Man's Fallibility and God's Redemptive Plan

(From a sermon at Grace Apostolic Church by Rev. Richard Burgett)

We need our lives always to be seasoned with the spice of joy. Joy makes everything go down a little better. There are some things that are in attitudes and beautitudes that are like spices. In the natural world of cooking, spices give flavor and our lives need to be flavored with joy.

We are preaching on the articles of faith. I want you to know who and what we are. That's why I'm doing it. I am not ashamed of who and what we are. I am what I am and there is no apology for that. It is not something I did, but I believe it is something He has done.

This morning we pick up with the fallibility of man. As a group, as a church, as an association, we believe in the fallibility of all mankind. Through the transgression and fall of Adam in the garden of Eden, all men are declared to be sinners. Therefore in order to be restored to favor with God, all must be born again. There is no option. This is not an elective, my friends; this is a necessity. We must be born again. "Jesus answered and said unto him, (And that would be to Nicodemus) Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3) Nicodemus said unto Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?" And Jesus answered, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." It is of water and of spirit or of regeneration and that is done by repentance and baptism.

Baptism is not a sacrament! I'm going to say something that I hope you will all understand. There are no two sacraments in the Christian Apostolic Church. Even some preaching it will not make it so. Baptism is not a sacrament. Baptism is an act of faith. It is not a work. If it is a work, then it has no saving quality because by no works is any flesh justified. And if it's a work, then we lose the ability for it to have a saving quality to it. But if I will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, confess my sins to Him and be buried in His name in the act of faith, then it has a saving quality. And only then! Praise the Lord everybody! Somebody said I saw so and so and he was at such and such and then he repented and God filled him with the Holy Ghost and if God filled him with the Holy Ghost, if he was ready for the Holy Ghost, if he was clean enough to get the Holy Ghost, then baptism is not essential or important. I assure you in the tenth chapter of Acts where the house of Cornelius was hearing the word, the Holy Ghost fell upon them that heard the word and when it was all said and done, Peter commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.

Baptism in the name of Jesus is part of the regeneration plan. Because the Bible says without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins and baptism has part of the remission of sin plan in it. Sorry if I get a little bit excited! Somebody says, well Bro. Burgett, I just don't believe that - that message you all preach. I don't want to be mean, but there's some things you may not understand, some things you may not perceive, some things you may not believe, but this is one area where I cannot back down! This is one area in which I can't even be patient with you. I have to tell you - you must be born again! I must tell you that you must repent and be baptized in Jesus name for the remission of your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues or you will come up short when rapture time comes!

You say, Bro. Burgett, what about all those that are dead and gone. You leave them alone! They were in the hands of a just God and I hope to see a lot of them, but you and I are living in a different day. Our understanding has been enlightened and we must receive the things of God. We believe in the suffering of Christ. There is no power for salvation without the suffering of Christ. And the suffering of Christ brought about for you and I the ability to be saved and because we believe in His crucifixion, his death, his burial, his resurrection; then we follow Him in death of repentance, in burial of water baptism, in renewal of the real life in the Holy Ghost. Oh, hallelujah, we may have to take a praise break. Praise the Lord!

I want to tell you that it's more important to believe this than to be a millionaire. It's more important to believe this than to own everything this world has. If you don't know this and believe this and follow this, you won't be ready to face Him when He comes. Then you'll be crying for the mountains and rocks to fall on you. Isaiah 53: 1-2 says "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him." That is talking about the Lord. He didn't come into this world looking like a movie star where everybody would fall in love with Him. If you could have seen Him when He was here, He would have looked just like a common old boy. He was just one of those Joe Blow's down the street on the outside. If you had seen Him, you wouldn't have known He was Who He was by the outside. If you think that Jesus walked around with a halo around His head as some religious groups always have Him appear, I want to tell you, you're wrong! Everybody didn't see Him and say "That's the one!" He veiled Himself so that only the pure in heart that wanted to see God - that was looking for God - and looking to know God - would ever recognize Him! You don't know Him after the flesh. You only know Him after the spirit! Praise the Lord!

Isaiah said, if you see Him coming down the road, you won't know Him just by looking at Him. You won't know Him because His hair is parted right, His beard is correct, and His clothing is just so and so. You'll know Him by His voice when He speaks to you. Oh, I feel the Spirit here! You'll know it when He calls your name! You'll know it when He whispers truths that noone else could ever show or tell you and you'll know it when you're just standing in His presence!

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