He That Believeth and Is Baptized Shall Be Saved

Hello, this is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Ministries. Our desire is that your life would be blessed and changed by this message.

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Thank you, Lord, that we have this wonderful privilege of standing in your presence this evening knowing that our sins are paid in full by the blood of the Lamb. Thank you, Jesus. Oh, can words ever describe the greatness of that work, the greatness of that love as the songwriter gives it.

If the whole earth were parchment and the ocean were ink, it could not describe the love of our God. If we can't grasp that this evening, I pray, Lord, that you would continue just to show us and reveal to us your great love and your mercy. I thank you, dear God, for this evening.

And I pray, God, that you would move by your Holy Spirit and reveal your word to us. Lord, uphold your truth. And I pray, God, that you would not let anything come forth from this pulpit that would not be that truth.

If there is any thought that would come forth or any consideration of expression that is not according to that which is from you, Lord, I pray you would just take it away. You have that ability. So, we give ourselves to you this evening and say, Lord, just lead us this evening.

Speak to us through your word. Anoint your word. So, we commit the evening to you.

In Jesus' worthy name. Amen. You may be seated.

I have a text I would like to read this evening, but I think I might do that a little bit later on. The title of my message I have titled, On a Scripture, in Mark chapter 16, verse 16. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Now, as we look at the word of God right there, all we need to do is recognize that he is putting together believeth and is baptized in a so-called nutshell. He puts it together. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned.

So, what we'd like to look at this evening is the way that this believing and baptism come together in one. You know, we talk about he's a born-again believer. We hear that.

We hear that term. And as I was meditating on this message, I was so blessed in just looking at the word of God. And as I was meditating on this, I realized that I don't think we can separate those two.

I don't believe that we can separate born-again and a believer. I do not believe that we can be a believer and not be born-again. And I don't believe that we can be born-again and not be a believer.

Those things just come together. And as I meditated on the word of God, I realized these things are together. Why do we say a born-again believer? Does that indicate that there is something like a not-born-again believer? Now, we know that the Bible says the devils also believe and tremble.

But that's not the type of believing that saves. That's not the kind of believing that the Bible talks about here. That's a mental ascent.

That's that which the mind comprehends and grasps. And it's not the believing that we want to speak about tonight. I'm afraid we have way too much of that believing today.

That mental ascent. Brother Denny talked about that. About just having that thing in the mind that... And you know, I was there for years.

I was raised as a child, a little boy that had no question in my mind that there is a Jesus Christ, there is a God in heaven, and that there is a God in heaven, that there is righteousness and unrighteousness, and that Jesus is the Son of God. I believed those things. But I was a little bit like Joseph's brothers when they came to Egypt.

And when they met that leader, ruler in Egypt, and they went back home to their father, if somebody would have asked them if they know that leader in Egypt, they would have all said, yes, we do. Did they know him? They had no clue who he was, and that's where I was. I knew him here, but I didn't know him here.

I didn't realize that Jesus Christ is my brother. And I think there are many people today that look at Jesus that way. But I'd like to just look at some of these... I'd like to define what believer means.

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. So, what is this believing? We want to look at eight different scriptures here. Number one, he shall be saved.

The text we read. That's one thing about this believer. He shall be saved.

The second one is, he shall not perish, but have everlasting life. That's what this believer is. Number three, and that's in John 3.16. Number three is, he is not condemned.

This believer that we hear about that shall be saved is not condemned. John 3.18. He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already. Because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Number four, he has everlasting life. I tell you, I got excited when I went through these. This believer has everlasting life.

John 3.36. He that believeth on the Son has everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life. But the wrath of God abideth on him. Do you have the wrath of God abiding with you tonight? Or are you a believer? Number five, this believer is one that has passed from death unto life.

Oh, the difference that made in my life. I knew I had passed from death unto life. I had been ingrained and I had been taught and almost brainwashed.

I mean, just indoctrinated so deeply that a man cannot know that he is born again. But after God, after the Lord gave me, or how can I say, after I came through that birth canal, if you will, no one could tell me any different. I just knew better.

Number six, this believer shall never thirst. Jesus said in John 6.35, Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Number seven, out of this believer, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. John 7.38. And another one, though he were dead, yet shall he live. These are all promises to he that believes.

Sounds like someone that's born again to me. How about you? I do not think we can separate the two. So now what I'd like to look at here is that he that is born again, it says, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.

That's where the promise is. When we look at born again, I'd like to just turn your Bibles with me to John 3. And I'd like to read, maybe you can all stand for the reading of the Word. I appreciated that from Brother Raymond.

You know, I believe at times we don't have enough of reverence. You meet around with some of the Muslims for a little bit, and they think it's a horrible thing that we would sit down to pray. I'm not saying that they have it all right, but I do believe we lack in reverence to a holy God.

