To the book of Matthew, chapter three this morning, we have just come through the Christmas season where we have celebrated the birth of Christ. And we have in messages looked at the events surrounding the birth of Christ. What I would like to do in our Sunday morning messages, probably from now until Easter, is just look at some of the events in the life of Christ. A study, if you will, of Christ. Obviously, we'll not look at everything, but we'll be selecting some events in the life of Christ to consider, seeing what they teach us about Christ, what they teach us for our own day. As we do that, we want to turn to Matthew 3 and look at the baptism of Jesus. We don't have a record of His life from the time that He was 12 years old until He was 30 years old. The only thing that we know about those years is that he welcomed other siblings. Mary and Joseph had other children. We read about later on in the Gospels about the brothers and sisters of Christ. And we know that he learned and practiced the carpenter's trade. At one point he's referred to by the people of Nazareth, his hometown, as that carpenter So he evidently learned from Joseph the carpenter's trade, and probably in those years before his public ministry, he carried on that trade. But there came a time when he suddenly appeared at the Jordan River to be baptized by John. And so we wanna ask the question, first of all, who was John, the one who baptized Jesus? Well, we know that he was the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, that they were both descendants of Aaron, which would make John in the line of being a high priest or being a priest through the line of Aaron. John was born in their old age. You remember that Zechariah was in the temple offering incense. And the angel Gabriel suddenly appeared to him and told him that his prayer had been heard. Evidently he and Elizabeth had been praying for a child and maybe had given up hope, but God had heard their prayer. And in his time, he answered that prayer and gave them a child. And this John was that child that was born in answer to Gabriel's declaration. So he was named John by the angel. His name means God is gracious. And when you think about his birth, you realize that through his life and through his ministry, God was gracious to his parents in answering their prayer to give them a child. And God was gracious to Israel because John becomes the forerunner of the Lord Jesus, the one who would prepare the way for the coming of Christ. He was the son of a priest, so he could have served as a priest, but he functioned as a prophet. instead of a priest. That's the same thing that happened with Jeremiah and Ezekiel in the Old Testament. They were sons of priests, but God used them, not as priests, but as prophets. And again, his ministry was to prepare Israel for the coming of the Messiah. and his ministry was foretold by Isaiah. Look there in Matthew chapter 3 and we'll just begin reading in verse 1. It says, Notice verse 3. This is he that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah saying, prepare you the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. In Isaiah 40, in verse three, Isaiah prophesied of the coming of John the Baptist, the one who was to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. And so that was John's ministry. As an ascetic, and if you don't know what that word means, ask the teenagers and they'll tell you what an ascetic is. But basically, when we think about it as someone who lives a very simple life, you might think about a monk in a monastery. John wasn't that, but how they live a very simple life, eat simple food. John lived in isolation. He was in the wilderness, verse one tells us, of Judea. He wore simple clothing. It says in verse four that he had his raiment of camel's hair and a leather girdle about his loins. His garment was either made from cloth woven of camel's hair or a garment made from the skin of a camel, which was the clothing of the poor in that day. And he wore a leather belt as opposed to something fancy. Belts were common in that day, not like we wear belts today to hold but they had a function in that day. But many times they would make their belts very fancy. But John's is very simple. It's just made of leather and there's nothing fancy about it. Again, John was living a very simple life and his clothing spoke of simplicity and even poverty. And his food was simple, locusts and wild honey, verse four tells us. Someone noted that eating locusts is still common in the East among the poor. The heads, legs, and wings are removed and then they're either boiled, stewed, or roasted. and sometimes dressed with butter. So we had a missionary that came to one of the churches we served from Thailand and he brought, I think it was grasshoppers or something like that. They had been dried and I don't know, somehow cooked and then they were bagged and so he brought these bags of grasshoppers or crickets or whatever they were and offered to anybody that wanted and some of the courageous people tried it. And some of us didn't, but nonetheless, They still do that today. And another missionary came. He was a pilot and missionary in Ivory Coast. And they were building an airstrip. And in order to build the airstrip, they had to remove a termite mound. And as the bulldozer was removing that, the termites all came running out. The children that were nearby just came running up and started eating the termites as they were coming out of that. We're not