Kerry Shook - Instant River
You know we’re concluding this miniseries I’m calling «River Monsters» as we’re learning how to overcome the monsters that are in our minds that keep us from swimming in God’s river of blessing. And today we’re going to look at a really powerful event in the New Testament that doesn’t involve a huge raging river, but instead, it’s about a small pool of water in the desert. But we’re going to see that just underneath the small pool is an underground river of life that is available to all who plunge into its healing waters. It’s in Acts chapter 8. So let me give you some background on the passage.
On the day of Pentecost, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, preaches to the masses, and over 3,000 people commit their lives to Christ and are baptized in a single day. And the early church in Jerusalem just explodes with tremendous growth. But then Saul and the religious leaders start persecuting the church. They stone Stephen, and all the believers because of the persecution are scattered all over. And even this was part of God’s plan to spread the gospel to the whole world. It started in Jerusalem, and now Christianity is spreading. And Philip goes to Samaria, and he preaches the gospel to the Samaritans, and a revival breaks out. But then God gives Philip a really unusual assignment. But that assignment will spread the gospel even further around the world.
So would you stand in honor of God’s word? In Acts chapter 8, verse 26, an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, «Get ready and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert road.» So he got ready and went. And there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. And he had come to Jerusalem to worship, and he was returning, sitting in his chariot and was reading Isaiah the prophet. Then the Spirit said to Philip, «Go up and join this chariot.» Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, «Do you understand what you’re reading?» And he said, «Well, how could I unless someone guides me?» And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
Now the passage of scripture which he was reading was this: «He was led like a sheep to slaughter, and like a lamb that is silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth. In humiliation, his justice was taken away. Who will describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.» The eunuch answered Philip and said, «Please tell me of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of someone else?»
Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this scripture, he preached Jesus to him. As they went along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, «Look, water! What prevents me from being baptized?» And he ordered that the chariot stop. And they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. And the eunuch no longer saw him but went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through, he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea. You can be seated.
Philip was sharing the gospel with a lot of people in Samaria that were coming to Christ, and it was going great. But an angel sent from God tells him to stop that and go south to the road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza. Now this was a desert road that was rarely used, so it doesn’t make a lot of sense for Philip to leave the successful ministry and just go out to the desert road that no one travels on. But Philip obeyed God even when it didn’t make sense. And there will be many times in your life as a Christ follower when God will ask you to do something that doesn’t make sense. Many times God will ask you to do something in His word that you don’t totally understand. And if you’ll just trust Him and just obey, you’ll experience a river of blessing.
So Philip obeys even though it doesn’t make a lot of sense. He goes to the desert road, and there he sees a chariot, and sitting in the chariot was an Ethiopian eunuch. He was a very important court official to Candace, the queen of Ethiopia. Now Candace wasn’t a name; it just means queen, the Candace of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian kings were supposed to be gods, so they were too important to do any work just running the kingdom. They left that to their wives, the queen, the Candace, and maybe because their wives were wiser and weren’t as lazy. But the king was too good to run the kingdom and do normal work. So this man here in the chariot was the queen’s treasurer of all Ethiopia. He was also a eunuch, meaning he’d been castrated. It’s what they would do to servants who watched over the king’s harem or the treasury, thinking that would prevent them from betraying the king.
And it says he was coming back from Jerusalem where he had worshiped. And that shows me that he was seeking after God. He was probably what they called a «God-fearer.» That’s someone who wasn’t a Jew but who wanted to follow the one true God. He was really wanting to know God. He was searching for God. And he had with him an Old Testament scroll. The New Testament hadn’t been written yet; it was just happening. And so he had this Old Testament scroll, and scrolls were very expensive because before printing presses, of course, and every scroll had to be handwritten. So scrolls of the Old Testament were very expensive. And so this shows me in Jerusalem, you know, he was seeking God, and he paid whatever it cost to get his hands on scripture because he really wanted to know God.
