IT: What We Believe: Apostoles, Baptism and Communion

Good morning and welcome to CCC

What a joy it is to be here with both you who are here in person and those joining us online

We will have a meeting to discuss summer camps on Jan 19th right after services in the fellowship hall

we will plan two fundraisers for camp scholarships and explain expectations to receive those scholarships

Students who want to attend camp, their parents, and all who would want to go to camp as adult chaperones need to attend

Christmas is right around the corner and we have some events coming up that I want everyone to mark their calendars for and find a way to attend

Christmas Eve communion will be on Tuesday 12/24 at 5 pm. We will worship, have a Word from God and take communion together

Worship night will be on Tuesday 12/31 starting at 6 pm with worship followed by potluck meal, bring whatever you would like to bring and at some point....probably not midnight we will have a message and take communion together to prepare our hearts for the new year of ministry and serving God and each other

Let’s Pray

This morning we continue with our IT sermon series What we believe with apostles, baptism and communion

1 Apostles

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We believe apostles are no longer with us

They were used by God as eyewitnesses of Jesus to take the gospel of Jesus to the world

We believe apostles had to be with Jesus in order to be an apostle

they walked with Him

they learned from Him

they lived with Him

Eyewitnesses

Acts 1:21–26

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“So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”

Here is a description by God through the apostles of what was required to be an apostle

They current apostles were appointed by Jesus and followed his lead to replace Judas

eyewitness

there from baptism of John to when Jesus returned to heaven

The second thing that made one qualified to be an apostle was the ability through the Holy Spirit to do miracles

Hebrews 2:3–4

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“how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”

First spoken by Jesus...

Lord here is Jesus

then confirmed by them that heard....eyewitnesses

given signs and wonders and various miracles

Clear eyewitnesses with Jesus and given power....miracle power by God through the Holy Spirit

No eyewitnesses left today so there is no way to be an apostle today

Many claim to be an apostle but their claim is not scriptural

many point to Paul....he was not an eyewitness…he was even killing Christians

he didn't live with Jesus during His earthly ministry

that is correct

Paul wasn't present with Jesus from John’s baptism to Jesus ascension

However Paul spent 3 years with Jesus in the desert being taught by Jesus Himself

Galatians 1:12

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“For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Paul himself tell us that Jesus Christ through revelation taught Paul the Gospel

How do we know it was in the desert for 3 years

Galatians 1:17–18

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“nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days.”

Paul was in the Arabian desert for 3 years with Jesus learning the gospel in preparation for his ministry on earth

Paul was an apostle....the last apostle

God warned of false apostles

2 Corinthians 11:13–15

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“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”

We believe the authority of the apostles has been replaced by the authority of rightly dividing scriptures

Scriptures remain the total authority of God’s will on earth until the Lord Jesus returns

Therefore anyone claiming to be an apostle today is wrong and not within the bounds of scripture

2 Baptism

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We believe that, while Baptism is not a requirement to be saved, it is an act of obedience to the Lord and is expected of every son or daughter of the Lord

We also acknowledge there are sometimes extenuating circumstances for example the thief on the cross, death bed salvations etc

We believe that the act of baptism is the signing of the new covenant, replacing physical circumcision which was the signing of the old covenant

We believe that baptism is a condition of the person’s heart being baptized

Let’s dive into those beliefs

Genesis 17:1–11

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When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”

9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.

We see here the old covenant

a physical covenant marked…signed…entered into by physical circumcision

However as usual humans messed that up

In II Kings 17 we see Israel provoking God to anger....I encourage you to read all of II Kings 17 but this morning we are going to look a few verses

2 Kings 17:17

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“And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings and used divination and omens and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.”

The Israelites had turned to man’s religion instead of God…they were sacrificing their sons and daughters as offerings

using divination and omens

Living opposite of God’s instructions and expectations

Rejecting God for the world!

We must be so careful to keep God as # 1 in our life

we must be so careful not to replace God with the world and sin like the Israelites did here

Lets look at God’s response

2 Kings 17:18

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“Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight. None was left but the tribe of Judah only.”

Northern 10 tribes gone…removed out of His sight.....He sees everything so gone all but Judah

Judah didn't fair much better

2 Kings 17:19

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“Judah also did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the customs that Israel had introduced.”

Judah also failed to keep commandments of God but walked in the ways of the world

They followed Israel and the customs that Israel had picked up from the evil surrounding them

they traded God for the world

Again how many of us do this? Trade God for the world…chase the world and reject God

God responded here as well

2 Kings 17:20

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“And the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel and afflicted them and gave them into the hand of plunderers, until he had cast them out of his sight.”

Judah also cast out of Gods sight…gone....