Let's read the Word here. John 3, verse 1 through verse 21. There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

The same came to Jesus by night and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth.

So is every one that is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man which is in heaven.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is coming to the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are brought in God. You may be seated.

In this account here we find Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. Now, it's very interesting to me as we look at this, that it was one just like this, that Jesus was speaking to. You know, in our churches, in Christianity ever since that time, there was one thing that went very clear through the two churches, and that was, he must be born again.

The interesting thing of it is, I heard that as a child growing up, he must be born again. But the more interesting thing, and I say this in a negative sense, is I didn't know how. I hope by the time I'm through this message this evening, you will know how to be born again.

And I'm not sure that I will cover it, but I think it's very simple. This Nicodemus, he was a Pharisee. He was a very strict religionist.

I believe that this man was one that followed through with keeping the law. I believe it was a man that if we would put his life beside many Christians' lives today, we would say, my, the man is faultless. I believe he was a man that celebrated the Passover.

He paid tithes. He said prayers. He brought sacrifices.

He tried to keep the law. And in the eyes of man, especially in those days, he was probably very righteous. One that people would look up to.

One that people would honor, because he's a ruler of the Jews. He's up there. He is a religious man.

I do not see Nicodemus as one of these, as we read from some of the priests in Menno Simons' day, when Menno Simons was at, or was it Michael Sadler, was a monk there and was observing the lives of these people. He was just horrified at what he saw going on amongst these religious people. I don't think Nicodemus was one of those.

I think Nicodemus was a sincere man. And he lived out, I think maybe he was a little bit like the rich young ruler, who really did all that he knew and was living according to that which he knew. And he really wanted to know, what is this that you are teaching? Who are you? And it came to him by night.

You see, he also had that pressure of his peers. He had the pressure of those other religious men. And he really wanted to know.

There was a hunger in him and he wanted to find out, who is this man? What is he all about? So he came to him. But the interesting thing that we see here is that it was to him of all people that Jesus said, ye must be born again. And I challenge anyone sitting in this tent or under the sound of my voice, whether it's now or a year from now or whenever, with the recordings and all that we have today, if you put your life beside that man and make a study of how those people lived, especially rulers of the Jews, you will find yourself speechless in comparing your righteousness with him.

And if God said to him, if Jesus said to him, ye must be born again, what is he saying to you? Ye must be born again. You may think you're just pretty good. And you know, we heard that again and again.

We witnessed it on the streets. And we said, well, you know, I'm not too bad. But you know, the Word of God tells us that comparing themselves amongst themselves, they are not wise.

And that's what happens. We dare not compare ourselves amongst ourselves. When we look to the glorious Lord Jesus, the One, the perfect One, the One that was here as an example, sinless, and was tempted in all points like as we yet without sin, Him we must gaze upon and say, where do we stand? And we will be just like John out there in the Annunapopolis when Jesus came down there and met him.

He says he fell on his face as dead. You know, you may try to keep the golden rule. You may pay your bills.

You may be a good neighbor. You may keep yourself out of prison or out of jail. You may never commit adultery.

You may have been pretty clean in those things. Maybe you never drank. Maybe you never smoked.

Maybe you never cheated anyone. But that will not save you. Let's get this clear.

Being a good little boy will not save you. Oh, I tell you, you know, here I am a rebel and living a very ungodly life in my youth to where it's a shame to even speak of those things. And by God's grace, I'm raising a family for the Lord and it seems like those little boys, I think especially some of them, walked a life of almost faultless.

And you had to almost wonder, how are they going to come to the Lord, you know? But everyone down the road, just everyone, get that burden of sin and guilt. I'm a sinner. Praise God.

But all those things, and I could go on and list things on and on. That will not save you. Ye must be born again.

I think it was John Wesley where someone asked him one time, why do you preach so often ye must be born again? He said, because you must be born again. That's all it took. He just answered it very simply.

Because you must be born again. That's why. We might think, well, why didn't Jesus say this to Pilate or to Judas? Why didn't He say it to those people that nailed Him to the cross? Why didn't He say this to those, what we would look to as ungodly men? But He said it to Nicodemus.

I believe it's so that we understand our need to be born again. You know, this word, ye must be born again, it's not just for the gangsters. It's not just for the cheats, the adulterers, the whoremongers, the liars, the drunkards, the drug addicts, the gamblers.

No. Nicodemus was a very religious man. And he may have felt pretty good about himself.

He may have just felt pretty good about himself. You know, he's been living this thing out pretty good here now. You know, he had to do with all these outward religious ceremonies and activities.

But you see, what Jesus was getting at is this. Man's problem is not on the outside, but it's on the inside. And that's you and my problem.