So I want us to break down this passage and really dig in. In Acts chapter 8, verse 29, it says, «Then the Spirit said to Philip, 'Go up and join this chariot.'» Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, «Do you understand what you’re reading?» It says Philip ran up. Philip runs up to him, and God runs to us when we’re seeking Him with all our heart. The Ethiopian eunuch was seeking after God, but he didn’t realize all that time God had been seeking after him. He was trying to find the river of life, but he didn’t realize the river of life was running directly to him. Even though he was in the middle of the desert on a lonely road, God knew where he was, and God met him in the desert of his confusion.
And you may feel like you’re in the desert today, and you’re on a lonely road, and no one knows what you’re going through. God knows. God knows where you are, and He’s sending His river of life to you in the middle of your desert. The river of life is running to you, and you’re about to see it. The river of life is running to you. When you seek God with all your heart, God will send a river to you. Your river may be a friend who invites you to church or a friend who tells you about Jesus. Or maybe your river is Woodland Church. You’ve come to Woodland Church, and God is tugging on your heart, and you feel that river starting to rumble in your heart and in your soul. Or maybe it’s a message that I preached or one of our pastors preached recently, and it just started tugging on your heart. Or God will send you a river. God sent Philip to explain the gospel to this man.
The Ethiopian eunuch was reading a prophecy about Christ in Isaiah 53 that was written 700 years before Jesus came. And it described Jesus to a tee, prophesying that the Messiah, Jesus Christ, would come and die for all of our sins. And Philip asked him, «Do you understand what you’re reading?» And what a beautiful way to introduce a conversation about Jesus, «Hey, do you understand what you’re reading here or what you’re trying to find here?» And he said, «How can I unless I have someone to explain it?» And then he asked, «Is the prophet talking about himself here or someone else?»
And Philip says, «Oh, it’s someone else. It is someone else. And let me tell you about that someone else.» And Philip started there, and he preached the good news about Jesus. He preached Jesus to him. And that’s what we do at Woodland Church. It’s not about religion; we kicked religion out the door when we started the church. It’s all about Jesus and a relationship with Him. It’s about experiencing Jesus Christ. It’s about a relationship with the God who created you through His Son, Jesus Christ, the river of life.
And His river of forgiveness and grace is available to everyone who believes. And that’s what Philip preached, and we preach Jesus. He’s the only one that can change your life. But this happens next. Look at it with me in Acts 8, verse 29. Then the Spirit said to Philip, «Go up and join the…» I’m sorry, Acts 8:36. «As they went along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, 'Look, water! What prevents me from being baptized? '» Now Philip had apparently told him about baptism. He preached Jesus to him, and he told him that after you receive Jesus, you’re to be baptized to show that Christ is in your life. Philip had apparently told him about baptism and how once you believe in Jesus, you’re to be baptized to profess your faith.
And right at that time, in the middle of the desert, wouldn’t you know it, they come upon a pool of water. It’s the way God ordains it. Now some scholars think it could have been the Anhanan Spring in the Judean desert. And here’s a picture of it today. And this small pool of water that came from a never-ending underground spring, it’s just right there. Isn’t that just like God? In the middle of the Judean desert, God provides the water at just the perfect time. And the Ethiopian eunuch asked the big question, «What prevents me from being baptized?» He said, «I’m ready. I believe in Jesus Christ. What prevents me from experiencing the river of His grace and blessing?» And that’s the question I want to ask you today. That’s the big question. That’s what this message is all about. What prevents you from experiencing the river of Christ’s blessing?
Maybe you’ve never committed your life to Christ. You think maybe one day, «I’m going to do that. I’m going to really surrender my life to Christ.» Well, what in the world is keeping you from receiving His free gift of forgiveness and salvation? What in the world is preventing you from receiving Christ right now? Is it fear? I mean, are you afraid if you really surrender your life to Christ that He’ll mess up your life? No. He wants to give you life to the full. Or maybe you haven’t followed the Lord in baptism as Christ commands us to, to show that you’ve received Christ. What is preventing you from being baptized and experiencing a river of God’s blessing today? Because obedience brings blessing, and Christ commands us to be baptized after we receive Christ to show that He’s first place in our lives. What could be keeping you? What would be preventing you from being baptized today? Is it because of what people think? Is it because it’s not a convenient time? Is it because it’s a little awkward? What prevents you?
