Purify The Church

this month we've been talking about the labor um as you enter you know enter into the gates um you go you make a sacrifice and then you get to the labor Uh, coolest thing honestly I in the study of this I got to I was talking to my grandpa. He's been a preacher for like 50 years. He's a studyer. Uh just just he loves the word and loves studying the word. And so always, you know, if it's something I'm trying to dig out, I always try and call him call him up and dig out see what he's learned.

And I I got to talking to him about the mirrors in Exodus 38 and8 uh on the labor and he was like, I've never even thought about those. I was like, yes. It's like one time, you know, like that's that's a yes. Uh the So at that point, we we we've talked pastor talked about uh he talked about the curtain. um talked about the gate and we talked about the altar and and then the labor. It was for washing. It's for cleansing. We talked about the context of it.

We then we talked about the cleanliness in our approach to God. When we come to God, we don't just come um cavalerely. [name redacted], do you know what a Cavalier is? It was like an old Chevy car. It wasn't a Cadillac. So we don't come cavalerely. That's not the context of that. But uh when we when we come to God, we come we wash ourselves. We cleanse ourselves. We do our best to prepare our hearts, our minds, and our souls. Uh a holy God does not dwell with an unholy people.

I I really I really think in that that that approach is something that we just don't it's it's really hard to bear out because it's different for one every one of us. The principles are there, but we all have to make sure that God that we're we're allowing God to really see us because it's real easy for us to just like and God's like, "Nah, I don't take a It's like I take a let's really look at this. Let's really dig into this. Let's really examine ourselves." Then last week we did communion uh as a church together and and we talked a little bit about the testament.

We talked a little bit about uh what communion was. We talked about spent a lot of time on on going through where Jesus was washing washing the feet of his disciples. and and we start to see then how the labor how the altar and how types and shadows in the Old Testament start to tie into the New Testament and then how we do life today. Um, so in that I want to look and I've got I've got a lot of scripture tonight because this is this is teaching and I'm I've found that the scripture speaks so much better than I do.

You know, uh, Exodus 40 and 1 through 15. If you can if you'll we'll we'll we'll dig we'll we'll walk through this tonight. as a class. Uh I'll take verse one, but if when when you guys are ready, somebody take verse two and we'll go on so on so forth. Fourth, uh this the context here is they've built the tabernacle and God's instructing Moses on all right, now it's time to consecrate. It's to to to solidify yourselves to to make yourself solid in me to dedicate.

Um [name redacted], have you given time to learning how to play something? Kind of. Just kind of on a piano. Just kind of. I get it. like you know sometimes you're like it's kind of like you haven't given your life completely to the piano. You're not playing 15 hours a day, right? Is that is that fair to say? Like and that's okay. I'm not but there's a difference between learning something and doing something and being familiar something and being consecrated to it, giving yourself to it. Um they used to I I don't know if you guys are familiar with is it Chad Chad Atkins talked about playing the guitar.

Uh he was one of the greatest guitar players ever. Um like eight hours a day he would just come home and sit and play. He would give himself to that. Um personal personal story here. I'm not a great musician. I'm not even going to try to be. But there was a time that we needed a piano player at church and I was like, "Well, I'll do it. I didn't know how to do it." And so I prayed for God to give me a passion to practice.

And so I did. And he did. And he set that on me. And I carried that for a time. And when it was time for me to not have that anymore, I was so thankful and grateful. And I walked away from it. I was like, "Thank God." But I wanted to be of service and so I consecrated myself to that. So this is in Exodus 40. Uh this is this is that consecration uh of Aaron and his sons. It says Exodus 40 and1 says the Lord spoke to Moses saying on the first day of the first month you shall erect the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.

Can someone can someone take verse three and four and so on and so forth? verse six. verse nine. Verse 10 verse 11. Okay. Sanctified. Are you sanctified? That's a funny word, isn't it? Consecrate and sanctification are the same and and holiness all they're the same context there. They're those same. They're synonymous with one another. Verse 12 and 13. We'll go all the way to 15. 15 and anoint them as you anointed their father that they may serve me as priests and their anointing shall admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.

the the the sanctification, the consecration was not something that they did like. You wash them. You wash them. We start to see this, right? I I know we've thought of it. I know we've looked at it every time we've looked at the labor, but we start to to see the the washing and and you think of well if if you're in a wilderness or a desert, how precious is water? You've been there. Precious. It's not something you just waste. So you're not just going around you're not just going around just dumping it out, but it serves that purpose of of cleansing because you're serving a holy God to be to to it has a well, I'll just say this.

