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Sermon

Acts 2:37-41 | Cut to the Heart

Pastor Cody Harlow · Streamed 2 weeks ago

What happens when God's verdict about Jesus finally lands on a person's heart?

After Peter boldly proclaimed that Jesus of Nazareth is both Lord and Christ, the crowd was confronted with a life-changing reality. The One they rejected had been vindicated by God. The result was conviction, repentance, baptism, and the salvation of thousands.

In this message from Acts 2:37–41, Jim Passetti helps us step into the world of Pentecost and consider the powerful response of those who were "cut to the heart." Through a historical narrative approach, this sermon helps us imagine what it may have been like to stand among the crowd that day while pointing us back to the biblical text and its timeless call to repentance and faith.

First Baptist Church of Camdenton
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Sermon transcript

Auto-generated transcript. This transcript was produced automatically and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names, scripture references, and quoted material may be misspelled or misheard. The video above is the authoritative source.

Oh dear. Amen. Thank you. How are you? Hey go now. Thank you. >> [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] >> Heat. Hey, heat. Hey, heat. Heat. Heat. [music] Heat up here. >> [music] [applause] >> Good morning. Welcome to First Baptist. We're so glad you're all here this morning. What a great video. And uh we prayed for that and for for those kids and those students that went to that. And uh what an awesome uh thing to see that video and to see all the fun that they had. We have an announcement from Loving Our World, Diana Scoggin. >> Good morning. >> I want to invite everyone to a party at your house. So we're having eyeglass washing parties. It's a take-home party. We have boxes of glasses to be washed along with a carefully curated party pack. Definitely not something that we use to clean out our party closet. A carefully curated party pack. So, you will take your party pack, pick your theme. We really just have a few left, so hurry after church to get yours. And the instructions are in the box to wash the glasses. and you can post a picture of your party on Facebook and we're gonna have a prize for the best Facebook post eyeglass washing party with glasses which we provide. Um, so if you would like to participate, I would encourage you to do so. And if you don't want to do the party thing, that's fine because the really important thing is you'll be participating in an ministry to show

God's love and to provide an avenue to tell others about Jesus. So, thanks for participating. [applause] I wanted to draw your attention to two particular announcements. The first one being the shared blessings uh that we heard about last week. Um this insert in the bulletin are these items that we can bring uh to participate in. Um the other announcement is you'll notice a school bus out here. Um our summer has just started but school won't be very far off and we're collecting items for the weekare families for back to school and you can bring those things in put them in the school bus and then that team will be taking care of those things. I knew I wasn't going to be very well coordinated. Um, but our let's go to the Lord in prayer. >> Father, I thank you and praise you for this morning and just again for this privilege that we get to be here um in this place to worship you, to open your word in our language freely with no limitations. We thank you for the programs and the opportunities for our children and adults together to to learn uh from you, from one another, and Lord, just to grow in our walk and our relationship with you. I pray, Father, now as we uh continue on in worship that you would just help us um to be still, to be quiet, to allow your Holy Spirit to mute the things that are on our mind, the things that we're thinking about ahead for this week. that Lord, you would just help us to be centered wholly on you and that Lord, we would be able to receive every intricate part that you would have for us today as we worship together. We ask these things in your name. Amen. Our call to worship this morning is found in Psalms 96:es 7-9. And it says, "Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples. Ascribe to the

Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory. Do his name. Bring an offering. Come into his courts. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. Tremble before him, all the earth." I invite you to stand now as we continue in worship. I'm sorry. I got one more announcement I forgot last week. Benevolence offering. This uh offering is to help us to help those in our community with uh immediate financial needs. So, please participate. Thank you. >> Can we start PJ? All right. Thank you. >> I'm glad you're all here today. Worship our Lord together. So, uh yeah, let's do this. >> [music] >> To God be the glory. [music and singing] Great things he has done. So loved he the world that he [singing] gave us his son. [music] Who yielded his life and atonement for sin and open [music and singing] the gates that all make. [music] >> Praise the Lord. Praise the [singing] Let the earth hear his voice. Praise [music] the Lord. [singing] Praise the Lord. Let the people rejoice. [singing] Oh, come [music] to the father through Jesus the son and give [singing] him the glory. Great things [music] he has done. Your perfect redemption, the purchase of blood to every believer, [singing and music] the promise of God, the violence defender who truly believes [singing and music] that moment from Jesus and receing [music] [singing] [music] through Jesus [singing] the sun. But pureer and higher [music] and greater will be. Our wonder are transformed when [singing] Jesus