Or maybe you’re a believer, but right now you find yourself in a desert of discouragement. So what’s keeping you from experiencing the river of God’s joy that God promised you? Is it a problem that you’re letting steal your joy today? Is it another person that you’re letting steal your joy that’s rightfully yours? What’s preventing you from experiencing God’s river of joy in the desert? And when they came to the pool of water, the Ethiopian eunuch asked, «What prevents me from being baptized?» Now that question had powerful significance for the Ethiopian eunuch because he was used to being prevented from things. I mean, he just got used to being prevented from so many things.
First, he was black. Even though he was important from where he came from, someone from Africa with black skin was an object of curiosity to Greeks and Romans and treated like a second-class citizen. Just because of the color of his skin, he would have been prevented from a lot of things in that culture. And because he was a eunuch, he would have been prevented from entering the temple. The Levitical law denied the right to give offerings to God to anyone who had a blemish, and it mentions eunuch specifically. So when he came to Jerusalem to worship God, he was denied access to the temple to give offerings to God. And as a non-Jewish God — fearer, he would have been able to go into the outer court of the temple but no further. He found himself on the outside looking in. So when he asked, «What is preventing me from being baptized?» he had just been prevented from entering the temple to worship God and offer his offerings to God. He had always been an outsider looking in when it came to knowing God.
And maybe you think you’re an outsider looking in. Maybe you feel like you’re an outsider looking in when it comes to knowing God. Maybe, like my wife Chris, you didn’t grow up in church and you feel like you’re on the outside looking in to really know what it’s all about. Or maybe you’ve done things you’re ashamed of, and you’re not sure God could ever forgive you, and you feel like you’re on the outside looking in, and you’ll never be on the inside. Just know that God loves you, and He wants to bring you on the inside. He wants to adopt you into His family.
And when Philip comes out to his chariot, the Ethiopian eunuch is reading from Isaiah 53. Look at it with me. This is the passage of scripture the eunuch was reading: «He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation, he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.» You know, he must have been so intrigued and drawn to the words, «In his humiliation, he was deprived of justice.» And the eunuch asked Philip, «Who is this? Who’s he talking about here, this one who is denied justice?» And in Acts 8:35, it says, «Then Philip began with that very passage of scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.»
So Philip told about Jesus, the Son of God, who loved him so much that He came and died to destroy all the barriers that separate us from God and to forgive us of all our sins. So we’re no longer on the outside looking in. We can be adopted into His family. And this salvation is for everyone who believes in Jesus, the one who died and rose again. The pool of God’s salvation is open to everyone who believes in Christ and turns from their sins and receives the free gift of salvation. The eunuch realized at that moment because of Jesus that nothing now prevented him from committing his life to Christ and being baptized. Nothing.
In 1956, just after the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in schools was unconstitutional, Joan Cabel was one of the first black students to enroll at all-white Austin High School in Austin, Texas. Every year, the Austin High annual senior picnic was held at the spring-fed pool of Barton Springs. You may have been there; you may have swum in Barton Springs. In 1960, Joan’s senior year, she was excited to celebrate the end of high school by swimming with all the seniors at Barton Springs. But just before the picnic, Joan and the other black students were told they weren’t allowed to swim in Barton Springs pool because, like so many public swimming pools in the Jim Crow South, it was segregated.
Blacks were denied access to most public pools. And Joan and the other black students were told they could go to the picnic, but they couldn’t swim. But this teenager wasn’t going to be denied. In protest, Joan jumped in, and a teacher went over to her and made her get out. But when they weren’t paying attention, she jumped in again. They would make her get out, but after a few minutes, she would just jump in again. They finally gave up, and she and other black students started swimming. They kind of looked the other way. They could not keep her out of the pool.