All the descendants of Israel were afflicted and given to plunderers and cast out of His sight

Gone

God kept his word to Abraham in the remnant he set back but Israel....physical Israel is gone…rejected God and His ways therefore they were cast out of Gods sight because they wanted the world not God

Today through Jesus we enter into the new covenant......spiritual in nature not physical in nature as the old covenant was

Galatians 3:26–29

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“for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”

We see the new covenant

the new seed

the spiritual seed

The old is gone the new is here....because of Jesus and His work on the cross the old covenant is fulfilled and replaced with the new covenant

it is no longer about a physical seed or a physical bloodline but in Christ it is about spiritual seed and spiritual bloodline

All Christians are spiritual Israelites

Baptism is a sign

a physical act

a physical display of a spiritual change

Colossians 2:10–12

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“and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.”

Physical circumcision has been replaced by spiritual circumcision

circumcision without hands

circumcision of the heart

putting off sins of the flesh

how

by circumcision of Christ

He changes your heart

You still sin but you no longer live in and for sin and flesh

When you get baptized you are telling the world you

the old you

the you controlled by sin and flesh are dead

dead and gone

buried under the water just as Christ was buried in the tomb

Dead to the world

Dead to sin

Dead to the lusts and desires of the flesh

Dead to satan

dead and buried

Baptism is you signing the new covenant

you agreeing with God and committing through the Holy Spirit to walk in newness of life

You must change when you truly meet and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior because you die to all that was to walk in newness of life

2 Corinthians 7:1

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“Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.”

That is the newness of life

cleansed from all defilement…the KJV uses all filthiness of the flesh

how

by being washed in the blood of Christ Jesus

there is no other way

Baptism doesn't save you

baptism doesn't cleanse you

only Jesus does that

baptism says I have been saved

i have been cleansed

I commit to walking in the newness of life

baptism is an outward expression of an inward change

it is telling the world the old me is dead and gone

i am entering into a new covenant with Jesus

my heart has been circumcised by Christ Jesus!

That results in a new life

that results in a new walk

that results in a change you.....if it doesn’t you must question was it real

Finally this morning Communion

3 Communion

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We believe that the communion bread and communion juice are in and of themselves not holy but serve as a reminder for us who are believers living on the earth, to remember Jesus

Who He is

and what He has done for us

We believe that, just like baptism, communion is a condition of the heart and has nothing to do with the actual physical elements being used, wafers, bread, crackers, juice, actual wine again those are in and of themselves irrelevant

Matthew 26:26–28

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“Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

The bread reminds us of His beaten....broken....bloodied body

all done for you and for me

He took your punishment

He took your beating

He was broken in your place

His perfect body became sin for you and me so we can become perfect

that is why when you eat the bread you must remember the great sacrifice Jesus was…is…and always will be

The juice reminds us of His blood

His perfect blood

willingly spilled out for us

The blood that cleanses you from sin

the blood that brings you back into right relationship with God

without His blood shed for you

shed for the remission of your sins or you would be doomed to hell

We must approach communion correctly

1 Corinthians 11:27–29

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“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.”

Very strong words

Communion is never something you are to take lightly

that is one reason we do a communion meditation before we take communion

you must examine your heart

you must make sure you are taking communion for the right reasons and not checking a box

it is okay to realize you have something you must deal with and not take communion on a Sunday morning

that is not only okay but scriptural.....put it down....deal with God and come back to communion when your heart is right

You must also have the Holy Spirit examine you

why

so you may eat in a worthy manner because your heart will lie to you

you will think you are good when you are stinking and rotting

you will think you are good when your heart is full of evil

We are going to take communion this morning but before we do I want to offer a time to do what scripture says and examine ourselves

I am going to have invitation now......as the song plays I want you to ask God to show you your heart

where do you stand

are you ready to take communion

are you preparing to take it for the right reasons

do you need to come to the altar and deal with something so that you can take communion with the right heart

maybe you have something else that you must deal with....the altar is open.....the altar is always open....if God calls during worship....come......if God calls during the sermon come…don't wait go right then and there.....you wont distract anyone or bother anyone....do what God lays on your heart

As this song plays examine yourself to prepare to take communion

INVITATION SONG

If you do not have a communion cup please get one if you are saved and ready to take communion

Please take the bread

The bread again reminds us of Jesus perfect…sinless body

that was beaten beyond recognition

that was battered

that was spat upon

that was broken for you and for me

that body that climbed up on the cross willingly to die in your place and my place

take that body....represented by the bread and after i pray eat

Pray for bread

Lets eat together

Please take the juice

the juice reminds us of Jesus saving blood

the blood He shed and spilled out for you and for me

the blood that cleanses us

the blood that makes us white as snow

the blood that forgives our sins

the blood that reconciles us back to God

Pray for the juice

Lets drink together

Closing prayer