← Back to sermon library

welcome to everyone it's good to be here on this Lord's Day we have a baptism service this morning ashlee van Marin and Melanie Neal's we'll be going into the waters of baptism to identify publicly with their Savior with their God just a couple of announcements there is no Wednesday night Bible study this week there is however that unplanned movie on July 17th that's Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m. I've been told they're still five five seats available for those who are interested in attending and just by way of reminder Ryan and Esther mal jars have put in for church membership so please get to know them if you have not previously and God willing in a few weeks we'll bring them into the membership of the church well for our call to worship you can turn with me in your Bibles to the prophet Isaiah Isaiah chapter 56 for our call to worship we'll read verses 1 to 8 Isaiah 56 beginning in verse 1 thus says the Lord keep justice and do righteousness for my salvation is about to come and my righteousness to be revealed blessed is the man who does this in the Son of man who lays hold on it who keeps from defiling the Sabbath and keeps his hand from doing any evil do not let the son of the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord speak saying the Lord has utterly separated me from his people nor let the eunuch say Here I am a dry tree for thus says the Lord to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbath's and choose what pleases me and hold fast my covenant even to them I will give in my house and within my walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off also the sons of the foreigner who joined themselves to the Lord to serve Him and to love the name of the Lord to be his servants everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath and holds fast my coven even then I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar from my house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations the Lord God who gathers the outcasts of Israel says yet I will gather to him others besides those who are gathered to him amen will please take your Trinity hymnal and turn to Psalm 148 be that Psalm 148 be as in Bravo when you find that you can stand and will sing together [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] well let us go to our God in prayer our Blessed God and holy father it's a wonderful day in the presence of the Most High it's a wonderful day that we call a delight even the Sabbath of our God we give praise to you for your excellence and your power and your glory we give praise to you for the works of creation and Providence and we give praise to you for that great redeeming work of our Lord Jesus Christ on behalf of all those whom the father gave him we rejoice in the life and the death and the resurrection of that Savior for sinners we rejoice in your goodness and in your kindness to us and the reality that you have not dealt with us according to our sin nor rewarded rewarded us according to our transgression but through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ you have removed our iniquity as far as the East is from the West as the prophet Micah says you take our sin and you cast them into the depths of the sea and in this we greatly rejoice so god we pray that today as we gather here this morning that our hearts would be inflamed when and filled with love for you that we would come to the Father through the son and the power of the Holy Spirit that God would be exalted in this place we acknowledge Lord Most High that it's not us it's not our works it's not our merit it wasn't our choice that brought us and I but it's your powerful word it's your powerful and effectual call unto us how we thank you that you've brought us out of darkness into marvelous light how we thank you that you've shown us the excellence of the person and the work of the Lord Jesus and how we praise you that you have forgiven us for our sins and given us a righteousness that avails with you certainly Lord God Almighty you receive all praise and glory for this wonderful work of salvation and our Father we pray even now for any and all who've come here this morning that are strangers to these gracious things we would pray that today would be the day of salvation that your Holy Spirit would attend the preaching of the word and the Holy Spirit would bring that conviction of sin that is that is needful and that that Holy Spirit would set forth Jesus Christ the one who is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000 for sinners may sinners today believe on him and turn from their sins and know the joy of being found in him not having their own righteousness which is from the law that that which is from you received by faith alone we would ask this for our meeting here this morning we ask this for other churches here in our community throughout this nation and to the uttermost parts of the earth we know that you have purpose to save a great multitude that no man can number from every tribe and every tongue and people the nation so God send forth your glorious word today conquering and to conquer may it run swiftly and be glorified and may it accomplish the purpose for which you sent it and God in heaven we pray that you would cause your face to shine upon the nations and that you would let them be glad in the light of our blessed Redeemer even our Lord Jesus Christ and even now father we are conscious of our sin we are conscious of the reality that we're called to let our conduct be worthy of your gospel and yet father we find within us that remaining corruption and that transgression of your holy law that lack of conformity unto it so we confess these sins now trusting in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ to wash us and to cleanse us we have these blessed promises from you in Scripture that if you were to mark iniquities O Lord who can stand but there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared John tells us that he writes so that we may not sin but if anyone does sin we have an advocate with the father even Jesus Christ the righteous may this encourage our hearts may this speak joy to us and may this indeed cause us to come with boldness and with joy and vigor to the throne of grace and the worship of the Living God this morning we praise You Father for the blessed reality of the salvation of these two young ladies we look forward to their baptism we look forward to their life in the Lord Jesus Christ we pray that they would reflect upon this day in the future as Paul bids us in Romans 6 to reflect upon that time we identified with Christ and his death and burial and resurrection and may this be a great boon and an encouragement to them in their walk of faith we pray for the temporal needs an arc congregation there are several that are ill and we commit them to you into the word of your grace we pray father for all of us as we gather together and we all have it some points on spiritual illness we have temptation we have sinned we have that that battle that perseverance all those things that scripture calls us to to God refresh our hearts today as we gather in your courts strengthen us in the inner man and may your Holy Spirit dwell richly in our hearts through faith and may we appreciate the glorious God of heaven and earth may we appreciate your fatherly care over us may we reflect upon Psalm 103 that you are a God who knows our friend you know that we're but dust and you you do pity us as your children God may this speak great encouragement to each and everyone here that it's downcast and may you build us all up and our most holy faith and may you cause us to shine as lights in a crooked and perverse generation and give us boldness to hold forth your word of truth and God we pray that you would be merciful to the governing authorities in this land we know there is great evil that goes on from the top down we see that abortion and euthanasia and all sorts of sexual perversions are encouraged and oftentimes subsidized even by federal monies and God we can only cry to you and your wrath you would remember mercy and that today as your gospel is preached sinners would be saved even sinners who occupy high places of legislative authority that they would kiss the Sun that they would bow the knee to the king of kings and Lord of lords as David bid the rulers and the judges around Israel in Psalm 2 we pray that for those in