And that kicked off a summer of protests called «Swim-Ins,» and it went on all over Texas and all over the nation until two years later, the pool and other facilities at Barton Springs were integrated finally. And in April of last year, the city council approved naming the bathhouse at Barton Springs after Joan Cabel. The bathhouse that she was not able to walk through in 1960 now bears her name.
And I want you to know there is another name, the name that is above every name, Jesus Christ, the perfect one who was denied justice so we could receive mercy. And He took all our sins on the cross, and He rose again so that anyone who turns from their sins and believes on Jesus' name will receive the river of forgiveness and salvation and grace and heaven one day. The pool of salvation is open for all, the Ethiopian eunuch who had always been on the outside looking in and always denied access and told he couldn’t swim in the river of God’s blessing. This man who had always been prevented from the pool now knew because of Jesus that no one could keep him out of the pool.
And no one was going to look again at Acts 8:36. «As they went along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, 'Look, water! What prevents me from being baptized? '» Now that word «baptized» comes from a Greek word «baptizo,» been transliterated, and it literally means to be put completely underwater or immersed. And so Jesus taught scriptures that you’re to be baptized, put underwater and immersed, after you receive Christ, after you believe in Jesus. This man believed in Jesus, and he said, «What prevents me from being baptized now that there’s water? God provided it in the desert! Let’s go!»
You see, biblical baptism, as Christ commands it, is after you receive Christ and make a faith commitment to Christ. You’re to be baptized to show that Christ is in your life. That’s what Christ commands us to do. It’s your public profession that Jesus is in your life. And Jesus said, «If you’re ashamed of me on this earth, I’ll be ashamed of you in heaven.» And so you’re basically saying, «Jesus, I’m not ashamed of You. I want everyone to know that I’m going into the pool to show that You’ve saved me.»
Now why did Jesus command us to be baptized as a symbol of our salvation? Why did He command us? He could have said, «After you receive Christ, what I want you to do is pray and fast for 24 hours to show everyone that you’re a believer.» After you receive Christ, what I want you to do is read John 3:16 in the mall all day long to let people know, or wear a crazy wig and hold up John 3:16 behind a goalpost to show that you’re a believer. I mean, what? He could have said a lot of things: «I want you to pray, I want you to read my word to show you’re a believer.» But He said, «I want you to be dunked.» Why? I don’t know completely, but that’s what He said. He said, «Obey me; I command you to do this.» And obedience brings blessing.
Now, part of the reason is because it represents when you go underwater that Christ died, was buried. When you come up, it represents that He rose from the grave and He’s alive in your life. It represents that Christ washed your sins away. It represents the pool of salvation and God’s grace. It’s a powerful thing, but it’s powerful because obedience brings blessing. And I know that we’re having our big Super Summer Baptism today. What prevents you from being baptized?
I know many at Woodland Church were sprinkled or baptized as babies, and your parents did a great thing. They stood before God in the church and said, «We’re going to do everything we can to raise our child to fall in love with Christ.» But it was their commitment; it wasn’t yours. And you were sprinkled, but you don’t remember it. That wasn’t your biblical baptism. Biblical baptism in scripture is always after the person believes in Jesus, then they’re to be baptized to show that they’re a Christ follower. And if you’ve never been baptized by immersion after you’ve received Christ, I challenge you, I biblically challenge you to get rebaptized today. I’ve rebaptized thousands of people at Woodland Church, and it’s powerful. It’s so powerful. Why? Because obedience brings blessing.