You see, we are entering here, with Jesus coming into the world here and His teaching, we're entering into a new dispensation. And we see that very clearly depicted when Jesus, when the scribes and the Pharisees and some of those come out there to be baptized of John there at Jordan. And He says, Well, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? He says, Therefore, fruits meet to repentance.

And He says, And all that speaks volumes to my heart. What does that mean? You know, the concept of being religious in the old was in doing. Jesus came to fulfill the heart of God from a religion of doing right things to a religion of being righteous.

That's what it is. Hallelujah! Not doing, but being. So, many of us were brought up in that mentality of doing.

But the question is, are we still doing or are we being? As we look at the word there, Accept Him and be born again. That is the word again there. It was very interesting to me to look at this.

That word again is the Greek word Anosen. And what it means is this. It means from above.

Or by analogy, from the first. By implication, anew. From above, again.

So, I'd like to just look at this same Greek word in different scriptures. In Mark 15, verse 38, it says about the veil and the temple, it says, And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the Anosen to the bottom. That word, ye must be born again.

Wow! It doesn't mean the again like you and I say again. It means you must be born from above or born from the top. Or born from anew.

That's what that word means. And Jesus said, Ye must, except a man be born again. Now, and as He used that word again, apparently that word again in that time meant the same as it does to an extent today.

I mean, it covers different areas, different fields here. Back to the, you know, again, the original, the initial. Another place that same word is used in the Greek is in James 3.17. But the wisdom that is from above.

But the wisdom that is from Anosen is first pure. Now, as we look at this word, and we look at the, at what God is, what Jesus is trying to tell Nicodemus here and trying to tell us through this, we want to turn to the rich young ruler in Matthew 19 and verse 16. It tells us here that one came to Him, one came to Jesus and said this, What good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? Do you see the concept? Do you see the mentality there? What good thing shall I do? And He said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one.

That is God. But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. And He said unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder.

Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness.

Honour thy father and thy mother. And thou shalt love thy neighbours thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up.

What lack I yet? I believe this young man was not lying. I don't think that he was out there just coming up with a story. I believe he was speaking the truth.

I believe this was a very, very religious young man that really did the best that he knew, tried his best, and he was just being honest. Well, I've kept those things. I've been living.

I was raised in a very religious home, and therefore I was a good little boy. Jesus said one thing. Thou lackest.

You see, what Jesus is saying here to this young man is this. He says all these things that He's done, but Jesus with His words is saying, But your heart! Your heart! The axe needs to go to the root of the tree. Not just an outward.

And when we look at a tree, we get the picture of a tree that, and I like to compare a tree of maybe apples and pears, and maybe we could say, persimmons and sweet apples. You know, I don't know. We can use different things there, but I tell you, if you plant a persimmon tree, you're going to get persimmons.

But if you were to plant an apple tree, you'll get apples. And what I see here is that in the old dispensation, after the fall, man was seeking to live righteous. And they were doing all these outward things.

And I get the picture in my mind of a tree here that keeps producing these persimmons. And they go out and pluck those off, and they go out there and put apples on this tree, because it's supposed to produce good fruit. But you know, they're constantly at work.

You know, they came to do their sacrifices every year. Every year remembrance was made, because they'd see these old persimmons out there again. And they'd have to just take them off and put apples on, so that it looks right and looks good.

And I'm afraid many people are living in this concept today. But Jesus said, the axe is laid at the root. That means, with Jesus coming, the Son of God coming, He's coming to do something with the very root of the tree, where a new life, a new tree can spring forth.

And this tree is going to produce apples. And you don't have to worry about going out there and plucking these persimmons off of this tree, because a good tree bears good fruit. That's just the way it is.

That's the new dispensation. You know, in the old dispensation, you can hate your neighbor. Just don't kill him, you know.

Don't murder him. You can hate him, but just don't do any outward act. Jesus said, love him.

You know, if your neighbor, he did something and you lost your eye in the deal, well then you could go up there and pluck out his eye. Jesus said, turn the other cheek. Just turn the other cheek.

In the old dispensation, you know, you could have all kinds of lustful thoughts against this other woman or your brother's wife, but just don't commit adultery, you know. Just don't take her. But Jesus said, he that looketh on a woman to lust after her hath already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Now, do you see the difference? It goes from an outward right down to the root, the heart of man. That's what it's all about. He must be born again.

He must be born again. We do not need more outward decoration. We need inward regeneration.

That's what it takes. That's what was needed. What is this new birth? What is it? It tells us here in verse 8 that it's a mystery.

And I'd like to just touch on something here. And maybe this is not really that, I don't know, I just, some years ago this was such a blessing to me in meditating on this scripture. That this man came to Jesus and he wanted to know what is the answer to life.

Apparently he had questions. Apparently he had some unfulfilled things in his life, just like you and I. Even living in a religious setting, there's a vacancy in our heart. There's something in here that's missing.