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receive. Praise the [singing] Lord. Praise the Lord. Let the earth hear his voice. Praise the [singing and music] Lord. Praise the Let the people rejoice. Oh, come [music and singing] to the father through Jesus the son and [music] give him the glory. [singing] Great things he has done. [music] >> Glory, glory, glory, glory, give him glory. [music] [singing] Great things he has done. Glory, glory, [music and singing] glory, glory, give him glory. great [music and singing] things he has done. [music] >> Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. [singing] Let the earth hear his [music] voice. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. [singing and music] Let the people rejoice. [singing] Oh, come [music] to the father through Jesus the son and give [singing and music] him the glory. great things he has done. [music] Thank you. You may all be seated. >> Good morning. Let's pray. Our gracious father, we are so thankful that you have blessed us so much this week. Uh we deserve nothing. Yet you generously give to us every day, every moment. We wake up to your grace and your mercy, your kindness. Lord, you have given us things to be stewards of, including our finances. Uh guide us as we give. Lord, bless the giving that we give and use it for your glory. Amen. >> All right. Today's reading is in 1 Peter uh chapter 1 22-23. Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart. Since you

have been born again, not a perishable seed, but imperishable through the living and abiding word of God. And then 1 Peter 4:8 says, "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly since love covers a multitude of sin." Thank you, Rex. We're going to continue in worship. I hear the [singing] Savior say, "My strength indeed is strong. [singing] [music] Child of weakness, wash and pray. Find [music and singing] in me thine all in all. Jesus [singing and music] made it all. [music] All [singing] to him my own [music] sin [singing] had left a Christmas day. He washed [singing] it white [music] as snow. Lord, [singing] now his deed [music] I find. Thy power [singing] and thine alone [music] can change the leper spots [singing and music] and melt the heart of stone. Jesus [music and singing] paid it all. All [singing] to [music] him I owe sin [singing] and after Christmas day he washed [singing] it white [music] as snow. >> And [singing and music] when before the throne I [singing] stand in him complete. [music] Jesus [singing] died my soul to [music] save. My [singing] lips shall still ree. [music] Jesus [singing] paid all. All [singing and music] to him my own.

[music] Sin had left a [singing] crim. He washed it white as snow. [music] Jesus [singing] paid it [music] all. All [singing] to him I own. Sin had left [singing] a crim. He washed it white as snow. [singing] >> [music] >> As morning dawn and they await [music] to you I bring my king. Oh gracious God, [singing] my [music] source of strength. In you [singing] I live [music] and brea. Each [singing] hour is yours by wisdom. [music] Each [singing] deed empowered by sovereign hand. Renew [singing and music] my spirit. Help me stand. Be glorified. today. [music] As the day [singing] unfolds, I see the world in [music and singing] all of my demons and all the shed [music] tries be still. I cling to your [singing] command. [music] Let every effort [singing] of my life display the [music] massless work of [singing] Christ. Make me a living sacrifice. [singing] Be [music] glorified today. >> [music and singing] >> gives way to darkest night, your spirit [music] still is [singing] here. And [music] though my strength is [singing] like the light, new mercies will appear. [singing] I rest [music] in you abide with me until I trial and [music] suffering. [singing]

Can't wait to final victory. be [singing and music] glorified today. I rest in you. [singing] Abide [music] with me until our trials and suffering. Give way to final [singing] victory be [music] glorified today. [singing] Thank you. May all be seated. All right. Good morning, church. Since this is the first Sunday of the month and it's family worship service, we're going to have a special lesson for the kids. So, if our children could make their way forward, we're going to have a quick lesson for them. Okay. So, here lately, Pastor Cody has been preaching through the book of Acts, and he uh today will be preaching uh telling us the story of Pentecost. Uh we started that a couple weeks ago and today we're getting to towards the end of where Peter preached a sermon during Pentecost and towards the end of the sermon Peter says repent and be baptized. And in verse 41 the Bible tells us that those who received his word that means that those who believed what Peter was preaching uh were baptized and there were 3,000 people saved that day. So we're going to learn about baptism in today's lesson. Now, has anyone seen somebody baptized before? Raise your hand if you've seen somebody get baptized. Okay. Can somebody describe what that looked like? What happened when when that person was baptized that you saw? >> It looked like someone was getting drowned. >> It looked like somebody was getting drowned. So, there's water involved, right? It is something that looks it looks a little strange to us. So, when somebody gets baptized, uh there's somebody performing the baptism. That's usually a