civil authority even now that Lord God in heaven it would be unthinkable to murder babies in their mothers wombs or to murder older people or or sick people thought these are the most vulnerable among us and we pray that it would be an outrage to even ponder the sorts of things that go on uncheck nowadays and our Father we don't trust in chariots or in political means ultimately we trust in the sovereign power of God Most High and your son told us to pray that your will be done on earth as it is in heaven so lord please be merciful send forth your glorious word and cause Jesus Christ to have dominion from sea to sea and we pray these things in the name of our Lord Jesus amen well you can turn with me again in your hymn book - number 447 that's him number 447 will stand as we sing together [Music] you [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you could turn with me to the book of Acts where in Acts chapter 8 you've taken a brief hai added a hiatus but we're back to our exposition consecutive exposition of the book of Acts in our morning worship this morning is an appropriate passage for Christian baptism Acts chapter 8 I'll begin reading in verse 26 now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza this is desert so he arose and went and behold a man of ethiopia a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians who had charge of all her Treasury and had come to Jerusalem to worship was returning and sitting in his chariot he was reading Isaiah the prophet then the spirit said to Philip go near and overtake this chariot so Philip ran to him and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah and said do you understand what you were reading and he said how can i unless someone guides me and he asked Philip to come up and sit with him the place in the scripture which he read was this he was led as a sheep to the slaughter and there's a lamb before it sure is silent so he opened not his mouth in his humiliation as justice was taken away and who will declare his generation for his life is taken from the earth so the eunuch answered Philip and said I ask you of whom does the prophet say this of himself or of some other man then Philip opened his mouth and beginning at this scripture preached Jesus to him now as they went down the road they came to some water and the eunuch said see here is water what hinders me from being baptized then Philip said if you believe with all your heart you may and he answered and said I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God so he commanded the chariot to stand still and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and he baptized him now when they came up out of the water the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away so that the eunuch saw him no more and he went on his way rejoicing but Philip was found at Azotus and passing through he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea Amen now let us pray father thank you for this written record of the conversion of this man thank you for what it teaches us concerning your grace and your mercy in the power of the Christian gospel we would pray this morning that your spirit would be a work in our hearts that we would stand in awe of your sovereignty of your glory of your grace and of your mercy again forgive us for our sins and our transgressions and fill us with your Holy Spirit so that we may receive with thankful hearts with open hearts the word of the living and true God we know that word is able to crush the the Cedars of Lebanon we know that word is able to crush the hardened hearts of sinners we know Lord God that you are able to make men willing in the day of your power and we pray that you would do this for your glory for your honor for your praise and we would ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen well as I said we've been studying the book of Acts in our Sunday morning services and if you remember the larger context in Acts chapter 6 there were seven men chosen to function as deacons two of those men were also preachers one was named Stephen and the focus is upon him in Acts chapter 7 and the other preaching Deacon or evangelist was a man by the name of Philip and chapter 8 details the life and ministry of Philip at least at this particular juncture we see that he went to Samaria and there he preached the word and their sinners were saved by the grace of God and they identified in the waters of baptism with the God who had saved that and then Simon Peter has a bit of a of a confrontation with a magician by the name of Simon Magus and now we come back to the life and ministry of Philip and we see this contact with this Ethiopian unit so I want to first consider the meeting with the eunuch in verses 26 to 30 secondly the interaction with the eunuch in verses 30 to 35 and then finally the conversion of the eunuch in verses 36 to 40 but if you look at this meeting we noticed that the angel of the Lord according to verse 26 to fill up and sad go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza so God is active in extending the boundaries of the kingdom of God that's the point in the book of Acts you will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem Judea Samaria and then to the uttermost parts of the earth well here as the angel directs Philip we now have a man from Africa a man from Ethiopia being called by grace but I actually think the emphasis in this passage is on the fact that he was a unit and I think that emphasis comes from Isaiah the prophet chapter 56 remember that this man as a eunuch and as a proselyte to the Jewish religion would know something keenly about his place with reference to the Assembly of the Lord those who were emasculated were not allowed into the Assembly of the Lord so he understood that but he's reading Isaiah 53 according to this passage I don't think it's a stretch to imagine that he's also reading Isaiah 56 he sees himself in that passage he sees a time spoken of by the prophet Isaiah where eunuchs will enter in to the very Assembly of God Almighty and I think that's a very encouraging thing for us to see it's not just that the prophet Isaiah is being quoted here in Acts chapter 8 but the prophet Isaiah is being fulfilled here in Acts chapter 8 by the inclusion of this eunuch by the inclusion of this Gentile he wasn't a Jew he wasn't from Israel he was from Ethiopia so he basically has two strikes against him he's a Gentile and a eunuch he has been removed from the very Assembly of the Lord and yet through the power of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ we see him brought nigh we see him baptized we see him added to the church we see him as a man that is conquered by God's sovereign grace it really is an encouraging passage but notice as we look at this Ethiopian his identity again I think the emphasis is on the fact that he's a eunuch this is indicated in verses 27 34 36 and 38 Lucas highlighting for us that the prophet Isaiah is being fulfilled notice his spiritual condition he was a proselyte to the Jewish religion proselyte means a convert he saw the Jews religion he liked it and he was a part of it and he had just been returning from Jerusalem he had been present at a time of feast and yet he was not able to go into that temple because of the fact that he was a eunuch he was withdrawn he was removed though he was a proselyte though he appreciated Israel's God he couldn't be brought nigh the way that he is in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and then notice his present engagement it says in verse 27 he arose and went and behold a man of Ethiopia a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians who had charge of all her Treasury was a man of means he was a man of responsibility you know the the Apostle Paul and the book of 1st Corinthians says not many wise not many noble but but there are some and though it may be difficult for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven rich men do enter the kingdom of heaven in fact in that passage in Luke's Gospel where Jesus says it would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into heaven just on the heels of that we see Jesus Saves Zacchaeus Zacchaeus was a rich man so you have an illustration of a camel passing through the eye of a needle because with God all things are possible but this Ethiopian eunuch was a man of means he was a man of responsibility he had charge of all her Treasury and had come to