take will be taken care of. Well, you see too many churches today have turned into a bless me, bless me, bless me church. It's turned into a God of blessings, a God of prosperity. Do I believe in the God of blessings and the God of prosperity? You better believe I do. But you'll never prosper. You'll never prosper. And you'll never have blessings until you get that threeletter word out of your life. I wish somebody would say that word tonight. Sin. You got to get that sin. Why did Christ suffer? Sin. He suffered for sins. The just, that's him, for the unjust, that's us. That he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the spirit. By which also he went and preached and to the spirits in prison, which sometime were disobedient. These are people in the Old Testament days, which sometimes were disobedient. When once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. Eight souls were saved by water. Underline it. Eight souls were saved by water. The next verse, the like figure were unto, even baptism doth also now save us, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now, let me explain something to you. Let me explain let me let me explain this to you. The ark in the Old Testament becomes a type of Jesus Christ. It becomes a type of Jesus Christ. Because if you were going to escape the flood, the judgment, there was only one place that you could escape it in. And that one place was the ark. It was the ark. If you wanted to escape the pollution that was in the world, the only place that you could escape it was in the ark. Let me read to you one of my favorite commentaries. It says, "The ark and its deliverance by it as it was a type of Christ, salvation by him." So it was a figure of baptism and baptism was the antitype of that or there is something in these which correspond and answer to and bear a re resemblance to each other as the ark. Listen to this now as the ark was God's ordinance or God's plan. The ark was God's plan. It wasn't man's invention. Please hear this, please. Man didn't invent the ark. God did. It was God that gave the directions for the ark, not man. Let me go back to my subject tonight. Man hasn't come up with water baptism. God did. Water baptism is not the invention of religion and man. God did it. The ark. Let me verse of scripture to kind of prove this point. Genesis 6:13. Genesis 6:13. And God said unto Noah, that scripture does not say, "And Noah said unto God." It says, "And God said unto Noah, the end of all flesh has come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them, and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopherwood. Room shalt thou make in the ark shall pitch it within and without, with pitch. And this is the fashion thereof, which thou shalt make of it. The length of the ark shall be 300 cubits and the breadth of it 50 cubits and the height of it and the height of it 30 cubits. It's not Noah, and this is really important that you get this. It's not Noah telling God, "Hey, I think you're going to flood this place and it'd be a pretty good idea for me to build a boat. And if you don't mind, God, I'm going to build a boat of gopherwood and I'm going to make it so many feet wide and so many feet high and so many feet long and I'm going to do all I'm going to gather all the animals in." No, no, no, no. The ark was not The ark was not man's invention. It was God's plan. Eight souls were saved by what? Water. But you know, God can have a plan. Hear me now. God can have a plan. But do you know God's plan is just as effective on us is our obedience. A lot of things we say, you know, well, you know, if it's God's will, and I I I understand what people say with God's will, but you know, God's word requires our obedience. God can have his will to do this. It was God's will to save Noah and his family. He said, "Well, if no one Noah hadn't built the ark, there would been no people. What would God have done?" Are you really You're really asking me that? What would God have done? Who made man in the first place? Noah just obeyed God because God gives him the plan. But look at chapter 6 verse 22. God's told him how long to make it, how wide to make it. Thus did Noah according to most of all that God commanded him. According to 99%. According to all that God commanded him. What? Say the last three words of that verse. Please say it again. Please see. God said God's got a plan. I want to save you. I I'll tell you how wide to make the ark. I'll tell you how high to make the ark. I'll tell you what kind of wood to make out of it. I'll tell you everything about it. But Noah, you got to get involved in the plan. First off, Noah, you've got to believe me. You got to believe that I'm going to send a flood. You got to begin. You got to begin to believe the end has come and the only way you're going to be saved is to do what I tell you to do. And Noah did it. It's called obedience. It's called obedience. So now we understand. So is baptism. It's not an invention of man. It's a command of God. Baptism is not of man, but it is of God. Just as the ark was not of man. It was of God. But you know that ark went through a lot of scorning. Noah and his sons went through a lot of scorning. People ridiculed them. No foolish thing. building a boat out in the middle of a desert hundreds of miles away from a body of water. You are a crazy fool, Noah. Your kids, you've done brainwashed your kids. Oh, I feel sorry for those three boys. I wish we could got them in a better school. I wish we could have got them out from under him. I w I wish we could have got them somewhere. And they laughed at Noah and they