pastor or an elder at the church. Sometimes it's uh the father of the of a child if it's the child getting baptized. So there's a p person performing the baptism and the person getting baptized. And when you get baptized, the person performing the baptism lowers you into water. So you're completely in the water and they raise you back up. So yeah, it looks kind of strange. It looks you might think, why why are they doing that? Did they forget to take a bath this morning and they're just going to take their bath in front of the whole church? But that's not the reason, is it? >> So when uh when somebody gets baptized, the reason that we do that, it's a symbol. It's a ceremony we perform for somebody after they have become saved, after they've repented of their sins and decide to trust Jesus as their savior. One of the first steps we should take is to get baptized. And we do that for two reasons. One is it's a sign of obedience. God tells us to to do this in the Bible. And two, it's a way that we can confess in front of others and share our testimony and confess that we are Christians and that we have decided to follow Jesus. Now, does anybody know of any examples in the Bible of somebody getting baptized? Can anybody think of a time when somebody was baptized? Who do you remember getting baptized? That's right. Jesus got baptized. If you look behind me, you can kind of see, it's a little hard to see from this angle, but there's that pretty painting or stained glass behind the stage. That is a picture of Jesus getting baptized by whom? Who performed that baptism? Does anybody know? >> John the Baptist. >> John the Baptist. Good job. Yep. John the Baptist baptized Jesus. So Jesus set an example for us that we should follow. and Jesus died on the cross for our sins. That is that is correct. So that's something that after

somebody becomes saved at it's important to that we believe in what's called believers baptism. That means that you're baptized after you become a believer. And we do this as a sign of our obedience to Jesus and our as a confession that we have decided to follow Jesus and that we're telling everyone about it. And it's important to to know that the there's nothing special about the water. The water that we use to baptize people, it's the same as any other water. It's the same as the water at your house that you use to cook and clean and and the water that you drink. There's nothing special about the water. The water doesn't save you. Jesus is the only one who saves us. But baptism is still an important uh act of obedience that we should that we should choose to do after we become saved. So that's something to think about. Um if you have accepted Jesus as your savior, if you are confident in your salvation but have not been baptized yet, that's something to think about and to talk to your parents about and then talk about taking that next step of of obedience and following Jesus' example of being baptized. All right, that's it for today's lesson. We'll have a little treat and then we'll make our way back to our seats. Thank you. [applause] Are you kidding? Thanks for the introduction, Matt. Appreciate that introduction into the sermon. If you read your Bibles, and I hope you do, the passage today will be found in Acts chapter 2 37-41. There's some context before that that will be included as well. Let's pray before we begin. Father, I pray that your word would accomplish your will in your way today. We give you the glory for it. Teach us.

Open our hearts. Jesus name. Amen. The caravan left Partha months ago. I don't remember the exact date, but I do remember the feeling, anticipation, and excitement. The road to Jerusalem is long, a thousand miles long. Plenty of time for your thoughts to wander. Plenty of time for questions to rise. Our caravan formed in Seucia. Families pilgrims traders each one with their own reason for going. The journey involves your senses such as the sense of smell. You have the musky, earthy tones of camels and donkeys, the pleasant aroma of leather from the sandals, the straps, and the bags, and the stale odor of perspiration of people who've been on the road for too long. And then you add to that sense of smell the sense of hearing. Step [snorts] tap. Step tap. Step tap. Feet against the ground and staffs against the dust. Add to that camels groaning that provides the bass sound. Children laughing adds a major key. Donkeys hooves add the percussion section. Leather squeaking adds the melody. There were no silent moments. We followed the Euphrates River northwest. It was on our left and it moved along just as we were moving along. You can't help but to notice all of the dust. It settles into your clothes, into your eyes, into your sandals, and into your throat. It sticks to everything. Each night we stopped. The heat faded, the wind cooled, the fires flickered, the wood smoke filled our camp.