Jerusalem to worship was returning now noticed president engagement at the end of verse 28 and sitting in his chariot he was reading Isaiah the prophet I would submit that's probably one of the best prophets he could have been reading especially the passage that he found himself in which was specifically Isaiah 53 as Luke goes on to indicate for us so as a proselyte and as a eunuch he was keenly aware of Deuteronomy 23 1 he who is emasculated by crushing or mutilation shall not enter the Assembly of the Lord but as a student of Isaiah the prophet he sees himself in chapter 56 this is a crucial time in this man's life and then notice what we find in verse 29 then the Spirit said to Philip go near and overtake this chariot and I think what we ought to take away from this statement in verse 29 is that not only has God accomplished salvation through the doing and the dying and the rising of the Lord Jesus Christ but God is in the business of applying that salvation in the calling of sinners from every tribe tongue people and nation in other words we must get it out of our heads that God has orchestrated this amazing plan of salvation but nobody can come to Christ nobody can taste and see that the Lord is good nobody can actually do what God commands them to do in terms of believe on him and repent from their setup from your sins the Spirit directs Philip specifically to this ethion the Ethiopian eunuch who is twice removed from the Assembly of God it shows us that that recurring theme throughout scripture God seeks and saves that which was lost in the garden Adam and Eve run from God God comes to them in Genesis 11 the Babel tower builders make this thing - to reach up into the heavens and God confounds them and then God comes to Abram and says in you all the nations of the earth will be blessed it is god through the prophets who sends or it's God through the prophets who testifies that Jesus is coming and then in the fullness of the time God sent forth his son born of a woman born into the law what does this display to us and demonstrate but God's willingness to save god is he gracious Savior we sing a hymn in the book and it says venture on him venture wholly don't tarry don't wait don't resist don't stand idly by but as you hear the message of the gospel believe it look to the Lord Jesus Christ and live you see the willingness in verse 29 when the Spirit says to Philip the Evangelist go near and overtake this chariot now this wasn't a hijacking or a chariot jacking he wasn't telling him to try to get some money the overtaking there means to come upon him with the good news of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ you see God comes and gets his people is the one who seeks and saves that which is lost God is the father of the prodigal who when he sees the son a long way off runs from the porch falls on the kid kisses him puts a ring on his finger and orders the slaying of the fatted calf that's how scripture portrays God not this God sitting on the porch yelling at his son don't you dare come back here I don't want anything to do with you you took my share of the air you take your share of the inheritance and you went out and you squandered it stay off into the pit what the pigs where you belong that's not how God is presented in Scripture not even in the Old Testament there are those sorts of people that think the Old Testament is filled with wrath and fury and judgment and anger God's grace God's compassion God's goodness God's kindness is evident all the way from Genesis to Malachi God's grace is evident it's manifested it's powerfully displayed in Matthew to Revelation the entirety of the scripture sets forth this one true and living God who comes to seek and to save that which was lost and that's what the Spirit directs Philip to here now notice secondly the interaction with the unit verses 30 to 35 notice what Philip says to him verse 30 says so Philip ran to him and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah again this is one of those you know dream scenarios for the would-be evangelists it's hard to engage isn't it at times we get a little frayed or whatever we're bit timid we're not always earnest to tell people about Jesus I mean this scenario is completely not like that spirit tells him he goes there and within the within earshot he hears him reading isaiah the prophet and it's Isaiah 53 again no you know no evangelist since has probably had such a blessed sort of opening for their mission of mercy to bring to bear the the gospel but notice he asks this question do you understand what you are reading and I think that's very important for the would-be evangelists and the witnesses among us we cannot assume that everybody understands we cannot assume that everybody knows the gospel especially here in the West I think that assumption you know a hundred years ago may have been okay we might have been you know content that most persons in the Western world had been exposed to the Scriptures at some point but that's not the case nowadays we see secular humanism we see materialism we see hedonism we see all these isms that are contrary to the truth of God's Word and at times we wonder do they have any inkling whatsoever the gospel of our Lord Jesus you've bumped and and and it bumped into and have talked to people that don't know the gospel they don't know about Christ and him crucified they celebrate Christmas or Easter as a cultural sort of a thing but they have no understanding of the Incarnation they have no understanding of the resurrection they have not one whit of of a connection with Paul's statement Romans four that he was delivered up because of our offenses and raised for our justification I think Phillips sets a good example for us to follow we cannot assume that everybody understands what they read of course what he means is do you understand the sacred text do you understand the implications of the prophet Isaiah do you understand what Isaiah is talking about in this particular instance now note the ethiopians response in the first place he's honest which is nice verse 31 how can i unless someone guides me how can i he's not afraid or ashamed to admit his ignorance see if you're proud and you think you know everything but you don't that pride is keeping you from the truth there's no problem asking pastors or evangelists or or men or women in the church about a passage or a text or the implications thereof if you're so proud that you think you know everything you are only ultimately hurting yourself this eunuch was was humble enough to say well how can i of course I don't understand of course I want more information of course I want more knowledge of course I want to receive the written word that implant word which is able to produce by the spirits power life in my soul don't be proud and arrogant when it comes to religious things I I think that somewhat symptomatic of people in general you know yeah you have somebody come to Union they say you know I want to tell you about a better diet and we get defensive what do you mean cakes and and cookies and and ice cream isn't a good diet but we get defensive don't we we don't want anybody ever telling us anything that we don't want to hear and yet this man says how can i unless someone guides me unless someone instruct me unless someone teach me now that's not to say you shouldn't read the Bible on your own you should read the Bible on your own but you should avail yourself of preaching you should avail yourself of men who can teach the Bible that is crucial in this passage I think reflects that very very candidly now notice this man also had a desire he says in verse 31 how can i unless someone guides me and he asked Philip to come up and sit with him that's a desire isn't it i I want to know so another thing that's somewhat frustrating today when you try to witness or testify or tell somebody about the gospel they don't want you they don't want to hear anything I mean not a word their lives are great they live in you know Canada they have cars they've got houses they've got wives they've got kids they've got everything in order they don't want to hear it not so with this man he had means he was a man of great responsibility he was a man that was well respected in the court all these things were true and yet he has this desire so he tossed Philip come up and sit with me I want to learn from the scriptures I want to learn from the Bible I want to know what the Prophet