ridiculed at Noah and they did all that. Just like the world today laughs at the gospel of Jesus Christ. When we begin to talk about we literally believe, oh yes, we believe. We believe one day that a trumpet is going to sound and only those that are in Jesus Christ are going to hear that trumpet. And when that trumpet sounds, we are going to be changed literally in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and we're going to gravity is going to release from us. And we're going to be caught up in the air to be with the Lord. and the saints that have been buried are going to rise and we're going to meet him in the air and we're going to go to heaven. And people look and they say, "Man, that's just crazy. You're a bunch of weak-minded people. I'm going down to happy hour to get drunk. I'm trying me a new drug out that's taking my peace." Listen, they can ridicule us all they want to, but when Noah got his family on that ark and the rain begin to come, there wasn't a lot of ridicule going on. Just like just like there's going to be a sobering moment when this one can't be found and that one can't be found and they and they go by to check on your room and you're not in your bed and and you've just disappeared, ridiculed, laugh, scorn, make fun of. Huh? They did. They even did that to water baptism. Oh yeah. Turn with me to Markap 11 27. How many are glad for God's word tonight? Markap 11 verse number 27 reads like this. And they came again to Jerusalem. And as Jesus was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests and the scribes and and the elders. And they said unto him, By what authority dust thou these things? And who gave thee this authority to do these things? They came the chief priests, the religious people, corneting in the temple. Who gave you the authority? Where'd you get this authority at? Where'd you get this power at to heal the blind? Who where'd you get this power at to teach the way that you're teaching? Verse 29. Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one question and answer me and I will tell you by what authority I do. He says, I I want to ask you one question. If you'll answer my question, then I'll answer your question. Okay. Verse 30. Jesus said, "The baptism of John, was it from heaven or of men?" Answer me. Baptism of John, was it God-given or was it an invention of man? The baptism of John, was it from the throne room of God or was it some invention of man? Answer me. They reasoned. They probably stepped back a few moments and let we we need to go on a counseling session here and they they they reason with with themselves saying if we shall say from heaven he will say why then did you not believe him but if we say of men they feared the people for all men counted John that he was a prophet indeed. So they got back and they said, "You know what? If we say that baptism is from heaven, he's going to say, why didn't you get baptized then?" And then if we say it was of men, we're in trouble with the people because they really rever. So they stepped back out and they said they stepped they they stepped back out and they answered verse 33. And they answered and said unto Jesus, "We cannot tell." Now that's Now, now they've done added a lie to that. It is not a cannot. It is a will not. All right? It's not the cannot. Oh, we we cannot tell. No, no, I cannot. It was a will not tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, "Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things." Now, if they have not submitted in obedience to John's baptism, which was from heaven, why would he tell them about his authority? Because you put it together, no obedience, no authority. No obedience, no authority. Thank God we've got authority over all the plans that hell has for your life. Come on, child of God. You have authority tonight because you have obedience tonight. I said you have authority tonight because you have obedience tonight. You have authority because you have obedience. You You don't just have to allow sickness to come in and rape your family. You don't have to allow spirits to come in and rape your family. You don't have to allow things to come in and just ravish your family because you've got obedience. You can stand up and say, "Devil, right here is where it stops. We're going to we're going to bombard God on my behalf. No obedience, no authority. Obedience and authority. Well, how was it? How important was John's baptism? How important was John's baptism? Luke 7:28, they came to Jesus and they were they had a message from John. John was in prison and and uh Jesus answered and and then Jesus turns to the crowd and Jesus begins to talk to the crowd about John the Baptist. And in Luke 7:28, Luke 7:28, Jesus says, "For I say unto you, among those that are born of women, there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist, but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." Verse 29. And all the people that heard him and the publicans justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But look what happened in verse 30. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the council of God against themselves, not being baptized of him. It wasn't just I'm not going to believe that man's word. And too many times too many times when when God's word is a is is asking us and requiring us to do certain things. So many times people see the preacher and not the word. You got to understand when the preacher is preaching the word, it's not the preacher, it's God's word. All they could see was a strange man coming out of the wilderness that had a strange diet of locust and wild honey. All they could see is this man screaming down at the riverside telling people to repent of their sins. telling people to come and to be baptized in water. And he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I'm not worthy to unlatch, he shall baptize you with holy. All they could see is that's just a crazy man out there hollering. They didn't know when they rejected John's message, they were rejecting the counsel of God. I've heard people say, "Well, that baptism in Jesus name, that's an apostolic thing." It's not an apostolic thing. It's a Bible thing. It's it's it's it's it's a Bible thing. Now, let's follow Noah's arc a little bit further tonight before we go home. You see, as the ark, when Noah and his family were shut up in the ark, matter of fact, they were shut up in the ark by God. They were shut up in the ark. Go to Genesis 7:13 with me for a moment. Genesis 7:13. And in the self-same day entered Noah, Shim, Ham, Japheth, the sons of Noah, Noah's wives, and three wives of his sons with them into the ark. They and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every foul after his kind, and every bird after every sort. And they went in unto Noah into the ark two and two of all flesh wherein there wherein is the breath of life. Now watch verse 16. And they that went in went in male and female of all flesh as God had commanded him. Look at the last phrase here. And the Lord shut him in. And the Lord No, it didn't. No didn't shut the door. God shut the door. God shut the door. Doesn't the ark become an Old Testament type of burial? There they are shut in. We could liken it to a casket. There they are shut in the judgment underneath them and the judgment all around them. But they are safe because they have been obedient to the word of God and God has shut them in. God has shut them in. It's like a It's like a burial. Baptism is a burial. It's it's baptism is is a burial. Listen to Paul in Romans 6 and verse number one. 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. Verse four, I want you to I want you to really underline. If you write in your Bible, you ought to underline the word buried. 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, if you write in your Bible, underline the word planted. For if you have, for if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall also be 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. Let me show you what happens in baptism. Two words, buried planted. Buried planted. You bury your sins. Never to rise back up out of that grave. When we are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, the sins that we had committed are buried. They're never coming up again. But we're also planted because when I'm burying the new man or the old man, there's going to be a resurrection of the new man. So into the water goes the sinner, the repented sinner who has repented of his sins. He has repented of his sins. And we live in a world today. We live in a world today. C could you tell me what sin it is that that that I that that I would go to hell over? Can you can you tell me can I tell you there is one sin and one sin only and that is not believing on Jesus Christ as your savior. Now I know there's a lot of people that want to take that and say, "Man, look how easy that is." That is not easy because it's not a it's not an easy little word, a little mental ascent that I believe that he died, that I believe he rose again, that I believe he's son of God. No, no, no, no. That's believing on him to the part that you crucify the old man. That's believing on him to the part that you begin to live a new life. That's believing on him until you start putting your ear to the word of God. And whatever the word of God says, that's what I'm going to do. Whether I like it or not, whether culture agrees with it or not, whether I like it or not, if the word of God says it, that settles it. These people go around, well, I'm doing this and I just don't feel like it's wrong. I got a message for you. You don't have to feel that it's wrong. Well, I just don't think it's wrong. Well, that that that you can think whatever you want to think, but if you're going to walk streets of gold, if you're going to escape the damnable flames of the lake of fire, you got to get your ear and your heart in the word of God and says, you know, it doesn't matter what I feel at all if the word of God says it. That that's how that's how I I I want Well, I I just don't really feel like baptism is all that important. You can you can feel that way if you want to, but that's not what the word of God says. The word of God says it was the council of God. The word of God says that that we're buried with him in baptism. Let me read you a little something out of John, the Gospel of John. Oh, I feel the Holy Ghost tonight. John chapter 3:1 17. It's the verse right before. For God so loved the world. It's the verse right before it or right after, excuse me. Verse 17. Jesus says, "For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned." Look at that. If you believe on him, you are not what? You're not condemned. If you believe on him, you're not what? Say it again. You're not condemned. If you believe on him is not condemned. But he that believeth not is condemned what? Already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God. And this is the condemnation that light is come into the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For everyone that doeth evil hateth light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth, notice that he that doeth truth. We talk about believing truth. It's takes more than