used to that, but it's common even in other parts of the world. And this stuff is available. Locusts and wild honey, the wild honey would have been available in the wilderness. So again, John is living a very simple life. a life of poverty and simplicity, a life of asceticism. And there was a reason for that. He draws attention to his ministry through that. But I would say this morning, we're not called to live that kind of a life today. Now, some people may choose to do that. for the Lord. And that's fine if if if you feel like, you know, I can I can serve the Lord. And by doing this, I can free up some things in my life to be able to the Lord more fully. That's fine. There's a danger if we start looking around at people who aren't living that way and say, well, they're obviously they're not spiritual because they're enjoying the things that God has provided. No, God provides and we can enjoy what God provides as long as we are also generous towards the Lord. and doing the work of God. The thing that we need to be sure is true of us is that our life, by the way that we live, shows people that the material things of this life are not the most important things to us. As God provides them, we can enjoy them. And as God provides a surplus for us, we ought to use some of that surplus to help others and to do the work of God. But we can enjoy the things that God provides, but the unbelievers around us who are living for things of this world need to see in us that those are not the most important things to us, that even to the degree that we enjoy them, the Lord is more important to us. And that's especially true in our affluent society. It would be true in any society, but especially where we have an abundance, and most of us have more than we need. And our life should reflect the fact that the most important thing to us is God and the kingdom of God, the work of God. And we're not trying to get ahead or keep up with the Joneses. We're trying to serve the Lord and use what God has given to us to be a blessing to others and to glorify him. So this is John, he's living this very simple life in the wilderness and people are coming out to him. Verse five tells us, from Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around Jordan and were baptized of him in the Jordan confessing their sins. We know John as the Baptist, or literally the baptizer, because baptizing was a vital part of his ministry. And so you might ask, what is baptism? And that's a good question. The word baptism, as it is in our King James Version, is a transliteration of the Greek word, baptizo. What do we mean transliteration? It means they took a Greek word and anglicized it and so made it baptize. Took the Greek word baptizo and just made it an English word baptize. They didn't translate it, they just took a Greek word and made it an English word. A man by the name of John Broadus who wrote a commentary on the book of Matthew said that in the second or third century, sprinkling or pouring began to be practiced where it was necessary due to the scarcity of water or in cases of illness. And eventually it came to be an accepted practice. And in the 13th century, it was sanctioned by the Pope. And I thought it was interesting that he also noted that the reformers acknowledged that immersion was the original mode of baptism. That's what the word baptizo means. It means to dip or immerse. If they had translated it, that's the way it would have been translated. We would have read, and they were immersed of him in the Jordan, confessing their sins, verse six, instead of they were baptized of him. I don't know, maybe I should know this, I don't know for sure, but I think that the reason that the King James translators didn't translate it but transliterated it, took a Greek word, made an English word, is because they didn't practice immersion, they practiced infant baptism sprinkling. And it would have been very awkward to translate immerse and not practice immersion. So I don't know if that's why they did that. I suspect that that might have had something to do with it. And so we think of it today, we just use the word baptized, but it literally means to dip or to immerse. And again, I thought it was interesting, the reformers, that would be like Martin Luther, John Calvin, Zwingli, those guys, they recognized that the word meant immersion and that was the way the early church practiced baptism. At one point, we were told that John was baptizing near, I think it was Aeon, because there was much water there. It doesn't take much water to sprinkle or pour, but it takes much water to immerse. So John was immersing, and that was the mode of the early church. And even the Reformers acknowledged that, but they didn't practice it. And what is interesting to me is the Reformers actually persecuted uh, the Baptists of their day, there were those who in those days were understanding as they're studying the word of God that their infant baptism actually wasn't biblical. It wasn't right. And so they felt they needed to be immersed having been saved. They need to be immersed. So they were baptized by immersion, and to the reformers and the Catholics of that day, they were being rebaptized. They didn't see it as a second baptism. They saw their first baptism as not really baptism, and so baptized by immersion. But they were called Anabaptists, they came to be known as Anabaptists, and again, baptizing again, because they renounced their infant baptism and were baptized by immersion after