is speaking about in this particular instance now notice the text that was before him in verse 32 the place in the scripture which he read was this he was led as a sheep to the slaughter and as a lamb before it sure is silent so he opened not his mouth in his humiliation his justice was taken away and who will declare his generation for his life is taken from the earth John Gill says with reference to the prophet Isaiah this prophet is a very evangelical one and very delightful and profitable to read many things are prophesied by him concerned Masaya and particularly in the chapters in which the eunuch was reading see this isn't accidental this is God's for ordination this is divine appointment he's reading the right text the Spirit directs the right man to open to that text and from it preach Jesus because that's what the man needed so again I think we have this concept of God that he's just always against and against and against and harsh he's not he seeks and saves that which was lost he sends Philip to this man that was an outcast you know Philip doesn't say well you know Lord he's a he's a Gentile and he's a eunuch and he's twice removed from the Assembly of the Lord li we could just leave him there he he's still a proselyte he still thinks Yahweh is God and all that sort of thing no Philip understands the stakes are high that so Philip goes to him and now notice what happens according to verse 34 so the eunuch well first the question so the eunuch answered Philip and said I ask you of whom does the prophet say this of himself or some other man now this is a good question for us as Christians that have been brought up in the church we know Isaiah 53 is about Jesus don't we well at this particular time that wasn't the consensus of all Israel there were a whole group of people that had rejected Jesus they had rejected the very son of God and fulfilled what was actually written in Isaiah 53 so it wasn't common knowledge at this particular time to Jews or proselytes to Judaism that Jesus was that man that was spoken of in the prophet Isaiah now certainly Jesus applies tax in Isaiah to himself and certainly Philip and the Apostles understood that Isaiah 53 was about Jesus but for the eunuch he didn't know was it about the prophet or was it about some other man so it's a legitimate question in other words who is the prophet writing about when we come to Isaiah 53 we see this one that's a man of sorrows he's acquainted with grief when we see this one who went into a state of abject humiliation when we see this one who who suffered under the hands of wicked man when we see this one who died and we see this one who was raised from the dead it is a legit question that the eunuch offers at this particular point and that brings us to consider Philips answer notice in verse 35 then Philip opened his mouth and beginning at this scripture preached Jesus to him that's beautiful isn't it he preached Jesus to him he didn't preach politics and I'm not suggesting we can never do that we should preach it to those who disagree with us as much as we can I'm just kidding he preached Jesus that's everything in the church that's everything for us as Christians when persons asks ask us anything with reference to these sorts of things we preached Jesus we don't preach ourselves will preach our experience we don't preach our mysticism we don't preach our feelings we preach Jesus to them we don't even preach our testimony we can illustrate say I was a wretch I was wandering I was lost I was dead I was in darkness and God constrained me by His grace to come and to taste and see that he's good but the bottom line as the people of God we preached Jesus and this text was absolutely appropriate for the task there was no New Testament written at this particular time so what better place for this Ethiopian unit to be reading and from whence Peter or Philip could preach than from Isaiah 53 the emphasis in the text again John Gill says the metaphors of sheep and lamb expressed the innocence meekness and patience of Christ in his sufferings and death and his being like these when led to the slaughter and dung before the Shearer show his willingness to suffer and die for his people and to become a sacrifice for their sins it is about Jesus and Philip preaches Jesus from this tax but notice he begins here and we have to conclude that he also talked about water baptism because the Ethiopian eunuch sees water and says what hinders me from being baptized well this didn't pop into his head he began with this text the way that the Lord does in Luke's Gospel in Luke chapter 24 beginning the law continues through the profits and shows how all these things have reference to him and if you go back to Isaiah 53 you will see that the humiliation of the servant of Yahweh in verses 1 to 3 you see the suffering of the servant of Yahweh in verses 4 to 6 you have the death of the servant in verses 7 and 9 and then the triumph of the servant in verses 10 to 12 well who's that servant in that was the big question that the Ethiopian eunuch asked and Philip tells him it's Jesus Christ and that's not the only servant song in the prophet Isaiah you have one in chapter 442 one in chapter 49 and one in chapter 50 and all of these are sort of angles by which the Prophet sets forth Jesus Christ to Israel at that particular time the the Old Testament is a messianic book and it sets forth the Messiah the Lord Jesus Christ in page after page and that's what's happening in this particular instance it really is glorious if you're not a believer here this morning may I encourage you to read the prophet Isaiah may I encourage you to read Isaiah 40 to read Isaiah 49 read Isaiah 50 read Isaiah 52 and 3 now read all of Isaiah all 66 chapters are valuable all are given by inspiration of God all are profitable for doctrine reproof correction and instruction and righteousness but those passages reflect who Jesus is those passages show us the son of man those passages introduce us to what we find on the pages of the New Testament Jesus was a man of sorrows he was acquainted with grief it was as the case that that we hid our faces from him instead of worshipping and praising and adoring Jesus they cry out away with them away with them crucify him well why does Jesus go through all of this according to the prophet Isaiah 53 its substitution he stood in our place all we like sheep had gone astray the Lord lays upon him the chastisement for our peace he takes our wrath he takes our currency takes our punishment he takes the penalty he takes the shame he takes the suffering he take so that by his own work on our behalf you see Isaiah 53 is most profitable for anybody seeking after salvation and the New Testament exposition of Isaiah 53 is absolutely profitable for anybody seeking after salvation we talked in the last hour about effectual calling faith comes by what faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God if you're not exposed to Scripture if you're not exposed to the truth of the gospel get exposed to it put yourselves under good preaching put yourselves in the book listen to sermon audio I mean you have a whack of people out there that are preaching faithfully all over the earth it's always intrigued me that there's a handful of celebrity preachers that we in Canada or in America like when there's guys all over the earth engaged in faithful exposition and application of God's holy work they're preaching Jesus to sinner's you need Jesus if you're a sinner you need Jesus if you're a saint you need Jesus always if you learn one lesson from today learn that we need Jesus right we need Jesus now let's look finally at the conversion of this man in other words what happens with him what happens to this eunuch verse 36 now as they went down the road they came to some water and the eunuch said again it's not easy opium not that I think that is not important to Luke not that it's unimportant that the the Africa is being reached with the gospel but it's that eunuch is up it's the Deuteronomy 23 exclusion from the Assembly of the Lord and the isaiah 50:6 inclusion among the Assembly of the Lord in this new covenant era ruled over by our Lord Jesus Christ so he says the eunuch said see here is water what hinders me from being baptized again we assume that Philip spoke about baptism so the eunuch request said but the very question and Philips response indicates that there are things that would hinder baptism there are