And he comes to Jesus and he wants to know what is the answer to life. And Jesus said, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Now, just think with me.

You know, we hear this term, so we think right away of a new birth. A spiritual birth. This man had never heard of such a thing.

So he looks at Jesus and he says, well, how can a man be born when he is old? His whole mindset went back to a natural birth. How can that happen when he's old? Can he enter again, a second time into his mother's room and be born? I mean, how is this possible? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Something that has stood out to me in this, and I know, we go back to the reformers, we go back to the commentators, and there's a lot of varied thoughts and all this of what this water is.

But I'm a simple believer. I believe he's talking about the natural birth. We know how God has preserved these precious little infants in the womb of the mother and keeps them there and protected by that water.

And they are born of water. I just think that this dawned on me when I was present with the birth of one of our first children. And I was standing there and I had pondered this question for years.

You know, I'd read the Anabaptist Fathers, and I'd read different things, and some said this, some said that. And I'm not stuck on this, but to me, it's just so clear he was talking about two things. He's talking the natural and the spiritual.

The natural and the spiritual. The natural and the spiritual. And here, when he asks, and here is Nicodemus still thinking natural.

And he says, well, can I do this? How can this happen the second time? And he says, no. There's a natural and there's a spiritual. Except a man be born natural and of the Spirit of my own words, he cannot enter the Kingdom.

And I want you and I to grasp that reality. Unless you are born of the Spirit of God, you cannot see the Kingdom. You can't see it.

And you won't be there. As a matter of fact, that's what happens when people walk into tents like this, and they sit in here, and there's emptiness all evening, and sometimes I'm afraid there are some young people sitting in our midst that have kind of closed off conviction. They've kind of shut the door, and they sit here all evening with the precious Word of God expounded, and they go from here.

I'm going to say the same as they came, but you know, it's worse. Because they've just hardened another little part of their heart. Beloved, I plead with you, it's dangerous to do that.

The Spirit of God will not always strive with man. And I could go into that wonderful Scriptures concerning that thing of the Spirit of God not always striving with man. But I'm just simple enough to believe that He's talking about a natural birth here, and you must be born again.

Because all through here, He just refers to two things. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is Spirit.

You must be born again. Again in verse 12, again He has that. If I have told you earthly things, and you believe not, how shall you believe if I tell you heavenly things? And what I think Jesus is doing here is getting Nicodemus to shift his focus off of earthly natural religious to the root of the tree.

To something that goes much deeper than outward ceremony. Well, what is this mystery? What is this new birth? I'm sorry. What is this new birth? It is a mystery.

It changes things. Yet you cannot see it. Years ago, after my wife and I were married, I'm not sure just how, yeah we were probably married, I think it was in 85 or something like that, 84, 85.

There was a tornado out of western Pennsylvania, and we went out there to help clean up for a few weeks. And I tell you that was awesome to behold. What that twister did that came through here, yet nobody saw it.

They just saw what it did. You can't see the wind, but you can see what it does. And that's the way Jesus said it is with the Spirit.

You can't see it, but you can see the effects. It's a mystery. We cannot deny the reality of wind.

You can't deny the reality of wind, yet you can't explain it, you can't see it. We cannot see the Holy Spirit. We cannot really explain Him, but we see His mighty power make the liar honest, the harlot pure, the rebellious surrender, the blasphemer pray, and the vile made pure.

Hallelujah. It is the work of God that takes a poor, needy, sinful, vile, bound, hell-deserving sinner and makes him into a free, joyful, victorious child of God and begins a new life. That's the power of God.

That is the work of the Spirit of God and the work of God. This is the new birth. A second birth.

It is a birth of the Holy Spirit of God. You cannot join the family of God. You must be born into it.

You must be born into it. A birth is the coming into being of a new life which has the nature of its parents. When we are born the first time, we are made partakers of the old nature.

The sinful nature we all receive from Adam. When we are born again, we become partakers of the divine nature. Hallelujah.

The new birth cannot be earned. Ephesians 2 verse 8 says, For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.

Titus 3 verse 5 says, Not of works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. God begins with conviction. Every one of us has been born with a God-given vacuum or empty feeling within.

I talked about that a little earlier. Man has been trying to fill this vacuum ever since the beginning of time. I know what I tried to do.

I tried to fill that thing with everything. I think Brother Kenny tried all kinds of sports and things to fill that, and it all ended up empty in the end. Maybe I have you mixed up with Brother Raymond.

I know Raymond was into all that. You know, all these jerky things, trying to find fulfillment. Brother Levi talked about hunting, that excitement, that adrenaline boost to see that big buck fall.

What is that? When you get a hold of the joy of the Lord, that stuff just vanishes away. Man has been trying to fill this vacuum ever since the beginning of time, but because man is carnal and soul under sin, as Paul puts it in Romans 7, man tries anything other than Jesus to fill this vacuum because of the sinfulness of their own nature. Drinking, drugs, smoking, movies, parties, dating, going on trips, amusement parks, recreation, vacations.