It has water has a different value depending on where you're at. Uh in Tennessee, we no shortage of it. We're good. Thank God. But you start getting out west or you get to the Middle East or you get to uh uh some of the the steps uh of Russia and all of a sudden there's or in northern Africa there it's they've got oil running everywhere and no water to be seen. You're like man, but I have to be washed. I have to be clean. And and contextually it makes it makes more sense that this is a very ritualistic a very sacred sanctification process.

Um Leviticus 8 deals with that just a little bit. Uh and and he talks about the consecration of Aaron and his sons. And I'm going to I'm going to read through verses 1-9 real quick. Leviticus 8 and 1-9. The Lord spoke to Moses saying, this is this is essentially the same the same se setting here. It's just in a different time that it was recorded. Uh take Aaron, his sons with him and the garments and the anointing oil, the bull of the sin offering, two rounds, and the baskets of unleavened bread.

Assemble all the congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And Moses did as the Lord commanded him. The congregation was assembled at the entrance of the tent of meeting. Moses said to the congregation, verse five here, "This is the thing that the Lord has commanded to be done." Verse six, "And Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water." He put the colt on him and tied the sash around him and clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him and tied the skillfully woven band of the ephod around him binding it to him with a band and he placed the breastplate on the breastplate was the urum and the thumb.

I really thought I was in the Lord of the Rings there for just a minute reading the Lord of the Rings fan. It's really just like I don't I don't know what that is. Uh I don't know that anyone knows what that is. Uh it it kind of translate to light and truth. Uh Jewish I don't I don't know what the urum and the the is and some of you guys probably have a much better much clearer understanding of what it is. Some say it was a way to cast lots and let God give them an answer.

Uh that was and and and it kind of made sense if you think about Does anyone know what casting lots is? Not really. I'm not really sure what it is. I think of it almost like Annie Meny Mo or rolling the dice and letting God control it. Um, so if so if you guys know the children of Israel where like they had gotten to the promised land and somebody had sinned and Joshua was like, "All right, let's see who sinned." And so he they cast lots or they rolled the dice and it pointed to a tribe.

And then he had them line up by clans. He said, "All right, the Bullard clan Bullard clan, what did y'all do? What did you do? And they were like, "What me? Wasn't me. Wasn't me." And then so he rolled him again and it got to Jordan. Oh, it got to Jordan and Jordan was like, "Okay, I really I took it and I hid it under my tent. It was a really cool dress. It was whatever. It was cool. All right, I took it. I don't know how that works.

I would never in my life try to do that unless God was like, "Yeah, dude. Just roll the dice." You know, like I don't know. But it worked and it found the guilty culprit there. Um that to me and when I was just reading Jewish history on that, it it kind of seemed that's what the the thumb and the Lord of the Rings was. I don't know. Verse nine. And he set the turban on his head and the turban in front. And he set the golden plate and the holy crown.

And the Lord commanded Moses. He could not be consecrated. He could not enter into the role. He could not fulfill what God had called him into until he had been washed completely and totally. Uh this this then leads to uh the ritual cleansing the Jews did. Um it's it's called the the mitzvah. We talked about that briefly of it was like a uh a dunking tank. I don't know. It was probably before everyone had showers in their home. So they were like, "Listen, guys, we're going to be locked in this building together.

We need a place to, you know, we need to do a ritual cleansing." Everyone was like, "Good idea." You know, I was like, you know, and so they came to church, they dumped themselves, and then they went on. Um, and it was very common practice, but it was it was still a cleansing. Um, but then we get to we start to look at the types and shadows of this. We look at Adam and Eve. They were banished from the garden and and God God put the the angels outside with the the swords of fire.

Man, this is sounding like Lord of the Rings again. Did I watch this before I I'm just kidding. I didn't. Then then we get to Mo to Noah and the flood. So, we we get there and and God says, "I'm going to cleanse the earth." But then he says something really cool. He says, "I'm not going to destroy the earth with water again. I'm going to consume it with fire." We're starting to see then that type in the shadow. When when the children of Israel went through the Red Sea, God had made a way.