things that would hinder baptism in the first and most Blair one is if you don't have faith in other words baptism isn't a converting ordinance these young ladies are not entering into the water today to become Christians that's not the case there are already confessors of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ this is a sign it's a symbol it's a visible demonstration of what God has worked in their hearts so by all means if you have not believed the gospel that's the first order of business the issue is there are things that ought to hinder baptism and a lack of faith in the Living Christ is something that should hinder you it's not a magic right it's not okis pocus it's it's it's not sort of a sacramental thing shared before how one time many years ago we brought our our neighbor boy to the church with us and he was a Roman Catholic and and after we finished with the baptism there's a there's a nozzle it's hard to get to you gotta go to lay down and use this weird wrench and sort of open it up and then the water goes out in the parking lot and this young Catholic boy was shocked with his holy waters going out in your parking lot that's a wrong conception its water that's set apart for particular use when we baptize these two believers but it's not something powerful or inherent in the water there are things to hinder and if you're not a believer that's the first order of business believe the gospel now notice that Phillip highlights a condition Phillip highlights a condition he says the eunuch what hinders me from being baptized then Philip said if you believe with all your heart you may and he answered and said I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God now you may have a Bible version that does not contain verse 37 it may go from verse 36 to verse 38 it may be in the margin or it may be bracketed but it will be highlighted that it's not the original text so why does pastor Butler preach it as if it is the original text I'm not a professor or a doctor with reference to matters of textual criticism but there are two arguments as to why I think it ought to be there in the first place a church father by the name of næss irony s was a man who lived in ad 130 and he died in AD 202 in his writings he quotes acts 8:37 well that would indicate that there was a manuscript or manuscripts that contained verse 37 in AD 132 1 202 that's an argument from antiquity that's an argument that holds weight with me and then as well a man by the name of Cyprian it's Cyprien lived about 200 - let me get the dates here 258 he quotes verse 37 as well and it's intriguing because ayran asks I think quotes the part where Philip lays down the condition and then Cyprian quotes the part where the Ethiopian eunuch says I do believe in all my heart so the entirety of verse 37 is extent that means it's present in the tradition of the father's now that's why we quote fathers from time to time with reference to textual variants because if there's a reading in our Bibles that is cited by somebody who lived 880 132 202 we conclude that that's an ancient text or an ancient reading of the text it's like the long ending in Matthew's Gospel for thine is the kingdom the power and the glory again modern versions set that off as if it's not a part of Matthew's tax but to dedicate which was a an early manual of Christian doctrine which some scholars put at 80-100 contains that long ending of Matthew that's weighty information for us and all that to say verse 37 should be in your Bibles and so when Philip lays down this condition I think we learn a couple of things in the first place there's a need for examination before one gets baptized we do this with the supper don't we when it comes to that other ordinance in the context of the local church we give warnings Paul does in first Corinthians 11 let a man examine himself let him see if he is worthy if he is worthy he can eat and drink this bread and cup the same obtains with baptism again we don't just let anybody jump into the tank well you know I feel like getting baptized today well if you believe in your heart that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God then you may see we're not asking people to preach a surgeon sermon we're not asking people to give a defense for substitutionary atonement and all the ins and outs of the prophet Isaiah the the Apostle Paul and all that all the intricacies involved we are asking people to given it an expression of faith in this living Christ in this one who lived and who died and who was raised the third day they need to be able to do that or else they don't get baptized as well the type of belief we ought to consider John Gill again is helpful in this passage he says this faith should not be a mere historical and temporary faith nor a feigned one but a believing in Christ with the heart unto righteousness or such a faith by which his soul relinquishes its own righteousness and looks and goes unto Christ for righteousness life and salvation and rests and relies upon him for them that's a beautiful statement I mean the you know we think of John Gill and he's just a writing of theology machine I mean commentaries and you know an exposition of Christian doctrine in fact if you get his body of practical and and doctrinal theology the first statement is after having finished a commentary on the Bible I figured I would now write a systematic theology think about what that means having finished a commentary on the Bible not a book of the Bible but on all 66 books of the Bible not a lot of dudes out there have done that you'll did it and then he wrote a systematic theology but when he says here it's so warm it's so appealing it's so blessed he says or such a faith by which a soul relinquishes its own righteousness isn't that what it's all about when sinners come to Christ it's a candid and Frank admission that I can't do this I am not perfect I am NOT righteous I am not good there is none good no not one and I don't try to score him out from under that if you are trusting in your righteousness if you are trusting and your external compliance to the law of God if your trust and some supposed merit on your part may I gently no loudly say get rid of it even the righteousnesses of the the men of Israel of Isaiah day Isaiah's day were counted as unclean things even our righteousnesses are like filthy rags they're not saying the things that we do the sins the the lack of a faithfulness to God he's not saying those are like filthy rags he's saying our righteousness says the things we actually get right the the external compliance to the law of God the going to the tabernacle they're going to the temple rather the engagement of Sabbath day activities all those things are are like filthy rags on the side of God you have no righteousness you have nothing to offer God there is no good thing in you that you can say well look Lord I'm great here or I've done well here I've you don't have that listen to Gill such a faith by which assault relinquishes its own righteousness wave the white flag give up already surrender you don't have it he goes on to say and looks and goes on to Christ for righteousness life and salvation and rests and relies upon him for them that's what you should be after but also intriguing in terms of what Philip says if you believe with all your heart you may belief of the propositional revelation of Scripture in other words believe what the Bible says about everything but the principle acts of saving faith have respect to the Lord Jesus Christ as prophet priest and King as the mediator of the New Covenant but notice what he says if you believe in your heart not if you've had these mountaintop experiences we almost sang today but I chose in favor of that other one my hope is built on nothing less have you ever considered that first stanza my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus name it's a group of people out there that think that religion only all ever yields sweet frames I'm on the opposite end brethren I realized that at times sweet frames are lacking praise God were not commended to God by sweet frames praise God our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus name on Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand including sweet frames including our experiences including our feelings Martin Luther famously said feelings come and feelings go and feelings are deceiving my warrant is the word of God none else is worth