Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Welcome to the January 18th sermon from Clifford Baptist Church, 635 Fletcher's Level Road in Amherst. Today's scripture is Matthew 28 verses 19 through 20 and Luke chapter 22 verses 14 through 20. And the sermon is entitled Go ye do this in remembrance of me, delivered today by Pastor Jeffrey Campbell. If you walk into my office, there are four pictures that are on the wall. Now I will say this bookcases are around some of those walls. But there are four pictures that hang on the walls of my office.
[00:00:31] The first one is a picture of eagles.
[00:00:35] It references Isaiah 40:31.
[00:00:39] It is a gift to Doris Bainbridge's husband Clarence many years ago. And it has made its way to my wall.
[00:00:48] Every time I look at that picture, I remember Doris, who was our organist for years, faithful member of this church. But I'm also reminded that we can look to the Lord and he will give us that strength to mount up on eagle's wings. The second picture on my wall is a picture of two hands, the Lord's hand and Psalm 62:8. That God is a refuge for us is written underneath of that. But that picture hangs to the left of my desk. If I'm seated at my desk, that picture hangs to the left. And I cannot tell you how many times I've looked at that picture to be reminded of this, that God's hands guide us.
[00:01:30] There's a picture on my wall where Jesus is calling his disciples to come and follow him, that he would make them fishers of men.
[00:01:42] And then there is a picture of Jesus with washing his disciples feet. A reminder of Christ's example and the call to servanthood to those who love Jesus.
[00:01:53] Those four pictures carry powerful meaning. They're not just there to take up wall space.
[00:02:00] If I come into your home on a visit, I'm gonna look at your walls.
[00:02:05] I'm not gonna look at your sink and I'm not gonna look at your table.
[00:02:09] I'm gonna look at what adorns your walls. And if your house is like my house, there are things that hang on the walls that maybe we walk by every single day. They hold meaning to us. But over time, as we walk by them and walk by them and walk by them, they kind of lose their meaning in some ways.
[00:02:29] There's also two pictures in my office on a wooden cabinet there.
[00:02:38] And there are pictures of my two boys, Levi in middle school playing basketball and Levi as a young little boy playing baseball.
[00:02:48] And let me tell you this, my times have changed.
[00:02:52] I look at those two pictures and I'm reminded time is going by so fast.
[00:02:58] There's one other picture that hangs in my office. It's a hand drawn picture of a little girl.
[00:03:04] I took a thumbtack and I put it on my bookcase to be reminded that as she drew this, it is Jesus on a cross with the words this. Thank you so much, God.
[00:03:18] Sometimes we walk by the pictures in our homes and the things that have lives and we lose track of things we fail to remember on a daily basis of how good God has been to us.
[00:03:34] And so today I'm grateful that there are two pictures that are given in scripture that the church cannot forget.
[00:03:42] There are pictures of the gospel at work in the lives of the church and in the lives of the people.
[00:03:49] And we can be guilty as Christians of seeing these pictures, even sitting in and observing and just, oh, I've done that before, I don't need that anymore.
[00:04:01] We can be guilty of taking a little cup of juice and just taking it down and saying, oh, that didn't taste right.
[00:04:08] Taking a little wafer and crunching it up in our mouth and realizing that the taste is more important than the meaning.
[00:04:17] And so what I'm calling the church today is to remember the two ordinances that God has given the church to to continue in and to continue on in until he returns.
[00:04:34] The church should be baptizing people and the church should be meeting together to partake in the Lord's Supper to remember the great sacrifice of our Savior.
[00:04:49] And so today, very quickly, I want to break those things down for us as a people, as a church.
[00:04:57] The first question today I want to look at is this.
[00:05:01] What is an ordinance?
[00:05:03] For some of you, that's a bad word. If you live in a homeowners association or if you live in the town, they put out ordinances all the time.
[00:05:11] You know, your trash cans got to be here. Are you in trouble?
[00:05:15] I'm glad I live in the country and I take my own trash off. I did live in the town. The trash delivery was nice, I will say that.
[00:05:25] But there's some ordinance that regulate us so tight that we get upset and angry and we're mad at those ordinances.
[00:05:32] But why do we consider the Lord's Supper and baptism the only two ordinances of the church?
[00:05:38] Because these are not ordained by man.