Paul put it like this in 1 Corinthians 10. Um he said,"For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea." I I I can't help but think of it in this manner of they were baptized into Moses. They were He was He was a type and a shadow of Christ to come almost. He was an amazing leader. Uh you're you we're not going to find anyone else in in history like him.

But they were baptized into Moses. God told Moses, "You're going to be like a God to these people." And and when when you start wrapping your mind or at least when I do start wrapping my mind around the o the overall concept, the overall idea of baptism, it's it's not just dunking in a ritual manner. Okay? And I know I'm going around the world. You guys probably all agree with me on this. I'm not trying to argue with anybody. I'm just I'm just trying to step by step walk us through this today.

It's not just a dunking that the the mitzvah was, right? That was a cleansing. So there is something to be said about a cleansing there. It's a type and a shadow. It's not an exactitude. It's it's a type and a shadow. So it's to teach us. So then we get to John the Baptist and we find we we figure out that John the Baptist in Matthew 3:11, he said, "I baptize you with water for repentance. But he who is coming after me is mightier than I whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." So, if I can, I always wonder, is that the fire that God was talking about when he was talking to Noah? I don't know. Or is he talking about supernova over here, the sun exploding? I don't know that either. You know what I'm saying? Like, uh, it's interesting. It's an interesting I don't know that there's a way to the to really just get to the bottom of that, but in verse 12 of Matthew 3, it says, "His winnowing fork is in his hand.

He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." Man, all right. He was a pyro. Then Jesus came from Galilee to the to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him saying, "I need to be baptized by you. Do you and you come to me?" But Jesus answered and said, "Let it be so now. Thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and beheld, the heavens were open to him, and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove, and come to rest on him.

And behold, excuse me, and behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased." So, brother brother Nate Horton asked me this. Uh, he was like, "How and was Jesus baptized? How was he baptized? I don't know. We we talked and talked about it. I was I don't know. I was like to me if if and I looked I tried I tried to find this or I was like in my mind it made sense historically was not true or so far is not true.

Okay. Of I was thinking well maybe he baptized him into John the Bapt like in John's name as a disciple of John. But there's no historical context not for Jesus but for anyone doing that. But what we do know is that John's baptism was for repentance and that was it. It was that cleansing. It wasn't it it it was it was essentially like the mitzvah, but it was different because it was he was he was calling these peeps out. He was like, "Guys, you're just doing this ritualistically without even thinking about it, without even understanding, not even trying to, but you got to go a little you got to dig a little deeper." So then that made me start thinking about commandments versus principles and traditions.

So Ben, what kind of traditions do you have in your life? Not that many. I didn't figure you did. I've hung out with you like if you do the same thing more than one day in a row, I'd be surprised. So it's like Some of us though are very very we get up and get our coffee first thing. That's traditional. It's not It's not bad. Uh some of us, you know, some of us, I don't know, we get up and we go for a run. I was just kidding.

Ain't none of us doing that. Yeah. Uh then some of us, I don't know, like we just we just get up and just go about we don't even worry about coffee. I don't know how you people live. Like we don't even, you know, we're just like, nah, we're good. We slept a full 10 hours. Yeah, we're good. Like no coffee, nothing. We just little sip of water and we're on our way. Some people are like I to me if I don't get a shower in the morning the rest of the day I'm like it's like you know it's just no fun.

So it doesn't mean that's a bad thing. But God did not command me to get up and go drink my coffee and take a shower in the morning. Did he command you [name redacted]? Did he command you to get a haircut? No, your hair's your hair's good, but I wouldn't pick it on. And so that to me is a principle. That's just or if you pass it, if I if I teach AG to take a bath or shower, then it becomes a tradition. Doesn't mean it's bad.

doesn't mean that it's going to save his life. It was just something that taught him. There was there was a group of people uh they were oh lord, you know, it's just one of those groups of people in the Bible that they one of one of the the like the the patriarch of the family. He he swore that his family would never settle down and they would never drink. And so they just moved in tents everywhere. You can go find their clan still today just not drinking and moving around in tents because that was the tradition that he set for them.

