Bury the Old Man: Why Water and Spirit Baptism Change Everything

Sermon outline

Every believer should repent, be baptised in water as the burial of the old man and the start of a new life, and receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, then keep being filled afresh every day in private fellowship with God.

1. Know what you believe and why

   Bible doctrine gives you a firm foundation so that when someone asks about your beliefs you can open the Word and explain them. There is no error in the Bible and nothing in it you cannot understand: open it, use a concordance and study it for yourself, and you will find the answers when people argue with you.

   Illustration: Jehovah's Witnesses are well schooled in a few scriptures taken out of context; they dominate the conversation, never ask your opinion, and at the end try to sell you the book.

   “We've got to believe what we believe and why we believe them, because they are in the word of God.”

2. Our fortune is in the Bible

   Responding to the testimony, he reminds them that we can do nothing in our own strength, but as we abide in Jesus the results follow, so believers can pray in agreement for their own families and see them come through. He warns against people who are thrilled when someone reads out their personal details: what we should be thrilled about is that God lives in us. We may go through trials, but God brings us through to the other side.

   Illustration: He recalls Pastor Adrian preaching that we do not need to have our fortunes told because we already know our future from the Bible.

   “Our fortune is in the Bible.”

   • John 15:4-5

3. Lesson 7: water baptism, buried with Christ

   Romans 6 puts a stop to the idea that grace means you can carry on sinning: we died to sin, were buried with Christ in baptism and rose to live a new life. He names the two sacraments, baptism and Holy Communion, and says communion is taken in remembrance of Christ, never forgetting the cross, where His blood did not merely cover our sins but removed them. True baptism is full immersion, as Jesus was baptised by John.

   Illustration: Over the years the church held many baptisms in a school swimming pool in Greenwood Park, always with a teaching beforehand so the candidates understood what they were doing.

   “Never forget the importance of the cross.”

   • Romans 6:1-4
   • Luke 22:19
   • 1 Corinthians 15:58
   • Matthew 3:16

4. Why we baptise

   Baptism is a strong command of the risen Christ and was the practice of the apostles, who told people to repent, be baptised and receive the Holy Ghost wherever they planted churches. When the crowd asked Peter what they must do, he gave three steps every believer should remember: repent, be baptised in water and receive the Holy Spirit. When you speak to people, weave in repentance wisely and diplomatically.

   “And baptism is a commandment of the Lord.”

   • Matthew 28:19
   • Acts 19:2
   • Romans 10:4-8
   • Hebrews 11:6
   • Acts 2:38

5. What baptism means

   Baptism is the burial of the old man: under the water the old life dies and the person comes up with a new life, the life and presence of God. It is a public confession to people, to God and to principalities and powers, which now see God's seal of approval on that person, and it is a definite break with the world. Believers in the early church were baptised straight after conversion, so do not wait: encourage everyone you lead to Christ to be baptised.

   Illustration: Many used to go clubbing from six in the evening to six in the morning and never got tired, but that door is now closed. To make them smile he adds a word for anyone conducting a baptism: don't dunk them and forget to bring them up.

   “But baptism is a symbol of burial of the old man.”

   • Romans 6:11
   • Ephesians 6:12
   • Isaiah 59:19
   • Galatians 3:27
   • Romans 6:4

6. Lesson 8: the baptism of the Holy Spirit

   The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the promise of the Father and a free gift to every believer, not paid for and not earned by good works. The Spirit brings prophecies, dreams, visions, signs and wonders, but all of them must line up with the Word of God, which is the acid test. He also tells believers to stop talking about good luck and bad luck: the good things they experience are the blessing of the Lord, which makes rich and adds no sorrow.

   Illustration: He was filled with the Holy Spirit as a young man in one of Reinhard Bonnke's meetings. It was a complete renewal: the next day the sun seemed so nice and the trees looked so good.

   “Make sure that your prophecy, dreams, visions, signs, and wonders are all in line with the Word of God.”

   • Matthew 3:11
   • Acts 1:4-5
   • Acts 2:17
   • Proverbs 10:22
   • Acts 2:36-38

7. Resist the spirits of sickness, poverty and religion

   Many who call themselves Christians are not baptised in the Spirit and do not enjoy fellowship with Him, yet it is the Holy Spirit who has kept us, our children and our families time and again. Going beyond the notes, he teaches that sickness and infirmity are a spirit, poverty is a spirit that fills your mind with worry about the bills, and religion is a spirit. Resist them with the Word of God, prayer, the power of God and the Holy Spirit.

   Illustration: You can't help a poor man just by giving him money and a can of soup, though he is not saying you shouldn't.

   “Poverty is a spirit.”

   • Luke 13:11

8. Be filled afresh every day

   There is not just one infilling but many: what we receive is depleted as we deal with the world, so ask God daily for a fresh infilling in your private, intimate time with Him. Pray together as a family and as a church, but also shut the door and have secret fellowship with the Lord. Like the river in Ezekiel that rose from ankle-deep to deep enough to swim in and brought life wherever it flowed, believers are like trees planted by the rivers whose leaves stay green and who lack no good thing.

   Illustration: Being filled with the Spirit in his private time with God feels like having a hot shower after a hard day's work.

   “So there is just not one infilling. There are many infillings.”

   • Ephesians 5:18
   • Matthew 6:6
   • Ezekiel 47:1-10
   • Psalm 1:3
   • Psalm 34:10