believing truth. It's doing truth. It's an action word. It's doing. It's it's doing truth. Cometh to the light that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought with God. You can go ahead, non. You can ride on back to Syria. You can keep covering up your sores. You can keep covering up your leprosy. You can keep buying more cloth. You can keep covering up your eyes. But you're dying every day. You can look good in the eyes of the community. You can look good to everybody. But when you go to home at night and you begin to take your robe off, you see what an ugly man that you truly are. Or you can believe the prophet's word. And thank God that he did because when he went home, he was able. He was able to take his shirt off and say, "Honey, I got cleansed by the power. I got cleansed by the power of God." Oh, friend. I just feel like we ought to praise him right now. I just feel like we ought to praise him right now. Jesus, I thank you tonight. I love you tonight. Oh, can we give him more praise than simply that tonight? I really think that's an anemic praise right now. I I know we got a lot of people out tonight, but I believe there's more people here tonight that realize it. Realize it. Realize my sins are buried. My sins are buried. Why are you letting condemnation creep back into your mind about sins in your life either before you were baptized or after. The only way you're allowing past sins to bring condemnation is you're not believing the word of God. Because if you would believe the word of God, you would understand what Psalms 103:12 says. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Where is as far as the east is from the west, there is no such location. There is there's a north pole, there's a south pole, but there's not an east pole and there's not a west pole. He's simply saying it's at a place that no person can go as far as the east is from the west. Or how about Micah 7 verse number 18? Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retainth not his anger forever, because he delightth in mercy. He will turn again. He will have compassion on us. He will subdue our iniquities, and thou will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Oh, do you see this with me tonight, church? Do you see what a God that we serve? Go on, non, take your clothes off. Dip in the Jordan River seven times. A God is going to heal you. Come on, church. Be water baptized in Jesus' name. Get shut in with God and let your sins be buried, but let a new man arise in you. Hallelujah to God. And the church, the first day that the church was birthed by the coming of the Holy Ghost upon the 120, from that upper room, a multitude gathered around. Peter preached the first message. He preached the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He told a crowd that 50 days prior to that had demanded the crucifixion of Jesus. He told them that they had murdered the just one. They had taken the life of the just one. Peter comes to a climax of his message in Acts 2:37. Now when they heard this, they were pricricked 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 you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Why be baptized? Because it's for the remission of sins. What does the word remission mean? It means release from bondage or imprisonment. It means forgiveness or pardon of sins. It means letting them go as if they have never been committed. It means remitted from the penalty. Can I tell you to the world the ark looked crazy and to what we do it looks crazy to the world. But the believer in the word of the living God knows that I'm about to get shut in with God. I'm about to have all my sins buried and there's a new man coming up out of that grave. Well, preacher, you you just got to realize I I've had I I just don't Are Are you in Are you hinting around to me tonight that that I should be baptized in Jesus name? Honey, I'm not hinting. I'm telling you what the word says. I'm telling you I'm telling you what the word says. Could I have five more minutes of your time? Who Who give me five minutes? Would you raise your hand if you give me five minutes? Five. I don't 5, 10, 15, 20, 20. No, I don't need that. I don't I don't I don't mean I don't Abel, you give me six minutes. All right. I don't want three people to give me six because that'd be six six. Okay. All right. Paul is Paul is telling his testimony. It's found in Acts chapter 22:12. He's telling his testimony. Acts chapter 22:12, he says, "And one Ananas, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there, came unto me and stood and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight." The same hour I looked upon him, and he said, "The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou should us know his will, and see that just one, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard." Now watch, watch what this watch what the preacher says to him. Verse 16. And now, why terest thou? Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins calling on the name calling on the name of the Lord. Now just wait a minute. Just just wait a minute. All right. Just wait a minute. I have already Acts 95. Acts 9 and5. He's laying on his back. A light has blinded him. In Acts 9 and5 he says, "Who art thou, Lord?" And the Lord said, "I am Jesus whom thou persecute? Is it hard for thee to kick against the pricks?" And he trembling and astonished said, "Lord, what will thou have me to do?" And the Lord said unto him, "Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do." Let me ask you something. Was Paul a believer there? I'm going to answer. Yes. Yes. I know you think I'm trying trying to trick you. He He He goes from a fighter. He goes from a fighter and a flash of light makes him a believer. He You talk about a change of mind, Sister Stephanie. You talk about a change of mind. He hates these Christians. He hates these people. He's got letters, a warrant. He's going to drag them out of their homes. He's going to see that they're beaten and maybe even as Stephen was stoned to death. He hates this new way. But in a flash of a light, Angelica, in the flash of a light, he lays on the ground and he simply says, "Who are you, Adoni? Who are you, Lord?" And a statement that changed his life. I am Jesus. What will you have me do? Is he a believer? Yes. Is he at that moment still in his sin? Yes. How is he still in his sin? He has not yet been baptized, shut in, sins remitted. He hasn't had them. They may be forgiven, but they're not remitted. And when the prophet came, evidently, there had to be some something that made the prophet Ananas feel like that Paul was kind of waiting around because he says, "Why ter thou?" or another word, a senate. What are you waiting on? God has a plan for your life. You're going to be a preacher. You're going to proclaim the truth. He's chosen you to be a pro. He's chosen you to to be a mouthpiece. He's chosen you to be a preacher. And then he says, "What are you waiting on? Arise and be baptized, calling on the name of the Lord, washing away your sins. Go church tonight. If there's anybody under the sound of my voice and you have not yet been buried in the name of Jesus Christ in water for the remission of your sins, what are you waiting on tonight? What are you waiting on? Please, I'm not meaning to throw any stones. I'm just telling you as for me in my house, but I get really disturbed when I hear churches talk about having baptism Sunday. We're going to have baptism Sunday. We're going to have we have this Sunday. We're going to have that Sunday. And that that bothers me because that don't line up with scripture because when they preached to the jailer in the middle of the night time, the Bible said the jailer believed the gospel and that Paul took him the same hour of the night and he was baptized. What are you waiting on? That's why we keep water continually in the pool. That's why we keep it continually circulating and we keep it continually heated. That's why there's fresh towels up there tonight. That's why there's fresh robes up there tonight. That's why there's hair dryers and combs and everything that you need tonight. Because somebody's going to say, "You know what? It's tonight. I've waited long enough. Brother Carpenter, it's tonight. Tonight's the night. I want to be baptized." Oh, why don't you stand with me right now? Why don't we begin to worship the Lord right now? Why don't we begin to magnify him right now? Oh God, I love you, Jesus. I worship you, God. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Oh, hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Oh, I thank you tonight. Come on, let's just let's just get out of the way and let God have his way tonight. Let's just get out of the way right now and let God have his way. Why don't we all just gather up around the altar and let God have his way? I hear the voice of the carnal man saying tonight. I hear the voice of the carnal man. Another message by baptism in Jesus name. Man, I got so much trouble in my life. You know what you got in your life? You got sin that y'all take care of. I'm not saying y'all to get rebaptized. And the the only reason you should get rebaptized is if you weren't baptized the right way the first time. You wasn't baptized the right way the first time. Cause man got in it. You hear me? Man, man got in the doctrine of baptism. Man got in. You've heard this story before, but it just it's just too good of example. Paris was born. You know about how old the story is now. District superintendent Louisiana. He and his wife went to Dillard's department store there in Monroe, Louisiana. They bought all kind of baby clothes. They had her name embroidered on it. They bought all kind of baby clothes. They even put a gift card in there. They went down to the post office there in Manifest, Louisiana. They put my address on it and paid the postage. But when it got to my house on Scarlet Rose Court and I opened that box up, I thought it was a sick joke. It was a large t-shirt in there. It was another t-shirt. There was some baby clothes, but they were even stained baby clothes, like a baby that had ate some food. It was a t-shirt advertising, a car wash. It was a motorcycle hat. It's a If it's a joke, I I can't get this joke. I can't I can't I can't can't get it. So, I never called Brother Pool. didn't say anything to him. About a month or two later, brother Randy, about a month or two later, David Pool called me up. He said, "Hey man, my wife want me to call you today. See if that box that that gift got there for your granddaughter, Paris." I said, "Well, um, yeah, yeah, yeah." I said, "Uh, bro, was a couple t-shirts." I thought, you know, let's just go for broke here, you know. couple t-shirts and a hat advert. It was a I think a motorcycle hat. He said, "Hey." And he he kind of talks his way. He said, "Hey, Rev, somebody don't mess with that box. Somebody mess with that box." He said, "There were clothes in there from Dillard's department store. He we had them embroidered with Paris across the front. There was a $100 gift card in there. There were We My wife My wife really wanted to bless you on that that that baby." I said, "Well, bro, there was none of that in there. The only thing