Some people get sad when they just sit down by a brook and hear the water trickling. I know what that's like. That empty feeling.

Do you experience that? Some people get tears. Some people start crying. They get very sad when they sit by a brook and hear the water rustling.

They might even sit there crying because of a lonely feeling comes over them in their heart. I used to have that. And you know sometimes as born again believers we have to look back to remember some of those things.

I forget. I haven't had that for 25 years, 26 years this year. But that lonely, empty feeling, I had that for years just on and on.

That longing that just wasn't filled. Can anyone identify with me? You know what I'm talking about? Back then if not now? I certainly had it. If this is your experience this evening, God is calling you.

He wants to fill that place. Why must we be born again? Except if man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God. Because man has a sinful nature.

He is corrupt and totally depraved of all righteousness. We must understand that. Jeremiah 17 verse 9 says that the heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.

Why must we be born again? Corinthians tells us that the natural man understandeth not the things of the spirit of God. They are foolishness unto him. Neither can he comprehend.

I tell you, I remember when I first got born again how thrilled I was. You know, we heard and heard and heard. And there it would stop.

It hath not entered into... I have to turn to that and quote that in English. You know, children, those verses that come in as a child will stick longer than what comes in as an adult. They do for me.

I have not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love Him. How many people understand the German here this evening? Oh, wow. So I will quote some German.

I still love the German in a lot of ways. Well, here, what struck me is how this kept coming out. And after I was a born again believer, I looked at this.

It hath not entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love Him. The next words. Unsalver hath God opened up through His Spirit that the Spirit of God has forced all things out of the deep of goodness.

Wow. But I, it says here, in the English here, if I can turn to it here real quick now. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit.

For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. Then he goes on and he says, Wir haben nicht empfangen ein Geist der Mensch, Geist der Welt, denn ein Geist aus Gott auf das wir wissen können, was uns von Gott gegeben ist. I tell you, that struck me.

That's clearer in the English than, I mean, in the German than the English. Now, we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Then he goes on down and he says, but the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God.

Well, that's why we must be born again. We will not see the kingdom, not with our mind's eye either. We cannot understand, we cannot comprehend those things.

Alright. We're going to move on down here. How do we become born again? John 1, verse 11 says, that he came unto his own, his own received him not, but as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, which were born not of the will of man, which were born not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

I'd like to just define those a little bit. You're not born again because your parents are. You do not inherit our parents' salvation, we do not inherit our parents' salvation like we inherit their blood.

Nor the will of the flesh. You won't be born again by trying to be born again. It's not the will of the flesh.

Marvin is not my son because he's trying to be my son. It's because he is born of me. Nor the will of man.

No man, church, religious creed, or organization can make you a child of God. They cannot do it. But of God.

There's the answer. Not of the will of the flesh, not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. Jesus said you must be born of the Spirit.

Galatians 3.24 says, wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us into Christ that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith has come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For we are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

For as many of you as have been baptized into Jesus have put on Christ. And I want you to take and underline that in your mind tonight. Baptized into Jesus.

I want you to remember that. We'll come to that a little later here. There is neither Jew nor Greek.

There is neither bond nor free. There is neither male nor female. For ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

And if ye be Christ, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. You do not receive Jesus by being baptized with water or doing certain things. Get that clear in your mind.

Why? Joel tells us in chapter 2.32 and it shall come to pass. Here is a prophecy of the coming Messiah. That whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered.

Hallelujah. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance. As the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.

Acts 2 verse 21. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10.13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

So it's not in doing certain things. It's in calling on the name of the Lord. It's in crying out to God.

It's in getting to the end of ourselves where we say, I am undone. I am finished. I can't attain to any righteousness.

And we fall on our faces before God. And we say, oh God, I'm undone. And we cry out in desperation.

He will hear us. And I'd like to look, to take a look at a little deeper aspect of believing. Brother Mel shared last evening.

I tell you brother, I went home and I was reading that word. It did something to me when you quoted that and I went through and I read over that and I thought wow. 1 John 5 verse 1 says, whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.

Here I was studying all this and I came upon this verse later. That you don't separate believing and born again. Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.

It's the word of God. That's what it says. And everyone that loveth Him that begat loveth Him also that is begotten of Him.

By this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God that we keep His commandments and His commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world and this is the victory that overcometh the world even our faith.

Who is He that overcometh the world? But he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God. Believing in Jesus being born again and overcoming the world all comes together in one. And I just so appreciated that thought.

That this overcoming by faith is how we live in obedience to God and obey His word. That's the victory that we will have because we have an enemy that's constantly speaking, whispering those little hath God said into our ears. I had an experience here the other day that really spoke to me.