And I sat there with a piece of coarse bread in my hand, still warm from the stones that it was cooked on, sapping up the lentils from my bowl. And when I was done, I leaned back onto the hard ground, looking up at the open sky above me. My mind did not rest, at least not completely. And even in my dreams, my thoughts were filled with the four spring feasts, Passover, unleavened bread, first fruits, Pentecost. Day followed day in our route took us past Adessa and past fields, some some familiar and others not familiar. We the road changed from hardpacked gravel which jarred my knees to a softer gravel which slid underneath my sandals. As we moved along, we snacked on figs, on dates, on olives, bitter but filling, and we washed it down with water, sometimes cool and clean, and other times stale and stagnant. One morning, weeks into the trip, my calves were aching, my feet were burning, and my mind was just thinking, "How far away are we?" Then a voice from a man standing beside me lifted up his voice, and he said, "I lift my eyes to the hill." And automatically I joined in and said, "From where does my help come?" Then the entire caravan responded with, "My help comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth." And just like that, the road changed. Not the dust, not the distance, but how we carried ourselves with more purpose. We were moving towards something. We reached Damascus, a way point. The road splits here. We took the southern route on the king's highway. Along the highway, we could see terrace hills on both sides, olive trees gnarled and firm dotting the hillside and vineyards on the slopes. Even the road changed here. hard stone paving that absorbed the sun through the

day and gave heat off on us all through the afternoon. We passed through towns without lingering, moving further southward. The root, this route was safer. It was familiar. It bypassed Samaria. It bypassed the coastal tolls. It bypassed trouble. But it was still not easy. Mornings were cool and heavy and damp. And I would wrap my cloak around myself as I walked. I could see my breath in front of me. But by midday, the sun claimed everything. Sleeves got rolled up, skin was exposed, and the heat pressed down without mercy. The road ahead of us shimmerred, and we kept moving forward. We were approaching our destination, and that was motivating. Our step was faster, straighter, as though someone was pulling us along. When we neared Jericho, everything changed. Things got green. We crossed the Jordan River there. Cool water flowing. No more stagnant water. No more rationed water. I let it run over my feet and wa wash away the dust. Now the climb begins up to Jerusalem. This is the final stretch. And suddenly we're joined on the road. It fills with camels, donkeys, sheep, goats, families traveling together, pilgrims in multicolored garments from many different lands, trade goods strapped to camels, different voices and different language from different lands. Up, up, up we climbed. The climb stressed my legs. My breath came more difficult now, but I welcomed it because I knew what came next. And before we even saw it, I could feel it. That moment that every pilgrim waits for. And there it was. Jerusalem, the temple

with the white stones reflecting the light and the gold glimmering in the sun. As we neared the city, the road was filled with palm frrons. I was glad when they said unto me, "Let us go to the house of Yahweh." The words left effortlessly. And then the next psalm says, "Our feet shall stand in your gates, O Jerusalem." Jerusalem was not just a destination. It was an experience. We had arrived before Passover on the 14th of Nissan, the feast we call Pesak with its bitter herbs, unleavened bread, its lamb, its blood, its sac substitute, its deliverance, its freedom. But I never really knew what Passover was asking of me. This year's Passover was unforgettable. Just as the lambs were being offered, a darkness settled in over the whole land and stayed for hours. And if that were not bad enough, in the middle of the darkness, the ground began to shake. priest ran out of the temple screaming that the veil had been torn. I was struggling to figure out what was happening. Then on the very next day, the second feast began, the feast of unleavened bread, kag ha matsot. It was the 15th of Nissan. To me, unleavened bread represents the complete removal of corruption. Just like those three criminals that were executed outside the city yesterday, our people prepare for the feast of unleaven bread. I remember my imma, my mom. She would take a lamp and search through the entire house for levan. She looked under cushions. She looked inside jars. She looked in the corner for the smallest crumb that could be hiding. No leaven could remain. Not even a crumb. This seemed a little

