Turn with me, if you would, to
Job chapter 19. Job chapter 19. Just before Psalms. Job chapter 19. True baptism. We're here for a baptism. Actually
we're here to worship God and there's going to be a baptism. True baptism is a work of God's
Holy Spirit. True baptism. It's a work of
God's Holy Spirit. Baptism is God's Holy Spirit
laying hold on a sinner and immersing that sinner into Jesus Christ. That's baptism. That's baptism. The actual Baptism, the actual
baptism, is not something we do. In just a minute I'm gonna
take this coat off and he's gonna come up and we're gonna do something. Baptism, the actual baptism,
is not something we do, it's something God does. Something
God does. Our Lord said in Mark 16, 16,
he that believeth and is baptized, he that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved. Now, believing is faith, right? Isn't that what believing is?
It's faith. And faith is not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. Isn't that what Ephesians 2,
8 says? Not of yourself. Exercise your faith. Well, I
can if God doesn't give me any. It's the faith of Christ. It's
not of myself. It's a gift of God. The gift
of faith and the exercising of faith is of God. Believing is not something we
do. It's something God causes us
to do. It's something He causes us to
do. God does the work. It is God
which worketh in you, both to will and to do His good pleasure,
right? So when our Lord said, He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved, what He was saying was, if God does the work, and
if God does the work, you're going to be saved. That's what He was saying. Acts chapter 15, our Lord said,
known unto God are all his works from the beginning. Isn't that
what it says? If God does the work and if God
does the work, you're going to be saved. And known unto God
are all his works from the beginning. No surprises with him. Oh, I
better do something. known unto God are all his works
from the beginning of the world. So by the time we find some water,
there was an Ethiopian eunuch who heard the truth and he asked
Philip, there's water. What doth hinder me? By the time
we actually find some water, the work is over. It's over. It's all over. It has been long
finished. We are not about to have a salvation. We're not about to have a salvation.
The work is over. It's all finished. Well, then
what are we doing here? Why are we doing this? It's because
our God told us to. That's why. He told us to. He
performs a work on the heart. He does it. And then he gives
us a heart to confess to everybody, this is what God has done for
me. That's what's happening right now. Now something was greatly blessed
to my heart for this message tonight. You're not gonna speak. You're about to come up here
and you're not gonna speak. But you're about to say something.
You're about to say something. This is a confession. We are saying something in doing
this. Sometimes it might be worded
this way. Sometimes it might be worded
that way, but all of God's sheep are saying the exact same thing
when they do this. They're saying the exact same
thing in just a moment. You're going to lie back. He's
going to hold his nose and hold his arm. And he's going to lie
back and that water is going to cover him. And then all of a sudden. He's
going to be raised up. And what you're saying in that
is the same thing we're saying. And it's the same thing Job said,
and I love how he worded it. I love how he worded this. Look
at Job 19 verse 25. He said, For I know that my Redeemer
liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms
destroy this body, Yet in my flesh shall I see God, whom I
shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another,
though my reigns be consumed within me. Now, if you have a
margin in your Bible, and I hope you do, in verse 27, next to the word
though, Here's how it is originally worded. My reins within me are
consumed with earnest desire for that day. I shall see for myself and mine
eyes shall behold and not another. My reins within me are consumed
with earnest desire for that day. Is that not what we're saying?
Isn't that what we're saying? He said in verse 25, I know that
my Redeemer liveth. What he's saying is, I need a
Redeemer. I needed a Redeemer. I needed
a Redeemer. That's what you're saying. I
needed a Redeemer. I was lost in sin. I was lost
in sin. I was fallen from God, absolutely
separated and fallen from God. That was my state. That was me. I mean, that was
me. I came forth from my mother's
womb speaking lies. My mother's name was Linda Stoniker,
and I came forth speaking lies. I did. The thoughts and the intents
of my heart were only evil continually. That's all they were. In my flesh dwelleth no good
thing. I didn't say dwelled, I said
dwelleth. Right now, in this flesh right
here, no good thing. Is that what you're saying? No
good thing. I have nothing to glory in. I needed a Redeemer. I needed
a Redeemer. And in this baptism, we're confessing
the gospel. What we're saying is, I found
one. What we're actually saying is, one found me. One found me. I was found. I was lost, now I'm found. Job
said in verse 25, I know that my Redeemer. My Redeemer. Here's what we confess in this.