It’s the most powerful thing we do at Woodland Church because it shows life change, and many times it’s generational life change. I want you to look at the next passage in Acts 8:38. «And he ordered that the chariot stop, and they both went down into the river, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him.» Hey, that was instant baptism! They were traveling down the road; they came to water, and he stopped the chariot right then and there. He said instantly, everything stopped. He’s like, «There’s water! It’s time! I believe in Jesus!» What’s preventing me? Nothing! And maybe you’ve been going through life, never being baptized by immersion after you committed your life to Christ.
And right now, I want you to know everything has just stopped. You’re here at an instant river today. What prevents you from being baptized today? You may say, «Carrie, I don’t know enough to be baptized. I mean, don’t I need to take some classes or something?» It’s so interesting. The Ethiopian eunuch, he just received Christ. He didn’t take any classes, did he? He didn’t take 12 classes on baptism, did he? No! What happens is you just follow God in baptism, even if you don’t understand it all; it’s okay. But then after the baptism, God gives you the want to, to get into His word. Get connected. You get connected in Bible study and life group. You start growing in your faith, and God will give you the desire to do that. You’ve got to take the next steps to get connected.
But that baptism is one step of faith into the water, and it takes you a thousand steps ahead in a defining moment. When you’re in a defining moment, there are only very few in your life. I’ve had maybe four or five defining moments in my life, and each time you don’t prepare for them; you don’t expect them. They’re there, and God speaks to your heart. And when you take a step of faith in a defining moment of your life, God takes you a thousand steps ahead. But if you take a step back in fear at a defining moment, it sets you way back. So what prevents you from being baptized today? You say, «Carrie, I’m not ready. I need to clean up my act. I mean, I’m a mess right now, but if I start doing the right things, then I’ll be baptized.» No! You can’t clean up your act! Only God can. You come to Christ just as you are, a mess, and you go into the waters.
And I’m telling you what happens is then God begins to change your life. He’s the one that starts cleaning up your life. He’s the one that starts changing you with His power. Only God can do that. What prevents you from being baptized today? «Well Carrie, I’ve been a believer for years, and I just haven’t been baptized by immersion after I’ve received Christ. But I’ve been a believer for years; I know God’s word; I’m a really strong believer. And if I go into the baptism waters, people may think that I’m just a new believer, and I’m not; I mean, I’m a strong Christian.» Well, who cares what people think? What about what Jesus says? What Jesus commands? I mean, God, when you humble yourself to be baptized and you’re a strong believer but you’ve never followed God in believer’s baptism, He’ll bring you back to the pool until you take that step because you can’t skip over the steps.
And when you humble yourself and you go on that water, not worried about what people think about you, man, He blesses. Obedience brings a river of blessing in your life. Or maybe you would say, «Carrie, what prevents me today is that my parents baptized me when I was a baby. And if I get rebaptized, I mean, I don’t think they’re going to like it, and I think it might make them feel bad, you know, and I don’t know that I should do that.» And I say, «You’re 65 years old! Get over it, man! Stop worrying about what mommy and daddy think! Man up! It’s your time! It’s your decision! You follow Jesus! That’s what you do!»
What prevents you from being baptized today? «Well, I wasn’t prepared. I mean, I didn’t bring any clothes or anything, and I wasn’t ready for it.» You know, the enemy will always give you excuses. When God calls you to do something instantly, that’s really good for you, that’s really life-changing, that’s really powerful, when God calls you and tugs on your heart to do something that’s going to be so good for you, the enemy will give you a thousand reasons why you shouldn’t. But he will never say, «Oh, baptism is a terrible thing! Oh, don’t dare do it!» No, he’ll say, «Boy, it’s a great thing.»
In your mind, he’ll put the thought in your mind; «Oh, it’s a great thing! You really ought to do that.» But not today-just not today. He’ll give you a thousand reasons why you shouldn’t. «Well, we’ve got to go out to eat afterward; we’re planning on this. Didn’t bring my clothes; I’m not ready. Didn’t invite friends? I don’t know; I don’t understand it totally. This is not convenient; it’s not a great time.» Remember, opportunity is a visitor. Don’t assume it will stay; don’t assume it will be back tomorrow.