I don't know if that was a good or a bad tradition. I don't know. It it it doesn't have to be. But the tradition isn't what saved them. Now it for them that may have been their salvation because they could have been really prone to being drunks. I don't know. And so I know y'all wondering where I'm going with this, but I I struggle I struggle sometimes figuring out. All right. and and not just me, but we look at things and we we see principles and teachings and we say, "Well, okay, I get the principle and we're good and we understand it.

It was a type and a shadow and we're good with it." Case in point, communion. We're not commanded to take communion, per se. It's not a thou shalt, but it was a practice. Jesus said, "When you do it, do in remembrance of me." When you It's It's a good thing to do. All right. Some people are like, "Absolutely not." I don't know why. That's their prerogative. Okay. But and if I may, if if I can use this as a as a point, they can have that tradition and I can have this one and we're okay.

Is that Is that okay? I know that doesn't mean much to you guys, but like I don't know. I don't even know what what are what are those shoes that some people wear? You know, the really goofy ones that [name redacted] would wear. Crocs. I'm just picking. Or uh what's the old basketball shoes? Converse. Yeah. See, that's the goofy ones. I was talking about. Mhm. Yeah. They they're back now. Some people are Converse people and some people are Crocs people and some people are Jordan people. I like Clark's boots.

Okay. So, obviously, but we divide ourselves, right? Do y'all divide yourselves based on weird stuff? Yeah, that's fair. That's fair. It's just blaming Isabella on it. We divide ourselves based on based on things that are traditions or preferences. Uh some people really don't like your yellow shirt. I tried to tell him not to say it, but he said peach shirts were the only way to go. I'm not naming any names. And then all of the sudden they're like, well, and we've got a divide along traditions or a divide along preferences.

So then we take it. We're like, "Okay, well that's that's dumb. That's stupid. Those are just relative things to the person and we're good. Let's just love everyone." It's like, "Okay, well that's fair." Uh heard heard this phrased as overzealous compassion. to a mother with a crying baby, everything's like super immediate. And so then everything that cries is a crying baby if that compassion is overzealous. It's like, but no, it's not because some things are wolf and sheep's clothing, and that cry has to be distinguished.

So then we're not in black and white anymore. [name redacted], I know you hate that it's not all black and white. There has to be some discernment of okay this was really good but not everything for Paul said it like this all things are lawful but not all things are profitable or expedient not all things are good for me he said I can do anything but I should not be brought under the power of it there's something. Uh I'm I'm sorry. This is a good oneliner here.

Sin feels like freedom until you try to stop, right? And then it's latches in. It's like so some things and I I realize I'm I'm I'm probably teaching to the choir tonight and and some things are are are a little bit abstract. Some things are a little gray. Some things are traditions that are bad. Really dumb. I'm not going to lie, y'all. I have never in my life seen a hindrance to growth to a church like the name plates on a pew. Okay? And I know I'm just I'm just picking at something here.

All right? They ain't no name plates on these pews. And so I was I looked before I said it. I was just picking on something. But people get real territorial about that. I get it. I understand. Like I'm I'm But like some things then lead to a worse thing. Not because they were bad, but because they then stir up something. We we all got we've got to look at that. So, but then we get stuck in that relativism. Well, it's okay for, you know, if they don't want to do that, that's okay, but it's good for me because I'm not going to get stuck in that.

You may not. That's fine. Each man's got to seek out his own salvation. Fear and trembling. That's that's fine. I'm not I'm not laying down some some laws tonight, okay? But there is a difference between principles and traditions and commandments. So then because and and the reason I I I went so much into that is because a lot of people have taken baptism as a principle and a tradition and said, "Well, it's just a public proclamation of faith." And you know, you could toy that you could you could you could play with that thought.

Has anyone like So, you ever seen a cat play with a mouse? You know, it's kind of like Pong. I've never played Pong either, but whatever that game, the later game that was that you you bounce an idea around and I've bounced that idea around because what if it is? But once again, there's that difference between a principle or tradition and a commandment. Jesus said this uh he said Matthew 28:19 go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit that was a commandment.

Now, I had to I had to work on a sound thing before church, so I didn't get my Y'all lucky I didn't get my little marker board up here. Okay. All right. Anybody familiar with with with how to diagram a sentence? Are you familiar, [name redacted]? Sister Bonita's familiar. There we go. There we go. See, [name redacted], it's not just me. We diagram a sentence. So, when you're when you're breaking down a sentence, now this is like what? Ninth or 10th grade English? Seventh grade English? I don't know.