[00:05:42] These are ordained by Jesus Christ. Jesus himself. He has ordered and commanded his believers to continue in these two things.
[00:05:53] So when somebody quizzes you and asks you what are the two ordinances of the church, your answer is this. Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
[00:06:02] I want to be honest with you, Pastor Clyde's dad, Clyde Moyer Sr.
[00:06:08] When I was being ordained as a pastor, I was scared to death of this man.
[00:06:15] He kind of had an intimidating look for those that remember Clyde Sr.
[00:06:21] But he looked across the table at me and he looked at me as a young boy coming fresh out of the Methodist church into the Baptist circles. And he looked at me and said, what are the two ordinances of the church?
[00:06:34] I want to give you that answer, okay? That's the answer.
[00:06:38] If somebody ever asks you, but why are they important to us? Baptism and the Lord's Supper give clear pictures of the Gospel's work in the life of the people of the church.
[00:06:53] And so that's the picture of God working.
[00:06:57] It is the reminder that God has paid an excellent price for your freedom and for your life and for your forgiveness for through his shed blood on the cross.
[00:07:10] And it is a challenge for each of us to live our lives in such a way that glorify God each and every day.
[00:07:20] Now, what about baptism?
[00:07:22] If you have your Bibles, Matthew, chapter number 28, go to the end of the chapter Matthew, chapter 28. There are two verses that I want to share with you today. Matthew 28, verses 19 and 20. And just so you know, we will go to Luke here in just a minute. I love to hear the pages turning.
[00:07:40] I'm grateful for that.
[00:07:42] Matthew 28, verse number 19 says this.
[00:07:46] Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you alway even unto the end of the world. And amen.
[00:08:05] These words from Jesus, we understand those or we can relate to those as the Great Commission.
[00:08:12] It is a command of action. And as verse number 19 starts, where it says, go ye therefore, that language is this. As you are going, as you are living life, as you are walking through life, these are the things that you are supposed to be doing. And the people of God.
[00:08:32] And we see the first thing that Jesus mentions is to teach all nations.
[00:08:37] Now listen, Church, all nations is all nations.
[00:08:40] All nations is not Sunday morning at 11 o' clock teaching all nations about Jesus or the people around you and the people of different color and the people of different nations, that we are to go to those people with the truth of the gospel and that the gospel with will change their life.
[00:09:01] But that cannot happen if the people and at the church are not going or as they are going and taking the truth of God with them.
[00:09:11] But after you teach, we are given the instruction to baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever. I have commanded you so that command of baptizing them, we see that in these words he is commanding and addressing those followers that will commit to teach the Word that will baptize those who are believers and that will continue on into believing faith and living lives that show faith.
[00:09:48] There are many questions that are surrounding baptism.
[00:09:52] And the first one is this, who should be baptized?
[00:09:56] And my answer to this is, anyone who believes.
[00:10:00] If you are a believer, you should be baptized according to God's word. This isn't Jeffrey's opinion. This is God's word.
[00:10:10] So if you are a believer sitting here, maybe you're saying, yes, I believe in Jesus, but I've never taken that step of baptism. Here's what God's Word teaches us.
[00:10:20] You need to be obedient and following baptism.
[00:10:25] Baptism does not save you.
[00:10:30] Baptism is a symbol of what God has already done in your life.
[00:10:36] But what baptism is, is an outward expression of what God is doing on the inside.
[00:10:42] And if you read the book of Acts, in acts, chapter number two, you will see that 3,000 believed on Jesus. And the Bible says that they were baptized immediately.
[00:10:56] It's amazing when that happens.
[00:10:59] It's amazing.
[00:11:02] In Acts chapter 8, the Ethiopian eunuch says, I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God.
[00:11:13] And what did Philip do? Philip baptized him the same day the Philippian jailer was baptized, the same night Lydia was baptized the same day. All of these are examples of people who believe and follow their belief in baptism. That's why we refer to it as believer's baptism. The belief comes first and then you are baptized.
[00:11:41] Why immersion?
[00:11:42] Why do we dunk them all the way under Baptist?
[00:11:47] Because we think that is the picture of Jesus. That is what the Lord Jesus did himself.
[00:11:52] And we just want to obediently follow what Jesus did.
[00:11:58] When we think about these things, these symbols of baptism, there's also the question of how old.
[00:12:05] And that's one as a pastor, I even struggle with.