God put you in a defining moment, and He puts a tug on your heart to do something instantly that is so good for you, so good, and makes such an impact, so life-changing! The enemy will give you a thousand reasons. I’m telling you, you’ll have a thousand reasons why you shouldn’t get baptized today-A thousand reasons, but none of them will be good enough. None of them will be good enough to compare to Jesus' command: «Follow me. Follow me and you’ll experience a river of life, a river of blessing, a river of peace, as I’m going to take you to a new level.» You see, right after Philip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch, Philip was caught up by God, and he found himself in another town. That was the Ethiopian eunuch’s chance right there. That was his defining moment. God ran after him with the river, and the river came.
Don’t let the river come to you, and the river run by, and the river be dry where you’re at. The Ethiopian eunuch went on his way, celebrating, so joyful, and church history says that when he went back to Africa, he started evangelizing, and Ethiopia, Sudan, and all that area that described Ethiopia at the time. Most of the churches there trace their history back to this one man-this one man who changed everything, changed generations, changed a continent; this one man! What’s amazing to me, do you get this? I mean, scripture is so amazing! So he’s reading the book of Isaiah in the scroll. He’s reading. And if he kept going down the road reading, which he probably wasn’t driving the chariot-he wasn’t texting and driving — he was, you know, someone he had an entourage with him.
And so he’s going down the chariot, and so three chapters later in Isaiah, it prophesies about what’s going to happen to him and what just happened. Look at it with me in Isaiah 56:3: «Don’t let foreigners who commit themselves to the Lord say, 'The Lord will never let me be part of His people.' And don’t let the eunuch say, 'I’m a dried-up tree with no children and no future. For this is what the Lord says: I will bless those eunuchs who keep my Sabbath days holy and who choose to do what pleases me and commit their lives to me. I will give them within the walls of my house a memorial and a name far greater than sons and daughters could give. For the name I give them is an everlasting one; it will never disappear.'» Can you imagine the joy when he read that? Probably just a few miles later, he read that Isaiah prophesying about him and what was to come-that the pool was open for everyone who comes to Jesus and turns from their sins and goes into the water to show it.
Wow! I want you to watch the story of a great couple in our church, Chris and Lauren, who today are getting baptized at our Super Summer Baptism. Last year, we baptized almost a thousand people; it was amazing! That’s what’s going on right now. We’ve been baptizing hundreds after each service. And what a beautiful day God provided-God worked it out! I’ve baptized, you know, in huge thunderstorms, you know, where you do get sprinkled and dunked at the same time. We’ve baptized, you know, but God’s provided for you today! But just watch Chris and Lauren.
«Before I turn my life over to God, I struggled for a very long time. Throughout my childhood, I went through some trials, some tribulations. You know my parents got divorced at a young age, and I stopped going to church when I was like 12 or 13 years old. This was kind of right around the time that my mom and a couple of my family members struggled with alcoholism and addiction. When I turned 20, my mom took her own life as a result of her addiction and disease. I was in a pretty dark place after that happened with my mom. I’d been numbing myself with alcohol for close to 10 years and just trying to escape my reality. I was fortunate to be raised by a mom and dad who exposed me to Christianity, and as a young girl, I made the decision to get baptized.
Whenever I was in college and off on my own, for the first time, I wasn’t seeking the Lord as wholeheartedly as I was before. I spent a lot of time searching for all the things to fulfill me. I was just in a really dark place-just lost. Fast forward during that time, I actually had a family member tell me that they didn’t know how to help me. If this family of mine is telling me that they’re not sure what they can do for me, then who am I supposed to turn to? That’s when I realized it was Jesus Christ. That’s when that moment clicked- I don’t want to do what I’m doing anymore. I want to give my life back over to God. I sat down and started reading my Bible more. The word just hit me in a new way. In that moment, it was just like this light bulb went off, and I was like, I can live for the Lord! It doesn’t matter the mistakes that I’ve made; I can still choose to walk in faith and trust Him and let Him love me. And so I rededicated my life to Him.