Yeah. Yeah. It's It's in there. You You find the noun and then the phrases that refer back to it in English. Like, this is in this is in English rules. They're descriptors. So we find that the name is the is the cornerstone of that of that whole sentence. It if if you can end the sentence right there like it's and it be a complete sentence then that like that indicates that the rest of the things are just descriptors, right? And there's a bunch of more English rules that I'm I'm not like just digging into, but you could say, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name, because that's the noun." the other part, the prepositional phrases of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

If those are all they are all coming underneath that noun there, it also uh it uses it uses a really cool Greek word conj. That's a conjunction there. Uh does anyone speak Greek? kind of kai baklava. I don't think that's Greek. It might be. I don't know. I thought that was what you wore. Kai is in in it. It's kia. It's a conjunction and it refers back to a noun. All right? That's when you have it uh it's ki. If you go if you go into a strong concordance, if you have um well, if you just break that down, uh if you have uh literally any any Bible app that that can dig into the word as far as like tell you the definition of it, you'll see Kai right there.

And it's It it it refers back to so like when Paul says um of our Lord and father G Jesus Christ or whatever grace be to you from our Lord and father that and is not two ideas joined together in English it's kai it's supporting elements describing the same noun [name redacted] you with me now you like to ride hey you better have your journal out tonight. You better You better have your journal out tonight. Ran ran my first student out of class. KIA it refers back to.

Okay. So when we when we understand that that then starts to change our understanding of how the scripture goes. Jesus he commanded them go right Peter in Acts 2:37 now when they had heard this they were cut to their heart and said to Peter and the rest of the disciples brothers what shall we do they didn't say what shall we do to go to Taco Bell you the context of it was what what must we do to be saved that's that's the whole that's the whole if you read the rest of that chapter Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." That is a commandment.

It's more than a principle. It's more than a precept. It's more than a line upon a line. It's a commandment. Here is the cool thing. We are saved by faith. because I'm going I I am going to about just I'd say almost 100% of every one of us that were baptized and received the gift of the Holy Ghost, we did not understand what was happening. [name redacted], have you been baptized? Do you understand Jesus name baptism? No, not really. You say kind of maybe when you got baptized, did you understand it?

Okay. Did I mean did you fully do you understand it better now? So So it was faith. It was trust. I trust the word of God that this commandment whatever it is and so I show my faith via my obedience. when they did that, right? It's it's more than a public proclamation. Paul Paul put it I I just love the way he did that. Romans 6 and3 and 1 Corinthians 1. Uh Romans 6 and3 says, "Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ were baptized into his death?

wasn't into Paul. Just like the phrasing he said into Moses, it was into Christ. He he says it in first Corinthians 1 and 13 like this. Has Christ been abided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? or were you baptized in the name of Paul? He's rhetorically asking this because he knows they weren't. He baptized them. Just ran another student out. Uh oh, they're dropping like flies now. Musicians. Musicians. I know. When they were baptized in the name of Paul. So here's the thing that tells me that the baptism is consecrating you into something.

Everybody today everybody. This classroom is worse for that, isn't it? So he back just Hey got won't he do I'm just kidding. I'm gonna get shot now y'all. Mom got a good mother-in-law. I'm go ahead and clear the air on that one there. Oh, now we're all in trouble. So when you're baptized into when you when you buy something about you deed your property you put that in the name of your friend down the road in trouble if you did right it they didn't purchase it and and and so we go through this and I know you guys understand.

I know you see it, but I want to make sure that we we fully wrap our minds around this idea. We don't have to understand when we are baptized. We don't have to understand the fullness of God. We just we just have faith and believe. But then we spend the rest of our lives saying, "All right, I need to search out my salvation. I need to make sure. I need to make I need to make my election sure. When when we look at it, Paul is saying, "I didn't purchase you guys." But like, if those kids try to go to my house, it be like, "I you ain't mine.

Get out of my house. Go wash your feet somewhere. They stink." Right? If if someone else It's You're not mine. When we come to Christ, right, we come to him. What did he say at the end? He'll say, "Depart from me. I never knew you. You were none of mine." He said, "But we've done this. But we've done this." But no, you were none of mine. the the identifying factor. Okay. The the whole the whole point of the labor, the whole point of consecration, the whole point of baptism as we step through the types and the shadows and we get to the commandments of baptism is to understand that wait a minute.