[00:12:09] I've baptized more 5 year olds that know more about Jesus than 20 year olds.
[00:12:15] And I've baptized people that are older in life and maybe they don't have anything left, but they wanted to be obedient in those waters of baptism.
[00:12:24] Here's what I want to tell you.
[00:12:27] When somebody is faithful, they will follow in baptism no matter what number, age they hold.
[00:12:35] When I talk to a young child, whether it's five years old or seven years old, I want to understand that they know what sin is and they can tell it to me in a five year old way.
[00:12:48] Most of the time they say it's something bad. I do in sight of Mama and Daddy and God.
[00:12:56] That's what sin is.
[00:12:59] If they understand sin, then you move to see if they understand what Jesus did.
[00:13:04] And today you're going to see a young girl get baptized. That I believe if I gave her the opportunity, she could teach us a thing or two about Jesus.
[00:13:13] And so today there are many that sit there and say, just because you're a certain age, you shouldn't be baptized. I'm not that person.
[00:13:21] The Bible shows us where faith is shown.
[00:13:24] Faith follows in baptism, and I'm grateful for that.
[00:13:31] Some denominations sprinkle, some denominations baptize infants, and we don't do that in the Baptist Church because faith comes before baptism.
[00:13:47] And so today I know there are a lot of questions that may even be in this room when we view what baptism really is. Here's what baptism is not.
[00:13:58] Baptism is not a dedication service.
[00:14:03] Baptism is not a moment where you say, okay, I'm going to dedicate my child, my baby, myself in this moment. No, baptism is a commitment to follow Jesus for the rest of your life.
[00:14:17] As I said, baptism cannot save you. But is it a symbolic act of the cleansing that Jesus Christ has already done on the inside? So today you're going to see seven people come in these waters of baptism and the church as you witness, that it should cause you to remember and reflect when you have given your life to Jesus when you were baptized. And it should charge us together as believers to, to be obedient and follow him.
[00:14:50] I'm grateful that when people are ready for baptism, faith must be present.
[00:14:59] Baptism is a picture of Jesus, death, burial and resurrection. And praise be to God. I want to be accounted among those who identify with Jesus today, seven will come to these waters.
[00:15:15] What about the Lord's Supper?
[00:15:20] Look over in Luke chapter 22.
[00:15:25] Luke chapter 22.
[00:15:29] Starting with verse number 14, I'm going to read through verse 20. It says this. And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said to them with desire, I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
[00:15:48] For I say unto you, I will not anymore eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup and gave thanks and said, take this and divide it among yourselves. For I say Unto you I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, gave thanks, brake it, and gave to them, saying, this is my body which is given for you. This do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, the cup is the new testament in my blood which is shed for you.
[00:16:23] What about the Lord's Supper?
[00:16:26] In verse number 19, you see that command to continue on to do it in remembrance of me, of what the Lord Jesus did for each one of us. Paul, writing to the Corinthians in chapter number 11, gives detailed instructions about the Lord's Supper. But he adds this to it as often as you can to show the truth of the Lord's death until he comes.
[00:16:49] Now listen. Baptism, or, excuse me, Lord's Supper. Some churches do it quarterly. That's us.
[00:16:55] Some churches do it every month, some church churches do it every week.
[00:17:02] We're not given the right answer there, but the answer is this.
[00:17:07] When you partake in the Lord's Supper, it is a time of remembrance of what God has done for us through His Son, Jesus Christ.
[00:17:16] And so we gather around the table today to remember not only the death and burial and the resurrection of Jesus, but the price of sin.
[00:17:27] When I come to this table, I am always reminded what the price of sin carries.
[00:17:33] It carries death.
[00:17:37] Someone had to die. Something had to die for your sin and my sin. In the Old Testament, it was animals. And God saw that that was not the plan. He said, this needs to happen once and for all. And he sent his son, Jesus Christ, to be the perfect lamb to die for our sin.
[00:17:56] When we think about this Lord's Supper, it is a time of remembrance, but it also is a time of assessment.
[00:18:03] When we think about partaking of the juice and the bread, it identifies ourself with Jesus, but we also. Number one, before you come to the table, you should ask yourself, do I believe in Jesus Christ?
[00:18:20] You're identifying yourself with Jesus and the belief thereof. But also you are, according to First Corinthians to assess your heart.