their salvation. Now, I will say this, we practice immersion, we believe it's the biblical mode, but we don't separate over the mode of baptism. You know, I've got Presbyterian friends, and we can talk about and discuss the right mode of baptism, but I don't disown them or think that they're not saved or whatever because we don't practice the same mode of baptism. We just don't agree on that. And that's okay. But we do practice immersion because we believe the Bible doesn't teach infant baptism and that the word baptized means to immerse. And so we believe that's the biblical mode and so that's what we do. And that's what John was doing. As people were coming out to him, they were being John. And so he's the one that baptized Jesus. And we read in verse 13, then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him. But let's stop and ask another question. You're asking good questions this morning. And so I know you wanna ask this question as well. You know, not only who is John and what is baptism, but why did John baptize people? That's something that you're curious about. Why was he doing this? Well, again, his ministry as foretold by Isaiah was to call on people to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. He is the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord. Verse three says, make his paths straight, prepare the way of the Lord. And so he fulfilled that ministry of preparing the way of the Lord by calling people to repent. It says in verse two, he was in the wilderness preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He called people to repent. And what is repentance? Another good question. Well, it's a change of mind, a change of thinking that leads to a change of action. I change my thinking about myself and my actions. I agree with God that my sinful actions are indeed sinful and they are wrong. And I should not continue to practice those things. They're sins against God. And so as they come, they're confessing, verse six says, they're confessing their sins, and John is baptizing them as they confess their sins. So they're hearing the message of John, who is saying to them, you're not living right. God is not pleased. You're living in sin and disobedience to God, and you need to turn from that to God and to a life of obedience. And they agreed with John's preaching with God, what God said about their life and their sin. And they confessed it to God's sin and they turned from it. And so in Luke chapter 3, and you don't need to turn, but here's an example of what that repentance looked like for them. It says, beginning in verse 10 of Luke chapter 3, when the people asked John, what should we do? That is, what should we do in repentance? He told them, if you have two coats, give one to someone who doesn't have a coat. And if you have more than enough food, give some to the poor who don't have enough. The tax collectors came and asked him, what do we do? And he said, don't overcharge people. The soldiers came to him and asked, what do we do? And he said, don't harm others and be content with your wages. These were illustrations of what that repentance would look like. These are the things they were doing wrong. People were hoarding their surplus. The tax collectors were overcharging people. You remember Zacchaeus, he confessed that to the Lord and said, I'm gonna repay and I'm gonna pay more. I'm gonna pay back with interest and fulfilling what the law said about that kind of thing. And the soldiers evidently were abusing their authority. And so John is telling them, here's what repentance looks like for you. These are the things that would please God. These are the things that you need to do. And so that message of repentance was a message of agreeing with God about the sinful practices of our life and turning from them through the power of the Holy Spirit. And so as people believed John's message, they confessed their sin, they repented of their sins, and they were baptized by John. And I wanna note this. This is important to understand what's going on here. And let me just quote from one of the commentaries just because they stated it so clearly. The Jews baptized Gentile proselytes. That is, if a Gentile wanted to become a Jew or practice Judaism, if he wanted to become a keeper of the law, become part of the Jewish faith, he doesn't become a Jew, but he practices Judaism. they would be baptized, signifying that they were outsiders who are now are becoming part of Judaism. They demonstrated in effect that they were outsiders who sought an entrance into the people of God. I'm quoting here. It's an amazing admission for a Jew then to do that, for the Jews to come and be baptized of John, confessing their sins and repenting of their sins. What they're saying is, we actually, though we are Jews, Descendants of Abraham, part of the descendants of those who received the law through Moses from God. We actually haven't been living that way. We've actually been living as outsiders. And so we want to actually be the people of God. And so we confess our sins and we're turning from them and we're becoming the people of God that we ought to be. Members of God's chosen race, still quoting, descendants of Abraham, heirs of the covenant of Moses, came to John to be baptized like a Gentile. That act symbolized before the world that they realized that their national and racial descent or even their calling as God's chosen and covenant people could not save them. They had to repent, forsake faith and trust