excessive to me. What difference could a little crumb make? And yet Emma searched every year, year after year. I also would listen to my Abba tell the stories of how Israel left Egypt. They left in haste, he would say. There was no time, he would say. Yahweh brought them out with a strong hand, he would say. I heard all these words my whole life. Yet, I still wondered. Throughout all those years, I noticed some things about the feast of unleavened bread. How easily a crumb could be missed, how quick, how quietly it hides, how thoroughly it must be sought out and removed. And it seemed, although I'm not sure, that it was about something much more important than just the house. It was about something inside of us, something I did not yet have words for. Then the very next day, the third spring feast began. The feast of first fruits. This sneaks up on me. It follows right on the heels he heels of Passover and unleavened bread. During this feast, the priest brings out a sheath of barley. It's small compared to the entire harvest in all of Israel. Very small. A single bunch of barley, not winnowed, >> not ground, not baked. The priest takes it and he waves it before the Lord and that's it. So simple. I wondered if I had misunderstood something. I would ask Aba and he would say, "Watch carefully, son." So I watched every movement, every gesture, every year I watched and still wondered, "What does this offering mean?" And then there was Yahweh's command

about this feast. And you shall eat neither bread nor grain, parched nor fresh, until this day, until you have brought the offering before Yahweh. This is a statute forever for all your generations in all of your dwellings. That's the way it was. Not a taste, not a handful until that sheath was offered to Yahweh. That prohibition always unsettled me a bit. The harvest was plentiful. The grain was ready. And yet we must wait until this one important sheath was lifted up. Sometimes when I stood in the field in Partha, I would grab a sheath and and wonder, is this just like the sheath that the priest list lifts in the temple? How can one sheath make an entire harvest acceptable? I don't know. But every year when the priest lifts that R and moves it before the Lord, I feel something I cannot explain. A kind of permission, a kind of hope, a kind of promise as though something was being accepted. Then from Passover on the 14th of Nissan, we count seven sevens, seven weeks of seven days. 50 days after Passover comes the fourth and final feast of the spring, Pentecost. We offer 10 burnt offerings, seven lambs, one bull, two rams. Then we offer a sin offering, a male goat. After that, there are four peace offerings, two lambs and two loaves of bread, leavened loaves. That morning on Pentecost, I entered through the Hula gate in the southern wall of Jerusalem. As I entered, the priests were busy

singing in the courtyard. Their melody, harmony, and volume blended with the instruments in the background. If someone had entered distracted, their music would have helped them to focus on what was at hand. The two lambs of the peace offering were offered first. The fire did its work. The smoke rose. The aroma rose. I remember asking Aba, "But what about those two loaves, Aba? Why 11, Aba? Are we not supposed to keep leavenan away from our offerings? He was not troubled by my question. They are peace offerings, he said. Then the priest brought out the two loaves. Everything seemed to slow down, golden, thick, unmistakably made with levan. The priest lifts them and waves them between the altar and heaven. the altar in heaven. When it was time to leave, I exited by a different gate. The crowd moved me towards the Shushon gate. Not quickly, not roughly, but steadily, like waters finding a path. Inside the temple, everything had been bright. But as I crossed underneath that gate, the air cooled, the footsteps echoed, and the singing dampened. On the other side of the gate, the light hit me again, brighter now. I was beginning to wonder in a way I never had. I had not come to see an offering. I'd come to be an offering. All those years of leaving the leaven behind me. The years of lifting up the sheath. All those years of the two unleavened loaves. They had led me to this point. And although I couldn't quite figure everything out, I knew this. Yahweh was guiding me and he would help me to understand. Moving away from the temple,

something got my attention. It was it just the shift in the air? Was it the strange echo between buildings that happens in Jerusalem with the narrow streets? Sounds echo throughout the narrow streets. But then I heard it again, stronger this time. Not loud exactly, like something moving. I slowed down and others did too. Did you hear that? They would ask. It's not like a song. It's not like voices. It's more like wind. Not the kind of wind you feel on your skin. Not the kind of wind that you hear, but a low rushing sound from somewhere ahead. People began moving towards it. Not out of curiosity. It was a summons. Arriving at a group of houses, the crowd had already begun to assemble. People pressing, craning to see. The sound got stronger there, as if it were coming out of one home. But how could one home hold that kind of a sound? I stopped and listened. The sound, it sounded like wind, but wind scatters. Wind drives things apart. And this was drawing people together. My mind flashed back to Mount Si, which happened about 50 days after Passover when the Israelites left Egypt. Yahweh had come down with fire and wind on top of the mountain. But this storm, it's moving people towards it. In that day, it moved people away. I stepped close enough to hear more than just wind. Voices, many voices, and then what seemed to be fire over each man. Again, my mind flashed back to Sinai with the fire in the storm. The men inside were all speaking, but not in their normal Galilean language. Then I froze. I heard it. Parthion, my language, clear, fluent,