When I decided to make that change, what a weight off my shoulders! I started getting connected with Him again. I started getting back in the word. I started building that relationship again. One of the biggest things that happened was meeting my now wife, who was also on a renewed journey in her faith. It was such a breath of fresh air to have someone who wanted to really create a foundation of Christ in our relationship. We started reading the Bible together. We started praying together, and then we started going to Woodland Church together. We got started with the membership class, and then after that, we decided to start a life group. It was a really natural progression of all the things.
So last year when Super Summer Baptism came up, we had thought about getting baptized, but I wasn’t too sure yet. So I’ve been baptized as a baby, and I sort of had that kind of structure in my mind like that’s how it was supposed to be done. So I spent kind of the last year reteaching myself about baptism. This year we both decided that we wanted to get baptized now that we’re also members of Woodland Church and becoming more involved in the community here. I wanted to make that public display to everyone and let them know, like truly, my whole heart is invested in serving the Lord. And so to get to do that with my husband is just such an honor to get baptized together and to put Him center focus in our marriage is what I truly believe marriage is for. It’s about putting God in the center of your relationship; it’s just truly amazing, and we couldn’t be more excited for it.»
Would you stand and sing with us?
«There’s a life within these bones. There’s a peace that calms a soul. There’s a love that ever flows. Say, 'Come and drink. Come and drink from me.'» Come to the river. Here in the water, we who thirst will find living water flowing forever, here from the Savior’s side. All our thirst will be satisfied. All our past will be satisfied.
There’s a well that never ends where your healing flows within. There’s a fountain burning deep inside. Well, come and drink. Come and drink from it. But come to the river. Here in the water, he who thirsts will find living water flowing forever from the Savior’s side. Oh, we will be satisfied. Oh, our souls will be satisfied.
Spirit and the bride say come. Let all who hear say come. There’s freedom in the Loving one and His living waters. Even in the bride say come, and all who hear say come to freedom in the Loving one and His living waters and His living waters. Come to the river. He who thirsts will find living water flowing forever from the Savior’s side. Oh, we will be satisfied.
Oh, our souls will be satisfied. The Spirit and the bride say come. Let all who hear say come. There’s freedom in the Loving one and His living waters, and His living waters. That is what it’s all about-life change, Jesus changing a life. The pool is open for everyone who comes, and He wants to do something amazing in your life. And if God’s tugging on your heart, you’ve never been baptized by immersion after you receive Christ-biblically baptized- and He’s tugging on your heart, this is your time. This is your time. God planned it. You may not have even known about it till you got here, but you know in your heart now, and God planned it. God provided for you, and He wants you to take a step of faith so He can take you a thousand steps ahead. This is your time. I really encourage you at the end of our service here; I want you to take this out to the foyer, our dressing rooms, and then out at the baptism. I want everyone to go out there and celebrate. We have ice cream cake, you know, and we just celebrate. It’s a celebration at Woodland Church, but this is your time.
Let’s bow together. Dear God, I pray for those who have never received You and Your free gift of forgiveness that right now they would pray this prayer silently to You, that they would just say, «Jesus Christ, I believe that You died for me and You rose again. I ask You to forgive me of all my sins. Come into my life with Your Holy Spirit and change me from the inside out. Thank You for saving me. I accept Your free gift of heaven one day that I could never earn or deserve. Now help me follow You to be baptized to obey Your command to show that You’re in my life.»
And Lord, I pray for those who have never been baptized by immersion after they received You. Lord, You’re tugging on their hearts. Help them take the one step of faith and You take them the rest of the way so they don’t miss this moment that You planned for them. Lord, the river has run right to them, and the river is rumbling in their hearts right now, but the enemy has given them a thousand excuses. So, Lord, with Your power and Your strength, Your Holy Spirit, help them take that step of faith in Your grace and in Your glory. For it’s in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.