we we can think about slack that in between manifest Louisiana and Marville Tennessee some authorized individual it's a better way of saying a thief opened up something that didn't belong to him took out something that didn't belong to him and put back in there what he wanted to say. Okay, I'm not getting you with your story. This book left the upper room with fire, power, sin cleansing ability, lifech changing ability. It's changing drug addicts in the eth chapter of the book of Acts. It's changing Gentiles in the 10th chapter of the book of Acts. It's changing religious people in the 19th chapter of Acts. But along about the second to third century, unauthorized men opened it up and they changed. You go to encyclopedia botanic and you'll see it. They changed water a baptism from in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins to repeating the words father, son, and holy ghost to complement their newly founded doctrine of the trinity. Trinity is never mentioned in the Bible. First, second, third person is never mentioned in the Bible. But because it comes out of religion, people just take it for value. And it comes down to us today and we open it up and we just say, "Oh, nice t-shirt. Oh, nice church ceremony. Oh, nice public profession of faith. Oh, oh, oh, nice outward sign of what an inward work is done." But everybody walks away from that and they feel so empty. But blessed be the people that'll say, "Dig in that word one more time." Nowhere in the Bible were they ever baptized any other way but in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And for the remission, the releasing, the forgiveness, the releasing, the penalty. One more time, would you just raise your hands and raise your voice and begin to magnify God and thank him that you were baptized in his name. I thank you that I went down in your name, Lord. Oh, God. All the sinful acts I did. I thank you, Lord. I thank you, Lord. I thank you, Lord. Oh, if there's anybody right now that wants to be baptized, just let me know. There's anybody right now that wants to step up, just raise your hand and say, "I need to be baptized, Pastor God." Just let me know. Come on, let's ma Let's magnify him right now. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Come on. Shoot the arrow in your heart right now. Shoot the arrow in your heart right now. Oh, thank you, Lord. I worship you, God. I love you, God. I thank you, God. Oh, I praise you, mighty God. I worship you, mighty God. I magnify you, mighty God. I magnify you, mighty God. Oh, I magnify you, God. I magnify you, God. I magnify you, God. Oh, God. I worship you, Lord Jesus. God, help me to become a better man, Lord. God, I shoot the arrow into my flesh tonight, God. God, help me to become a loving man tonight, God. God, help me to become a spiritual man tonight, Lord. Oh God, help me to fall in love with you all over again, Lord. God, help me to praise you and help me to fall in love with you all over again, God. Oh, I magnify you, God. I worship you, God. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you, God. I praise you, God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Come on. Shoot that arrow into that flesh right now. Raise that voice up right now. Raise that voice up right now. Hallelujah. Come on. I'm tell you, there's power when we put the flesh where it belongs. The flesh does not belong dominating us right now. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Lord, we praise you tonight. Lord, we magnify you tonight. God, we thank you for your word. I shoot the arrow into my heart tonight. God, help me to crucify my flesh, God. God, help me, Lord, to walk in the spirit. Lord, help me to have the gift and the fruit of the spirit, God, the love of the spirit, God. Lord, I ask you, God, to let this word fall on hearts. Let it recede, Lord. Let in the days to come that people Lord see their need and may they as non may they stop long enough to realize a simple act of obedience could engage your power in Jesus mighty name we pray. Before I say dismiss tonight, let me say this to you. If you're here and maybe you're new to the church and maybe you're thinking, "Well, I yeah, I've been baptized. I've been baptized." Um, and you may even say, "Well, I I I believe I was baptized in Jesus name." Why don't you do yourself a favor? Call wherever you were baptized and say this simple thing. Did you call the name of Jesus out over me when you baptized me? Did you call or did you say father, son, holy ghost? Did you did Did you baptize me for the remission of my sin? And I'm gonna tell you, if they say to you, "No, no. Um, we would rather obey what Jesus said than Peter." All right? And that's a that's a little conversation you'll hear. They'll say, "Oh, Jesus said, Matthew 28:19, "Go ye therefore teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Well, if you break that down, nobody's being baptized there. There's nobody being baptized there. They're being commissioned to go and baptize. And they're being commissioned to go and baptize in a name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. And that name is Jesus. And it is for the remission of sins. And if they tell you that they spoke the titles out, call me day or night. I'll meet you here at the church. I'll baptize you in that wonderful, loving, life saving, delivering, powerful name. of Jesus Christ. One more time, would you give him a shout of praise? Thank the Lord. Thank the Lord. Thank the Lord. Thank the Lord. Hallelujah. Praise your name, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Shake hands. Hug next. Come out friendly.