[00:18:29] This is not Jeffrey's words. This is God's word, so I can say it and not get in trouble.
[00:18:35] If you have something on your heart, if you have bitterness, unforgiveness, sin in your life, the Bible is clear in First Corinthians, chapter number 11. You go take care of those things before you come to the table.
[00:18:56] So it is a time of assessment, a time that we look within and remember what Jesus has done, but also look within and see if there Is anything that hinders what God is doing?
[00:19:11] The bread. It represents a battered and bruised and broken body that was nailed to the cross for our sin.
[00:19:21] And here's what we believe.
[00:19:23] If you are a believer in Jesus, you are welcome at the table.
[00:19:29] This is not a Clifford Baptist thing.
[00:19:31] This is a believer's invitation. So you are welcome to the table.
[00:19:37] So when we think about these two things, and we're getting ready to witness them, as we think about these two things, we understand reverence.
[00:19:47] We understand remembering. But the significance of Jesus, death and burial and resurrection to each one of us is vital in who we identify with, as we call ourselves Christians today.
[00:20:05] If there is something in your life that needs to be turned over to the Lord, do it before you come to the table.
[00:20:14] My prayer today, and I know this, it's 15 minutes, maybe 20 I've been talking.
[00:20:20] But these 20 minutes, I pray, will get our hearts on the same page for what we're about to not only witness, praise God for, but also partake. And praise God for, as this study calls us to remember what Jesus has done for us.
[00:20:42] I'm going to ask you to examine yourself.
[00:20:46] Are you a believer?
[00:20:49] If so, have you been obedient to follow in baptism?
[00:20:53] You are welcome to the Lord's table. As a believer, we must be careful not to walk by these two pictures, take them lightly, take them for granted.
[00:21:04] And I'm going to be honest, I'll tell the whole church this. I'm thankful for the way that we've gotten back to passing out the Lord's Supper.
[00:21:13] The picture of this is you are serving your neighbor.
[00:21:18] And it is a picture of what we are to do when we walk out of these doors.
[00:21:22] We are take the gospel message, the gospel truth, and we are to pass it one to another.
[00:21:29] It's amazing what that truth will do.
[00:21:33] So, church, in a moment of reverence, I'm going to call you to a moment as we come together in an invitation not to call you to come, but I'm just calling you to the Lord and to search your heart and to look at yourself. Maybe there is somebody here that needs the Lord and God has been working on your heart. Surrender to him. Be obedient in baptism, be welcomed at the Lord's table.
[00:21:59] But I'm grateful for these two ordinances, these two pictures that point us to Jesus Christ and his love for us.
[00:22:07] We open this service today with a song titled Written in Red.
[00:22:12] It is that blood of Jesus that can save anyone from any sin.
[00:22:17] And today, if you haven't realized that my prayer is this.
[00:22:22] That you will allow the Lord to work on your heart in such a way that God will begin that work of changing who you are and putting a new identity within you.
[00:22:37] There's a picture in the Old Testament that God takes an old heart, a stone, and replaces it with a new one.
[00:22:49] That's what we're celebrating today as we gather in celebration of baptism and we gather around the Lord's table.
[00:22:57] May we pray, Father?
[00:23:01] Lord, I know today somewhat different.
[00:23:05] But God, I just pray that you take the importance of baptism and the importance of the Lord's Supper.
[00:23:14] Make us mindful of those right now.
[00:23:17] Lord, maybe for that one that needs you. God, that you will continue, Lord, by your spirit's power to lead them in a moment of invitation. God, I pray that we will search our hearts, that you will search our hearts.
[00:23:31] Bring to our minds the things that we need to submit to you before we ever come to the table.
[00:23:37] God, we praise you for the work of the church.
[00:23:40] We praise you for your spirit's work through teachers and through parents and through Sunday school teachers.
[00:23:48] God, we thank you, Lord, that you are using these people, Lord, to change lives.
[00:23:53] So God, I thank you that ultimately you are the one that does the work.
[00:23:58] God, we praise you for those who have been faithfully teaching our young ones.
[00:24:03] Lord, we entrust them to you not only today and a day of baptism them, but for all of their future.
[00:24:09] We give this time to you now. In Jesus name.
[00:24:12] Amen. Clifford Baptist Church invites you to join us for worship every Sunday morning at 11aM for more information about our church, please call our church office at 434-946-0555.