I'm not going to expose names. But there was a certain individual that, matter of fact it was one of my children, that I had told them I don't want something. There's something I don't want them to do.

And it so happened a little later I saw it happening. Wow, what is this? I mean my heart was smitten. And it was right after Denny was preaching on this thing of hath God said and that we need to get serious about obeying God.

And how that today in today's world there's so much of that hath God said and just, you know, well it didn't really mean that. You know, we're talking about obedience this week. So much I hear it coming out and that desire to get back into that radical obedience to God.

And when I asked this individual, you know, why this happened, the answer was well, I didn't think a little bit would hurt. And, you know, it just came right back to me. How many times have I reasoned that way? Do we as fathers, do we as leaders, do we as older people go down life's trail that way and our younger people are observing and then they follow after? It really spoke to me.

It spoke to my heart. Oh, may God give us a deeper vision. Tonight you may be sitting here and you say, well, how is this? That we overcome the world simply by believing that Jesus is the Son of God.

You know, our problem is that we tend to evaluate believing by some mental assent that we have in our head and it never really enters into our heart. But I'd like to touch on that as we go on here. You see, it all has to do with faith.

It all has to do with faith. When we have faith in something, then we trust it. Amen? Now, we want to look at the definition of baptism.

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. In the New Testament, we read about, I came up with five different baptisms that we read about. There's a baptism of repentance that we read about in Mark 1, 4, and different places.

I'll just name some of them. There's a baptism of suffering that we read about. When Jesus talks about the baptism that he is going to be baptized with.

And then there's a baptized unto Christ that we read about in Romans 6, verse 3. There's a baptize... Actually, there's another one. There's a baptizing unto death. There's a baptism of the Holy Ghost and with fire.

And there's a baptized unto Moses. Those are the different baptize that I read upon. What does baptize mean? Now, for us most times, when we think of baptism, we are thinking of water baptism.

And I want you this evening, for the next minutes here, just to put that out of your mind. I'm not speaking about a ceremony. I want to speak about the spiritual implication of baptism and what it means.

Because we know that you are not baptized with the Holy Ghost. In other words, that's the Holy Ghost. It's not water.

So, we want to look at the definition of this word. Why did they ever come up with the word baptize for this thing which takes place in a person's life and then also the expression of it? And I'll tell you, some years ago, I studied into this and I was very thrilled. What does baptism mean? The Greek word is baptisma.

And it means this. Consisting of the process of immersion, submersion and emergence is what lines tells us. From bapto, to dip.

The Greeks used the term baptizo to dye a garment. Now, I'd like to give you an illustration here this evening what I mean by this. What it means to be baptized unto Jesus.

It says the process. Now, again, we're not looking at water baptism. Keep that out of your mind.

I'm talking about what happens in your heart. We're talking about a spiritual baptism here. I'm not sure if I can do this.

You and I are just like this. We stand up proud and tall. Stiff-necked.

This is how we are in the self-man. A little too windy here to do this, but see how we stand up proud and tall and stiff-necked. This is I. This is I in the old man.

When you come to the place of breaking before God and you are baptized unto Jesus, the same thing takes place as took place in the children of Israel in the Red Sea when they were baptized unto Moses. The process of immersion, submersion and emergence. I don't think a little water will hurt us here.

Where's the proud, stiff-necked eye? Where is it? What happened to it? You see, it was baptized in water. We are baptized unto Jesus, so something happened. We are no longer the stiff-necked eye.

This that we were baptized into had its effect on us. It took over. It changed us.

I have another one here. Same thing. Proud, stiff-necked eye.

Baptized unto Jesus. Immersed in Jesus. Covered over in Jesus.

A new man in Jesus. And where is the proud, stiff-necked eye? Where is it? It has disappeared. Beloved, if you are here tonight and you still have that proud, stiff-necked thing in you that rises up that wants to defend itself, wants to have its way, question yourself, are you baptized unto Jesus? That is the definition that we find when we study the word baptized.

The Greek women, and I thought of bringing dye, it would have been a little, you know, but taking that stiff thing there, taking it in there, bringing it out, you would have found something totally different. A floppy rag, totally different color, you wouldn't recognize it as the initial thing that went into that. And that's how it is with you and I. We should not be recognized the same once we are baptized unto Jesus than what we were beforehand.

You know, if any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature. All things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.

Is that our experience? I think the definition of baptism, and I'm not talking about water baptism. This is the same way. The baptism of repentance, I tell you, what John was looking for in those Pharisees and them coming out, he was looking for them to be totally immersed in repentance.

See, they came along and were just trying to figure this thing out, but were just as proud as ever. But those that came that were immersed, they were submerged, they were whelmed over with repentance. Those he could help.