in the Lord for salvation. And so it's that of which the baptism was a public witness as they confessed their sins. They had come into the kingdom just like the Gentiles through repentance and faith, which included a public admission of sins. And Matthew tells us about that. When in verse seven he tells us that the Pharisees and the Sadducees came out to where John was baptizing, and he said to them, a generation of vipers who hath warned you to flee, therefore fruits meet for repentance. And think not to say within yourselves, we have Abraham to our father. For I say unto you that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham, and now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees, and therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire." He's calling them to repentance, but they refused to admit that they were wrong, and they refused to be baptized. In Luke 7, 29 and 30, it says, all the people that heard him And the publicans justified God being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and the scribes rejected the counsel of God against themselves being not baptized of him. They refused to admit that they were sinners, that they had anything to turn from. Many of them felt like, and at one point Jesus challenged them about this. You say that you're saved because you're a child of Abraham? Well, if you really are a child of Abraham, a true child of Abraham, you will believe on me just as Abraham did. It's interesting that many today will not be saved because they're not willing to admit they're a sinner. Many people refuse to be saved because they think they're basically a good person. They think they're going to get into heaven, that one day they're going to stand before God as they die and to meet God face-to-face, and he will say, well, you know, you basically lived a good life, and you're good outweighed your bad, and so I'm gonna let you into heaven because you're basically a good person. But the Bible's very clear that we are not, in the sight of God, good people. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The righteous standard of God that we would have to live up to is an absolute perfection, and none of us do that. We are all sinners before God. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no, not one. I'm not righteous, you're not righteous. In the sight of God, we are all sinners. We're not good people. We may be good in the eyes of men, but in the eyes of God, we're sinners. And we need to admit that and believe that our only hope is found in the death of Christ as he died for those sins, paid the penalty for those sins. Believe on Christ as Savior and we can be saved. Many are not willing to be saved today because they don't want to turn from their sins. They would basically say, you know, if I get saved, then there's things that I do right now I enjoy doing that I won't be able to do after I get saved. Well, there may be some truth in that, but the reality is that if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new. If there's things in your life that need to change, you get saved, God will change your heart, and you won't want those things anymore. And so it begins with trusting Christ as Savior, admitting that you're a sinner and you need God's salvation that's available in Christ and believe on Him. So that's essentially what's happening here is these people are coming to John, they're confessing their sins and they're being baptized as if they're saying we actually were children of Abraham and we were born under the covenant of the law but we actually are not the people of God because we've been living in sin. And they turned from their sin and believed on the one who would come, the Lord Jesus Christ that we read about in verse 13. So then we might ask the question, why did Jesus insist on being baptized by John? Because it tells us in verse 15, I'm sorry, verse 13, Jesus came from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him. But John forbid him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me. John said, you know, I'm the sinner. I'm the one who needs to confess my sin and repent and turn to you. I need to trust you. You need to baptize me, not me baptizing you. But Jesus insisted, in verse 15, he answered and said unto him, Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. And so he suffered that has permitted him. John baptized Jesus. But if John is baptizing people because they had confessed and turned from their sins, why did Jesus insist that John baptize him? He had no sins to confess nor to turn from. Jesus was perfect. He never did any wrong. And yet he's coming to John, and John's baptism is a baptism of confession and repentance and faith, and Jesus needs none of that. So why was he baptized? And what does it mean when he said in verse 15, thus it becometh us, it's fitting, it's right for us to do this, to fulfill all righteousness. Why did he, why was he baptized of John? Well, first of all, because it was the Father's will. In John 8, 29, Jesus said, I do always those things that please the Father. There's many things that Jesus did that, you know, the law didn't say he had to do these things, they were consistent with the law, but he did them because the Father said, this is what you do. So he did it, first of all, it was the right thing to do, it was the righteous thing to do, it was what the Father wanted him to do. But in his baptism, he is identified as the Son of God, the Messiah. Matter of fact, go ahead