unmistakable. I searched for the speaker and found a Galilean. His clothes, his accent, everything about him said, "Not from my part of the world. And yet he spoke of Yahweh. He spoke of his power, his mighty works, his faithfulness. His words seemed alive around me. Others reacted as I did. Heads turning, eyes wide, voices trembling. How we hear them in our own tongues. Before I could gather my thoughts, a man stood above the rest, not shouting, his voice carried, steady, certain undeniable. Men of Judah, he said, and all who dwell in Jerusalem, listen. And I did. I leaned forward and I hung on every word. For these people are not drunk as you suppose since it is but the third hour of the day. In the last days it shall be Yahweh says that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. Your sons will prophesy. Your daughters Your young men will see visions. Your old men will see dreams. Your male servants will prophesy. your female And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of Yahweh shall be saved. Then he said, "Men of Israel, Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by Yahweh, with mighty works, with wonders, and with signs that Yahweh did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know." This Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and fornowledge of Yahweh. This Jesus you crucified and killed by the hands of

lawless men. The words struck [snorts] struck me sharply. They cut through every defense. I had heard that name. Everyone had Jesus. Caiaphas claimed that his body had been stolen a couple days after he was buried. There had been rumors traveling throughout Jerusalem of him being seen after his death meeting with his disciples. Yahweh raised Jesus up. Then it came, it came to me, raised Jesus up. Just like the first fruits, Jesus was the first fruit. The man said, "Let all of is the house of Israel therefore know for certain that Yahweh has made Jesus both Adonai and the Messiach, the Lord and the Messiah. This Jesus whom you crucified." And then he said something that made my chest tighten. This strange speaking, the fire, the wind. This was from him, from the one we had rejected. Yahweh has made Jesus both Lord and Messiah. I called out, "Oh Yahweh, be merciful to me a sinner." The realization of my guilt pressed in from every side. Then a voice broke through the crowd behind me and yelled out, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Silence fell, but the answer came quickly. "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission or forgiveness of your sins. Repent. Don't perform. Repent. Don't prove. Repent. Don't clean yourself up and then come, but change your thinking. Turn from what you were trusting in. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Just like that barley loaf. The first had already been accepted. I stood there unmoving. And for the first time in my life, I understood this was not about an imagery or a pattern. It was about a path. Not become clean then come, but instead the first has been accepted, so now come. And with many other words, he bore witness and continued to exhort us, saying, "Save yourself from this wicked generation." When I stepped forward from the crowd from my wicked generation, I was not trying to solve anything anymore. Many moved together with me slowly, not forced, not hurried, but purposeful. Then the man who had spoken Parthion, my language, led us toward the temple to one of the ritual immersion pools. They're called the mikvaote. They're small. They're not fancy. No gold, no white stones. Just water and stairs going down and stairs coming up. There were a line of people as far as I could see. When my turn came, I stepped forward. Ankles, then shins, then my knees. With each step, the world grew quieter, then my waist, then my chest. It seemed that every step was a border or a boundary I was crossing. I stood before the man who spoke Parthion and he asked me, "Have you changed your mind?" I thought for a moment of my sin, of what I had been hiding my whole life. And then I thought of the message of Jesus and said, "I have changed my life. I have changed my mind." He asked, "Do you trust the lamb, your substitute, the one God accepted and glorified?"

And I said, "I do trust him." Then he said, "Be baptized." And he put his hand behind my back, leaned me back into the water. The waters closed over me. The light dimmed, the sounds dimmed, and for a moment it was darkness. Then he lifted me up out of the water. Air filled my lungs again. Light filled my eyes and things were not the same. I stood there dripping with my from my hair, from my beard, from my clothes. And the world was different around me. I exited out of the mikva and I looked at the people all around. It was the same people. It was the same dust that followed me for a thousand miles on the trail. And yet nothing was the same. The questions gone. The striving gone. The quiet things that I had kept hidden in my heart gone. I moved aside and the next man entered into the pool. Behind him, dozens more, hundreds. And beyond them, still more coming. I looked at their faces as they came out of the water. Different ages, different lands, different tongues, but the same expression on every face. as if they had finally stopped looking for a way in. All of the these feasts had never been about me bringing something to Yahweh. It had been about him bringing me to him. All the journeys, all the questions, they were leading me to this place, to this moment. The leaven bread was my own corruption. The hidden things, the quiet things in my heart, the parts of me that I could not clean. The sheath was Jesus. He had to be lifted first. Now, the sound in the city carried on. The merchants yelled. You could hear the footsteps. You could hear voices. But I didn't hear them in the same way anymore because now I knew where I stood. Not outside, not waiting, not trying to