believing I'm not suggesting there are never feelings that there are never warm frames associated with Christianity or religion but I am suggesting that better not be where your hope is your hope better be firmly upon Christ and His righteousness notice if you believe in your heart not if you've had these experiences not if you can do this not he doesn't get into all that he doesn't get into the psychology behind it he simply says if you believe in your heart now notice the confession of the eunuch the confession of the eunuch is robust he answered and he said I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God very similar to what we find in Matthew chapter 16 remember Jesus says to the disciples he says who do men say that I the Son of Man am and they give him a bunch of answers and then he says but who do you say that I am and then Simon Peter says thou art the Christ the Son of the Living God and then Jesus says blessed are you simon barjona flesh and blood didn't reveal this to you but my father who is in heaven will this eunuch at this body which means a brook out in this desert makes the same confession as Simon Peter makes the same confession as the ladies going into the baptistry makes the same confession as everybody who's ever been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the son of his love this is everything so art the Christ the Son of the Living God I would imagine that within this room there are various opinions on different things not least of which is baptism I'm sure that in this room many of us have differences in terms of baptism who should be baptized how should they be baptized we can disagree on that and still end up together at the marriage supper of the Lamb we cannot disagree on this confession thou art the Christ the Son of the Living God Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life and no man comes to the Father except through me Paul said I'm not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek why because in that gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith remember I said relinquish yours because you ain't got any it's in the gospel that the righteousness of God is revealed and when Paul makes that statement Romans 1 he doesn't mean the perfection or the attribute of God necessarily he means the the righteousness that God demands he provides in the gospel that's the blessing of our salvation that God made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him so this unit at this body makes this statement and it's glorious I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God the belief that Jesus is the Messiah promised in the Old Testament that belief that Jesus is the second person of the Trinity as the son of God and the belief that through Jesus through Jesus and through Jesus alone is the forgiveness of sins and the imputation of righteousness in other words through Jesus our sins are forgiven if you're a believer here this morning that feels pretty good I just said something about feelings but I'm gonna bring feelings back for just a moment feels pretty good to be able to lay your head on your pillow at night and have that song on your lips my sin oh the Bliss of this glorious thought my sin not in part but the whole is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more praise the Lord pray the Lord isn't that one of the chief bones of our religion is the forgiveness of sins if you know yourselves rightly you say yeah that's good boy I really like that one yeah Christianity when we enter in by God's grace and we live the way that God calls us to there's there's blessings manifold blessings and not always there's times where there's hardship and are taken and trials and pain and suffering and all that the one constant that we as God's people have is there is forgiveness with thee that thou may us be feared if you're not a believer in Jesus Christ today and may I invite you may I encourage you may I exhort you to come and taste and see that the Lord is good to know what it is to have your sins blotted out the Lord God Most High through the Prophet says I will blot out all your transgressions David rehearsing the goodness of God and Psalm 103 tells us he doesn't he hasn't dealt with us according to our sins he hasn't rewarded us according to our transgression as far as the east is from the west so he has removed our iniquities brethren is the People of God isn't this something that at least internally causes us to leap for joy when we hear this reminder that we have been forgiven John the Apostle tells us if we confess our sins he is faithful and just think about the language if you and I were writing first John we might say he's faithful and and merciful he's faithful and kind he's faithful and good what does justice have to do with it justice is everything to do with it God is both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus Christ it would be unjust for God to not forgive someone who's been saved by the blood of Jesus it's a just task on his part to forgive us when we come back to him again that doesn't hopefully promote the idea that we can go out and sin that grace may abound but when we do sin brethren we have an advocate with the father even Jesus Christ the righteous this man understood the forgiveness of sins and this man understood that not having his own righteousness he will receive by God's grace the righteousness of Jesus Christ by which he'll be clothed and enter in to that each Kingdom and then of course the response is Christian baptism which we see there in verse 38 so he commanded the chariot to stand still and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and he baptized him for those of you who will disagree with me on the mode of baptism somebody on your side made this comment here we see the right used among the men of old time and baptism for they put all the body into the water John Calvin said that he recognized that they put the whole body into the water page 1320 and the battles additions of the battles addition of the Institute's he says that baptism means immerse and of course he goes on to argue that we don't have to immerse we can sprinkle or pour whatever but the word means to immerse and that's what happens in this particular context verse 38 both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and he baptized them verses 39 and 40 are interesting notice in verse 39 it sort of sort of is reminiscent of the prophet Elijah it's reminiscent of those spiriting away of the Prophet in first Kings chapter 18 and then of course that that chariot scene when he's whisked up into heaven well the same sort of thing is here in verse 39 and I think it's probably designed to cause the unit to reflect on the supernatural nests of this other words this wasn't accidental this wasn't haphazard this wasn't a chance meeting but rather it was orchestrated by a sovereign God who was after his man the eunuch verse 39 now when they came up out of the water the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away so that the eunuch saw him no more so the the spirit catches him awake he no longer sees Philip but we see the inevitable consequence of this man's having been conquered by Sovereign Grace and having been baptized in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit what happens to the eunuch now he goes on his way rejoicing again brethren that is not the common trajectory always in the Christian life it seems to me that as Christians we're always fighting on two sides there's always you know enemies on either side yes joy associated with Christianity yes joy is associated with ones having confessed faith in Jesus and having been baptized absolutely joy is associated with our so great a salvation but there is hardship there is trial there is sorrow there are storms and it's not the Christian response to have a big phony smile on your face when you've got bad or horrible news there are difficulties associated with the Christian faith but even in the midst of those difficulties even in the midst of those sorrows and afflictions the one constant remains Christ is mine and I am is and we can find joy even in those extenuating circumstances so he goes away rejoicing and Philip goes away doing what Philip does verse 40 Philip was founded as Otis and passing through he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea what was his task that's what he was about he was a preacher he sees this man converted he