The Lord Jesus Christ is not just the Redeemer. He's my Redeemer. He's my Redeemer. He redeemed
me. He took my place. That's what this is all about.
It's about Jesus Christ taking my place. My place. It's not about me making a decision.
It's not about me doing the right thing, turning over a new leaf,
straightening up my act. This is Jesus Christ took my
place. He took my place. Every judgment. I just said I was a sinner. Every
judgment, every punishment that I was supposed to suffer under
the wrath of God. Jesus Christ took it all for
me. Why would he do that? Because
you're a good person. No, I'm not. Why would he do that? He took
it all for me. He took it all as me. As me. He's my substitute. Now listen
to our substitute here. These are the words that Job
wrote. But listen to the voice of our
substitute in this, okay? Here's Christ speaking. Look
at Job 19 verse 1. Then Christ answered and said,
wait a minute, that says Job. Yes, but Job had a redeemer.
Job had a substitute. Here's the thing, what Job is
about to say, is what Christ became for Job. Job had a substitute. And this is what we're confessing.
Christ answered for me. When God the Father, with all
of my records, said, Gabe Stoniker, Jesus Christ said, here I am.
Verse one, Job answered and said, Christ answered and said, How
long will you vex my soul and break me in pieces with words? These 10 times have you reproached
me. You are not ashamed that you
make yourself strange to me. And be it indeed that I have
erred, my error remaineth with myself. Now 2 Corinthians 5 says,
he was made sin. who knew no sin. The sinless
one was made to be sin. You know what sin and whose sin?
My sin. He was my redeemer. And whenever
he stood before that judgment throne, he opened not his mouth. He was standing there with my
sin. He took them as his own. He said, these are mine. These
are mine. He became me. He wore my sin. He owned it. Verse 5 says, If
indeed you will magnify yourselves against me and plead against
me my reproach, know now that God hath overthrown me. You know
why Christ died on that cross? God put him there. And who is
Christ? God himself. He put himself there. Know now that God hath overthrown
me and hath compassed me with his net. Behold, I cry out of
wrong, and that word means violence, but I'm not heard. My Lord, my Redeemer will hear
me because Christ was not heard. I cry aloud, but there is no
judgment. He hath fenced up my way that
I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths. He hath
stripped me of my glory and taken the crown from my head. He laid
every bit of that aside. He hath destroyed me on every
side, and I am gone, and my hope hath he removed like a tree.
He cut it down. He hath also kindled his wrath
against me, and he counteth me unto him as one of his enemies.
His troops come together and raise up their way against me,
and encamp round about my tabernacle. He hath put my brethren far from
me, and mine acquaintance are very estranged from me. My kinsfolk
have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me. They
that dwell in mine house and my maids count me for a stranger. I am an alien in their sight. Our Lord was cut off for us. Cut off for me. That was supposed
to be me. I was supposed to be saying that.
I've been cut off from the house of God, but he was cut off for
me. Verse 14, he said, my kin's folk
have failed and my familiar friends have forgotten me. They that
dwell in mine house and my maids count me for a stranger. I am
an alien in their sight. I called my servant and he gave
me no answer. I entreated him with my mouth.
My breath is strange to my wife, though I entreated for the children's
sake of mine own body. Yea, young children despise me. I arose, and they spake evil
against me. All my inward friends abhorred
me, and they whom I loved are turned against me. My bone cleaveth
to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of
my teeth. Have pity upon me, have pity
upon me, O ye my friends, for the hand of God hath touched
me." That's our God hanging on that cross. The hand of God hath touched
me. Do you know what he was doing
right there? Redeeming us. Redeeming us back to God. All
the punishment that he deserves laid on me. You give it to me. Redeeming us. He died redeeming
us back to God. Back to God. Paying for our debt. And in doing that, whenever he
took every bit of that off us, he wiped that slate clean. What can wash away my sins? The blood of Jesus Christ can.
I mean, they're gone. They're clean. They're gone. They're not just covered. They're
gone. They're washed away. Absolutely
away. And in doing that, our Redeemer
made us accepted in the Beloved, accepted back with God Himself.