What about the baptism of suffering? You know, Paul said, Oh, that I may know Him and the power, no, that I may know Him and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death. Paul had that. He had a desire.

He longed for that. He wanted the baptism of suffering with Christ. Peter, not willing to be crucified like Christ was, so he asked to be crucified upside down.

Baptism of suffering. Baptized unto Christ. Have you been, you know, have you and again, and I'd like to just look at some definitions here.

Immersion means to plunge into. Have you plunged into Christ? Plunge into. That means, you know, I'm just going to plunge into.

Submersion means to be covered over by that which we plunge into. Have you plunged into Christ? Have you been covered over with Christ? And immersion, emergence means, one definition is coming out of, the second one is changed. The appearance of new properties in the course of development that could not have been foreseen in the earlier stage.

It's a beautiful picture of the new birth. It's a beautiful thing of what takes place when we simply give ourselves to Jesus Christ. That's the spiritual definition of the word baptism.

This is an expression of that. To plunge into, to give oneself wholly over to, to be covered over by, to be whelmed into, to be overtaken by. Gelassenheit! That's what it is.

Same thing. I tell you, I was reading through this and I said, there it is. The very word that Brother Denny was preaching on most of the week, that he emphasized.

It's that thing of full surrender. I tell you, you know what we do? You say, well, are you willing to plunge into that water of Christ? Are you willing to plunge your life into it? You look at a big lake and you say, just jump! And you say, but I can't swim! God didn't ask you to swim. He said, come.

And I know the feeling and I think many of you do also. When that time came, I tell you, my securities were back there. My securities were in coming from a family of 14 children and having all the frying shop and all the... I knew if my house burnt down it would be rebuilt probably within a week's time or so.

I mean, I had all the securities there and God was saying, plunge. Just plunge. Just plunge.

And I... That was a scary thing, but praise God I plunged. Have you plunged? Have you... Have you been immersed in Christ? Are you immersed in Him tonight? Are you submerged, covered over by Christ? You see, when we are immersed and covered over by Christ and we come out a new man just like those pieces of cloth there, the properties of that which we were immersed in sticks out all over. Amen? That's how it is with Christ.

Do you trust Jesus? You know, I'm coming back to this thing of faith. If you don't trust Him, if you don't have faith, you won't plunge into Him. That's why we are saved by faith.

It's when we believe His Word, and I can't explain this because I did not even have the ability to believe. That night I got born again was the first time when my nephew, and I don't know what the Spirit of God was doing there, but when my nephew explained the plan of salvation for the first time in my life, I believed with no shadow of a doubt. No one told me to repent.

No one told me to start confessing my sins, and as we walked out to hitch up my horse before I went home, I just started dumping out and confessing sins. It's just an actual thing that happened. I wanted to be forgiven.

And before I drove in my lane back home, those sins were gone. I don't know where they went. But praise God, I don't need to know.

They're gone. Paid in full by the blood of the Lamb. Hallelujah.

The question I have for you is, do you trust Jesus? Are you willing to be baptized unto Jesus? Are you willing? And don't say, but I can't swim. Maybe you're in a halting position here tonight. Maybe you're in a place where you are just not quite ready to make the commitment.

It's just a little costly. What about my friends? What would they think? You know, we older men are not blind. We know that you young people struggle with a real strong peer pressure of these cool people around you.

And we know you struggle with it. We know you're caught in a web of your peers and what would they think? Oh, beloved. Thus far, we were not talking about water baptism.

Water baptism is the outward expression and declaration to the world. Satan, the demons and the host of heaven that you are plunging yourself, your life, your all unto Jesus. Now, can a man, can a man have the victory that he should have by making that proclamation and declaration? Can he have the victory if he out of resistance holds back from going forth and making that declaration? That's the challenge I have for you.

I have been burdened in the past years about the separation of what we call born again and baptism. Why? I tell you, I wonder at times if we teach properly. I think one of the first cries that should come from one that has plunged into Jesus and saying, I want to be baptized.

And I don't know where you're at tonight. I'm sure Brother Mel could probably, he's done a lot more counseling than I have, but I have found again and again people that have been, what we would say, born again. They've committed their life to Jesus, but have not moved on in water baptism.

When they had the opportunity, it just kind of held off. You soon find, and I don't understand this, but you find they have struggles, they're just kind of defeated, they tend to slide back a little bit and they struggle and they struggle. I've found that again and again.

I don't know what it is, but there's something in sealing that commitment. I tend to believe, and I may be off a little here, but I tend to believe there's something that takes place in the pits of hell when we make that public confession and that public commitment and that public declaration. I believe there's the powers of hell are somewhat afraid of that.

And they say, whoa, here's an obedient young man that's going to go all the way. Or a young lady, here's an obedient soul that's going to go all the way. I don't know if I want to get into that one, but I tell you if he sees you claiming you're born again, but you refuse to live in obedience, and you refuse to make that commitment, he'll come along and try you in every way he can to stumble you.