sees this man baptized he sees the grace of God at work he goes and he preaches in all the cities he does seem to settle down in Caesarea in chapter 21 Philip the Evangelist is referred to he's got four daughters who prophesy so he did all of this preaching he seems to have settled in Caesarea we don't know a whole lot about him beyond what it says there in Acts chapter 21 but in terms of Acts chapter 8 this man identified by the church in Acts chapter 6 was not only a servant in the church not only a deacon but also an evangelist a preacher of the gospel and we see him in Samaria and now we see him on this desert road with this Ethiopian eunuch and God crowned his Labor's God blessed his Labor's God brought this dead man out of darkness into marvelous light such that he confesses that Jesus is the true and living the son the true Living God and he gets baptized in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit well I just want to conclude with a few thoughts and then we'll move to the baptism first of all this is progress in the kingdom of God that the book of Acts is exciting isn't it you've got this hand full of men that have been told to phi2 Jesus just a handful 12 men not armies of men didn't we learn this with Gideon God doesn't need massive armies to accomplish his will God can use a ragtag team of 300 at the time of Gideon to accomplish his will well God can use the same sort of thing in the New Covenant setting these twelve men turned the world upside down that's not just hyperbolic that's not you know exaggeration these twelve men did turn the world upside down obviously we know it's Jesus right it's Jesus that turned the world upside down but these twelve men went out and preached these twelve men went out and made disciples these twelve men went out and and founded churches and what's happened again we get grieved and saddened by the the what appears to be a lack of growth amongst the Christian Church or numbers coming to the Lord we see in North America perhaps Islam is growing and rapidly and all that sort of a there's a work of God going on all over the earth the light of the gospel is going forth Jesus is conquering the nations the Psalter ain't wrong he will have dominion from sea to sea the knowledge of Yahweh will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea and you see that in Acts chapter eight a man doubly removed from the Assembly of God by virtue of the fact that he's in the ethiopian and by virtue of the fact that he's a unit we see coming to fro it fruition what Psalm 68 31 says an voice will come out of Egypt Ethiopia will quickly stretch out our hands to God you see we see the progress of the kingdom of God in this instance as well we see that the Messianic Kingdom had arrived what the prophet speaks in Isaiah 56 comes to pass this unit now is brought and I through the blood of Jesus Christ he is brought night to a place where he wasn't previously authorized one man Dennis Johnson says the House of Prayer for All Nations that was the language of Isaiah 56 I know that was like almost an hour ago that I read that but it's in there and Isaiah 56 God says my house will be a house of prayer for for what for the nation's see we don't really fully enter into that sort of language in its original context I mean we already know go therefore make disciples of all the nations but in Israel at the time of the prophet Isaiah yeah there were promises that all the nations would be blessed but they didn't have a fully developed robust sort of missionary enterprise mindset they weren't thinking that their temple would be would be occupied by by the nations by the Gentiles they didn't think that that foreigners would be brought nigh they didn't think that eunuchs would be included in the very house of God so Johnson says the house of prayer for all the nations or all nations was not the product of Herod's construction in Jerusalem lords it wasn't that physical temple that was standing it was located among other places at awadhi again that means Brooke beside a wilderness road in old Philistine territories that's where we're at that's where this eunuch is traveling he's in Philistine territory where a castrated Ethiopian was cleansed for priestly service through faith in the Lamb of God who was led like a sheep to the slaughter it's coming to fruition here it's not just quoted here but it's being fulfilled here and then consider this in light of Stephens sermon now we're really going way back in Acts chapter 7 Stephen is accused of having blaspheme the the law of God and the holy place and so Stephen gives this detailed treatment of the law of God and the holy place and he concludes by saying that God is not contained in houses built by men that those temples or that Tabernacle pointed forward to the Lord Jesus Christ fact Solomon record recognized this in first Kings chapter 8 when he says that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you as do your people Israel that was at the dedication of Israel's temple and Solomon knew there was going to be a time when all the peoples of the earth would flock to flock to that temple well it's in Messiah it's in the Lord Christ it's in the seed of Abraham this is the one in whom all the promises of God are yay and amen secondly and I would be remiss if I didn't remind us as Baptists why we do what we do in terms of the practice of Christian baptism say anything about Baptists at least you got to give us this any tant chance we get we'll talk to you about baptism it's kind of like people that do certain exercise or certain lifestyles that you know it within 5 seconds right oh you're you know this I mean they're they're just chomping at the bit to tell you well Baptist oftentimes are chomping at the bit to tell you what they believe concerning baptism we have a coven ental view that yields our practice of believers baptism and don't have time to detail that coven ental view but a few observations baptism takes place after conversion notice what happens here the man confesses and then he's baptized he's not baptized and then confesses if you read through the book of Acts you will see that conspicuous pattern you will see over and over again it's belief then baptism and that's why we baptized believers John Calvin made the observation for baptism is as it were an accessory of faith and therefore it is later in order and of course to be fair he goes on to assume Christian Baptist baptism that was a strange juxtaposition the infant Baptist among us I think you did it you said it was Christian baptism I I made a mistake secondly we need to understand its condition by Philip upon faith faith that's the prerequisite that's why people get baptized is because they believe the gospel and it's not a converting ordinance we don't put them in the tank to make them believers we put them in the tank because they're believers Barrett says there is no racial qualification for baptism but Wright belief is necessary thirdly it isn't an external sign that symbolizes God's internal grace in a moment we're gonna move the pulpit I'm gonna invite the kids up here so they can get a better look you think well that seems a bit disorderly no the whole point of baptism is to see the gospel I don't want anything blocking the ability to see the gospel we see it in the sacraments we see it in the supper we see it in Baptism it is an external visible representation of what God in His grace has done to these young ladies hearts this is preaching a message concerning the the conquest of God Almighty over rebel sinners as well it is primarily for the person baptized our confession makes that emphasis and I think it's an intriguing one and I think that this is probably the best sample tax to validate that notice that Philip doesn't say we got to get you to a church so we can baptize you we got to get you to Jerusalem right away pronto so we can get you but that's not what happens it's for the party baptized we as the brothers and sisters of these two ladies get to participate we get to watch and hopefully our hearts are encouraged as we see God's handiwork in the salvation of these ladies but it's for them it is for then as a reminder of God's grace of God's mercy our confession says baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament ordained by Jesus Christ to be unto the party baptized a sign of his fellowship with him in his death and resurrection of his being engrafted into him of remission of