This is more than just washing and I am consecrating myself. I am wholly giving myself. I my identity is now tied to Jesus Christ psychologically. [name redacted], come and help me real quick. Come help me. Now, this this when I when I thought of baptism this way. Sit down. sit down so we're not breaking any bones. All right. When I thought of baptism this way, right? If I was to just if we were if we were in a swimming pool and I just came up to you and grabbed you like this, you're going to fight me for everything you got in you, right?

Yeah. Because if I put you if I push you under, you're dead essentially. If your brother, better yet, if your brother comes at you, actually your sister's more likely. If your sister comes at you and tries to drown you, you're going to be like a and fight her off. But when you're baptized, it says you're buried. So baptized is baptismo. Uh is Greek word that means fully immersed. Now you may some people are like okay some some some traditions have arrived that they sprinkle they said well that's good enough because it's the principle that that's a tradition that originated because someone was sick and they couldn't be fully immersed and so they said well we'll just sprinkle them.

I understand. I get hang on we ain't done I get it. I understand. But what's the commandment? Buried. And so, so, so maybe God does make exceptions. I don't know. I'm not God. I'm not in that. That's not my business. All right. But what I do know is what the commandment is. I understand the principle of it. I understand. Okay. This this looks like this. This looks like a ritual. This looks like a principle, but I understand it's more than that. It's a commandment. And so when I put my hand over [name redacted]'s, actually, you need to put your hand over your face.

We're going to fake baptize you here. All right. And I say, "All right, [name redacted], I baptize you." No. Nope. And his legs pop up. I baptize you. I bury you under the water. Yeah. Just stay like that. And now you're dead because I'm just holding you down, praying for you, Jesus. Resurrect him from the dead. Jesus is like, "Just raise him up, dude. You'll be good." You know, I'm going to raise him up. He has put his life in my hands, but he's not baptized unto Sam.

That would be really dumb, wouldn't it? You ain't coming to my house. You're not baptized unto me. are baptized unto Christ. So when you raise again, say, "I baptize you in the name of Jesus." I'm you are acknowledging that you are obeying the commandment and the principles that go along with it are now applied to you because you've put you've put your faith into obedience. So now you've consecrated yourself to Christ and you're saying, "I am now fully and wholly yours, right? Yeah, maybe kind of partially.

So you just did like the halfbaptism thing." Okay. All right. We're good. Sprinkle will be like, "I'm just partially yours, God." No, wholly yours. Thank you, buddy. I'm completely yours. That the commandment is not to be simply just acknowledged. It's a commandment to be followed. Now, once again, that relativism would come up and say, well, it's just a principle. There is a difference. I I I acknowledge there are principles in the word or there's principles that people do. There's principles that Christians do that are not heaven or hell, but this one's a commandment.

So, it's different. It's got a different context to it. It's in a different box. If you guys like boxes, it's in a different category. If you would, would you stand with me real quick? We'll be we'll end tonight because of consecration. We when we uh one of the commandments, one of the main commandments or the ten commandments was thou shalt not take the name of the the Lord thy God in vain. Means not foolishly take on his name. When we're baptized, we are taking on his name.

We should not do it haphazardly, foolishly, simply, just because of a fad. We should do it in faith, searching of how we might be saved from our sins. Can we pray? Jesus, we love you, God. We thank you so much for your kindness and your goodness and your mercy. God, we thank you for your word. We thank you, Lord, for redemption, kindness, and salvation. And God, we thank you, Lord, for the ability to be buried and raised again in your name, God. So that that the old man that we are, the old the oldness of us, God, the mistakes and the past behind us, God, that we can bury that and we can be raised as a new creature in you, God.

I pray, Lord, that you would help us, Lord, to take the revelation of who you are, the revelation of baptism in Jesus name to all the world. Help us go to God to go and to teach and to preach and to baptize. God, we'll be careful, God, to give you all the praise, all the glory, and all the honor. And everybody said, "Amen." Thank you, guys. Was it hot enough or what? We will be in this house. Anybody put your hands together like this? Come on.