and turn with me, keep your finger there, Matthew 4, and turn the book of John in chapter 1. John in chapter 1. In his baptism, Jesus is identified as the Son of God. Look at verse 29 of John chapter 1. Again, John has declared that Christ is coming, the Messiah is coming. And so the next day, it tells us in verse 29, John saw Jesus coming unto him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me, for he was before me. By the way, was Jesus born before John the Baptist? You know the story, we just talked about it. John was six months older than Jesus, and yet John says, Jesus was before me. He's declaring that Jesus is God, the eternally existent one. Jesus, though his earthly life began at Bethlehem, Jesus, as the son of God, existed in eternity past. He is the eternal God. And John goes on to say in verse 31, I knew him not, but he that should be made manifest to Israel, Therefore am I come baptizing with water. He's he's baptizing to declare to Israel the one who is coming the one that he's preparing the way for. And John bear record saying, I saw the spirit descending from heaven like a dove and it abode upon him. And I knew him not, but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, upon whom thou shalt see the spirit descending and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost. And I saw and bear record that this is the Son of God. John says, this is what I was told. When you see the spirit descending on this one as he's being baptized, you know that he is indeed the Messiah. And so as he is baptized, We read back in Matthew chapter four, or three, I'm sorry, that when Jesus was baptized, he went up straight up out of the water. That is, John immersed him. He comes up, and as he's making his way out of the Jordan River, the spirit of God descends upon him like a dove, and a voice from heaven says, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. The spirit descends like a dove, the sign that was given to John that this is the Messiah. And He's declaring that to all Israel. And the Father declared the same as He spoke from heaven. And by the way, we have here the Trinity. The Son being baptized, the Spirit descending like a dove, and the Father speaking from heaven. We believe in one God existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And so in His baptism, Jesus is identified as the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior that would come, that had been promised, the one for whom John was preparing the way by preaching, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And so he's identified, he's obeying the will of the father, being identified as the son of God, as God the son, and he's identifying with sinners in his baptism. He had no sins of his own. But he's baptized just like sinners to indicate that he had come to take the place of sinners and suffer the sinner's punishment so that sinners could be saved. Though he had no sins of his own, he was baptized just like sinners, indicating that he was taking their place that would ultimately be fulfilled when he suffered on a cross. He died a substitutionary death. That is, he died in our place. We, because we broke God's law, the penalty, the wages of sin is death. That's what we deserve. Jesus died for us. The Bible says that when he died upon the cross, he became sin for us. All of our sin was laid on Christ. All the sins of all the world were laid on Christ, and God punished his son for our sins. And when he had been punished, the payment was made, the payment in full. Jesus said, it is finished, and gave up the ghost. And the father accepted his death as the full and complete payment for our sins. And through faith in Christ today, we can be saved. Now you've got another question. All right, so let's answer one more. Maybe two more, but they go together. So is our baptism today, the baptism that we practice today, is that the same as that of John, the baptism that Jesus submitted to? And the answer is no. Let me show you. Go to the book of Acts chapter 19. John is preaching a baptism of repentance, confession of sins and repentance in preparation for the one that would come. But Paul, chapter 19 of Acts tells us, was passing through the upper coast, and he comes to Ephesus, and he finds certain disciples, and he says to them, have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? And they said unto him, we have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. We don't know what you're talking about. And so he said unto them, unto what then were you baptized? You were baptized, what was that all about? They said, unto John's baptism. Well, Paul says, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, They which should believe on him, which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. They had experienced John's baptism, but it wasn't the baptism they needed. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them, and they spake with tongues and prophesied. Now, in those days before the Bible was completed, God used those, what we call sign gifts, in this case, speaking with tongues and prophesying as an indication of the reality of their faith and of the gospel. Once the Bible was completed, we believe that those sign gifts passed away. So today, when you trust Christ as Savior, you receive the Holy Spirit and you don't suddenly speak in tongues or prophesy or work miracles or all those things. You just have the Holy Spirit indwelling you. You know, you can get further into that this morning. But I just want to note that. But they were baptized again because the baptism, John's baptism wasn't what they needed. Because the baptism in the name of Christ replaced John's baptism. So what is our baptism all about then? Our baptism is an identification with Christ. When we are baptized, It is a public declaration that we have become a follower of Jesus Christ through faith in Christ, that we are saved, because we have believed on Christ as our Savior. We have admitted our sin and our need of God's forgiveness, and we have believed on Christ and been saved. And our baptism is a public declaration of that fact. There was a man who came to me in one of my ministries and wanted to be baptized. He had been saved. At one point in our pastorate, we had an evangelist come, priest, and this man accepted Christ as his savior. He did not immediately get baptized, but there came a point where he realized he needed to be baptized, he wanted to be baptized, he wanted me to do it, and he wanted to do it in his farm pond, which is fine. And we did. But his thinking was, will you just come out there one day and baptize me? I said, no, I won't. Because baptism is a public declaration of your faith in Christ. I said, but we'll be glad to bring the church out there to your farm. And we'll all stand around. And you and I go down into your pond. And I will baptize you. And that's what we did one Sunday afternoon. We all gathered out at his farm. And he and I went down into the pond. And I baptized him. And the church was there to see his public declaration of faith in Christ. Because that's what baptism is. And that's why Paul's saying, you need to be baptized in the name of Jesus. Your baptism is a public declaration that you are not a follower of John, but a follower of Jesus, the one that John came pointing to as the Lamb of God that would take away the sin of the world. And so when we are identifying with Jesus, we are saying, I am a Christian, a Christ one, a follower of Jesus Christ. And we do that after we have been saved in obedience to the Lord, because Jesus told the disciples, all authority, all power is given to me in heaven and earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, literally make disciples among the 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." There's a process there. Make them disciples, then baptize them, and then teach them to live for God. And it's that order. We're saved, then we're baptized, and then we're disciples. We're taught the things of God. Baptism really should follow immediately upon salvation. Now, we allow people I don't believe we force people to get baptized. We baptize people when they're ready. But we should understand that my baptism is a step of obedience to Christ. If I have trusted Christ as Savior and I know that I ought to be baptized and I'm not doing that, I'm being disobedient to God. And when I understand that, then I need to take that act of obedience. You say, but I'm scared of going under the water. I've never lost anybody yet. Everybody I've put under has come back up. It's not that big a deal. And the Lord will help you. And so I would say to you this morning, two things. Number one, have you trusted Jesus Christ as your savior? Has there been a time when you recognized that you were a sinner in the sight of God? and that your only hope was found in Christ. It wasn't your good works or anything good you could do, but you realized that you needed God's forgiveness and it was available because Christ died in your place and paid for your sins. Have you called upon him to save you? Has there been a time when you trusted Jesus Christ as Savior? And if not, would you do so today? And if you have, have you been baptized by immersion in obedience to Christ, to that command? And if not, would you be willing to do that? And if either of those is true of you, if you're not saved and would like to be, in just a moment we're gonna sing a hymn. You can come and I'll be here at the front and you can let me know I need to be saved and we'll have somebody take you aside and with the Bible and answer any questions you might have and you can pray and receive Christ as your Savior today. If you've not been baptized, let me know. If you want to be, let me know. And we'll be glad to make arrangements to do that. And we would gladly do that for you as an act of obedience to God. Let's stand together for prayer. Our Father, we thank you again this morning for your word and all that it teaches us. And we do pray, Lord, you know our hearts. If there is one here today who's never trusted Christ as their Savior, I pray your Holy Spirit would bring strong conviction on them that they need to be saved and they would not have any rest or peace until they trust in Christ. Lord, there may be someone here who doesn't yet understand fully all that we're talking about. I pray that your Spirit would stir up their heart to seek answers and that they not be satisfied until they understand and are saved. I pray for that one who maybe knows they need to be baptized, and they're struggling with it. Maybe they're a little bit afraid. I pray, Father, that you would help them to take a step of obedience and be willing to be baptized. And Lord, we know that your grace is sufficient to help us in everything that you call us to do. And it won't leave them. You won't leave them in baptism. I pray that they would take that step of obedience. and be baptized. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.