Why is it that baptism has been the biggest conflicting thing all through the early church, and especially through the times of the Anabaptists? And today, in India, you can be a Christian, you can say all you want about being born again, but the day that you go to be baptized, you're shunned from your village. It happens in Africa. Why is it? Why is it that today we have such an issue right in this community? Someone can believe, oh yeah, well that's okay, everything's pretty much okay until they say, I want to be baptized upon the confession of my faith, and he's just immediately, there's just like a wall goes up.

That's the difference in spiritual life and religion. And it will separate. I believe this is a truth that we must uphold.

It's a truth that we must follow through with, and uphold it. Let it divide between the carnal and the spiritual. The day of Pentecost, Peter said, he preached there, and he told that long sermon that Peter gave, in such a bold way, fearless, because he had received the whelming unto Christ Jesus.

He had received that plunging into Christ. His confidence was in the Lord. He had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

He was overtaken. He didn't care what people thought. He had the power.

He knew what it was to be baptized unto Christ. He knew what it was to be baptized with the Holy Ghost. He knew what it was to be baptized unto suffering.

I mean, earlier, oh my, you also were with him. Your speech started to curse and to swear, I don't know the man. But boy, I tell you, when that power from the Holy Ghost, when he plunged into Christ Jesus, and when he had that power come on him, it didn't matter what they said.

Well, should we obey God rather than man? Should we obey God rather than man? It didn't matter to him. He was going to preach the Gospel. Now he stood up there preaching, and he told him all this, and all these people from all these different nations are gathered there, and he said something that has just thrilled my heart for years.

The boldness of Peter. His last words there were, Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made this same Jesus whom ye crucified, both Lord and Christ. You know, when he said those words, it says, the people cried out, Men and brethren, what shall we do? What did he say? Repent, and be baptized every one of you, not just some, every one of you that have this in your heart.

Be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Have you really plunged in? Have you been baptized under Jesus? Or are you holding back? I question whether you can really plunge into Jesus the way he wants you to until that day when you come and say, I want to be baptized. I want to go through with this thing.

I want to make this public proclamation before the angels in heaven, before God in heaven, before all the angels of darkness or the demons of darkness and Satan and all that. I'm going through with it. I'll let my friends in the world and everyone know.

I'm going this way. I'm finished with this way. There's something in that that we don't want to overlook.

We're going to give an invitation tonight. This is the invitation. Maybe you have never given yourself to Jesus.

And you need to be born again. Maybe as I was speaking this evening and maybe this past week, something kept nagging at your heart. I don't think I'm born again.

I'm here to tell you tonight you must be born again. You must be born again. There's no hope for you if you're someone that God has called and has made you accountable before Him and you push it off and you just push it off and you don't want to meet up with your friends.

You're ashamed. You really don't. I tell you get desperate.

Get right with God tonight. God can do that for you. Maybe you've never been born again.

If that is you, you come as the invitation is given. And maybe you have a testimony of a new birth or something, some kind of experience. But you have never sealed your commitment to the Lord in water baptism.

If that is you tonight, I encourage you to make that commitment. You commit yourself to go all the way through with the Lord. Maybe your reputation stands in the way.

What will people think? Die to that tonight. You come. God can give you the victory over that.

He can lead you through. If there's someone here that just says, oh I've been a Christian but you know I've never been baptized under Christ. I never really plunged in.

I just kind of stood on the edges. I never really gave myself fully. If that's you tonight and you sense God calling you to just give it all, you come.

Remember, the process of immersion, submersion and emergence. Have you been that proud, stiff necked, standing up individual and are now that bowed down humble, pliable lump of clay for Jesus to use for His glory. 22.

Let's pray first before we sing this song. Can you stand? Can we all stand? Father in heaven, oh God, we cry out to you this evening. Father, we know there are many people gathered here in this tent and there might be many that are listening in.

I don't know, but I do know Lord, one thing Lord, we must be born again. And I pray, oh God, that you would speak to our hearts. If we do not have the assurance in our hearts that we are born again, we have no hope of eternal life.

Oh Father, I pray would you move in our midst tonight and speak to the hearts that are gathered here. Father, we desire that everyone can leave from this tent with peace of mind tonight, peace of heart. Oh Father, I pray will you take your word and do a work in our hearts.

We just give you the evening. Pray for grace and strength for those that are sensing your working, are sensing your spirit moving and they tremble, they don't know what to do. And I pray in the name of Jesus that you would take away any of that peer pressure, the demons speaking into the ears and saying, not now, wait a little while, do it later.

Not now, now is not the time. In the name of Jesus I pray that you would take that away, all that souls could be set free in Christ Jesus tonight. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.