become worthy. I had been brought near. The harvest has been has begun because the first fruit was lifted and now the rest of the harvest could be brought in. I took a step forward into the street and for the first time I was not searching after Yahweh. I was walking with him. It was Yahweh's truth about Jesus that made me repent. It made me change my mind. It was my own emotions about and sorrow for the what I had put Jesus through that made me repent and change my mind. It was Yahweh's kindness, his tolerance, his patience that made me repent and change my mind. And for the first time in my life, I understood. Now I am the offering to Yahweh, a living sacrifice to be used by him. It is a little embarrassing that it took me so long to put all these pe pieces together. I was surrounded by religion, a regular in the temple, taking part in worship, giving my shekels, singing Yahweh's psalms, traveling thousands of miles for the feasts, deserving of death, trusting in a religious system instead of trusting in the Messiah. It is so easy to be surrounded by religion. to be a regular worshipper, to be a giver, to be a singer of songs, to be one who needs to repent, one who needs to change your mind, to be at peace with Yahweh. Yahweh says his promise is for you and for your children and for all who will are far off. Everyone whom Yahweh our God calls to himself. That applies to me and to you. I had come to Jerusalem to bring something to Yahweh. But I left Jerusalem knowing I had been brought as an offering, a living

sacrifice, just a leavened loaf offering to serve Yahweh. Let's pray. Father, your word is living. It's powerful. It's alive. And it changes hearts. And we do pray Lord that you would accomplish your purpose, that your word would not return void, but it will accomplish what you set it forth to do. And we trust you with the results in Jesus name. Amen. As we come to the communion table this morning, it's a vivid reminder of the gospel. We remember the gospel that God sent his only begotten son to be our savior, the propitiation for our sins through Christ. Our sin debt has been paid in full once and for all, past, present, and future. Propitiation means that sin requires death as payment to be atoned for. And Jesus died, was buried, rose again on the third day, and later ascended to heaven. Even now he is seated at the right hand of the father, interceding for all who believe in him. You guys can go ahead and start passing out the bread. When we view the gospel, when we think about the communion table, the gospel changes the way that we see God's commandments. When we rightly understand the gospel, we realize that it that if God loved us enough to sacrifice his only son for us, then he is motivated by that same love in every command that he gives us. We do not see his commands as punitive or dictatorial, but instead we receive them as the guidance of our faithful shepherd, leading us into a life that is full and abundant. As Jesus says in John 10:10, "The thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." This abundant life is not only a future promise, but also something we begin to

enjoy even now. And we do not have to wait until Christ returns to experience that life that he gives. As we celebrate this communion, this the Lord's table, there are some responses that we're offering. We obey this his command. Do this in remembrance of me. We remember the gospel and we celebrate the abundant life that he gives us and we look forward to his return when we will join him at the marriage supper of the lamb. I invite you as we uh wait to take the bread together just to be considering the gospel the impact that has had and the difference that it has made in your life. Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] >> Are you [music] >> [music] >> Pray with me. Father, I thank you for these symbols that remind us of the debt that has been paid. your body that was broken and pierced for us. And I pray that Father, we would not see this, we would not celebrate this carelessly, but that we would celebrate it um with full awareness of that abundant life that you so freely give us and want us to enjoy. We thank you for this in your name. Amen. Take ye in uh do this in remembrance of me as he says >> [music] >> In the same way, he took the cup also after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink in remembrance of me. I invite you now to join in singing the duology. Praise him all creatures here. Praise [snorts and singing] him above heaven.

Praise father son and holy ghost. Thank you. Don't forget the benevolence offering and if you've not come prepared, you by all means can do that online as well. So, thank you.

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