Here we go. Let's go. Come on. I'm going to shout it out. I'm going to shout it out. Come on, put those hands together. I'm going to sing a song. And I'm going to shout. I'm going to shout it out. I'm going to sing that and all this. Come on. Crashing over. There is power in the name of Jesus. There is power in the name of Jesus. Yes, sir. Hallelujah. Here we go. Everybody get a place. Let's go. Now my life is my life. I'll never never know.

I'll never be the same. Cuz you came cuz you came and you resist and we won't stop. There is power in the name of Jesus. I break in his name. There is freedom. There is power in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Sing it again. There is power in the name of Jesus. In his name is power in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Now if somebody can lift up your voice in this place and shout to God with the voice of trumps in the enemy defeated victory and the enemy is defeated.

Victory is our victory. Victory. Sing it out. Victory. Victory. The enemy. defeated. There is power in the name of Jesus in his name. There is power in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. There is power in the name of Jesus. In his name there is power. There is power in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Somebody love me and your Can't you set the captives free of There is power in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Somebody give God a shout in this place. like you.

Say no one like you. One more time. One more time. No one like you. No one like you. No one like you. Spirit of the living, come and move on. Come and move on like a rushing mighty wind. Come and brea and breathe. Come and move like a rushing mighty way. Come and have your way. Have your way. your way of your spirit of Hallelujah. Come on and move in this place, God. We're asking you to move forward like brea You're goodus for Take all I have in these hands and multiply God all that I am and find my heart on the altar again.

Set me on fire. Set me on fire. Take all I have in these hands and multiply. Guide all that I am and find my heart on the altar again. Set me on fire. Set me on fire. Here I am, God. Arms wide open. pouring out my life gracefully broken. Thank you, Jesus. Stands in awe of your name. Your mighty love stands strong to the end. You will fulfill your purpose in me. You won't forsake me. You will be with me. You will be with me. Here I am.

Here I am, God. arms wide open for renounce my life gracefully broken. Here I am, Jesus. Here I am, God. Arms wide open. Arms wide open. Pouring out my life gracefully broken. Oh Jesus. All to Jesus now. All to Jesus now. I'm holding nothing back. I'm holding nothing back. I surrender. I surrender. I surrender. I surrender your power at work in me. I'm broken gracefully. I'm strong when I am weak. I will be free. Your power at work in me. I'm broken gracefully. I'm strong when I am weak.

I will be free. Your power at work in me. And I'm broken gracefully. I'm strong when I am weak. I will be free. Your power at work in me. I'm broken gracefully. I'm strong when I am weak. I will be free. Your power at work in me. I'm broken gracefully. I'm strong when I am weak. I will be free. Your power at work in me. I'm broken gracefully. I'm strong when I am weak. I will be free. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. I give it all.

Take my pride. Take my take my life. I surrender to your will. To your way, to your plan. I surrender. Take my pride. Take my fear, take my life. I surrender to your will, to your way, to your plan. I surrender. Take my pride. Take my fear. Take my life. I surrender to your will. To your way, to your plan. I surrender. Take my pride. Take my fear. Take my life. I surrender to your will. To your way, to your plan. I surrender. Take my pride.

Take my fear. Take my life. I surrender to your will, to your way, to your plan. I surrender. Take my pride. Take my fear. Take my life. I surrender your glory. To your way to your I surrender. I surrender. I surrender. I surrender. Come on, lift your hands in the room. Come on, make that song a prayer. Make it an intention of the heart. Here I am, God. arms wide open. Oh, pouring out. Pouring out my life. Gracefully broken. Break me, to mold me. Do what you have to do to shape me into your vessel, Jesus.

All to you I surrender Jesus I give you every part of me my heart and my mind oh God I surrender to you. Come on. I just want you to entertain the presence of the Lord for a moment and let him work on you. Come on. Would you let him work on you? I surrender to your will, oh God. I surrender. Can I get a few ladies for just a moment if you would? Few ladies. Sister Hadassa, she needs some prayer tonight. She needed She was requesting some special prayer.

If you would right now, some some ladies just come and pray with her for just a moment. The rest of us, we're going to continue for just a second. Every hand, every hand across the house, every eye, every eye closed, every hand up. Jesus, we love you. God, we praise you. God, we worship you. Jesus, we surrender to you today. We surrender to you tonight, Lord. Jesus, take my life, take my heart, take my blood, I surrender to your will, to your way, to your plan.