sins and of his giving up unto God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness of life for both Ashley and Melanie this is a time for you by the grace of God to live and walk in newness of life Paul's point Romans 6 think back to that death burial and resurrection when you think back to that death burial and resurrection therefore no longer let your instruments or no longer present your instruments or remembers as instruments of unrighteousness well it's pondering God's converting hand in your life pondering the visible representation of that in Baptism don't go out and sin this should be an argument for holiness for you hence forth and then finally with reference to the power of the gospel it comes to the poor for sure but it comes to the well-off a few years ago it seemed to me that the churches were playing this game of you know our centers are more important than your centers we in the most unchurched city ever and we're going after you know these 19 year old guys that only ever want to play video games well it was sort of the idea that you know your garden-variety centers aren't as special as ours that's gospel is for sinners of every stripe black sinners white sinners Canadian sinners African centers American sinners I know even American sinners God's grace is powerful rich sinners poor sinners old sinners young sinners it's a glorious thing every tribe every tongue every people every nation not many wise not many noble but some some why some noble we can't exclude any people group from the reach of God's sovereign grace we preach the gospel indiscriminately to all sinners everywhere telling them the good news that Christ Jesus lived Christ Jesus died Christ Jesus was raised the third day and if you believe on him he will be saved that's what the book of Acts sets forth before us that's what the book of Acts demonstrates from beginning to end all of them preached Jesus all of them trusted God all of them saw the power of the Holy Spirit in taking dead centers and making them alive if you're a dead sinner today look on to the Lord Jesus Christ well let us close in a word of Prayer father thank you for your word thank you for this account of the conversion in the baptism of this eunuch thank you for the occasion that brings us together the Sabbath observance of course our church worship service unto you and also this baptism of these two ladies we pray that you would encourage their hearts that you would strengthen them with might and the inner man so that Christ may dwell richly in their hearts through faith and God for any and all who have not come to the Lord Jesus we pray that today would be the day of salvation that you by grace would bring them forth to confess that Jesus Christ is the son of the Living God and we pray in his most blessed name amen well brother Steve Lawson will come up and lead us in a hem while we go change our clothes and get into the baptistry and that hymn will be number 500 I'm sorry 400 thirty three four hundred and thirty three which is amazing grace just and maybe I'll ask anyone with with children in the nursery to go and get your children out of the nursery so it gives an opportunity for the for the the adults down there to come and participate in the in the observation of today's baptism so if you have children the nursery if you wouldn't mind slipping out and getting them that would be appreciated so please turn with me to 433 and I'll ask you to stand [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] well I do want to just remind us what our confession says concerning the ordinance of baptism I cited part of it it says baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament ordained by Jesus Christ to be unto the party baptized and it represents a sign of his fellowship with him in his death and resurrection this is a great visible representation of a death and burial that's what's happening in conversion somebody has died the old man is dead and the new man is alive in Jesus Christ and then it speaks of his being and grafted into him we think of union with Christ we're in union with the Savior and then of course a remission of sins not that the water cleanses us in terms of sin but it's certainly a great reminder of that agent cleansing agent and it shows us God's power and the forgiveness forgiveness of our sins and then that man word response of his giving up unto God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness of life it goes on to say those who do actually profess repentance towards God faith in and obedience to our Lord Jesus are the only proper subjects of this ordinance the outward element to be used in this ordinance is water we're in the party is to be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and then finally it indicates that immersion or dipping of the person in water is necessary to the due administration of this ordinance a great sort of representation of what we believe the Bible teaches concerning baptism now typically I would give the opportunity for those being baptized to give a brief testimony a confession that Jesus is the Son of the Living God or I give them the option for me to ask questions of them and then to baptize both Melanie and Ashley have chosen to go with the questions and these questions are calculated to elicit or to demonstrate that confession that Jesus is in fact the son of the Living God and just by way of a practical thing it was very encouraging to get a call from Melanie saying she want to get baptized was very very encouraging very encouraging to get a call from Ashley saying I think Ashley at the end of the service one day and said she wanted to get baptized and I said well I'm happy to baptize you but not you know when you're with child that doesn't mean both parties are being baptized and I also asked her not to go into labor this is not a birthing tank it's a Baptistery but all that to say is very encouraging when the people of God show this sign of obedience to God baptism you know on the one hand we can make it somewhat too rigid and you know insist that people have you know these six months of classes before they ever get into the water but on the other hand we can become 2lakhs go therefore make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit if you are a believer in Jesus Christ and you are not baptized then you are a miss in your discipleship because that's one of the things that Christ commands as believers we identify publicly within in the waters of baptism so warmed my heart to hear from Ashley to hear from Melanie and I commend them both to you and I commend us to them that they pray for us we pray for them and we encourage all all of us one another on this life of faith of this this perseverance in the faith that we're all called to so it's a joyful occasion Melanie do you believe there is one true and living God who exists eternally as Father Son and Holy Spirit do you believe that you have sinned against God and justly deserved his punishment for your sins do you believe that Jesus Christ the Son of God lived in obedience to God's law died as a sacrifice and substitute for sinners and rose on the third day do you believe in Jesus Christ alone to save you from your sins and do you commit to walk in obedience to God through faith in Jesus Christ [Applause] yes please be careful as I said it's one baptism today in Alaska actually the same questions do you believe there is one true and living God who exists eternally his Father Son and Holy Spirit do you believe that you have sinned against God and justly deserved his punishment for your sins do you believe that Jesus Christ the Son of God lived in obedience to God's law died as a sacrifice and substitute for sinners and rose on the third day do you believe in Jesus Christ alone to save you from your sins and do you commit to walk in obedience to God through faith in Jesus Christ encouraging isn't it that's what it's about you little ones you listen to the gospel preach and you look to that Savior Jesus Christ alone save sinners Jesus Christ days old sinners and he saves young sinners as well because there'd be nothing more joyous than to see all of you at one time or another in this tank identifying publicly with our great God and Savior well why don't we all take our hymn books and turn to 568 and close this service by singing the doxology in praise to God we'll sing together and then I'll close with a word of Prayer [Music] [Music] [Music] you