And what we're saying right here, this is a confession, and what
we're saying in this confession is, He was successful. That's
what we're saying. He died, I died in Him. But He has risen, and I have
risen in Him. He was successful. Everything
He set out to do, He finished. He did not try to redeem me. He did it. That's what we're
saying. He did not try to redeem me. He did it. And God was satisfied
with everything He did on our behalf. Job said in verse 25,
I know that my Redeemer liveth. I know He does. I died in Him. I was immersed in Him. And I
have risen with Him. And He said in verse 25, I know
that my Redeemer liveth and that He shall stand at the latter
day upon the earth. The book of Job is considered
to be possibly the first book written of the 66 books that
are in the Bible, even before Moses, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
the first one penned. And when Job wrote this, God
was not yet manifest in the flesh. When a virgin conceived and bear
a child, that was God. That was God. Call his name Emmanuel
because God is with you. God has come down. God manifest
in the flesh. And our Lord was not yet manifest
in the flesh, but Job said, I know that my Redeemer is coming. I
know he is. And I know that he's going to
stand on this earth and he's going to redeem me. And he did.
He did. And because of that, now we today,
2000 years later, we can say with Job, I know that my redeemer
liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.
Not this earth. The scripture says, whenever
the Trump resounds and the clouds roll back and the Lord descends,
we're going to be caught up in the air to meet him in the air.
But he said, I'm making a new heaven, and I'm making a new
earth, one wherein dwells righteousness. And we can say, I know that my
Redeemer liveth. And he's gonna be standing on
that earth, the man. The God-man is gonna be standing
on that earth. We were immersed into him. We have risen with him, and because
of that, we're gonna be standing with him. We're gonna be standing
in him. He said, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that
he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though
after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I
see God. Is that as exciting to you as
it is to me? Is that as exciting to you as
it is to me? In my flesh, in my flesh shall I see God. Let me show you three verses
of scripture, okay? Turn with me over to Luke 24. Luke 24 verse 36. And as they thus spake, Jesus
himself stood in the midst of them and said unto them, peace
be unto you. This is after he was risen. But
they were terrified and affrighted and supposed that they had seen
a spirit. And he said unto them, why are
you troubled? And why do thoughts arise in
your heart? Behold my hands and my feet,
that it is I myself, the one you have known for three and
a half years. Handle me and see For a spirit
hath not flesh and bones. See those bones? Spirit doesn't
have those. Flesh and bones as you see me
have. Now turn with me to Acts chapter
1. Acts chapter 1 verse 9 says,
and when he had spoken these things while they beheld, our
Lord was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight.
And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up,
behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, which also
said, ye men of Galilee, Why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus. This same Jesus, which is taken
up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you
have seen him go into heaven. This same Jesus. With hands. With feet. with flesh, with bones,
this same Jesus, he's coming back exactly like you saw him
go up, the same one. Now turn with me to 1 John chapter
3. First John 3, look at verse 2. Beloved, now are we the sons
of God. And it doth not yet appear what
we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, We shall
be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Flesh, bones, hands,
feet. We're gonna be just like him.
Just like him. Now look one more time back at
Job 19. Job said in verse 26, though
after my skin, worms destroy this body. All right, if the Lord does not
return, if the Lord tarries, we're all going to lay these
bodies down. Our Lord called it sleeping because to be absent
from the body is to be present with the Lord. It's not actually
death. But they're going to go into
the ground, and you know what happens over time when that takes place?
And here in just a second, you're going to lay back. And that's
what we're saying. Though after my skin worms destroy
this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. That's what we're
saying. Yet in my flesh. shall i see god verse 27 says
whom i shall see for myself and mine eyes shall behold these
because it says and not another Though my reigns be consumed
within me. And again that margin says, my
reigns within me are consumed with earnest desire for that
day. We're going to lay this body
down. And had we not had a redeemer,
that body would stay down. And this soul would go back to
God who gave it, this soul would stand before God and God would
say, you have done nothing but sin since day one. And it's the
truth. We've lied, we speed. Everything
we do is sin. We hate, we have anger, we lust. It's all sin. It's just a ball
of sin. Oh, I'm good. No, we're not. And we're going
to find that out when we stand before God. And if we didn't
have a Redeemer, that soul would go to a place where we don't
want to go. Outer darkness. I never knew you. But because
we have a Redeemer, when that body lays down, we're going to
go stand before the judge of the earth. And do you know who
the judge is? Our Redeemer. He has been made
the judge of the earth. And I'm going to say, Lord, you
died for me. And he's going to say, I know.
And Lord, you paid all my debt and all my sin. And he's going
to say, I know. And my only hope and my only plea for salvation
is you. I know. Welcome him. But it's all because of my Redeemer. My reins within me are consumed
with earnest desire for that day. Absolutely consumed. Is that what you confess? Then
let's go do it. All right?