I surrender. Take my life, take my heart, take my life. I surrender to your will, to your way, to your plan. I surrender. Take my pride. Take my fear. Take my life. I surrender to your will, to your way, to your plan. I surrender. Take my pride. Take my fear. Take my life. I surrender to your will, to your way, to your plan. I surrender. Take my pride. Take my fear. Take my life. I surrender to your will, to your way, to your plan. I surrender.

Take my pride. Take my fear. Take my life. I surrender to your will, to your way, to your plan. I surrender. Take my pride. Take my fear. Take my life. I surrender to your will, to your way, to your plan. I surrender. Take my pride. Take my fear. Take my life. I surrender to your will, to your way, to your plan. I surrender. I surrender. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. God, I love you. God, I thank you. God, I praise you. God, I worship you. You are Lord.

You are God. You are mighty. You are holy and you are righteous. Lord, you are God. I'm not. My will, my plan, my desires, my me, God, I lay it down at your feet tonight, God. Me, I lay it at your feet tonight, God. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Oh, somebody else have a need in here. Does anyone else have a need? Why don't you come to the front for just a moment? Hallelujah. Will you sing that? Take my pride, take my fear, surrender. Will you sing it with us?

Yes. I surrender. Oh. All to thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all. I surrender all. Can we make ourselves a choir all across this house? I surrender all to thee my blessed Savior I surrender all. So thank each of you are here at Midweek University and I surrender all. Middle of the week, everything in the world going on. our lives. We I Hey, I I taught class tonight. I saw some of the faces. I saw some of the tiredness. I saw the some just the man, I wish he'd just hurry up.

But you know what? I also see a hunger and a thirst for the things of God. Man, aren't you thankful to be in the house of the Lord tonight? Couple things this week. Uh this Saturday, we'll have a youth rally at Rockwood in Rockwood, Tennessee. Uh tomorrow there's there's a homeschool co-op. It's a uh it's a job fair. Uh yeah, these kids can't stay at home forever. So career fair. career fair. Uh next week there is the uh oh this Sunday actually is the pastor social.

Um if you're new to CAC, we we want to make sure that you have a chance to sit and talk with us. Just get to get to know us a little better. Um did you say sorry? Okay. I thought I thought I messed up again, y'all. Uh, also this next week is the uh, National Day of Prayer. Believe it or not, believe it or not, that's celebrated now in America. Not getting political here, but it's now at least celebrated. All right. And then we're going to pray real hard on the National Day of Prayer that the youth have a wonderful yard sale on the second.

Um because we have a whole lot of things we need to sell. Woohoo. Yeah. We have a whole lot of things they've got. We've got to get going. If they don't sell it, someone has to move it. So guys, church men, pray hard. Pray real hard. Pray. We find all the yard sale suckers out there. All right. They all come right by here and they stop and take it with them. I'm sorry. Yard sellers take offense to that, but Uh, one one other thing before we're before we go tonight, before we do our dismissal prayer, we're in phase four.

All right, we've we've moved we've cleaned out the old place. All right, we've moved here. That was phase one and two. And now we prepped for Easter. That was phase three. That was to just get us settled. Now we're in phase four. Phase four has got a whole lot of things in it and I know a lot of you guys are wondering what to do. I don't I'm just kidding. I do know there's a whole we got a whole list of things. All right. Uh I'm not I'm not going to go through all of these.

All right. But there's there's a media room to finish. There's a sanctuary to build out. There's a kitchen to get straightened up and and painted and organized. There's hallways to be painted. There's bathrooms to be fixed. There's thermostats to be replaced. Somebody say amen. My class, everybody about passed out and it wasn't in the spirit. There's classrooms to finish up. There's there's leaks to fix. There's locks to be redone. And that's just phase four. Then there's exterior signs in phase five. There's quotes and eaves and overhangs.

And there's parking lots. And then there's even there's a I don't know if y'all noticed there's an upstairs classroom area that we haven't touched yet. Katie, what's the deal? That's phase five. And then phase six, we ain't going to phase six tonight. Whole lot of things to be done. All right, I'm going to I'm going to post that that list uh in the general chat and and I want you to take a look at it. There'll be some names along beside those things. Reach out to people.

You'll see things. Here's the thing. We do not know when you're available. I don't know your work schedule. Some of y'all I don't know if y'all work. I don't know. But you know what you have to do. You know what you have to give. All right.